A Comparative Study of Mineral Pigments in Dunhuang Murals and Italian Frescoes
Abstract
Mural painting represents one of the oldest art forms in humanity, having an exceptionally significant impact on human aesthetic ideas and technological accomplishments of the East and the West. The results presented in this study suggest that, although Chinese Dunhuang murals and Italian frescoes were situated on separate side of the Eurasian continent, both had much in common regarding their roles as the religious propagators, the arrangement of their compositional forms and material foundation, thus having similar aesthetic perspectives of expressive idealism and realistic depictions. Nonetheless, a certain discrepancy was caused by the inherent differences in natural conditions and cultural priorities, and this led to the fundamental differences in the application of mineral pigments and the expression of color effect in both cultures. It is evident that both sources of pig The conclusion is that such a relationship of similarity in the difference and vice versa is a lively representation of the long-term cultural exchange and learning between the civilizations of the Eurasians through the Silk Road. This research offers a refreshingly material insight into the history of East-Westartistic exchange and thus valuable historical allusions and inspiration to the scientific conservation of ancient murals and thein novative formation of modern murals.
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