Altered identity: fleeting colors and obscured surfaces in Van Gogh’s Landscapes in Paris, Arles, and Saint-Rémy

Abstract

AbstractThe Thannhauser Collection of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, represents an important survey of European avant-garde art production during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Among the works included in this collection are three paintings by Vincent van Gogh, namely Roadway with Underpass (1887), Landscape with Snow (1888), and Mountains at Saint-Rémy (1889). These examples each exhibit some degree of surface alteration, including fading of specific pigments and, in one case, a non-original, discolored varnish, resulting in obscured color and spatial relationships, as well as being the subject of questions regarding authenticity in the case of the two earlier pictures. Initial examination involved documentation of the brushwork, paint quality, and distribution of colors under magnification. Infrared (IR) and ultraviolet (UV) photography, as well as X-radiography, provided additional information on the surface coatings, the structure of the works, and their supports. Subsequently, an in-depth scientific investigation of the ground and paint layers, with a special focus on fading colors and altered surfaces, was carried out non-invasively with point and macro-X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy, visible reflection spectroscopy, and multi-channel visible spectrum four-light imaging, followed by the analysis of cross sections and dispersed pigment samples by means of optical microscopy, transmission Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopies, and scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDS), as well as high-performance liquid chromatography with photodiode array detection (HPLC-PDA) and pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS). Results indicated that both the brushwork and artist's palette of all three paintings are consistent with data previously reported for other Van Gogh works and with pigments described in the artist’s letters to his friends and his brother Theo. Most notably, evidence of biodeterioration and paint alteration phenomena was found on Roadway with Underpass, while specific pigments such as eosin red—historically sold as geranium lake—were detected in areas of Landscape with Snow and Mountains at Saint-Rémy that display severe fading. In addition to assisting the development of a suitable plan for the conservation of the 1887 painting, this study traces the progression of Van Gogh’s practice over three years critical to his artistic development, discusses the historical context in which each masterpiece was created, identifies the range of materials and techniques used, and addresses authenticity questions by providing a comparison with results of scientific analysis from other similar works.