NDLI: Two László Moholy-nagy Paintings on Trolit : Insights into the Condition of an Early Cellulose Nitrate Plastic

Content Provider	Semantic Scholar
Author	Salvant, Johanna Sutherland, Ken Barten, Julie Stringari, Carol
Copyright Year	2016
Abstract	It had long been believed that the plastic substrates of László MoholyNagy’s paintings T1 (1926) and Tp 2 (1930) in the collection of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum were a phenol formaldehyde resin called Trolitan. Recent investigations using a combination of microscopy and instrumental analysis revealed that these plastics are actually cellulose nitrate filled with a significant proportion of gypsum. The pigments, plasticizers and other organic components were also thoroughly characterized. When considered together with archival information, these characteristics indicate that this material should rather be identified as an industrial plastic called Trolit produced at the same factory as Trolitan: the Rheinisch-Westfälischen SprengstoffFabriken (RWS) in Troisdorf, Germany. This first analytical description of Trolit provides new insights into Moholy-Nagy’s unconventional material choices, highlights the remarkably good current condition of the works of art, and shows the importance of using scientific analysis to correctly identify historic plastics instead of relying on trade names for their material identification.
File Format	PDF HTM / HTML
Alternate Webpage(s)	http://www.morana-rtd.com/e-preservationscience/2016/ePS_2016_a3_Salvant.pdf
Language	English
Access Restriction	Open
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article

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