About
METHODS
This study is grounded in previous technical and historical research on the Pissarros, of which there is a great deal. Technical research has been particularly focused on Camille, as the most prominent member of the family. The author referred to mainly English language sources, the most relevant being Pissarro Paintings and Works on Paper at the Art Institute of Chicago (2015), Technical Examination of Works by Camille and Lucien Pissarro from the Courtauld Gallery (2013), and Impressionism: Art in the Making (1990).
This research expands upon previous studies by analyzing the IMA at Newfields’s paintings with updated scientific tools in collaboration with the IMA’s senior conservation scientist, Dr. Gregory D. Smith. For the first time, the IMA’s macro-XRF scanner (MA-XRF) was systematically used to analyze, in situ, entire paintings by the Pissarro family, which added granular detail to existing knowledge of the painters' palettes and working processes. Surface microscopy complemented this understanding of the artists' painting techniques. Other noninvasive techniques, including X-radiography along with a full suite of multispectral imaging (visible light photography, infrared reflectography, infrared luminescence, reflected ultraviolet A, and ultraviolet-induced visible fluorescence), were used to study the paintings. Professor Emeritus Don H. Johnson from Rice university performed thread count analysis using thread count software he wrote to analyze the canvas weaves from X-radiographs of the paintings.1 Paint samples for pigment analysis were taken and analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and Raman microspectroscopy to identify inorganic pigments. Organic analysis was undertaken with Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and pyrolysis–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (PyGCMS) on coatings and mediums.
The results of this scientific analyses were compared against written correspondence between Camille and Lucien, as well as letters from Camille to Georges.2 Extensive art historical research on each artist was undertaken, consulting the works of Anthea Callen, Anne Thorold, John Rewald, and W.S. Meadmore, as well as the detailed catalogue raisonné written and edited by Claire Durand-Ruel Snollaerts and Joachim Pissarro. Examination of additional paintings by the Pissarro family at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, The Courtauld Galleries, Art Institute of Chicago, and Metropolitan Museum of Art provided additional context for the IMA works. The Camille Pissarro: Father of Impressionism exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, in 2022 was essential for gaining holistic understanding of the Pissarro family oeuvre and relationship, and IMA Curator Emeritus Ellen Lee is thanked for her generous support that allowed for the viewing of this important show.
In the catalogue’s introductory essay, more emphasis is placed on Camille Pissarro than other members of the family. Lucien and Georges are discussed as they intersect with Camille’s practice. This is not an indication of the importance of each artist, rather the study is simply limited by the number of works at the IMA and the state of existing research, especially concerning Georges, for whom there is little technical or historical information available.
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Paintings by the Pissarro Family: A Technical Catalogue has been supported by a grant from the Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation, funded by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation.
CITATION INFORMATION
Chicago
Chipkin, Alex et al., Paintings by the Pissarro Family: A Technical Catalogue. Indianapolis, IN: Indianapolis Museum of Art, 2024. https://pissarro.discovernewfields.org/.
MLA
Chipkin, Alex et al. Paintings by the Pissarro Family: A Technical Catalogue. Indianapolis Museum of Art, 2024. https://pissarro.discovernewfields.org/.
IMAGE USE OVERVIEW
Newfields respects the copyright and other related Intellectual Property interests of creators and rights holders to protect their works. Image reproductions are intended to support this publication’s research and scholarly nature. Some of the image reproductions in this publication relied upon the fair use provision codified in Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act, with a fair use analysis guided by the College Art Association’s Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for the Visual Arts and the Association of Art Museum Directors' Guidelines for the Use of Copyrighted Materials and Works of Art by Art Museums.
COPYRIGHT
Publication text and design ©2024 Indianapolis Museum of Art, Inc. DBA Newfields. All rights reserved.
Published by The Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields, Indianapolis, IN
4000 Michigan Road, Indianapolis, IN 46208
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Lead Author: Alex Chipkin, Samuel H. Kress Fellow in Paintings Conservation
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Contributor: Gregory D. Smith, The Otto N. Frenzel III Senior Conservation Scientist
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Contributor: Laura Mosteller, Conservation Specialist
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Contributor, Coeditor, and Project Manager: Roxane Sperber, Clowes Conservator of Paintings
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Coeditor and Copy Editor: Dylan Remeš Jensen, Editor and Manager of Publications
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Digital Catalogue Developer: Daniel Keller, Senior Software Developer
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Digital Catalogue Designer: Jill Dodge, Interactive Designer
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Manager of Digital Assets: Samantha Norling, Data Architect and Newfields Lab Manager
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Coordinator of Image Assets: Samantha McCain Veach, Manager of Media
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Image Rights: Anne M. Young, Director of Legal Affairs and Intellectual Property
This publication was created using QuireTM, a multiplatform publishing tool created by the J. Paul Getty Trust, and customized for the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields by Daniel Keller and Jill Dodge of Newfields Lab.
Home page image: Lucien Pissarro, Interior of the Studio, 1887, Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields, Gift in memory of Robert S. Ashby by his family and friends, 1995.100. (detail)