Complex Relationships: A Materials Study of Édouard Vuillard’s Interior, Mother and Sister of the Artist

Abstract

Édouard Vuillard (1868–1949) is well known for his small atmospheric paintings, often portraying his own home and family as the subject matter. Interior, Mother and Sister of the Artist (1893) underwent at least one restoration treatment before being acquired by the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in 1934. The painting was treated again in 1954, but no analysis was carried out to understand the artist’s methods and materials at that time. To better understand the choices of Vuillard in Interior, Mother and Sister of the Artist, a comprehensive suite of imaging and spectroscopic analyses was undertaken, including: XRR, UVF and IRR Photography, XRF, Raman spectroscopy and SERS, and µ-FTIR. Statistical analysis on the XRF data using MCR-ALS further revealed some of the intricacies of Vuillard’s technique and color choices, where a large number of pigments were used in designing this intimate composition, including lead white, zinc white, bone black, ochre, umber, vermilion, Geranium lake, red lead, ultramarine, Prussian blue, chrome yellow, chrome orange, zinc yellow, strontium yellow, cadmium yellow, and a chromium oxide green.

Multidisciplinary Study of the Painting “Hiroshima I” (1958) by Werner Tübke (1929–2004)

“…Photography in the light of visible luminescence (Figure 3a) revealed the heterogeneous structure of the blue sky, and also allowed us to identify luminescent pigments, which in most cases are organic compounds. This fact was later confirmed by the results of X-ray spectral analysis and infrared Fourier spectroscopy [22][23][24].…”

“…Visual inspection of the painting allowed us to assess the state of preservation and technical features of the upper colorful layers [22]. The underlying green layer of painting is viewed through a microscope (Figure 2a,b).…”

“…The underlying image is already overlooked in the photo -a portrait rotated 90 degrees. To clarify the identity of the person depicted, an X-ray was obtained (Figure 4) [22]. The most similar person on the X-ray is Werner Tubke's father.…”

In Situ Study of the Painting “Hiroshima I” (1958) by Werner Tübke (1929–2004)

“…Photography in the UV-induced visible luminescence (Figure 3a) revealed the heterogeneous structure of the blue sky; moreover, it allowed luminescent pigments to be observed, which could be made up of organic as well as some inorganic pigments (for example, cadmium red). This assumption was later confirmed by the results of X-ray elemental analysis and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy [24][25][26].…”

“…A visual inspection of the painting allowed us to assess the state of preservation and technical features of the upper colorful layers [24]. It appeared that the underlying green layer of the painting could be viewed through the microscope (Figure 2a,b).…”