The elegant art of science

Gao Yi, chief editor of the classical musicat the NCPA, presented an insightful discussion of the music of the French Revolution, exploring the deep connections between salon music and its cultural context.

Ren spoke about Jacques-Louis David's painting Les Lavoisiers, an elegant portrait of the scientist and his wife, Marie. Renowned for proposing the theory of oxidation and often hailed as the "Newton of the chemical revolution", Lavoisier laid the groundwork for modern chemistry. Marie was not only Lavoisier's partner in life but also played a vital role in his scientific endeavors, contributing illustrations to his work. This close collaboration between scientist and artist set the standard for future generations.

The guests discussed the deep influence of 18th-century salon culture on the development of European science and art, as a place where rational scientific discourse intertwined with elegant artistic expression, resulting in a passionate collision between science and art as cultural elites met scientific giants.