DICTATED BY MEDIA: CONSERVATION AND TECHNICAL ANALYSIS OF A

1938 JOAN MIRÓ CANVAS PAINTING

Elma O’Donoghue, Ashley M. Johnson, Joy Mazurek, Frank Preusser, Michael Schilling and
Marc S. Walton

ABSTRACT and acrylics [3–4]. Beginning in the 1920s, Miró, Picasso and
Groupe de Personnages (1938), a canvas painting created in Paris during their contemporaries were among the first to incorporate these
the Spanish Civil War, required stabilization prior to exhibition. Upon
examination, flaking paint and tiny spherical protrusions within those
new types of materials, mass-produced for the car and house
paint layers were identified. A project was initiated to determine materials paint industries, in works of art.
that could have contributed to the current state of this painting. Because
Groupe de Personnages had not undergone harsh conservation treatments GROUPE DE PERSONNAGES
this was a unique opportunity to study Miró’s techniques and materials In December 2004, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
from a period of great artistic experimentation. Scientific analysis revealed
the identity of pigments and the presence of zinc soaps. In addition, (LACMA) received a gift from donor Robert Halff that included
because Miró was a prolific writer, evidence was found in his letters, the 1938 Joan Miró painting Groupe de Personnages, Fig. 1. In
studio notes and interviews to corroborate analytical results — contribut- preparation for exhibition, the painting was examined in the con-
ing to a more complete understanding of his artistic intentions and the servation center. Two significant problems were noticed. First, the
conservation-related consequences of his selected materials. loosely woven canvas or burlap, which was composed of a linen
ZUSAMMENFASSUNG warp and a jute weft, had weakened considerably where it had
Groupe de Personnages (1938), ein Leinwandgemälde, das während des been folded over and nailed to the stretcher. Many of the jute weft
spanischen Bürgerkrieges in Paris entstanden ist, musste vor seiner Aus- threads along the tacking margins had stretched and broken and
stellung gefestigt werden. Bei einer Untersuchung konnten gelockerte had tiny fragments of paint attached. Second, and most alarm-
Malschichten und kleine kugelige Protrusionen in diesen Malschichten
ing, examination of the paint layers showed areas of pinpoint
festgestellt werden. Es wurde daher ein Projekt ins Leben gerufen, um die
Materialien zu bestimmen, die zum gegenwärtigen Zustand des Gemäldes loss exposing the white ground and an overall micro-fissuring,
geführt haben. Da Groupe de Personnages keinen groben Konservierungs- not readily visible to the naked eye, Fig. 2. Examination under
maßnahmen unterworfen worden ist, war dies eine einmalige Gelegenheit, the binocular microscope also revealed spherical protrusions
die Technik und die Materialien Mirós in einer seiner experimentellsten from the paint that were slightly milky and soft. This material
Perioden zu studieren. Durch naturwissenschaftliche Analyse konnten die
Pigmente identifiziert und Metallseifen nachgewiesen werden. Da Miró ein
was found consistently on areas of red and green paint that were
profilierter Schreiber war, konnten darüber hinaus in seinen Briefen, Werk- characterized by severe cracking and an extremely matt appear-
stattnotizen und Interviews weitere Belege gefunden werden welche die ance. It was also noted that tiny craters existed in these areas
Analysenergebnisse bestätigten. Dies trägt dazu bei, ein immer vollständi- of red and green — clearly a result of the ‘protrusions’ having
geres Bild seiner künstlerischen Absichten und der Folgen der von ihm ‘popped out’. Many cracks emanated from these craters, Fig. 3.
getroffenen Materialauswahl bezüglich der Konservierung zu gewinnen.
In contrast, other areas were characterized by craters that had
clearly formed as a result of air bubbles; these sections of paint
INTRODUCTION
were relatively stable, Fig. 4.
