Chromatic values in Pablo Picasso’s early work: a comparison of hues in “Science and Charity” (1897) and its three oil sketches

Authors

  • Marcello Picollo IFAC-CNR
  • Costanza Cucci IFAC-CNR
  • Lorenzo Stefani IFAC-CNR
  • Reyes Jiménez-Garnica Museu Picasso, Barcelona, Spain
  • Laura Fuster-López Universitat Politècnica de Valencia, Instituto Universitario de Restauración del Patrmonio, Valencia, Spain
  • Anna Vila Departament d’Arts, Conservació i Restauració. Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.23738/CCSJ.110204

Keywords:

Pablo Picasso, painting Ciencia y Caridad, conservators’ colour perception, FORS, colorimetric measurements, hyperspectral imaging

Abstract

This paper deals with the chromatic and colorimetric analysis of one of the most representative paintings by Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) of his formative years, “Science and Charity” (Ciencia y Caridad, 1897), and its three oil sketches of the Museu Picasso in Barcelona. Picasso, among the modern painters, turned from a subdued chromatism to brilliantly varied palettes in the course of his career. Measured colorimetric values obtained from reflectance spectra of relevant areas are presented and the evolution of the tones and hues used by Picasso to enhance drama through the scenes represented in the four paintings selected is discussed. This study was carried out in the framework of an inter-institutional research project aimed to gain an insight into the failure mechanisms of modern and contemporary paintings.

Author Biographies

  • Marcello Picollo, IFAC-CNR

    Marcello Picollo - Ph.D., is a researcher at IFAC-CNR. His interests include color measurement, Vis-NIR Hyperspectral Imaging, and spot size UV-Vis-IR spectroscopic investigations of 2D polychrome objects.

  • Costanza Cucci, IFAC-CNR

    Costanza Cucci - got her Physics “Laurea” and Ph.D. in Conservation Science at the Florence University. Currently she is a researcher at IFAC-CNR. Her research focus is on spectroscopic techniques and data-processing algorithms applied to the fields of cultural heritage, environmental monitoring, and safety food controls.

  • Lorenzo Stefani, IFAC-CNR

    Lorenzo Stefani - is a technician in telecommunications at IFAC-CNR. He is in charge of the development of hardware and software for computer-controlled instrumentation for the non-invasive and in situ study of artworks.

  • Reyes Jiménez-Garnica, Museu Picasso, Barcelona, Spain

    Reyes Jiménez-Garnica – got her degree on Conservation & Restoration at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Escuela oficial de Conservación y Restauración de Bienes Culturales. From 2002 she has been the head of the Departamento de Conservación Preventiva y Restauración del Museu Picasso de Barcelona.

  • Laura Fuster-López, Universitat Politècnica de Valencia, Instituto Universitario de Restauración del Patrmonio, Valencia, Spain

    Laura Fuster-López - PhD in Conservation fromUniveristat Politècnica de València (UPV). Currently she is an associate professor at UPV and research focuses on the mechanical properties of cultural materials and the environmental effects on their stability and preservation.

  • Anna Vila, Departament d’Arts, Conservació i Restauració. Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    Anna Vila - was formed as a conservator and she has a Ph.D. in analytical chemistry. Vila has worked in the field of conservation science at The Art Institute of Chicago, theCentre de Recherche et Restauration des Musées de France, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and at the Center for Art Technological Studies in Conservation in Denmark. At present, she works as a conservation technitian at the University of Barcelona.

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Published

2019-12-01

Issue

Vol. 11 No. 02 (2019)

Section

Papers

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The "Cultura e Scienza del Colore - Color Culture and Science" journal is registered at the Court of Milan at n.233 of 24.06.2014.

The journal is an open access journal, free for readers and authors and has joined ROAD, the Directory of Open Access scholarly Resources, since 2014. Articles published in the “Cultura e Scienza del Colore - Color Culture and Science" journal are open access articles, distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The copyright is retained by the author(s).

How to Cite

“Chromatic values in Pablo Picasso’s early work: a comparison of hues in ‘Science and Charity’ (1897) and its three oil sketches” (2019) Cultura e Scienza del Colore - Color Culture and Science, 11(02), pp. 34–42. doi:10.23738/CCSJ.110204.