Precious Stones in Art and Nature from the Renaissance to the
Enlightenment

Workshop
at the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz - Max-Planck-Institut

Max Planck Research Group "Art and Knowledge in Pre-Modern Europe"
Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Berlin

Organized by Hannah Baader and Sean Nelson

Precious stones were a source of constant fascination for artists and
natural philosophers in pre-modern Europe. Diamonds, rubies, pearls and
other gems were both visually striking and rich in symbolism. They
served as subjects for painters, as raw materials for jewelers and
sculptors, as components in scientific instruments, and as stimuli for
reflection on the nature of light, colour, and the structure of matter.
Gems were hybrid objects par excellence, blurring the lines between
science and art, and between theory and practice. The talks in this
workshop, given by Sven Dupré and his research group, illustrate this
hybridity with examples drawn from England, France, Italy, and the
Netherlands. The subject matter addressed ranges from the fifteenth to
the eighteenth century, from astronomy to electricity, and from baroque
miniature painting to rococo furniture.


PROGRAM

14:00-14:10
Hannah Baader
Welcome and Introduction

14:10-14:20
Sven Dupré
Introduction-MPIWG Research Group "Art and Knowledge in Pre-Modern
Europe"

Moderation: Hannah Baader

14:20 - 14:55
Marjolijn Bol
Gems in the Water of Eden: Traveling the Rivers of Paradise in Early
Netherlandish Painting and Natural Philosophy

14:55 - 15:30
Karin Leonhard
Painted Gems: Portrait Miniature Painting and Baroque Colour Theory

15:30 - 15:50 Coffee Break

Moderation: Sean Nelson

15:50 - 16:25
Sven Dupré
Galileo's Glass: Light in the Heavens, Precious Stones on Earth

16:25 - 17:00
Michael Bycroft
The Physics of Furniture: Science and the Rococo in the Gemmological
Research of Charles Dufay

17:00 Discussion


Location
Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz - Max-Planck-Institut
Palazzo Grifoni Budini Gattai
Via dei Servi 51
50122 Firenze

Contact
Sean Nelson
E-mail: sean.nelsonkhi.fi.it