Chemistry and art teaching resources

Take a journey with us through history, art and science – whether you’re a teacher, a student, or just someone with an interest in art and chemistry.

Explore our Chemistry and Art collection to learn about the work of scientific teams in museums and galleries, and discover the links between different types of art, materials, colours and eras.

Topics

Find out how art and science have been working symbiotically for centuries.

Timeline

Discover the links between art and science as they existed in different historical eras.

Cave art

The cave art era spans 10,000–3000 BCE. Discover the links between cave art and chemistry

Ancient Egyptian art

The Egyptian art era spans 3000–300 BCE. Discover the links between Egyptian art and science

Ancient Greek art

The Ancient Greek art era spans 3000–30 BCE. Discover the links between Ancient Greek art and chemistry

Ancient Roman art

The Ancient Roman art era spans 753 BCE–476 CE. Discover the links between Ancient Roman art and chemistry

A journey of discovery

Start your journey of discovery through art and chemistry by choosing one of our themes below. Each theme is based on an aspect of the creation, preservation, or interpretation of the visual arts.

Techniques
Art historians and scientists use a variety of physical and chemical techniques to make discoveries and answer questions about art and artefacts. Explore some of them here
Art analysis
Scientific analyses have resulted in some startling insights into historic works of art, revealing new interpretations and sometimes entirely different viewpoints. See some of their insights for yourself
Pigments and colours
Inventing new colours has taxed the finest scientists – and using them has inspired the finest artists. Find out how some of the strangest ingredients can add colour to art

At the Royal Society of Chemistry we have been partnering with experts in their fields of art and science to produce this site and all the resources and information featured here.

We are especially grateful for the expertise and support of our major partner, London’s National Gallery – a world leader in the conservation, restoration, and science of art.

Together, we developed this website to demonstrate the strong links between two disciplines that are often thought of as entirely separate: art and science. To do this, we collaborated with museums and galleries to showcase their scientific departments and the work they do to keep precious artworks preserved now and for future generations.

Chemistry and art

Topics

Ancient art: today's technology

Psychology and art theory

Art and archaeology

Artists as chemists

The physics of restoration and conservation

Timeline

Cave art

Ancient Egyptian art

Ancient Greek art

Ancient Roman art

A journey of discovery

Techniques

Art analysis

Pigments and colours