Analysis of Eleonore Koch's artwork and powdered pigments from MAC-USP and Pinacoteca of São Paulo collections

Abstract

Eleonore Koch is a German artist known for her paintings featuring arrangements of colors and ordinary objects. She spent a significant part of her life in Brazil, where she had the opportunity to interact with and learn from Alfredo Volpi, a colorist artist who introduced her to the tempera technique and the use of natural and mineral pigments, replacing oil-based industrial ones. A collection of powdered pigments she used during her lifetime was studied by spectroscopic analysis, forming an initial basis of knowledgement about Koch's pigments. In this paper, one painting from the Museum of Contemporary Art of the University of Sao Paulo (MAC-USP) collection was analyzed by spectroscopic (ED-XRF, Raman and FTIR) and imaging techniques. The painting palette was compared with some powdered pigments from the artist's collection. The pigments identified in the artwork are Chrome Oxide Green, Titanium White, Phthalocyanine Blue, Ivory or Bone Black and a yellowish/brown pigment rich in hematite. The findings indicate that most of the pigments found in Koch's artwork were also part of her personal collection.