It’s easy to take the variety of colors we experience for granted without knowing the history of pigments. Long before industrial processes fine-tuned the methods of producing nearly any color, unique pigmentation methods were the secrets of artisans, discovered through generations of experimentation.
We see the use of color for symbolism and aesthetics on all our daily man-made products. The origins of selecting colors for particular uses begin with just what was available in the natural world. Here you can learn about man’s first uses in producing colors – for expressions in art through pigmented paints. From there the history of pigments went on to color other materials, from textiles to ceramics, metal, and plastic. Read on to see the chemical basis and first forms of each color category.
Pre-Classical History of Pigments
The first examples of pigment use are from cave drawings. As far back as 70,000 years ago, there are artifacts of cave walls in South Africa. The cave paintings were made with ochre, which are clay pigments. The early humans used ochre to stain skin, walls, and objects.
Ochre can range widely in warm-toned colors. Ochre can be shades of brown, red, yellow, or orange. Charcoal mixed with ochre could darken it. Iron oxides in ochre, including ferrite and hematite, give rise to its coloring. The differences in size and concentration of iron particles reflect light in the different colors.
Ancient Greece and Rome, Egypt, North America, Africa, and Australia all have evidence of early ochre use. The yellowish ochre, which had extra manganese iron oxide, made a colored clay known as sienna. Renaissance artists used both sienna and red ochre in their paintings.
Middle Ages Impact on the History of Pigments
The extant era of art with most prime of skill is undoubtedly the Renaissance, preceded by the middle ages. During this time, both painters and their apprentices could be considered cutting edge materials scientists, looking for ways to enhance paint colors. Painters could follow and experiment with known methods in the art to create colors with greater vibrancy and staying power.
Art apprentices would mix the pigments into a medium to make paint for the artists, giving them a greater understanding of the chemistry. Trial and error gave rise to new colors and techniques. Trade was very important in the development of paints, because new materials imported, often from the East, provided new ingredients for paint recipes.
Lomazzo (1538-1592) published a treatise on mixing colors, despite being blind since the age of 33. The work helped establish best practices in the field. In this generation of paint development, some main categories of medium and pigment combination formed types of paint with known qualities. We first see oil used as a common pigment medium. By the mid 16th century, most artists sent out the apprentices to purchase pre-mixed paints in shops.
| Type of paint | Medium | Effects |
| Oil-based | oil such as linseed or walnut, diluted with turpentine | dried slower on canvas, artists could mix colors on the painting itself |
| watercolor | water, could be thickened with gum arabic; egg can be added, called gouache | water soluble |
| acrylic | acrylic and diluted with water, a more modern creation | balanced hardness and flexibility, readily bonds to a variety of surfaces |
Considerations in the Renaissance Uses of Color
Venice establishes an example of the importance of trade routes on the development of paint. Ships from East and the Mediterranean basin stopped in Venice as a first base, giving Venice the most selection in pigmented materials. Later on other maritime port locations, such as the Dutch North sea routes, enjoyed a greater selection of pigmented materials than more landlocked areas.
To us green and yellow seem contiguous, but in middle ages, it was considered contrasting and thus used for jesters and crazy people. Whereas green and red seem more opposite to us now, it was used as kings and regal stained glass. Remember that context and naming conventions gives most of the weight in how people perceive color.
History of Pigments by Color
Stemming from simple ochre and dyes from berries and flowers, artists eventually experimented enough to find new ways to create paint. Some even basic flower dyes could stand the test of time very well. Eventually, more complex chemistry led to understanding some toxic effects of certain combinations.
Red: Lead, Mercury, and Pregnant Beetles
The first forms of red pigment included vermilion, (-HgS) Mercury sulfide, also called cinnabar. Toxic and in igneous deposits, the use of HgS goes back 8000-9000 years ago, to the neolithic Catalhoykuk in Turkey. In manuscripts from the middle ages we see Pb2O4 red lead for the deep red pigments, confirmed by Raman spectroscopy by researchers at the Royal Society of Chemistry.
Also, Carmine brought from Mexico gave another way to produce red. People produced carmine by crushing pregnant beetles from Paracaus Peru, known to the indigenous in 500 BC. We also see this carmine red used in Mayan tombs like the Louis-Vuiton-esque lined coffin of a Queen at Palenque.
Examples of natural based reds with less staying power include:
- Kermes from holly tree worms,
- cochineal from cactus feeding insects,
- rose madder plant roots (i.e. 1850s),
- orchil from lichen,
- seaweeds,
- Caesalpina plants.
17th century Dutch produced red pigments for pains using female cochineal, cactus insect. 140,000 insects could make 1 kg pigment. Rembrant, Raphael, and Rubens all used cochineal as glaze for color enhancement.
