Extinct Manganese Blue Paint is one of many uncontagious ingredients in Jackson Pollock’s 1948 masterpiece Number 1AAccording to the author of the “Paper Published in Journals” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ((PNAS). The canvas nearly nine feet wide is spread with paint that evokes spacious weather and is a midstream tay column in the popular gallery of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Five authors of the paper (from Stanford University, City College of New York City and the MOMA Department of Conservation) used a technique called Raman spectroscopy to study the molecular composition of painting pigments, identifying manganese blue, a synthetic blue that was popular in the 20th century and was previously phased out due to environmental issues related to its manufacturing industry.
Stanford chemist Edward Solomon told The The Associated Press. The artist uses the striking colors he mentioned. It is also used in other applications, including colored cement for swimming pools.
Description on paper PNAS The discovery was refined into interesting terms: “The excited state exchange interaction produces a variety of absorption characteristics that can filter non-blue light. This highlights the ability of molecular inorganic pigments to utilize ligand field effects to create multiple visible absorption characteristics and lattice electrostatic agents to fine-tune the color.”
The discovery is intended to help the conservation efforts around a painting that is expected to be a source of further research for a long time. As MoMA conservation scientist Abed Haddad told Artnet News: “It provides insights into the development of artist practice and contextualizes the work in the work, and understands the manufacturing and use trends of certain colorants over time. As many pigments are used to fluctuate such as strong light, UV radiation, and humidity, this is essential for developing effective display strategies.”
