T T B 17 C:: by Mira S. de Roo

THE TRADE IN BLUE DURING THE 17TH CENTURY:
An examination of the Western European pigment trade in Azurite,

Indigo, Lapis Lazuli and Smalt during the 17th Century
through works in the Collection of the National Gallery, London
By
Mira S. de Roo
(Master of Philosophy
University of Glasgow)
Christie’s Education
London
Master’s Programme
September 2004
© Mira S. de Roo
Contents
Abstract i
Acknowledgements ii
List of the Works of Art iv
List of Comparative Illustrations vi
Floor Plan
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION
I.1. Why the Pigment Trade? 2
II.2 Why Blue? 2
I.3. Why the 17th Century? 3
I.4. The Structure of the Study 4
CHAPTER II. THE HISTORICAL USE OF BLUE PIGMENTS
II.1. General Background 8
II.2. Azurite 9
II.3. Indigo 10
II.4. Ultramarine 11
II.5. Smalt 12
II.6. Available Blue Pigments which were left out of this study: 13
i. Blue Verditer 13
ii. Woad 14
CHAPTER III. SOCIETY AND CULTURE AND THEIR IMPACT ON THE USE OF PIGMENTS
III.1. Taste 16
III.2. Religion: Reformation versus Counter Reformation Art 17
i. Subject Matter 17
ii. Colour 18
III.3. Art Market: Patronage versus the Early ‘Modern’ Art Market 19
i. Patronage 20
ii. The Early ‘Modern’ Art Market 21
CHAPTER IV. TRADE AND TRADE ROUTES
IV.1. Economic Climate 25
IV.2. Political Climate 27
IV.3. Judicial Climate 27
i. The Role of the Apothecary 28
IV.4. Meteorological Climate 29
i. Volcanic Eruptions 30
ii. Maunder Minimum 30
CHAPTER V. CONCLUSION 33
Appendix I – Table showing the Historical Use of Pigments 35
Appendix II – Azurite 36
Appendix III – Indigo 37
Appendix IV – Ultramarine 38
Appendix V – Smalt 39
Appendix VI – Map showing the Silk Road 40
Appendix VII – Map showing the Spice Routes 41
Appendix VIII – Map showing the North-South Terra firma Trade Routes 42
Appendix IX – Map showing the important trade routes in use by the 16th century 43
Appendix X – A Summary of the Important Political Events of the 17th century 44
Glossary 46
Catalogue of the Works of Art 48
Comparative Illustrations 89
Notes & References 102
Bibliography 110
Abstract
This thesis aims to investigate the nature of the trade in blue pigments during the
seventeenth century, through an examination of the works held in the Collection of the
National Gallery in London. A description of the pigments available during the period, and
their place of origin are explained in the second chapter. The third chapter focuses on
social and cultural impacts on the use of pigments, such as taste, religion and the art
market. The fourth chapter examines the other elements that may influence the trade of
pigments such as war, laws and even climate.
word count: 14,070
i
Acknowledgements
I would like to extend my deepest thanks to Jo Kirby at the National Gallery, London for
all the support, suggestions and guidance she has extended me during the past few months.
Her knowledge in this field is extensive and her insight and experience were invaluable.
The scientific information and images would have been almost impossible to obtain
without her help.
I wish to extend my appreciation to Dr. Francis Thomas, Dr. Michael Michael, Peter
Higginson and Andrew Spira, from Christies’ Education, for their advice and words of
encouragement.
I wish to acknowledge Dr. Carl Goldstein from the University of North Carolina at
Greensboro who guided me through my undergraduate thesis entitled The Attribution of an
Unknown Portrait which sparked my interest in pigments.
I also want to thank Dr. K. Porter Aichele, from the University of North Carolina at
Greensboro who helped me narrow down my thesis topic and provided some invaluable
reference information.
Most importantly, I wish to thank my parents for their eternal love and support.
ii
List of the Works of Art
PLATE 1 : Nicolas Poussin The Adoration of the Golden Calf, 1634-1635

Oil on canvas laid down on board, 154.3 x 214 cm. NG 5597
PLATE 2 : Annibale Carracci Christ appearing to Saint Anthony Abbot during his
Temptation, ca. 1598, Oil on copper, 49.5 x 34.4 cm. NG 198
PLATE 3 : Claude Gellée ‘ Le Lorrain’ Landscape with the Marriage of Isaac and
Rebekah ‘The Mill’, 1648, Oil on canvas, 149.2 x 196.9 cm. NG 12
PLATE 4 : Giovanni Battista Salvi ‘Sassoferrato’ The Virgin in Prayer, 1640-50

