Technical photography for mural paintings: the newly discovered frescoes in Aci Sant'Antonio (Sicily, Italy)

Abstract

A cycle of 18th century frescoes, depicting the last days of Christ on earth, were recently discovered in Aci Sant'Antonio (Sicily, Italy). The paintings survive along the corners of an originally square chapel that was altered in the early 20th century, acquiring the current octagonal plan. This paper presents the results of the technical photography documentation of these wall paintings and illustrates the methodological challenges that were posed during their examination. Raking light photography was used to reveal the paintings' state of conservation, details of the plaster work and painting techniques. Ultraviolet fluorescence and infrared false color photography were also performed to evaluate areas of interest for further analytical and diagnostic studies. The first striking feature is the lack of giornate. Only pontate are clearly seen in all the scenes thus indicating that in the larger paint areas, a mixed of fresco and secco technique would have been used.

Keywords

• Panoramic photography
• Infrared photography
• Ultraviolet photography
• Raking light photography
• Infrared false color
• Mural paintings.