, an enconchado painting attributed to Miguel González, active in Mexico in the late seventeenth ... more , an enconchado painting attributed to Miguel González, active in Mexico in the late seventeenth century, exemplifies the refinement of the arts produced in Spanish America as a response to the taste for Asian goods during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The painting and its original mother-of-pearl inlaid frame were examined and analyzed using non-invasive and micro-sampling methods, an approach that permitted answering outstanding questions about the stratigraphy, pigments, and the use of shells throughout the painting and frame. The identification of the mother-of-pearl, determined to be from a Pinctada species, was a central focus of this study. In addition to the inlaid shells in the painting and frame, shell fragments were observed mixed with gypsum in the ground preparation of the painting by SEM-EDS. To our knowledge, this is a novel identification of marine shells in the ground of an easel painting. Traces of workmanship in the inlaid shells observed by SEM and optical microscopy are possibly connected to pre-Hispanic methodologies of mother-of-pearl refinement.
La toile de grand format montre sur un fond blanc un déchaînement agressif de touches gestuelles ... more La toile de grand format montre sur un fond blanc un déchaînement agressif de touches gestuelles noires que surmonte un disque cramoisi ceint d'un halo. Gottlieb a déclaré que, compte tenu de la palette limitée, l'expression de la qualité émotionnelle de son travail reposait de manière décisive sur le choix des couleurs. L'efflorescence devenue visible à la surface de la toile en 1981 a lésé l'aspect de rust ; sous forme d'un léger voile blanc, elle a donné au noir l'apparence d'un gris. En 1996, l'effet s'étant accentué, le tableau fut décroché de sa cimaise. Un récent intérêt muséal en vue de l'exposition du tableau a motivé une évaluation de son état et des possibilités de traitement. Le présent article passe en revue les matériaux et techniques du tableau, la composition de l'efflorescence étudiée au moyen d'analyses spectroscopiques et chromatographiques, et évoque diverses considérations relatives à sa restauration. Mots-clés. Gottlieb (Adolph), expressionnisme abstrait, efflorescence, acides gras, savons métalliques, peinture mate, crayon à air chaud, traitement thermique.
A series of medium-and long-chain zinc carboxylates (zinc octanoate, zinc nonanoate, zinc decanoa... more A series of medium-and long-chain zinc carboxylates (zinc octanoate, zinc nonanoate, zinc decanoate, zinc undecanoate, zinc dodecanoate, zinc pivalate, zinc stearate, zinc palmitate, zinc oleate, and zinc azelate) was analyzed by ultra-high-field 67 Zn NMR spectroscopy up to 35.2 T, as well as 13 C NMR and FTIR spectroscopy. We also report the single-crystal X-ray diffraction structures of zinc nonanoate, zinc decanoate, and zinc oleate-the first long-chain carboxylate single-crystals to be reported for zinc. The NMR and X-ray diffraction data suggest that the carboxylates exist in three distinct geometric groups, based on structural and spectroscopic parameters. The ssNMR results presented here present a pathway for future dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP)-NMR-based, minimally invasive method for testing artwork for the presence of zinc carboxylates.
The formation of lead carboxylates (lead soaps) has been identified as the cause of deterioration... more The formation of lead carboxylates (lead soaps) has been identified as the cause of deterioration of hundreds of oil paintings. Soaps form when heavy metal-containing pigments, for example lead white and lead-tin yellow, react with saturated fatty acids in the oil medium. Understanding the mechanism of the reactions requires chemical information, which can be obtained with solid-state 207Pb, 119Sn and 13C NMR spectroscopy. Using the chemical-shift tensors determined by solid-state NMR we can gain structural insights on the coordination environment of the lead carboxylates and identify and quantify components in a paint film mixture. We have examined the spectroscopy of lead-containing pigments, lead carboxylates, and model paint films that were subjected to accelerated aging. We have also begun to investigate the dynamics of soap formation by 13C NMR spectroscopy. The NMR methods applied to the model paint systems could also be applied to other lead-containing materials
Additional file 1: Figure S1. EDS spectra acquired, respectively, in the areas indicated by the l... more Additional file 1: Figure S1. EDS spectra acquired, respectively, in the areas indicated by the letters A and B in the top image of Fig. 3 (main text). Figure S2. Photomicrograph of Graff C-stained sample removed from the paper substrate, in the edge of the folio, showing a mixture of mostly bast with some cotton fibers, taken with an Olympus BX41 Polarized Light Microscope (PLM) at a 200× magnification. Table S1. Diffraction data for the integrated pattern of Fig. 6. Table S2. Diffraction data for the integrated pattern of Fig. 7.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2019
Significance Daguerreotypes, among the earliest photographs of the 19th century, owe their incred... more Significance Daguerreotypes, among the earliest photographs of the 19th century, owe their incredible optical properties, image resolution, and dynamic range to light scattering produced by metallic nanostructures on their surface. Here we provide a detailed experimental and theoretical analysis on how the material composition, morphology, and dimensions of these nanostructures determine the characteristics of the daguerreotype image. Our results provide a scientific understanding of the unique optical effects of these artworks and therefore, in addition to providing valuable insight for developing preservation protocols, can inspire additional approaches for color printing, where nanostructures are directly manufactured by light.
