DIAGNOSTIC EXAMINATION
Pope Pastel and collage on paper
POPE _____________________________________________________________________________
TECHNICAL PASTEL SIZE
REPORT
AND
150
X
ATTACHMENT
CONCERNING
COLLAGE
100
ON
CM
PAPER
POPE
DOCUMENTS
IN OF
EXAMINATION.
Diagnostic examination
Pag. 1
POPE _____________________________________________________________________________
INTRODUCTION: The painting was examined with the following methods: _ Ultraviolet fluorescence _ Infrared reflectography using reflected light _ Infrared reflectography using transmitted light _ Photographic shooting with raking light _ Chemical analysis of the colour in X fluorescence
This examination intends to characterize the techniques of execution, the materials used and the preservation condition of the artwork (Picture 1).
Diagnostic examination
Pag. 2
POPE _____________________________________________________________________________
VISIBLE LIGHT
Picture 1– general view of the artwork
Diagnostic examination
Pag. 3
POPE _____________________________________________________________________________
Shooting with raking light points out the structure of the support, made of six glued paper items. For the base, the artist used a sheet of wrapping paper as big as the entire work, i.e. 150 x 100 cm. On the paper base, two sheets in Bristol board, size 70 x 100, are horizontally glued. On the upper part, the board is purple, while at the bottom it is blue. On the purple board, another sheet is vertically glued, size 50 x 65 cm, orange colour. Finally, a white sheet of wrapping paper is cut in the shape of a human figure while another sheet of drawing paper is cut in the shape of the head (Picture 2).
PHOTOGRAPHY WITH RAKING LIGHT
Picture 2 – general view of the artwork
Diagnostic examination
Pag. 4
POPE _____________________________________________________________________________
Sheets differ a lot in terms of roughness and thickness: Wrapping paper is smooth and thin, while paperboards and drawing paper are thick and rough. In the lower area, on the left, some glue residues may be observed close to the painted shape. Glue is transparent and rather liquid. An excess of liquid glue caused paper curling, especially visible in the shape of the body, that was made by a sheet of limited thickness (Picture 3).
PHOTOGRAPHY WITH RAKING LIGHT
Picture 3 – paper crumpling
Diagnostic examination
Pag. 5
POPE _____________________________________________________________________________
Ultraviolet fluorescence while shooting highlighted the brightness of the paper on which the human figure was painted. Most of the pastel lines are easily distinguishable while, to the naked eye, they have sometimes homogenous backgrounds. The colour response to ultraviolet varies according to their chemical composition. Two shades of pink may be identified in the hands, which take a blue and purple colour, respectively. Three yellow shades may also be found, going from green to yellow and to orange-yellow. Of the two shades of red, the lightest one turns into a brown, while the darkest one remains red. With the ultraviolet examination, the purple colour turns into violet. On the other hand, all blue, violet, green and black colours maintain a similar coloration. (Picture 4a - Picture 4b)
VISIBLE LIGHT
Picture 4a – detail of theartwork
ULTRAVIOLET FLUORESCENCE
Picture 4b – detail of the artwork
Diagnostic examination
Pag. 6
POPE _____________________________________________________________________________
Some dotted lines can be spotted on the face, in particular on the cheekbone and on the nose which, even if almost invisible to the naked eye, take a darker shade. It could be a white pastel used to shade colours (picture 5a - picture 5b). The glue stain detected on the lower part of the work is pretty visible as well as the other one next to the face, always on the left side.
VISIBLE LIGHT
Picture 5a – face detail
ULTRAVIOLET FLUORESCENCE
Picture 5b – dotted lines on the cheekbone
Diagnostic examination
Pag. 7
POPE _____________________________________________________________________________
The infrared reflectography using transmitted light visually isolates all the dark lines defining the face. Lines are particularly visible since they contain charcoal material that is significantly opaque under the infrared light. The regular geometrical pattern of the black circles around the eyes is probably due to the use of a circular template of the technical drawing. Apart from the wide and dark lines visible to the naked eye, one can identify other lines, thinner and similar to a preparatory drawing. Such thinner lines are completely covered by colour (Picture 6a - Picture 6b)
VISIBLE LIGHT
Picture 6a – face detail
Diagnostic examination
Pag. 8
POPE _____________________________________________________________________________
TRANSMITTED INFRARED REFLECTOGRAPHY
Picture 6b - lines of the preparatory drawing
The reflectography with reflected light shows again the black lines of the face isolated from the painting scenario. All pastel lines on the vestment and the pink shade of the hands are, on the other hand, almost transparent to infrared radiation. Diagnostic examination
Pag. 9
POPE _____________________________________________________________________________
The dark stains in the lower part of the paper may be generated by prints left on the face painting material. Indeed, collages are usually kept folded onto itself. Its signature is perfectly integrated in the artwork on all wavelengths used during the examination. To exclude any difference between the painting material used for the signature and the same blue shade used in the painting, a comparison test was performed among the pigments at chemical and inorganic level. The material comparison confirmed the compatibility detected in multispectral analyses, as it is clear from the overlap of XRF spectra (Picture 7).
EXAMINATION WITH X FLUORESCENCE (XRF)
Picture 7 Comparison between the XRF spectra of samples 3 (in black) and 4 (in red). The two diagrams are similar.
The common marks are Silica (Si) and Titanium (Ti). There are also small quantities of Iron (Fe) and Silica (Si). We also find marks of Sulphur (S) and Potassium (K). Argon (Ar) is detected because it is present in the air and therefore it is not referred to the painting material. According to such data, we have titanium white in both samples. Possible presence of a blue pigment created by the combination of an organic dye fixed on Calcium Carbonate. There may also be some artificial ultramarine blue as well as the Prussian blue. The ultramarine, which is difficult to spot with this analytical technique, can be justified by the presence of sulphur (it contains remarkable quantities of sodium sulphide) while the Prussian blue can be related to iron. Diagnostic examination
Pag. 10
POPE _____________________________________________________________________________
CONCLUSIONS The artwork is made of six glued paper items. The types of paper used include white wrapping paper, bristol boards and drawing paper. Sheets were probably painted before gluing them, since there is no colour fringing close to the edges of support sheets. Moreover, cutting removes portions of painted paper in some areas. Infrared reflectography identified thin lines, invisible to the naked eye since covered by colour, that may consist of a preparatory drawing. From a technical point of view, the body and the vestment are drawn in a very simple way, starting from blocks out subsequently filled with dotted colour backgrounds, especially in horizontal and to the right. Face, on the other hand, required a more complex and thorough creation, starting from the lines detected with the infrared and developed by overlapping curves and dotted lines. A dotted line on the cheekbone that may be exclusively seen with ultraviolet light can be associated to the use of a light pastel to shade colours. Generally speaking, the examination of the painting technique highlights a strong immediacy and rapidity of execution that can be identified as follows: First, with regard to the edges of the painted shape, often cut in an imprecise way and glued by staining all support sheets. Moreover, colours are firmly spread on the paper, sometimes applied with a strong pressure, especially on the face, thus becoming thick and lumpy. Its signature is perfectly integrated in the artwork under a chemical view point and in response to multispectral analyses. As for preservation, aside the print left by the painting material on the lower part of the face, due to its folding, the artwork is in excellent preservation conditions.
Campogalliano, 6 giugno 2016 Davide Bussolari
Diagnostic examination
Pag. 11