The efficiency of micro-Raman spectroscopy in the analysis of complicated mixtures in modern paints: Munch's and Kupka's paintings under study.

Twenty one mock-up samples containing inorganic pigments primarily used at the turn of the 19th and 20th century were selected for comparative study and measured by micro-Raman and portable Raman spectrometers. They included pure grounds (chalk-based, earth-based and lithopone-based), grounds covered by resin-based varnish, and different paint layers containing mixtures of white, yellow, orange, red, green, blue and black pigments, usually in combination with white pigments (titanium, zinc and barium whites or chalk). In addition, ten micro-samples obtained from seven paintings of two world-famous modern painters Edvard Munch and František Kupka have been investigated.