Jackson Pollock, Mural
1943Paintings sorted by   Historical period  |   Painter  |  Subject matter  |  Pigments used
Overview
Medium: oil and casein
Support:Â canvas
Size: 243 x 604 cm
Art movement: Abstract Expressionism
Stanley Museum of Art, University of Iowa
Painting
Jackson Pollock, Mural is a monumental painting ordered by Peggy Guggenheim combining the traditional easel painting and the art of the large mural.
The pigment analysis revealed the use of mostly oil-based paints such as cadmium yellow, cadmium red, umber, vermilion, cerulean blue, phthalocyanine blue, and phthalocyanine green. The white patches are executed in caseine household paint.
Pigments
Pigment Analysis
This pigment analysis is based on the work of scientists at the University of Iowa and the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI). See video. The investigators used a wide variety of spectroscopic methods such as visible and multispectral analysis, and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy
1Â Cadmium yellow
2Â Phthalocyanine blue
3Â Cerulean blue
4Â Vermilion
5Â Umber
6Â Phthalocyanine green
7Â White casein household paint
Ground: Zinc white and lead white
Pigments Used in This Painting
Resources
Videos
Video: 'Jackson Pollock's Mural: The Story of a Modern Masterpiece' by University of Iowa
Video: 'Exploring & Conserving Jackson Pollock's "Mural"' by Getty Conservation Institute
Video: 'Paint Analysis of Jackson Pollock's Mural' by Getty Museum
Video: 'Portrait of an Artist: Jackson Pollock' by KunstSpektrum
Publications and Websites
Publications
(1) Getty Conservation Institute, Exploring & Conserving Jackson Pollock’s “Mural“, Video
(2) Getty Museum, Paint Analysis of Jackson Pollock’s Mural, Video
(3) Ellen G. Landau, Conservation as a Connoisseurship Tool: Jackson Pollock’s 1943 Mural for Peggy Guggenheim, A Case Study.
(4) Francis V. O’Connor and Eugene Victor Thaw, eds., Jackson Pollock: A Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings, Drawings, and Other Works, 4 vols., Yale University Press, New Haven, 1978.
(5) Yvonne Szafran, Laura Rivers, Alan Phenix, Tom Learner, Ellen G. Landau, and Steve Martin, Jackson Pollock’s Mural: The Transitional Moment, J. Paul Getty Museum, 2014.