Brief report with complete data as downloadable

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Brief Report on Technology and Condition
Gustave Caillebotte
(1848-1894)
Sailing Boat on the Seine
at Argenteuil
(Voilier sur la Seine à Argenteuil)
1893
undated, signed bottom left:
“G. Caillebotte”
Oil on canvas
h 65.3 cm x b 54.4 cm
WRM Dep. 622
Gustave Caillebotte – Sailing Boat on the Seine at Argenteuil
Brief Report
According to Berhaut this painting is a study
(Fr. étude), which, together with two other works
depicting the same motif, served as preparation
for the large-format 1893 picture Regatta at Argenteuil [Berhaut 1994, pp 245–247]. The canvas used by
Caillebotte for the present picture, however, was by
no means mere study grade, but a particularly pale,
fine, and dense weave of high quality in the standard F 15 size. Caillebotte acquired the canvas, readystretched and pre-primed in off-white, from his
Parisian art-supply dealer Dubus, whose name and
address are noted verso [cf. Caillebotte WRM Dep.
828, WRM Dep. FC 727, WRM Dep. FC 689, WRM Dep.
FC 561] (fig. 2). Dealers’ marks of this kind are often
wrongly described as stamps, although they were
quite clearly applied by stencilling, as is particularly
obvious in the present example, where the edges of
the stencil are visible. The canvas has another individual characteristic: verso there are remains of an
original loose paper backing, such as we see preserved on other pictures by Caillebotte [Lewerentz
2008, p. 275] (fig.8). The small number of examples
and lack of information in dealers’ catalogues and
artists’ correspondence means that to date we can
only speculate on the reasons for this paper backing, but they could represent an early measure to
protect the canvas. The first lay-in of the motif was
done in two stages, first in charcoal and then using
a few brushstrokes in reddish-brown to black paint
[cf. Caillebotte WRM Dep 828, WRM Dep. FC 706,
WRM Dep. 447, WRM Dep. FC 561] (fig. 10).
For one of the other sailing-boat paintings produced
at the same time, there exists a squared-down pencildrawing, which evidently served the artist as a pattern [Berhaut 1994, cat. no. 471, p. 246; Chardeau 1989,
p. 98]. The underdrawing of the painting in Cologne,
however, exhibits no indication that a similar sketch
was used. On the contrary, there is, at the lower edge
of the picture, an impression, now retouched, made
by the fastening of a field-easel, suggesting that the
picture was painted in the open air [cf. Caillebotte
WRM Dep. 828, WRM Dep. FC 727, WRM Dep. FC 561,
WRM Dep. FC 689] (fig. 5). The painting was probably
executed in one to two sessions. After the individual
areas of the picture had been prepared by glazes in
the local colour, the details were executed with brisk
brushstrokes primarily wet-in-wet. Here and there a
scratching instrument, presumably the shaft of the
brush, was used to create accented structures in the
still wet paint (fig. 11). The painting was not signed
until the paint-layer was completely dry (fig. 7). The
inscription, executed with a pointed brush in ink or
India ink is not unambiguously that of Caillebotte
and could also have been added posthumously. Berhaut thinks that this kind of signature was added
by Caillebotte’s brother Martial or the executor of
the artist’s will, Auguste Renoir [Berhaut 1994, p. 60,
cf. Caillebotte WRM Dep. FC 689, WRM Dep. FC 727,
WRM Dep. 828].
Caroline von Saint-George, Katja Lewerentz: Gustave Caillebotte – Sailing Boat on the Seine at Argenteuil, Brief Report on Technology and Condition
Research Project Painting Techniques of Impressionism and Postimpressionism, Online-Edition www.museenkoeln.de/impressionismus, Köln 2008
2
Picture support canvas
Standard format
F 15 (65.0 x 54.0 cm) vertical
Weave
tabby weave
Canvas characteristics
vertical 28, horizontal 24 threads per cm; particularly pale, fine and
dense weave with slight irregularities in the vertical direction (presumably the weft); Z-twist
Stretching
original stretching with nail intervals of 4.0-8.0 cm; breadth of the
turnover edge varies from 2.5–3.0 cm; verso between the canvas and
stretcher there are remains of an original paper backing: the paper
is 0.25 mm thick, contains wood and is heavily browned (fig. 8); pencil markings along the edges of the canvas presumably served as a
guide to cutting; additional holes in the turnover edges testify to a
temporary fastening, presumably to fix the canvas and the paper to
the stretcher in the course of stretching (fig. 9)
Stretcher/strainer
original stretcher with horizontal centre-bar, chamfered verso
Stretcher/strainer depth
2.0 cm
Traces left by
manufacture/processing
-
Manufacturer’s/dealer’s marks
stencilling on the canvas verso above the centre bar of the stretcher:
“60 Bould Malesherbes Paris / DUBUS / COULEURS FINES & TOILES A
PEINDRE / RENTOILAGE & RESTAURATION / DE TABLEAUX”, h 11.5 cm
(height of inscription) x b 19.0 cm (stencil edges); to the sides of the
inscription the edges of the stencil have left distinct marks (fig. 2)
3
Ground
Sizing
present
Colour
off-white
Application
very thin, smooth, and even application of the priming before cutting
to size and stretching; the textile structure remains visible although
the elevations are covered; on the left-hand turnover edge the edge
of the ground can be seen, presumably deriving from the industrially
pre-primed length of canvas; the edge of the ground shows it to have
been applied in two layers (fig. 9)
Binding medium
presumably oil
Texture
the ground is homogeneous and even; no microscopic pigment particles are discernible
Composition planning/Underpainting/Underdrawing
Medium/technique
compositional lay-in presumably in two stages:
