Painting using a pigment 'Ultramarine' made from jewels called 'expensive than gold'

by cwizner

Pigments made from jewelry " Lapis lazuli ", which is called the most expensive "color" in the world, were called "Ultramarine" because of the fact that it was brought to Europe by the sea route, meaning "color across the sea" I will. The work is summarized in the blog article of Harvard Art Museum, how Ultramarine that the painter had fallen into the mire of debt was used in art work.

Artists and Their Tools | Index Magazine | Harvard Art Museums
https://www.harvardartmuseums.org/article/artists-and-their-tools

Lapis Lazuli: A Blue More Precious than Gold
https://hyperallergic.com/315564/lapis-lazuli-a-blue-more-precious-than-gold/

Ultramarine was used in mural paintings of the 6th to 7th centuries BC, and its popularity came to the peak was Europe in the Renaissance period. It is often said that Ultramarine was used in blue robes worn by the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. Ultramarine was also used for blue costumes in "Christ on the Cross, the Virgin, Saint John the Evangelist, and Cardinal Torquemada" by Hula Angelico drawn from 1453 to 1454.

by Harvard Art Museums

In the 18th - 19th century, to prevent paint from drying out, a container made of animal blades and ivory, which is the predecessor of modern paint tubes, has come to be made. And at the same time Lapis lazuli will be stored in a bottle.

The actual pigment and its container are like this.

In the collection of the Harvard Museum of Art, pigments are displayed according to the color wheel like this.

A number of pigments were collected by Edward W. Forbes who was director of the Fogg Museum attached to Harvard University from 1909 to 1944. Forbes attempted an approach that had never existed to try to understand art by the nature of the material. With such a scientific approach, managers of paintings and art objects can deepen their understanding of color degradation, especially "outdated" pigments that are no longer used by newly emerging synthetic pigments, such as lapis lazuli It was.

Why Ultramarine gained popularity and the painters' supporters wanted to use Ultramarine for their work even if it cost huge cost, one of the reasons is that pigment by Lapis lazuli is a historical "legend" It was mentioned that I had. Lapis lazuli was used as a sarcophagus of Tutankhamen and an eye shadow of Cleopatra. In some cases it is necessary to follow the same long route as spice trade, it is very rare value and it is said that it is honorable to use Ultramarine for arts.

Johannes Vermeer is one of the famous painters who frequently used Ultramarine for painting. About Vermeer's Paintings The National Gallery in London stated, "Although the overall color effect is unified, the presence unique to Ultramarine still gives the perception value of the picture to the collectors." Many painters hesitate to heavily use lapis lazuli to draw the sky, use it for fine details to increase effect, but Vermeer uses a painting called "a woman sitting in front of the virginal " to the curtain with lapis lazuli The bold blue was used boldly, giving the effect that the curtain is shining. Also, women's dresses are mixed with green of turquoise, and ultra marine is used to emphasize the shadow of women's hands.

by Wikipedia

You can see the shining brilliant color of Lapis lazuli even at the famous " girl with pearl earrings ".

by Wikipedia

Vermeer is said to be using Ultramarine in a form that follows a painter whose subjects are religious motifs such as Michelangelo and Hula Angelico. As time goes by Hula Angelico, Ultramarine is also called "Hula Angelico Blue".

Perugino 's "Polittico della Certosa di Pavia" ... ...

by Wikipedia

The vivid blue of Ultramarine also catches the eye in "The Virgin in Prayer" by Giovanni Battista Salvi .

by Wikimedia Commons

Michelangelo's " Last Judgment " painted in the Sistine Chapel of the Vatican Palace used Ultramarine to express the blueness of the sky.

by Wikimedia Commons

Ultramarine is also used for the costumes of the sky and people who climb in the wind, in Titiano Vecellio 's " Bacchus and Ariadne ".

by Wikimedia Commons

After that, even after the synthetic ultramarine came out in 1826, the high value of Ultramarine continued. Yves Klein acquired a patent for pigments using Lapis lazuli as "International Klein Blue (IKB)" and used IKB in paintings in large quantities. Although enthusiastically less use of Ultramarine, the popularity of Lapis lazuli is still high, and in 2016 The Guardian tells about illegal mining of Lapis lazuli. Even though the importance in art diminishes, the ownership of Lapis lazuli still represents power.

by Wikipedia