Museum of Color
8 days ago
- #pigments
- #art-history
- #cultural-heritage
- Stephanie Krzywonos is a Xicana nonfiction writer with a forthcoming debut book titled 'Ice Folx,' an intersectional memoir set in Antarctica.
- Studio Airport is an interdisciplinary design studio co-founded by Bram Broerse and Maurits Wouters, recognized as European Agency of the Year 2024.
- Ochre, the oldest colored pigment used by humans, dates back 350,000 years and was made from earth mixed with liquids like animal fat or blood.
- Bone black, derived from charred bones, was historically used in art and later mass-produced, linked to the near-extinction of bison in North America.
- Lapis lazuli, sourced from Afghanistan, was rebranded as ultramarine in Europe and used to paint the Virgin Mary's robes.
- Tyrian purple, made from sea snails, was the most expensive pigment in history and associated with royalty.
- Cochineal, a red pigment from insects, was highly profitable and used in art, fabric, and food coloring.
- Mummy brown, made from ground mummies, was used in paintings until ethical concerns arose.
- Prussian blue, the first synthetic pigment, replaced lapis lazuli and is also an antidote for heavy metal poisoning.
- Vantablack, the darkest human-made substance, absorbs 99.965% of light and is exclusive to artist Anish Kapoor.
- The world's oldest pigment, bright pink, was found in 1.1-billion-year-old rocks beneath the Sahara Desert.