The exhibition Matisse: The Red Studio allowed for an in-depth study of The Red Studio (1911) and... more The exhibition Matisse: The Red Studio allowed for an in-depth study of The Red Studio (1911) and six of the works featured in the painting by Henri Matisse (1869–1954) of his studio in Issy-les-Moulineaux near Paris. The grouping includes three paintings from the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst (Le Luxe II, 1907, Nude with White Scarf, c. 1909, and Bathers, c. 1909), one painting from the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art (Young Sailor II, 1906), a painting from a private collection (Cyclamen, c. 1911), and a glazed and hand-painted earthenware plate from the collection of the Museum of Modern Art (Untitled (Female Nude), 1907). The six paintings were investigated using technical (X-radiography, ultraviolet-induced fluorescence, infrared reflectography) and chemical imaging (MA-XRF) and, in some cases, spectroscopic techniques (FORS, SEM–EDS, Raman, SERS, and μ-FTIR), to better elucidate Matisse’s materials and working techniques for this selection of painting...
The four Spanish limestone tombs of Urgell at the Cloisters in New York were once believed to hav... more The four Spanish limestone tombs of Urgell at the Cloisters in New York were once believed to have been commissioned in 1314 by Ermengol X, Count of Urgell, for a memorial chapel at the monastery of Las Avellanas in northern Spain. Historical evidence suggests instead that the tombs were not at the monastery until the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and may be assemblages of fourteenth-century and later tomb sculpture brought to the monastery from other sites. Results of a materials study support a fourteenth-century origin and a common local source for all elements of the tombs, and provide evidence that the four tombs in their current configurations were in place together at the end of the seventeenth century. However, they also strongly suggest a much earlier, though not necessarily original, relationship among some of the various elements, particularly in the large composed tomb identified as that of Ermengol VII.
I SUPPOSE IT IS THE BEST THING I HAVE DONE," John Singer Sargent wrote in 1916 to his longti... more I SUPPOSE IT IS THE BEST THING I HAVE DONE," John Singer Sargent wrote in 1916 to his longtime friend Edward Robinson, director of the Metro politan Museum, offering to sell his portrait of Madame Pierre Gautreau (Figure 1, Colorplate 15) to the Museum for what was, at the time, a very modest price.1 Despite his expatriate status, Sargent consid ered himself fundamentally American and wished that his most significant work be displayed permanently in America's preeminent museum. The painting had crossed the Atlantic for the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, and the moment seemed right for it to remain in the United States. Although many years had passed since the scandal erupted surrounding its debut, Sargent stipu lated that the sitter remain anonymous. He wrote to Robinson, "By the way, I should prefer, on account of the row I had with the lady years ago, that the picture should not be called by her name, at any rate for the present, and that her name should not be communi cated to the newspapers."2 The director accommo dated Sargent, and the painting was called Portrait of Madame X, a title similar to one Sargent had chosen when he first exhibited the picture at the Salon of 1884, Portrait of Madame ***.3 Sargent had approached Madame Gautreau?the American-born Virginie Avengno married to the Parisian banker Pierre Gautreau?indirectly through his close friend Ben Castillo. In requesting to paint her portrait, he confided to Castillo, a cousin of the young woman, that he had "reason to think she would allow it and is waiting for someone to propose this homage to her beauty." No doubt attracted by her exotic or somewhat bizarre appearance, he wrote to his childhood friend Vernon Lee, "Do you object to
, an enconchado painting attributed to Miguel González, active in Mexico in the late seventeenth ... more , an enconchado painting attributed to Miguel González, active in Mexico in the late seventeenth century, exemplifies the refinement of the arts produced in Spanish America as a response to the taste for Asian goods during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The painting and its original mother-of-pearl inlaid frame were examined and analyzed using non-invasive and micro-sampling methods, an approach that permitted answering outstanding questions about the stratigraphy, pigments, and the use of shells throughout the painting and frame. The identification of the mother-of-pearl, determined to be from a Pinctada species, was a central focus of this study. In addition to the inlaid shells in the painting and frame, shell fragments were observed mixed with gypsum in the ground preparation of the painting by SEM-EDS. To our knowledge, this is a novel identification of marine shells in the ground of an easel painting. Traces of workmanship in the inlaid shells observed by SEM and optical microscopy are possibly connected to pre-Hispanic methodologies of mother-of-pearl refinement.
