Salvator Mundi: an investigation of the painting’s materials and techniques

Abstract

Before the start of its restoration in 2007, the Salvator Mundi was thought to be one of a number of copies of a long-lost Leonardo da Vinci painting, depicting Christ giving a blessing with his right hand while holding a crystal orb in his left. During the restoration treatment, a scientific examination of the painting was carried out to elucidate the painting’s materials and techniques. Microscopic sampling of the painting was necessarily limited, and nine out of ten samples were prepared and analyzed as cross-sections. A number of analytical methods were employed selectively, including stereomicroscopy, visible and fluorescent light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy, Raman microspectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy in transmission mode and with attenuated total reflection. The pigments characterized were lead white, vermilion, red iron oxide earth, red lake, natural ultramarine, lead–tin yellow, umber, and charcoal, carbon and bone blacks. Manganese-containing soda-lime glass was detected in the ground, imprimatura and paint layers, and a walnut oil medium was identified by pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Cross-section studies revealed aspects of the painting’s stratigraphy: a size layer, white ground and off-white imprimatura, followed by a complex sequence of paint layers applied by the artist to achieve sophisticated visual effects.