Cobalt violet
Cobalt violet is one of the few violet pigments in use since the second half of the 19th century until today.
Naples yellow
Naples yellow and egyptian blue are the oldest artificially produced pigments. It has great hiding power and was used until the 19th century.
Cadmium yellow
Cadmium yellow is a stable, lightfast and beautiful yellow pigment used by Monet, Cézanne and Matisse among other painters in the 19th Century.
Claude Monet, Bathers at La Grenouillère
Bathing at La Grenouillère is a seminal work by C. Monet constituting a turning point in his development of a spontaneous painting technique ‘en plein air’.
Resources Hieronymus Bosch
Hieronymus Bosch: Books, Websites, and Documents describing this Renaissance painter with a body of work eluding all attempts of interpretation.
Resources Lucas Cranach the Elder
Lucas Cranach the Elder: Collection of resources such as books, documents and websites on the works and technique of this master of German renaissance.
Vermeer, Christ in the House of Martha and Mary
Pigment analysis of ‘Christ in the House of Martha and Mary’ reveals Vermeer’s masterful handling of colour. One of the rare examples of uses of indigo.
Prussian Blue
An extensive collection of information on properties, preparation, identification, and use of Prussian blue – the first modern artificial pigment.
Verdigris
Verdigris was the most intense green pigment of renaissance painters, while its use ceased with the arrival of the modern pigments such as emerald green.
Georges Seurat, A Sunday on La Grande Jatte
‘La Grande Jatte’ was painted according to the most advanced colour theories of Seurat’s time and it is the most important work of pointillism.
Van Gogh, The Pink Orchard
One of the triptych of orchards painted in Arles and at least partly inspired by Japanese prints. The red and yellow organic pigments have faded with time.
Seurat, Vase of Flowers
‘Vase of Flowers’ is Seurat’s sole still life with prominent brushwork and complex painting technique resulting in a shimmering appearance.
Green earth
Green earth is a natural inorganic pigment used since antiquity mostly in mixture with other pigments.
Lead white
Extensive collection of information on artistic, historical, and technical aspects of Lead white, the most important white pigment since antiquity.
Malachite
Malachite is basic copper carbonate which can be found in nature as a mineral. It has been used in oil painting since antiquity.
Picasso, Les Demoiselles d’Avignon
Pigment analysis of Picasso Les Demoiselles d’Avignon reveals the technique behind this epochal painting marking the beginning of Cubism.
Cima, The Incredulity of Saint Thomas
Pigment analysis of Cima’s ‘The Incredulity of Saint Thomas’ reveals the use of the usual Renaissance pigments applied in a very elaborate manner.
Viridian
An extensive collection of information on the properties, preparation, identification and use of viridian. It was frequently employed by the Impressionists.
Renoir, The Umbrellas
Renoir’s The Umbrellas is one of his most ambitious and complex paintings painted in two distinct stages during his difficult period between 1880 and 1886.
Raphael, The Sistine Madonna
Raphael painted this masterful Madonna with Jesus, pope Sixtus II and St Barbara for the altar in the church of San Sisto in Piacenza.
Van Gogh, A Wheatfield with Cypresses
The pigment analysis of ‘Wheatfield with Cypresses’ which was painted by Van Gogh in the last year of his life and is one of his most famous landscapes.
Smalt
Smalt is finely ground glass containing cobalt. Its colour is not very brilliant In oil paintings and it has often been mixed with other pigments.
Velázquez, Apollo in the Forge of Vulcan
Velázquez used a limited choice of pigments to depict this antique myth of Apollo visiting Vulcan in his forge to tell him about his adulterous wife.
Red lead
Red lead has been in use since antiquity but it is not very common in European paintings. Degas and Van Gogh are known to have been painting with read lead.
Degas, Combing the Hair
‘Combing the Hair’ is one of the versions of Degas’ favourite theme in his late years. The intensity and variety of the red colours is exceptional.
Red ochre
Red ochre has been used since prehistoric times under different names, such as red earth, Venetian red, mars red and English red.
Yellow ochre
Yellow ochre is one of the oldest pigments in use since prehistoric times until present day.
Emerald green
Emerald green offers lucidly presented artistic and scientific information on this brilliant but extremely toxic pigment.
Cézanne, Chestnut Trees at Jas de Bouffan
‘The chestnut trees’ is an unusual view of Jas de Bouffan, Cézanne’s country villa and is a fully representative example of the artist’s mature period.
Azurite
Azurite is a natural blue pigment which has been in use since antiquity. It was much cheaper than natural ultramarine.
Orpiment
Orpiment is a rather rare yellow pigment which has been in use since antiquity. It is arsenic sulfide and as such it is very poisonous.
Cobalt blue
An extensive collection of information on properties, preparation, identification, and use of cobalt blue – a popular pigment with the Impressionists.
Chrome yellow
Chrome yellow is not very stable but popular pigment with the impressionists and painters such as Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauigin and Paul Cézanne.
Renoir, La Yole
Learn about Renoir’s pigments and his painting technique in this impressionist painting of boating on the Seine.
Vermilion
Vermilion (cinnabar) was one of the most important red pigments in use from antique times until about the nineteeth century.
Rembrandt, Belshazzar’s Feast
Rembrandt’s depiction of a story from the Old Testament about the blasphemy of the Babylonian king and his punishment by God.
Resources Johannes Vermeer
Resources: Johannes Vermeer. Books, articles, websites and videos on paintings, pigments and technique of Johannes Vermeer.
Resources: Pigments
Resources such as books, articles and websites about pigments. Learn about pigments and other painting materials used in paintings of all art periods.
Madder lake
An extensive collection of information on the properties, preparation, and identification of madder lake. Special emphasis is put on its use in oil painting.
Lead-tin yellow
Lead-tin yellow is an artificial yellow pigment first employed in paintings in the early renaissance. Titian, Vermeer, and Rembrandt had used it often.
Vermeer, The Milkmaid
The pigment analysis of ‘The Milkmaid’ reveals the painting technique behind Vermeer’s masterful rendition of surfaces such es the whitewashed wall.
Titian, The Aldobrandini Madonna
Titian, The Virgin and Child with the Infant Saint John and a Female Saint or Donor (‘The Aldobrandini Madonna’), about 1532
Duccio, The Virgin and Child
Duccio di Buoninsegna, The Virgin and Child with Saint Dominic and Saint Aurea, and Patriarchs and Prophets, about 1312–15
Ultramarine artificial
Ultramarine artificial is the synthetic variant of the expensive natural pigment prepared from the mineral lapis lazuli.
Ultramarine natural
An extensive collection of information on properties, preparation, identification, and use of ultramarine natural – the intense and expensive blue pigment.
Titian, Bacchus and Ariadne
Titian, ‘Bacchus and Ariadne’. A classic story of love and deceit depicted by one of the greatest Italian painters of high renaissance.