Joan Miró was born in 1893 in Barcelona, Spain. His ear-
In order to stabilize areas with detaching paint, an ethanol and
liest preserved drawings, now housed at the Joan Miró
methylcellulose solution was applied locally as a consolidant.
Foundation in Barcelona, date from as early as 1901. Miró
This served to provide adhesion without changing the satura-
went on to work in almost every medium, including painting,
tion of the matt paint. Following this, tear repairs were carried
paper, ceramics, bronze, and even costume and set design for
out to strengthen the weakest areas. To alleviate tension along
Ballet Russes, creating work in almost every decade of the
the torn tacking edges and to ensure that the signature and date
twentieth century until his death in 1983 in Palma, Majorca.
by Miró on the reverse remained visible, the painting was
While Miró primarily worked in Spain, specifically in Montroig
gently strip lined with Japanese tissue paper adhered with a
and Barcelona, some of the most important years of his artistic
development occurred in Paris. Beginning in 1920, Miró lived
in the thriving French capital during the winter months and then
continuously from 1936 until the end of the Spanish Civil War
in 1940 [1]. The vibrant art scene in Paris in the years between
the wars provided a stimulating environment for artists to share
their ideas and techniques with each other. While in Paris, Miró
had contact with artists such as Picasso, Braque, Matisse, Arp,
Magritte and Ernst, other Catalan painters, and with writers such
as Ernest Hemingway and Ezra Pound. For a time in 1921, he
was involved with the Dada group and between 1925 and 1927 he
was associated with the Surrealist movement, although he never
considered himself bound by either of these philosophies. Several
painters who were contemporaries of Miró published treatises
on painting techniques during this time. Many artists, such as
Miró, most assuredly discussed and contributed to these books [2,
p. 326]. It is in this time and place — Paris between the wars —
that artists, including Miró, were wildly experimenting with
forms, technique and media in their work. In addition, these years
also saw the introduction of new materials available to artists. Fig. 1 Groupe de Personnages (1938), 36 × 43 cm. LACMA
The 1930s brought the beginnings of the modern paints industry M.2005.38.8. ©2005 Elma O’Donoghue and Yosi A. R-Pozeilov
with materials such as enamels, pyroxylin and, later, oil alkyds LACMA Conservation Center.

62

Fig. 2 Cracking and exfoliation in green paint. ©2005 Elma O’Donoghue
and Yosi A. R-Pozeilov LACMA Conservation Center.
Fig. 3 Cracking, craters and spherical protrusions in red paint. ©2005
Elma O’Donoghue and Yosi A. R-Pozeilov LACMA Conservation
Center.
Fig. 4 Air bubbles in pale gray paint. ©2005 Elma O’Donoghue and
Yosi A. R-Pozeilov LACMA Conservation Center.
fairly dry wheat starch paste and then supported, rather than
stretched, over a loose lining of PE CAP, a transparent polyester
monofilament fabric.
During the examination of the painting, previous treatment
reports were located that revealed that conservation work per-
formed on this painting had been limited to local consolidation,
all using the ethanol methylcellulose adhesive, in addition to
some minor inpainting and a small tear repair. Two other Miró
canvas paintings at LACMA were briefly examined to deter-
mine whether they also exhibited similar paint layer instability.
63
Unfortunately, both paintings had been altered at some point in
their past — both had been varnished and one had been wax lined.
While this development made it difficult to compare techniques
between the three paintings, it highlighted the fact that this was
a unique opportunity to study a painting by Miró that retained
an original surface — one that was inherently inhomogeneous,
matt, and unaltered by impregnation with conservation materials.
To date, there have been very few technical studies carried out
on works by Miró [5]. Driven by observations during the
examination and ensuing conservation treatment, an investi-
gation began to determine the techniques employed by Miró in
the execution of Groupe de Personnages that might account for
the current instability of the painting. Fortunately, Miró was a
prolific writer, and many examples of letters to and from friends
and art dealers, as well as meticulous studio journals, remain
accessible for further exploration. Using a combination of
these writings and analytical techniques available at LACMA’s
Conservation Center and the Getty Conservation Institute, a
greater understanding of the painting techniques of Joan Miró
has begun to emerge.
MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES
Supports
Miró used a wide variety of materials as supports for his paint-
ings. In addition to primed canvases, both fine and coarsely
woven, he was known to use paper, wood and Masonite panels,
raw canvas, Celotex, Fibro-cement, cardboard and copper. The
earliest painting on burlap is dated 1925. In the late 1930s, Miró
began a series of paintings he referred to as the ‘burlap series’ in
his letters. The LACMA painting dates from the beginning of this
era [6]. The burlap support for this painting is comprised of two
different fibers — linen and jute. Although there are no selvedge
edges visible, it is presumed that the linen, being stronger, was
the warp. The jute threads are darker and extremely brittle in
comparison with the linen threads and as a result the damages
were concentrated on two sides (left and right) where the jute
was under tension over the tacking edges.
Preparation layers
Miró mentioned in his correspondence that he did not purchase
pre-primed canvases, instead preferring to apply the grounds to
the supports himself [2, p. 217]. He used several different types
of ground materials throughout his career. However, many of his
preparation layers exhibited similar characteristics. They tended to
be fairly absorbent in nature and thus very matt in appearance —
something destroyed by wax lining or inappropriate varnishing. It
is clear through his letters and studio notes that Miró placed great
importance on the choice of ground materials and their textures.
In his work, the ground is almost always highly visible as a back-
ground color and is an intrinsic part of the composition. Some
paintings from 1925–1927 have tempera grounds, occasionally
tinted gray by the addition of pigments. Some have been left matt.
In other cases, thin washes of oil paint, considerably diluted with
turpentine to achieve a ‘dribbly aspect’ [6, p. 158] were applied to
the chosen ground to achieve an imprimatura glaze. The grounds,
whether matt or with oil washes, were a platform for the whimsi-
cal figures created on their surfaces. In many cases, they were
also textured; often he would smooth or roughen a ground by
rubbing with sandpaper or a pumice stone — a technique he also
employed on paper supports. Dupin discusses Miró’s “fondness
for highly sensitive grounds” and “the lavish attention he paid to
them”, using sanding as a means to create a ‘luminous’ surface
texture [6, p. 258]. In a letter to his friend E.C. Ricart in 1918,
Miró describes his most often used ground recipe at that time:
“well-beaten egg yolk . . . Painter’s Plaster . . . zinc white”. He
notes that the presence of the zinc white helps to “attenuate the
absorbency of the plaster”. Additionally, the amount of white that
was added would create variations in the ground color, from a
‘toasted’ warm white — one that Miró preferred at that time — to
a purer white. Interestingly, Miró commented that Joaquin Sunyer
introduced him to this particular ground formulation and that he
in turn learned it from Henri Matisse [2, p. 58], an indication of
the extent of communication on techniques that artists of the time
shared with each other.
A second ground material frequently used by Miró in the late
1930s and early 1940s was case-arti. He refers to case-arti,
which he applied not only as a white primer but also mixed in
with his paint. Paris-based Lefranc, a frequent supplier of artist’s
materials to Miró during his time in France, still produces this
material. It is a casein-based product and is sold mixed with lime,
chalk or barium sulfate. Miró commented about intending to
apply this ground, using his hand, onto burlap in order to achieve
a smoother finish than he normally did with a spatula [2, p. 192].
Based on his letters, one would expect that the case-arti and the
above-mentioned tempera ground were the two priming layers
most often used by Miró. He did, however, experiment beyond
those occasionally. His notes and letters also mention his plans to
use an ochre ground, created using left-over color in his pots. This
ochre was to be coated with the proprietary material ‘Haarlem
siccative’, to render the ground more transparent and ‘magical’
[2, p. 183]. Additionally, he completed a number of paintings
on burlap in 1939 in which he chose not to apply ground to the
canvas at all, but simply to paint watercolor, gouache and oil
directly on the raw fabric.
