Artists prized the intense blue shade of Ultramarine paint throughout history. It was used by some of the most famous painters in the world, including Vermeer, Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. The early use of Lapis Lazuli as a pigment comes from 6th and 7th-century cave paintings in Afghanistani Zoroastrian and Buddhist temples. This beautiful shade symbolised holiness and humility during the middle ages and renaissance, and artists used it to paint the robes of the Christ Child and the Virgin Mary in religious paintings, such as Sassoferrato's painting, The Virgin in Prayer, below. 

Ultramarine paint was highly prized as it was more expensive than gold. Dutch artist, Johannes Vermeer was noted for his use of Ultramarine, and we have included an image of his work, Girl with a Pearl Earring above. Ultramarine paint was used on her headscarf as a blue, and mixed to create the shadows on her jacket. Read more about this painting here. In 1826, a synthetic version of the shade was invented and made accessible to the masses; this colour is known as French Ultramarine and is slightly more vibrant than the original colour. 

The Virgin In Prayer by  Sassoferrato

Portrait of Aechje Claesdr. by Rembrandt

Scheele's Green and Paris Green are two vibrant green colours popular in the Victorian era. You can find examples of Paris Green in works by famous artists including J.M.W Turner, Monet, Renoir, Gaugin, Cézanne and Van Gough. Manufacturers used these shades in wallpaper, toys, candles, bed linen and even foods. Unfortunately, they were made of arsenic, which is toxic and has carcinogenic effects. Arsenic exposure can lead to seizures, coma, and death, and even low exposure levels can cause skin and lung irritation.

Woman Embroidering by Georg Friedrich Kersting

 

Malachite: Admired Since Ancient Egypt 

Malachite is a captivating green copper carbonate that can be ground and purified to make paint. The resulting powder is comparatively coarse, as the colour fades the finer it is ground. Malachite pigments decorated Ancient Egyptian tombs, and it is thought to be one of the oldest known green paints.

The colour of solid malachite ranges from deep green to light green, with bands of lighter and darker shades. In its purest form, malachite has an intense deep green colour, but most specimens contain spots or circles of lighter or darker greens. Malachite is also known as Bremen green, olympian green or iris green.

Hubert van Eyck (c 1366–1426) and Jan van Eyck (c 1390–1441), Adoration of the Lamb, panel from the Ghent Altarpiece (c 1425-1432), oil on panel, 137.7 x 242.3 cm (panel), Saint Bavo Cathedral Sint-Baafskathedraal, Ghent, Belgium. 

Orpiment: A Deadly Shade of Yellow

Orpiment is a lemon or canary yellow shade, also known as King's yellow. It was a bright yellow paint used in the eighteenth century. Volcanic orpiment has been a valued commodity since the Roman Empire and is gathered from sulphurous fumaroles (natural gas vents around active volcanoes). Magnificent example below, Orpiment Crystals from Twin Creeks Mine, Potosi District, Humboldt County, Nevada, USA. 

Preparing this pigment is a highly complicated process that requires manual labour at every stage, from selecting crystals and removing impurities to grinding them into a powder, breaking them by hand if needed, and finally chemically separating the sulfur before being heated for use in paint.

Unfortunately, orpiment is highly toxic due to its high arsenic content, making it extremely dangerous. Its beautiful golden colour also appealed to alchemists searching for a way to make gold from base materials. You can see an example of its use in the painting Happy Union by Paolo Veronese. 

Madder Lake: A Red Colour Made From A Plant

Madder Lake is a vivid red pigment that originates from the root of the madder plant (Rubia tinctorum). Artisans have used it throughout history to lend beautiful shades of reds and pinks to their work as a paint or fabric dye. An early example of this practice was used in India, where researchers discovered cotton dyed with madder dating to the 3rd millennium BCE. 

The production process begins with drying out the Madder root. It is then crushed and separated from the bark. The substance is then ground with stones and made into a powder. Before using it as a paint or dye, Madder lake must be mixed with other ingredients like clay or alum. 

Artists could apply Madder lake paint over a coat of vermilion paint (a bright red shade with an orange tint); this layering technique enhances the vermillion colour and prevents colour fade. This process is used to colour in the dress featured in The Girl with a Wine Glass by Vermeer.

Bone Black: Inspiring Artists Through The Ages

Bone black paint has a long and storied history since ancient times and has been noted in Egyptian, Greek and Roman art. It has remained in use throughout the Renaissance to modern times. The paint is made by burning animal bones in an oxygen-free environment, such as a kiln or oven until it is reduced to charcoal or ash. Historically, waste ivory was also used instead of bone, but this is not in practice today due to environmental and cost considerations. 

Bone black can also be combined with other colours to create a wide range of hues, from light greyish-black to deep blue-black tones. You can see an example of bone black in the clothes in the painting below, Portrait of Philips Lucasz by Rembrandt. 

Vandyke Brown: Creating Shades and Shadows

Vandyke brown, also called Cassel earth or Cologne earth—is a dark brown colour named after the 17th-century Flemish painter Anthony van Dyck. This pigment is traditionally made by blending various types of peat and soil from Germany's Cologne and Kassel regions. This pigment has been used in oil and watercolour paintings since the 17th century, with its popularity increasing in the 19th century. Old Masters such as Rubens used it mixed with gold ochre to create a transparent brown hue.  Rembrandt also used it to create dark atmospheric backgrounds, such as his painting of Saskia van Uylenburgh as Flora, below. 

Read Part II of our series about amazing paint ingredients

We thoroughly enjoyed learning about historical paint production techniques and applications from the collection of articles linked below, and recommend these websites for readers keen to delve further into this topic.

Eclectic Light blog,  Dutch Fine Paintings.com, WebExhibits.org, ColourLex 

Image from Frames, Borders & Cartouches:
An Image Archive for Artists and Designers

Illustrated borders and frames have inspired artists and designers for centuries, from Medieval manuscripts through the Renaissance and Baroque periods and beyond. This release from Vault Editions, brings these timeless designs into the hands of the contemporary creative. Use these incredible borders and frames to create elegant wedding stationery or unique greeting and business cards. Add a frame to your existing artwork for added depth and visual interest, or incorporate these beautiful motifs into a tattoo design for extra impact. 

Borders and Frames, a pictorial archive for Artists and Designers, features a curated collection of beautiful, highly detailed borders and frames suitable for many themes. Get inspired by stunning botanical motifs, dramatic Baroque flourishes, iconic classical mythology, striking decorative skulls, skeletons, bold armour and heraldry, and much more. 

This collection will delight artists of all disciplines and skill levels, from the beginner artist looking for inspiration to the experienced designer searching for new techniques. This is the ultimate reference book for artists, designers, and artisans who want to level up their portfolio and incorporate timeless, elegant, impactful borders and frames into their work.