Painting by Numbers: Decoding Ferdinand Bauer’s Flora Graeca Colour Code

The Bodleian Library's collection of Ferdinand Bauer’s watercolour paintings for the Flora Graeca (1806-40) is one of the great treasures of Oxford University. Based on the results of a three year Leverhulme Trust Research Project, the exhibition 'Painting by Numbers: Decoding Ferdinand Bauer’s Flora Graeca Colour Code' was held at the Bodleian Library from April to July 2017. The multi-disciplinary project, which builds on the extensive body of research on Bauer aimed to identify the painting materials Bauer used to create his paintings for the Flora Graeca, unravel the rather complex methods he used, and recreate the colour chart he may have used in the field. The exhibition, Co-curated by Dr Richard Mulholland (Heritage Science, Bodleian Library) and Professor Stephen Harris (Plant Sciences, Oxford University) highlighted Bauer's extraordinary painting technique and facility for colour, and the scientific methods used to identify his pigments. A series of public lectures and a interactive kiosk accompanied the exhibition.