Multispectral imaging analysis of the “Madonna della Palma” (Urbino, Raphael’s birthplace): New insights in the Raphael attribution debate

The debate on the authenticity of the Madonna della Palma (Madonna of the palm tree), an oil on panel attributed to Raphael, whose attribution has been the subject of several discussions in recent decades, has been based not only on stylistic and historical considerations, but also on the botanical nature of the tree depicted by the artist in his painting. The completely non-invasive investigations carried out by researchers from the University of Urbino and the National Research Council of Pisa are the first analytical studies in over 50 years since the restoration carried out by the Central Institute for Restoration in Rome from 1969 to 1973. Traditional IR-VIS-UV multispectral imaging techniques have been used; the acquired images have been processed with experimental techniques based on derivative chromatic imaging (ChromaDI) in blind separation mode or computational applications for the study of surface morphology (reflectance transformation imaging). The results obtained have allowed us to identify peculiar aspects of the execution technique (spolvero and pentimenti), while at the same time highlighting the significant changes made during the restoration interventions. Comparison with the archive documentation (conservation report, archive photographs in visible light, infrared and X-rays, studies by authoritative art historians who studied the subject in the 1970s and 1980s) has allowed to formulate new hypothesis on the subject, dismissing the current narrative of the “Raphael of Captain Cook” and helping in placing this painting in its rightful place in time, giving a plausible reconstruction of the origins of the panel.