When looking at a historic work of art, does the word chemistry come to mind? Art historians rely on science for accurate historical information regarding works of art. According to J. Davy in The Collected Works of Sir Humphrey Davy, the marriage of science and art dates back to 1818, when Sir Humphrey Davy chemically analyzed paints removed from the ancient ruins of Pompeii. We report on a more recent study conducted closer to home.

A spectroscopic study of paints removed from a 15th century sculpture depicting Saint Wolfgang, which is housed in Ball State Museum of Art, was performed. Infrared spectra on minute paint samples were obtained, and the spectra were compared to reference spectra of known art pigments and materials. In addition, energy dispersive x-ray spectra were obtained using a scanning electron microscope. The x-ray spectra were used to support the infrared results and, in some cases, allowed for the identification of materials which have infrared absorptions below the detector range or which are infrared inactive. The combined spectral data on the paints, which were layered in several places on the sculpture, allow us to obtain a detailed description of Saint Wolfgang's different appearances throughout the past three hundred years. Although many of the pigments found are relatively modern, the first application of paint is composed of materials consistent with the sculpture's medieval date.