Orange & Yellow
Toxic yellows include lead oxides, mainly on Medieval miniatures with whitewash for staying power. Auripigment, confirmed in many middle ages miniatures by Raman spectroscopy via the Royal Society, contained arsenic sulfur compounds. The Society in the same study confirmed the presence of As2S3 Arsenic sulfide, in a 635 AD Gospel made in a monastery.
Giallorino, known as the “Yellow of the Old Masters,” was a lead-tin compound. served as a rep for the toxics was volcanic giallorino. There were at least two types of chemicals formulas for the pigment under the term giallorino, as well as massicot, a different kind of lead compound for yellow.
A Wide Variety of Yellows to Choose from
People also selected yellow ochres refined containing alumina, silica and lime with iron along as well. The oxidation state determines the color, determined by how many free electrons bound with oxygen.
Yellow could be made with saffron, extracted from crocus flowers, a practice going back 4,000 years ago. The compound crocetin gives the yellow color, and 1 kg of saffron required 80,000 crocus flowers to make.
Sandarac from tree resin was not lightfast but held a pleasant carrot color, serving as a good varnish.
People produce yellow lakes like stil de grain, shisgil, and yellow buckthorn from xanthorammin from Rharnnacaea plants. In the middle ages, the name was giallosanto. Lemon yellow hails from the Reseda luteola plant, luteolin being the compound. Turmeric, a highly pigmented spice, has low staying power. And lastly, Indian yellow, juane indien, forms by the magnesium salts of euxanthic acid by sat out camel or cow piss.
Green
Copper, malachite powder, and copper acetic acid are some of the common greens used in history. Indigo could be mixed with the yellows to make a successful green sometimes.
Verdaccio was the technique used by the Flemish primitive artists that combined soil containing augite or hornblende with white lead paint. The soil containing compounds of silica, aluminum, and magnesium, combined to give a faint green color. It was a delicate undertone paint with weak strength, but could still give striking effects with skilled use.
There was another green popping up on the scene with a striking seafoam hue and particular toxicity. A pharmecuetical chemist invented Scheele’s green in 1775. It began to replace the copper carbonate greens used before. By the 1930’s its toxicity caused it to fall out of favor, but Scheele’s reen lived on as a popular pesticide. There are even rumors that Napoleon’s end-of-life illness was exacerbated by staying in a hotel room pleasantly painted Scheele’s green.
Is Scheele’s green responsible for the death of Napolean?
Blue, Expensive and Bright
The most common forms of blue pigment in history include lazurite, copper blue, and indigo from flowers. Lapiz lazuli, the most well-known, came from crushing the stone primarily from the region of Afghanistan. A pigment powder called ultramarine resulted from this grinding. Another stone azurite could take the place of lapiz as well. And, Egyptian blue, calcium copper carbonate, served another alternative. In the 7th century manuscripts analyzed by the Royal Society, both lapiz and Egyptian blue graced the pages at the same time.
Purple
Rhode weeds crush up to make purple, and the manuscripts analyzed by the Royal Society contained this style of purple pigment too. Most well-known is the Tyrian or Royal purple, made from fermented crushed snails. Tyrian purple was used to dye fabrics as early as 1200 BC by the Phoenicians as well.
Monet used a more modern cobalt violet. The expansion of the periodic table gave rise to elements like cobalt and chromium synthesized in industrial fashion.
Black & White
The blacks made from soot and coal were the most light resistant. Old masters used bone burned black. The soot formed by burned bone was a better and deeper black, known to these people.
Lead white switched to Titanium white in the late 20th century. the lead paint caused all kinds of problems and strange chemical reactions, for example when mixed with the mercury based cinnabar, rather than creating pink the chemical reaction caused it to darken significantly. Whites were made from the oxidized lead plated poured with grape vinegar and buried, forming acetic salt of lead. 18th century people learned how to make zinc white. This is the same zinc oxide on natural sunscreens.
A secret of howlite powder remains to be unlocked for white. A pristinely white stone recently discovered could give a new pigment option with lower toxicity and higher vibrancy.
The History of Pigments is far from Over
Though I regret to have barely scratched the surface of the true breadth of pigments used in the past, this starting pace provides common themes. Discoveries of pigments based purely on the look and experimentation yielded some toxic and hazardous results, and so the pile of lore of poisoned artists live on.
As the knowledge of chemistry and novel techniques develop, we can probably find new colors and perhaps even simpler methods of producing this. And so with ongoing curiosity, art never ceases being born.
Cited Research:
Royal society of chemistry Raman Spectroscopy
More elements and associated pigments
