The mystery of the colour blue in Pollock's painting has been solved

American scientists have finally solved one of the artistic mysteries of the XX century - the origin of the rich blue colour in Jackson Pollock's famous canvas "Number 1A, 1948". Thanks to advanced spectroscopic techniques, researchers were able to confirm: the artist used a rare synthetic pigment - manganese blue.

The painting, kept in the New York Museum of Modern Art, is executed in Pollock's recognisable technique - the paints are splattered and poured onto the canvas in a free manner. The composition is particularly expressive due to the bright turquoise hue, the source of which remained unknown for a long time.

A team of scientists from Stanford and MoMA examined microscopic samples of blue paint using laser light scattering spectroscopy. This technique provided a "chemical fingerprint" of the pigment - the spectral profile of its molecular vibrations. As a result of the experiment, it was found that manganese blue, a bright and persistent pigment that was previously used not only in painting, but also, for example, in the colouring of cement for swimming pools, was indeed used on the canvas.

"It is very interesting to understand at the molecular level where such an expressive colour comes from in art," said one of the study's authors, Stanford University professor Edward Solomon.

Manganese blue pigment was popular among artists, but by the 1990s had fallen out of use due to environmental restrictions. Until now, there has been no direct evidence of its use by Pollock - only speculation. A new study confirms this for the first time by analysing paint from the painting itself.

The study has implications not only for art history, but also for restoration. According to conservation scientist Abed Haddad of MoMA, because of Pollock's distinctive technique - he often applied paint directly from a can, without mixing on a palette - researchers can analyse individual pigments with high precision.

Haddad also noted that the artist's approach to the work was not chaotic, as it may seem, but methodical - in this he saw similarities to the work of the research team:

"We're examining the canvas with the same attention to detail that Pollock himself had in creating the painting."

Experts believe that the data obtained will help in the future more accurately determine the authenticity of Pollock's work, as well as to recreate lost or damaged areas without distorting the original palette.

Read more: Heyer, Alexander J. et al. Action painting under spectroscopic light: Excited-state exchange interactions behind the vibrant blue in Jackson Pollock's Number 1A, 1948, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2025). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2513166122