Distinguishing Manuel Panselinos from Michael Astrapas and Eutychios: A CIELAB Color Analysis of 13th Century Macedonian School Frescoes

Abstract

The chromatic analysis of frescoes using the CIELAB method represents a novel, non-destructive approach for the preliminary study of an artist, based on the colorimetric analysis of their work as a whole. By employing sophisticated mathematical relationships, this method reveals an artist's color preferences and tendencies, which appear to be unique to each individual. Quantifying these preferences through CIELAB analysis allows for the establishment of a personal "color identity" expressed through stochastic mathematical relations. Consequently, the effective disclosure of these chromatic profiles requires the analysis of a sufficient number of representative images. Applying these principles to a case study of two prominent 13th-century masters of the Macedonian School, Manuel Panselinos and the Michael Astrapas and Eutychios, this research demonstrated a strong, individual linear correlation between the chromatic variable ΔC∗ and the variable Δb∗ in their respective paintings. This linear relationship serves as a unique chromatic property for each painter, constituting a distinct "color signature." The establishment of a comprehensive database utilizing the CIELAB method to register these chromatic signatures could prove invaluable for the attribution of unsigned works. This potential was validated in the present study, which confirmed the hypothesis that Panselinos was the artist responsible for the unsigned frescoes in the Chapel of Saint Efthymios in Thessaloniki. Ultimately, the creation of a global CIELAB-based chromatic database for artists and their frescoes would significantly facilitate the further study and authentication of Byzantine monumental painting.