Oil on canvas, 73 x 57.7 cm. NG 200
PLATE 5 : Jan van der Heyden A View of Cologne, ca. 1660-1665

Oil on oak, 33.1 x 42.9 cm. NG 866
PLATE 6 : Anthony van Dyck Portrait of a Woman and Child, ca. 1620-1621
Oil on canvas, 131.5 x 106.2 cm. NG 3011
PLATE 7 : Anthony van Dyck Charity, ca. 1627-1628

Oil on oak, 148.2 x 107.5 cm. NG 6494
PLATE 8 : Meindert Hobbema The Avenue at Middelharnis, 1689

Oil on canvas, 103.5 x 141 cm. NG 830
PLATE 9 : Frans Hals A Family Group in a Landscape, ca. 1647-1650

PLATE 10 : Johannes Vermeer A Young Woman standing at a Virginal, ca. 1670

PLATE 11 : Rembrandt van Rijn Portrait of Frederick Rihel on Horseback

probably 1663, Oil on canvas, 294.5 x 241 cm. NG 6300
PLATE 12 : Anthony van Dyck Equestrian Portrait of Charles I, ca. 1637-1638

Oil on canvas, 367 x 292.1 cm. NG 1172
iii
PLATE 13 : Peter Paul Rubens Minerva protecting Pax from Mars ‘Peace and War’
1629-30, Oil on canvas, 203.5 x 298 cm. NG 46
PLATE 14 : Eustache Le Sueur Alexander and his Doctor, ca. 1649

Oil on canvas, diameter 96 cm. NG 6576
PLATE 15 : Laurent de la Hyre Allegorical Figure of Grammar, 1650

PLATE 16 : Pierre Mignard The Marquise de Seignelay and Two of her Children, 1691
PLATE 17 : Bartolomé Esteban Murillo The Infant Saint John with the Lamb
1660-1665, Oil on canvas, 165 x 106 cm. NG 176
PLATE 18 : Francisco de Zurbaran Saint Margaret of Antioch¸1630-1634

Oil on canvas, 163 x 105 cm. NG 1930
PLATE 19 : Salvator Rosa Witches at their Incantations, ca. 1646

Oil on canvas, 72 x 132 cm. NG 6491
PLATE 20 : Diego Velázques The Toilet of Venus ‘The Rokeby Venus’, 1647-51
iv
List of Comparative Illustrations
FIGURE 1: Gonzales Coques Portrait of a Woman as Saint Agnes ca. 1680

Oil on silver, 18.3 x 14.4 cm. NG 1011
FIGURE 2: Peter Paul Rubens Portrait of Susanna Lunden (?) ‘Le Chapeau de Paille’
probably 1622-1625, Oil on oak, 79 x 54.6 cm. NG 852
FIGURE 3: Frans Hals Banquet of the Officers of the St. George Civic Guard Company
1627, Oil on canvas, 179 x 257.5 cm. Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem
FIGURE 4: Carel Fabritius A View of Delft, with a Musical Instrument Seller’s Stall
1652, Oil on canvas stuck on to walnut panel, 15.5 x 31.7 cm. NG 3714
FIGURE 5: Anthony van Dyck Lord John Stuart and his Brother, Lord Bernard Stuart
ca. 1638, Oil on canvas, 237.5 x 146.1 cm. NG 6518
FIGURE 6: Samuel van Hoogstraten A Peepshow with Views of the Interior of a Dutch
House, ca. 1655-1660,
Oil and egg on wood, exterior measurements 58 x 88 x 60.5 cm. NG 3832
FIGURE 7: Jacob van Ruisdael A Road winding between Trees towards a Distant
Cottage, probably 1645-1650, Oil on oak, 32.6 x 30.4 cm. NG 988
FIGURE 8: Johannes Vermeer The Little Street, ca. 1657-1658

Oil on canvas, 54.3 x 44 cm. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
FIGURE 9: Johannes Vermeer Young Woman with a Water Jug, ca. 1664-1665
Oil on canvas, 45.7 x 40.6 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
FIGURE 10: Johannes Vermeer A Young Woman seated at a Virginal, ca. 1670
FIGURE 11 : Claude Gellée ‘ Le Lorrain’ The Mill, 1647

