[HN Gopher] Did Air Pollution Influence Famous Impressionist Pai...
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       Did Air Pollution Influence Famous Impressionist Painters?
        
       Author : rntn
       Score  : 44 points
       Date   : 2023-03-11 18:44 UTC (4 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.smithsonianmag.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.smithsonianmag.com)
        
       | Mlller wrote:
       | A related hypothesis[1] connects the Tambora eruption in 1815
       | with the colors of the sky in paintings made in the years
       | thereafter, e.g. "Greifswald im Mondschein" 'Greifswald in the
       | moonlight' by Caspar David Friedrich in 1817, see:
       | https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:Caspar_David_Friedrich_0...
       | 
       | [1]
       | https://acp.copernicus.org/articles/14/2987/2014/acp-14-2987...
        
       | samstave wrote:
       | how much lead was in their paints which absorbed into skin and
       | mouth when they would whet their brush with saliva?
        
         | MengerSponge wrote:
         | Not just lead! Cadmium (yellow) and arsenic (green) feature
         | prominently too
        
         | kergonath wrote:
         | That's not really a good hypothesis. Lead was not invented by
         | the impressionists. Why would they be the first? You'd expect
         | some kind of correlation; lead has been widely used since
         | ancient times. How is this any better that pollution, which is
         | known and documented?
        
       | giuliomagnifico wrote:
       | > "These results indicate that Turner and Monet's paintings
       | capture elements of the atmospheric environmental transformation
       | during the Industrial Revolution," the researchers write
       | 
       | I think it's more that the painter captured the
       | change/modifications caused by the Industrial Revolution, then
       | "capturing the pollution".
        
         | paxys wrote:
         | > change/modifications caused by the Industrial Revolution
         | 
         | So...pollution.
        
           | giuliomagnifico wrote:
           | Yes but kow we know that is pollution, in 1800 they didn't
           | know that was pollution, that is why I said that the painters
           | captured "the change" (and without know it, the actual air
           | pollution)
        
             | lostlogin wrote:
             | You can smell it and often identify what it it, they knew.
             | 
             | The Romans had court cases relating to air quality and
             | London was suffering in the 1200s. In the 1300s London
             | started legislating to try and control the pollution.
             | 
             | https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/air-
             | pollution-...
             | 
             | https://www.londonair.org.uk/londonair/guide/londonhistory.
             | a...
        
             | kergonath wrote:
             | I am sure they noticed the smog. Besides, lots of people
             | see and comment on things they do not understand all the
             | time. Influence is not necessarily a conscious process.
             | 
             | In the same way as it is known that Monet's painting was
             | probably influenced by his poor sight even if there is no
             | evidence that he did it on purpose.
        
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