Fundación Hidrógeno Aragón

Buena parte de las obras del denominado “Goya joven” han sido objeto de análisis a través de métodos instrumentales y de laboratorio, pero no se ha abordado un estudio global a partir de dichos análisis. Este artículo pretende resumir los resultados hasta ahora conocidos, extraer de ellos las conclusiones más relevantes y plantear futuras líneas de trabajo.

This work aims to investigate the correlation between the painting materials used by Picasso to create four artworks in Barcelona in 1917 and their actual conditions. Specifically, a range of crack types and patterns was observed in the painted layers. The paintings, kept together in Picasso’s family house until they were donated to the Museu Picasso in 1970, had significant differences in their condition, even though they present several similarities in the choice of materials, technique and in their conservation history. A multi-analytical approach was adopted to characterise the painted layers by X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, fibre optic reflectance spectroscopy in the 350–2200 nm range, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The obtained results have been combined with those from a previous analytical campaign focused on the study of grounds and canvases of these four paintings and with visual examination of the cracks to establish hypotheses about the differences in degradation. This combined overview of non-invasive documentation techniques, chemical analysis and observations of the mechanical damage has provided an insight into the possible contribution each layer could have played in the damage observed in the four canvas paintings.

Serum samples were studied using Raman spectroscopy and analyzed through the multivariate statistical methods of principal component analysis (PCA) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA). The blood samples were obtained from 11 patients who were clinically diagnosed with breast cancer and 12 healthy volunteer controls. The PCA allowed us to define the wavelength differences between the spectral bands of the control and patient groups. However, since the differences in the involved molecules were in their tertiary or quaternary structure, it was not possible to determine what molecule caused the observed differences in the spectra. The ratio of the corresponding band intensities were analyzed by calculating the p values and it was found that only seven of these band ratios were significant and corresponded to proteins, phospholipids, and polysaccharides. These specific bands might be helpful during screening for breast cancer using Raman Spectroscopy of serum samples. It is also shown that serum samples from patients with breast cancer and from the control group can be discriminated when the LDA is applied to their Raman spectra.