Scientific Investigation of Contemporary Pastel Painting by Roberto Sebastian Matta: Characterization of Original Materials through Multispectral Imaging and Spectroscopic Techniques
Author(s)
Date Issued
2023
Type
article
Volume
6
Issue
3
Start Page
2541
End Page
2558
Journal
Abstract
The conservation of contemporary art often offers unique occasions to study complex multi-material artworks and understand their creative process and esteem degradation distress. The recent diagnostic campaign on the surrealist artwork Perché le vittime vincano (For the victims to win) (1974–75) by the artist Roberto Sebastian Matta allowed us to characterize the original painting materials (pastels on spolvero paper), never investigated and completely unknown, in order to support the imminent restoration. Due to the great dimensions of the artwork and its conservative issues, non-invasive multispectral imaging (HMI) analyses were done to investigate the whole painted surface, mapping and differentiating original materials and possible degradation patterns. Imaging data supported analytical characterization analyses run through elemental (portable X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive spectroscopy) and molecular spectroscopy (Fourier transform infrared and portable µ-Raman spectroscopy) to identify the original artist’s materials and to support the restoration operations. The analysis revealed that the painting materials used by Matta are pastels characterized by modern pigments and dyes, such as Cu-phthalocyanines, chrome orange, titanium and zinc whites, compacted with kaolin without any organic binder or with a possible minuscule amount of gum
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Name
Colantonio et al_Matta_Heritage_2023.pdf
Size
5.6 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
5862a769a4f9f63745c58db5db7c4bda
Project(s)
Diagnostics in cultural heritage