A multidisciplinary approach to the investigation of “La Caverna dell’Antimateria” (1958–1959) by Pinot Gallizio

Abstract

Background: This study concerns the application of non-invasive and micro-invasive analyses for the study of a contemporary artwork entitled La Caverna dell'Antimateria ("The Cave of Antimatter") which was created by Pinot Gallizio in [1958][1959]. The work represents one of the most significant examples of industrial painting. It consists of a total of 145 meters of painted canvas, designed in order to cover the entire floor plan of the René Drouin gallery in Paris, where it was displayed for the first time. Gallizio wanted to create an environment in which visitors could find themselves immersed in painting, in what he termed as a "work-environment". Non-invasive (Fibre Optic Reflectance Spectroscopy) and micro-invasive analyses (Fourier Transform Infrared and micro-Raman Spectroscopies, Pyrolysis-Gas Chromatography and Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry) were performed on three of the canvases which constitute this work of art in order to obtain information regarding the artistic materials used by Gallizio.Results: Pigments and unconventional materials (such as metal wires, sand) are present in the canvases that form the ceiling. The colours are unevenly distributed on the surface, thus revealing large areas of the white preparation below. In the canvas of the wall, instead, the paint is applied more uniformly and gives a dark colour cast. The analytical results led to the identification of many of the materials used by Gallizio. The pictorial palette consists of both inorganic and organic pigments, while polyvinylacetate, pure or mixed with a siccative oil, was identified as a binder thus confirming what was reported by the artist in his notes. Conclusions:The results of this research provide information concerning the artistic technique used by Pinot Gallizio. The analyses were successfully performed both in situ and on micro-samples in order to characterise the pigments of the coloured area, the ground layer and the organic binders.

Disclosing Jackson Pollock’s palette in Alchemy (1947) by non-invasive spectroscopies

“…Blue 1 has been clearly identified as phthalocyanine blue from both its characteristic UV-Vis-NIR reflectance profile [25,27] and Raman pattern [27] (Fig. 6a, b).…”

Discovering the colours of industrial heritage characterisation of paint coatings from the powerplant at the Levada de Tomar

“…[ 26 ] Toluidine red is introduced in 1905 and until the end of 1970 was one of the most used red pigments in the industrial domain. [ 24,25 ]…”

Synthetic materials in art: a new comprehensive approach for the characterization of multi-material artworks by analytical pyrolysis

“…The chromatographic conditions were: 40 °C for 5 min, 10 °C/min to 310 °C for 20 min. The helium (purity 99.9995%) gas flow was set in constant flow mode at 1.2 ml/min [13,14,[17][18][19]37].…”

“…However, its effectiveness is dramatically reduced when studying samples constituted by a mixture of materials. Pyrolysis coupled with gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy (Py-GC/MS) has proven fundamental in the chemical analysis of synthetic polymers [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] and SOPs [16,24]. Unfortunately, the identification of dyes and pigments is based on the detection of specific pyrolysis products, which are often insufficient to assess the exact molecular formula of the pigment under study.…”