Oil on canvas, 150.5 x 198 cm. Galleria Doria Pamphilj, Rome
v
Exhibition Floor Plan
NOTE: NOT DRAWN TO SCALE
vi
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION
1
I.1. Why the Pigment Trade?
The pigments trade is an area within art history that requires further study and has
become of “general interest recently”.1 Despite good documentation, as a pioneering
research area within art history much of the relevant information is unpublished and
located in various archives throughout Europe.2 Until now, the fifteenth and sixteenth
centuries have received the most attention with regard to the pigment trade.3 With the
exception of a few articles relating to specific artists,4 no known published research has yet
been undertaken with regard to the pigment trade during the seventeenth century.5 “Owing
to its diversity, the trade is best studied not as a whole but colour by colour.”6
I.2 Why the colour Blue?
The use of the colour blue throughout western history has altered radically.7
Although blue is the favourite colour of contemporary European society,8 it was dismissed
by ancient civilizations.9 The Romans, for example, considered blue “the color [sic] of
barbarians”10 Blue’s relative low status, which it held until the twelfth century, is supported
by the fact that with one notable exception, “there are no personal or place names, either in
Latin or the vernaculars, that incorporate a word or root related to blue”.11 Additionally,
although both ancient Greek and Latin had several terms for ‘blue’, “the most common
words denoting the color [sic] blue are inherited not from Latin but from German and
Arabic: blue (blau) and azure (lazaward).”12
Blue is not a prevalent pigment colour in nature, and “it has taken humanity many
long years to learn how to reproduce and use it.”13 In the seventeenth century there were
only a limited number of blue pigments used in easel painting, most of which have
traceable origins,14 making it a suitable colour for this study.
2
I.3. Why the 17th Century?
The seventeenth century was a period of enormous religious, political and
economical upheaval in Europe. This ‘golden century’ of art, dominated by wars,15 was a
period of international commercial expansion, and colonization.16 New commercial centres
developed in England, France and the United Provinces replacing the traditional trading
powers of Italy and Spain.17 Did this influence the trade in pigments? Despite the rule of
absolutist monarchs, commerce and industry led to the rise of new social classes, enabling
the distribution of wealth to a larger proportion of the population, fuelling the demand for
goods and services.18 Sparking a commercial revolution and enabling modern society to
evolve from its predominantly feudal past.19
The transformations during the seventeenth century are not merely limited to religious and
political changes, but also in the arts. It is during the seventeenth century that the artistic
centre shifts from Rome to Versailles.20 The status of painting in relation to the other arts,
was raised as a result of the large-scale collecting activities of courtiers throughout
Europe,21 through the process in which “the symbolic value of an art work was uncoupled
from its material value.”22 Rivalry among the courts and courtiers instigated a rise in the
demand for painting. “This rising fashion for painting was fortunately accompanied by a
significant increase in supply.”23 Did this influence the demand and availability of
pigments? “An inevitable by-product of the passion for painting was the growth of the art
market.”24 Was there a difference between the types of pigments utilized in paintings
produced for the art market than those created on demand for patrons?
Blue verditer is the only artificial blue pigment used during the seventeenth century.
During this period, with the exception of the development of Naples Yellow there was little
innovation in pigment production,25 enabling us to exclude technical innovation as a factor
in the demand or supply for blue pigments.
With this thesis, I hope to spark further interest and research in this developing area
of art history; while providing a point of departure for further research into the pigment
3
trade during the seventeenth century, by either myself, as a PhD candidate, or other art
historians.
I.4. The Structure of the Study
For this study I have chosen to examine seventeenth century works in the
Collection of the National Gallery, in London. This specific location was selected based on
the fact that it holds a fairly random sample of paintings. Additional contributing factors
were; accessibility, location, but most importantly, the in-house scientific department
which carries out research on the paintings, including, pigment study and analysis. This
study would not be possible without specific technical information and analysis procured
from the Scientific Department at the National Gallery.26
There is an abundant amount of information available on pigment trade in the
seventeenth century. However, most of it is still hidden in archives throughout Europe.27
Currently, little research has been published on the pigment trade of the seventeenth
century,28 subsequently little empirical data was obtainable for inclusion in this study.
Within the nature of this study lies its weakness. By limiting this study to an
examination of works within the Collection of the National Gallery, the study is restricted
to paintings. Another limiting factor that must be taken into account is the variety of artists
and works represented within the Collection.
