Abstract
This work highlights the rediscovery of the technique of reverse glass painting by the artists of the “Blaue Reiter” collective in the early 20th-century and focusses particularly on the role of Wassily Kandinsky (1866–1944). Kandinsky created more than 70 reverse paintings on glass and showed several of them in exhibitions together with paintings on canvas and cardboard, implying a coequal importance of these techniques. Four of his early (1911–1914) reverse glass paintings (Auferstehung, Allerheiligen II, Rudern, Apokalyptischer Reiter II) were selected for investigation and their iconography, painting techniques and painting materials were examined. Two paintings were executed on so-called cathedral glass, revealing a “hammered surface”, whereas Kandinsky used a corrugated glass panel for Rudern. A multi-analytical, non-invasive approach [X-ray fluorescence (XRF), diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS), VIS spectroscopy (VIS), Raman spectroscopy] was taken to identify the pigments and classify the binding media. The results reveal a broad palette of materials. Several pigments like lead white, zinc white, strontium yellow, Prussian blue, viridian, cadmium yellow, ultramarine blue, cinnabar and carbon black were found in most of the four paintings. The use of the rare synthetic organic pigments PR60 and PB52 is discussed. In two works of art, cadmium carbonate is associated with cadmium yellow. The identification of aluminium foil along with tin foils in Rudern indicates an early use of this material for reverse glass paintings.
Highlights
In the past, the technique of reverse glass paintings was often considered to be part of the stained glass genre; in contrast to stained glass, reverse glass paintings are viewed in reflected light and their creation does not involve a firing step
The results reveal specific differences in the palettes, but the following observations are valid for all the paintings: (1) zinc white is dominant among the white pigments, whereas lead white appears only in minor amounts and fillers were scarcely detected; (2) Prussian blue and ultramarine blue were mainly used for the blue areas and both were mixed with various reds to obtain violet hues, whereas only Prussian blue was mixed with various yellows for green hues; (3) Kandinsky used strontium yellow and cadmium yellow for yellow areas; (4) violet pigments are absent; here these hues are always mixtures of blues and reds; and (5) viridian mixed with strontium yellow is the most common green in the paintings
Kandinsky used up to four different mixtures for green hues in one painting, but only one mixed green is reported from Allerheiligen II, where he varied the ratio of Prussian blue and strontium yellow to obtain green to bluish green hues (Fig. 5a–c)
Summary
The technique of reverse glass paintings was often considered to be part of the stained glass genre; in contrast to stained glass, reverse glass paintings are viewed in reflected light and their creation does not involve a firing step. This paper will highlight the rediscovery of the technique of reverse glass painting by the artists of the “Blaue Reiter” collective in the early 20th-century and in particular will shed light on the role of Wassily Kandinsky (1866–1944). Four of his early reverse glass paintings The main objectives of this study are: (1) to work out the starting date of modern reverse glass paintings (2) to discuss the importance of this technique for Kandinsky’s oeuvre, (3) to examine the painting technique, (4) to highlight the influence of folkloristic 19th-century reverse glass paintings from Bavaria, and (5) to conduct non-invasive, in situ spectroscopic analyses to identify the colourants and classify the binders
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