Mayan Sabry

By Farah El Akkad

“Combining scientific research with the captivating world of art,” Mayan Sabry, an AUC student who graduated last spring with a BA in Chemistry, has successfully created the foundations for the first database to document the palettes and tools used by artists. “It’s the first of its kind in the Arab World,” says Sabry, explaining that the database will help identify and distinguish between real and forged paintings. Using techniques such as X-ray diffraction and different types of spectroscopy, Sabry analyzed the composition of nine pigments frequently used in legendary Egyptian artist Taha El-Korany’s paintings. This analysis involves a detailed study of the artist’s fingerprints: the color palette. “I believe Mayan’s work is significant in a number of aspects,” Adham Ramadan, chair of the chemistry department at AUC, says. “Firstly, its interdisciplinary nature — bridging the sciences and the arts — is unique. It demonstrates how disciplines very different in nature and the approach to creativity can be complementary. Secondly, it is a project representing a first at AUC and in Egypt, where the palette of a modern Egyptian artist is analyzed and recorded.”