Scanning X-ray Fluorescence for the Re-examination of the Composition Underneath Paul Gauguin’s Nevermore in the Courtauld Gallery

ABSTRACT

The composition of a Tahitian village farmyard scene underneath Paul Gauguin’s iconic female nude Nevermore in the Courtauld Gallery has been clarified using scanning XRF. This study reviews previous technical studies of the painting and draws on evidence from the application of new techniques for material characterization. This included re-examination of paint samples from the previous technical studies of Nevermore using micro-Raman mapping that provided information about the artist’s materials and their use for the underlying composition. The conditions for mapping, the methods used for data processing, and interpretation of the results are discussed. The results provide evidence for further study of the genesis of the artist’s work during his last stay in Tahiti.

KEYWORDS:

• Gauguin
• Tahiti
• Courtauld
• scanning XRF
• elemental mapping
• micro-Raman mapping

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Prof. Joris Dik (University of Delft), for the loan of the M6 scanner in 2015. Dr Karen Serres, Senior Curator of Paintings at The Courtauld Gallery, and Graeme Barraclough, Chief Conservator at The Courtauld Gallery are also gratefully acknowledged. Purchase of the scanning XRF instrumentation was made possible by a grant from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Capability for Collections Fund (CapCo). Scanning multispectral infrared reflectography (SMIRR) of the painting in 2014 was carried out with the SMIRR scanner of the Italian National Research Council (CNR)-National Institute of Optics (INO) in a MOLAB campaign of the EU ARTECH Project. The MOLAB  – Mobile laboratory platform is currently operated by the IPERION HS Project.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Declaration of interest statement

The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.