"Earlier this month, the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences published a paper that answered a decades-old art-world question: how did Pollock achieve the memorable blue color in his painting Number 1A, 1948? As the paper's authors wrote, the analysis of the painting's colors has taken place across several years. "While past work has identified the red and yellow pigments that form part of his core palette, the vibrant blue in the painting has remained unassigned," they noted."
"The researchers working on this project used spectroscopy to analyze samples from the painting, eventually determining that the specific color is manganese blue. In an article on the discovery for the Associated Press, Adithi Ramakrishnan wrote that this is "the first confirmed evidence" of Pollock making use of manganese blue in one of his paintings. The AP also pointed out that manganese blue is no longer available to contemporary artists:"
Researchers used spectroscopy to analyze samples from Jackson Pollock's Number 1A, 1948, and determined that the vibrant blue pigment is manganese blue. Prior analyses had identified red and yellow pigments in Pollock's palette, but the blue pigment had remained unassigned for several years. Manganese blue production ceased because of environmental concerns, making the pigment unavailable to contemporary artists. The identification provides the first confirmed evidence of Pollock's use of manganese blue in a painting. The result illustrates the application of scientific methods to identify historical artists' materials and enhances understanding of mid-20th-century paint technology and Pollock's material choices.
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