1. charcoal; magnification shows the particles to be of highly irregular
size and shape, some angular and unbound in any medium (fig. 10);
2. flat-ferrule brush and paint, reddish-brown to black (fig. 10)
Extent/character
1. the stereo-microscope reveals slight traces of charcoal, which suggest a first underdrawing in this medium; surplus charcoal may have
been brushed away by the artist or smeared by the subsequent paint
application
2. sketchy lay-in of the composition with a few quick, linear brushstrokes; thin, presumably quick-drying paint application, particularly
evident in the region of the sailing-boat
Pentimenti
–
4
Paint layer
Paint application/technique
and artist’s own revision
brisk, loose method of painting; the motifs were first laid-in with a
coloured glaze in one to two layers in the respective local colour: the
trees on the bank in grey-green, the sky in greenish white, the hull of
the boat in bluish violet, the mast in orange and the sails in white;
the subsequent execution was largely wet-in-wet, but also wet-ondry; the brushwork is largely geared to the shapes of the individual
motifs; lively impasto paint application in the region of the reflection
of the boat in the water (fig. 12)
Painting tools
brushes varying in width from 0.5-1.1 cm, only in the foliage of
the trees markedly narrower; presumably bristle brushes; use of
a scratching instrument (brush shaft?) in the figure of the sailor
(fig. 3 )
Surface structure
brushwork is clearly visible: heavily modelled and impasto in the region of the reflection in the water (fig. 12); however overall the paint
application is smooth (fig. 3)
Palette
visual microscopic inspection reveals: white, medium yellow, ochre,
pale red, dark red lake, medium blue, dark blue, medium green, dark
green; black only in blends
VIS spectrometry: chrome yellow/cadmium yellow(?), vermilion, rose
madder, ultramarine blue, cobalt blue(?), viridian
Binding mediums
presumably oil
Surface finish
Authenticity/Condition
the present varnish is not authentic
5
Signature/Mark
When?
a handwritten signature “G. Caillebotte” in black ink or India ink,
applied with a fine pointed brush on a paint-layer that had already
dried (fig. 7)
Autograph signature
–
Serial
while handwritten, the signature was very probably not applied by
Caillebotte himself but after his death by his brother Martial or the
executor of his will, Auguste Renoir (see above)
Frame
Authenticity
not original
State of preservation
The canvas is brittle, some damage and tears in the turnover edge; slight deformation in the bottom righthand corner of the canvas; individual small losses in the paint-layer; black paint of signature is under tension, showing fine craquelure and already slight losses (fig. 7); long vertical scratch parallel to the left-hand
edge of the picture dates from a time when the paint was not yet fully dry, i.e. during or shortly after the
execution of the painting (fig. 3).
Additional remarks
The picture bears evidence of having been painted outdoors (see above).
6
Literature
•
Berhaut 1994: Marie Berhaut, Catalogue raisonné des peintures et pastels, Paris 1994, cat. no.240, p. 245,
with ill. and p. 50
•
Chardeau 1989: Jean Chardeau, Les dessins de Caillebotte, Paris 1989
•
Czymmek 2000: Götz Czymmek, “Caillebotte im Wallraf-Richartz-Museum”, Kölner Museums Bulletin,
3/2000, 51-61
•
Lewerentz 2008: Katja Lewerentz, “Gustave Caillebottes Maltechnik und die Praxis der Freilichtmalerei”,
in: Zeitschrift für Kunsttechnologie und Konservierung, 2 (2008), 274-286
•
Varnedoe 1987: Kirk Varnedoe, Gustave Caillebotte, 1987, New Haven/London
Source of illustrations
Fig. 8 (bottom): Dipl.-Rest. Julia Tholen, Dipl.-Rest. Amelie Menck-Schaa, Kunsthalle Bremen
All further illustrations and figures Wallraf-Richartz-Museum & Fondation Corboud
Examination methods used
3
Incident light
3
VIS spectrometry
3
Raking light
–
Wood identification
3
Reflected light
–
FTIR (Fourier transform spectroscopy)
3
Transmitted light
–
EDX (Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis)
3
Ultraviolet fluorescence
–
Microchemical analysis
3
Infrared reflectography
–
False-colour infrared reflectography
3
X-ray
3
Stereomicroscopy
Author of examination:
Caroline von Saint-George
Date: 11/2008
Author of brief report:
Katja Lewerentz
Date: 10/2002
7
Fig. 1
Recto
Fig. 2
Verso, with detail of the
dealer’s mark, on the
sides of which the marks
left by the edge of the
stencil can be seen
8
Fig. 3
Raking light
Fig. 4
Transmitted light
9
Fig. 5
UV fluorescence
Fig. 6
X-ray
10
Fig. 7
Detail, signature, top
microscopic photograph
(M = 1 mm)
Fig. 8
Detail, verso, remains of
an original loose paper
backing provided by the
dealer Dubus (marked
with white arrows);
below, an example of an
extant paper backing
with dealer’s mark on
Gustave Caillebotte’s
painting Sailing Boat
on the Seine, a study for
Regattas at Argenteuil,
1893, private collection
[Berhaut 1994, cat. no.
468]
11
Fig. 9
Detail of the turnover
edge with holes
presumably due to a
possible provisional
stretching (top left) and
(top right) indication
of the two-layer
structure of the ground
visible along its edge,
microscopic photograph
(M = 1 mm)
Fig. 10
Two-stage
underdrawing, the first
presumably in charcoal
(top, white arrows mark
the still extant charcoal
particles) and then in
paint applied with a
brush (bottom),
microscopic photographs
(M = 1 mm)
12
Fig. 11
Detail of the sailor in
incident light (left)
and transmitted light
(right), the use of a
scratching instrument
(brush shaft?) is clearly
discernible
Fig. 12
Detail of the impasto
paint application in the
area of the reflection in
the water under incident
light (left) and raking
light (right)
13

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