The synthetic pigment was created in 1830 after discovering the ingredients (and the French "National Society for the Encouragement of Industry" offering a prize to develop it). The main drive was the cost of the lapis lazuli. Bringing down the price allowed "every-day" artists access to ultramarine blue. Good thing too, I go through it like crazy!
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
French Ultramarine
Another color I use all the time is French Ultramarine. Its healthy (now known adverse effects anyway), its transparent, its lightfast (ASTM rating I). I won't go into such a long technical explanation this time. French Ultramarine is a synthetic pigment which mimics the natural ultramarine pigment made from lapis lazuli. The pigment is a complex silicate of sodium and aluminum which also contains sulfur. However, since the synthetic particles are more uniform and smaller than the natural particles the synthetic ultramarine is less vivid. 
The synthetic pigment was created in 1830 after discovering the ingredients (and the French "National Society for the Encouragement of Industry" offering a prize to develop it). The main drive was the cost of the lapis lazuli. Bringing down the price allowed "every-day" artists access to ultramarine blue. Good thing too, I go through it like crazy!
The synthetic pigment was created in 1830 after discovering the ingredients (and the French "National Society for the Encouragement of Industry" offering a prize to develop it). The main drive was the cost of the lapis lazuli. Bringing down the price allowed "every-day" artists access to ultramarine blue. Good thing too, I go through it like crazy!
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