L’appel à communications du CIHA 2024 est prolongé jusqu’au 1er octobre minuit. Les propositions pour la session « Trade, commerce and availability of pigments in Early Modern Europe (1400-1800), coordonnée par Romain Thomas (INHA/université Paris Nanterre), Claire Bételu (Université Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne) et Anne Haack Christensen (Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhague) sont bienvenues.
The palette of the European artist of the early modern period (1400-1800) is fairly well known today through the cross-referencing of written sources and the results of physico-chemical analyses. Furthermore, in the last years important volumes and papers on the trade in painters’ materials have been published. As for now, the role of certain European hubs for the production of and/or the trade in pigments has been acknowledged, and various professions specialized in the making and retail of pigments in these centres have also been subject to studies. Moreover, scientific analyses, including the analyses of isotope ratios of chemical elements in pigments have opened up a new field of research. These analyses can help understand the ore location of raw materials, and together with other types of technical analyses they contribute to a better understanding of workshop practices, the supply of pigments, as well as the activity and mobility of painters.
All the same, the history of pigments still requires further development in relation to their production and trade, with a focus e.g. on their availability on a relatively fine scale in Europe, and over the whole early modern period (1400-1800), or on the terminology used to refer to them. For this session we especially invite historical case-studies and interdisciplinary contributions. Papers emerging from a diverse range of fields, including art history, technical art history, material science, conservation and socio-economic history are welcome. Themes for presentations may address, but are not limited to:
- The production of pigments
- Trade routes, including extra-European connections
- Trade and its actors in relation to wholesale and retail
- Availability of pigments in Europe as a function of time or place
- Pigment quality, value and price, for instance in relation to the European economic situation and local currencies
- Terminology used to designate pigments in relation to location, quality and manufacturing processes
Particular attention will be paid to new and unpublished research. Papers presenting new methodological approaches or new perspectives will be considered with interest for a peer- reviewed publication.
Short bibliography :
- Anne Haack Christensen & Angela Jager (eds.), Trading paintings and painters’ materials 1550-1800, Londres, 2019
- Jo Kirby et al. (eds.), Trade in artists’ materials. Markets and Commerce in Europe to 1700, Londres, 2010
- Louisa C. Matthew, ‘The Pigment Trade in Europe during the Sixteenth Century’, in Gerhard Wolf & Joseph Connors (eds.), Colors Between Two Worlds. The Florentine Codex of Bernardino de Sahagun, Florence, 2011, pp. 301-314
Site internet:
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.