Two Fragile Picabia's

To begin with, the paintings were subjected to an exhaustive examination – with the naked eye, under the microscope, with special X-ray analysis (MA-XRF) and UV photography. Paint samples were taken. The paint had lifted and almost become detached in some places and the surfaces of the paintings were dirty. It also emerged that a chemical reaction of the paint was causing problems. Here the conservators are cleaning the paintings, consolidating the paint and stabilizing the paint layers, filling gaps and retouching.

Danger de la Force (1947-1950)

This painting has a number of conspicuous cracks in the paint, some of which are very fragile and require consolidation. There are gaps (holes and lost pieces) and visible retouches, particularly in the red, pink and orange areas. Many of the problems have been caused by the poor adhesion of the paint layers. There is evidence of interlayer cleavage, a phenomenon sometimes seen in multiple paint layers.

The technical part

Paintings can be examined at extreme magnifications (up to 7000X) with a digital Hirox microscope and a MOPAS stand. This is possible because the microscope has a built-in system that overcomes the problem of restricted depth of field.

X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) is a method whereby X-rays with extra energy are beamed on to a painting, causing some atoms to become unstable at that point. The electrons jump and when they fall back radiation is released. The reflected radiation (the fluorescence) is measured and this is what provides the information.  Every chemical element reflects radiation with a specific amount of energy, so the different elements in the paint can be identified.

This painting has two signatures: one in the lower left corner and one at the bottom in the middle. Picabia probably worked on the painting in two stages and this may be one of the reasons why there are problems with the paint layers.

About Francis Picabia

Francis Picabia was a versatile avant-garde artist. He was closely linked to the Surrealists, whose works form a core collection in Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen. His work runs the gamut from early Impressionist and Fauvist work and figurative paintings of alluring women to playful, mechanomorphic-inspired abstract portraits of contemporaries and Dadaist works. ‘Egoism’ and ‘Danger de la Force’ are two of his most important late abstract paintings. These late works are characterized by their large dimensions and the thick clots of paint he used.

Timeline