Art Up Close: The ‘Tratado das Cores’

Tratado das Cores by Diogo de Carvalho e Sampaio. Printed in Malta in 1787.

“This treatise is nothing else than a clear exposition of my ideas about colours, according to the order they appear to me.”

Fra’ Diogo de Carvalho e Sampaio’s treatise on colour was one of the few scientific works printed in Malta in the 18th century. The Portuguese Knight of Justice arrived in Malta in 1785 and started to dedicate time to study colour out of pure curiosity. He would carry on writing more books about colour in Spain, which did not pass unnoticed among European theorists.

Join Cláudia Garradas at MUŻA on the 29th of September from 18.30 till 19.30 hrs and get a closer look at this printed work, which includes exceptional woodcuts hand-coloured by the author himself.

Place: Conference Hall, MUŻA (Valletta)

Time: 18.30 to 19.30 hrs

Tickets: Free, but reservation from any of Heritage Malta’s museums and sites is required.

Photos courtesy of HMML’s Malta Study Center https://w3id.org/vhmml/readingRoom/view/144703