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Name: Alizea, Shany

Date: 11/5/14

Chemistry of Art: Pigment Research


Please follow the instructions in the Chemistry of Art: Pigment Research document and
type your responses into the sections below.

Objective
Answer the question: How does art depend on chemistry?

Time Periods
Prehistory
What elements and natural materials were pigments created from during this time
period?
binded with dirt or charcoal mixed with spit or animal fat
earth pigments!
minerals limonite and hematite, red ochre, yellow ochre andumber), charcoal
from the fire (carbon black), burnt bones (bone black) and white from
grounded calcite (lime white)
Were the elements and pigments toxic or safe to use?Please include any chemical
formulas or reactions
carbon black (Amorphous carbon)- non toxic
bone black (calcium phosphate + calcium carbonate +carbon)- non toxic
umber (Iron(III)-oxide, partly hydrated + manganese oxide + aluminium oxide)non toxic
red ochre(Anhydrous iron(III)-oxide) - non toxic
yellow ochre(Iron oxyhydroxide) - non toxic
lime white (calcium carbonate (chalk))- non toxic
Antiquity
What elements and natural materials were pigments created from during this time
period?Please include any chemical formulas or reactions
binded with wax
primarily black, red, yellow, brown, blue, and green pigments
Were the elements and pigments toxic or safe to use?
madder (Alizarin) non toxic
indigo(Indigotin) non toxic
red ochre
yellow ochre
umber

orpiment (Arsenic sulfide) very toxic


malachite (basic copper(II) carbonate) moderately toxic
lead white (Basic lead(II)-carbonate) toxic
red lead (Lead(II,IV)-oxide) very toxic
Medieval Age
What elements and natural materials were pigments created from during this time
period?Were the elements and pigments toxic or safe to use? Please include any
chemical formulas or reactions
mixed with water, egg
red ochre
yellow ochre
umber
lime white
malachite (basic copper(II) carbonate) moderately toxic
verdigris (Basic Copper acetate) moderately toxic
orpiment
azurite (Basic copper(II)-carbonate) moderately toxic
ultramarine (complex sulfur-containing sodium aluminum silicate) non toxic
Renaissance & Baroque
What elements and natural materials were pigments created from during this time
period? Were the elements and pigments toxic or safe to use? Please include any
chemical formulas or reactions
egg replaced with walnut or linseed oil
naples yellow (Lead(II)-antimonate) very toxic
smalt (potassium glass containing cobalt) moderately toxic
vermilion (mercuric sulfide) moderately toxic
realgar (arsenic sulfide) moderately toxic
azurite
ultramarine
indigo
verdigris
green earth (complex aluminosilicate minerals) non-toxic
malachite
orpiment
lead-tin yellow (lead stannate (Type I)) very toxic
lead white (Basic lead(II)-carbonate) toxic
carbon black
bone black
Modern Age
What elements and natural materials were pigments created from during this time
period? Were the elements and pigments toxic or safe to use? Please include any
chemical formulas or reactions
watercolor

still used basic color palette


addition:
prussian blue (Iron(III)-hexacyanoferrate(II)) non toxic
cobalt green (Cobalt(II)-oxide-zinc(II)-oxide) non toxic
Industrialization
What elements and natural materials were pigments created from during this time
period? Were the elements and pigments toxic or safe to use? Please include any
chemical formulas or reactions
collapsible tin paint tube :oil painting by offering a range of pre-mixed colors
in a convenient, portable medium
chrome orange (Basic lead(II)-chromate) moderately toxic
chrome yellow (lead(II)-chromate) toxic
cobalt blue (Cobalt(II) oxide-aluminum oxide) non toxic
viridian (Chromium(III)-oxide dihydrate) moderately toxic
cadmium yellow (cadmium sulfide) non toxic
cerulean blue (Cobalt(II)-stannate) moderately toxic
zinc white (Zinc(II)-oxide) non toxic
cobalt violet (Cobalt(II)-phosphate or Cobalt(II)-arsenate) non toxic
emerald green (Copper(II)-acetoarsenite) very toxic
Contemporary Age
What elements and natural materials were pigments created from during this time
period?
acrylic paint!
titanium white (Titanium dioxide) non toxic

Pigments
Pigment #1: Lead white
not noticeable at first glance
prepared from metallic lead and vinegar
fastest drying
toxic
Pigment #1: Azurite
composed of mineral basic carbonate of copper, found in many parts of the
world in the upper oxidized portions of copper ore deposits.
moderately toxic
used by Egyptians
Pigment #3: Bone black
smooth texture
contains about 10% carbon, 84% calcium phosphate and 6 % calcium carbonate
non toxic
used prehistory-today

Pigment #4: cobalt green


green cobalt-oxide-zinc-oxide
semi-transparent
"chemically good and artistically bad"
non toxic
Pigment #5: Madder
most stable natural pigment
used in large quantities for dyeing textiles and is still the color for French military
cloth
non toxic

Look Closer: Scientific Techniques


Technique #1: Spectroscopy
identify precisely materials artist used
helps historians and scholars discover what materials there were in specific periods
of times
trading routes and interactions amongst cultures
trace artistic development throughout time
date of materials help identify date of painting
prove forgery
would the artists have those materials in their times?
Raman spectroscopy
help determine the chemical composition of a sample

Technique #2: Tomography


process of generating a two-dimensional image of a slice or section through a three
dimensional object
way of unmasking mummies without disturbing the corpse
virtually see inside of an object using radiations such as X-rays
CT systems in hospitals used to study mummies

Technique #3: Dating


thermoluminescence, dendrochronology, and carbon 14 are the three most
important dating techniques

thermoluminescence is used for pottery and is not very accurate


dendrochronology is used for dating wood
used for determining the age of a biological origin

Conclusion
In a minimum half page of writing, using the information you just researched, respond to
the question: How does art depend on chemistry?
Art depends on chemistry in ways that are easily visible to the eye using techniques
to unfold the mystery hidden beneath. Chemistry is the branch of science that deals with
the identification of the substances in which matter is composed and the investigation of
their properties and the ways in which they interact, combine, and change to then form new
substances. In art, pigments are the basis of all paint. They are what define the color. These
pigments are composed of chemical compounds. An example would be ultramarine which is
complex sulfur-containing sodium aluminum silicate. Even though they started binding
these pigments with spit or fat, they did not yet understand the fact that some pigments
could be toxic. Some artists were affected by the toxicity of the paint. It wasnt a surprise
when the artists seemed to have gone a bit mad which made them able to portray their
crazy ideas in their paintings. As we have advanced in chemistry, we have found ways to
create pigments of various colors that do not share the same fatal outcome as they once
did. Each painting doesnt fail to show its own uniqueness. Any type of forgery could easily
be identified with modern technology. From detecting replacements to some cover ups,
sciences development has helped conserved the value of the paintings.

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