Animal, Vegetable, Mineral

Animal, Vegetable, Mineral: Making Colors in Europe, 1400–1800 examines artistic production in the early modern period through the lens of its distinctive colors; recipes for pigments, dyes, and glazes were often closely guarded secrets and critical to the value of a work of art. The search for new, better, cheaper, or longer-lasting colors engaged makers and their audiences as an inherent part of this era's push for scientific discovery and European economic expansion. ​

Bringing together objects from the permanent collection, some of which have not been displayed in over forty years, this exhibition highlights how color is key to understanding the cultural role of paintings, drawings, and sculptures. 

The exhibition also features a significant new acquisition: a triptych of the Descent from the Cross after Rogier van der Weyden (about 1400–1464). Made around 1500 after a now lost original, this detailed work features unusual wings with Latin prayers painted in gold calligraphy. Using an oil-based medium, the artist applied thin layers of paint to grant the figures a glowing, lifelike effect. The artist's extensive use of precious blues, reds, and metallics underlined the owner's devotion. An important testament to the development of late medieval northern European oil painting, this triptych, like many of the other works on view in the exhibition, can be understood as both a religious object and a product of scientific and commercial exchange.​

Elizabeth Rice Mattison, Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Academic Programming and Curator of European Art, wrote in Hood Quarterly, winter 2026:

"How do artists source colors for their works? What makes one color more valuable than another? While contemporary consumers enjoy a wide spectrum of hues in clothing, household products, or cosmetics, colors in the early modern period (1400–1800) derived from a combination of advanced chemical knowledge and systems of economic exchange. Taking color as its focus, the exhibition Animal, Vegetable, Mineral examines artistic production in this era through its pigment, dyes, and stains. The study of colors—both naturally derived and synthetically produced—is essential to understanding the relationship of science, commerce, and artmaking."

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website

Image credit: Installation view, Animal, Vegetable, Mineral: Making Colors in Europe, 1400–1800