Pintura sobre cobre: Investigación sobre materiales y técnicas de aplicación de la capa de preparación a través de los tratados tradicionales y estudio analítico de dos obras atribuidas a las escuelas portuguesa y flamenca

Paintings on copper were mostly produced from the 16th century until the end of the 17th century. Nevertheless, its production never ceased completely, and examples can be found in the 20th century. This study encompassed two complementary sources of information: historical documentary research, on sources from the 17th and18th centuries; and analytical research, which involved the characterization of two paintings. The characterization included optical microscopy, for the study of the pictorial technique; micro-Raman spectroscopy, for the identification of pigments and fillers present in the preparatory layer; and stereomicroscopy, digital radiography and Particle induced X-ray emission, for the study of the support. The literature research revealed the existence of, at least, 20 documentary sources with information related to technique and materials used to paint on copper support. The analytical results confirmed the information collected from the historical literature.