A new color in the Goya palette - Analysis on a recently rediscovered painting

Abstract

Abstract The recent rediscovery of an allegorical caprice by Francisco Goya, entitled The Black Mass of Zugarramurdi / Allegory of Knowledge according to enlightenment philosophy, was the occasion for an in-depth analysis of the materials used by the Artist for the creation of this small masterpiece. The diagnostic studies carried out on the painting, based on microscopic and spectroscopic analysis, have not only demonstrated the correspondence of the materials detected with those usually used by the artist, but the characterization of the pigments that emerged from the investigations has also highlighted the presence of a new color, a chrome yellow/orange, so far not detected in the studies conducted on the corpus of Goya’s works. This important discovery, in addition to bringing an interesting novelty to the artist's palette, contributes significantly to corroborating the dating of the work to the years of the Peninsular War, as suggested by the art-historical analysis of the painting.