History of Paint – Mocomi.com

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HISTORY OF PAINT

Humans have felt the need to leave their mark on the world in the form of painted images since prehistory. If we look at how art evolved over the years we can know a number of things about the people that created them and the societies they lived in. At some point early man figured out that by mixing colour giving particles known as pigments into a medium like water or saliva- paint was invented!

If you look at paint under a micro-scope you will see that paint is col-oured pigment that is suspended in a medium. Pigments come from multiple sources such as minerals or elements, plants and vegetables, and some are even extracted from insects. The medium could be a variety of sub-stances from oil or egg-yolk in paint-ings, plaster in frescos or plastic alloys in the case of automobiles.

PIGMENTS

WATER

PAINT

Egg Yolk

Vegetables

Minerals

Plants

Insects

INTRODUCTION

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HISTORY OF PAINT

We began using colour pigment as early as prehistoric times when humans drew on the walls of caves and their own bodies. They used moss, chewed ends of branches and their own fingers to apply mixtures of natural materials as paint.

The prehistoric palette of paints were all made from pigments ob-tained from the earth. The earliest pigments were earth pigments (ochre and umber), charcoal (carbon black and bone black), and white (calcium).

PREHISTORIC(UP TO 4000 BC)

Ochre

WhiteUmbre

Bone Black

Carbon Black


HISTORY OF PAINT

Man was willing to travel long dis-tances in order to maintain their supply of earth pigments. All prehis-toric sites of cave paintings have trails leading to hematite deposits. Histori-ans believe that the reason force behind the mining industry is man's quest for earth pigments.

The earliest cave paintings where colour was extracted from the earth for art is the Bimbetka rock shelters in Madhya Pradesh where paintings in these rock shelters date back to 12,000 years ago.


Prehistoric Cave Painting

Earth PigmentsOchre

Umbre


HISTORY OF PAINT

Earth pigments were red ochre, the pigment red ochre is made from a mineral oxide of iron called hema-tite. Like red ochre, its yellow cousin is a hydrated form of iron oxide known as yellow ochre. Named after Umbria, the part of Italy from where it is was originally extracted from, umber is derived from a clay containing iron and manganese oxides.

Carbon black is a black pigment ob-tained from partially burning wood. Another black pigment that is no longer in use is bone black, where the material that is burnt to get the pigment is bone. White historically has been made from calcium and called lime white.


Red Ochremineral oxide of iron

iron and manganese oxides.

Yellow Ochre

burnt boneBone Black

burnt woodCarbon Black

calciumLime white


HISTORY OF PAINT

The period of history when man began to record their own history starts with antiquity. Man had begun growing crops, domesticating animals and living in permanent settlements. The majority of art produced during this time was also on walls for decora-tive purposes. Except the walls they painted on were on architectural wonders such as the pyramids, pal-aces, and temples.

The basic Egyptian palette added blue and green to prehistoric palette. They made green pigment from a mineral of copper known as mala-chite.

The blue hue known as ultramarine was being produced as far back as antiquity. This pigment was extremely expensive because it was only pro-duced from the lapis lazuli mines in Afghanistan.

ANTIQUITY (4000 BC - 4th CENTURY AD)

Ultramarine

Malachite

Egyptian Painting


HISTORY OF PAINT

The Egyptians discovered a cheaper alternative made from a copper mineral known as azurite. And although this was cheaper than the pigment from Afghanistan, they went further to make the first synthetic paint called Egyptian blue. Its exact chemical formula is unknown.

The Egyptians also created new techniques of producing pigment called lake making. Through this process they created a new red called carmine.

In later antiquity, around 700 AD, a red pigment produced from a min-eral called cinnabar called vermil-lion was invented. Its resemblance to blood lent it the nickname- the colour of life.

Another name for it is China red be-cause it is an important colour in Chi-nese culture and even has its place in a special red ink that was solely re-served for use by emperors.


Azurite

Vermillion


HISTORY OF PAINT

In India the Ajanta and Ellora caves in Maharashtra, and the Bagh caves in Madhya Pradesh are classical examples of art during Indian antiquity.

The process of creating these murals began by first treating the wall with a smooth batter of lime-stone mixture after which paint was quickly applied over the next couple of days while the wall was still wet.

The colours and shades varied from earth ochres, to terra verte (green earth clays found in iron sili-cate), and lapis lazuli, to name a few.


Lapis Lazuli

Terraverte

Cave Painting


HISTORY OF PAINT

Painting had become a highly technical form of art by the medi-eval ages. A new medium used during this time called egg tem-pera was made by mixing pigments with water and egg. This mix-ture had a very short shelf-life but it allowed the artist to develop new effects that were never seen before. The meticulous process of applying paint in thin layers to prevent it from cracking is why medieval painting has a highly polished finish.

MEDIEVAL AGE (5th – 15th CENTURY)

TemperaPaintings


HISTORY OF PAINT

The colour verdigris, a highly toxic copper mineral came into use in the medieval age. It was made by chemically removing the thin green layer formed when copper mixes with oxygen. From its discovery until the 19th century, verdigris was the most vibrant green pigment.

In the Indian subcontinent painting took a backseat to history. A large amount of manuscripts were created that included miniature paintings that illustrated the text.

The process of mixing carbon black or bone black with glue to make India ink dates as far back to China in the 11th century BC.

