Technological Study of the Painting Madonnina: From a Work of Painting to a Photograph

This paper presents the results of a technological study of the painting Madonnina. According to the initial documentation upon acquisition, the work is executed in oil on wood, measuring 27.6 × 19.4 cm, and bears the signature “Roberto Ferruzzi” in the lower left corner. Microscopic examination of the surface, particularly in areas of paint loss along the edges and corners, revealed that the paint layer had been applied over a dense, transparent organic layer resting on a paper substrate. This atypical structural configuration suggests that the painting was executed over a photographic print affixed to the wooden support to enhance its preservation. Physicochemical analysis of the transparent layer supported this hypothesis. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS) identified the presence of silver (Ag) and chlorine (Cl), elements characteristic of light-sensitive photographic layers. Infrared (IR) spectroscopy detected albumin, indicating that the image was produced using the albumen print technique. The painting was executed by a professional artist who skillfully integrated the underlying photographic image into the composition of the paint layer. The identified pigments include lead white, Prussian blue, synthetic ultramarine, an organic red pigment, Mars red, and yellow ocher, all commonly used in painting of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The binding medium was identified as a drying vegetable oil. The results indicate that the painting was executed using a relatively rare technique: oil painting over a photographic print. A review of numerous sources concerning the history and subsequent fate of Roberto Ferruzzi’s Madonnina (1897, oil on canvas) enabled the formulation of a hypothesis regarding the rationale for employing a photographic print as the basis for the present work.