Pigments

Over the millennia, humans have used pigments to decorate, narrate, and instruct. Charred bone, ground earth, stones, bugs, and blood were the first pigments. New pigments were manufactured by simple processes such as corrosion and calcination until the Industrial Revolution introduced colours outside the spectrum of the natural world. This book brings together leading art historians and conservators to trace the history of the materials used to create colour and their invention across diverse cultures and time periods.