A sample of the white ground was taken from one of the loose
jute threads along a tacking edge of Groupe de Personnages
during the course of the conservation treatment. This sample,
as well as the painting as a whole, was investigated using
several analytical techniques. The particles taken from the thick
white ground were first mounted and examined by polarized
light microscopy (PLM) and found to contain calcium carbon-
ate. Non–destructive analysis was performed with a hand-held
X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzer (Inspector, Innov-X Systems)
to elucidate the pigments in the ground and paint layers.
Surprisingly zinc was not found in the almost pure calcium
carbonate ground at the unpainted tacking edges. Clearly this
was not one of the grounds that Miró advocated. Zinc was,
however, detected throughout the painting at most paint sites
examined. This suggested that zinc was, most likely, a compo-
nent of an underlayer, one that was not the ground. Gas chroma-
tography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was performed on the
ground sample and revealed a somewhat surprising result.
Instead of the expected egg tempera or casein-based ground,
the medium was determined to be animal glue.1 Miró fairly
frequently mentioned ‘painters’ plaster’ as a material he used
throughout his career. This was presumably a calcium carbonate-
based commercial product he was purchasing, like the case-arti.
The animal glue may have been already in the product or Miró
may have added it himself. Further research into Miró’s notes
and letters will need to be done to determine if this glue-based,
calcium carbonate ground was common in paintings from this
period.
Underdrawing
After the priming layer was complete, Miró would then carry
out his underdrawing, typically using Indian ink. Often he would
complete the preliminary drawing on paper and then project it
onto the canvas. He mentioned using this technique in order to
1
GC-MS results for the amino acids in the sample were compared, in order
to identify the protein, to the compositions of standard casein, animal glue
and egg by means of correlation coefficients [7].
64
avoid “falsifying the original feeling” of the drawing, particu-
larly when the canvas was large [2, p. 184]. In studio notes from
1941–1945, he mentioned reversing the drawing in order to give
a “magical and unsettling feeling” to the painting [2, p. 189].
This method nicely complemented his meticulous nature by
reducing the degree of, as he put it, “pentimenti” or “retouch-
ing” in his final painting [2, p. 82]. However, upon examination
of Groupe de Personnages with infrared reflectography (IRR,
using a Phoenix near-infrared digital camera, Indigo), many
interesting details were revealed which demonstrated that Miró
was constantly refining his compositions throughout his working
process. Many of the figures reveal previous shapes and details
that have been obscured, altering their appearance. The infrared
detail of the male figure on the right side of the painting (Fig. 5)
reveals the complicated drawing beneath. Miró also described
intentionally applying casein or gesso over some of the Indian ink
underdrawing [2, p. 181]. Due to the somewhat transparent nature
of the casein or gesso, the Indian ink detail would always have
been partially visible in the final painting — demonstrated by the
figure on the right side of the Groupe de Personnages, Fig. 1. In
several working notes he referred to applying “Fixative” to the
Indian ink underdrawing, and then sanding it with a pumice stone
so that the paints to be applied on top would adhere properly [2,
pp. 181, 193] The IRR images also reveal that areas of the paint-
ing, primarily in the figures, possess a layer of very dense opaque
white, which differs from the ground, and lies beneath the top
layer of colored paints. In addition to non-destructive analysis and
imaging, two cross-sections were taken from detached fragments
in areas of active flaking. This was done primarily to understand
how the paint layers, including the ground, had been built up.
