Marco Leona
David H. Koch Scientist in Charge Metropolitan Museum of art
Tuesday, June 14, 2016 · 12 - 1 PM
The art and science of color: four thousand years of experimentation and discovery through the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
What have Tutankhamun funerary linens in common with Nadal socks after a Roland Garros final? What can a speck of pink tell us about the mysterious old woman depicted in a first century Roman statue?
What contributed, more than Mexican gold to pay Charles V debts to the Netherlandish bankers? Why there are no Japanese landscape prints dating to before 1820, and who is really responsible for Hokusai’s masterpieces? What is the color of modernity?
The creation of a work of art is a process often depicted as untouched by material constraints. Pure, unfettered inspiration, without the limitations imposed by physics. It should be evident, however, that only with materials having defined physical properties a certain esthetic effect can be obtained.
The quest for color, for beauty is a fundamental constant in human history, as well as an economic engine, and an inspiration for art and technology alike.
While we easily recognize that the desire to produce richer and more lively images is a clear driver to seek new materials, on the other side of the world, in mines or forests, or in the crucibles of the alchemist (or of his modern counterpart, the chemist), we often overlook how new materials lead to
new esthetics.
Using advanced analytical chemistry we can build a material history of art based on physical evidence gathered from masterpieces spanning four millennia, from ancient Egypt to Modernity, demonstrating that technological developments were not only readily embraced, and often prompted by artists and their audiences, but also that they in turn created new forms of expression.