Meet the Staff
Marco Leona
David H. Koch Scientist in Charge
Marco Leona studied in Italy where he obtained a laurea in chimica (MSc, Chemistry) and a PhD in crystallography and mineralogy from the Universita' degli Studi di Pavia. Prior to joining The Met, Dr. Leona worked at the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and at the Los Angeles County Museum Art (LACMA). Dr. Leona pioneered the use of Surface Enhanced Raman spectroscopy to investigate natural and synthetic dyes in works of art. Besides his work at the Museum, he teaches analytical chemistry at the Conservation Center of New York University's Institute of Fine Art.
Selected Publications:
- Leona, Marco, and Jennifer Perry. "Beneath the Blue: A Scientific Analysis of Kōrin's Irises at Yatsuhashi." In Impressions 37 (2016): 128–139.
- Pozzi, Federica, and Marco Leona. "Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy in Art and Archaeology." In Journal of Raman Spectroscopy 47, no. 1 (2015): 67–77.
- Leona, Marco. "Microanalysis of Organic Pigments and Glazes in Polychrome Works of Art by Surface-Enhanced Resonance Raman Scattering." In Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 106, no. 35 (2009): 14757–4762.
- ResearchGate: Publications by Marco Leona
Elena Basso
Associate Research Scientist
Elena Basso joined The Met's Department of Scientific Research in 2017 as a staff member for the Network Initiative for Conservation Science (NICS). She received her PhD in earth sciences from the University of Pavia, Italy, in 2004. She became Research Fellow in the university's Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences in 2011 and, as part of her research project, she spent six months at The Met investigating cobalt blue pigments and their provenance issues in 2013. Between 2014 and 2015, Elena held an A. W. Mellon senior fellowship in conservation science at The Met, focusing her research on the archaeometry of early/middle Islamic Sgraffito ware from the archaeological site of Nishapur, Iran. She collaborated with the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, New York University, as scientific consultant. Elena is specialized in archaeometric studies of archaeological and historic artefacts (i.e., stones, ceramics, glass, mortars, stuccoes), and she recently expanded her competences to metalworks and paints. From July 2021, she leads the Network Initiative for Conservation Science (NICS).
Selected Publications:
- Pozzi, Federica, Elena Basso, Adriana Rizzo, Anna Cesaratto, and Thomas J. Tague, Jr. "Evaluation and Optimization of the Potential of a Handheld Raman Spectrometer: In Situ, Noninvasive Materials Characterization in Artworks." In Journal of Raman Spectroscopy 50, no. 6 (2019): 861- 872.
- Luo, Yan Bin, Elena Basso, Henry D. Smith II, and Marco Leona. "Synthetic Arsenic Sulfides in Japanese Prints of the Meiji Period." In Heritage Science 4, no. 17 (2016).
- Carò, Federico, Elena Basso, and Marco Leona. "The Earth Sciences from the Perspective of an Art Museum." In Elements—Earth Sciences for Cultural Heritage 12, no. 1 (2016): 33-38.
- ResearchGate: Publications by Elena Basso