Reviving degraded colors of yellow flowers in 17th century still life paintings with macro- and microscale chemical imaging

Abstract

Over time, artist pigments are prone to degradation, which can decrease the readability of the artwork or notably change the artist’s intention. In this article, the visual implication of secondary degradation products in a degraded yellow rose in a still life painting by A. Mignon is discussed as a case study. A multimodal combination of chemical and optical imaging techniques, including noninvasive macroscopic x-ray powder diffraction (MA-XRPD) and macroscopic x-ray fluorescence imaging, allowed us to gain a 3D understanding of the transformation of the original intended appearance of the rose into its current degraded state. MA-XRPD enabled us to precisely correlate in situ formed products with what is optically visible on the surface and demonstrated that the precipitated lead arsenates and arsenolite from the yellow pigment orpiment and the light-induced fading of an organic yellow lake irreversibly changed the artist’s intentional light-shadow modeling.

How to paint a bouquet: MA‐XRF analysis of 17th century Netherlandish flower still lifes from the Mauritshuis

“…The orpiment has degraded in most cases, but the MA-XRF maps for arsenic (and calcium for degraded yellow lake) are a good way to visualise how the flowers may have once looked. 6 A similar situation occurs in another popular flowerthe marigoldwhere an arsenic-containing pigment was used as well. The fact that many artists used the same pigments to depict certain flowers is not surprising given the handbooks and painter's manuals that existed, such as Chrispijn de Passe's Den blom-hof and Willem Beurs's De groote waereld in 't kleen geschildert, which provide detailed recipes for many flowers.…”

“…Both layers have since degraded, but they are still clearly visible in the MA-XRF maps for arsenic and calcium (Figure 4). 6,7,15,16 It is interesting to note that Seghers' teacher Jan Brueghel the Elder (1568-1625) did not use this method to paint his flower still lifes. 17 In Brueghel's Wan-Li Vase with Flowers (c. 1610-1615), no circles or ovals were present as undermodelling; however, other Antwerp artists contemporary to Seghers did work in a similar way.…”

“…Earlier technical studies on still lifes either predate MA-XRF or have focused on a single painting or several paintings by a single artist. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] Here, a large group of paintings by different artists has been examined, which makes it possible to discern trends and link the results to the art historical context.…”

“…Not only do the resulting elemental maps provide insight into the used pigments but also into the making process and changes by the artist, since the technique can reveal underlying layers and compositions. Earlier technical studies on still lifes either predate MA‐XRF or have focused on a single painting or several paintings by a single artist 1–7 . Here, a large group of paintings by different artists has been examined, which makes it possible to discern trends and link the results to the art historical context.…”

Chemical Mapping of the Degradation of Geranium Lake in Paint Cross Sections by MALDI-MSI

“…Recent examples of these degradation processes are (a) the degradation of cadmium sulfide-based oil paints in The Scream by Edvard Munch, (b) the darkening of cadmium yellow in works by Picasso, (c) the degradation of arsenic containing pigments such as the yellow orpiment and orange-red realgar in still life paintings by Nellius, Mignon, and De Heem, − (d) the discoloration of chrome yellow, bleaching of read lead and red lakes in numerous Van Gogh paintings, − (e) the ultramarine sickness in works by Vermeer and Jan Steen , involving a blackening of the blue paint, or (f) the discoloration of smalt (another blue pigment) in Rembrandt paintings …”