The Science of Paintings
The beauty, mystery, joy, and inspired observation of the human spirit that paintings evoke result from a complex of intuitive and cognitive choices made by the artist. An understanding of the genesis of these choices can be as elusive as the resulting im
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W. Stanley Taft, Jr. Department of Art Cornell University 224 Tjaden Hall Ithaca, NY 14853 USA [email protected] Contributors Peter Ian Kuniholm Department of Art History Cornell University
James W. Mayer Center for Solid State Science Arizona State University P.O. Box 871704 Tempe, AZ 85287 USA [email protected]
Richard Newman Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Dusan C. Stulik The Getty Conservation Institute
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Taft, W. Stanley. The science of paintings / Stanley Taft, James W. Mayer ; with contributions by Peter Kuniholm, Richard Newman, and Dusan Stulik. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-387-98722-3 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Painting—Appreciation. I. Mayer, James W., 1930– . II. Newman, Richard, 1951– . III. Stulik, Dusan, 1956– . IV. Kuniholm, Peter. V. Title. ND 1143.T34 2000 751—dc21 99-39642 Printed on acid-free paper. © 2000 Springer-Verlag New York, Inc. All rights reserved. This work may not be translated or copied in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher (Springer-Verlag New York, Inc., 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA), except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis. Use in connection with any form of information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed is forbidden. The use of general descriptive names, trade names, trademarks, etc., in this publication, even if the former are not especially identified, is not to be taken as a sign that such names, as understood by the Trade Marks and Merchandise Marks Act, may accordingly be used freely by anyone. Production managed by MaryAnn Brickner; manufacturing supervised by Joe Quatela. Typeset by Matrix Publishing Services, Inc., York, PA. Printed and bound by Maple-Vail Book Manufacturing Group, York, PA. Printed in the United States of America. 987654321 ISBN 0-387-98722-3 Springer-Verlag New York Berlin Heidelberg
SPIN 10707620
PREFACE
The beauty, mystery, joy, and inspired observation of the human spirit that paintings evoke result from a complex of intuitive and cognitive choices made by the artist. An understanding of the genesis of these choices can be as elusive as the resulting imagery, but great paintings seem to initiate in us a curiosity about the ideas, methods, and materials used by their creators. In the twentieth century connoisseurship has been enriched by the application of methods of scientific analysis. The results of these investigations into the physical properties of paintings have shed new light on their authenticity and individual histories as well as on the craft in general. Developments in the fields of physics and chemistry have allowed us to understand still more about how we perceive and interact with paintings. This book is intended for those both inside and outside the field of art who wish to gain insight into the making of paintings. It is directed toward students, teachers, and scientists
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