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Pigment sources

Extreme close up of a garment from the painting, showing brushstrokes and flecks of bright blue

Details of lapis lazuli in a velvet robe

Pigments came from a variety of sources - minerals such as lapis lazuli and malachite, earth pigments, organic pigments made from vegetable or animal dyes and manufactured pigments such as lead white or vermilion.

Cross section showing layers of paint, with a white base and flecks of blue in the top layer

Cross section of a paint sample from the sky magnified by 400 times

 

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