Spectral Imaging and Archival Data in Analysing Madonna of the Rabbit Paintings by Manet and Titian

A concise insight into the outputs provided by the latest prototype of visible‐near infrared (Vis‐NIR) multispectral scanner (National Research Council‐National Institute of Optics, CNR‐INO, Italy) is presented. The analytical data acquired on an oil painting Madonna of the Rabbit by É. Manet are described. In this work, the Vis‐NIR was complemented with X‐ray fluorescence (XRF) mapping for the chemical and spatial characterization of several pigments. The spatially registered Vis‐NIR data facilitated their processing by spectral correlation mapping (SCM) and artificial neural network (ANN) algorithm, respectively, for pigment mapping and improved visibility of pentimenti and of underdrawing style. The data provided several key elements for the comparison with a homonymous original work by Titian studied within the ARCHive LABoratory (ARCHLAB) transnational access project. Blau ist nicht gleich Blau: Die Kartierung blauer Pigmente durch Korrelation von Vis‐NIR‐Multispektraldaten mit XRF‐Kartierung in den gleichnamigen Gemälden Madonna mit dem Kaninchen von Manet und Tizian zeigt, dass die beiden Maler unterschiedliche Paletten und Farben verwendeten. Manet nutzte Preußischblau und Cobaltblau, Tizian dagegen Azurit und natürliches Ultramarinblau.