New book on Picasso's use of enamel paints

    Picasso Express
    Musee Picasso, Antibes, 2011. 166 pp.
    Soft cover. In French with English translation.

Available online at <URL:http://www.abebooks.com>

    <URL:http://www.abebooks.com/
        servlet/SearchResults?paratrk=&isbn=9782905315014>

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Description: Pablo Picasso is renowned for pushing the boundaries of
conventional art making and for his innovative experimentation with
materials, including Ripolin, a line of matte and glossy enamel
paints--"Ripolin Express" being one of those--manufactured by the
eponymous French company. Ripolin paints gained enormous popularity
in France and Europe starting from the beginning of the 20th century
and had a profound impact on artists.

This interdisciplinary book, integrating the voices of art
historians, scientists and conservators offers an original, highly
detailed and yet accessible vision on the different aspects of
Picasso's experience and practice in Antibes, shedding ultimate
light on the legend that has grown around the artist's use of
Ripolin.

Produced by the Musee Picasso, Antibes (France) this book delves
deeply into Picasso's use of enamel paints, which has long been
known in the literature and cited on gallery labels, but has rarely
been scientifically demonstrated in individual works. With evidence
from documentary sources as well as new, extensive scientific
analysis of the works in the Antibes collection, created during the
artist's prolific 1946 residence in the Chateau Grimaldi, this book
for the first time presents a scientific study of Ripolin and how it
can be distinguished among the paints chosen by artists in the first
half of the 20th century. An in-depth art-historical overview of
Picasso's use of this unconventional medium before 1950 sets the
stage for the discussion. The book also explores in detail the
surface of the paintings and illustrates the fascinating new
creative solutions inspired by enamel paint in Antibes, providing
the material vocabulary to articulate the evolution of the artist at
this critical time of renewal. Extensive background information on
the history of the Ripolin manufactory and the technology of its
renowned products is also gathered here for the first time.

Authors: Jean-Louis Andral is Director, Musee Picasso, Antibes;
Francesca Casadio, Gwenaelle Gautier and Kim Muir are members of the
Department of Conservation of the Art Institute of Chicago; Marilyn
McCully is an independent art historian; Michael Raeburn is an
independent scholar; Daniele Giraudy is Curator Emerita and Former
Director, Musee Picasso, Antibes; Benoit Dagron is an independent
conservator; Alain Colombini and Emilie Hubert are scientist and
photographer, respectively, at the Centre Interregional de
Conservation et Restauration du Patrimoine, Marseille.

Francesca Casadio, PhD
Andrew W. Mellon Senior Conservation Scientist
The Art Institute of Chicago
111 S. Michigan Ave
60603 Chicago, IL
312-857-7647


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