The INFRA-ART database

The INFRA-ART Spectral Database was developed as an open access integrated spectral library of artist paint materials. The database is an ongoing compilation of spectra that contains at this moment primary ATR-FTIR and XRF spectra, and a preliminary dataset of Raman spectra, of several groups of materials (paint components, artist color paints, etc.). The database is an open access resource, freely accessible online, that was developed with the aim to support other specialists within the heritage science field that work with XRF, infrared (ATR-FTIR) or Raman spectroscopic techniques.

Background

Easily accessible characterization techniques such as X-ray fluorescence (XRF), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), or Raman spectroscopy, are at this moment the most commonly used analytical tools in heritage and conservation science. Materials identification in works of art is a fundamental step for understanding an object’s history or an artist’s technique. Comprehensive characterization and diagnosis of the various constituent materials in artworks can provide valuable information on the artist's working methods, as well as significant evidence for dating, provenance attribution, or forgery detection. The development of databases with high-quality data on the pure substances used as artists’ materials is of utmost importance for the identification and characterization of unknown samples. However, there are relatively few open access spectra libraries dedicated exclusively to the cultural heritage field. To address this need, within the frame of the postdoctoral project INFRA-ART, an open access spectral library exclusively dedicated to artists' and cultural heritage materials has been developed. The database follows the European Commission’s recommendation on access to scientific information as well as the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) Guiding Principles on research data that result from publicly funded research.

Key features

  • » Wide selection of materials: INFRA-ART covers a wide selection of materials, including materials not represented in other databases, as far as we know, such as an impressive number of earth pigments from different geological sources, special effect pigments (such as metal effect pigments, pearlescent pigments or daylight fluorescent pigments), or traditional Japanese painting materials such as iwa-enogu.
  • » Ongoing compilation of spectra: New reference samples will be integrated within the database on an ongoing basis as new materials are being analyzed.
  • » Complementary spectral data: The INFRA-ART database includes data provided by XRF, FTIR and Raman techniques offering thus information at both elemental and molecular level.
  • » Accessible spectroscopic techniques: The employed techniques (handheld XRF, ATR-FTIR, and fiber-optic Raman) are affordable scientific tools, widely used for the technical examination of works of art, both in-laboratory and on-site applications.
  • » Rich metadata: Detailed information for each reference material is included (sample source, origin, description, alternative names, chemical information, and history of use) as well as on the employed techniques and data acquisition conditions.
  • » Search engine: For greater functionality and access, an advanced search engine was incorporated within the INFRA-ART database which allows users to search by keywords, material class or data type.
  • » Spectra viewer: An interactive spectra-viewer tool was integrated within the webpage in order to allow the user to interact with the loaded spectral data - pick points, label peaks, zoom in and out, pan, and also save the spectrum as image, on local disk.
  • » Open Access: The INFRA-ART database system was developed with modern techniques implementing the microservice architecture allowing for greater scalability and application flexibility. The database system is implemented as an Open Data Portal so no authentication will be required by external users to query data.

Contributors

The INFRA-ART spectral database was developed within the frame of the postdoctoral project INFRA-ART by researcher Ioana Maria Cortea. Database design and web development was carried by Alecsandru Chiroșca and Laurențiu-Marian Angheluță.

Open Science

The INFRA-ART Spectral Database is an easy-to-use web-based resource that offers Open Access to good-quality spectral data for the scientific analysis of pigments and other art-related materials. To support universal access and the reuse of scientific data, the database has a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was implemented according to the FAIR Guiding Principles.

The INFRA-ART Spectral Database is registered as a resource within the European Open Science Cloud Marketplace and indexed in re3data.org.