Technological research of Adalbert Erdelyi’s still life of the post-Budapest period

Abstract

The study’s relevance lies in obtaining valuable information about Adalbert Erdelyi’s painting, which enhances the understanding of his artwork, supports efforts at accurate attribution, and enriches the study of art history. The purpose of this study was to characterise artist’s painting materials and technique of the post-Budapest period and introduce obtained results into scientific circulation. The research methodology was based on an integrated general scientific approach that combines theoretical and empirical methods, including art-critic and comparative analyses as well as optical and physicochemical methods. X-ray fluorescence analysis and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy were used to determine the artist’s pigment palette. Until now, only a few works of Adalbert Erdelyi’s early creative stage have been known and introduced into scientific circulation. A comprehensive study of Adalbert Erdelyi’s still life was carried out. The stylistic and technological features of the painting that were inherent in the post-Budapest period were established. It has been shown that cardboard made from a mixture of rag fibers and wood pulp was used as the painting support. The type of cardboard gluing and fillers were determined. The still life was painted wet-on-wet on the unprimed support without applying underdrawings. The analysis of the organic binder has shown that the painting was executed in the oil painting technique. Pure lead white was identified in white paints. Lead white with an admixture of zinc white, a mixture of lead white and zinc white, chrome yellow (lead chromate), vermillion, alizarin crimson, ocher, Emerald green (copper acetoarsenite), and Prussian blue were found in the paint layer. The identified pigments and a comparative analysis of oil polymerisation in lead white paint allowed us to confirm that the painting was created in 1918. It is shown that the artistic and style characteristics of the painting correspond to Adalbert Erdelyi’s post-Budapest period. Thus, “Still Life with Glasses on a Tray” can be considered the first known image of glasses with water in the artist’s creative heritage. The results of carried out research are an important informative source in the analysis of the artist’s early works and can be useful for art historians and curators of museum collections