Kerstin Petrzelka

This thesis examines one of the earliest paintings attributed to Peter Paul Rubens. The investigation combines art-historical research and a multi-analytical approach to expand the knowledge generated in previous studies, which left questions regarding the stratigraphy and artist’s materials unanswered. Non-invasive methods such as infrared reflectography and photography, ultraviolet and normal light imaging, X-radiography and XRF-spectroscopy, as well as methods for the examination of sample material, such as FTIR, SEM-EDS and GC-MS and histochemical staining, were applied. It was possible to characterise previously unidentified pigments. The findings of these investigations contribute to the existing body of research.