Nanoscale studies of chips of paint have bolstered the notion that Pablo Picasso created some of his masterworks with ordinary house paint. Chemical analysis of the chips may lead to better art conservation techniques.
Historians had suspected that Picasso was one of the first master painters to switch from traditional oil paints to the fast-drying enamel paint normally reserved for household work. Previous analyses were inconclusive because it was not possible to identify individual elements with enough resolution.
In search of a new approach, Volker Rose of the in Illinois teamed up with Francesca Casadio, a conservationist at the Art Institute of Chicago. Using an X-ray nano-probe, a tool for measuring the type and location of chemical elements in a sample, they examined paint from five works.
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Rose found that levels of zinc oxide and iron in the paint closely matched samples of 1930s Ripolin (), a household brand. Picasso鈥檚 use of house paint marks the birth of a new artistic style.
鈥淲e have opened the nanoworld to culture heritage,鈥� says Rose, adding that the probe could also inform studies of ageing and deterioration of artworks.
This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淧icasso鈥檚 brush with house paint鈥�
