Chemistry of Art: Pigment Research
Name: Bonnie May and Johana Guatemala
Date:November 5, 2014
Date:November 5, 2014
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.
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?
- Carbon Black: heated wood (charcoal)
- Bone Black: 10% Carbon, 84% Calcium Phosphate, 6% Calcium Carbonate (charring bones or waste Ivory)
- Umber: Iron, Magnese oxides, and hydroxides
- Red Ochre: Iron oxide, hematite
- Yellow Ochre: silica, clay owing, Iron Oxyhydroxide mineral, goethite
- Lime White: chalk and Bianco San Giovanni
Were the elements and pigments toxic or safe to use?
- Carbon Black: nontoxic
- Bone Black: nontoxic
- Umber: nontoxic
- Red Ochre: nontoxic
- Yellow Ochre: nontoxic
- Lime White: nontoxic
Please include any chemical formulas or reactions
- Carbon Black: C
- Bone Black: Ca3 (PO4)2 + CaCo3 + C
- Umber: Fe2O3 (H2O) + MnO2(nH2O) + Al2O3
- Red Ochre: Fe2O3
- Yellow Ochre: FeO (OH))
- Lime White: CaCo3 + Ca(OH)2
Antiquity
What elements and natural materials were pigments created from during this time period?
- Madder Lake: madder plant root
- Carmine Lake: Cochineal Beetle
- Realgar: Arsenic Sulfide
- Malachite: Copper Carbonate
- Orpiment: Arsenic Sulfide
- Egyptian Blue: Copper Calcium, Silicate
- Indigo: plants
- Azurite: Carbonate of Copper, oxidized Copper Ore
- Red Lead: minerals, artificial (lead)
- Vermillion: Mercury Sulfide mineral
- Green Earth: hydrosilicate Fe, Mg, Al, K, minerals
- Verdigris: Copper acetate
- Lead White: Carbonate of Lead
Were the elements and pigments toxic or safe to use?
- Madder Lake: nontoxic
- Carmine Lake: nontoxic
- Realgar: moderately toxic
- Malachite: moderately toxic
- Orpiment: very toxic
- Egyptian Blue: moderately toxic
- Indigo: nontoxic
- Azurite: moderately toxic
- Red Lead: very toxic
- Vermillion: moderately toxic
- Green Earth: nontoxic
- Verdigris: moderately toxic
- Lead White: toxic
Please include any chemical formulas or reactions:
- Madder Lake: C14H8O4, C14H8O5
- Carmine Lake: C22H20O13, C16H10O8
- Realgar: As4S4
- Malachite: 2 CuCO3Cu(OH)2
- Orpiment: As2S3
- Egyptian Blue: CaCuS14O10
- Indigo: C16H10N2O2
- Azurite: 2 CuCO3Cu(OH)2
- Red Lead: Pb3O4
- Vermillion: HgS
- Green Earth: K [(Al, Fe III), (Fe II, Mg] (Al Si3, Si4) O10 (OH)7
- Verdigris: Cu (OH2)(CH3COO)2SH2O
- Lead White: 2 PbCo3Pb(OH)2
Medieval Age
What elements and natural materials were pigments created from during this time period?
- Ultramarine: Sodium Calcium Aluminum Silicate Sulfate
- Smalt: Cobalt, Potassium glass
- Lead Tin Yellow: Lead Tin oxide
- Indian Yellow: Magnesium eu antinate
- Copper Resinate: Copper salts
Were the elements and pigments toxic or safe to use?
- Ultramarine: nontoxic
- Smalt: moderately toxic
- Lead Tin Yellow: very toxic
- Indian Yellow: nontoxic
- Copper Resinate: moderately toxic
Please include any chemical formulas or reactions
- Ultramarine: Na8-10Al6Si6O24S2-4
- Smalt: SiO2+K2O+Al2O3+CoO
- Lead Tin Yellow: Pb2SnO4 (Type I) Pb (Sn, Si)O3 (Type II)
- Indian Yellow: C19+I16O11MgSH2O
- Copper Resinate: Cu (C19H29COO)2
Renaissance & Baroque
What elements and natural materials were pigments created from during this time period?
