Chemical and spectroscopic investigation of the Raphael’s cartoon of the School of Athens from the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana

The cartoon of “The School of Athens”, realized by the famous artist Raffaello Sanzio, is a masterpiece of Italian Renaissance. It is a full-scale (804 × 285 cm2) preparatory cartoon, stored at the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana (Milan, Italy). In order to characterize the cartoon and the drawing and to investigate its conservation state, several scientific analyses have been performed, both in situ and on sampled fragments. This multi-analytical approach has identified most of the materials used in the original drawing and in restored areas and provided a map of previous restoration works. Here we report the results obtained by Raman and FTIR spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy equipped with X-ray micro-analysis (SEM–EDS), pH measurements and micro-chemical tests. pH measurements proved the absence of an acidic decay of the paper. The original paper from linen and hemp fibres is well preserved. It is filled with calcium carbonate and has received a light sizing with protein glue, now almost completely transformed into oxalates. 1797 French intervention paper is of lower quality and has been covered with a patina of lead white in Arabic gum, most likely in an attempt to match the colour to the tone of the original. Both papers are stuck to a support paper with flour glue (containing starch and gluten) and glued with the same adhesive to a canvas lining. In situ Raman spectroscopy has clearly shown that the original drawing was in charcoal and lead white, while the restored areas have been drawn using charcoal and graphite.