La toile de grand format montre sur un fond blanc un déchaînement agressif de touches gestuelles ... more La toile de grand format montre sur un fond blanc un déchaînement agressif de touches gestuelles noires que surmonte un disque cramoisi ceint d'un halo. Gottlieb a déclaré que, compte tenu de la palette limitée, l'expression de la qualité émotionnelle de son travail reposait de manière décisive sur le choix des couleurs. L'efflorescence devenue visible à la surface de la toile en 1981 a lésé l'aspect de rust ; sous forme d'un léger voile blanc, elle a donné au noir l'apparence d'un gris. En 1996, l'effet s'étant accentué, le tableau fut décroché de sa cimaise. Un récent intérêt muséal en vue de l'exposition du tableau a motivé une évaluation de son état et des possibilités de traitement. Le présent article passe en revue les matériaux et techniques du tableau, la composition de l'efflorescence étudiée au moyen d'analyses spectroscopiques et chromatographiques, et évoque diverses considérations relatives à sa restauration. Mots-clés. Gottlieb (Adolph), expressionnisme abstrait, efflorescence, acides gras, savons métalliques, peinture mate, crayon à air chaud, traitement thermique.
A series of medium-and long-chain zinc carboxylates (zinc octanoate, zinc nonanoate, zinc decanoa... more A series of medium-and long-chain zinc carboxylates (zinc octanoate, zinc nonanoate, zinc decanoate, zinc undecanoate, zinc dodecanoate, zinc pivalate, zinc stearate, zinc palmitate, zinc oleate, and zinc azelate) was analyzed by ultra-high-field 67 Zn NMR spectroscopy up to 35.2 T, as well as 13 C NMR and FTIR spectroscopy. We also report the single-crystal X-ray diffraction structures of zinc nonanoate, zinc decanoate, and zinc oleate-the first long-chain carboxylate single-crystals to be reported for zinc. The NMR and X-ray diffraction data suggest that the carboxylates exist in three distinct geometric groups, based on structural and spectroscopic parameters. The ssNMR results presented here present a pathway for future dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP)-NMR-based, minimally invasive method for testing artwork for the presence of zinc carboxylates.
The formation of lead carboxylates (lead soaps) has been identified as the cause of deterioration... more The formation of lead carboxylates (lead soaps) has been identified as the cause of deterioration of hundreds of oil paintings. Soaps form when heavy metal-containing pigments, for example lead white and lead-tin yellow, react with saturated fatty acids in the oil medium. Understanding the mechanism of the reactions requires chemical information, which can be obtained with solid-state 207Pb, 119Sn and 13C NMR spectroscopy. Using the chemical-shift tensors determined by solid-state NMR we can gain structural insights on the coordination environment of the lead carboxylates and identify and quantify components in a paint film mixture. We have examined the spectroscopy of lead-containing pigments, lead carboxylates, and model paint films that were subjected to accelerated aging. We have also begun to investigate the dynamics of soap formation by 13C NMR spectroscopy. The NMR methods applied to the model paint systems could also be applied to other lead-containing materials
Additional file 1: Figure S1. EDS spectra acquired, respectively, in the areas indicated by the l... more Additional file 1: Figure S1. EDS spectra acquired, respectively, in the areas indicated by the letters A and B in the top image of Fig. 3 (main text). Figure S2. Photomicrograph of Graff C-stained sample removed from the paper substrate, in the edge of the folio, showing a mixture of mostly bast with some cotton fibers, taken with an Olympus BX41 Polarized Light Microscope (PLM) at a 200× magnification. Table S1. Diffraction data for the integrated pattern of Fig. 6. Table S2. Diffraction data for the integrated pattern of Fig. 7.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2019
Significance Daguerreotypes, among the earliest photographs of the 19th century, owe their incred... more Significance Daguerreotypes, among the earliest photographs of the 19th century, owe their incredible optical properties, image resolution, and dynamic range to light scattering produced by metallic nanostructures on their surface. Here we provide a detailed experimental and theoretical analysis on how the material composition, morphology, and dimensions of these nanostructures determine the characteristics of the daguerreotype image. Our results provide a scientific understanding of the unique optical effects of these artworks and therefore, in addition to providing valuable insight for developing preservation protocols, can inspire additional approaches for color printing, where nanostructures are directly manufactured by light.
