The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1919-03-28
Strange Sources From Which
Pigments Used by Modern
/. 5- Painters Are Derived.
PRESERVATION OF SURFACES.
Crude but Effective Processes Employ
+ ed by the Egyptians and Greeks OF
plinys Day--Noah Prudentiy
Il Waterproofed the Ark. E

I'd
fully as knotty as the ancient one about
the relative time Of arrival OF the
chicken or the egg. 1t was invented,
though, and 1t serves both purposes
equally; so whether 1t is an offspring
Of mother necessity or anfadopted son
of beauty remains forever disputed
question: NJ. 0
The first men, covering under the
fierce and glaring suns ofEthe bibiical
countries, constructed rude ahuts or
wood to shelter them. The perishable
nature of these structures caused rapid
decay, and 1t Is probable that the oc-
eupants, seeking some artificial means
OF preservation, hit upon the pigments
Of the earth In their search. 1t Is per-
hnps natural to suppose that 1t was
the instinct of preservation that led
men to the search, although the glortes
Of the sunsets and the beauties Of the
rainbow may have created desire to
initiate those wonders In their own
dwellings. -..- Ill.,.
j. The earliest record of the applica-
ton of preservativet to a wooden
structure dates from the ark, which
was, according to the Bible, pitched
within and without" The pitch was a,
triumph of preservation whatever 1t
lacked as thing of beauty. >&-<2
Decoration applied to buildings first
I,nrht nupinnf PohUlnn
whose walls were covered with repre-
aentations Of hunting scenes and Of
combat. These were done in red and
the method followed was to paint the
scene on the bricks at the time of
manufacture, assuring permanence by
baking. Strictly speaking, this was
not painting so much as 1t was the
earliest manifestation Of our own IA
miIiar kalsomlning ,a- a.s- ~ rsas.-a5s,s
The first Hebrew to mention paint
ing Is Moses. In the thirty-third chap
ter OF the book Of Numbers he in
structs- the Israelites. when We have
passed over the Jordan into the land
Of Canaan then shall We drive out all
the inhabitants of the land from be-
fore you and destroy all their pic
lures. ~
= AT later periods the Jews adopted
many customs, Of the peoples who sue
cesslvely obtained power over them
and in the. apocryphal book of the
Maccahees Is found this allusion to
the art Of decorating. "For as the mas
ter builder Of new house must care
for the whole building, but he that
undertaketh to set it out and paint 1t,
must seek out things for the adjoining
thereof"
Although Homer gives credit to
Greek for the discovery of paint, the
illusions to It in the books Of Moses,
the painted mummy cases OF the Egyp-
tIans and the decorated walls Of Baby
Ion and Thebes fix Its, origin at a
period long antecedcnt. to the Grecian
era. The walls of .Thebes were paint
ed 1900 years before the coming Of
Christ and 996 years before "'Omer
smote his bloomin', Tyre" E
The Greeks recognized the value Of
paint as a preservative and made use
Of something akin to 1t on their ships
pfiny writes of the mode Of boiling
wax and painting ships with it. after
which, he continues, neither the sea,
nor the wind, nor the sun can destroy
the wood thus protected" .a-..-.....
4Tae Romans, being essentially 4
wnrlike people, never brought the dec.
GRAFTON Of buildings to the high plane
It had reached with the Greeks. For
alI that the ruins Of ,Pompeii show
many structures whose mural decora-
lions are in fair shape today. The
coaors used were glariug. A black
background was the usual one and the
combinations worked thereon red, yell
tow and blue. -
In the early Christian era the use OF
mosaics for churches somewhat sup
planted mural painting. Still, during
the reign Of Justinian the Church OF
Saint Sophia was built at Constantine
ple and Its walls were adorned with
paintings.
In modern times the uses of paint
have come to be as numerous as i'll
MYRIAD shades and tints. Paint II
unique In that Its name 1as no syno
nym and for 1t there IS no substitute
material Bread Is the stafr OF life, ou
paint Is the life Of the STAFF. =
No one thinks Of the exterior OF
wooden building now except in term
Of paint coated. Interiors, too. 'frou
PAINTED walls and stained furnitur
down to the lowliest kitchen u'ensil
at, receive their protective covering
Steel 50 often associated With cemcn
reinforcing, Is painted before il soc
70 give soiidity to the manufacture
stone. The huge girders of the sky
,scrapers are daubed an ugly but ell
Icient red underneath the surface Goa
Of black. Perhaps The best csan,r'
OF the value Of paint on steel is foun
IN the venerable Brooklyn bridge, q
which gang of painters is kept s
snr continually. 1t Is scarce pesstb
IN think OK single manufactured a
ttcIa which does no, meet PAINT som
where in the course OF its constrn
lion. So has paint grown into II
very marrow Of our lives. ..