Discovering “The Italian Flag” by Fernando Melani (1907–1985)

•An analytical approach for the study of contemporary artist materials is presented.•This paper focuses on the artwork “The Italian Flag” by Fernando Melani (1907–1985).•The importance of using many non-invasive and micro-invasive techniques is presented.•The purpose is to identify any incompatibility between the materials used by Melani.•The paper supports curators in defining the preventive conservation of this artwork.

In the occasion of the celebrations for the 150th anniversary of the founding of Italy (1861–2011), it was decided to analyse the artwork “The Italian Flag” (La Bandiera Italiana) created by the artist Fernando Melani (Pistoia, 1907–1985), one of the precursors of the Poor Art artistic movement in Italy. This project is a follow-up to a previous study which was mainly focused on the pigments and dyes found in his home-studio.The main goal of this paper is to identify a correct diagnostic plan, based on the use of a combination of non-invasive and micro-invasive methodologies, in order to determine the state of preservation and define the best conservation procedures for a contemporary artwork.Visible, infrared and infrared false colour images as well as the Fibre Optic Reflectance Spectroscopy (FORS) technique were applied in situ to analyse The Italian Flag. Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS), Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) and micro-Raman spectroscopies, Pyrolysis-Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectroscopy (Py-GC/MS), High Performance Liquid Chromatography with Diode Arrays Detection (HPLC-DAD) and Mass Spectrometric Detection (HPLC-ESI-Q-ToF) were all applied to three small samples detached from the three painted (green-blue, white and red-yellow, respectively) areas of the flag.The combination of the data obtained with all these techniques made possible a comprehensive understanding of both the chemical composition and physical behaviour of the materials used by the artist and supported curators in defining the preventive conservation of this artwork.

Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide