Made from discarded blue rags, early modern blue paper was a humble material. However, producing it required expert knowledge, and its impact on European draftsmanship was transformative. The rich history of blue paper, from the fifteenth to the mid-eighteenth centuries, illuminates themes of transcultural interchange, international trade, and global reach.

Inspired by the recent Getty exhibition Drawing on Blue: European Drawings on Blue Paper, 1400s–1700s and coinciding with the current exhibition Drawn to Blue: Artists’ Use of Blue Paper at the Courtauld, this two-day online symposium brings together art historians and paper and textile conservators to share their new research on the history of early modern blue paper.

This symposium will take place online. 

Schedule
 

Tuesday, November 12, 2024

9:00 am PT / 6:00 pm CET

Opening remarks by organizers, Edina Adam, Leila Sauvage, and Michelle Sullivan

9:10–10:00 am PT / 6:10–7:00 pm CET

Artistic and Non-artistic Use of Blue Paper

“Presence of the blue paper inside French paintings of the 18th century” - Lorenzo Giammattei and Selene Secondo, La Sapienza Università di Roma
“Seeds of Blue: Archival Evidence of the Use of Blue Paper as Seed Packets” - Maria Zytaruk, University of Calgary

Break (15 minutes)

10:15–11:05 am PT / 7:15–8:05 pm CET

Raw Materials, Trade, Economics

“Blue Paper: Its Life, Origin, History and Artistic Exploration” - Judith Noorman, University of Amsterdam
“Paper, Pastels, and Patriotism: Artistic Innovation and the American Revolution” - Megan Baker, University of Delaware
 

Break (15 minutes)
 

11:20 am–12:30 pm PT / 8:20–9:30 pm CET

Works in Progress: Study, Examination, Collection Surveys on Blue Paper

“Surveying The Morgan’s blue paper collection” - Elizabeth Gralton, Reba Fishman Snyder, and Rebecca Pollak, The Morgan Library & Museum

“The Blue Paper Project at the Art Gallery of Ontario: Developing an Architecture for Close Looking of Drawing Supports” - Maia C. Donnelly, Joan Weir, and Tessa Thomas, Art Gallery of Ontario

“The blue papers of Allan Ramsay at the National Galleries Scotland” - Charlotte Park, Clara de la Pena McTigue, and Charlotte Topsfield, National Gallery of Scotland

Wednesday, November 13, 2024
 

9:00–10:15 am PT / 6:00–7:15 pm CET

Technical Case Studies

“On Blue - the Portrait Drawings of Ottavio Leoni” - Georg Dietz et al., Kupferstichkabinett, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin

“Out of the blue? Tracing object biographies, early conservation treatments and the original appearance of Italian old master drawings on blue paper at the Kunstmuseum” - Annegret Seger, Rebecca Honold, and Max Ehrengruber, Kunstmuseum Basel

“Blue Paper in Late-Nineteenth Century Paris: Mary Cassatt Pastel Supports” - Tom Primeau, Philadelphia Museum of Art

Break (15 minutes)
 

10:30–11:40 am PT / 7:30–8:40 pm CET

Printing on Blue Paper

“From Aldus to Zanetti, Parenzo to Proops, Venice to Volhynia: Three Centuries of Hebrew Printing on Blue Paper in Southern, Western, Central and Eastern Europe” - Brad Sabin Hill, George Washington University

“Blueprint(s)” - Armin Kunz, C.B. Boerner Gallery

 “Etched in blue: a unique set of prints by the Abbé de Saint-Non" - Rachel Hapoienu, Courtauld Gallery of Art

Break (15 minutes)
 

11:55 am–12:30 pm PT / 8:55–9:30 pm CET

Roundtable

Moderated by Ketty Gottardo, Courtauld Gallery of Art

Program participants reflect on new insights, questions raised, and future avenues of research