Helen Howard

• PhD
• Senior Scientist at National Gallery, London

Analyses of the degraded mordant gilding on two early fourteenth-century paintings by Pietro Lorenzetti were undertaken at the UK synchrotron facility Diamond Light Source. Previous studies revealed a complex orpiment-tinted mordant and its application for adhering two separate layers of silver and gold leaf and demonstrated degradation of the orig...

The oldest painting in the National Gallery collection, The Virgin and Child Enthroned by Margarito d’Arezzo (NG564), dated to about 1263–4, depicts the Virgin and Child in a mandorla, surrounded by scenes of the Nativity and lives of the saints, set within red and decorative black borders, against a gilded background. The materials and technique w...

Ahead of display, a non‐original layer was observed on the surface of a fragment of a wall painting by Ambrogio Lorenzetti (active 1319, died 1348/9). FTIR analysis suggested proteinaceous content. Mass spectrometry was used to better characterise this layer and revealed two protein components: sheep and cow glue and chicken and duck egg white. Ana...

Ahead of display, a non‐original layer was observed on the surface of a fragment of a wall painting by Ambrogio Lorenzetti (active 1319, died 1348/9). FTIR analysis suggested proteinaceous content. Mass spectrometry was used to better characterise this layer and revealed two protein components: sheep and cow glue and chicken and duck egg white. Ana...

Multispectral and hyperspectral imaging are efficient methods of measuring spectral reflectance at high spatial resolution. This non-invasive technique has been applied to the imaging of paintings over the last 20 years. PRISMS (Portable Remote Imaging System for Multispectral Scanning) was designed specifically for imaging wall paintings. Optical...

This study attempts to record the ancient ‘reredos’ at Adisham Church, Kent, a monument that is very little known. It is an exotic survival from the pre-history of English wooden church furniture. The ambiguous assemblage too often seems to sabotage one's efforts to make sense of it, yet demands to be taken seriously. We attempt to explain what its...

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of London, 2000.

Little systematic analysis has been undertaken of late mediaeval wall painting in England, but the early fifteenth-century paintings at Farleigh Hungerford have recently been subjected to detailed examination. Despite previous invasive conservation treatments, this revealed a highly sophisticated use of translucent glazes over gold and silver leaf,...

Scientific examination of two stylistically indistinguishable early 14th century wall paintings revealed fundamental differences in technique, indicating that they are by different artists. The relationship between the two wall paintings, the surrounding scheme of decoration and the polychromy on the shrine of St Alban is explored.