- Naples Yellow: Lead antimonate
- Van Dyke Brown: earth compounds
Were the elements and pigments toxic or safe to use?
- Naples Yellow: very toxic
- Van Dyke Brown: nontoxic
Please include any chemical formulas or reactions
- Naples Yellow: Pb (SbO3)2 or Pb (SbO4)2
- Van Dyke Brown: Fe2O3 (H2O) +humic acids
Modern Age
What elements and natural materials were pigments created from during this time period?
- Prussian Blue: Iron-hexacyanoferrate
- Cobalt Green: Cobalt-oxide Zinc-oxide
Were the elements and pigments toxic or safe to use?
- Prussian Blue: nontoxic
- Cobalt Green: nontoxic
Please include any chemical formulas or reactions
- Prussian Blue: Fe [Fe3+Fe2+ (CN)6]3
- Cobalt Green: CoOZno
Industrialization
What elements and natural materials were pigments created from during this time period?
- Chrome Orange: Lead Chromate
- Chrome Yellow: Lead Chromate
- Cobalt Blue: Cobalt-oxide, Aluminum-oxide
- Viridian: Chromium oxide, dihydrate
- Cadmium Yellow: Cadmium sulfide, selenium
- Cerulean Blue: Cobalt statmate
- French Ultramarine: Silicate Sulfate
- Zinc White: Zinc oxide
- Cobalt Violet: Cobalt Phosphate
- Emerald Green: Copper-acetoarsenite
Were the elements and pigments toxic or safe to use?
- Chrome Orange: moderately toxic
- Chrome Yellow: toxic
- Cobalt Blue: nontoxic
- Viridian: moderately toxic
- Cadmium Yellow: nontoxic
- Cerulean Blue: moderately toxic
- French Ultramarine: nontoxic
- Zinc White: nontoxic
- Cobalt Violet: nontoxic
- Emerald Green: very toxic
Please include any chemical formulas or reactions:
- Chrome Orange: PbCrO4Pb(OH)2
- Chrome Yellow: PbCrO4
- Cobalt Blue: CoOAl2O3
- Viridian: Cr2O32H2O
- Cadmium Yellow: CdSCdS + CdSe
- Cerulean Blue: CoOSnO2
- French Ultramarine: Na8-10Al6Si6O24S2-4
- Zinc White: ZnO
- Cobalt Violet: Co3 (PO4)2 or Co3 (AsO4)2
- Emerald Blue: Cu (CH3COO)23Cu(AsO2)2
Contemporary 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
What elements and natural materials were pigments created from during this time period?
- Titanium White: Lead, Titanium dioxide
Were the elements and pigments toxic or safe to use?
- Titanium White: nontoxic
Please include any chemical formulas or reactions
- Titanium White: TiO2
Pigments
Pigment #1: Carbon Black
- Carbon Black has been a pigment since ancient times, and is made by charring wood. Carbon Black is charcoal and has been used for sketching and the bottom layer of paintings throughout history. Today, carbon black is still used in art, but also as printer toner. The chemical name of Carbon black is Amorphous carbon, with a simple formula of C. Carbon Black is one of the most stable of all materials, and is non toxic.
Pigment #2: Madder Lake
- Madder Lake is a pigment derived from madder plant root extract. It is, like Carbon Black, one of the most stable pigments. It's chemical name is Alizarin or Purpurin, depending on the way it is made, so the formula is either C14H8O4 or C14H8O5. It was used mostly in the 18th and 19th century, and nearly ceased when people began using a synthetic method to create it. It comes from plants and is a rich red color. It is made by drying, crushing, hulling, and boiling the roots of the madder plant. Since it is made of all organic plant material, Madder Lake is also non toxic.
