“Every pigment has its own story,” Khandekar says. With that in mind, we asked him to share the stories of 10 of the rarest and most interesting pigments in the Forbes collection.
Synthetic Ultramarine
“This was discovered in 1826 as the result of a contest. In a way it is like discovering how to make gold as artists no longer had to buy natural ultramarine at great cost.”
Mummy Brown
“People would harvest mummies from Egypt and then extract the brown resin material that was on the wrappings around the bodies and turn that into a pigment. It’s a very bizarre kind of pigment, I’ve got to say, but it was very popular in the 18th and 19th centuries.”
Brazilwood
“Brazilwood is any of several tropical trees of the senna genus. Its hard, red-color wood has had limited use for violins, bows, veneer, and high-quality furniture. The wood contains the colorant brasilin, which gives a deep-red to brownish color. Brazilwood dye has been used for textile and leather dyes, inks, paints, varnish tints, and wood stains....”
Lapis Lazuli
“...People would mine it in Afghanistan, ship it across Europe, and it was more expensive that gold so it would have its own budget line on a commission.”
Dragon’s Blood
“It has a great name, but it’s not from dragons. [The bright red pigment] is from the rattan palm.”
Cochineal
“This red dye comes from squashed beetles, and it’s used in cosmetics and food.”
Cadmium Yellow
“Cadmium yellow was introduced in the mid 19th century. It’s a bright yellow that many impressionists used. Cadmium is a heavy metal, very toxic. In the early 20th century, cadmium red was introduced. You find these pigments used in industrial processes. Up until the 1970s, Lego bricks had cadmium pigment in them.”
Emerald Green
“This is made from copper acetoarsenite. We had a Van Gogh with a bright green background that was identified as emerald green. Pigments used for artists’ purposes can find their way into use in other areas as well. Emerald green was used as an insecticide, and you often see it on older wood that would be put into the ground, like railroad ties.”
https://www.fastcodesign.com/3058058/the-harvard-vault-that-protects-the-worlds-rarest-colors
26 comments:
It's all gris to me.
Wonder if they have Paris green.
Mmmm, grits.
What's Paris green, Ed? Make me think of verdigris on copper.
The first lesson I ever received as a wannabe artist was how to make gris. You've got a dab of blue (usually French ultramarine, the truest blue) a dab of cadmium red (the truest brightest red) and a dab of cadmium yellow medium (ditto) on your palette. Now how the heck do I make gray out of all this brightness? The principle of complementary colors, that's how. You simply mix the red and yellow to make orange and then add a bit of blue. That actually makes black and depending on how much white you add you have dark to light grays, from cool blue grays to warm reddish and yellowish grays. It's miraculous!
There's an institute in Peru that houses all known species of potatoes. A prof I had told us about it. I think he said there are over 400 varieties.
deborah said...
What's Paris green, Ed? Make me think of verdigris on copper.
Paris green was a particularly lethal variant of emerald green.
It was used as an insecticide and as a pigment for (are you ready?) wallpaper. Just being in a room with Paris green wallpaper could, over time, kill you. Problem was, it was such a bright color and so popular, it had to be banned because, even when warned, people wouldn't part with it.
A comparable substance in booze is absinthe.
Ricpic, that's amazing. I want to try watercolor painting. I learned in art class in junior high that black is the absence of color and white is the combination of all colors, or maybe just red, yellow, and blue.
Ed, I think that's covered in my post under Emerald Green.
lol, Sixty said gris. Sorry, better clean my glasses. Oh, and you're color blind. That's two marks against me for the day.
With a mix up between gris and grits turning into grist, fodder for the mill as well as a tie in to the grind involved with turning pigment to paint, and paint into an invitation to something more.
deborah said...
I learned in art class in junior high that black is the absence of color and white is the combination of all colors, or maybe just red, yellow, and blue.
You're thinking of the RGB color model - Red Green Blue. On a black background, like a computer monitor, adding red, blue, and green light makes white light.
What people think of as red, yellow, and blue is the CMYK model - cyan, magenta, yellow, and black (take red, blue and yellow crayons, drawing one over the other and you get brown, this is why CMY has a K - you really can't get black) - for use against a white or non-black background like paper.
Ed, I think that's covered in my post under Emerald Green.
Sort of. They mention emerald, but the way Paris was made and its particular shade I thought might be unique.
YMMV
"Mummy brown" is made of people.
Thanks, Ed. Chick and I discussed this once...something about wavelengths. I still don't get how something is green because it absorbs green wavelengths. Still clueless about how sound is recorded...
Yes, Amartel, creepy and a little cool :)
In the two marks category, under the Fodder and Mudder tag:
An Amazon link to a simple wooden (cherry )bowl and a lantern showed up yesterday on the Motherblog where exposure to splooge led to the unexpected birth of a Blogchild in the form of Lem's Levity. Orphaned as that child may be, it appears to be tied with coincidental or synchronistic links if not apron strings, with Bowls and Light/levity as topics recently explored here..
While the bowl at the link was nice and cheap, it didn't hold a candle to the pictures at Lem's link of the ones Sixty turns.
Thank you, MamaM - you are too kind.
I still don't get how something is green because it absorbs green wavelengths.
You don't get it because it's incorrect! Something looks green because it absorbs the complimentary color -- in this case red. So plants absorb red light and reflect everything else.* Remove the red light and white light looks green. Look at this graphic until you figure out what is going on.
Great post! It makes me miss Palladian.
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* That's why plant "gro-lights" are reddish; why waste the other (higher energy) photons which the plants don't need?
Bonus question: What color must the wall be in that linked graphic?
And recall, there is no absorption going on in that graphic. Perhaps that why it's so confusing.
And recall, there is no absorption going on in that graphic. Perhaps that why it's so confusing.
"Absorption" and "flection" are opposite phenomena.
OMG -- I just saw a reflection of "fleck" in reflection!
Black...Ed gave it away above.
Great post, all tied together. Could you grow a plant with just red light?
I was thinking a lot of Palladian just yesterday. I miss him. Aridog has passed away, and what a great guy. I miss him, too. He used to keep an eye on P.
The wall must be white.
Could you grow a plant with just red light?
Needs some blue.
Edwaaarrd. Or did I read you wrong? So confused.
If the wall was black, it would have absorbed all the color spectrum. Alternatively, think about why a movie theater screen is white.
All this talk reminds me of Vantablack which is personally mesmerizing.
Facepalm :) Cool link. thanks.
deborah, Nice thoughts and words on Palladian and Aridog.
Thanks, Nick. Here are two posts; one by Palladian, his first on Lem's, and one in which Aridog shows his kindness and intelligence:
http://comonocreerendios-lem.blogspot.com/2013/08/a-leg-of-lamb.html
http://comonocreerendios-lem.blogspot.com/2014/07/does-this-work.html
Several noteworthy comments on the Does- this-work post that were also fun to read and "overhear" again, including an expression of appreciation and encouragement, along with an invitation for the one who passed. That invitation holds to this day for those living, like a saved color or unopened tube of paint:
Post worthy comments, Aridog, the kind that would make a good guest post, a follow-up on the Street Art question prompted by the original "Does this Work? question posed.
Art not only invites, it instructs, connects, celebrates and raises questions. As do blogs!
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