India Ink Manuscripts

MEDIEVAL AGE (5th – 15th CENTURY)


HISTORY OF PAINT

The renaissance was a period when art flourished. This in turn increased the demand for paint and pigment. A great number of techniques were a product of the renaissance. Instead of using egg as a base for pigment, artists began to use linseed or walnut oil which dried more slowly. Since paint took longer to dry, artists now had the luxury to experiment with depth and perspective, but more importantly they began to mix different paints to make new shades and hues.

RENAISSANCE (15th - 17th CENTURY)

RenaissancePainting


HISTORY OF PAINT

Apart from the already existing pigments, artists had three new pigments to experiment with: Naples yellow, smalt, and carmine lake. Even though Naples yellow had been around before, it began being used by the Dutch and Italian masters during the renaissance. It became an important colour because when applied correctly it gave the effect of a retreating sun.

Smalt is a blue hue made from potassium that was a cheap and worthy alternative to other blue pigments available during that period.

The discovery of the new world brought the colour carmine to Europe and the rest of the world. Carmine was important because it was the first animal dye used on a massive scale. It is also the secret behind the beautiful deep shadows that came to be indica-tive of the renaissance period.


Smalt Carmine Lake

Naples Yellow

potassium first animal dye


HISTORY OF PAINT

In India a style of painting called Madhubani art developed during this period. Pigment was extracted from vegetable and fruit dyes such as turmeric and fig leaves (yellow), woad (blue), along with existing earth elements for red and green.

Another style that developed during the same time but in a differ-ent part of the sub-continent is Tanjore Painting. This technique had a mixed media approach to art where images were embellished with semi-precious stones and the negative space was filled in with vegetable dyes.


Madhubani Painting

TanjorePainting


HISTORY OF PAINT

Up until the modern age paint was made mostly by the artists them-selves. Watercolour became popular when art became a hobby of the wealthy. In 1776 William Reeves began a company that pro-duced cakes of watercolour. In his process he realised that the cakes of colour he produced could be kept from cracking by adding small amounts of honey into the formula. By the early 1700's producing paint became a profession.

Water colour Painting

MODERN AGE (18th CENTURY)


HISTORY OF PAINT

The first of the two new modern day pigments was Prussian blue, de-rived from Iron. It is important be-cause it tends not to fade, unlike pigment made from lapis lazuli. The second pigment of the modern age is cobalt green.

This green hue made from the chemical element from which it gets its name never entered the main-stream palette because it was largely unaffordable, and not worth the money because its green hue fades easily.

An interesting fact about cobalt is that only recently scientists discov-ered that what people have been using to make pigment for centuries has magnetic properties that are ideal for computer storage!

MODERN AGE (18th CENTURY)

Prussian Blueiron

Cobalt Greenchemical elements


HISTORY OF PAINT

Industrialisation changed the world of colour completely with the paint-tube. Paint companies figured out a way of suspending pig-ments in linseed oil, and also keeping the paint from drying too quickly. Artists now had a convenient and portable set of pre-mixed colour.

INDUSTRIAL AGE(19th CENTURY)


HISTORY OF PAINT

The advances in chemistry during this time led to many inventions within the paint and dye industries. A variety of colours such as cobalt blue, veridian, cadmium yellow, cerulean blue, cobalt violet, and emerald green were all invented within 50 years of each other.

The increased demand for dyes in the early 1800's had nothing to do with dye. The industry scale production of textiles demanded new and interesting dyes, and two old dyes were synthesized to make a new one. In fact paint took a back seat to the industry of dyes.

INDUSTRIAL AGE(19th CENTURY)

The evolution of colour as we know it today comes from man's need to capture the vibrant world around him. Till today advances in sci-ence and technology aid the development of paints and pigments that can be applied better, and last a lifetime for generations to appreciate.


HISTORY OF PAINT

Image Source-www.wikipedia.org and the copy right credits are as follow:

Lascaux Caves-This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 3.0 San Painting, Ukalamba Drakensberge-This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 3.0 Image of a horse from the Lascaux caves-This photographic reproduction is considered to be in the public domain. Yankee Hat art-MJC-This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0Bhimbetka Cave Paintings-This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 GenericAboriginal Ochre Pit Central Australia-This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0Ajanta Padmapani-This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired.Maler der Grabkammer der Nefertari-The work of art depicted in this image and the reproduction thereof are in the public domain worldwide.Malachite-41365-This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0Lapis lazuli p1070260-This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0Lapis lazuli block-This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Azurite-velvet-beauty-This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 GenericRed tikka powder-This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 GenericVirgin and child with four saints--detail--cortona 1435-This image (or other media file) is in the public domain because its copy-right has expired.Raffael 006-The work of art depicted in this image and the reproduction thereof are in the public domain worldwide.Niccolò Semitecolo - Two Christians before the Judges-This image (or other media file) is in the public domain because its copyright has expired.Sanzio 01-This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons, commons is a freely licensed media file repository.Ardh Narishwar by Vidushini-This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons, commons is a freely licensed media file repository.Gajalakshmi in Tanjore Painting-This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons, commons is a freely licensed media file repository.Thomas Girtin 006-This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons, commons is a freely licensed media file repository.The Blue Boat 1892 Winslow Homer-This image (or other media file) is in the public domain because its copyright has expired.Edouard Manet 004-The work of art depicted in this image and the reproduction thereof are in the public domain worldwide. Grant DeVolson Wood - American Gothic-This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons, commons is a freely licensed media file repository.John's Diner by John Baeder-This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons, commons is a freely licensed media file repository.


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