J.CAC VOLUME 45 (2020)
Materials and Techniques of Louis Dulongpré: Selected Oil Portraits from 1800 to 1826
Results of a technical study of twelve oil-on-canvas portraits by Louis Dulongpré are presented. Close visual examination was followed by technical photography and X-radiography. The composition and stratigraphy of the paint and ground layers were determined through the analysis of microscopic samples. Sample analysis was undertaken using a multi-instrumental approach. Primary methods were scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM/EDS), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy, and polarized light microscopy (PLM). In some cases, X-ray diffraction (XRD), gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and/or pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC-MS) were also undertaken. The earliest work in the study is a signed and dated portrait of Isaac Todd from 1800, while the latest paintings studied are portraits of Joseph Papineau, Jean Dessaulles and Antoine Girouard, dating from circa 1825–1826. Overall trends in painting materials and techniques are discussed as well as some notable changes in materials over the chronological period covered by the study group. Connections among some of the paintings in the study group were made by combining information from visual examination with results from scientific analysis.
Download: JCAC45 Helwig et al.