The white layer beneath the figures can be seen in a cross-
section from an area of flaking green paint, Fig. 6. It is con-
siderably more opaque than the calcium carbonate ground
layer beneath. This cross-section was also examined with
scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray
analysis (SEM-EDX). Elemental mapping showed the ground
was calcium carbonate, and the opaque white layer on top was
pre-dominantly zinc. This information, in conjunction with the
IRR images, suggests that this white layer is probably an impri-
matura. It should be noted that it is present in the areas of paint
which exhibit the most active flaking, and which also have the
milky spherical protrusions on their surfaces (as discussed below
under Media, these spherical protrusions were identified as a
zinc palmitate soap).
Pigments
It is evident from his letters and journals that Miró, like many
artists, had definite ideas regarding the use of pigments. He men-
tioned several he preferred, as well as many that he intentionally
avoided. As early as 1918, Miró wrote that he was using cadmium
lemon and considered chrome yellow and bright green to be
“terrible” [2, p. 59]. He told Ricart that he had not used those
colors for a long time. He noted that, in comparison to cadmium
yellow, chrome yellow appears too dull and opaque. In the same
letter, he claimed to have heard wonderful things from Sunyer
about cadmium red, which had just begun to be manufactured
by Lefranc. Miró indicated that the next time he traveled to
Barcelona from Montroig that he would try to buy some cad-
mium red. He was quite open to the suggestions of his colleagues
regarding color choice, for instance in another letter, he alludes to
reforming his palette further, by the addition of more earth colors
and other pigments recommended by Balthus. In reference to
Prussian blue, a pigment favored by van Gogh and Isidre Nonell,
a Spanish artist thought to have influenced Picasso’s Blue Period,
Miró thought it to be the cause of the darkening and cracking of
their paintings [2, p. 59]. He considered many of the colors used
Fig. 5 Infrared image of the right side of Groupe de Personnages. ©2005 Elma O’Donoghue and Yosi A. R-Pozeilov LACMA Conservation Center.

by the Post-Impressionists, specifically van Gogh and Cezanne, “brown black” (one wonders if this is perhaps a Mars black?).
to be unsatisfactory for his own work. In addition, his working He notes that bone black is “excessively raw and hard” and
notes from the early 1940s reveal his preference for the use of results in an abrupt transition to the other colors in the painting,

65

(a)
(b)
Fig. 6 Cross-section showing the green paint, thin white layer and the
ground, ×400: a) under normal illumination; b) under ultraviolet
illumination. ©2005 Elma O’Donoghue and Yosi A. R-Pozeilov
LACMA Conservation Center.
although he did concede that the use of both blacks in different
places on the same painting “gives a richer effect” [2, p. 184].
From 1941 to 1945, he continued using Indian ink, not only for
his underdrawing, but also for what he called ‘shading’, where
washes of Indian ink were laid on top of the nearly completed
painting. In his studio notes from 1941 to 1945, he mentioned
that he should experiment with different brands of paint to see
“how the colors work with the grounds” because colors produced
by different paint manufacturers vary considerably [2, p. 184].
In another series of canvases Miró mentioned in the 1940s, he
built up several layers of viridian green as an underlayer and
used charcoal to create the drawing above. In addition to other
generalities, he also cited an appreciation for the intensity that
synthetic colorants offer.
Groupe de Personnages was analyzed non-destructively using
XRF. Interestingly, in this painting the bright reds were found
to be either pure vermilion (mercury in the spectrum) or a mix
of vermilion with cadmium red. When viewed under ultraviolet
light, areas of the painting with a deep red glaze applied over
the ground exhibited a bright orange fluorescence consistent
with that of a lake colorant. The bright purple in two of the
faces was identified as a cobalt violet due to the presence of both
arsenic and cobalt [8, p. 109]. Yellow and orange pigments were
determined to be cadmium-based, while the dark green paint,
66
which exhibited some of the most severe cracking (Fig. 2), was
identified as viridian because of the presence of chromium. Areas
painted with a gray white were found to contain titanium white.
(The zinc discussed above, under Underdrawing, was detected
in many areas across the painting, but appears to be from an
imprimatura layer below the paints). In addition to bone black
and the soft ‘brown black’, Miró was also using charcoal black
as an additive to his palette.
