Academic Career and Research Areas
Clarimma Sessa earned a degree in Science and Technologies for Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage at the University of Perugia, Italy in 2008. She holds a Master in Advanced Chemistry and received her PhD in Chemistry from the University of Barcelona, Spain in 2014. She achieved a Post-doc Alexander-von-Humboldt Fellowship in 2016 for the implementation and optimization of a practical analytical protocol for the characterization of organic colorants on artworks by means of Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy at the Doerner Institut, Bavarian State Painting Collections (Munich) in collaboration with the Raman and SEM group of the Chair of Analytical Chemistry and Water Chemistry of the Technical University Munich. Her scientific interests are mainly focused on the evaluation and application of non-invasive analytical techniques for the study of artworks. She is currently working as Conservation Scientist at the Chair of Conservation-Restoration, Art Technology and Conservation Science of the Technical University Munich, where at present she is creating a new mobile analytical infrastructure for Cultural Heritage studies.
Awards
- Alexander von Humboldt Prostdoc Research Fellowship (2016-2018)
- Short-term scientific mission at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA granted by Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte, Spain (2013)
- Predoctoral grant - “Becas y ayudas del Programa de Formación del Profesorado Universitario” granted by Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte, Spain (2010-2014)
- Predoctoral grant - “Ayudas destinadas a universidades, centros de investigación para la contratación de personal investigador novel” granted by Generalitat de Catalunya, Spain (2010)
Publications
Sessa C., Steuer C., Balbs D., Sciutto G., Stege H. Analytical studies on commercial artists` colour charts from Das Deutsche Farbenbuch (1925) – identification of synthetic and natural organic colourants by Raman microscopy, Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy and Metal Underlayer ATR-FTIR spectroscopy, Heritage Science (2022)10:109.
Elkarmoty M. et al. Localization and shape determination of a hidden corridor in the Great Pyramid of Giza using non-destructive testing. NDT & E International (2023) 139:102809.
Elkarmoty M. et al. Discovery and validation of the North Face Corridor in the Great Pyramid of Giza using non-destructive techniques. Proceedings of the 13th European Conference on NonDestructive Testing (ECNDT) from 3 to -7 of July 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal (2023)1:1-6.
Angelin, E.M., Sessa C., Jürgens M., Roldão E., Kemp C., and Pamplona M. Carl August Steinheil’s pioneering daguerreotypes: Nondestructive investigation of his production and processing methods. In Working Towards a Sustainable Past. ICOM-CC 20th Triennial Conference Preprints, Valencia, 18–22 September 2023, ed. J. Bridgland. Paris: International Council of Museums.
Giménez P., Linares A., Sessa C., Bagán H. and García J.F. Capability of Far Infrared for selective identification of red and black pigments in paint layers, Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy (2022) 266:120411.
Sessa C., Steuer C. Stege H., Danzl T. The colour scheme of the Munich Olympic Games 1972. From concept to materials. In Sigrid Brandt, Jörg Haspel, Ralph Paschke, John Ziesemer (Hrsg./eds.): the Modern Heritage of the Olympic Games. Historic Sports Sites between Conservation and Conversion (ICOMOS - Hefte des Deutschen Nationalkomitees LXXVI) Berlin 2021, ISBN 978- 3-945880-80-72023. 230-232.
Mayr V., Sessa C., Thalguter N., Danzl T. Sit-in! Sitting in the Olympic Park Seating furniture of the Olympic Games 1972. In Sigrid Brandt, Jörg Haspel, Ralph Paschke, John Ziesemer (Hrsg./eds.): the Modern Heritage of the Olympic Games. Historic Sports Sites between Conservation and Conversion (ICOMOS - Hefte des Deutschen Nationalkomitees LXXVI) Berlin 2021, ISBN 978- 3-945880-80-72023. 227-229.
Sessa C., Neugebauer W., Stege H. A comprehensive study into the early history of ß-naphthol pigments – from synthesis to paint application. Part II: History of use in paint manufacture and artist’s paints and analytical identification, Zeitschrift für Kunsttechnologie und Konservierung (2019)32:233-258.
Neugebauer W., Stege H., Sessa C. A comprehensive study into the early history of ß-naphthol pigments – from synthesis to paint application. Part I: Synthesis, chemical composition, properties and development history, Zeitschrift für Kunsttechnologie und Konservierung (2018)31:111-128.
*Sessa C.,*Neugebauer W, Steuer C., Allscher T., and Stege H. Naphthol Green – a forgotten artists’ pigment of the early 20th century. History, chemistry and analytical identification, Journal of Cultural Heritage (2018)1:1-13. (* co-first authors)
Sessa C., Weiss R., Niessner R., Ivleva N.P., Stege H. Towards a Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) spectra database for Synthetic Organic Colorants in Cultural Heritage. The effect of the use of different metal substrates on the spectra, Microchemical Journal (2018) 138:209-225.
Sessa C., Bagán H., Romero M. T., García J.F. Evaluation of variability sources affecting the composition analysis in large ancient metal objects, Microchemical Journal (2017) 134:309-316.
Sessa C., Jiménez R., Rosi F., Fontana R., Garcia J.F. A study of Picasso’s painting materials and techniques in six early portraits, Journal of American Institute for Conservation (2016) 55:198- 216.
Sessa C., Barro, L., Centeno, Silvia A., Caro, F., Bagán, H., García,J. F. Investigation of the possible origins of sulfur in 19th century salted paper photographs by x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, X-Ray spectrometry (2016) 45:176-184.
Sessa C., Bagán H., García J. F. Influence of composition and roughness on the pigment mapping of paintings using mid-infrared fiberoptics reflectance spectroscopy (mid-IR FORS) and multivariate calibration, Anal Bioanal. Chem. (2014) 406:6735-6747.
Sessa C., Bagán H., García, J. F. Evaluation of MidIR fibre optic reflectance: Detection limit, reproducibility and binary mixture discrimination, Spectrochim. Acta A: Mol. Biomol. Spectro. (2013) 115:617–628.
Sessa C., Vila A., García J. F. Determination of Detection Limits for SEM-EDS and m-FTIR Analysis of Artwork, Anal Bioanal Chem., (2011) 400:2241–2251.