Drawn to Blue: A Digital Symposium

This two-day online symposium, co-organized by the J. Paul Getty Museum and the University of Amsterdam, brings together art historians and paper and textile conservators to share their new research on the history of early modern blue paper.’

Made from discarded blue rags, early modern blue paper was a humble material. However, producing it required expert knowledge, and its impact on European draftsmanship was transformative. The rich history of blue paper, from the fifteenth to the mid-eighteenth centuries, illuminates themes of transcultural interchange, international trade, and global reach.

Inspired by the recent Getty exhibition Drawing on Blue: European Drawings on Blue Paper, 1400s–1700s and coinciding with the current exhibition Drawn to Blue: Artists’ Use of Blue Paper at the Courtauld, this two-day online symposium brings together art historians and paper and textile conservators to share their new research on the history of early modern blue paper.

This symposium will take place online.