TECHNICAL ART HISTORY COLLOQUIUM: Special edition connected to the Teylers Museum’s botanical art exhibition

Organised with Teylers Museum
(download the invitation here)
Registration not required
Admission with valid entrance ticket to the museum   (buy online here)

‘Strelitzia reginae’, c. 1820 by Franz Bauer, Natural History Museum, London.

Chair: Jessie Wei-Hsuan Chen, Department of History and Art History, Utrecht University

14.00   Doors open
14.30   ‘Franz and Ferdinand Bauer. From Nature to Botanical Art’  –  Terry van Druten
15.00   ‘Franz and Ferdinand Bauer. Books as Artworks’  –  Esther van Gelder
15.30   Viewing of historical library & Exhibition visit
17.00   Museum closes

This edition of the Technical Art History Colloquium is organised in collaboration with the Teylers Museum in Haarlem, on the occasion of the exhibition ‘200 kinds of green. The botanical art of Franz and Ferdinand Bauer’ . The Austrian brothers Franz and Ferdinand Bauer belong to the most prominent artists from the heyday of botanical art around 1800. Placed side by side the lives of the two brothers illustrate the contrasts of botanical research in this period and, together with the outstanding artistic and scientific quality of their work, form the perfect subject for an exhibition about the different sides to the story of botanical discovery at the start of the 19th century, and the important role played in it by artists like the Bauers.

‘Franz and Ferdinand Bauer. From Nature to Botanical Art’

Terry van Druten, curator art collections Teylers Museum and compiler of the exhibition

In his presentation, Terry van Druten will focus on the working method of Franz and Ferdinand Bauer, discussing the steps from plant to finished botanical drawing. Specific attention will be paid to Ferdinand Bauer’s unique numbering technique for registering colours in the field.

‘Franz and Ferdinand Bauer. Books as Artworks’

Esther van Gelder, cultural historian and assistant curator of science, Teylers Museum

Esther van Gelder will focus on the publication projects of the Bauer brothers. Although many of their drawings were made with an eye towards publication, only a minority found their way to some of the most luxurious books ever published in the history of science. These books throw a fascinating light on the broader culture of scientific communication, collecting, and the scientific book as a collaborative work of art.

The Technical Art History Colloquia are organised by Sven Dupré (Utrecht University and University of Amsterdam, PI ERC ARTECHNE), Arjan de Koomen (University of Amsterdam, Coordinator MA Technical Art History), Abbie Vandivere (University of Amsterdam, Coordinator MA Technical Art History & Paintings Conservator, Mauritshuis, The Hague), Erma Hermens (University of Amsterdam and Rijksmuseum) and Ann-Sophie Lehmann (University of Groningen). The Technical Art History Colloquia are a cooperation of the ARTECHNE Project (Utrecht University and University of Amsterdam), the Netherlands Institute for Conservation, Art and Science (NICAS), the University of Amsterdam and the Mauritshuis. The ARTECHNE project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No 648718).