Raman spectroscopyis an essential experimental tool for the analysis of a wide variety of artists' materials in a non-destructive and non-invasive manner. The Raman effect provides a quick and relatively straightforward molecular identification of a material under examination. A Raman spectrum can be considered as a fingerprint that could be used for compound identification when a database of standard spectra is available for comparison purposes.

Raman spectroscopy is based on the inelastic scattering of light, known as Raman scattering. This occurs when light interacts with the vibrational modes of molecules within a sample, providing valuable information about the molecular structure and composition. When the laser light interacts with the molecules in the sample, most of the light is scattered elastically (Rayleigh scattering), meaning it has the same energy (or wavelength) as the incident light. However, a small fraction of the light undergoes inelastic scattering (Raman scattering), where the energy of the scattered light is shifted due to the interaction with the molecular vibrations.