Pigment #3: Ultramarine
- Ultramarine was the finest blue in ancient times, and made from the stone lapis lazuli. At the beginning of the 19th century, however, synthetic ultramarine was made, which was much less expensive. During the Renaissance, Ultramarine was even more expensive than gold. Natural Ultramarine is made by mixing lapis lazuli with wax and kneading it in a dilute lye bath. Artificial Ultramarine is made by heating a mixture of China clay, soda ash, coal or wood, charcoal, silica and sulfur in a clay furnace. Ultramarine is a complex sodium aluminum silicate with sulfur. The chemical formula is Na8-10Al6Si6O24S2-4. Ultramarine is also a non toxic pigment.
Look Closer: Scientific Techniques
Technique #1: 3D Modeling
- 3D Modeling is used for recording layouts of land, and it can create interactive 3D models of land. Models such as these allow viewers to see everything that is on the land, such as rocks, trees, hills, and valleys on a small scale. Instead of being a non-dimensional flat landscape, 3D modeling allows viewers to see details that could be missed otherwise. This method of recording data is both timely and economically efficient compared to other techniques. 3D modeling workss by allowing data to be scanned and transferred to a computer. The data is then converted into an accurate 3D model. Using a laser scanner, the measurements and angles of the landscape are gathered. This laser scanning system is made up of a rotating mirror that reflects a laser range finder. This technique has also been used in archeology by projecting light onto an object at a certain angle, which assists in imaging and finding dimensions. A light pattern is then generated by fanning sheets of light over objects. When the line intersects with an objectm a bright line is shown on the object, and the observations are translated into variations in the height of the object.
Technique #2: X-Ray
- X-rays show the structure of an object, which can include the principal white pigment, as well as the dispersion of lead white. Radio graphic images of paintings are determines by the x-ray absorption of the composure of the painting such as the pigments, support structure, thickness, and concentration. The pigments with metals containing high atomic numbers absorb x-rays better that those with metals with low atomic numbers or those with no metals in them. When taking the radio graphs, a painting is balanced on two stands, with as little of the painting touching the stand as possible. A sheet of radio graphs film is then placed on the painting, and light from the x-ray tube below the painting is shown through it.
Technique #3: Tomography
- Tomography is a technique used to virtually slice a tomb in half using penetrating radiations (x-rays, gamma rays, neutrons, muons, ultrasounds). The word "tomography" actually comes from the Greek word "tomos", meaning "to slice". This method allows viewers to see what is on the inside of a tomb without destroying it. It is able to create an accurate, detailed image of the inside of a tomb. This is helpful in making a 3D reconstruction of an artifact. The x-ray computed tomography is created off of the absorption of the rays crossing the object. It is able to generate a 3D artifact from a 2D image. The scanner uses digital geometry processing to create the image of the inside of a tomb, allowing the ability to see inside of the tomb without destroying it or opening it. Pictures of the tombs are taken from all angles so that the full, 3D picture it creates is very accurate. There is also an x-ray tube and detector inside the scanner that is able to see hundreds of different levels of density. Once all the data from the tomb is acquired, it is compiled and uploaded to a computer so that a 3D model of each section can be generated.
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 many ways. After completing this research, I have learned how chemistry played a role in ancient times, and even how it is used today. Chemistry plays a much larger role in art than I had ever realized, and it is most prevalent when paints are being made. Since ancient times, people have used art as a way of expressing their feelings and telling stories, and as time progressed, more and more chemicals, plants, and pigments were discovered that could make paints. People found ways of mixing them and combining them to create new colors and paints. In ancient times, powders and things like charcoal were used and combined with a moistening agent to allow it to be like paint. As we advanced in fields of science, paint quality increased and more complicated and longer lasting paints were created (i.e. titanium can be used to make white paint when mixed with liquids, and stores well when chemicals are added). In the past, paint didn't last and was made of of very simple ingredients. Chemistry also influences art because it helped people understand that some of the substances being used were very toxic, and the fumes made many artists go insane. Without knowing about how the chemicals in paint affect us, we might still be puzzling over crazy artists dying young. In conclusion, art is dependent on chemistry and without it, we wouldn't have pigments, paint, or art.