Barbara Berrie | 2023 | Shimmery and Shiny
Shimmery and Shiny: Pigments Used to Depict Light
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.
Barbara H. Berrie is head of the scientific research department and senior conservation scientist at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. She provides scientific and technical support to all aspects of conservation and preservation of the National Gallery’s collections. She also studies history of use of artists’ pigments.
