The Science of Paintings [Hardcover]

Richard Newman (Author), W. Stanley Taft (Author), James W. Mayer (Author), Dusan Stulik (Author), Peter Ian Kuniholm (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0387987223 | ISBN-13: 978-0387987224 | Publication Date: June 16, 2000

The physics and materials science behind paintings: the pigments, binders, canvas, and varnish that go into making a painting appear the way it does. The text discusses the physical principles behind the colors seen and how these change with illumination, the various types of paint and binders used in both old and modern paintings, and the optics and microscopic structure of paint films. Chapters on dating, binders, and dendochronology have been contributed by experts in the respective fields.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"In this respect the book by W Stanley Taft and James W Mayer is quite successful. Besides constituting a good and comprehensive introduction to the science of materials involved in a painting and to the processes through which a painting is made, which is of interest to those concerned with conservation and restoration of art objects, it is also an intriguing reading for everyone interested in gaining insight into the making of paintings and curious about the mechanisms of their perception by the viewer. The book starts with a systematic analysis of the materials used for making a painting: The book is well written. Apart from some of the appendices (where, however, mathematics has been conveniently limited) all the technical stuff is well balanced throughout the text, and its reading is never boring. All scientists involved in the conservation and restoration of paintings, especially those needing an introduction to the physics behind these topics, will enjoy reading this book." --Measurement Science and Technology

Product Details

• Hardcover: 236 pages
• Publisher: Springer (June 16, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0387987223
• ISBN-13: 978-0387987224
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #589,355 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not written for the Artist, October 9, 2008

By 

A. Dill - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Science of Paintings (Hardcover)

I am a painter and I wanted to know a little bit more about the science of the materials I use. This is why I got this book. Unfortunately, the book only goes into depth on the science of the perception of art (how light reacts to colors like primary and secondary colors). There are other chapters about the materials of various types of painting like oil, tempera, encaustic, but the author only skimmed over these details with very little scientific explanation. Also, the author wrote the book to a crowd of non-artists. He often wrote about artists in third person. This was bothersome since a large portion of the book was over elementary aspects of art- for example "What is Painting?" was one of the topics he went into depth on.

I did find out some interesting facts from the book like honey used to be used as a binder for paints, and that animal glue is in gesso. The chapter on how art historians detect fakes also was pretty interesting too. Beyond these little bits of information though, I found little useful information for my practice.