42 Questions
What was the predominant medium for painters before the eighteenth century?
Oil paint
What limited artists in their choice of colorants for oil paint before the eighteenth century?
Naturally derived colorants
When was Prussian blue first recognized as an artistic pigment?
1710
What distinguished fine blues that were chemically stable?
They were expensive
What was the origin of the name 'Prussian blue'?
Prussian Empire
What was the significance of the accidental discovery of Prussian blue in 1704?
It opened new possibilities for artistic expression by introducing a chemically stable blue pigment.
What distinguished Prussian blue from most colorants used in oil paint before the eighteenth century?
Its chemical stability, ensuring it would not fade when exposed to light.
What impact did the adoption of canvas as the predominant medium for painters have on Western art history?
It facilitated the use of oil paint as a medium for artistic expression.
What was the primary limitation for artists in their choice of colorants for oil paint before the eighteenth century?
They were limited to naturally derived colorants, which were not chemically stable.
What factor made fine blues chemically stable colorants a luxury item for painters for hundreds of years?
The rarity of naturally occurring chemically stable blue pigments.
What idea did Adam Smith illustrate using the example of pin manufacturing?
The efficiency gained through labor specialization
What inspired Charles Babbage to become interested in automating mathematical calculations?
A project sponsored by the French government
What did Charles Babbage aim to automate?
Performing mathematical calculations
What led to the workers needing to become more efficient and specialized in Great Britain?
Increased population growth
What did Adam Smith emphasize in relation to pin manufacturing?
Efficiency gained through labor specialization
What did the advent of the Industrial Revolution and increased population growth result in?
Efficient and specialized workers in Great Britain
What process did Gaspard de Prony use to produce logarithmic tables?
Method of differences involving only addition and subtraction
What did Charles Babbage believe could be automated, similar to de Prony's work?
Creation of navigational tables for sea captains
What did Babbage propose to use instead of human labor to perform calculations for the navigational tables?
A machine with gears and motors
What did Babbage believe his machine could do faster and more accurately than human labor?
Produce accurate calculations
What did Babbage name his machine after?
'Method of differences' used by Gaspard de Prony
What did Babbage argue that his machine would help avoid?
Accidents at sea caused by erroneous human-generated navigational tables
What was the primary obstacle faced by Babbage in building the Difference Engine?
The amount of money required
When did Babbage produce a small-scale prototype of the Difference Engine?
1833
What did Babbage's small-scale prototype lack the ability to do?
Print out its results
What was Babbage already thinking about by the time he produced the small-scale prototype?
The development of the Analytical Engine
What inspired Charles Babbage to become interested in automating mathematical calculations?
The French government's project to produce logarithmic tables
What did Adam Smith emphasize in relation to pin manufacturing?
The significance of specialization in the manufacturing process
What was the primary limitation for artists in their choice of colorants for oil paint before the eighteenth century?
Chemical instability of colorants
What distinguished Prussian blue from most colorants used in oil paint before the eighteenth century?
Its chemical stability
What led to the workers needing to become more efficient and specialized in Great Britain?
Increase in population growth
What did Babbage aim to automate?
Mathematical calculations
What was the primary obstacle faced by Babbage in building the Difference Engine?
Challenges in manufacturing precisely sized gears
What did Babbage propose to use instead of human labor to perform calculations for the navigational tables?
Automated machines with gears and motors
What did Babbage's small-scale prototype lack the ability to do?
Automatically print out its results
What distinguished Prussian blue from most colorants used in oil paint before the eighteenth century?
Its chemical instability
What did Charles Babbage aim to automate?
The production of navigational tables
What was the significance of the accidental discovery of Prussian blue in 1704?
It made chemically stable blue colorants more readily available
What did Babbage believe his machine could do faster and more accurately than human labor?
Calculate logarithms and trigonometric functions
What did Adam Smith emphasize in relation to worker specialization?
It increased efficiency and productivity
What process did Gaspard de Prony use to produce logarithmic tables?
Method of differences involving only addition and subtraction
When was Prussian blue first recognized as an artistic pigment?
17th century
Test your knowledge of art history with this quiz on Prussian Blue, the first modern pigment. Learn about the innovation of oil paint and the adoption of canvas as the predominant medium for painters in Western art history. Explore the impact of the Enlightenment and the advent of chemistry on the colorants used in oil paint.
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