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

Abstract

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.

Recent advances in linear and nonlinear Raman spectroscopy. Part V

“…Saverwyns et al . used Raman spectroscopy for identifying pigments of chronological inconsistency (pigment anachronisms) by analyzing six paintings attributed to Liubov Popova . These anachronism studies allowed them to conclude that none of a series of proposed works could be attributed to Popova.…”

Raman spectroscopy in art and archaeology

“…The fourth significant work in this subject of characterisation of works of art is a contribution by Steven Saverwyns [22] who used micro-Raman spectroscopy to study six paintings attributed to Liubov Popova, one of the most prominent figures of the Russian avant-garde artistic trend. 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.…”

Identification by Raman microscopy of anachronistic pigments on a purported Chagall nude: conservation consequences

“…In order to establish whether this date is correct and whether the work is by Chagall himself, non-destructive pigment analysis has been carried out directly on the surface of the painting using Raman microscopy. 1 The spectra obtained are compared with Raman data published previously on works of art [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12], and the palette so determined is compared with those already established for works by other Russian artists [13][14][15][16].…”