Science and anci ent ar t

SWATHI MAHASHETTI

Scientists and philosophers have often tried to establish the nature of the relationship between science and art. They have mainly used two lines of investigation: how the two disciplines have interacted throughout history and how scientific developments have enabled us to preserve and uncover mysteries behind impactful artwork.

and yellow ochres from Haematite, iron(III) oxide, manganese oxide browns, charcoal black and calcite white. The pigments were finely ground and placed in water to separate the heavy quartz that sinks in water from the colour pigments which remained suspended on the top (this a method known as separation by density). The pigment residue left after evaporation of the water was bound using plant sap. The palaeolithic artists even explored the size dependence of the particles by obtaining purple from red haematite by increasing the particle size.

Cave paintings are the earliest recorded artwork and date back to the dawn of civilisation. Although simple and minimalist, they have endured thousands of years of natural wear and tear through the ingenious use of pigments and minerals. Today they give us a great insight into the life and evolution of prehistoric humans. The oldest discovered paintings found in the limestone karst caves of Sulawesi, Indonesia are at least 32,000 years old, with the oldest painting being at least 45,000 years old. The age of the paintings was estimated through Uranium dating, a method that uses radioactive decay timescales to estimate age, a great example of scientific development that helps us understand art. The paintings depict Sulawesi warty pigs in red and purple hues and are a very typical example of a Palaeolithic cave painting. The Palaeolithic period (38,000 –12,000 BC) was marked by cave paintings that depicted animals spread throughout Europe, Africa, Southern and Pacific Asia. Colour palettes depended on the geological features of the region as the pigments were made of inorganic rock materials like red

Dated between 5000 BC to 300 AD, the ancient civilisations thrived in India, Rome, Greece, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and China, among others. Art was considered a means of enforcing political and religious order in societies and was of great significance. The science of art became more sophisticated in these regions, and it laid the foundation for modern scientific methods, for example, materials chemistry evolved tremendously with nanotechnology rooted in this period. A classic demonstration of this is the Lycurgus Cup that is made of dichroic glass, it changes colour depending on the lighting angle and is currently in the British Museum. When light is shone through the cup it appears red purple, but it appears green in direct light. Through spectroscopy, a method that uses the emission and absorption of light for imaging, the dichroic effect was explained to be because of miniscule gold and silver particles dispersed in the glass. This is another instance when scientific development has helped us uncover artistic mysteries. The gold particles are larger and produce a red colour by absorbing longer wavelengths, and the silver particles similarly are responsible for the green. Ancient Roman glass makers and potters also dispersed Copper and Iron Oxide to obtain bright and lustrous red colours. Mayan mural paintings and ceramics usually featured Maya Blue, an organic/inorganic hybrid composed of palygorskite clay and indigo dye. Palygorskite clay is a zeolite, a type of crystal, with very miniscule channels filled with water. The ancient Egyptians also made use of a type of zeolite called lapis lazuli for its lustre and bright blue colour in pharaoh tombs and ornaments. The Ajanta caves in India feature beautiful murals that have 3-D visual effects achieved using clever colour blending and optical effects. The palette only consisted of six colours that were naturally available, they revolutionised cementing techniques using zeolites in the earthen plaster that was used to smoothen the surface and increase the intensity of the colours used. Just south of the region of the Ajanta Caves in modern day Karnataka, Wootz steel was made using the crucible method, by heating wrought iron with carbon rich materials. Wootz steel is an ultra-high carbon steel exhibiting properties such as super plasticity (the ability to exhibit extraordinarily long elongation at high temperatures) and high impact strength. The steel contained carbon nanotubes (single layer of interconnected carbon atoms rolled into a cylinder) and was used to make ornate swords and daggers. Around this period the ancient Chinese had mastered the art of Porcelain making. The ornate vases and pots were decorated with intricate floral and abstract patterns. The most coveted type of porcelain was the “Blue and White” variety which had pure white clay bodies and were painted in rich shades of blue using cobalt.

It is clear that ancient artists had an advanced knowledge of materials and scientific methods, but how does scientific advancements today affect the way we view and interpret these works of art? Commonly used spectroscopy and radioactive dating are tried and tested methods of analysis. Newer methods allow us to map out the materials and elemental composition of paintings and the sequence of application of the materials. The method quantifies the amount of light reflected by the artwork and identifies the components of the materials. Artistic mysteries have also been uncovered using science like the famous Chinese terracotta dancing horse of the Tang dynasty that was recently found to have a tassel on its forehead which had been lost after countless restorations. This was discovered using cutting edge molecular, chemical, and mineralogical tests. The focus now has shifted to conserving art. Efforts are being made to clean up past mistakes from previous restorations using AI aided imaging, glue-eating bacteria and a clever mix of solvents as well as using laser technology to destroy dirt. Nanotechnology and colloidal science, which is the study of particles suspended in solutions, are being used to replace traditional cleaning solvents as well as rebuild deteriorating frescos.

What we can conclude from this is that both lines of investigation proposed by philosophers have the same answer. Art and science can have a symbiotic relationship; in many ways they are inseparable and will be for years to come.