I recently had an interesting conversation with my father about the history of paint pigments and how they were made. As of result of this conversation I was intrigued and felt that I wanted to explore the subject further. What I discovered I found fascinating and I thought you might too.
40,000 years ago, tribes in Europe, Australia and Europe were painting images of hunters and herders onto the walls of caves using paints made from ground up mineral-based pigments mixed with bases such as blood, sap, berry juices, dried plants and roots, charcoal, urine, saliva and animal fats . These Stone Age artists would apply paint to the walls of caves using their fingers, brushes, or by blowing paint through hollow bones.
The Egyptians decorated their limestone tombs with paints made from pigments, (such as charcoal, red ochre, yellow orpiment, blue azurite and green malachite) mixed with adhesive materials such as egg, resin and beeswax.
The Minoans, (Bronze Age people of Crete that lived from around 3000 BCE too 1100 BCE) developed the technique for frescoes by painting into wet lime plaster. A Fresco is a work of art painted onto a wall or ceiling and is created by applying pigment onto a thin layer of plaster.
During the Middle-Ages artists began to use new materials, colours, and techniques in painting. For example, painters began working with the colour lapis lazuli which was discovered in Afghanistan. Artists at this time also began to use the technique of egg tempera to paint. Egg tempera is when a pigment is mixed together with egg and water.
The Renaissance period ushered in the use of walnut and linseed oil as the base for paints, rather then egg. Renaissance artists found that adding oil to their pigments enabled them to create paintings richer and more luminous in colour.
The 18th Century saw the creation of watercolour paints. In 1766 William Reeves began supplying watercolour cakes to artists. He discovered that adding honey to the colours prevented the cakes from cracking and meant that the paints lasted longer.
1841 ushered in the invention of the collapsible paint tube by the American painter John Rand. This revolutionised the technique of oil painting by providing artists with a wide range of portable colours. For instance, it was around this time that Cobalt blue, Cadmium yellow and Cobalt violet were discovered. Rand’s invention also helped to bring about the impressionism style of painting. Impressionism is a style of painting that was developed in 19th Century France by the artist Claude Monet and is based on painting spontaneously outdoors. Impressionists tend to paint landscapes and scenes from everyday life.
The 20th Century brought about the creation of acrylic paint. To begin with, during the 1950’s water-based acrylic paints were sold as interior house paints. Artists and companies then began to experiment with these types of paints and eventually they began to be sold commercially in the 1960’s.
References
1. The Bureau of Economic Geology, (2017) The Colourful History of Paint: https://www.earthdate.org/colorful-history-of-paint
2. Web Exhibits, Pigments Through the Ages: http://www.webexhibits.org/pigments/intro/medieval.html
3. Encyclopaedia Britannica, (2020) Minoan Civilization: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Minoan-civilization
4. Kelly Richman-Abdou; My Modern Met, (2018) What is Fresco Art? Exploring the Ancient Technique of Painting on Plaster: https://mymodernmet.com/fresco-definition/
5. The Tate, Impressionism: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/i/impressionism
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