The Story of Ultramarine from the Silk Road to Renoir: The Chemistry of Colour | National Gallery

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How did ultramarine go from being more expensive than gold to one of the cheapest pigements for artists? Follow the journey of this vibrant blue colour, ultramarine, one of the most celebrated and sought-after pigments in art.
Joanna Russell from our Scientific Department looks at the use of this blue in 'The Wilton Diptych' and Renoir's 'Umbrellas'.
The Chemistry of Colour series explores some of the weird and wonderful ways pigments were historically produced, and how we can identify them today. 🧪🔬
'The Wilton Diptych' and 'Umbrellas' are part National Treasures. 12 of the nation’s most iconic and well-loved paintings from our collection are being lent to 12 venues across the UK.
The National Treasures displays open simultaneously on 10 May 2024, the 200th anniversary of the Gallery’s opening in London, enabling people from all over the country to see, up close, some of the greatest works in the history of Western art.
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💙 Find out more about 'The Wilton Diptych':
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💙 Find out more about Renoir's 'Umbrellas':
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Опубликовано:

23 апр 2024

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Комментарии : 105

@friedrichjunzt Месяц назад

Interesting that blue is such a rare / hard to make color. In LEDs, it took decades until we finally were able to produce blue lights (bright enough for electronics / screens that is). Red and green LEDs had been around for 30 years or so, before blue ones could be made.

@JJONNYREPP Месяц назад

The Story of Ultramarine from the Silk Road to Renoir: The Chemistry of Colour | National Gallery 1114am 24.4.24 some copper and vinegar.... you'll need a decent vat of vinegar and some copper piping. place the copper in vat and let the vinegar create a turquoise-coloured solution. if you do let me know if it works.....

@vikimoody8783 Месяц назад

Thank you to the woman who spoke so thoroughly about this topic. She was extremely well versed yet so understated, so comfortable with the topic. BRAVO! Very impressive. Loved it!

@nationalgallery Месяц назад

Thanks so much! We'll pass that on :)

@Paulo-1999 22 дня назад

Jesus! Natural ultramarine looks crazy beautiful through TV. I can only imagine what's like seeing it personally.

@LieslHuddleston Месяц назад

It's so amazing how beautiful that blue still is after 600+ years. How much I would love to see Renoir's Umbrellas, the internet only has small, not-so-great photographs of it, it must be stunning in person. From the small glimpse of it in this video, it almost looks like he used similar brushstrokes as Cezanne's in the dress of the main woman on the left. In photos I have seen over the years, I've always wondered why the characters on the right had markedly different blue tones than the rest of the characters, and now thanks to this video, I finally understand. Thank you!

@nationalgallery Месяц назад

Thanks for watching, Liesl! You can also have a zoom into 'The Umbrellas' on our website here: www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/pierre-auguste-renoir-the-umbrellas

@LieslHuddleston Месяц назад

@@nationalgallery That was a treat! Thank you for providing the link.

@beckstheimpatient4135 Месяц назад

Lapis was also widely used across ancient Egypt as well as Persia, and Egyptians were also known to use its pigment as makeup! While this oil paint version was critical to European art, it is no wonder it's still so vibrant after 600 years - since we have Egyptian art that is thousands of years old and still vibrantly blue.

@jillyb9995 Месяц назад

That blue is stunningly intense and beautiful. A fascinating history of a pigment. Thank you

@nationalgallery Месяц назад

Thanks for watching!

@MariaVosa Месяц назад

Fantastic short art history and science lesson!

@nationalgallery Месяц назад

Glad you enjoyed it!

@cinemaipswich4636 25 дней назад

If you look at the Van Gogh paintings they are full of yellows, greens and earth coloured ochre's. Within his age of life, blue was very expensive, so you know he chose his colours to suit his pocket. It was only later in his life, he could afford blue, and sadly, only for a short time. Back in the day, blue could only be extracted via a stinking process of sea shell animals. Lapis Laseri was beyond most artists purse. Even synthetic blue was expensive, unless you had a rich patron.

@gostowl Месяц назад

Glad you explained how lapis lazuli was processed to make a usable paint.

@fionabryant7923 Месяц назад

Seeing the lapis blue in paintings in the uffizi is beyond description

@lynnhubbard844 Месяц назад

I have seen at least half of your color and pigment videos! Going back for more this Sunday evening in San Francisco.

