NGA Lecture: “Science and Art: The Painted Surface"

Date: Monday, September 8
Time: 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Location: National Gallery of Art, West Building Auditorium
6th and Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20565
No registration necessary.

Dark watercolor painting of a man and dog in a body of water next to a small boat — Winslow Homer, Sketch for “Hound and Hunter”, American, 1836 – 1910, 1892, watercolor on wove paper, Gift of Ruth K. Henschel in memory of her husband, Charles R. Henschel

Cooperation between science and the humanities illuminates the past and improves conservation techniques.

In conjunction with the publication of “Science and Art: The Painted Surface,” we are pleased to invite you to a roundtable discussion of how technical analysis of art contributes to the care and understanding of our cultural and artistic heritage. In particular, we will discuss how identifying specific colorants used by artists leads to insight into their work. We will focus on the use of blue colorants in Japanese watercolor paintings and the evolution of the palette in Winslow Homer’s watercolors.

Roundtable participants:

Antonio Sgamellotti
Academician of Lincei and Professor of Inorganic Chemistry
University of Perugia

Brunetto G. Brunettti
Full Professor of General and Inorganic Chemistry
Univeristy of Perugia

Marco Leona
Scientist in Charge, Department of Scientific Research
The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Barbara Berrie
Head of Scientific Research
National Gallery of Art

Charles Brock
Associate Curator
National Gallery of Art

NGA Lecture: “Science and Art: The Painted Surface”

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