Preamble
This is the thirty-eight post in a new Art Resource series that specifically focuses on techniques used in creating artworks. For your convenience I have listed all the posts in this new series below:
Drawing Art
Painting Art - Part I
Painting Art - Part II
Painting Art - Part III
Painting Art - Part IV
Painting Art - Part V
Painting Art - Part VI
Home-Made Painting Art Materials
Quality in Ready-Made Artists' Supplies - Part I
Quality in Ready-Made Artists' Supplies - Part II
Quality in Ready-Made Artists' Supplies - Part III
Historical Notes on Art - Part I
Historical Notes on Art - Part II
Historical Notes on Art - Part III
Historical Notes on Art - Part IV
Historical Notes on Art - Part V
Tempera Painting
Oil Painting - Part I
Oil Painting - Part II
Oil Painting - Part III
Oil Painting - Part IV
Oil Painting - Part V
Oil Painting - Part VI
Pigments
Classification of Pigments - Part I
Classification of Pigments - Part II
Classification of Pigments - Part III
Pigments for Oil Painting
Pigments for Water Color
Pigments for Tempera Painting
Pigments for Pastel
Japanese Pigments
Pigments for Fresco Painting - Part I
Pigments for Fresco Painting - Part II
Selected Fresco Palette for Permanent Frescoes
Properties of Pigments in Common Use
Blue Pigments - Part I
Blue Pigments - Part II
There have been another one hundred and thirteen posts in a previous Art Resource series that have focused on the following topics:
(i) Units used in dyeing and printing of fabrics;
(ii) Occupational, health & safety issues in an art studio;
(iii) Color theories and color schemes;
(iv) Optical properties of fiber materials;
(v) General properties of fiber polymers and fibers - Part I to Part V;
(vi) Protein fibers;
(vii) Natural and man-made cellulosic fibers;
(viii) Fiber blends and melt spun fibers;
(ix) Fabric construction;
(x) Techniques and woven fibers;
(xi) Basic and figured weaves;
(xii) Pile, woven and knot pile fabrics;
(xiii) Durable press and wash-and-wear finishes;
(xvi) Classification of dyes and dye blends;
(xv) The general theory of printing.
To access any of the above resources, please click on the following link - Units Used in Dyeing and Printing of Fabrics. This link will highlight all of the one hundred and thirteen posts in the previous a are eight data bases on this blogspot, namely, the Glossary of Cultural and Architectural Terms, Timelines of Fabrics, Dyes and Other Stuff, A Fashion Data Base, the Glossary of Colors, Dyes, Inks, Pigments and Resins, the Glossary of Fabrics, Fibers, Finishes, Garments and Yarns, Glossary of Art, Artists, Art Motifs and Art Movements, Glossary of Paper, Photography, Printing, Prints and Publication Terms and the Glossary of Scientific Terms. All data bases in the future will be updated from time-to-time.
If you find any post on this blog site useful, you can save it or copy and paste it into your own "Word" document for your future reference. For example, Safari allows you to save a post (e.g. click on "File", click on "Print" and release, click on "PDF" and then click on "Save As" and release - and a PDF should appear where you have stored it). Safari also allows you to mail a post to a friend (click on "File", and then point cursor to "Mail Contents On This Page" and release). Either way, this or other posts on this site may be a useful Art Resource for you.
The new Art Resource series will be the first post in each calendar month. Remember - these Art Resource posts span information that will be useful for a home hobbyist to that required by a final year University Fine-Art student and so undoubtedly, some parts of any Art Resource post may appear far too technical for your needs (skip those mind boggling parts) and in other parts, it may be too simplistic with respect to your level of knowledge (ditto the skip). The trade-off between these two extremes will mean that Art Resource posts will be hopefully useful in parts to most, but unfortunately may not be satisfying to all!
Blue Pigments - Part II
Prussian blue has been replaced by phthalocyanine blue so recently that it still requires some additional remarks to clarify its uses. It was the most disputed member of the blue group as regards to permanence; it might be said that it was placed in a class by itself, as a borderline pigment.
The color of phthalocyanine blue is unlike that of other blues; it was particularly useful in mixtures. For the past seventy years or so, it has been alternately approved and condemned. There is a great difference in clarity and beauty of color as well as in permanence between common varieties of Prussian blue and the very best, well-washed grades such as the pure Chinese and Miloria blues.
Chinese Blue.
Miloria Blue.