As suggested by the IRR imaging (Fig. 5), an opaque white
layer was present beneath most of the figures in the painting. In
the second cross-section from one of the figures (Fig. 6a) this
white layer showed up beneath two layers of viridian green (again
identified using SEM-EDX and XRF). As noted previously, areas
of green were in the most fragile condition, exhibiting consider-
able cracking of the paint layers and detachment from the ground.
In a letter, Miró spoke of using viridian in several layers —
leaving each one to sit for a few weeks before returning to it.
Media
In terms of experimentation with materials, Miró was arguably
the most bold in his choices of media, often mixing a range
of media to create his intended effect. Miró worked with oil,
tempera, casein, watercolor, gouache and pastel to name a few
media [2, p. 185]. While the pigments Miró chose conveyed
the vibrancy of his images, some of his intent could only be
demonstrated by the changes in texture that the use of mixed
media allows. The catalogue written by Jacques Dupin after
extensive interviews with Miró is a valuable source for informa-
tion on the artist’s intentions and materials [6]. Dupin described
how in 1936, during the Spanish Civil War, Miró created his
‘Wild Paintings’. These are works on unprepared Masonite
boards painted with blobs of case-arti, black enamel housepaint,
artists’ oil colors, casein, tempera, India ink, pastel, bituminous
tar, sand and gravel [6, p. 288]. Many of the paintings catalogued
by Dupin from 1935 are described as having oil and Ripolin
as media. In some of his studio notes from 1937 and again in
1940 Miró mentioned “Ripolin mat” or “blanc ripoli mate”. On
occasion he indicated that he mixed “blanc ripoli mat” with
other colors. He also referred to Kandinsky who, he said, mixed
“ripoli” with oil paints [9, p. 198]. This “ripoli” is the housepaint
produced by the French company Ripolin. It is likely that at this
time Ripolin house paint would have been oil-based, or perhaps
oil-alkyd. Acrylic resins, developed for the paints industry, were
not commonly used until after World War II when they became
available as water-based emulsion paints [3, p. 2]. Further
research is being conducted by the authors on the composition of
Ripolin house paints from the 1930s. In addition to commercial
oil paints from Lefranc, Miró’s studio notes from the late 1930s
and 1940s indicate that he was also buying both poppyseed oil
(huile d’oeillet) and linseed oil [9, p. 198]. The notes show that
he regularly combined traditionally incompatible media with
equanimity. In 1941 he wrote “spread oil with a spatula and
use all processes when working on it: watercolor, egg, tempera,
pastel, etc. . . . really respect the material” [2, p. 183]. During
1940–1944, Miró apparently stayed away from oil painting.
Although conclusive medium analysis could not be per-
formed on Groupe de Personnages, the microscopic charac-
teristics of the paint surface suggested that mixed media had
been used. The most stable sections of paint were smooth and
had a higher gloss and drying cracks, suggesting a traditional
oil-based medium. Many areas were extremely matt and had
soft craters from air bubbles, which is often an indication
that the paint is partially aqueous, Fig. 4. These areas were
relatively stable. The most fragile and damaged sections were
areas of matt red (vermilion, Fig. 7) and green paints. These
paints were characterized by tiny, milky, spherical protrusions,

(a)
(b)
Fig. 7 Cross-section showing the red paint, ×400: a) under normal
illumination; b) under ultraviolet illumination. ©2005 Elma
O’Donoghue and Yosi A. R-Pozeilov LACMA Conservation
Center.
and microscopic craters where the spheres had fallen out,
Fig. 3. These craters differed in appearance from the softer,
more rounded craters, caused by air bubbles in the other matt
but stable paints.
The analysis of these spherical protrusions provided clues as
to some of the media choices made by Miró in the execution of
this painting. These ‘spheres’ of material seemed to have formed
within the matrix of the paint after it dried. Fourier transform
infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was performed on a protrusion
sample from the painting (IlluminatIR microscope, SensIR,
attenuated total reflectance (ATR) objective) and indicated a
metal soap. Raman spectroscopy was also used (Senturion
Raman spectrometer with automatic fluorescence reduction,
Chromex; 785 nm excitation). Based on the work of Robinet and
Corbeil, the sample was identified as a zinc palmitate soap [10].
While the exact conditions leading to the formation of metal
soaps have not been conclusively determined, some details are
understood. The term metal soap refers to a class of metal-ligand
complexes comprised of a metal ion, generally a divalent cation,
and fatty acid anions, such as those from stearic acid or palmitic
acid. The source of these acids is generally thought to be the
saturated fatty acids from oil paints. The cations in the metal
soaps probably originate from pigments such as lead white
and zinc white. It is now well accepted that these soaps are a
by-product of the materials and conditions that occur over
67
the course of many years following the completion of the
painting.
During the course of the conservation treatment, it was pos-
sible to take a few tiny samples from areas of already-detached
paint along the torn tacking edges. Despite the small size,
GC-MS was also performed on the samples. The results suggested
that colors which were stable had a pure linseed oil base (with
a palmitic acid to stearic acid ratio, P/S, of 2.1), while those
showing flaking also had zinc palmitate soap formations on their
surfaces, and were bound with a mix of what appeared to be
poppyseed and linseed oils (P/S 3.6). It is known from his
studio notes that Miró was using Lefranc traditional oil paints —
these would probably have had linseed oil as the medium.
Poppyseed oil on the other hand is a much slower dryer. In
Groupe de Personnages, zinc cations from the zinc white in the
imprimatura layer probably reacted with the slow drying poppy-
seed oil in the paints to create the zinc palmitate soaps in the
flaking reds and greens. The GC-MS results suggest that Miró
was modifying standard artists’ oil paints with Ripolin house
paint or poppyseed oil.
Varnish
As expected, Miró’s letters and journal notes rarely indicate that
he applied an overall varnish to his paintings. Considering his
frequent choice of absorbent grounds and matt paint, an overall
coating would not be logical. In a note from 1937 he listed
materials he was using, including “vernis de copal” and “vernis
mastic”. In the same note he also mentioned varnishing glue,
gouache and Ripolin colors [8, p. 198]. In notes dating from the
1940s, he described using varnish in discrete sections of a paint-
ing to make areas that had been ‘shaded’ appear less matt [2,
p. 184]. Therefore, it is not anomalous to discover a varnish layer
in cross-sections from his paintings.
CONCLUSIONS
In studying Groupe de Personnages, LACMA was given a unique
opportunity to investigate a Joan Miró canvas painting, which had
fortunately not undergone any previous invasive treatment such
as varnishing or wax lining. The multi-disciplinary approach to
understanding his technique dating from the period between the
wars incorporated extensive visual examination, instrumental
analysis and contributions from Miró’s personal correspondence
and writings. Analytical techniques successfully identified sev-
eral pigments and media, in addition to a zinc soap on the paint
surface. Imaging techniques, including microscopic scrutiny,
ultraviolet illumination and infrared reflectography, broadened
the understanding of his working methods. Miró’s writings
proved to be an incredibly valuable asset to the investigation.
In many instances the analysis revealed that he did not always
follow what he professed. His scrupulous notes and comments
did, however, uncover a great deal that would have remained
unknown despite analysis, including his thoughts, observa-
tions about other artists of the day, and materials and methods.
Interestingly, Miró’s writings also revealed a highly structured
personality existing in dramatic contrast to the whimsical,
capricious nature of his artwork.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to extend thanks to Joe Fronek, Jini
Rasmussen and Mark Gilberg in the conservation department at LACMA
for support and advice throughout this research.
