The Bodleian Libraries (BODcasts)

Painted by numbers: decoding Ferdinand Bauer's Flora Graeca colour code


Listen Later

Lunchtime lecture by Richard Mulholland accompanying the exhibition Marks of Genius: Masterpieces from the Collections of the Bodleian Libraries. Outside of the natural sciences, the work of Ferdinand Bauer (1760-1826), the pre-eminent eighteenth century natural history painter is little known. However, his botanical and zoological paintings on paper are considered to be among the finest in the world. Of particular interest is the unusual drawing and painting technique he used, recording colour information about specimens by annotating preliminary pencil sketches with numerical colour codes to be painted at a much later stage referring directly to a painted colour chart. This talk will discuss Bauer's botanical illustrations for the Flora Graeca (1806-1840), one of the most lavish Flora's ever published, the materials and techniques he used, and new research by the Bodleian's Conservation Research department to identify Bauer's 18th century palette, and recreate the lost colour chart that holds the key to fully understanding Bauer's considerable expertise as an artist.
...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

The Bodleian Libraries (BODcasts)By Oxford University

  • 4.2
  • 4.2
  • 4.2
  • 4.2
  • 4.2

4.2

12 ratings


More shows like The Bodleian Libraries (BODcasts)

View all
Anthropology by Oxford University

Anthropology

75 Listeners

Philosophy for Beginners by Oxford University

Philosophy for Beginners

324 Listeners

Approaching Shakespeare by Oxford University

Approaching Shakespeare

325 Listeners

Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art lectures by Oxford University

Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art lectures

76 Listeners

Psychiatry by Oxford University

Psychiatry

57 Listeners

Critical Reasoning: A Romp Through the Foothills of Logic by Oxford University

Critical Reasoning: A Romp Through the Foothills of Logic

37 Listeners

The Secrets of Mathematics by Oxford University

The Secrets of Mathematics

40 Listeners

Theoretical Physics - From Outer Space to Plasma by Oxford University

Theoretical Physics - From Outer Space to Plasma

60 Listeners

Professor of Poetry by Oxford University

Professor of Poetry

23 Listeners

Ethics in AI by Oxford University

Ethics in AI

4 Listeners