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COLOURS2022 paid homage to Almada Negreiros and all contemporary and succeeding generations of artists around the world who combined ancient color traditions with new materials and painting techniques. The event took place last September and it was organized by HERCULES Laboratory and hosted by Évora University.

For 3 days, international researchers from different areas of knowledge discussed colours in their broad perspectives in history, art history, visual arts, archeology, architecture, heritage science and conservation-restoration. The 3-day event was held in a hybrid format, and it was the project largest meeting platform for experts from the Academy, renowned CH Institutions and Museums from the four continents.The fruitful discussions that emerged highlighted the importance of research and opened up new avenues of experimentation.

In addition, the post-pandemic phase provided a much-needed environment for conversations, entertainment, gastronomic experiences, workshops, and an onsite guided tour, all possible thanks to the dedication and hospitality of Milene Gil, organizing committee and sponsors. A special greeting also goes to Rita Almada Negreiros who kindly welcomed everyone to the opening ceremony.
It was a success! Thanks to all participants!

Video of COLOURS2022: https://youtu.be/2a4640GF8dQ

Day 1

The first day's program started with a plenary lecture by Mariana Pinto dos Santos (IHA-NOVA-FSCH, Portugal). Her inspiring lecture contextualized Almada's artistic work in a dictatorial regime. Two thematic sessions followed, the first dedicated to the history, and symbolism of color in the 20th and 21st centuries, and the second to old and new color materials and their origin/manufacture/uses.

In the first session, communications addressed mural paintings by contemporary artists for Almada in Oporto (Portugal) and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), as well as new perspectives on the color scheme of Almada's stained glass work in the church of Nossa Senhora de Fátima, in Lisbon (Portugal). The second session highlighted modern and contemporary artist’s traditions, recipes and manufacture processes which are now starting to be studied and revealed to the scientific community and general public. Case studies from the EUA and Europe were shared, encompassing a wide range of supports, painting techniques and materials.

The second plenary on the 1st was given by Katherine Schilling (Yale University, USA) in a stimulating lecture on the importance of interdisciplinary engagement in the study and interpretation of color.The discussion of this first day continued in the poster session, spanning the five conference topics.

The formal welcoming reception of the participants took place in the beautiful Palace D. Manuel at the public garden of Évora. Waiting for them, was a collection of fine wines and local delicacies, enlivened by a musical moment led by students from the School of Music of Évora University.

List of presentations available online:
02. Decoding a drawing: Igreja de Nossa Senhora de Fátima glass works colour scheme.
Simão Palmeirim
03. Colours, inspiration, and history behind Gilda Gelmini Neuberger (1811-2011).
Gláucia Wanzeller, Teresa Ferreira, Milene Gil
04. Madder lakes; Reproduction of recipes, chromatic variation and denominations.
De los Reyes, B. (1), Chércoles Asensio, R. (2), San Andrés Moya, M.
05. Sustainable glasses for art and design.
Andrea Ruivo
06. Andy Warhol and His Amazing Technicolor Shoes: Characterizing Early Synthetic Dyes used in À la recherche du shoe perdu and Dr. Ph. Martin's Radiant Concentrated Watercolors.
Abed Haddad, Toni-Nakie-Miller, Josephine Jenks, Glen Kowach, Art Kaplan
07. Complementary study of 27 paintings from MUNCH collection using MFT and pXRF techniques.
Irina Crina Anca Sandu, Tomasz Lojewski, Inger Grimstad
08. Non-destructive analysis of the early Isolani Collection at Pratt Institute.
E. Del Federico, A.Yong, A.Steinfeld, E.Liporace, A. Jerschow, N. Barbi, L. Banner, and R. Miracco
09. Dartecor - Handmade Colors.
Leonel da Costa
 
Give a look below: Musical excerpt. Ensemble of clarinets at the welcome reception: https://youtu.be/x79sVJb2J_o

Day 2

The second day of the conference was dedicated to heritage science, with a thematic session on Color Deterioration (origin, types, mechanisms), followed by another on Science and Technology applied to colour studies. These topics were first introduced on plenary by Claudia Nunes (IPHAN, Brazil), with Candido Portinari's large mural “Jogos Infantis” painted in 1944 at Gustavo Capanema Palace, Rio de Janeiro.

