Costanza Cucci

A multidisciplinary approach to the investigation of “La Caverna dell’Antimateria” (1958–1959) by Pinot Gallizio

BackgroundThis study concerns the application of non-invasive and micro-invasive analyses for the study of a contemporary artwork entitled La Caverna dell’Antimateria (“The Cave of Antimatter”) which was created by Pinot Gallizio in 1958–1959. The work represents one of the most significant examples of industrial painting. It consists of a total of 145 meters of painted canvas, designed in order to cover the entire floor plan of the René Drouin gallery in Paris, where it was displayed for the first time. Gallizio wanted to create an environment in which visitors could find themselves immersed in painting, in what he termed as a “work-environment”.Non-invasive (Fibre Optic Reflectance Spectroscopy) and micro-invasive analyses (Fourier Transform Infrared and micro-Raman Spectroscopies, Pyrolysis-Gas Chromatography and Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry) were performed on three of the canvases which constitute this work of art in order to obtain information regarding the artistic materials used by Gallizio.ResultsPigments and unconventional materials (such as metal wires, sand) are present in the canvases that form the ceiling. The colours are unevenly distributed on the surface, thus revealing large areas of the white preparation below. In the canvas of the wall, instead, the paint is applied more uniformly and gives a dark colour cast. The analytical results led to the identification of many of the materials used by Gallizio. The pictorial palette consists of both inorganic and organic pigments, while polyvinylacetate, pure or mixed with a siccative oil, was identified as a binder thus confirming what was reported by the artist in his notes.ConclusionsThe results of this research provide information concerning the artistic technique used by Pinot Gallizio. The analyses were successfully performed both in situ and on micro-samples in order to characterise the pigments of the coloured area, the ground layer and the organic binders.

High-resolution lidar fluorescence spectra for the characterization of phytoplankton

The Laser Induced Fluorescence (LIF) technique has been widely employed for the study and the monitoring of the phytoplanktonic population in the marine environment. Herein a method for the characterization of different phytoplanktonic species by means of a high spectral resolution lidar fluorosensor is presented. The method is based on the detection of the changes in the peak position of the fluorescence of the chlorophyll a that is contained in all phytoplanktonic species. These changes are probably due to the proteic compounds that are present together with the chlorophyll in the thylakoid membranes within the chloroplasts and that vary with the phytoplanktonic species. The main advantage is that this method does not require the presence of characteristic fluorescence features of other light harvesting pigments, such as carotenoids or phycobilines, so that it can be used also with species where only chlorophyll fluorescence is present. Moreover, the light harvesting pigments usually show a weak fluorescence because of the strong resonant coupling between them.

When It Is Not Only About Color: The Importance of Hyperspectral Imaging Applied to the Investigation of Paintings

This paper illustrates some of the developments achieved in the field of non-contact analytical tools for two-dimensional polychrome artworks. It reports significant advantages within the application of hyperspectral imaging for high-quality documentation, accurate color reproduction, study of artists’ materials and techniques, and identification of past conservation treatments. In particular, Durer’s oil painting on panel, Adoration of the Magi (1504), was analyzed with a pushbroom hyperspectral imaging system in the visible-near-infrared range (Vis-NIR, 400–900 nm). The results obtained, including high-resolution color-accurate and false-color images, as well as high-resolution reflectance spectra, are reported and discussed, and the importance of hyperspectral imaging applied to the investigation of paintings is shown.