Dr Paola Ricciardi

Profile

I am a heritage scientist with a broad interest in cross-disciplinary research and engagement. I am employed part-time at Queen Mary as a co-investigator on the AHRC-funded project ‘Hidden in Plain Sight: Historical and Scientific Analysis Of Premodern Sacred Books’ (2024-2026).

I also work as a Research and Partnerships Manager at the Natural History Museum.

Research

Research Interests:

My work as a heritage scientist has focused on the use of non-invasive imaging and spectroscopic techniques to investigate works of art, library materials, and archaeological objects. I have a particular interest in the materiality of books and manuscripts and in the pigments and paint binders used by medieval and early modern artists.

I also have a focused interest in broader research topics, including research management, leadership in research, as well as curriculum-led school engagement.

Publications

• K. Delaney, K.A. Dooley, L.D. Glinsman, P. Ricciardi, B.H. Berrie, Leonardo da Vinci’s Ginevra de' Benci: The palette and further observations on underdrawing and undermodeling, Léonard de Vinci, l’expérience de l’art, 2024, dx.doi.org/10.4000/11v44
• Ricciardi, K.A. Dooley, D. MacLennan, G. Bertolotti, F. Gabrieli, C. Schmidt Patterson, J.K. Delaney, Use of standard analytical tools to detect small amounts of smalt in the presence of ultramarine as observed in 15th-century Venetian illuminated manuscripts, Heritage Science, 2022-12, dx.doi.org/10.1186/s40494-022-00671-z
• Ricciardi, UV-visible-near IR reflectance spectrophotometry in a museum environment, in M. Adriaens and M. Dowsett (eds.), Spectroscopy, Diffraction and Tomography in Art and Heritage Science, Elsevier, 2021, 103-131
• Ricciardi, C. Schmidt Patterson, Science of the Book, in S. Panayotova (ed.), A Handbook of the Art and Science of Illuminated Manuscripts, Harvey Miller/Brepols, 2020, 35-71
• Slottved Kimbriel, P. Ricciardi, Secrets of a silent miniaturist: findings from a technical study of miniatures attributed to Isaac Oliver, British Art Studies, Issue 17, https://doi.org/10.17658/issn.2058-5462/issue-17/kimbrielricciardi
• Ricciardi, Manuscripts in the Making: Art and Science, Heritage Science 7 (2019), 60, dx.doi.org/10.1186/s40494-019-0302-x
• Ricciardi, J.K. Delaney, Multispectral and hyperspectral imaging of artworks, in S.L. López Varela (ed.), The Encyclopedia of Archaeological Sciences, Wiley Online Library, 2018, dx.doi.org/10.1002/9781119188230.saseas0394
• Panayotova and P. Ricciardi (eds.), Manuscripts in the Making: Art and Science, 2 vols., Harvey Miller/Brepols, 2017-2018.

For a full list of publications, see https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5258-2928

Public Engagement

• Public engagement: public talks and workshops at Cambridge Festival (formerly the Festival of Ideas and Cambridge Science Festival), Saffron Walden Gibson Library Society, U3A Cambridge, Hughes Hall, Cambridge Bibliographical Society, and others (2011-2022)
• Schools engagement: ‘Looking at Collections’ digital teaching resource for A-level EPQ students and their teachers; ‘Ways of Seeing’ workshop for primary-school teachers; ‘Science in the Artist’s Studio’ Loan Box for KS2-3 classrooms; ‘Working scientifically - The Starry Night’ workshop for Yr5 students in collaboration with Fawcett Primary School
• Media and social media: interviews for BBC LookEast, Cambridge TV, Chemistry World, The Naked Scientists, The C-word podcast.