From prehistoric times, humans have left an imprint on their environment in the form of painted images, which both beautified their world and expressed their thoughts and feelings. It may be that primitive man scratched trees or rocks with stones as a way of identifying a track, indicating a source of food or water, or even marking territory. At some stage, however, humans discovered that pigments worked more effectively when mixed with a medium such as water or saliva, and painting was born.
Point at pigments
| Prehistory | Antiquity | Medieval Age | Renaissance & Early modern | Industrialization & contemporary | Present day |
X carbon black (Prehistory - Now) Carbon black was used as a pigment since very earliest times. Carbon black … more » X bone black (Prehistory - continues in use) Bone black is blue-black in color and fairly smooth in texture and also den … more » X umber (Prehistory - continues in use) Umber is a natural mixture of iron and manganese oxides and hydroxides. Use … more » X red ochre (Prehistory, artificial 18th century - continues in use) Red ochre is composed mailnly of iron oxide, hematite which word comes from … more » X yellow ochre (Prehistory, artificial (1920s) - continues in use) Earthtones from cream to brown. Yellow ochre is a natural mineral consistin … more » X lime white (Prehistory (chalk) - continues in use (chalk, bianco di San Giovanni)) Lime white consists of two kind of pigments, Chalk and Bianco San Giovanni … more » | X madder lake (Antiquity (Egyptians), artificial (1868) - continues in use) It's a lake derived from the extract of the madder plant's root (rubia tint … more » X carmine lake (Antiquity (Egyptians) - continues in use) One of the delights of autumn is, to walk through the woodlands and feast y … more » X realgar (Antiquity (Egyptians) - 19th century) Red orange natural pigment closely related to the yellow orpiment. The two … more » X malachite (Antiquity (Egyptians) - 16th century) It's a mineral basic copper carbonate, moderately permanent pigment of vary … more » X orpiment (Antiquity (Egyptians) - 19th century) A rich lemon or canary yellow with fair covering power and good chemical st … more » X Egyptian blue (Antiquity (Egyptians) - Antiquity (Romans)) Very stable synthetical pigment of varying blue colour. It is a copper calc … more » X indigo (Antiquity (Egyptians) - continues in use) Indigo was quite often used in European easel painting since the Middle Age … more » X azurite (Antiquity (Egyptians), artificial (17th century) - 18th century) Azurite is composed of mineral basic carbonate of copper, found in many par … more » X red lead (Antiquity (Greeks), artificial (Romans) - 19th century) A dense, fine-textured red pigment with good hiding power but only fair sta … more » X vermilion (Antiquity (Greeks), artificial 8th century (vermilion) - 19th century) An orangish red pigment with excellent hiding power and good permanence. It … more » X green earth (Antiquity (Greeks) - continues in use) Natural green pigment varying in compostion and in shades of color. It has … more » X verdigris (Antiquity (Greeks) - 19th century) A moderately-transparent bluish green with low stability. It's a copper ace … more » X lead white (Antiquity (Greeks) - continues in use) Lead white has the warmest masstone of all the whites. It has a very subtle … more » | X ultramarine (12th century, Artificial (1828) - contiunes in use) The finest blue known to the ancients, was obtained from the precious stone … more » X lead tin yellow (13th century - 18th century) An opaque yellow with good covering power. It's a Lead-Tin oxide, discovere … more » X smalt (15th century - 18th century) It's a ground blue potassium glass containing cobalt used among the 15th an … more » X indian yellow (15th century - 1883) Clear, deep and luminescent yellow pigment. Indian yellow, magnesium euxant … more » X copper resinate (15th century - 17th century) A transparent jade-green glaze formed by dissolving copper salts in Venice … more » | X Naples yellow (16th century - continues in use) One of the oldest synthetic pigments with very good hiding power, tinting s … more » X Van Dyke brown (17th century - continues in use) It's a transparent brown natural earth containing usually over 90% of organ … more » X Prussian blue (1724 - continues in use) Dark blue, called the first of the modern pigments. It has very high tintin … more » X cobalt green (1780 - continues in use) It's a green cobalt-oxide-zinc-oxide, semi-transparent of limited hiding po … more » | X cobalt blue (1807 - continues in use) It's a cobalt oxide-aluminum oxide. Very costly and extraordinary stable pi … more » X chrome orange (1809 - continues in use) Chrome orange is a basic lead chromate which was introduce as a pigment in … more » X emerald green (1814 - 1900s) It's a poisonous copper-acetoarsenite developed in an attempt to improve Sc … more » X chrome yellow (1816 - continues in use) Relatively inexpensive yellow pigment with high covering power but with onl … more » X cadmium yellow (1820 - continues in use) The range of cadmium pigments, yellow, orange, red are basically cadmium ye … more » X lemon yellow (1830 - continues in use) The pigment known commonly as "lemon yellow" could consist of barium chroma … more » X zinc white (1834 - continues in use) An orangish red pigment with excellent hiding power and good permanence. … more » X viridian (1838 - continues in use) A moderately-transparent bluish green with low stability. It's a copper ace … more » X cobalt yellow (1852 - continues in use) An expensive yellow that was briefly in vogue. It is of very pure yellow co … more » X cobalt violet (1859 - continues in use) The first real violet pigment prepared by Salvètat in 1859. It is chemical … more » X cerulean blue (1860 - continues in use) It's a cobalt stannate which was introduce as a pigment in the 1860s. Very … more » X cadmium red (1907 - continues in use) The range of cadmium pigments, yellow, orange, red are basically cadmium ye … more » X Titanium white (1921 - continues in use) Strongest, most brilliant white available to artists in the entire history … more » |