The third session of the conference covered the phenomenon’s of color degradation, how they change our perception of the artwork, what signs the conservator (and the heritage scientist) should look for during diagnosis, and the multianalytical techniques available to provide additional data. The case studies covered a variety of painting expressions, authors, causes, and effects, and analytical techniques. Examples span from Street art from Italy and Mexico, paintings on canvas by Aurélia de Souza (Portugal) and Edvard Munch (Norway) and murals by Almada Negreiros. It was exciting to witness how multidisciplinary teams are engaging with each other, local communities, and CH institutions to find solutions to address conservation issues.

The 4th session had the highest number of communications, 13 out of a total of 32 speakers expected for COLOURS2022. These numbers highlight the growing interest in the use of analytical techniques in diagnostic surveys and material and technical characterization of modern and contemporary works of art.
From the variety of topics brought by the main research centers around the world, some can be highlighted, in order to inspire you to read the COLOURS2022 abstract book and watch the presentations online. These deal with paint forgery, cobalt-based colors, natural and synthetic dyes, multilevel artistic diagnostic methodologies, studies on the painter's modus operandi, ongoing conservation treatments, multispectral imaging systems, FTIR, FORS, optical techniques, NMR spectroscopy and a new macro-raman  mapping.

The second plenary session of Day 2 was delivered at the end of the afternoon by Leslie Rainer, from the Getty Conservation Institute (USA), and was dedicated to David Alfaro Siqueiros and his mural work carried out in Los Angeles in the 1930s. Leslie presented the results of past (and ongoing) integrated projects to study, interpret, preserve, and disseminate the legacy of one of Mexico's greatest muralists for future generations. It was a privileged moment of reflection on everything that was discussed throughout the day, and on how research can (and should) benefit the preservation of heritage, the conservation pratice and the growing involvement of local communities.

Day 2 concluded with a workshop on micro-fading tests facilitated by Tomasz Łojewski, from the Faculty of Materials Science and Ceramics, AGH University of Science and Technology, Krakow, Poland. Tomasz provided a comprehensive explanation of the technique and its use for setting lighting levels in exhibitions. He brought an MFT equipment and software developed by him and tests were conducted in different materials.

