Current Events

“Fernando Gallego and His Workshop:  The Altarpiece from Ciudad Rodrigo 1480-1500”

At MNS we are keenly aware of the day-to-day, moment-to-moment presence of science in our lives and our new partnership with the Meadows Museum at SMU has allowed us to reinforce this message with a focus on the world of art.   

In collaboration with the Meadows Museum, MNS has developed two supplemental galleries to the “Fernando Gallego and His Workshop:  The Altarpiece from Ciudad Rodrigo 1480-1500” exhibition. “The Art of Science” on display at MNS and “The Science of Art” located at the Meadows Museum.

The display, “The Art of Science”, found in the lobby of the Science Building at MNS from April 7-June 22, 2008, informs about the relationship between art and science with a focus on the role of scientific research and technology in the world of art conservation and study and urges visitors to venture to the Meadows Museum at SMU from March 30 – June 22, 2008 to see this sort of science in action in the world of art.

In “The Science of Art” gallery at the Meadows Museum, we further illuminate the science behind the technological equipment and techniques used in the artist’s workshop to study the panels and their construction.

The “Electromagnetic Spectrum” portion of the gallery looks at how art researchers use hi-tech instruments to take advantage of the information that different wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum can reveal. For instance,

• X-rays enable us to analyze hidden structures of the construction of the panels,
• Infrared reveals “invisible” layers of composition beneath the painted surface on the panels,
• Ultraviolet highlights restoration touches to original paintings,
• Polarized visible light analyzed the paint pigments on a microscopic level. 

In addition, we look at the physical construction of the panels and the physical elements of the pigments used in painting by the artist. 

Research in this area includes a chemical analysis of the pigments and on display you will see an assortment of mineral specimens illustrating the origin of the pigments ground in the workshop for the paintings. 

More information

We thank Dr. Mark Roglán and his team at the Meadows Museum, as well as Claire Barry at the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, for allowing us the opportunity the extend science education past our doors and into the public domain through our participation in the exciting project.