Some samples will eventually turn brownish when used in oil, or fade appreciately when used in thin layers or in extremely weak tints with zinc white in water color and tempera. Prussian blue is destroyed by alkalis and therefore cannot be used in fresco.
Experts have long recognized it as a borderline color; they are of the opinion that the practical evidence is in its favor as a reliable pigment color in oil, but that because it is transparent, it absorbs much oil, and will not mask the yellowing of oil, and so it should be used only in thin glazes and as tinting color with much white, in contradiction to the foregoing statement, which is based on some laboratory evidence. Experts believe it should not be used in water color. They recommend its use as a nearly indispensible color, especially in pastel, where they say that the conditions which affect it in oil and place it in the boderline class, are not present. They declare that it is permanent in all techniques except fresco, but warn against its lavish use in oil paintings on optical grounds as it gives the painting a lower key than when ultramarine or cobalt is used; they also mention a tendency for it to fade when mixed with large amounts of zinc white and exposed to light, recovering its color again in the dark.
Vincent van Gogh: Starry Night, oil on canvas, 1889. Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY. This celebrated, iconic painting is awash with Prussian blue pigment.
The variation in the quality of Prussian blue from various sources accounts for some of its variable behaviour as observed by investigators; another factor, no doubt, is the variation in methods of testing and the different standards used. A prussian blue will fade or become discolored when it is exposed to a moist atmosphere or outdoor conditions over a period of time; the same specimen may survive indefinitely when exposed to normal indoor conditions such as those under which works of art are usually preserved. The consensus was that it is best avoided, but when a painter believes he needs it to obtain desired color effects, he is justified in risking its occasional sparing use in middle tones and mixed colors. It was seldom desired in full strength because the better grades have a pronounced bronze.
All of the above brands are sold as Prussian Blue. They have been mixed with a similar water content and the variations are interesting, to say the least.
In fresco or any other alkaline substance it would fail immediately. Although its particle formation is extremely fine, when ground in oil it tends to agglomerate and form somewhat granular pastes; this is less marked in better grades. In mixtures of dark colors - greens, olives, browns etc. - it has the property of making rather deep, full-toned shades, less dead or chalky than those of other blues.
Most pigments do not stand the alkaline environment of lime in fresco technique. While ultramarine maintains its color, Prussian blue reacts with the lime and turns brown.
Reference:
[1] The Artist's Handbook of Materials and Techniques, R. Mayer (ed. E. Smith) 4th Edition, Faber and Faber, London (1981).
This is the thirty-eight post in a new Art Resource series that specifically focuses on techniques used in creating artworks. For your convenience I have listed all the posts in this new series below:
Drawing Art
Painting Art - Part I
Painting Art - Part II
Painting Art - Part III
Painting Art - Part IV
Painting Art - Part V
Painting Art - Part VI
Home-Made Painting Art Materials
Quality in Ready-Made Artists' Supplies - Part I
Quality in Ready-Made Artists' Supplies - Part II
Quality in Ready-Made Artists' Supplies - Part III
Historical Notes on Art - Part I
Historical Notes on Art - Part II
Historical Notes on Art - Part III
Historical Notes on Art - Part IV
Historical Notes on Art - Part V
Tempera Painting
Oil Painting - Part I
Oil Painting - Part II
Oil Painting - Part III
Oil Painting - Part IV
Oil Painting - Part V
Oil Painting - Part VI
Pigments
Classification of Pigments - Part I
Classification of Pigments - Part II
Classification of Pigments - Part III
Pigments for Oil Painting
Pigments for Water Color
Pigments for Tempera Painting
Pigments for Pastel
Japanese Pigments
Pigments for Fresco Painting - Part I
Pigments for Fresco Painting - Part II
Selected Fresco Palette for Permanent Frescoes
Properties of Pigments in Common Use
Blue Pigments - Part I
Blue Pigments - Part II
There have been another one hundred and thirteen posts in a previous Art Resource series that have focused on the following topics:
(i) Units used in dyeing and printing of fabrics;
(ii) Occupational, health & safety issues in an art studio;
(iii) Color theories and color schemes;
(iv) Optical properties of fiber materials;
(v) General properties of fiber polymers and fibers - Part I to Part V;
(vi) Protein fibers;
(vii) Natural and man-made cellulosic fibers;
(viii) Fiber blends and melt spun fibers;
(ix) Fabric construction;
(x) Techniques and woven fibers;
(xi) Basic and figured weaves;
(xii) Pile, woven and knot pile fabrics;
(xiii) Durable press and wash-and-wear finishes;
(xvi) Classification of dyes and dye blends;
(xv) The general theory of printing.
