The Russian avant-garde painting palette: Documentary and physicochemical codification of organic colorants

Kampasakali, Elli; Varella, Evangelia A.

doi:10.1016/j.culher.2007.02.005

Cited by 13 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…[28] The painting palette of the Russian avant-garde artists has been covered only to a limited extent. [28,29] These studies showed that both natural and industrial synthetic pigments were used. These last category remains, however, limited to the synthetic inorganic compounds such as zinc white (ZnO), red ochre/Mars red (Fe 2 O 3 ), yellow ochre/Mars yellow (Fe 2 O 3 ), chrome yellow (PbCrO 4 ), zinc yellow (ZnCrO 4 ) and Prussian blue (Fe 4 [Fe(CN) 6 ] 3 · 14-16H 2 O).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although some of the synthetic organic pigments were already discovered at the time of the Russian avant-garde painters (such as some Hansa yellows or naphthol reds), the application of organic pigments seems to have been restricted; only two organic pigments were positively identified in Russian avant-garde paintings, carmine and madder/alizarin lakes. [29] It is no surprise that no synthetic organic pigments were found since certainly in this early era of the synthetic organic pigments the time between discovery and use in artists' paints could easily span a decade or more. The presence of synthetic organic pigments in the six paintings studied could already evoke questions; the fact that some of them were not even discovered during the lifetime of Popova can easily unmask the paintings as modern 20th century copies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Russian avant‐garde… or not? A micro‐Raman spectroscopy study of six paintings attributed to Liubov Popova

Saverwyns

2010

J Raman Spectroscopy

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Russian avant-garde is an artistic trend that flourished in Russia from approximately 1900 to 1935. Many artists of the Russian avant-garde -Malevich, Kandinsky, Rodchenko, Popova -became world-famous figures. With the onset of Perestroika, Russian avant-garde art became very popular in the West. The demand was high, prices zoomed and soon the market was flooded by forgeries. A full authentication study of a work of art, including the opinion of an expert, tracing back the provenance of the object and technical analyses, is a labour-intensive and time-consuming task normally reserved only for expensive masterpieces. Yet they are not the only ones to be forged. Clearly, an approach is necessary that can quickly and at a relatively low cost distinguish a copy from an original. Raman spectroscopy was evaluated as a tool for identifying pigments of chronological inconsistency (pigment anachronisms) by analysing six paintings attributed to Liubov Popova, one of the most prominent figures of the Russian avant-garde. The high spatial resolution, the pronounced sensitivity towards synthetic organic pigments and the negligible contribution of the binding media added to the successful identification of the pigments in tiny paint chips taken from the six paintings. Based on the results of especially the synthetic organic pigments identified, the Terminus post quem date could be given, the earliest point in time when the paintings could have been made. Composite spectra, to which several inorganic and/or synthetic organic pigments contribute, could be unravelled making use of dedicated digital libraries. These anachronism studies allowed us to conclude that none of the works could be attributed to Liubov Popova.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Russian avant‐garde… or not? A micro‐Raman spectroscopy study of six paintings attributed to Liubov Popova

Saverwyns

2010

J Raman Spectroscopy

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“…[ [12][13][14]. The coloration of the red-brown paint is attributable to the presence of alizarin, an organic red dyestuff mainly composed of 1,2-dihydroxyanthraquinone [15], while the medium was identified as an oil. In addition to the usual saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, the presence of ricinoleic acid, formally called 12-hydroxy-9-cis-octadecenoic, was detected by GC-MS analysis (Fig.…”