@nationalgallery Месяц назад

Enjoy watching!

@purkaitsurajit53 Месяц назад

An extraordinary history behind one of the most stunningly beautiful color pigment ever produced and used by the world's greatest artists explained in such great detail by The National Gallery!!😍😍❤❤

@Chaoslorden Месяц назад

Blue and gold still looks rich and beutiful.

@cadenceblackburn9205 Месяц назад

definitely one of my favourite colours, thanks for this 💙

@nationalgallery Месяц назад

You’re welcome 😊

@sacredkinetics.lns.8352 Месяц назад

🌺🌹 Very educational; well done. Thanks.

@Ferdinand314 Месяц назад

Thank you, this was excellent! Will you do other pigments? It's a facsinating topic.

@nationalgallery Месяц назад

Thanks for watching. Have a look here for more videos on pigments, with more to come soon! ru-vid.com/group/PLvb2y26xK6Y4V3T1xHphum23El4b93YzC

@lynnblack6493 Месяц назад

I remember laundry blueing. It was very blue! A very interesting talk. Thank you.

@philipmurphy2 Месяц назад

Wonderful short art history lesson with great detail

@johnab67 Месяц назад

James Fox's A history of art in three colours is a fascinating series which covers the history of blue pigment. It's available on RU-vid.

@Silvia-gz4rp Месяц назад

Thinking about all the lives that were consumed in these mines.... and still are. Thank you for sharing with us the journey of ultramarine.

@thechosenone5644 4 дня назад

One of the fun details that wasn’t really mentioned in this really great video is that there are a lot of cases where the pigment is used on Mary’s clothes to distinguish her.

@barrymoore4470 Месяц назад

Natural ultramarine endows the works employing it with an added allure, in so amazingly linking such disparate places and cultures across such vast geographical spaces. The hue also seems more vivid, literally richer, than the synthetic ultramarine examples, based on the survey illustrated here.

@wendystanley9744 Месяц назад

I loved this video, thank you. I always wondered where that intense blue color came from and I always look for it when I visit a gallery or museum

@nationalgallery Месяц назад

Thanks for watching!

@alinc3491 13 дней назад

The fact that this color was used to paint the entire exterior of a church, Voronet monastery, in Bucovina, Romania, that is known as the "Sistine chapel of the East" is a testament of the richness of Moldova region in the past.

@nicolanunan4811 Месяц назад

Fascinating. Thank you!

@juliaannwilber Месяц назад

Amazing detail and science storytelling. Thank you!

@johnnyboyvan 14 дней назад

Gorgeous.

@michaeldeierhoi4096 21 день назад

That was a fascinating explanation of the history of the blue color in paintings. The blue of lapis lazuli has always been a favorite of mine and also I am fascinated by the same blue in birds. My car is even partially the same color blue because it speaks to me on such an organic level.

@gordmacdonald9711 Месяц назад

Also... - If its ground in oil, it oxidises and has to be stored in a glass bottle under a layer of oil rather than in a tube where it will harden quickly. - Suspended in oil, it acts like wet sand on a beach in that if its interacted with, it will become dry looking. Left alone, it returns to a wet luminous look. Smalt does this as well. Like smalt, this pigment resists oil suspension accounting for the drying in a tube. If you buy it as a tubed paint, ($200-$300) transfer it to a glass jar with a centimetre of walnut oil on top. - Traditionally, it was glazed over a lighter pigment like lead white but optimally, it works best over a dried Azure blue or any turquoise+ white near a Munsell 6-7 value. (Egyptians used both blues/ BC) - It has a low tinting power and is very delicate, at least 3 layers of glaze must be done to get the full effect. At one or two, you will wonder what the fuss is about . At three or four, you will be speechless. - It will dry dull. If its glazed in layers it will still be somewhat dull. When varnished however, you will weep . - If you add lead white to it, and use it in backgrounds, all the landscapes youve seen in museums painted before 1800 will make sense to you.

@gleeart 17 дней назад

Yes always thought there's nothing special about modern synthetic ultramarine colour especially acrylic, which I usually use when working with purple shades & seldom for its own sake. Think also that it's got so many connotations with past western art that it's hard to avoid cliché if used heavily in visuals. Thanks for the glazing analysis, which ironically the impressionists didn't do much of in general as they probably saw it as a passe technique. This video got me wanting to try the real thing but I'll need to sell something to afford a bit...

