Leo Martínez
The earliest known paint was invented by primitive artists around 40,000 years ago, using a combination of soil, animal fat, minerals, charcoal, and chalk. These artists painted cave walls with a limited palette of red, yellow, brown, black, and white. Over time, societies advanced and the transportation of materials became more common, leading to the use of imported paints in Ancient Greece and Egypt, where temples and tombs were adorned with colours from across Europe and Asia.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Time period | 30,000-40,000 years ago |
| Pigments | Soil, animal fat, minerals, charcoal, chalk, natural earth pigments, manganese ore, copper frits, malachite, azurite, lapis lazuli, sand, lime, copper ore, mercury, sulfur, lead, madder, saffron, turmeric, pomegranate rind, indigo, plants, sand, different soils |
| Binders | Honey, urine, blood, sap, grease, oil, egg, beeswax, resin |
| Colours | Red, yellow, brown, black, white, green, blue, orange, purple |
| Techniques | Glazing, tempera, encaustic |
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What You'll Learn
Paint was made from natural earth pigments
Paint was not always readily available in tubes and cans as it is today. Artists had to make their own paint by mixing pigments with a binding agent. The earliest pigments were natural earth pigments, which predate recorded history.
Natural earth pigments were first used at least 100,000 years ago, but some sources suggest that pigments were invented as early as 40,000 years ago. Prehistoric people, Egyptians, Native Americans, ancient Buddhists, Medieval monks, and Renaissance masters all used natural earth pigments to make their paints. These pigments were made from earthen clays and minerals, which were ground up and mixed with a binder such as honey, urine, blood, sap, grease, or oil. This basic technique, with some variations, became the prevailing method of oil painting until the 19th century when synthetic pigments and petroleum-based paints were introduced.
The colours that could be found from earthen pigments were red, orange, yellow, brown, black, white, and sometimes green. Blues and purples were more difficult to create and each culture had its own technique. Prehistoric people used manganese ore, the Egyptians used copper frits, the ancient Chinese ground up malachite and azurite, and the Etruscans ground up lapis lazuli stones.
The ancient Egyptians used six colours: charcoal black, red ochre, yellow orpiment, brown ochre, blue azurite, and green malachite. They mixed their colours with a gummy substance and applied them separately without blending. The ancient Greeks and Romans borrowed Egyptian and Greek pigments and techniques, using beeswax-based encaustic painting for pictures and murals that have lasted for centuries.
In the Middle Ages, a common method of painting used egg tempera, where pigment is mixed with water and egg. To avoid cracking, the technique required glazing—transparent layers added on top of a painting—which created a highly finished appearance. Ultramarine was a new colour in the Middle Ages, derived from lapis lazuli mined in Afghanistan.
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Pigments were mixed with binders like egg, resin, or beeswax
In ancient times, artists had to make paint themselves as it was not available in tubes or cans and ready to be bought from stores. The first pigments were invented around 40,000 years ago by primitive artists who used a combination of soil, animal fat, minerals, charcoal, and chalk to paint cave walls. Other natural materials used to make pigments include sand, lime, copper ore, mercury, sulfur, lead, charcoal black, red ochre, yellow orpiment, brown ochre, blue azurite, and green malachite.
In the Middle Ages, a common method of painting used egg tempera, in which pigment is mixed with water and egg. To avoid cracking, the technique required glazing—transparent layers added on top of a painting—which created a highly finished appearance. In the Renaissance, walnut or linseed oil replaced egg as the base for pigments used on canvas, enabling painters to create new luminous effects in their art.
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Ancient paint colours included red, yellow, brown, black, and white
For tens of thousands of years, humans have been making paint from natural pigments. The first pigments, invented around 40,000 years ago, were made from a combination of soil, animal fat, minerals, charcoal, and chalk. This resulted in a basic palette of five colours: red, yellow, brown, black, and white.
Red was derived from ochre, a natural pigment that comes in shades of yellow, red, orange, and brown. Ochre was the first pigment used by humans in the Middle Stone Age of Africa, at least 70,000 years ago. Red could also be produced by mixing and roasting hazardous mercury with sulfur. Another method of producing red dye involved crushing the bodies of pregnant beetles, a practice that dates back at least 2,500 years to the Paracas culture of highland Peru.
Yellow could be derived from ochre, as well as from saffron, turmeric, and pomegranate rind. Saffron, in particular, has been prized for its intensive yellow colour for some 4,000 years.
