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The Methods and Materials of Martin Johnson Heade

2002; Routledge; Volume: 41; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1179/019713602806112922

1945-2330

Elizabeth Leto Fulton, Richard Newman, J. G. Woodward, J. N. Wright,

Cultural Heritage Materials Analysis

AbstractThis article presents the results of a study of paintings by the 19th-century American artist Martin Johnson Heade. The project was conducted at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, which houses the largest public collection of Heade's paintings. Every major period of painting in Heade's career is represented here: portraiture, genre, landscape, landscape–still life, and still life. The study included complete photodocumentation and technical examinations of 50 paintings, most from the permanent collection. Paint and ground layers including pigments of 21 paintings of this group were analyzed.Supports, grounds, and paint layers are described in an attempt to follow the progression of the artist's style through the years, including the influences of Heade's contemporaries. Photomacrography and cross sectional analysis were used to confirm and clarify Heade's application of ground and paint layers. Painting methods and materials and a variety of brush strokes and colors are also considered. Particular emphasis is given to pigments, with detailed analytical results presented in tabular form.