Investigation of the Painting Idyll Attributed to Henryk Siemiradzki: The Unusual Technology of a Canvas Painting Executed on an Enlarged Photograph

The subject of the research is an oil painting entitled Idyll created using an unusual technique. The painting layer was applied on canvas covered with photosensitive medium on which a photograph was developed. The results of the examination of Idyll in the context of its attribution to Henryk Siemiradzki (1843–1902) are discussed. Its atypical technology and the possibility of the artist having used the photographic technique are also considered. X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy were performed to establish the technique and to characterize the pigments and materials used in the painting. The identified pigments and the information provided by analytical photography (UV, X-ray images) were compared with the results of the detailed examination of 56 of Siemiradzki’s oil paintings. Performed analyses revealed that the majority of the features identified in Idyll point to Henryk Siemiradski’s technique.