I am a Conservation Scientist whose research focuses on the technical examination of paintings using imaging techniques and spectroscopic methods, artists’ materials and painting techniques, and the application of new methods for the technical study of paintings.
I joined The Courtauld in late 2013, working part-time as a Technical Assistant in the Department of Conservation. I currently work full-time as a Conservation Scientist in the same department, where I design and deliver technical analyses of paintings to address technical questions, assess conservation conditions, and examine materials and techniques.
I introduce and supervise MA students in the practical use of methods for the technical imaging of paintings and other material analysis techniques.
I deliver lectures and workshops on specific aspects of technical imaging of paintings, data processing, and health and safety.
I co-supervise MA student research projects and provide support to PhD and post-doctoral fellows.
Following an MA in Science for the Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage from the University of Parma (Italy, 2012), I obtained a PhD in Conservation from The Courtauld in 2022. My PhD research focused on the contribution of reflectance imaging spectroscopy and scanning XRF to the study of paintings by Édouard Manet from The Courtauld Gallery. In 2013, I was a post-graduate intern in the Science Section of the Conservation Department at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, where I examined a group of Jain and Hindu manuscript folios from the V&A collection using optical microscopy, Raman microscopy, and X-ray fluorescence.
I have conducted research and published on the technical analysis of Byzantine wall paintings, Jain and Hindu manuscripts, Impressionist paintings, and painting materials.
Research interests
- Imaging techniques
- Spectroscopic methods
- Artists’ materials and painting techniques
- Application of new methods for the technical study of paintings
- Technical Art History
- Conservation Science
- History of Art
Publications
- Amato, S. R., Burnstock A., ‘Scanning X-Ray Fluorescence for the Re-Examination of the Composition Underneath Paul Gauguin’s Nevermore in the Courtauld Gallery’, Studies in Conservation, 16 May 2024, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/00393630.2024.2350276.
- Burnstock A., Barton M., Amato, S. R., ‘Challenges for consolidation and cleaning Franciszka Themerson’s unvarnished white oil paintings: a case study, Abstract (1949)‘. In ‘Hand in Hand. Collaboration in Art and Conservation’, edited by Miranda Brain, Alexandra Gent, Amy Griffin, Lucy Odlin, Caroline Rae and Claire Shepherd. London: Archetype Publications, 2024.
- Amato S. R., Burnstock A., ‘The contribution of scanning X-ray fluorescence to the investigation of easel paintings: Examples of applications from the Courtauld Gallery’. In ‘Lasers in Conservation of Artworks XIII’, edited by Salvatore Siano and Daniele Ciofini. London: CRC Press, 2023. DOI: 10.1201/9781003386872-4.
- Stonor K., Richardson C., Amato S. R., Nevin A., Burnstock A., ‘Rubens’s Death of Hippolytus (1610-12): How scanning XRF shed new light on old questions’. In ‘Lasers in Conservation of Artworks XIII’, edited by Salvatore Siano and Daniele Ciofini. London: CRC Press, 2023. DOI: 10.1201/9781003386872-1.
- Gomez Lobon M., Ghirardello M., Juncosa Darder E., Palomino Cabello C., Bauza M., Cotte M., Burnstock A., Nevin A., Amato S. R., Izzo F., Comelli D., ‘A study of cadmium yellow paints from Joan Miró’s paintings and studio materials preserved at the Fundació Miró Mallorca’, Heritage Science, 2023, 11: 145. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40494-023-00987-4.
- Melita L. N., Amato S. R., Risdonne V., Ledwina L., Nevin A., Burgio L., ‘Francis Williams: Shedding light on the production, materials and techniques of the portrait of a Jamaican scholar’, X-Ray Spectrometry, 2023, 1. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/xrs.3385.
- Amato S.R., Burnstock A., Michelin A., ‘A Preliminary Study on the Differentiation of Linseed and Poppy Oil Using Principal Component Analysis Methods applied to Fiber Optics Reflectance Spectroscopy and Diffuse Reflectance Imaging Spectroscopy’, Sensors 20, 24 (2020) 7125. DOI: 10.3390/s20247125.
- Amato S.R., Cross M., Burnstock A., Janssens K., Dik J., Cartechini L., Michelin A., Tournié A., ‘Examining Édouard Manet’s Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe from the Courtauld Gallery using spectral imaging techniques’. In ‘Tales of the Unexpected’ In Paintings Conservation, edited by Mary Kempski, Jo Kirby, Victoria Leanse, and Kristina Mandy. London: Archetype Publications, 2020.
- Amato S.R., Burnstock A., Cross M., Janssens K., Rosi F., Cartechini L., Fontana R., Dal Fovo A., Paolantoni M., Grazia C., Romani A., Michelin A., Andraud C., Tournié A., Dik J., ‘Interpreting technical evidence from spectral imaging of paintings by Édouard Manet in the Courtauld Gallery’, X-Ray Spectrometry, 2018; 1-11. DOI: 10.1002/xrs.2828.
- Amato S.R., Bersani D., Lottici P.P., Pogliani P., Pelosi C., ‘A multi-analytical approach to the study of the mural paintings in the presbytery of Santa Maria Antiqua al Foro Romano in Rome’, Archaeometry 59, 6 (2017) 1050-1064. DOI: 10.1111/arcm.12296.
- Amato S.R., ‘Beyond Visible Light’, ed. Rory McCartney, Archive/Archive, Issue B, 2017.
- Amato S. R., Burnstock A., ‘When Art meets Science. Traditional and cutting-edge scientific methods applied to the study of paintings at the Courtauld’, The Courtauld News, issue 38, 2015.
- Amato S.R., ‘Pigments in Jain manuscript art’, ©JAINpedia 2013. https:/jainpedia.org/resources/pigments-in-jain-manuscript-art/.