Joaquin Sorolla's pigment characterisation of the paintings ‘Vision of Spain’ by means of EDXRF portable system

Abstract

In this work, portable energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) spectrometry was employed to the characterisation of the palette used by the Spanish artist Joaquin Sorolla (1863–1923) in the paintings ‘Vision of Spain’, a set of 14 oils on canvas painted by Sorolla between 1911 and 1919 by order of Mr Archer Huntington to decorate the library of the Hispanic Society of America (HSA) in New York. The analyses, sponsored by BANCAJA and provided by the HSA, were carried out in situ, prior to the cleaning and restoration process, while the paintings hanging on the walls of the library of the HSA. The results revealed that the paintings were made over different priming layers containing, respectively, lead white, zinc and barium compounds, lead white mixed with zinc white or lead white mixed with zinc and barium compounds. The EDXRF analyses of coloured zones identified up to 29 inorganic pigments and, in some cases, the probable use of organic pigments. Sorolla used traditional pigments as earth pigments, lead white, vermillion, etc., and modern pigments as cadmium yellow, zinc white, cobalt-based blue, chromium-based green, manganese-based violet, etc. These results provide valuable information about the Sorolla's palette during the last stage of his life. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.