Picasso's Guernica (Gigapixel)

3 days ago

Recent photographic technical studies on Guernica by the Reina Sofía Museum's restoration team have revealed important conclusions for researchers and restorers.
Changes in Picasso's painting composition are documented by Dora Maar's photographs and now visible through infrared reflectography.
Key findings include: the soldier's head was originally upside down and later rotated; hidden eyes in the bull's head; and alterations from the canvas's multiple mounting and unmounting.
The artwork has suffered craquelados (cracks), fissures, and loss of material due to handling and rolling, with craquelados being more severe.
Wax accumulations on the surface result from a 1957 restoration at MoMA using a wax-resin mixture applied from the reverse of the canvas.
Residues from a 1974 vandalism act with red acrylic spray paint are still visible as micro-residues, though the original painting was protected by a varnish applied in 1962.
A glossary details alterations like abrasion, craquelado, and repinte, as well as technical data including changes in composition and underlying drawing.

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