Journals of Physics and Metaphysics. Vol. 1. Alchemies of Colour

Chemistry places at the service of art history, and more generally of the humanities, a series of diagnostic techniques that are useful to obtain information that enables scholars to better appreciate works of art. Analyses are carried out non-invasively, i.e. without taking samples, using portable instruments directly in situ. In the case of the collection of decorated books within the Cerruti Collection, these techniques are aimed in particular at assessing the value of the decorative apparatus of each book on the basis of the commodity value of the pictorial materials used, to formulate hypotheses on the provenance of the materials themselves, to identify any later retouches, to confirm the dating and art-historical attribution and finally to assess the state of health of the decorations.