A History of Color From The Forbes Pigment Collection / Harvard Art Museums

Photo Credit: Caitlin Cunningham

Presented as a tour of The Forbes Pigment Collection, Harvard Art Museums has put together an audio tour with slides of 27 different pigments, their history, origins, methods of extraction or formulation, and application in the artistic and commercial world.

In this tour, the presenters share interesting lineages of colors like Crimson, derived from Kermes lice. These bugs’ bodies are filled with brilliant red carminic acid. They live in groves of trees known as Kermes Oak.

Ancient peoples as far back as the Neolithic era crushed Kermes lice to use as a red dye. This centuries-old pigment faded quickly into obscurity with the introduction of cochineal imported from South America in the 16th century. While both pigments are derived from insects containing carminic acid, cochineal is a significantly stronger and more light-resistant dye, and the insects are much more plentiful and easy to cultivate than Kermes lice.

One of the most brilliant greens in the Forbes collection is emerald green, which was a favorite of Van Gogh and can be seen in his self-portrait dedicated to Gauguin in the Forbes Gallery 1220. Emerald green is closely related to Scheele’s green, which was incredibly popular in the early 19th century. Unfortunately, both pigments are copper arsenites, which can cause ill effects on people’s health. Despite this, it was used in fabrics, wallpapers, children’s toys, and even to top confectionaries. Rumor has it that the British deliberately sickened Napoleon by housing him in a room wallpapered with Scheele’s green.

As a color fanatic/nerd, these histories delight me. If you want to learn more about pigments, colors, and dyes: have a listen to the audio tour, which can be accessed by clicking any of the images above or the link below.

https://www.harvardartmuseums.org/tour/a-history-of-color-an-audio-tour-of-the-forbes-pigment-collection