EL GRECO From Italy to Toledo

MATERIALS ANALYSIS

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Green lining of the Virgin’s mantle
In the cross-section we see a tiny fragment of the internal layer of gesso and animal glue (1) over which the greyish primer (2) was applied. The artist then painted the Virgin’s blue tunic (3) and subsequently covered it in this area with white brushstrokes (4), possibly with the intention of preparing it to receive the bright green paint used for the mantle’s lining, so that the blue underneath would not alter the tone of the green pigment. Before the green paint had dried he applied thick strokes with a high concentration of lead-tin yellow type II pigment granules mixed with white lead and calcium carbonate, which lend this layer a degree of transparency and allow it to blend with the green beneath.

Yellow of the angel’s vestments
In the cross-section we can make out the thin layer of the underdrawing (1 a) that El Greco sketched on the gesso ground (1). This thin drawing layer was covered with a grey primer (3) made of white lead and calcium carbonate. The paint layers in this area were created by applying two series of strokes, an orangey-yellow tone subsequently softened with highly transparent yellow paint, thereby creating a strikingly luminous effect on the angel’s garments.