Museum of Fine Arts

Opened in 1876, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) is one of the most comprehensive museum in the world. Its collection encompasses more than 450,000 works of arts from all corners of the world. Once in a while, MFA also organizes special art performances by some of the world’s most famous artists.

The Boston Museum of Fine Arts

Performed there today was a marbling demonstration by a group of artists from Turkey. For your information, marbling is a technique for producing colorful patterns on paper by swirls of paint, traditionally water-based paint, floating on water.

The procedure is very simple. First, a few drops of paint are placed on the water, just enough to create a thin layer. The paint is slowly and carefully stirred with a thin rod to create the desired pattern. Then a sheet of paper is carefully placed over the water’s surface, so that the paint adheres to it. The sheet is then pulled out and laid on a flat surface to dry.

Often paints of two or more colors are used; however, by playing with the thickness of the paint layer, one can obtain good results even with a single color. The traditional method, the one used in this Turkish marbling, is to take a tray of viscous liquid called the size, sprinkle pigments mixed with a surfactant such as ox gall on to the size, one color after another until there is a dense pattern in many colors. Each successive layer of pigment spreads slightly less than the last and may need more surfactant to stay on top of the size. Once the colors are laid down, a stick or tools including rakes or combs may be drawn through the base pattern to make a new, more detailed pattern. Paper or cloth that has been coated with alum and allowed to dry is placed on the surface gently, which instantly absorbs the pattern. The excess pigment and size are rinsed off the paper and it is allowed to dry. Without the alum on the paper, the pattern would wash away with the excess. After the print is made, the remaining pigments are skimmed off the size to make it ready for a new pattern.

Here I’ve uploaded a video of the demonstration for you.

Some of the final works from the demonstration. So beautiful, aren’t they?

Chenzi and I with one of the finished works

Last but not least, MFA’s huge art collection to tease your eyes.

Vishnu

Brahma

The art deco ceiling of MFA

With the pharaoh

A bas-relief from one of the pyramids

Chenzi & the Egyptian bas-relief

Pharaoh

Adonis, Greek God of Vegetable