TY - CONF A1 - Steger, Simon A1 - Hahn, Oliver A1 - Stege, H. A1 - Oesterle, D. A1 - Bretz, S. A1 - Geiger, G. T1 - Disclosing a new aspect in modern European art: multidisciplinary analysis of modern reverse paintings on glass (1905-1955) N2 - The technique of painting on the reverse side of a glass panel was rediscovered by German artists at the beginning of the 20th century. They appreciated the impressive gloss, luminosity, and depth of colours in this genre. Compared to stained glass, the distinctive properties of this technique are: (1) the paint is applied “cold”, hence, it doesn’t involve a firing step, (2) reverse paintings on glass are framed and always viewed in reflected light and (3) the reverse paint stratigraphy is different from canvas paintings, starting with the front most layer and ending with the backing layer. In 1908 several artists, including Gabriele Münter, Wassily Kandinsky, Heinrich Campendonk, August Macke and Franz Marc of the “Der Blaue Reiter” (the Blue Rider) collective took an interest in this technique and started to share their interest with other colleagues in Europe. Our pioneering project is tracing this transfer of knowledge by a multidisciplinary approach in terms of art history, paint technology and material science. More than 100 artists and >1000 reverse paintings on glass were identified during the project. This high number of objects clearly points out that this technique was by far more important for modern art than previously assumed. In-situ, non-invasive measurements (XRF, Raman, VIS, DRIFTS) on a well-considered selection of 67 paintings reveal the broad palette of colorants ranging from traditional to experimental. Special attention is paid to the impact of synthetic organic pigments (SOP) in artists palette. Demonstrative examples by W. Kandinsky, L. G. Buchheim and F. Jespers are used to discuss analytical challenges and highlights. T2 - Art & Archaeology 2018 CY - Jerusalem, Israel DA - 09.12.2018 KW - Reverse glass painting KW - Spectroscopy KW - In-situ analysis PY - 2018 AN - OPUS4-47042 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Steger, Simon A1 - Stege, Heike A1 - Hahn, Oliver T1 - In-situ spectroscopic analysis of modern reverse paintings on glass (1905-1955) N2 - The technique of painting on the reverse side of a glass panel was rediscovered by German artists at the beginning of the 20th century. In contrast to other paint techniques (e.g. panel and mural painting), the paint layers are applied in reverse succession starting with the foremost paint layer and ending with the primer (backmost layer). The paintings are viewed in reflected light, thus revealing an impressive gloss, luminosity and depth of colour. The artist group “Der Blaue Reiter” (the Blue Rider) around W. Kandinsky and F. Marc got in touch with this technique in the summers of 1908 and 1909 and spread their knowledge in different regions. Our pioneering project is tracing this transfer of knowledge by a multidisciplinary approach in terms of art history, painting technology and material science. More than 100 artists and >1000 reverse paintings on glass (1905-1955) were identified during the project. This numbers clearly point out that this technique was by far more important for modern art than previously assumed. In-situ, non-invasive measurements (XRF, Raman, VIS, DRIFTS) on a well-considered selection of 67 paintings reveal the broad palette of colorants ranging from traditional to experimental materials. Special attention is paid on artists who are strongly connected to Berlin. Demonstrative examples by W. Dexel, G. Muche and L. Hildebrandt are used to discuss analytical challenges and highlights. T2 - Young Researchers in Archaeometry (YRA) 2nd Workshop CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 23.09.2018 KW - Raman spectroscopy KW - DRIFTS KW - Reverse glass painting PY - 2018 AN - OPUS4-46066 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Steger, Simon T1 - Spectroscopic analysis of colourants and binders of Chinese reverse glass paintings tracing a cultural dialogue N2 - Scientific analysis based on spectroscopic methods provide essential information on the composition of colourants and binders in paintings. These results can be set in a historical context and help to confirm art historical interpretations. Proofs of certain pigments can be used for dating purposes and may reveal if the artist used not only local but also imported materials. A pilot study of two Chinese reverse glass paintings from the late 19th (Yingying and Hongniang) and early 20th centuries (The Archer) was performed using a multi-analytical approach including X-ray fluorescence (XRF), diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) and Raman spectroscopy. This approach allowed the identification of the pigments and the classification of the binding media. The results reveal a combined use of traditional Chinese and imported European materials. Several pigments like cinnabar, lead white, orpiment, carbon black and copper-arsenic green (probably emerald green) were found in both paintings; red lead, artificial ultramarine blue, Prussian blue and ochre appear in at least one of the paintings. The proof of limewash (calcite and small amounts of portlandite) as a backing layer in “Yingying and Hongniang” indicates that clamshell white was also used for reverse glass paintings. Drying oil was classified as a binding media in most areas of both paintings. However, the orange background of The Archer yielded prominent bands of both proteinaceous and fatty binder. T2 - China and the West Reconsidering Chinese Reverse Glass Painting CY - Romont, Switzerland DA - 14.02.2020 KW - Reverse glass painting KW - DRIFTS KW - Raman spectroscopy PY - 2020 AN - OPUS4-50445 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -