Studies in American Tonalist Painting: The Materials and Techniques of Robert Crannell Minor’s Souvenir of Italy
Date
2014-05
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
This paper examines the art-historical significance, materials, and painting techniques of American landscape artist Robert Crannell Minor (1839-1904), focusing on his oil on millboard painting entitled Souvenir of Italy, a donation to the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation (WUDPAC). Visual analysis of his paintings focuses on his aesthetic goals within the context of the French Barbizon School as well as within the American landscape tradition during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. This paper explores the development of Minor’s style and iconography throughout his artistic career and the stylistic influences of Souvenir of Italy are examined within the context of the Barbizon and Tonalist Schools. Minor’s materials and painting technique are compared to those of Corot and Díaz, whose paintings influenced Minor’s works. Minor’s materials in Souvenir of Italy have been analyzed through the techniques of X-ray fluorescence (XRF), Infrared reflectography (IRR), X-radiography, Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), Scanning Electron Microscopy-Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), and cross-sectional analysis. Minor’s materials and painting technique contribute to the present condition and possible future degradation of his paintings. This study has informed the treatment of Souvenir of Italy and helped in an understanding of how the appearance of the painting has altered.