Charcoal was used to make black paint, while white could be made by sealing strips of lead in earthenware pots with vinegar and covering them with manure.
Over time, artists began experimenting with new materials to create richer colours. For example, sand, lime, and copper ore could be mixed and heated to make Egyptian blue, a greenish blue pigment. A vibrant blue pigment called ultramarine was also created from the semi-precious gemstone lapis lazuli. This pigment was first used by the Egyptians and was later imported to Europe during the 14th and 15th centuries.
The development of new pigments has accompanied the greatest movements in art history, from the Renaissance to Impressionism, as artists experimented with colours never before seen in the history of painting.
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Blues and purples were more difficult to create
Paint has been an integral part of human history, with its earliest known use dating back 40,000 years when primitive artists invented pigments using soil, animal fat, minerals, charcoal, and chalk. These ancient painters created their artwork on cave walls, utilising a limited colour palette of red, yellow, brown, black, and white. Over time, advancements in transportation and trade allowed for the import of paints, with societies like Ancient Greece and Egypt sourcing pigments from across Europe and Asia to adorn their temples and tombs.
Among the various colours used in ancient art, blues and purples were particularly challenging to create and obtain. The vibrant blue pigment known as ultramarine, derived from the semi-precious gemstone lapis lazuli, was highly valued and traded as early as 6,000 years ago. Lapis lazuli was originally imported by the Egyptians for use in jewellery and headdresses, and its rarity made it expensive and reserved for special purposes.
In the Middle Ages, ultramarine became a sought-after colour, extracted from lapis lazuli stones imported from Afghanistan. Artists of this period mixed pigments with water and egg (known as egg tempera) and often applied transparent layers over their paintings to create a highly finished appearance and prevent cracking. The slow-drying properties of organic oils were also known, but the difficulty in acquiring and working with these materials made them less common.
Creating purple pigment presented its own set of challenges. One of the earliest methods involved extracting it from murex shellfish, a labour-intensive process that yielded a vibrant purple dye. This colour was highly prized and reserved for royalty due to its expense. Another method for creating purple was to mix red and blue pigments, but this often resulted in a dull or greyish purple rather than a vibrant shade.
The difficulty in obtaining and creating blues and purples in paint extended beyond ancient times. Even today, artists may prefer to purchase purple paint rather than mix it themselves, as achieving a clean and bright purple through mixing can be frustrating and time-consuming. The challenge arises because many red and blue paints contain yellow, which dulls the resulting purple. To mix a clean purple, one must use a blue-biased red that does not contain any yellow.
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In the Middle Ages, egg tempera was a common painting method
The use of egg in paint dates back thousands of years. For example, the walls at the 5,000-year-old Ness of Brodgar were painted using ochre pigment made from haematite mixed with animal fat, milk, or eggs. Similarly, ancient Egyptians mixed their colours with a gummy substance and applied them separately without blending. They also used egg as a binder in their paints to help them adhere to plaster.
Pigments for paint were derived from a variety of natural sources, including minerals, soil, sand, charcoal, chalk, and plants. For example, sand, lime, and copper ore could be mixed and heated to make a greenish-blue pigment called Egyptian blue. A vibrant red could be produced by mixing and roasting mercury with sulphur.
The Middle Ages also saw the introduction of a new colour, ultramarine, derived from lapis lazuli mined in Afghanistan. This pigment was originally imported by the Egyptians for use in jewellery and headdresses, but Italian traders brought it to Europe in the 14th and 15th centuries, where artists extracted the brilliant blue powder from the stone.
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Frequently asked questions
Ancient paints were made from natural pigments, including soil, animal fat, minerals, charcoal, and chalk. These pigments were combined with binders like egg, resin, or beeswax to help the paint adhere to surfaces.
The ancient colour palette was limited to shades that could be derived from natural materials, including red, yellow, brown, black, and white. Blues and purples were more difficult to create, but some cultures achieved these hues through various techniques.
Different cultures used unique methods to create blue pigments. Prehistoric people used manganese ore, the Egyptians used copper frits, the ancient Chinese ground up malachite and azurite, and the Etruscans ground up Lapis Lazuli stones.
During the Middle Ages, a common painting method used egg tempera, where pigment was mixed with water and egg. To prevent cracking, the technique required glazing, which created a highly finished appearance.
In the Renaissance, walnut or linseed oil replaced egg as the base for pigments used on canvas, allowing artists to create new luminous effects in their art.
