Műtárgyvédelem, 2008 (Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum)
Vihart Anna: Színes festékek : fekete pigmentek vizsgálata, különös tekintettel a faszénfeketékre
structures of the materials had to be determined to be able to differentiate groups and tell the differences between the individual forms or application methods in painting. Before starting the analyses, it was indispensable to prepare the pigments to be elaborated since they - charcoal black, lamp soot black, bone black, not to mention the mineral pigments - cannot be bought in trade, or the composition of the materials sold under such names is not known. This is the only way we can study in what traits the black pigments differ and within what circumstances they can best be analysed. Being resistant to chemicals, many of the black pigments cannot be demonstrated with chemical tests, so microscopic and large instrumental analyses were preferred. The priming and the underpaint, the choice of the pigments applied in a picture are characteristic of schools, circles, sometimes of age, geographical places and painters. Those who are not specialists, black pigments seem very similar, yet before industrial mass production, painters exactly knew the pigments they used. The differences enriched the possibilities of application in painting, since different effects could be reached with bone black, soot black or with mineral pigments. The cause of the differences naturally lies in the microscopic structure of the pigment: the grain size, the physical, more exactly the optic properties lend different characters to the individual pigment materials. A series of things deserve attention when the black pigments of the paint layers are examined under a microscope. Not only the outward appearance of the grains is important, it is also essential in what surroundings they are used, what painting technological methods were applied and with what other colours they were mixed. The method of application was characteristic of the individual painters, workshops, regions where the masters passed over their experiences. This article is a short summary of black pigments, and especially of charcoals. It sheds light on the differences in the appearance and application possibilities of blacks, the presence of which materials bears a multitude of information in contrast to generally accepted ideas. A szerző cime/Author’s address: Vihart Anna Festőrestaurátor művész/Painting conservator MA 1077 Budapest, Jósika u. 10. III./28. e-mail: vihartanna@gmail.com 32
