Humphry Davy and the colors of the ancients

摘要

This article examines ideas held by Humphry Davy (1778-1829) about permanence, progress, experiments and practical application regarding chemistry. Furthermore, it relates ideas held in his "Some experiments and observations on the colours used in painting by the Ancients" (1815), with those maintained in Elements of Chemical Philosophy (1812), as well as to cogitations from his last years, disclosed in Consolations in travel (1830). Lastly, it brings up evidence that H. Davy's study about the colors of the ancients influenced his proposals for Chemical Philosophy and the science of his age.