HSS session: "Scientific examination of art and archeological artefacts"
During the latter part of the twentieth century, many
museums installed scientific laboratories for the examination and conservation
of artefacts.It has now become standard to perform elaborate scientific
investigations before making any alterations to museum pieces. Yet, until the
Second World War, science was often mistrusted and neglected as a proper source
for art historical knowledge. Scientists were often regarded to be unqualified
to speak out on art, and their evidence was considered to be without any value
to the real connoisseur or art collector. This confrontation of science and art
brings out many interesting themes. The rejection of scientific arguments in
art historical debates highlights the public perception of science and art as
antagonistic forces, in much the same way as P.C. Snow's famous Two Cultures
book. It also underscores debates on the nature of knowledge and the role of
the public in endorsing the boundaries of scientific authority.
In this session we want to take a broad view on the
interaction between science and art, from the seventeenth until the twentieth
century.
Possible topics may include the role of art academies,
chemistry textbooks, and restoration studios, but also the views and activities
of prominent scientists, such as Klaproth, Faraday, Pasteur, Pettenkofer and
Ostwald, or the investigation of varnishes, pigments, microphotographs, X-ray
shadowgraphs, etc. Thee session may furthermore pay special attention to early
twentieth century attempts to found museum laboratories, among which in
particular the Harvard Fogg Art Museum was a world pioneer. Anyone wishing to
particpate in this session can send a title, with a short and personal details
to geert.vanpaemel@wet.kuleuven.be
<mailto:geert.vanpaemel@wet.kuleuven.be>.
Geert Vanpaemel
University of Leuven (Belgium)