This biannual course is taught on years 2015-2016, 2017-2018, ....
PowerPoint presentations, bibliography.
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The course deals with the scientific methods currently used in the main fields of art history, namely painting, sculpture, the graphic arts and the decorative arts.
Scientific methods cast light on questions that are crucial for art history: the authenticity, attribution, dating and state of conservation of an artwork. This course makes students aware of the use of the most up-to-date scientific methods for the study of works of art. Students will therefore be able to identify documents produced using these methods as well as specify their usefulness in the study of artworks. Students will also be able to decide which method might answer in the most appropriate way to the art historian's specific examination of the object being studied.
The contribution of this Teaching Unit to the development and command of the skills and learning outcomes of the programme(s) can be accessed at the end of this sheet, in the section entitled “Programmes/courses offering this Teaching Unit”.
Written examination (/20).
Lectures based on a large number of scientific documents; exercices in readIng documents.
The following topics will be covered: various dating methods (dendrochronology, thermoluminescence, carbon-14), methods of analysis employing the visible and invisible light spectrums (photography, microscopy, ultraviolet fluorescence, infra-red photography and reflectography, radiography), capturing objects in 3D, physico-chemical analyses (taking samples, elementary analyses, molecular and structural analyses).
A selective bibliography will be distributed.
Support = note-taking in class.
