Events

Past Event

Barbara H. Berrie: Shimmery and Shiny: Pigments Used to Depict Light

March 28, 2023
6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
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Online and In-person: Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, 1 East 78th Street, New York

Event Description

Early modern artists desired mimetic effects, striving to depict glossy silk, reflective armor, or translucent flesh. The artist and author Leon Battista Alberti (1402-1472) said depicting gold using other materials was a sign of artistic skill. Using analysis of pigments, this presentation seeks to question whether painters tried to exploit the inherent optical qualities of pigments, such as lustre or transparency, to imitate the visible world.

Event Speaker

Barbara H. Berrie, Head of Scientific Research at the National Gallery of Art

Event Information

Free and open to the public. Registration is required for both in-person and online attendance. For more information, please visit the event webpage. 

Hosted by the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University.