Rightfully banned.. The holy trinity of historic pigments
Channel: Dirty Blue Tube
Date: 2024-02-20

Three pigments that made history, now banned..

Paris Green:
The one and only, original PG21 version! Also known as Emerald Green, Schweinfurt Green, Veronese Green or that arsenic stuff you actually don’t want to use but really just have to see in real life! 

Although captured in 4K at 60fps… a camera doesn’t do it justice. 

As a pigment itself, it’s a real dream to work with. Comparable to a creamy cobalt blue when it comes to ''disolvability'' and structure as a paint. This particular version of the pigment gives a greenish blue, almost pastel like color that lays down beautifully transparent. It also has a real nice granulation when applied a bit heavier on some cold pressed cotton paper.


SO WHAT MAKES THIS PIGMENT SO SPECIAL?
BEFORE THE 1800'S THERE WEREN'T THAT MANY BRIGHT GREEN PICMENTS TO WORK WITH. SURE ONE COULD MIX A GREEN, BUT WHEN IT CAME TO PICMENTS PEOPLE USED VERDIGRIS AND MALACHITE.

THEN THE PIGMENT KNOWN AS SCHEELE'S GREEN WAS MADE. A COPPER ARSENITE PIGMENT THAT WAS VERY TOXIC DUE TO THE COMBINATION OF COPPER AND ARSENIC. BUT IT WAS A VERY BRICHT GREEN!

EMERALD CREEN WAS DEVELOPED IN 1808 AS AN IMPROVED VERSION OF SCHEELE'S GREEN. IT WAS MORE DURABLE BUT, SINCE THIS IS A COPPER ACETOARSENITE, THE ARCENIC IN IT WOULD STILL BROWN THIS BRICHT CREEN WHEN IT CAME IN CONTACT WITH SULPHUR CONTAINING COLORS.

SHORTLY AFTER THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PIGMENT, PEOPLE FOUND OUT THE WALLPAPERS PRINTER WITH IT, GAVE OF FUMES OF ARCENIC AS A REACTION WITH THE HUMIDITY IN THE AIR. IT WAS PROHIBITED IN 1815 FOR THIS PURPOSE.

TO HIDE THE NATURE OF THIS DEADLY PIGMENT, IT HAS BEEN GIVEN MANY NAMES. IT'S KNOW AS VERONESE GREEN, SCHWEINFURT GREEN AND PARIS GREEN. BUT AS MANY AS 88 NAMES WERE USED FOR IT IN MANY DIFFERENT PLACES.

NOTE THAT THE NAME VERT ÉMERAUDE, ALTHOUGH IT HAS THE SAME TRANSLATION FROM FRENCH TO ENGLISH, ISN'T USED FOR THIS COLOR, BUT FOR HYDRATED CHROMIUM OXIDE; VIRIDIAN

ALTHOUGH VERDIGRIS OR MALACHITE AREN'T THE HEALTHIEST PIGMENTS WHEN INHALED, PLEASE USE PRECAUTIONS WHEN WORKING WITH (THESE) PIGMENTS, IT'S BEEN THE ARSENIC CREEN PIGMENTS THAT MADE GREEN THE COLOR OF POISON!

ONLY NOW, SINCE WERE MORE AWARE OF OUR ENVIRONMENT, GREEN IS COMING BACK AS A COLOR OF NATURE, A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE AND SO ON. BUT MOST WITCHES CAULDRONS ARE FILLED WITH A GREEN SUBSTANCE WHEN IT COMES TO CARTOONS, AND THIS IS IT'S ORIGIN!

Indian Yellow: 
What you see here is a ball of purree. This is one of the names for dried up cows urine in this state. Yes, we're talking about genuine Indian Yellow aka pigment number NY20, which stands for Natural Yellow. 

It's said that cows were fed only mango leafs to concentrate that deep yellow color. The urine of these cows was collected and dried, made into these balls and shipped to artisans who refined these and made vibrant yellow pigment out of them, to be used by artists. 

Since this process led to a lot of malnourished cows, it was unethical to continue this practice. After this, it became unavailable in the early 1920's. 

It has known many replacements as a pigment, from natural pigments like gamboge to mixtures and single pigments, like PY153, my Indian Yellow I use in my palettes, which is also discontinued. 

This original pigment was mostly used in the 19th century by a lot of European artists. A famous example is Starry Night by Van Gogh, it shows the beautiful yellow in its moon and stars. 

What I make here is not from the refined version of this pigment but from pigment dust that was found in the original wrapper, it came straight from the ball. 

Yes, it does smell a bit. But it's not sickening. I have to say that some indigo's but also purpurism smell worse when made into paint. It might have lost a lot of its smell over the years though..

Mummy Brown:
Mummy Brown pigment… a bottle from 1857. Pigment acquired from a private collector, seeing binder for the fist time in ages, or maybe the first time ever. 

Said to be a pigment made out of ground mummy's, this pigment was a charred version of it. Something that was quite a common thing to do to get deeper hues and a finer pigment. 

As a pigment itself, it felt a bit gritty at the start but broke down to a lovely smooth and fine paint. It smells a bit like an earth paint with a hint of unburnt coals. There is also a fragrance I can't quite put my finger on, but that might make sense looking at the origin of the pigment (I didn't sniff the dry pigment.. I don't like the idea of ''used to be'' people dust boogers up my nose..).

As a swatch, something interesting happened. I first made paint out of it, as usual. The hue went from an almost raw umber mixed with black to a warm burnt sienna. There is even some resemblance with Cassel Earth, though a bit warmer and more dull when dried. 

For my shop, check: 
https://creatoriq.cc/3L7SbG1

#parisgreen #indianyellow #mummybrown #historicpigments #handmadewatercolors #pigmenthistory #rarepigments #extinctpigments
#bannedpigment #toxic #unethical #history