THM-GCMS and FTIR for the investigation of paints in Picasso's Still Life, Weeping Woman and Nude Woman in a Red Armchair from the Tate Collection, London

Abstract

Thermally assisted hydrolysis and methylation-gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (THM-GCMS) in conjunction with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) have been successfully used for the identification of different binding media, including synthetic resins and natural binders, employed by Picasso on Still Life (1914), Nude Woman in a Red Armchair (1932) and Weeping Woman (1937), works owned by the Tate, London. In particular, the results obtained prove that at certain dates Picasso experimented and likely mixed his oil paints with other compounds, such as animal fats, and at very early date he employed alkyd resins, unusual for the times.