Μελέτη της τεχνικής της "Βάπτισης του Χριστού" του Δομήνικου Θεοτοκόπουλου με εφαρμογή αναλυτικών μεθόδων διάγνωσης

Περίληψη

The “Ormylia” Art Diagnosis Centre undertook the examination of the Baptism of Christ using analytical methods of diag­nosis, with the aim of making an in-depth investigation into the ‘secrets’ of the artist’s painting. The value of the result lies in the revelation of the personal traits of his technique, which was studied through the microanalysis of a minimum number of paint cross-sections.
The harmonious combination of stylistic inventions and technical artifices, which result from Theotokopoulos’ artistic sensi­bility and also from his technical skills, are impressive. By observing the micro-samples under the optical microscope and analysing the paint materials through the application of μRaman and μFTIR spectroscopies and of high performance liquid chromatography (HPCL/DAD) it was possible to reveal the “fingerprints” of the artist’s brushwork.
In this early work, Theotokopoulos’ intelligence and inventiveness succeeded in incorporating traditional techniques of Byz­antine icon-painting and innovative practices of Renaissance artists. This masterly executed Baptism is a product of the ingenious association of egg-tempera and oil painting and the selection of a limited number of select pigments.
His palette contains mineral, earth and natural organic pigments, as well as some synthetic ones of glass or resin base. Lapis lazuli, orpi­ment, yellow ochre, burnt umber, indigo, cochineal lake, copper resinate, lead-tin yellow, lead white and carbon black are the ten pigments used in the icon. In the earth pigments (ochres and umbers) egg is used as a binding medium, while in the organic pigments, such as cochineal lake and cop­per resinate, as well as in the mineral pigments with high crystalline morphology, such as lead-tin yellow “type II” and lapis lazuli, oil was used to further enhance their high transparency.
Most of the pigments were used in pure form while, only in a few cases, close-shade pigments were used in mixture. In the garments, the gradations of the lights were applied following the traditional technique of superimposing successive paint layers on the underpaint, instead of placing dark and light shades side by side, according to the prevailing practice in Renaissance painting. The highlights were executed with pure lead white, while in the intermediate shades lead white was mixed with the pigment of the underpaint. The white pigment is sometimes found in a thick layer and sometimes in fine translucent brushstrokes, depending on the position and the intensity of the colour and the aesthetic require­ments of the composition.
One of the basic features of Theotokopoulos’ technique in the Baptism is the use of a layer of white imprimatura (priming) of various proportions of pow­dered glass to lead white, lying below the paint layers which con­tain oil as a binder. The proportion, the shade and the size of the glass grains affected the intentional visual impression with respect to the overlying pigment and, besides, accelerated the oil drying process.
The recent discovery of the presence of glass in paint­ings by Italian artists older than Theotokopoulos (Perugino, Raphael), and in particular the detection of substantial similarities between the glass varieties used in the Baptism and the ones found in works by Venetian painters contemporary to Theotokopoulos, such as Tintoretto, further attests the attribution of the Baptism to the artist’s brief residence in Venice.
The lack of any significant bibliography on the analysis of other works of El Greco makes this detailed analysis of the Baptism a reference work, given that even at this early period his basic principles and techniques anticipate the general aesthetic ideals of this great artist.