https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-023-04141-8
Regular Article
Unraveling Violeta Parra's painting technique: a first scientific approach to the study of “Justice”
1
Unidad de Ciencias de la Conservación, Centro Nacional de Conservación y Restauración (Chilean National Center for Conservation and Restoration - CNCR), Avenida Recoleta 683, Santiago, Chile
2
Faculty of Arts, Universidad Finis Terrae, Avenida Pedro de Valdivia 1646, Santiago, Chile
3
Unidad de Patrimonio de las Artes Visuales, Centro Nacional de Conservación y Restauración (Chilean National Center for Conservation and Restoration - CNCR), Avenida Recoleta 683, Santiago, Chile
a
valeria.godoy@patrimoniocultural.gob.cl
Received:
3
October
2022
Accepted:
24
May
2023
Published online:
7
June
2023
Violeta Parra's visual art is characterized by the integration of the popular Chilean artist's craftsmanship, her field research, the role of women, poverty and injustice, as well as the use of everyday and modern art materials. Today, fifty years after her passing, Parra's creations are still being debated on the grounds of a solid narrative that supports the current socio-political discussion of the Chilean and Latin American scenario, for which she has earned a fundamental place in the collective memory. “Justice” (1964, 149.5 × 109.5 cm) is an oil painting on burlap canvas from the collection of the “Museo Violeta Parra” (Violeta Parra Museum). For the first time, the recent conservation treatment of the painting has allowed the development of a scientific multi-analytical approach. This research aimed to study the color palette and understand the studio practice used by the artist in the creation of the oil painting. The scientific strategy included visual documentation, canvas characterization, noninvasive portable X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (pXRF) to determine elemental composition, and vibrational spectroscopy analysis to identify pigments. In addition, a stratigraphic study was conducted to understand the painting technique used by Parra. However, due to the rich elemental composition found in the blue areas, consistent with the predominance of this color in the composition of the painting, a chemometric analysis was performed that allowed the identification of five characteristic elements: iron (Fe), cobalt (Co), manganese (Mn), chromium (Cr) and copper (Cu). By using Raman spectrometry and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) analysis, the blue pigments were later identified as ultramarine blue, copper phthalocyanine blue, anthraquinone blue, and manganese blue. In contrast, no specific pigments could be identified to explain the systematic appearance of cobalt and iron. Since commercial production of manganese blue was limited to a narrow time frame, its identification could be further used as a marker for Parra's color palette. Furthermore, the findings of the stratigraphic study showed that the artist made an overall application of a white ground layer, used a block distribution of underlying colors, and suggested the application of a varnish. Results correlated with previous documentation about Parra paying close attention to the facial expressions of the figures in her oil paintings, which is consistent with the application of multiple pictorial layers using a wet-on-wet painting technique. Due to the lack of evidence or studies on the subject, this research represents the first scientific milestone on the studio practice and use of materials in Parra's visual artwork.
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© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Società Italiana di Fisica and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2023. Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.