ProMeSA (funded by Minsterio de Economia, Industria y Competitividad, MICINN/FEDER) aimed to investigate the relationship between the condition of paintings on canvas and the composition and physical-mechanical properties of the painting materials used by artists. For this purpose and in addition to experimental work carried out on control paint samples in the laboratory, the partnership with Museo Picasso (Barcelona, Spain) was of utmost relevance since it allowed to carry out a comprehensive research on selected Picasso’s paintings. Secondly, the ProMeSA project focused on the study of four works by Picasso (“Hombre Sentado”, “Mujer En Butaca”, “Hombre Con Frutero”, and “Blanquita Suárez”) painted in Barcelona in 1917. Although the paintings were displayed in the same location, they presented significant differences in condition. The various types of damage observed in the four paintings executed with seemingly similar canvases, paints, palette and technique led to a multi-analytical study to understand why these paintings presented significant differences in degradation patterns after being kept under similar conditions. Such diversity in the type of damage suggested differences in terms of composition and behaviour of the painted layers and grounds. The obtained results revealed minor but important differences related to the canvas and ground layers suggesting that the material differences in the selected artworks created by Picasso in Barcelona within the same year caused various degrees of vulnerability. This research also investigated the composition of the palette of the four paintings. In order to establish hypotheses for the observed differences in failure mechanisms, surface observations of the morphology and crack patterns of the paint layers were made with visible and ultraviolet radiation of the paintings at a macro- and micro-levels. The information obtained from this approach allowed a better understanding of the structural and compositional differences that resulted in the range of damages detected. The second part of the study focused in more detail on the extensive and significant cracking of one of the four paintings. This in-depth visual examination helped in explaining the reason why some areas were less cracked than others. On the one hand, the areas not protected by the stretcher bars were more cracked, which confirmed the well-known phenomenon that these cracks are related to environmental fluctuations. On the other hand, however, the fewer cracks found in flesh tones and grey areas could be related to the presence of lead white which is known to contribute active metal ions to form a more durable paint film and therefore less prone to cracking.

The project (funded by GVA- Subvencions per a Grups d’Investigació Consolidables) was focused in producing different sets of reference samples (e.g. linen canvases mounted on a stretcher with and without animal glue sizing, control oil paint samples with commercial paint tubes, priming layers with different pigment volume concentrations, etc.). In the case of the oil paint samples and considering the long drying times it was possible to document the initial stages of the film formation and drying processes. In addition to producing a collection of reference materials for analysis, it was possible to establish relationships with nearby collections in order to have case studies easily accessible. For example, we had access to conditions reports in IVAM archives and sixty-nine (69) potential case studies for research purposes were identified. The criteria used was: paintings on canvas with a significant percentage of cracks in different areas of the pictorial surface. Especially relevant was to find case studies showing structural damage where an evident propagation of cracks had taken place in -between the different conditions reports existing. A selection of case studies with damage present in localised chromatic areas were identified and we had access to information relative to their storage and exposure conditions, conservation interventions and previous analysis.

MIMO Project (funded by MICINN/FEDER) was the follow up of ProMeSA project and was aimed to gain an insight into the complexity of damage observed in modern and contemporary oil painted surfaces. MIMO was intended to provide an overview of pigments and binding medium interactions by developing a comprehensive physical, chemical and mechanical research on metal ions mechanisms in modern and contemporary oil paint films. For this purpose, the project combined laboratory experiments on mock-up paints with in situ non-invasive and microinvasive studies of selected case studies from Museu Picasso in Barcelona and Fundación LaCaixa.

The travel restrictions due to the pandemic in early 2020, forced us to start collaborating to a nearby collection, IVAM, and this was the occasion to document with multiband imaging several case studies that had previously been identified at IVAM collection in the framework of AICO project. Three early 20^th century Neoplasticist paintings from the Institut Valencià d’Art Modern (IVAM) were studied: Proportions by F. Kupka (1934), Composition, nº83 by F. Vordemberge-Gildewart (1934) and Composition dans le cône avec couleur orange by G. Vantongerloo (1929). In all three case studies, selective cracking in specific coloured areas was observed with multiband imaging. Results suggested that the failure mechanisms behind the cracks observed was related to the intrinsic nature of some pigments (and not to environment), and hence, recurring in time.

