Blue Paper in Early Modern European Art: A Collaborative Research Resource

Despite handmade blue paper playing an important role in early modern artistic practice, its production methods and applications remain only partially understood. This project seeks to advance the knowledge of pre-industrial blue paper by bringing together research, historical sources, and material evidence in a collaborative framework that encourages dialogue among scholars, conservators, and other experts in the field.

About Blue Paper

Blue paper was traditionally made from discarded blue rags that were pulped and formed into sheets. Initially produced as a writing support, it was first adopted by artists in the Veneto region of Italy during the late 15th century. Throughout the early modern period, blue paper became a favored support for studies, cartoons, ricordi (reduced replicas of existing compositions), and finished works of art. Paper mills in northern Italy were producing blue paper as early as 1389, and over the following two centuries its manufacture spread across Europe, making it a widely available and commonly used material for artists.

Exhibition

This project grew out of the exhibition and accompanying publication Drawing on Blue: European Drawings on Blue Paper, 1400s–1700s, presented at the Getty Center from January 30 to April 28, 2024.

Developed through a collaboration between art historians and conservators, the exhibition explored the rich history of early modern European blue paper. It examined how the material was produced, how advances in papermaking transformed its physical properties over time, and how artists exploited its distinctive qualities in a wide range of drawings. By combining historical scholarship with technical research, the exhibition offered new insights into the manufacture and use of blue paper in European art.

Study and Conservation

Close examination of historical blue paper is essential to understanding how individual sheets were made and how they were used by artists. By identifying the materials and techniques used to produce the blue support of a drawing, researchers can build a shared, evidence-based understanding of the manufacture, distribution, and use of blue paper across regions and periods.

Blue paper is also sensitive to light and its color can change over time. To help preserve these works, curators and conservators carefully manage light exposure, balancing public access to collections with the long-term preservation of these fragile objects for future generations.

Symposium

In collaboration with the University of Amsterdam, the J. Paul Getty Museum co-hosted an online symposium titled Drawn to Blue, from November 12–13, 2024.

The major areas of focus included:

• blue paper production outside the Italian peninsula and the Netherlands
• artistic uses of blue paper
• non-artistic applications of blue paper
• blue paper as means of transcultural exchange
• intersections between blue paper production, textile trade, and technological developments.
• color shift in blue paper and its implications
• technical and/or scientific examinations of blue paper

Getty’s paper conservators and drawings curators continue to address these and other questions by consolidating research, sharing knowledge, and fostering ongoing dialogue on the subject.

Edina Adam, Associate Curator, Department of Drawings, Getty Museum
Michelle Sullivan, Conservator of Drawings, Department of Paper Conservation, Getty Museum

Acknowledgments

Leila Sauvage, Faculty of Humanities, University of Amsterdam
Karen Trentelman, Senior Scientist, Getty Conservation Institute