2023-05-10 08:33:49
A mysterious and still unexplained phenomenon affects paintings from the 1950s and 1960s by the master of Outrenoir Pierre Soulages. On several works, the paint seems to liquefy and drops appear at the level of the clusters of color present in the center of the paintings.
A phenomenon that challenges scientists and worries the specialist restorer of Pierre Soulages Pauline Helou de la Grandiere. “It’s really sticky. If you look under the UV lamp, you see a little ooze. You see something a little more shiny and small drops that form. And when they are really formed, it can be a flow several centimeters long that comes out of an impasto… Normally a painting, when it ages, it cracks and becomes more and more brittle. And there, it is the quite opposite phenomenon which takes place” she describes to France Info.
To solve this mystery, the restorer is writing a thesis on the phenomenon with the help of a team from the CNRS and the Saint-Etienne Optical Institute. For now, no hypothesis is ignored by researchers. However, a common point might be highlighted: all the works affected were painted between 1959 and 1960 in Paris. No certainty yet but in view of this information, the paint suppliers might be blamed. At present, more than a dozen of the painter’s works are said to be affected by degradation. In order to prevent the phenomenon, scientists are trying to find a solution. But this task seems most tedious since “Each time we find a hypothesis, it must be verified in the works that have the same problem and especially that it not be verified in the works that have no problem.“, explains the researcher.
Today, the suppliers and the drying conditions of the paints are the preferred leads by researchers. Especially since certain works produced by the American counterparts of Pierre Soulages do not seem affected by the phenomenon, with the exception of those produced in Paris during the same period.
To find out more regarding the damage, watch the report below broadcast by The world in collaboration with the CNRS.
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