Pigments: white lime, yellow earth, red earth, organic black, cinnabar (?), minium (?), lead pigment
Analytical techniques: OM, Raman, XRF
The painting is heavily consolidated, probably due to the restoration works. Therefore, it is difficult to take samples, especially of the plaster. The samples are mostly tiny and contain very little plaster. In one of the plaster samples, unlike in any of the others, a small piece of wood was visible under the microscope (Fig. 1a–b). Wood shavings may have been added to the plaster to make it stronger, or this could also be the remains of a wooden object that once made this small hole or used to be in it. The XRD analysis (LAM 44) has shown a poor-quality plaster, mainly consisting of an aggregate that contains very little binder. Consequently, the plaster was not solid and had probably been crumbling before the restoration works. The aggregate mainly consists of quartz with small amounts of calcite and dolomite, indicating modest lime content, while the presence of feldspars is also sparse. The aggregate may also contain some crushed calcite and/or dolomite. Cross-sections of the other samples reveal a plaster saturated with an aggregate consisting of granules of angular and rounded shapes of various sizes, while the colours range from translucent through red tones to dark brown (Figs. 2–3). This type of plaster does not have sufficient binding power to permanently bind the colour layers, so certain parts of it were refreshed using limewash (Fig. 3). No lines between the potential giornate can be discerned: each female saint could have been painted on a separate giornata, but because of the many retouches, it is impossible to tell.
Only a small part of the original mural has been preserved. Most of the surface has been heavily retouched, and the retouching extends over most of the original mural, therefore, the collection of representative samples was very limited. At first glance, we can see that the painter’s palette included white, yellow, red, light blue, grey, and black colours (white lime, yellow and red earth, as confirmed by the XRF analysis, and some organic black pigment that could not be identified). The light blue colour used on some of the architectural details and the folds of some of the draperies could not be determined using Raman spectroscopy, while the XRF analysis revealed only modern pigments such as titanium white (titanium), chrome green (chrome), and possibly a very small amount of cobalt blue (cobalt), indicative of retouching. It was impossible to determine which pigment was originally used for the light blue colour. According to the XRF analysis, the red colour of the underdrawing, outlining the faces, necks, and hands of the female saints, consists not only of red earth (iron) but also cinnabar (mercury) and some lead pigment (lead), possibly minium, which is an unusual combination of pigments for underdrawings, as for these, only earth pigments were typically used. The analysis also revealed the presence of lead white. When painting on fresh plaster, the pigments had to be impregnated with lime water or lime milk as inorganic binders, as the plaster’s lime content was low and its binding power thus rather modest. It is also likely that this inorganic binder was added when painting on limewash.
The mural was painted using a combination of the al fresco, lime, and al secco techniques. The samples taken show that the basic background colour layers were applied on fresh plaster (Fig. 2), while the female saints and perhaps some other parts of the mural were painted on limewash, as the red underdrawing outlining the figures of the female saints was painted on a layer of limewash that can also be seen with the naked eye beneath the faces and the halos (Fig. 3). The exceedingly thin blue pigment layer, applied al secco, must have been mixed with some organic binder such as egg yolk, casein, or animal glue (Fig. 4).
There are no incisions or pouncings. The red underdrawing is visible in several spots, but much of it has also been reconstructed. It can mostly be seen on the faces and hands, where it has been preserved as a final contour. However, in just a few places, it also shows from beneath the broad black contour outlining the figures (Fig. 5). Because of the many retouches, the original painter’s brush strokes are difficult to discern. The figures, shown from the hips upwards, are elegant and feature diverse gestures. They are all depicted frontally and with identically conceived faces, dominated by large, wide-open eyes resembling the shape of a water drop. The eyes narrow outwards in an elongated shape, surrounding the large, black pupils without touching them. Some of the upper borders still retain the broader stroke that creates the upper lid. Highly placed semicircular eyebrows arch over the eyes. Only the prominent nasal tips and wide nostrils have been preserved of the noses, though in some places, we can still sense the nasal line running up to the eyebrows. The mouths are outlined with a straight central line ending in accentuated corners. These create a slight smile, with the lower lip only indicated by a shorter lower line. It is possible that colour modelling was once used for the lips, but none of it has been preserved on any of the female saints. Also characteristic are small ears that protrude from the oval heads with broad cheekbones and pointed chins. Despite the various gestures, the hands, designed with broad parallel fingers, look clumsy and oversized. All the saints have the same hairstyle, with long blonde hair falling over their shoulders. Only a bit of modelling, slightly darker than the yellow base, can be detected. The garments, mostly decorated with emphasised collars and cuffs, are diverse, ranging from tunics and cloaks to fashionable dresses. There is no colour modelling, though the folds have been preserved, outlined using a firm stroke and a broad brush in various colours: black, yellow, red, and even light blue. All female saints stand under a trilobed architectural vault supported by side columns with simple two-coloured capitals. The painter attempted to create an immersive space of illusionistically shaped niches using various background colours. All the figures are outlined with broad black contours, just like the Lamb of God at the very top of the triumphal arch, whose torso was also painted using short and thick black strokes.
Laško, Parish church of St Martin, Stage 1 (Laško), 2024 (last updated 18. 10. 2024). Corpus picturarum muralium medii aevi, https://corpuspicturarum.zrc-sazu.si/en/poslikava/phase-1-lasko/ (27. 8. 2025).
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