Malachite

Natural inorganic pigment

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Composition and Properties of Malachite

Malachite is a basic copper carbonate with the chemical formula of CuCO₃· Cu(OH)₂.

It is not stable at high temperatures, its decomposition begins at about 200 °C. Malachite, as all carbonates, is dissolved by even dilute acids but is unaffected by cold solutions of hydroxides.

Video: 'Malachite in art | Why this paint didn’t last 500 years' by National Gallery London

David Peggie from the Scientific department discusses Giovanni Bellini’s use of the pigment malachite, in his painting ‘The Agony in the Garden‘.

Pigment

Painted swatch

Names

Alternative names

Mountain green, Olympian green, Hungarian green, copper green

Color Index

PG 39, CI 77492

Word origin

From French malachite, ultimately from Greek malachitis (lithos) “mallow (stone),” from malakhe “mallow”; the mineral traditionally so called from the resemblance of its color to that of the leaves of the mallow plant.
From Online Etymology Dictionary

Malachit

German

Malachite

French

Malachito

Italian

Malaquita

Spanish

Preparation

The pigment can be prepared from the mineral malachite by grounding, washing and levigating the raw material.

Malachite can also be prepared in the laboratory by a reaction of copper (II) sulfate and sodium carbonate. The artificial form is sometimes called green verditer.

Preparation of Malachite in the Lab

12,5 g hydrated copper (II) sulfate CuSO₄.5H₂O is dissolved in 50 mL deionized water. A solution of 5,8 g Na₂CO₃ in 55 mL deionized water is then added slowly to the first solution while mixing vigorously.

preparation of malachite 1

After adding about 40 mL of the sodium carbonate solution the mixture starts to liberate gaseous carbon dioxide.

preparation of malachite 2

The resulting mixture is then left standing for one to two days at a temperature of 5 to 10 °C. The precipitate is then washed twice with deionized water, filtered and dried.

preparation of malachite 3

Video: 'Making Basic Copper Carbonate' by NileRed

Mineral malachite

History of Use

Malachite has been used in ancient Egypt, but despite its abundance, it was seldom used in European oil painting. The following graph gives the frequency of its use in the paintings of the Schack Collection in the Bavarian State Art Collections in Munich (1).

malachite_history_of_use

An extensive listing of occurrences of malachite in paintings in several historical periods can be found in the blog post ‘Pigment: The unusual green of Malachite‘ by The Eclectic Light Company.

References

(1) Kühn, H., Die Pigmente in den Gemälden der Schack-Galerie, in: Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen (Ed.) Schack-Galerie (Gemäldekataloge Bd. II), München 1969.

Examples of use

Raphael, Sistine Madonna, 1512

The green drapery in the upper part of the painting: lead white, charcoal black, orpiment and malachite

Raphael_-_Sistine_Madonna_1513-14_1513-14-pigmente-drapery-1

Tintoretto, St George and the Dragon, about 1555

5 Green landscape: malachite and smaller amounts of verdigris.
6 Yellow-green parts of the landscape: malachite with smaller amounts of verdigris mixed with lead-tin-yellow.

Tintoretto_st-george-and-the-dragon_pigments-5-6