To access any of the above resources, please click on the following link - Units Used in Dyeing and Printing of Fabrics. This link will highlight all of the one hundred and thirteen posts in the previous a are eight data bases on this blogspot, namely, the Glossary of Cultural and Architectural Terms, Timelines of Fabrics, Dyes and Other Stuff, A Fashion Data Base, the Glossary of Colors, Dyes, Inks, Pigments and Resins, the Glossary of Fabrics, Fibers, Finishes, Garments and Yarns, Glossary of Art, Artists, Art Motifs and Art Movements, Glossary of Paper, Photography, Printing, Prints and Publication Terms and the Glossary of Scientific Terms. All data bases in the future will be updated from time-to-time.
If you find any post on this blog site useful, you can save it or copy and paste it into your own "Word" document for your future reference. For example, Safari allows you to save a post (e.g. click on "File", click on "Print" and release, click on "PDF" and then click on "Save As" and release - and a PDF should appear where you have stored it). Safari also allows you to mail a post to a friend (click on "File", and then point cursor to "Mail Contents On This Page" and release). Either way, this or other posts on this site may be a useful Art Resource for you.
The new Art Resource series will be the first post in each calendar month. Remember - these Art Resource posts span information that will be useful for a home hobbyist to that required by a final year University Fine-Art student and so undoubtedly, some parts of any Art Resource post may appear far too technical for your needs (skip those mind boggling parts) and in other parts, it may be too simplistic with respect to your level of knowledge (ditto the skip). The trade-off between these two extremes will mean that Art Resource posts will be hopefully useful in parts to most, but unfortunately may not be satisfying to all!
Blue Pigments - Part II
Prussian blue has been replaced by phthalocyanine blue so recently that it still requires some additional remarks to clarify its uses. It was the most disputed member of the blue group as regards to permanence; it might be said that it was placed in a class by itself, as a borderline pigment.
The color of phthalocyanine blue is unlike that of other blues; it was particularly useful in mixtures. For the past seventy years or so, it has been alternately approved and condemned. There is a great difference in clarity and beauty of color as well as in permanence between common varieties of Prussian blue and the very best, well-washed grades such as the pure Chinese and Miloria blues.
Some samples will eventually turn brownish when used in oil, or fade appreciately when used in thin layers or in extremely weak tints with zinc white in water color and tempera. Prussian blue is destroyed by alkalis and therefore cannot be used in fresco.
Experts have long recognized it as a borderline color; they are of the opinion that the practical evidence is in its favor as a reliable pigment color in oil, but that because it is transparent, it absorbs much oil, and will not mask the yellowing of oil, and so it should be used only in thin glazes and as tinting color with much white, in contradiction to the foregoing statement, which is based on some laboratory evidence. Experts believe it should not be used in water color. They recommend its use as a nearly indispensible color, especially in pastel, where they say that the conditions which affect it in oil and place it in the boderline class, are not present. They declare that it is permanent in all techniques except fresco, but warn against its lavish use in oil paintings on optical grounds as it gives the painting a lower key than when ultramarine or cobalt is used; they also mention a tendency for it to fade when mixed with large amounts of zinc white and exposed to light, recovering its color again in the dark.
The variation in the quality of Prussian blue from various sources accounts for some of its variable behaviour as observed by investigators; another factor, no doubt, is the variation in methods of testing and the different standards used. A prussian blue will fade or become discolored when it is exposed to a moist atmosphere or outdoor conditions over a period of time; the same specimen may survive indefinitely when exposed to normal indoor conditions such as those under which works of art are usually preserved. The consensus was that it is best avoided, but when a painter believes he needs it to obtain desired color effects, he is justified in risking its occasional sparing use in middle tones and mixed colors. It was seldom desired in full strength because the better grades have a pronounced bronze.
In fresco or any other alkaline substance it would fail immediately. Although its particle formation is extremely fine, when ground in oil it tends to agglomerate and form somewhat granular pastes; this is less marked in better grades. In mixtures of dark colors - greens, olives, browns etc. - it has the property of making rather deep, full-toned shades, less dead or chalky than those of other blues.
Reference:
[1] The Artist's Handbook of Materials and Techniques, R. Mayer (ed. E. Smith) 4th Edition, Faber and Faber, London (1981).
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