2025 Poster Session

This work presents the non-invasive X-Ray Fluorescence  (XRF) and  Macro XRF (MA-XRF) results of the study of two contemporary madonna paintings by  Licio Isolani. Licio Isolani (1931-2015) is an Italian Artist from Volterra who immigrated to Minneapolis in 1956 as he was hired to make commercial religious sculptures by a local company. In  1958, however,  Isolani found his way to New York City where he remained for the rest of his life. There he established his studio and became a founding member of the first cooperatively based galleries, the “10th Street Galleries". It is during this transition from Minneapolis to New York City, that he painted the Madonnas,  which are his last known figurative paintings now housed at Pratt Institute where he taught for 50 years.  The XRF results  coupled with optical microscopy show that the reds, yellows and orange areas on  both madonnas  are mainly composed of varying ratios of ground copper and zinc metals and tin is present only on the gray areas. The main XRF differences observed among the madonnas  are on the white areas:  lead white is heavily present in the Minnesota Madonna, whereas mixtures of  ground aluminum and a barium white are found in the NY madonna. This mixture allowed Isolani to achieve a more luminous transparent white that he repeated in later paintings. In addition, the NY madonna displays light blue luminous areas which are absent in the Minnesota madonna. Copper and Chlorine along with Aluminum are present in these areas suggesting the possible use of thalo blue. Visual  examination showed that the artist may have used cartoons to transfer his designs, as areas that resemble “giornatas” are seen in the Minnesota madonna, whereas the NY madonna show “small red dots contouring the design. MA-XRF results show that  the dots are mainly composed of iron, which suggest the use or the “imitated use” of the traditional “pouncing technique”. 

It is noticeable Isolani was already experimenting with novel  materials while in Minnesota  at the same time that was making commercial madonnas for churches and other religious institutions. This non-destructive analysis is the first step into the exploration of Licio Isolani’s materials and techniques,  and further molecular spectroscopy studies are underway to fully understand the complexity of these paintings that keep and break with the Renaissance tradition ingrained in the artist.