History of Paint
Kenneth Latman
Rec.Arts.Fine should be the right place for this question, I think.
Anyway, I am currently working on a speach for a communication class
and my topic is the history of paint. I am a studio art major and I
have allready gained alot of information from various sources. I was
just wondering if there was any unique or strongly recomended sources
I should use.
I plan on talking about the development of pigments and how they
came from cave works to our modern Windsor Newton tubes of
acylic. Just trying to get my sources accurate and consise. Thanks.
Ken at KSU
Charles Eicher
In article <530sec$p...@tombstone.kent.edu>, kla...@kent.kent.edu (Kenneth
Latman) wrote:
Ahh.. I think it is time for another essay on the history of art materials...
The first pigments are commonly thought to have been used at the time of
paleolithic man, in cave paintings, however, scientific evidence indicates
that pigments first appeared during the early development of the planet. As
the earth's molten surface cooled, minerals condensed and formed colorful
pools of pigment. As meteorites impacted the surface, these pools were
flung across the surface of the earth in bright patterns remeniscent of
modern splatter paintings. Unfortunately, due to the effects of rain and
erosion, these bright paintings can no longer be seen, however, evidence of
these pigments can still be seen today on the surface of the moon, in its
pattern of cratering. Unfortunately, due to the lack of oxygen on the
surface of the moon, only white and black pigments are visible. The colors
found in such abundance on earth, such as chromium oxide (green), iron
oxide (reds) and other oxygen compounds are notably missing. However,
scientists have been unable to explain the appearance of titanium oxide
(white) in such abundance on the lunar surface. Apollo astronauts returned
with samples of this paint, however the analysis has been inconclusive due
to the lunar pigments milleniums of bombardment with cosmic rays.
Let us move forward, past the dawn of life, when the protoplasmic life in
the primordial ooze, rich with pigments, gave birth to the first
paintbrushes--the cillia of these single-celled creatures (see my prior
essay on the origin of the paintbrush). The final event in the paleolithic
era was the cataclysmic impact of a meteor, causing widespread pollution
due to the immense release of airborne particles of toxic pigments such as
vanadium, cadmium, and chromium. This resulted in the extinction of the
dinosaurs, the surviving mammals, such as Man, showed his adaptability to
working in toxic environments, such as painting studios. Thus, it could be
said that Mankind 's development as a species was modified by the existence
of pigments, and the ecological niche he now occupies was opened by his
high tolerance for these toxic pigments.
Let us zoom past the ice age, when aqueous pigments were impossible to use,
and move forward to later geological eras, when oil started bubbling from
oozing tar pits. The discovery of these highly persistent pigments led to
further experimentation, which, alas, led to the deaths of many of this
race of budding artists, both through the exposure to the harmful vapors,
and from falling into the tar pits. Once again, evolution of the human
species is adapted to the use of these toxic chemicals. However, use of
these oil based tars as pigments gradually ceased, as it only came in one
color, black. It would take centuries of human history to invent oil
refining, and chemical pigments. But more about that later.
As man became more adapted to the niche of artist and pigment-user, he
multiplied and spread throughout the earth, mining and manufacturing
pigments for local artists. Early trade routes between far-flung
civilizations were common, and pigments became the currency of exchange for
these traders. Unfortunately, it was difficult to transport these dry
pigments through long travels, as they tended to blow away in the slightest
winds. The quest for suitable packages for these pigments ensued. Early
attempts at storing these pigments in pig bladders were only partially
successful, due to the scarcity of domesticated livestock in these
primitive civilizations, and also the pigs didn't like to stand still long
enough to have the pigments deposited. It would take several thousands of
years, for the development of agricultural civilizations, for the discovery
of the Gourd's usefulness in pigment storage. For many years, development
of primitive packaging ceased, it seemed that the invention of more useful
storage devices like the tin tube would have to wait. However, trade
flourished, with the new boom in the economy, traders discovered that by
storing their pigments in gourds, they now arrived with almost 95% of their
original pigments, rather than about 1% in prior eras. The wealth from the
trade in pigments caused the rise in the early Nation-States, and political
upheaval, war, and the evils of slavery wracked the continents. But let us
not dwell on these evil events, as every schoolchild knows about the
biblical accounts of Pharoh and the enslaved races working in his pigment
factories, and their quest to escape from bondage with the secrets of
pigment manufacturing, and their 10 secret formulas written on stone
tablets (manufacturing 'commandments').
As civilization arose from its turbulent formative era, pigment development
stalled completely. It seemed that all the chemical pigments had been
discovered, and extensively mined. The sources of biological pigments (such
as the rich purple that comes from certain species of beetles) caused the
extinction of many plants and lower creatures. It is only a wonder that
nobody discovered the human body is a rich source of red pigment! However,
no serious breakthroughs would come about until early in the 19th century,
when German chemists developed anniline dyes, and the color spectrum
exploded! The voracious appetite for german pigments eventually lead to the
expansionist Nazi policies of annexing nearby territories rich in coal and
oil (for anniline dyes were made from these materials). However, these dyes
went largely into the immediate production of textiles, as the secret of
storing pigments in tin tubes had eluded these German scientists. It was
only when german scientists visited the kitchens of the great pastry chefs
in Paris, and noticed how they decorated pastry with squeeze tubes, that
the Fuhrer decided upon his great gamble: France and its technologies must
be captured! The Maginot Line (drawn with great pipes of white pigment,
like cake decorations) must be crossed! And so, the greatest conflict in
the history of man began, the quest to subjugate a continent, and to unite
the largest producer of pigments with the only country that knew the secret
of how to neatly package squishy goo.
Once France has been subjugated, the secret of tin tubes was at the
disposal of the Nazis. Previously, it had been only known to chefs, and was
a rather obscure invention, used only to hold foodstuffs like anchovy
paste. But now, with its newly obtained technologies, Germany was
unstoppable. Its manufacturing conglomerates employed millions of forced
laborers, producing these tubes of pigments in uncountable numbers, but at
what price? The holocaust killed millions of these forced laborers,
including most of the artist and intellectuals who were most likely to use
these chemical pigments. Most of the artists who had not been imprisoned in
work camps had already fled germany, and moved to America.
In 1939, Albert Eisenstadt wrote the infamous letter to President
Roosevelt, warning him of the strategic importance of Germany's secret
research in oil paints, and urged that the US begin an emergency program to
develop a comparable technology. The Manhattan Project was begun. In lofts
throughout Manhattan, expatriate artists from all over europe collaborated
with American painters, establishing completely new methods of using paint,
and completely new methods of fabrication. Most notably, the contribution
from the New York "Ash Can" school of painters (named after their method of
storing bulk pigments in large 'ash cans', lacking tin tubes for storage)
lead to the mass production of pigments in quantities the Nazis could not
compete with. America's soldiers flooded europe with their brightly
camouflaged tanks and colorfully ribboned uniforms (it was not mere
coincidence that the most precious pigments were reserved for 'Purple
Heart' medals)..
Eventually, faced with overwhelming superiority, the Nazi war engine ground
to a halt. Throughout Germany, both Russian and American recovery teams
scoured through the wreckage of the Nazi industrial empire for pigment
chemists, and manufacturing equipment to be siezed as war reparations.
These teams managed to recover the largest cache of paintings ever
assembled (for the Nazis were voracious collectors of oil paintings), as
well as teams of German scientists developing the secret 'V-2" Strategic
Pigment Delivery systems. But let us not belabor the point, every
schoolchild knows the history of these German pigment scientists, and their
chief, Werner von Grumbacher.
| Charles Eicher |
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| cei...@inav.net |