Overview

• Researchers took microscopic scrapings from the turquoise passages and used laser-based vibrational measurements to generate a chemical fingerprint that identified manganese blue.
• The peer-reviewed analysis, published Monday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, offers the first confirmed evidence that Pollock used this specific pigment.
• The team examined the pigment’s crystal structure to explain its intense color, expanding techniques that support conservation strategies and help detect forgeries.
• Museum of Modern Art conservation scientists collaborated on the study, and the nearly 9‑foot-wide painting is currently on view at the museum.
• Manganese blue was widely used by artists and to tint swimming‑pool cement before being phased out by the 1990s over environmental concerns.