@splodge5714 Месяц назад

Renoir painted two distinct styles in the Umbrella's picture, more impressionist on the right side. He also made a mistake and painted seven feet rather than six of the woman and two girls on the right. Thanks to NG for another interesting video.

@rotterred991 Месяц назад

I don't think that's the case. There's another person, a woman I think, almost entirely blocked out standing behind the "Mother" of the two girls. I believe it's her foot you are seeing.

@paulinemegson8519 Месяц назад

The thing with the mineral colours, is that they take a LOT of care and knowledge to make pigments from them. Some luckily are like ochres, which can just be crushed. Some tho like ultramarine are more finicky. Crush ultramarine too far, and rather than intensifying the colour, it actually lessens. There’s an optimum particle size which colourmen learned by trial and error…..given the pigment cost, as little error as possible.

@Fairpavel Месяц назад

A very interesting video!

@antonianatale Месяц назад

thanks!

@theanniewooding Месяц назад

Wonderful, thank you for sharing this

@benwilson6145 Месяц назад

Thankyou

@chickenlips74 Месяц назад

Very interesting video! I've never seen the Wilton Dyptich, it looks beautiful. Hopefully I can see it in real one day at the NG.

@nationalgallery Месяц назад

Aw we hope you get to pay us a visit too!

@kidkique 11 дней назад

she has endearing qualities - I like her

@lindamarsh6711 25 дней назад

Thank you! That was a very informative story. I appreciate it as I am new to watercolor painting and I wondered about the French Ultramarine and ultramarine.

@kathybost1879 Месяц назад

so interesting thank you

@monicarust2383 5 дней назад

Fascinating, thank you so much!❤

@johnandersen8998 Месяц назад

In Renoir’s umbrella painting, the darker woman in natural ultramarine looks placed in the golden section for effect or focus. Just my impression.

@joelmckinney16 14 дней назад

Excellent presentation

@claraedouwesdekker6389 Месяц назад

So insightful. Inspirational. Thank you🇿🇦

@frankshifreen Месяц назад

Great video

@bookgirlny8511 Месяц назад

I would love to go to London and see it for myself

@davidbarnes241 17 дней назад

Fascinating history 👍

@jackhughesbooks Месяц назад

Thank you this was a a fascinating Presentation. Thoroughly enjoyed it & subscribed

@nationalgallery Месяц назад

Welcome, Jack!

@BrianLallyOfficial 29 дней назад

Excellent explanation. I do miss not being able to visit "The Umbrellas" in the Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin.

@Lucatantos 13 дней назад

Such a good narrator! I Really enjoyed it

@fepatton Месяц назад

I’ve wondered how lapis lazuli was turned into pigment. Very interesting- it’s so vivid! In “Umbrellas”, the woman on the left is quite striking, isn’t she!

@bleuvertetforetdepin Месяц назад

There is a paint maker called "dirty blue" wich as a video showing the ancient process. You should appreciate it.

@nationalgallery Месяц назад

Beautifully captured! Thanks for watching.

@rotterred991 Месяц назад

The woman on the left is Suzanne Valadon, and, though she was a frequent model as well as erstwhile lover of Renoir, she also became a significant artist in her own right.

@Celestialkarma 9 дней назад

Excellent Well explained Enjoyed God bless

@sandrag3854 29 дней назад

Ultramarine is among my favourite colours. My utmost favourite is Yves Klein Blue.

@kerriemckinstry-jett8625 Месяц назад

Are there any great resources on the science & history of such pigments? Edit: I mainly use color pencils, but even there the pigments matter. There's a carmine made from beetle shells, there used to be a brown made from ground-up mummies, etc. Indigo used to be associated with wealth & the slave trade. Titanium oxides are used for white, etc. Some pigments are loaded with toxic materials. It's fascinating all around.

@Corpseyworpse Месяц назад

As someone who works in art conservation, no not really. Its a lot of archival stuff that most dont have access to. There are some things here are there, but your best bet is to contact people in the field. But fun things about some of the pigments listed above, mummy brown wasnt just mummies, it was also mummified cats. There is also some minor proof but still needs more research as its not concrete that some countries would make their own version out of executed criminals and slaves because of the high demand for it. Also the thing with indigo is way more complex than wealth and the slave trade, thats mostly just a european lens at it and not its important cultural significance throughout the world, you also have associations with barbarism(woad) and tons of other things. There is at least 6 types of indigo dye, with Indigofera tinctoria being the main one imported with the east india company. Tons of history here, and I dont know a lot of it as this is just a massive rabbithole ive never had the time to go down.

