Laura Muller
	Associate Professor of Chemistry Wheaton College Norton, MA 02766	Science Center B-327 508-286-3961 Fax: 508-286-8278 lmuller@wheatonma.edu

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I am an associate professor of Chemistry at Wheaton. Research in our lab focuses on the spectroscopy of liquid mixtures and sol-gels. During the 2005-2006 academic year working on a project studying medieval oil painting technology:

Paint, either artists’ paint or house paint, is made from two important components: pigment, which gives the paint its color, and binder, the substance used to hold the pigment particles together. Throughout history, many different materials have been used as binders. Shifts in media, from egg tempera to drying oil for example, necessarily change the painting technique and, therefore, the style of the painting. Many sources credit Jan Van Eyck with being the first painter to paint using a drying oil binder; however, altar frontals painted 200 years before Van Eyck have been found to have some colors painted using an oil binder. In order to understand the development of linseed oil as a binder, I have interviewed conservators and collected information from the literature to create a timeline/map of where oil binder came into use, in what form and when. The map compares this data with information about agricultural practice, trade and establishment of monasteries. The data I have collected from analyses of panel and wall paintings from Norway, Spain, Germany, and England shows trends in the pigments bound in oil during the 12^th and 13^th century, verdigris and vermillion for example, and in the type of isolation layer. I believe that this map and the associated database will help to establish a set of criteria for more sophisticated medium analysis in pre-Eyckian paintings. Therefore, it has the ability to give insight into the interaction between invention and creativity for this medium.

I have LOTS of ideas for interesting projects, so we are happy to talk to anyone interested in this areas about working with us!

This fall I am teaching Art, Color and Chemistry (Ch145) and Analytical Chemistry I (Ch331). Ch145 is currently FULL. If you registered for the course via WINDOW, you MUST come to the first day of class. If you are not registered (or are on the waiting list), you should come to class the first day to see if there are any unclaimed seats. Please keep in mind that this course has a pre-requisite of experience with artistic media through ArtH101 or 201 or ArtS116 (or equivalent in or out of Wheaton). If you want to chat about any of these things, or anything else, please don't hesitate to contact me!

This page is maintained by Laura Muller
Last modified: August 15, 2006