Morozova Ekaterina A. — The State Research Institute for Restoration, Researcher of the Laboratory of Physicochemical Research
E-mail: morozovaea@gosniir.ru

This article presents the results of a technical study of Aristarkh Lentulov’s early graphic works. The aim of the research was to identify the materials used by the artist and to clarify his painting technique. The subjects of the study are the painting “Moscow. View of Bersenevskaya Embankment: the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker and Hydroelectric Power Station No. 2” from a private collection, as well as three of the artist’s works from the collection of the V. I. Dal State Museum of the History of Russian Literature. The scientific novelty of the study lies in establishing that A. Lentulov used coloured ink during his early creative period. Furthermore, the triarylmethane dyes “Methyl Violet” and “Victoria Blue” — previously unrecorded in Russian literature on the study of artistic materials — have been identified for the first time within the paint layer of these graphic works. Particular attention is paid to the identification of the binder and synthetic organic dyes, the assessment of the potential of spectroscopic methods in the analysis of graphic works, and the technological characteristics of coloured ink. The author concludes that the visual features of a graphic work cannot serve as a sufficient basis for determining the painting technique, and that a comprehensive technological study is an important tool for the attribution, expertise and reconstruction of A. Lentulov’s artistic practice.

A. Lentulov, art expertise, colored drawing ink, Methyl Violet, organic dyes, painting technique, Shellac, technological study, Victoria Blue, watercolor.