a national event; he finally died at 103. His book The Principles of Harmony and Contrast of Colors and their Applications to the Arts [1] was once considered one of the 12 most important books on color [2].

Chevreul’s Life and Work

Born in Angers in 1786, Michel-Eugène Chevreul (Fig. 1) came to Paris when he was 17 years old and was appointed at the National Museum of Natural History as an assistant in charge of the chemical analysis of samples, thanks to a letter of recommendation from Vauquelin. Interestingly, his career as a chemist was determined by a sample of soap Vauquelin asked him to analyze. Indeed, the nature of animal fat was still unknown at the time. After several years of research, he published a book that gavehim his fame as a chemist [3]. His discovery of the different acids contained in animal fat eventually led to important improvements in the field of industry, in particular in candles, as it made it possible to make candles shedding more light and less smoke. As he was also very interested in epistemological issues, he dedicated another book, one year later, to explain which method enabled him to make his discoveries [4].

Michel-Eugène Chevreul (1786–1889) at the approximate age of 50 (lithograph by Nicolas-Eustache Maurin, 1836, engraving by Conrad Cook)

In 1824, thanks to his fame as a chemist, Chevreul was appointed at the Gobelins Manufactures, as Director of the Dyeing Department. The Gobelins usually appointed chemists, as one of the main tasks of the Department of Dyes was to