THE ROLE OF CHEMISTRY IN PAINTINGS." 



Bv EuGfiNE Lemaire. 



Chemistry respects nothing. Not long ago it invaded a domain 

 which would seem forbidden to it, that of art. To-day it instructs 

 artists how a painting should be made, connoisseurs how it should be 

 bought, and collectors how it should be preserved. 



It is true that there have always been painters who, ignorant of 

 chemistry, have yet produced admirable and unalterable works, but 

 they are the exception; and chemists claim that these artists while 

 I^reparing and trying their colors, mixtures, and varnishes used chem- 

 istry, as M. Jourdain used prose, without knowing it. 



It is forty years since modern chemistry made its entry into the 

 domain of painting. The Bavarian chemist. Max von Pettenkofer, 

 a professor of chemistrj^ at Munich, living in the midst of the 

 artistic riches of that great city, among artists, an artist himself, 

 had been struck by the ignorance of museum custodians regarding 

 the restoration and rational preservation of paintings, and he resolved 

 to study these questions. He was fortunate enough to establish prin- 

 ciples and formulate rules which should be a guide to custodians. 

 To-day these rules are observed in all large museums. A memorable 

 example, among others, will show what it cost one of the richest 

 museums for having transgressed them. The citv of Lille, finding 

 its pictures crowded in the city hall, the old palace of Rihour, had 

 constructed at great expense a vast and luxurious palais des beaux- 

 arts, destined to contain its richest collections. Unfortunately, in 

 1895, three years after the opening, all the pictures were in such a 

 ^^itiable condition that it was necessary to remove them at once, to 

 lower the ceilings of the immense rooms about 8 feet, to divide them 

 by partitions, and to entirely remodel the sj^stem of heating and 

 ventilation. 



Before passing to the preservation of a picture, an example will 

 show Avhat aid chemistry can give to the purchaser or the collector. 



o Translated, by permission, from La Nature, Paris, No. 17G0, February 16, 

 1907. 



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