List of presentations available online:
10. Degradation of pigments in street murals: in-situ and laboratory Raman studies.
Bersani Danilo, Laura Fornasini, Rousaki Anastasia, Vandenabeele Peter, Berzioli Michela, Saccani Ilaria
11. Acrylic colours for peace: study and conservation of an outdoor mural painting.
Nathael Cano, Ricardo Medina, María Fernanda Urbina, Valeria López
12. Colours of modernism in Edvard Munch's paintings from Warnemünde period.
Irina Sandu, Jin Ferrer, Francesca Rosi, David Buti, Letizia Monico, Donata Magrini, Claudio Costantino, Laura Cartechini, Aldo Romani, Costanza Miliani, Francesco P.Romano, Claudia Caliri, Claudia G. Fatusso, Giulia Privitera, Zdenk Preisler, Raffaella Fontana, Anna Impallaria, Emanuela Grifoni, Marco Raffaelli, Jana Striova, Christine Andraud, Aurélie Tournié
13. Study of influence of zinc white pigment in Aurélia de Sousa self-portraits.
Maria Aguiar, Carolina Barata and Ana Cabral
14. An Insight into the Green Deteriorated Mural Paint Layers at the Maritime Station of Alcântara (Lisbon): first results of an Archeometric Study.
Andrea Acevedo Mejía, Mafalda Costa, Peter Vandenabeele, Luis Dias, Ana Manhita, Milene Gil
15. Preliminary diagnostic Survey of 1947-1949 Paint Layers at the Maritime Station of Rocha Do Conde De Óbidos, Lisbon: A Multi Analytical Research.
Keelie S. Rix, Luis Dias, Sara Valadas, Ana Cardoso, Ana Manhita, Milene Gil
16. Images study and material characterization of the double-sided painting The Cellist and Portrait of Brancusi by Amedeo Modigliani.
Greta García, David Juanes
17. Cobalt pigments and the spectrum of colours they create.
Elena Davanzo, Gianluca Pastorelli
18. António Carneiro's painting collection from the Museu da Cidade do Porto: Study and conservation in the 150th anniversary of the painter's birth.
Carolina Barata, Maria Aguiar, Ana Cabral
19. XIX- XX century inks: disclosing the composition and the degradation mechanism of dyes in historical collection.
Adele Ferretti, Ilaria Degano, Stefano Legnaioli, Beatrice Campanella and Maria Perla Colombini
20. Color and technique in the contemporary painting collection of the Universitat de València, Spain. The landscapes of the painter Manuel Moreno Gimeno.
Ma. Luisa Vázquez de Á. Pascual, Ester A. Pagán, Álvaro S. García, Susana H. Sala, Lucía R. Iranzo, Juan Carlos I. Garay
21. The colors of Ukrainian baroque icon painter Jov Vasilijevič and his influence to Serbian icon painting.
Daniela K. Crkvenjakov, Theodore Ganetsos, Velibor Andrić and Olivera Klisurić
22. Comparative study of two multispectral imaging systems on the Arxiu Valencià del Disseny interior design samples.
Álvaro Solbes García, Mar Gaitán Salvatella, Javier M. Fernández and Ester A. Pagán
23. Colour and technique in a 1969-Portuguese painting A portrait of 'Faiunça' by Armando Matos Simões (1933-)
Vasco Montenegro, Agnès Le Gac, Helena P. Melo, Sara Valadas, Ana M. Cardoso, António Candeias
24. Traditional and modern colours in Gino Severini's murals.
Patrizia Moretti, Stefan Zumbühl, Francesca Piqué
25. Solid state NMR depth profiling and spectroscopy of paint layers in support of the conservation of a white sculptural environment by Louise Nevelson.
Pierre Taugeron, Sullivan Bricaud, Cindie Kehlet and Jens Dittmer
26. Unveiling a World of Dreams: A Multi-Technical Analysis of The Pink Bows (1937) by Paul Delvaux
Eveline Vandeputte, Geert van der Snickt and Nina Deleu
28. Macro-Raman mapping: a novel approach in the analysis of art objects.
Anastasia Rousak and Peter Vandenabeele

Day 3

The third, and last day, of COLOURS2022 was dedicated to the topic Challenges for conservation and restoration. In the morning, an in-depth reflection was promoted on the current challenges related to intangible values, such as oral traditions, knowledge and crafts, and the need for their appreciation and recognition.

The plenary by Mercedes Sanchez Pons, from the Universitat Politécnica de Valéncia (Spain) started the debate by addressing the case study of Street Art in the Old Town of Valencia. A lecture that highlighted the artistic richness of the city, but also its problems; which reflects on the role of conservators, the municipality, artists and the local community in the strategies to be adopted for the preservation and enhancement of a cultural expression that, intentionally ephemeral, gained social value.

The following two communications from Italy and Algeria, despite being geographically and culturally distant, dealt with a common phenomenon which is the gradual loss of immaterial values and ancestral practices of colors in traditional construction. Both warned that interference in the transfer of knowledge and modern practices could lead to the loss of values of authenticity, and know-how, despite the existence of regulations to preserve them. Involving and making the local community, and competent authorities, aware of these traditions is the key to their perpetuation.

The morning session closed with a book launch by Perla Colombini and Ilaria Degano, entitled ‘Analytical Chemistry for the study of Paintings and the detection of forgeries’ published by Springer. The quality and experience of the authors in this field make this publication a must have in your collection.

The conference ended in the afternoon with an onsite guided visit to Almada Negreiro's Mural paintings at the Maritime Stations of Lisbon, where the participants had the one-of-a-kind opportunity to climb the scaffolding and see up close the paintings. This visit tour was held by with Milene Gil, and team member Inês Cardoso, that have shown the know-how of Almada Negreiros and the exciting details which make project ALMADA unique.

We can’t wait for the next edition of COLOURS, how about you?

Stay up to date with news on the ALMADA website and follow us on social media. Also take a look at the image gallery here.

List of presentations available online:
29. A new challenge for the restoration of chromatic identity of the M'zab Valley, Algeria.
Yacine Gouaich, Antónia Fialho Conde
30. Colour in Modern Architecture of Olivetti's Town.
Enrico Giacopelli and Marco Zerbinatti