A mysterious phenomenon affects certain paintings by Pierre Soulages. The paint is flaking in some places, while it softens and becomes liquid again in others. "It's really sticky. If we look under the UV lamp, we see a little oozing. We see something a little brighter and small drops forming. And when they are really formed, it can be a flow of several centimeters long which comes out of an impasto ”, explains the restorer specialist of Soulages, Pauline Hélou de la Grandière, doctoral student at Cergy Paris University, with France Info.
The works of the artist who died in October 2022 are not the only ones affected by this strange phenomenon. "We find the same alterations in the paintings of Soulages as in the paintings of other artists who worked in Paris during the same period and who were supplied by the same color merchants", specifies the restorer in a video produced by researchers from the CNRS with Le Monde. In total, ten works would be concerned.
"These are canvases that were exhibited immediately after their creation, in exhibitions that sometimes went very far, so that were immediately stored in boxes, put in the dark and with variations in climate," explains Pauline Helou de la Grandiere.
The works affected by the phenomenon were also painted in the same period in Paris, when a strong "sulphide pollution" was present in the capital. Another explanation could also lie with the paint supplier. The stakes are high: understanding the phenomenon would help protect other post-war paintings.
