A Brief History of Color

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A Brief History of Color
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The First Colors

• More than 15,000 years ago, cave people used
  Earth pigments
• yellow ochre (clay)
• red ochre (clay)
• white chalk
• carbon black (burnt animal fat)
• YUM! ?
• They are still used today but in different formats

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• The Egyptians, Chinese, Greeks and Romans then
  modified and contributed to the use of color
• Egyptians-Cinnabar-mineral (1st bright red)
• Chinese- Vermillion (TOXIC orangey-red)
• Greeks- White lead (first completely opaque white
  but TOXIC!-Used for awhile)
• Romans- Inherited palette of all three but
  contributed Tyrian Purple for Emperors
  togas-more on that later!

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Then what happened???

• Not much!
• Renaissance gives greater Earth pigments by
  roastingBurnt Umber Burnt Sienna.Terra Verte
  (green earth) is typical under painting of flesh
  in paintings.
• Early 19th Century-Industrial Revolution,
  Impressionists use oils in tubes, and modern
  chemical colors created.

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RED

• Can signify love, danger, good luck (China),
  evil, or wealth (India-Goddess Lakshmi)
• Cinnabar (rock mineral), vermilion
• Cochineal- Carmine-STILL used today in food
  coloring and COSMETICS! Check
• your lipsticks!

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ORANGE

• Named after the Sanskrit word, narangah for the
  fruit.
• Realgar-toxic red-orange color from volcanic
  minerals used from ancient times to Renaissance
  and up to 19th Century.

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YELLOW

• Derived from the earth, arsenic, plants and even
  cows urine! Cows were force-fed mango leaves and
  urine was
• evaporated to produce powder.
• Symbolic warmth, light, sickness or cowardice

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GREEN

• Early green pigments contained copper and arsenic
  (TOXIC!)
• Symbolic signifies life or hope poison, envy
  traditionally worn as fertility symbol in Western
  Europe at weddings currently as ecology

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BLUE

• Ancient Woad (Brave heart) Like the Indigo
  plant, its a shrub where ancient Brits would
  paint their face
• Ultramarine- Ground from rare stone, Lapis
  Lazuli, was more expensive than gold! In
  Renaissance, usually most important person had
  this pigmentex. Virgin Mary
• Symbolic calm, soothing, sadness or depression

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• Empty space
• In bottom right
• Is left for
• Mary.
• He probably
• waited
• for shipment of
• Lapis Lazuli.

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PURPLE (or VIOLET)

• Named for Violette-French Flower
• Tyrian Purple From Roman times, one of the most
  expensive dyes. Made from the ink of the Murex or
  sea snail.
• 12,000 mollusks produced 1/20th of an oz.!
• AND IT STUNK!!!
• Symbolism Royalty or wealth