Art Meets Science

A sample of calcium copper silicate, also called Egyptian blue because it was invented roughly 5,000 years ago at the end of ancient Egypt's first dynasty.

New Tool for Biomedical Research Was Invented in Ancient Egypt

The bright blue pigment that adorns the Bust of Nefertiti’s crown can now be used to study molecular biology

Mary Vaux Walcott, Cardinal Flower, 1880

Shuttered Museums Use Social Media to Share Bouquets of Floral Artwork

Hundreds of museums are participating in an online attempt to spread joy as COVID-19 keeps their galleries empty

Fashion designer Samantha Sleeper has made face masks for healthcare workers as supplies dwindle due to COVID-19.

As Face Mask Supply Dwindles, Fashion Designers Offer Their Assistance

In New York City, a desperate need among healthcare workers has pushed to the forefront the question: Is homemade equipment safe to use?

A gyotaku fish print

Traditional Japanese Fish Art Could Be a Boon for Conservation

"Gyotaku," or the art of pressing ink-dipped fish onto paper, represents a wealth of scientifically accurate data on Japan's marine life

Tempestries representing daily high temperatures in Utqiagvik, Alaska, in 1925, 2010, and 2016 (left) and Death Valley, California, in 1950 and 2016 (right)

How Knitting Enthusiasts Are Using Their Craft to Visualize Climate Change

In these crafters' scarves and blankets, rows of color correspond with daily temperature

The tapestries depict scenes from the lives of St. Paul and St. Peter.

For One Week Only, Raphael's Tapestries Return to the Sistine Chapel

This is the first time all 12 of the Renaissance creations have been united in their original home since the 16th century

The Scream (1893) is Edvard Munch's most renowned work.

Why Are the Vibrant Colors of 'The Scream' Fading?

New analysis explores why unstable synthetic pigments in the painting are changing color from yellow to white

Rembrandt's Portrait of a Woman before (left) and after (right) conservation

Pennsylvania Museum Discovers Unidentified Rembrandt Portrait in Its Collection

Conservation work revealed evidence of the artist's hand in a painting previously attributed to a member of his studio

The blue-throated barbet, illustrated here in 1871, is native to southern Asia.

You Can Now Download 150,000 Free Illustrations of the Natural World

The artworks, collected by the open-access Biodiversity Heritage Library, range from animal sketches to historical diagrams and botanical studies

Hartmann Schedel, The Nuremberg Chronicle (Anton Koberger, for Sebald Schreyer and Sebastian Kamermaister), 1493

One Hundred Museums Transformed Their Collections Into Free Coloring Pages

This year's #ColorOurCollections campaign features everything from medical drawings to zany 1920s advertisements for butter

The high-status 16th-century woman (right) appears to have suffered from leprosy, a disfiguring disease that likely left its mark on her skin, tissues and bone.

Artists Reconstruct Centuries-Old Faces of Early Edinburgh Residents

Skulls uncovered beneath St. Giles' Cathedral gave faces to a 12th-century man and a 16th-century woman

Employees are contributing to the initiative by supplying reusable cups, plates and utensils for meetings, as well as bringing used plastic packaging materials from home.

A Hawaii Museum Has Eliminated the Sale of All Single-Use Plastics

The Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum in Honolulu hopes to set a positive example in the fight for a more sustainable future

X-ray analysis revealed a hidden landscape depicting the birth of Christ.

Nativity Scene Discovered Beneath 16th-Century Painting of John the Baptist's Beheading

Experts hope further examination will yield insights on the canvas' age, background and history

The Wedding Dance by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1566

Detroit Exhibit Celebrates Bruegel's 'The Wedding Dance' and Its Controversial Codpieces

The painting’s frank depiction of drunk frivolity—and male anatomy—didn’t sit well with some viewers

El Quitasol (The Parasol) by Francisco del Goya, digitally doctored into a scene that portrays the consequences of climate change

See Four Spanish Masterpieces Updated to Reflect the Consequences of Climate Change

Timed to coincide with the ongoing U.N. Climate Change Conference, the campaign is a digital effort to warn the world

More than 30 tattoos are scattered across this female mummy's skin.

Infrared Reveals Egyptian Mummies' Hidden Tattoos

The mummies of seven women found at Egypt's Deir el-Medina site bear tattoos including crosses, baboons and hieroglyphics

Indian Roller on Sandalwood Branch, by Shaikh Zain ud-Din, Impey Album, Calcutta, 1780.

London Exhibit Celebrates Indian Artists Who Captured Natural History for the East India Company

Paintings once anonymized as "company art" will finally be labeled with the names of their creators

Shaikh Zain ud-Din’s Brahminy Starling with Two Antheraea Moths, Caterpillar, and Cocoon on an Indian Jujube Tree was originally part of an album commissioned by his British patrons.

The Awe-Inspiring Wildlife Drawings of Shaikh Zain ud-Din

An 18th-century album of India's flora and fauna showcases the startling work of an overlooked master

One of the scrolls being scanned by the Diamond Light Source and digitally deciphered.

Light Billions of Times Brighter Than the Sun Used to Read Charred Scrolls From Herculaneum

The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. carbonized papyrus scrolls, which may now be readable

The tool is set to go offline this Friday, but it will remain accessible as a physical art installation at Milan’s Fondazione Prada Osservertario

Art Project Shows Racial Biases in Artificial Intelligence System

ImageNet Roulette reveals how little-explored classification methods are yielding 'racist, misogynistic and cruel results'

Page 9 of 23