This database presents a collection of reflectance spectra in the 270-820 nm, 350-1000 nm, and 980-1700 nm ranges acquired on several paint layer structures that were built with materials selected from those most commonly used both in the past and in the present day. The pictorial materials were painted out onto small wood panels prepared with a traditional ground of gypsum and animal glue. They were applied as pure pigment/dye or as a mixture of different pigments/dyes with different binding media. Some of these pictorial materials were also applied as transparent glazes over opaque paint layers or metal leaf.

This spectra collection focuses on providing information that permits recognition of the spectral features of several pictorial materials. The spectra may be enlarged by directly clicking on the displayed graph. To date the spectroscopic data cannot be downloaded via the spectra pages.

This database is part of the continuing collaboration between the Restoration Laboratory of the Opificio delle Pietre Dure and the Applied Spectroscopy Laboratory of the Institute of Applied Physics "Nello Carrara" of the Italian National Research Council.

The authors' publications in this field are in the References section.