The exhibition Matisse: The Red Studio allowed for an in-depth study of The Red Studio (1911) and... more The exhibition Matisse: The Red Studio allowed for an in-depth study of The Red Studio (1911) and six of the works featured in the painting by Henri Matisse (1869–1954) of his studio in Issy-les-Moulineaux near Paris. The grouping includes three paintings from the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst (Le Luxe II, 1907, Nude with White Scarf, c. 1909, and Bathers, c. 1909), one painting from the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art (Young Sailor II, 1906), a painting from a private collection (Cyclamen, c. 1911), and a glazed and hand-painted earthenware plate from the collection of the Museum of Modern Art (Untitled (Female Nude), 1907). The six paintings were investigated using technical (X-radiography, ultraviolet-induced fluorescence, infrared reflectography) and chemical imaging (MA-XRF) and, in some cases, spectroscopic techniques (FORS, SEM–EDS, Raman, SERS, and μ-FTIR), to better elucidate Matisse’s materials and working techniques for this selection of painting...
The four Spanish limestone tombs of Urgell at the Cloisters in New York were once believed to hav... more The four Spanish limestone tombs of Urgell at the Cloisters in New York were once believed to have been commissioned in 1314 by Ermengol X, Count of Urgell, for a memorial chapel at the monastery of Las Avellanas in northern Spain. Historical evidence suggests instead that the tombs were not at the monastery until the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and may be assemblages of fourteenth-century and later tomb sculpture brought to the monastery from other sites. Results of a materials study support a fourteenth-century origin and a common local source for all elements of the tombs, and provide evidence that the four tombs in their current configurations were in place together at the end of the seventeenth century. However, they also strongly suggest a much earlier, though not necessarily original, relationship among some of the various elements, particularly in the large composed tomb identified as that of Ermengol VII.
I SUPPOSE IT IS THE BEST THING I HAVE DONE," John Singer Sargent wrote in 1916 to his longti... more I SUPPOSE IT IS THE BEST THING I HAVE DONE," John Singer Sargent wrote in 1916 to his longtime friend Edward Robinson, director of the Metro politan Museum, offering to sell his portrait of Madame Pierre Gautreau (Figure 1, Colorplate 15) to the Museum for what was, at the time, a very modest price.1 Despite his expatriate status, Sargent consid ered himself fundamentally American and wished that his most significant work be displayed permanently in America's preeminent museum. The painting had crossed the Atlantic for the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, and the moment seemed right for it to remain in the United States. Although many years had passed since the scandal erupted surrounding its debut, Sargent stipu lated that the sitter remain anonymous. He wrote to Robinson, "By the way, I should prefer, on account of the row I had with the lady years ago, that the picture should not be called by her name, at any rate for the present, and that her name should not be communi cated to the newspapers."2 The director accommo dated Sargent, and the painting was called Portrait of Madame X, a title similar to one Sargent had chosen when he first exhibited the picture at the Salon of 1884, Portrait of Madame ***.3 Sargent had approached Madame Gautreau?the American-born Virginie Avengno married to the Parisian banker Pierre Gautreau?indirectly through his close friend Ben Castillo. In requesting to paint her portrait, he confided to Castillo, a cousin of the young woman, that he had "reason to think she would allow it and is waiting for someone to propose this homage to her beauty." No doubt attracted by her exotic or somewhat bizarre appearance, he wrote to his childhood friend Vernon Lee, "Do you object to
Metropolitan Museum of Art Journal (available free at www.metmuseum.org/art/metpublications/MonahanDuvernoisCenteno_Metropolitan_Museum_Journal_v_52_2017), 2017
This technical art history study—a combination of visual, scientific, and archival analyses rarel... more This technical art history study—a combination of visual, scientific, and archival analyses rarely accorded the work of self-taught artists--argues that The Lady of the Lake indexes Pippin’s mounting ambition in the late 1930s, when he engaged and experimented with aesthetic conventions informing the art alongside which his own was increasingly exhibited. The resulting study opens the discursive horizon for The Lady of the Lake in particular and for Pippin’s sometimes recondite imagery in general; challenges the primacy of texts, including his titles and oft-quoted statements, in interpretations of his art; and complicates assumptions about the relation of art’s margin and mainstream for him and his peers.
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Papers by Silvia Centeno
the tombs were not at the monastery until the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and may be assemblages of fourteenth-century and later tomb sculpture brought to the monastery from other sites. Results of a materials study support a fourteenth-century origin and a common local source
for all elements of the tombs, and provide evidence that the four tombs in their current configurations were in place together at the end of the seventeenth century. However, they also strongly suggest a much earlier, though not necessarily original, relationship among some of the various elements, particularly in the large composed tomb identified as that of Ermengol VII.
the tombs were not at the monastery until the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and may be assemblages of fourteenth-century and later tomb sculpture brought to the monastery from other sites. Results of a materials study support a fourteenth-century origin and a common local source
for all elements of the tombs, and provide evidence that the four tombs in their current configurations were in place together at the end of the seventeenth century. However, they also strongly suggest a much earlier, though not necessarily original, relationship among some of the various elements, particularly in the large composed tomb identified as that of Ermengol VII.