@anthonydecarvalho652 15 дней назад

Nice video. Thanks you.

@01mskb Месяц назад

That was cool! Thank you for sharing!

@Codyheart1 26 дней назад

Superb

@candy9986 Месяц назад

💙 Ultra Capsule Lesson 💙 Nice

@taxpayer1040 Месяц назад

Thank you so much for such a brilliant film. Forgive my question but was the earlier blue (lapis) used in Persian miniature paintings. It is noticeable in the Safavid and earlier era. At one time the capital was Herat which is now in western Afghanistan.

@kelleycavan6911 22 дня назад

I learned a lot, thanks 😊

@janerkenbrack3373 Месяц назад

Now I'm getting the blues.

@MarkOlsen661 Месяц назад

thank you...

@hansolowe19 23 дня назад

Interesting, thanks!

@nationalgallery 23 дня назад

Our pleasure!

@teashea1 19 дней назад

well done

@prichardgs 18 дней назад

As an oil painter- I use both, with the gemstone version as a glaze.

@user-wk1mw9nj3i76 11 дней назад

I’ve always wondered how the lapis lazuli was processed to get such a strong blue pigment as ultramarine, given the frequent impurities in the stone. Also, I never knew of the origins of the term “French Ultramarine.” Today painters often say that the difference between the French Ultramarine and Ultramarine paints has to do with the warmth of the hue; that is, one version is more reddish and the other is a bit cooler and perhaps less deep. I wonder if those are secondary characteristics from when synthetic ultramarine was invented, and thus are historical correlation rather than “French.” Certainly there are variations from brand to brand, and brand names for paint have sometimes been more about romantic marketing than scientific realities. Anyway, sorry to go on, but I hope a focus on pigments’ history will continue in NG videos. Thank you, and very well done!

@molochi 16 дней назад

It's interesting that today the more pure "synthetic" ultramarine pigment is mid-tier cost-wise with pthalocyanine being its even cheaper and more commonly used substitute and cobalt as the modern high dollar blue pigment.

@nikkia9506 Месяц назад

At least real top quality natural ultramarine is still made, usually for conservation and icon making. Still incredibly expensive, though! I'll stick with my beloved French Ultramarine 😄

@saulemaroussault6343 Месяц назад

When watching, you have to remember that a camera, even a good one, struggles to render colours properly. Natural ultramarine is even richer and more vibrant in person.

@nationalgallery Месяц назад

Absolutely! Nothing beats seeing these amazing paintings in person!

@tommunyon2874 17 дней назад

Enlightening to know the etymology of the name.

@tothelighthouse9843 Месяц назад

To me, blue and gold speaks of earthly/worldly riches. Blue white and gold feels like it speaks of heavenly/spiritual riches.

@nationalgallery Месяц назад

A lovely thought!

@physicals 19 дней назад

She is intellectual in her communication

@andregomesdossantos3303 13 дней назад

💙💙💙

@joshuataft5541 Месяц назад

Interesting thats why i come

@Kyryyn_Lyyh 17 дней назад

Wait, the Warhammer Ultramarines are just named after a colour? This is Jimmy Space tier.

@Smee86 14 дней назад

Far-out so 🆒😎😊

@cindyoverall8139 Месяц назад

Ultramarine blue now is not at all like it was in history. It is a hue now, not a pigment. Infact, the blue now is an icy blue, not with any warm tints. It is not versatile as pthalo blue is. It’s only asset is that is good in mixing with other colors.

@Mrrossj01 Месяц назад

The Church had the monopoly on blue for use as the color associated with the Vigin Mary. The Northern Renaissance painters used red as their coror for the Virgin Mary.

@crulli1006 Месяц назад

purpur is more expensive

@oleglinkov Месяц назад

minecraft brought me here 🤣

@keithtorgersen9664 Месяц назад

I was confusing this with blue pigment made from sea snails.

@user-ds6ov8jr5n Месяц назад

Afghanistan source.

@brianstockwell4069 29 дней назад

Close to Faizabad, capital of Badakshan in N/E Afghanistan. Visited commander controlling the mines in 1990 - a powerful. jocular figure. More than likely ousted by Taliban.