REFERENCES
1 Biography, http://www.bcn.fjmiro.es/home.html, Fundació Joan
Miró, Barcelona (accessed March 2006).
2 Rowell, M., (ed.), Joan Miró: Selected Writings and Interviews,
G.K. Hall, Boston (1986) 326.
 3 Learner, T.J.S., Analysis of Modern Paints, Getty Publications,
Los Angeles (2004) 210.
4 Crook, J., and Learner, T., The Impact of Modern Paints, Watson-
Guptill, New York (2000) 192.
5 Salvadó, N., Molera, J., and Vendrell-Saz, M., ‘Nature and origin of
black spots found on Miró paintings: a non-invasive study’, Analytica
Chimica Acta 479, (2003) 255–263.
6 Dupin, J., Joan Miró: Life and Work, Harry N. Abrams, New York
(1962) 596.
7 Schilling, M., and Khanjian, H., ‘Gas chromatographic analysis of
amino acids as ethyl chloroformate derivatives III. Identification
of proteinaceous binding media by interpretation of amino acid
composition date’, in ICOM Committee for Conservation 11th
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AUTHORS
Elma O’Donoghue received a BA in art history from University
College Dublin, Ireland in 1985. She trained as a painting conservator
at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, where she received
an MA in 1995. She has had internships in the paintings conservation
departments of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (1994–1996) and
the J. Paul Getty Museum. Since 1998, she has worked in the paintings
conservation department at LACMA where she is currently the associ-
ate paintings conservator. Address: Conservation Center, Los Angeles
County Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036,
USA. Email: elmao@lacma.org
Ashley M. Johnson completed a BS in chemistry from the University of
Florida in 1998, and a PhD in analytical chemistry from the University
of Texas at Austin in 2004. She was conservation research assistant
68
at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and is currently the visit-
ing assistant professor of chemistry at Florida Southern College in
Lakeland. Address: 1226 Brighton Way, Lakeland, FL 33813, USA.
Email: ms_ashley_j@yahoo.com
Joy Mazurek has been a research laboratory associate at the Getty
Conservation Institute since 1998. She received a BS in biology at the
University of California Davis (1994), and is currently working on her
masters thesis in microbiology and biodeterioration from California
State University Northridge. Address: Getty Conservation Institute,
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 700, Los Angeles, CA 90049-1684, USA.
Email: jmazurek@getty.edu
Michael R. Schilling earned his BS and MS degrees in chemistry from
the California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. He has worked
at the Getty Conservation Institute since 1983, and presently holds
the position of senior scientist in charge of the analytical research
section. Michael oversees and co-ordinates a wide variety of projects
in his section: applied research in materials analysis, scientific sup-
port to GCI’s field conservation projects, study of museum collections,
evaluating the air quality in museums, assessing safe levels of lighting
in museum galleries, and characterizing building materials. Address: as
for Mazurek. Email: mschilling@getty.edu
Frank D. Preusser is the senior conservation scientist at the Los Angeles
County Museum of Art. He received a PhD in chemistry in 1973 from
the Technical University in Munich, Germany. From 1973 to 1983 he
was head of the scientific laboratory of the Doerner Institut in Munich.
From 1983 to 1993 he worked at the Getty Conservation Institute as
director of scientific research, head of publications, and associate direc-
tor for programs. Since 1993 he has worked as an independent consult-
ant in historic preservation, as well as in the scientific examination of
works of art. From 1995 to 1999 he was guest professor at the Tokyo
National University of Fine Arts. Address: as for O’Donoghue. Email:
fpreusser@lacma.org
Marc Walton is currently an assistant scientist at the Getty Conservation
Institute where he conducts research on the Getty’s antiquities collection.
Prior to this, Mark directed research at the Los Angeles County Museum
of Art. He holds a DPhil in archaeological science from the University of
Oxford and a MA in art history, as well as a diploma in the conservation
of works of art from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University.
Address: as for Mazurek. Email: mwalton@getty.edu