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2019 | OriginalPaper | Chapter

23. A Montparnasse Disease? Severe Manifestations of Metal Soaps in Paintings by Pierre Soulages from Around 1959 to 1960 (Delaminating Oil Paint Layers, Medium Exudates, Discolorations)

Author : Pauline Hélou-de La Grandière

Published in: Metal Soaps in Art

Publisher: Springer International Publishing

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Abstract

Pierre Soulages (b.1919) is the most renowned French painter alive today, well-known for his use of the color black. During his long and prolific career (around 1500 paintings made to date), he has worked with various oil paint techniques and later on acrylics, making continuous use of the color black. This paper deals with paintings from the end of the 1950s, where black paint was layered on and then scraped off with tools to reveal colored underpainting (Fig. 23.1). The creation process of Pierre Soulages has often compelled him to adapt his tools (Ragon 1990; McEnroe 1991; Encrevé 1995) and to innovate in his use of materials. Yet he has always remained interested in understanding the physical phenomena of the drying process, discussing the subject with friends such as Marc Havel, chief engineer at Bourgeois and connoisseur of painting techniques (Havel 1974), or Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics. Paradoxically, in spite of this constant interest, some of his paintings from an important period in the 1950s–1960s are deteriorating. This paper focuses on those paintings, their specific patterns of degradation, and the roles that technique and material composition have played in the process.

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previous chapter Photometric Stereo by UV-Induced Fluorescence to Detect Protrusions on Georgia O’Keeffe’s Paintings
next chapter Seldom Black and White: The Works of Franz Kline
Footnotes
1
Israëlis Bidermanas, alias Izis, photographer (1911–1980).
 
2
A supplier’s stamp is sometimes visible on the reverse of the canvas. Oral exchange with Soulages confirmed his common use of Lefebvre-Foinet’s canvas (2004, 2006, and 2017).
 
3
The stamp of Adam, with a palette, is visible on some stretchers after 1959. Adam began to sell stretchers at the advice of Soulages ((Adam 2010) and oral exchange with Soulages (2017) and Adam (2004)).
 
4
The shop issued an edition of postcards of the workshop with the caption (in English): “Atelier of LUCIEN LEFEBVRE-FOINET, at 19, rue Vavin – PARIS/Where the finest artists’ oils are ground by hand.” Pierre Soulages recalled that artists reported the grounds to be of high quality (verbal exchange 2004).
 
5
“Il touche la toile. ‘–La préparation est. trop grasse’. La toile avait été livrée par le marchand, telle que Soulages l’avait demandée, mais il se met à la dégraisser avec un chiffon et un liquide approprié”.
 
6
Conversation with Pierre Soulages.
 
7
Phone conversation with Lefebvre-Foinet’s descendant.
 
8
During verbal exchange, Pierre Soulages specified that Edouard Adam was the unique supplier for this nice Mars Orange Colour in Paris.
 
9
This may be different for the brown color that could have a stabilizing effect, as noticed by Jaap Boon when looking together at Peinture 11 mars 1960 in Tampere (Finland). Work in progress.
 
10
Up until now, successful adhesives have included Klucel®G in alcohol/water (CTS), Lascaux® Hydro-fund (Kremer), and Aquazol®500 (Kremer). The surfactant used is Triton DF 16, nonionic and biodegradable.
 
11
The canvases are of a closely woven, coarse linen fiber (ca. 15–18 × 20–22 threads per centimeter).
 
12
Translation by Juliette Jacqmin.
 
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Metadata
Title
A Montparnasse Disease? Severe Manifestations of Metal Soaps in Paintings by Pierre Soulages from Around 1959 to 1960 (Delaminating Oil Paint Layers, Medium Exudates, Discolorations)
Author
Pauline Hélou-de La Grandière
Copyright Year
2019
Book
Metal Soaps in Art

Print ISBN: 978-3-319-90616-4

Electronic ISBN: 978-3-319-90617-1

Copyright Year: 2019

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90617-1_23

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