In addition to iVAM Case studies and once mobility was again possible, 5 oil paintings on canvas by Antonio Saura, from the 1950s and 1960s, belonging to the Contemporary Art Collection of the “la Caixa” Foundation were studied. The paintings Soleá, (162 x 130 cm), Cota (162 x 130 cm), Crucifixion (195 x 130 cm), Gran Nu (195 x 237 cm), and Edith (195 x 130 cm) combine mostly black and white oil paintings (and some greys derived from their superimposition and mixtures) and, in them, different degradation phenomena were evident, mainly delamination and craquelure located mostly in black areas and more locally in some white areas. In this research, multiband images allowed a preliminary approach to the technique, materials and condition of the paintings. IR images showed paintings with very few corrections, revealing an expeditious, fast and very direct technique. UV images (UVR and UVL) showed the coexistence of at least two blacks in most of the paintings, and differences between the white (or whites) used and, often, also with respect to that of the preparation, a fact that was corroborated by the analysis of the microsamples. Likewise, the different wavelengths made it possible to reveal the existence of repainting and other alterations. To evaluate the presence of cracks, transmission imaging (TL) was particularly useful, and infrared transirradiation imaging (IRT) was even more enlightening. The multiband research was supported by chemical analysis in microsamples.

Finally, we are currently also processing data obtained from an in-situ campaign carried out in Las Meninas (1957) from Museu Picasso in Barcelona. The outcomes of this project have broadened the understanding into paintings degradation and how this understanding can better inform conservation strategies.

The CollectionCare project was a European Commission Horizon 2020-funded initiative that aimed to develop an innovative PC decision support system to meet the needs of small and medium-sized museums and collections. The system integrated current research and technological advances in monitoring systems (sensor nodes), wireless communications, big data, cloud computing, and material and multi-material degradation models. The CollectionCare system can therefore monitor the environmental conditions of each artefact individually, wherever it is located (on display, in storage, during handling or transport), provide predictions of the degradation of multi-material cultural artefacts, and offer recommendations for their proper conservation. The CollectionCare system monitors environmental conditions at room level; however, the information collected, stored and analysed is specific to each individual object. This allows for cost optimisation, as a single device can monitor each cultural object within the same space when individualised monitoring is not required. Conversely, it is also possible to monitor the microclimate conditions of the immediate environment surrounding the artefact, enabling more precise monitoring when the sensitivity and vulnerability of the artefact requires it. All the information obtained by the sensor nodes is later transferred, stored and analysed in the cloud (a cloud-based big data platform) and integrated with advanced material degradation models. These models can provide users with information on the artefact’s degradation, as well as warnings and recommendations to ensure its long-term conservation.

2023 was the Anglada-Camarasa Year, which coincided with the 150th anniversary of his birth. The exhibition ‘Anglada-Camarasa: The Premeditated Archive’ (MNAC, Barcelona, 9 February – 7 May 2023) showcased the dialogue between a selection of Anglada-Camarasa’s works and documentation from his personal archive. Thanks to these unpublished documents, visitors could delve into the artist’s personality and creative process, and discover his artistic work. The exhibition also revealed the absence of technical studies on Anglada-Camarasa’s painting technique and materials, as well as the opportunity offered by the collection to study early 20th century Spanish oil paints.

In recent years, significant research has been conducted into the drawbacks of commercial paint formulations, which have been proven to result in efflorescence, wrinkling and dripping, cracks and delamination. Studying a set of paintings by the same artist that have been stored by the family in similar conditions makes it possible to identify behavioural trends and gain insight into the complex degradation processes experienced.

CRACK represents a step forward in the research conducted by the team over the past seven years. Building on previous experience, CRACK introduces the following novelties:

a) filling a gap in the technical art history of early 20th century Spanish painting by carrying out a thorough, multi-analytical, non-

invasive and micro-invasive study of the painting techniques and materials used by  Anglada-Camarasa, an outstanding representative of Catalan modernism;

b) conducting a comprehensive study of the factors influencing the formation and propagation of cracks in modern oil canvas paintings,

c) contributing data to correlate the macro-, micro-, and nanoscale in order to improve our understanding the properties and performance of modern oils.

By expanding the material and technical knowledge of the paintings under examination, CRACK sheds new light on Anglada-Camarasa’s stylistic development and material experimentation during his early period, as well as into the vulnerability of his materials over time.

The results of such a comprehensive study will be invaluable, and the designed research methodology may be applicable to the work of other artists.