“Cultural history of color in the collection of the National Museum of San Carlos” is the new exhibition of the National Museum of San Carlos, and the main theme is color and its different theories, both scientific and its technical application in painting throughout history.
Here you will learn more about the history of pigments and color in art, through works that were made between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries by artists such as El Tintoretto, Piero di Cosimo, Juan Cordero, Victor Wolfvoet, Pietro di Cristoforo Vannucci and more painters.
This exhibition includes about 54 works and explains how color has changed its perception through time, being understood in different ways at different times.
You will also appreciate the exhibition of 24 pigments that were lent for the exhibition by the Laboratory of Diagnosis of Works of Art of the Institute of Aesthetic Research of the UNAM.
You will learn about different color theories, as well as curious facts about toxic pigments that were no longer used and caused the death of several artists.
The exhibition is divided into small sub-cores named after a color, showing the multiple meanings and symbolisms in pieces.
And if you are a connoisseur of art and painting, you will be able to appreciate the difference between two schools, one that defends that painting is done from color, and another that defends that it is done from the line.
More details about this new exhibition at the Museo Nacional de San Carlos
The Cultural History of Color opened its doors on May 8 and will remain open until August 24, 2025. You can visit it from Tuesday to Sunday from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm.
The admission fee to enter the National Museum of San Carlos is $60 pesos. However, admission is always free for students, teachers and seniors with valid ID, people with disabilities and children under 13 years old. Sundays are free admission for everyone.