Section: Instrumental Detailsmentioning

confidence: 99%

20th century artists’ oil paints: The case of the Olii by Lucio Fontana

Izzo

Ferriani²,

Berg

et al. 2014

Journal of Cultural Heritage

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a b s t r a c tDuring the 20th century, many innovative binders have been rapidly introduced to the art world and soon became popular as artists' paints and pictorial media. However, despite the advantages that new synthetic materials presented, oil paints have never been entirely substituted. Indeed, this paper focuses on the results provided by the scientific analysis of a group works from the oeuvre of Lucio Fontana , all of which created between 1960 and 1964 using oil-based media, and aims to illustrate how oils contained in the pictorial media have influenced these works' respective ageing and degradation processes. Despite the apparent coherence in the behaviour of many of Fontana's creations, some artworks revealed discrepancies in terms of the physical and mechanical behaviour of the pictorial films and in alterations resulting from degradation processes. Samples taken from case studies belonging to the Olii and Fine di Dio series were analysed using optical microscopy, X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF), FourierTransform Infrared Spectroscopy in attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR) and Gas ChromatographyMass Spectrometry (GC-MS) in order to study and identify the materials employed by the artist and the products of their degradation processes. These analyses gave unexpected but useful results (such as the presence of non-drying or slow-drying oils in the paint formulations) which not only provided us with new insight into the nature of the constituent materials, but also facilitated the elaboration of correct conservation measures and suitable restoration interventions.

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“…En la última década aparecen los primeros estudios sobre la influencia de los factores ambientales en colorantes naturales [9], estudios relativos al envejecimiento acelerado de colorantes usados en documentos gráficos [10,11], donde se describen las variaciones tonales producidas, envejecimiento de sustancias rojas empleadas como tintes en textiles [12,13], degradación de los carotenoides del azafrán [14], y alteraciones de la molécula de índigo, independientemente de su aplicación [15].…”

Section: Introductionunclassified

Identification of colorant materials after an artificially aged process

López-Montes¹,

Dupont²,

Burgos³

et al. 2016

Opt. Pura Apl.

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ABSTRACT:Chemical composition and physical characteristics of art materials (support, paint layer, protection layer…) depend on different factors such as their origin, the application process, the storage conditions throughout the centuries and the ageing processes. The identification of aged organic dyes can be difficult due to the possible changes that their physical and chemical characteristics could have undergone with time. A comparative study between standard samples and samples aged in a controlled climate chamber under drastic conditions of humidity, temperature and light was carried out. The techniques of identification and evaluation used were High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and UV-visible spectroscopy. Results showed that the cellulosic fibers confer greater resistance to dyes in all cases.Key words: Colour in art, identification, natural dyes, artificial aged process, conservation. RESUMEN:La composición química y las características físicas de los materiales artísticos (soporte, capa pictórica, capa de protección…) dependen de diferentes factores tales como la fuente de origen, el procedimiento utilizado para su aplicación, las condiciones de almacenamiento a través del tiempo y el proceso de envejecimiento. Se destaca, en este punto, la problemática de la identificación de los colorantes orgánicos después de su envejecimiento, ya que, en muchos casos, pueden haberse modificado sus características físicas o químicas. Para la identificación de los colorantes bajo estas condiciones se realizó un estudio comparativo entre las muestras patrón sin envejecer y las muestras artificialmente envejecidas en una cámara climática, sometiéndolas a condiciones drásticas de humedad, temperatura e iluminación. Las técnicas que se emplearon para identificar y evaluar los cambios sufridos por estos colorantes fueron la cromatografía líquida de alta resolución (HPLC) y la espectroscopía UV-visible. Los resultados demostraron que las fibras celulósicas confieren mayor resistencia a los colorantes en todos los casos.Palabras clave: Color en arte, identificación, colorantes naturales, proceso de envejecimiento artificial, conservación.

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The Russian avant-garde painting palette: Documentary and physicochemical codification of organic colorants

Cited by 13 publications

References 31 publications

Russian avant‐garde… or not? A micro‐Raman spectroscopy study of six paintings attributed to Liubov Popova

Russian avant‐garde… or not? A micro‐Raman spectroscopy study of six paintings attributed to Liubov Popova

20th century artists’ oil paints: The case of the Olii by Lucio Fontana

Identification of colorant materials after an artificially aged process

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