Michel Eugéne Chevreul
Michel Chevreul was a scientist who had a fascination with art. His work with fatty acids led to development in color contrast. Being born in a surgeon family, he obtained a private education during the French Revolution. Then in 1799, he left for a scientific based school in Angers, France. In 1803, he left and went to Paris for a chance at becoming a chemist. On August 31, 1786 in Angers, France, Michel Chevreul was born. He lived all of his life (which was very long, he lived for 103 years) in France. He did a lot of his work in Paris but grew up in Angers.
Chevreul’s area of study was with biology and chemistry and then he used these skills and applied them to the field of art. He thoroughly enjoyed understanding more about things inside of us and trying to see if he could apply what he learned to another field such as art. He worked for a little while under Professor Nicolas Vauquelin. Other than that time at college, he usually worked alone.
It’s pretty obvious why Michel Chevreul was picked for a scientist who studied lipids. He worked hard, made discoveries, and shared his knowledge scientifically and artistically. Living 103 years, he devoted his life to science. Chevreul was the person who is credited with making out the chemical composition of animal fats and theorized color techniques for French paintings. His work is still benefitting scientific fields and society to this day. If it were not for him, who is to say we would know what animal fat’s composition is? Fats are an important part of the human system and understanding how fats are animals really helped to further our understanding of human anatomy. Biologists always study animals because a lot of them are very similar to humans. Even if the DNA does not match up completely, the animals would still have the same functions for those parts of their bodies as humans would. His benefits are not being felt only scientifically, but also artistically. His scientific understanding also helped him to devise theories for color techniques in paintings.
Although Michel Chevreul did not receive any rewards or prizes, he should have. He made huge contributions to science and art that affected many people. However, it was a few hundred years ago when he did this so scientific praise was not as popular as it is today. He did gain one thing though, and that is knowledge. Knowledge is power that no one can take away from you like other prizes/awards. He shared his knowledge, not with books, but with his mind and research papers. Michel Chevreul was most likely content with the fact that he worked so hard and it paid off well for him. This is the goal of every scientist. Every scientist wants to see their theory come to life and become true, but sometimes that cannot happen due to funding or just falsities. This scientist knew what the meaning of science was and strove to improve the field but also the field of art.
Chevreul’s area of study was with biology and chemistry and then he used these skills and applied them to the field of art. He thoroughly enjoyed understanding more about things inside of us and trying to see if he could apply what he learned to another field such as art. He worked for a little while under Professor Nicolas Vauquelin. Other than that time at college, he usually worked alone.
It’s pretty obvious why Michel Chevreul was picked for a scientist who studied lipids. He worked hard, made discoveries, and shared his knowledge scientifically and artistically. Living 103 years, he devoted his life to science. Chevreul was the person who is credited with making out the chemical composition of animal fats and theorized color techniques for French paintings. His work is still benefitting scientific fields and society to this day. If it were not for him, who is to say we would know what animal fat’s composition is? Fats are an important part of the human system and understanding how fats are animals really helped to further our understanding of human anatomy. Biologists always study animals because a lot of them are very similar to humans. Even if the DNA does not match up completely, the animals would still have the same functions for those parts of their bodies as humans would. His benefits are not being felt only scientifically, but also artistically. His scientific understanding also helped him to devise theories for color techniques in paintings.
Although Michel Chevreul did not receive any rewards or prizes, he should have. He made huge contributions to science and art that affected many people. However, it was a few hundred years ago when he did this so scientific praise was not as popular as it is today. He did gain one thing though, and that is knowledge. Knowledge is power that no one can take away from you like other prizes/awards. He shared his knowledge, not with books, but with his mind and research papers. Michel Chevreul was most likely content with the fact that he worked so hard and it paid off well for him. This is the goal of every scientist. Every scientist wants to see their theory come to life and become true, but sometimes that cannot happen due to funding or just falsities. This scientist knew what the meaning of science was and strove to improve the field but also the field of art.