Painting on polyurethane foam:“Composizione-Superficie Lunare” by Giulio Turcato

“Composizione-Superficie Lunare” (1965) is an artwork of the Italian artist Giulio Turcato (Mantua, 1912- Rome, 1995). This painting, inspired by moon travels, was created on a polyurethane foam support, material experimentalized by some other contemporary artists in the late 1960′s. In the present paper the organic and inorganic materials used as binders, fillers and pigments, as well as the support itself, have been investigated by means of a multi-analytical approach based on the application of Environmental Scanning Electron Microscopy Energy-Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (ESEM–EDX), Micro-Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (µ-ATR–FTIR), High Performance Liquid Chromatography coupled with Diode Array Dectector and tandem Mass Spectrometry (HPLC–DAD, LC–MS/MS), Pyrolysis-Gas Chromatography and Evolved Gas Analysis coupled with Mass Spectrometry (Py-GC/MS, multi-shot Py-GC/MS and EGA–MS). The plethora of analytical techniques available allowed to provide for the first time a full characterization of the different materials used in “Composizione-Superficie Lunare” and of a Turcato's painting. The polyurethane foam artwork was painted using synthetic inorganic and organic pigments, such as methyl violet and manganese violet, dispersed in polyvinyl acetate as medium. The study was fundamental for establishing the original materials and aesthetics of the artwork as well as assessing the degradation state of the painting materials and of the polyurethane foam support. The results collected, crucial for planning an effective restoration campaign, highlight the importance of the contribution of analytical chemistry to cultural heritage.