A small plate of oil on copper painting from the Italian Renaissance period was characterized by means of noninvasive spectroscopic methods. The study was conducted by the use of energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction, and Raman and diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopies to determine the technology production process in such kinds of artworks. Results allowed us to characterize the copper alloy of the support media; the preparation layer, which is composed by white lead; and the pictorial layer of variable composition (green copper sulphate compounds, red lead, carbon black, brown earth pigments, gold, vermilion, and white lead). The complementarity of the techniques used in this study has proven to be highly effective. Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

The work of A. Pitarch was supported by a research grant from the Spanish Ministry of Education (ref. AP2006-4591).

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