3 CONCLUSION

THIS PAPER has been intended as an introductory review of a few of the possible applications of the infrared spectroscopic technique in the realm of ‘routine’ characterization of painting materials. The materials chosen for this study were ones for whose characterization the structural information provided by infrared spectroscopy may be of great value. Mixtures of pigments produce complex spectra which can be difficult to interpret, and absorptions of certain functional groups may obscure those due to other groups, even if the latter constitute a significant part of the given sample. These difficulties, in addition to the somewhat large sample size required in order to obtain a useful spectrum, limit the applications of infrared spectroscopy to the study of painting samples. Nevertheless, numerous publications attest to its value, and the technique continues to be an important means of characterizing the materials of painting.