Virtues of Giambologna from Grimaldi Chapel Archaeometrical Characterization

This scientific investigation on metal artwork is meant to expand knowledge regarding the technical skills developed by artists in sculpture manufacturing. Moreover all the gathered data support the speculation about the motivations behind the choices of certain material or a specific manufacturing method (e.g., economic or technical reasons, or both). The subject of this study is the Virtues sculptural group made at the end of the XVI century by Giambologna to decorate the Grimaldi Chapel in the church of San Francesco di Castelletto (Genoa, Italy). Six life-size statues depicting Charity, Justice, Hope, Fortitude, Faith, and Temperance (i.e., the artwork discussed in this article); seven bas-reliefs; and six winged representations of putti are what remains of the original monumental project. X-ray fluorescence, a nondestructive investigation method, was applied to determine the chemical nature of the metallic substrate and of the "artistic" and natural patinas. The achieved results allowed for distinguishing variations in the content of the major alloying elements that might correspond to a motivated will of the artist connected to technical and aesthetic aims: the production of defect-free and golden bronze artifacts