Did You Know There’s a Museum of Pigments?

The Harvard Art Museums own the world's largest collection of pigments.

Indian Yellow

The collection's greatest treasure is considered to be Indian yellow, which is certainly no longer available today and, believe it or not, was made from the urine of cows fed mango leaves. This pigment was used in India for centuries, but its production was discontinued because it posed a danger to the cows' health. Among the 2,500 pigment samples are some that have not been used for a long time and are no longer found today...

Ultramarine Blue

It was extremely popular in the 14th century and was made by mixing finely ground lapis lazuli rock. This pigment was widely used in all the great medieval paintings, even though it cost four times as much as gold at the time. Some pigments are even banned because of their harmful effects or how they are made!

Mummy Brown

The most fascinating exhibit in this collection is surely a tube of mummy brown paint. This color, popular with the Pre-Raphaelites, was made by mixing fragrant resin with finely ground remains of human mummies or their mummified pets, found in Egyptian pyramids. Today, paints are made with safe pigments
and great attention is paid to their safety.

Emerald Green

The emerald green pigment in one of Van Gogh's paintings may have been harmful to the artist's health, because the powder used to make the paint was highly toxic. The pigment was, of course, withdrawn from sale when its fumes were found to be deadly.

Did you know these unusual stories about pigments, or do you know another one that might surprise us?