Gold among the paintings of Raphael, Dürer, Carracci, Vermeer and Rembrandt? Challenging an art historical tradition made “blind” to its presence, the AORUM project (Analyse de l'OR et de ses Usages comme Matériau pictural - Analysis of Gold and its Uses as a Pictorial Material) sheds light on the versatiles uses of gold by European painters of the 16th and 17th centuries. How can the interpretation of their works benefit from a better acknowledgment of this metal as a pictorial material, whose specific relationship to light, through its metallic gloss, distinguishes it from the usual pigments? The sessions of this interdisciplinary seminar (art history, heritage sciences, optics, digital humanities) open up a dialogue between the studies of invited specialists and the first findings of the programme.

AORUM Seminar : « For a Material History of Art. Gold and its Uses in Early Modern Painting » | Séminaire AORUM : « Pour une histoire matérielle de l'art. L'or et ses usages dans la peinture de la première modernité » (Paris, INHA, January–June 2025)

From January 2025 onwards, the seminar “For a Material History of Art. Gold and its Uses in Early Modern Painting” will be held once a month on Tuesdays, from 4:00 pm to 6:30pm, at the Institut national d'histoire de l'art (Galerie Colbert, 2 rue Vivienne, 75002, Paris, France). Sessions are open to all, subject to availability of seating, but will not be accessible online.

Program, January to June 2025:

Session 1. Le programme de recherche AORUM | The AORUM Research Project [in French]
14 January 2025, 16h-18h30, INHA, salle Chastel (1st floor).
AORUM speakers: Elliot Adam (INHA), Christine Andraud (CRC), Romain Thomas (INHA), Laurence de Viguerie (LAMS), Dan Vodislav (ETIS)

Session 2. Gold and Painters between Middle Ages and Renaissance | L’or et les peintres entre Moyen Âge et Renaissance [in English]
11 February 2025, 16h-18h30, INHA, salle Vasari (1st floor).
Guest speaker: Alison Wright (University College London)
AORUM speakers: Elliot Adam (INHA), Romain Thomas (INHA)

Session 3. Les métiers de l’or en Europe | Gold Craftsmen in Europe [in French]
11 March 2025, 16h-18h30, INHA, salle Vasari (1st floor)
Guest speakers: Julien Lugand (Université de Perpignan), Audrey Nassieu Maupas (EPHE)
AORUM speakers: Elliot Adam (INHA), Romain Thomas (INHA)

Session 4. A Malleable Material: Gold in Technical Sources | Un matériau malléable : l’or dans les écrits techniques [in English]
8 April 2025, 16h-18h30, INHA, salle André Chastel (1st floor)
Guest speaker: Marjolijn Bol (Utrecht University)
AORUM speakers: Claire Betelu (Paris 1), Elliot Adam (INHA), Marie-Anne Sarda (INHA), Romain Thomas (INHA)

Session 5. Analyser l’or et les dorures : quelles approches physico-chimiques ? | Analyzing Gold and Gildings: which physico-chemical approaches ? [in French]
Tuesday 13 May 2025, 16h-18h30, INHA, salle Walter Benjamin (ground floor)
Guest speaker: Maria F. Guerra (CNRS/MONARIS/Sorbonne Université)
AORUM speaker: Laurence de Viguerie (CNRS/LAMS/Sorbonne Université)

Séance 6 : Les valeurs de l’or, entre Europe et Amériques |The Values of Gold between Europe and the Americas [in French]
Tuesday 3 June 2025, 16h-18h30, INHA, salle Walter Benjamin (ground floor)
Guest speaker: Rebecca Zorach (Northwestern University, chercheuse invitée INHA)
AORUM speaker: Romain Thomas (INHA)

Organizing Committee
Elliot Adam (INHA) : elliot.adam @ inha.fr
Romain Thomas (INHA) : romain.thomas @ inha.fr

Scientific Committee
Elliot Adam (INHA), Christine Andraud (CRCC/CNRS/MNHN), Vincent Delieuvin (Musée du Louvre), Sven Dupré (Utrecht University), Mercedes Gomez-Ferrer Lozano (Universidad de Valencia), Ann-Sophie Lehmann (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen), Sandra Rossi (Opificio delle pietre dure), Heike Stege (Doerner Institut), Romain Thomas (INHA), Laurence de Viguerie (LAMS/CNRS/Sorbonne Université), Dan Vodislav (ETIS/CNRS/CY Cergy Paris Université), Rebecca Zorach (Northwestern University).

Partner institutions
ETIS (UMR 8051), CY Cergy Paris Université ;
HAR (EA 4414), Université Paris Nanterre ;
LAMS (UMR 8220), CNRS/Sorbonne Université.

Location
Institut national d’histoire de l’art
Galerie Colbert, 2 rue Vivienne, 75002 Paris.
Accès libre dans la limite des places disponibles.

Learn more about the project : aorum.hypotheses.org