Pigment use dates back incredibly far! Artists were creating pigments as early as 40,000 years ago. These early pigments were a mixture of readily available natural materials such as soil, animal fat, burnt charcoal, and chalk. This resulted in a basic palette of five colors: red, yellow, brown, black, and white.
A Timeline of Pigment Use:
- 40,000 years ago: The earliest known use of pigments, utilizing natural materials to create basic colors. [Source: Artsy.net]
- Ancient Times: Natural earth pigments were common in cave paintings and other art forms across various cultures. [Source: Pigment Tokyo Online] Mineral pigments were also used in artwork such as Japanese paintings. [Source: Pigment Tokyo Online]
- Ancient Egypt: A particularly notable example is Mummy Brown, a pigment created from ground-up mummies. [Source: FSU Department of Art History]
- Modern Era: Today, pigments continue to be used extensively in various applications like paints, inks, cosmetics (e.g., cochineal for lipsticks), and tattoos. [Source: Artsy.net, Pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov] Modern pigment production often involves synthesizing chemicals, but many pigments still originate from natural mineral sources. [Source: NancyReyner.com] The development of new pigments, like the specific blacks discussed in Reddit discussions regarding miniature painting, continues to this day. [Source: Reddit r/minipainting]
The specific pigments used varied depending on the time period, geographic location, and the available resources. The use of pigments reflects a fundamental human desire for self-expression and artistic creation, evident in the earliest examples and continuing today.
