Abstract
A collection of eight paintings by painter Alexis Mérodack-Jeaneau (1873–1919) was studied for the retrospective exhibition scheduled for 2019 at the Angers musée des Beaux-Arts. Between 1910 and 1913 Mérodack-Jeaneau adopted a novel technique whereby he squeezed paint directly from the tube onto the pre-primed canvas, leaving the surface unvarnished. The paintings were examined and compared to better understand the painter’s palette, tools and work habits. The impastos are deteriorated in a particular manner: loss of adhesion, underbinding, water-sensitivity, deposits and efflorescence, protrusions. Results of scientific analysis (ESEM-EDS, XRF, GC-MS, FTIR) provided evidence to support hypotheses about the processes involved in the alteration phenomena. Crystallization of highly soluble sodium sulfate in ultramarine paint may be one factor contributing to its water-sensitivity. A conservation methodology and strategy was designed to treat the paintings.
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Notes
- 1.
The project is the continuation of a master thesis in paintings conservation at the Institut national du patrimoine focusing on La Créole au perroquet [13].
- 2.
See [18], pp. 9–33.
- 3.
(Personal translation): “Saisir la vie, noter le mouvement, rendre l’atmosphère. J’essaie de faire des grands tableaux comme mes croquis rapides, avec les simples touches nécessaires de couleur” [20].
- 4.
Indeed, close stylistic links between Mérodack-Jeaneau and van Dongen can be drawn especially when looking at Femme au fond blanc at the Art Institute of Chicago (1910–1914) by van Dongen.
- 5.
This ensemble was separated at an unknown date. The three paintings in the museum’s collection have been called a “triptych” according to their similar formats, but as a painting with a similar subject and format exists in a private collection, this denomination could be incorrect.
- 6.
This type of marks is often observed on the reverse of oil-bound pre-primed canvases of more recent paintings by Pierre Soulages and Georges Mathieu [15] and can be related to a couche grasse added in the oily ground, or to the glue from the sizing (personal discussion with Leslie Carlyle).
- 7.
Generally speaking all the elements of the painting except the background are realized with this technique.
- 8.
Van Gogh appears to be the first artist to use the tube to apply paint ([23]: 30) followed by Kandinsky at the beginning of his career, notably on Landschaft bei Regensburg, (1903) as discussed with Iris Schaefer (Wallraf-Richartz-Museum). Vlaminck discusses the use of the tube to paint in his writings [6, 12] and it was also observed on some of his paintings.
- 9.
Patented in 1841 by the American John G. Rand, the tin-iron-tin laminate collapsible tube was invented precisely to contain paint.
- 10.
- 11.
Authors mention additives since the middle of the nineteenth century ([7]: 194).
- 12.
“The commercial product forms large, transparent crystals of the monoclinic system, with 55–76% of water of crystallization, readily efflorescing in the air” ([31]: 317).
- 13.
High azelaic acid content was also noted (Mirabaud and Genachte-Le Bail, Inp, report Inp-DR.16–11; [2]).
- 14.
Crystal formation within the paint creates stresses that can alter the binding network of the paint.
- 15.
- 16.
It might also depend on the grade of the ultramarine ([31]: 178).
- 17.
FTIR analysis on varnish samples identified polyvinyl-acetate resin internally plasticized with VeoVA (Nathalie Balcar, C2RMF, reports n°39,018 and n°39,019).
- 18.
Three out of the eight paintings are originally unvarnished.
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Acknowledgments
This project was realized with the scientific input of Nathalie Balcar (C2RMF), conservation support of Gilles Barabant (C2RMF), and the confidence of Christine Besson (musée des Beaux-Arts, Angers).
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Appendix: Experimental Details for Analysis
Appendix: Experimental Details for Analysis
GC-MS performed by Sigrid Mirabaud, Inp, was used for the separation and identification of organic components in the paint layers of samples from La Créole au perroquet. A trace GC Ultra gas chromatograph (Thermo Scientific) and an ISQ Single quadrupole Mass Spectrometer (Thermo Scientific) were used with the following specifications: non-polar fused silica capillary column (Rxi 5Sil MS, 20 m, 0.18 mm di, 0.18 mm df Restek); carrier gas H2 at 1.5 ml/min; temperature program: 50 °C for 1 min, ramp of 20 °C/min until 320 °C, hold 320 °C for 5 min; split injector set at 290 °C with a total flow of 50 mL/min and a split ratio of 15 (except sample P03 which was injected in the splitless mode); automated injection; interface temperature set at 320 °C; electronic impact ionisation mode at 70 eV, ion source temperature 220 °C. The samples required a derivatisation step prior to injection, which included mixing fragments of the samples with 50–100 μL of Meth-Prep II (Grace Alltech) and heating at 60 °C for 30 min prior to injection. This transmethylation is needed to hydrolyse the glyceride and terpenoid components of the binder, and convert the polar groups (acids and alcohols) into the corresponding methyl esters and ethers.
ESEM-EDS performed by [A] Alan Phenix, GCI, and [B] Nathalie Balcar, C2RMF
-
[A]
samples from La Créole au perroquet: cross-sections by embedded in acrylic resin Technovit 2000 LC, first examined microscopically using a Leica DM4000 microscope, and analyzed by Environmental Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (ESEM-EDS) using a Philips XL30 ESED-FEG instrument with Oxford INCA EDS analysis software. ESEM-EDS conditions: H20 mode, 10 mm working distance, 20 kV accelerating voltage, and 1.0 torr water vapour pressure in the chamber.
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[B]
samples from La Montreuse de singe and L’Écuyère verte: the identification of pigments and degradation products were carried out on samples embedded in polyester resin, after a wet polishing and a carbon coating. The instrument used for elemental analyses was a scanning electron microscopy (SEM, Philips XL30CP) with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS analysis, SDD Oxford S-Max 50); acceleration voltage of 15 kV, software AZTEC.
XRF performed by [A] Anne Genachte-Le Bail, Inp, and [B] Eric Laval, C2RMF
-
[A]
In situ analysis on La Créole au perroquet with portable x-ray fluorescence spectrometer Bruker ARTAX800 (excitation source: molybdenum, voltage: 50 kV, intensity 600 μA, duration of analysis: 100 s, atmosphere: helium (1 L/min)), number of analysed spots: 21.
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[B]
In situ analysis on L’Écuyère verte [1] and La Montreuse de singe [2] with portable x-ray spectrometer Elio from XGLab (excitation source: transmission X-Ray generator, 5–200 μA, 10–40 kV, Rh anode (Ag, Au, Mo, W)), number of analysed spots: 14 [1], 16 [2].
FTIR spectroscopy performed by Nathalie Balcar, C2RMF
Samples of varnish from La Montreuse de singe and L’Écuyère verte were analyzed with a handheld AGILENT FTIR Exoscan 4100 spectrometer with ATR Diamond (4000-and 650 cm−1 range at a resolution with 8 cm−1 and by summing 32 scans), MicroLab software.
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Graczyk, A., Hélou-de La Grandière, P., Phenix, A., Mirabaud, S. (2019). Oil Paint Straight from the Tube: Paint-Specific Deterioration in Works by Alexis Mérodack-Jeaneau, 1910–1913. In: van den Berg, K., et al. Conservation of Modern Oil Paintings. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19254-9_17
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