In selecting works for this study I considered the popularity of the artist. The
contemporary evaluation and status of the artist in his own time, as well as in ours is
important. An admired and patronized artist is more likely to be able to afford expensive
pigments, such as ultramarine. Additionally, a positive evaluation of the artist in modern
times, increases the likelihood that works by the artist have been scientifically examined.
Other factors used to select works for this study include the type of support and
information regarding the creation of the work, such as commissions. An unusual aspect of
this study is that the location, or possible location where the work was executed, is taken
4
into consideration instead of the more traditional, nationality of the artist. The location
where a painting was executed is important for this particular study as local price and
availability of pigments within a region may have influenced pigment choice.29 The most
important and limiting factor of this study is the technical and scientific analysis. Not all
the works in the National Gallery's Collection have been studied, and of those that have,
not all have been examined for the presence of blue pigments.30 As a result, a painting may
contain the colour blue, but the blue pigment may not necessarily have been tested or
analysed.
An example of this is Johannes Vermeer’s A Young Woman Standing at a Virginal
(PLATE 10). The visual appearance of blue is apparent but no scientific analysis of these
areas has yet been carried out.31 It has been suggested that these might contain ultramarine
as Vermeer is known to have “bought only the best colours, such as expensive ultramarine
and luminous lead-tin yellow.”32 The Portrait of a Woman as Saint Agnes, painted in oil on
silver, by Gonzales Coques (FIG. 1.) is another work in which technical analysis has yet to
prove the presence of blue pigment. The fact that this is a portrait and that it was painted on
silver, implies that the work was done on commission.33 The use of an expensive and fairly
uncommon material for the support, such as silver, suggests that the patron may have
requested the use of specific pigments.
This study will not focus on the quality of the pigments used in the paintings
displayed in the exhibition, but compare the use of pigments across religious and social
boundaries in place during the seventeenth century. Blue pigments cannot be distinguished
from one another through the use of scientific photography, as a result all pigments
samples are analysed under microscopes.34 An important element of this exhibition is the
ability of the visitor to examine pigment samples and to inspect the different pigments
under microscopes. Diagrammatic images alongside the works of art are used to illustrate
where the blue pigment samples were taken from as well as the distribution of blue
pigments in the painting. The exhibition layout traces the important overland trade routes
5
used by merchants during the seventeenth century, while the paintings are hung in sections
based on their location of production, not by artist nationality.
6
CHAPTER II.
THE HISTORICAL USE OF BLUE PIGMENTS
7
II.1. General Background1
“As in antiquity, blue had little symbolic or aesthetic value in European culture of
the high Middle Ages.”2 Although present in aspects of daily life, such as garments, it was
“effectively banished from the Carolingian court. Ignored by nobles, it was worn only by
peasants and those of low estate.”3 In ecclesiastical culture there was a similar absence of
blue “during the thousand years preceding the creation of blue stained glass in the twelfth
century,”4
The stigma of blue began to fade during the eleventh century when the blues used
in manuscript illumination became more translucent. As a result, the role of blue shifted
and “began to represent light and illumination.”5 It was during the eleventh and twelfth
centuries that blue became “aristocratic and fashionable.”6 “In the space of just a few
decades, blue acquired economic and social value as a color [sic] for clothing and artistic
production.”7 This new artistic, social and religious status of blue is best illustrated through
art, and more specifically, the Virgin Mary.8 It is at this time, that blue first became
associated with her.9
By the beginning of the thirteenth century, the prestige of blue was such that
“certain important religious and historical figures began to be portrayed wearing blue.”10
Blue’s promotion, to the rank of an important colour, is also reflected by the increased
incorporation of azur in heraldry,11 and by the end of the Middle Ages “blue had become
the color [sic] of kings, princes, nobles, and patricians.”12 During a mere few centuries the
role and value of blue, in both secular and ecclesiastical life, had undergone a complete
reversal. Blue’s importance has continued to grow throughout the centuries and is “by far
the favourite colour of Europeans”13 today.
Blue pigments were available from a limited number of sources during the
seventeenth century. A description of each pigment, the relevant extraction process, and
how each pigment was utilized during this period are discussed below.
8
II.2. Azurite
Azurite, is a mineral composed of basic copper carbonate, 2CuCO3.Cu(OH)2.14
Azurite has in the past been referred to by other names including; mountain blue, azzurro
della magna, lapis armenius, and azurium citramarinum.15 It can be found in many areas
throughout the world, but it is frequently located alongside malachite.16 Documents
indicate that Hungary17, Germany18 and Siena19 were in principle the main sources of
azurite in the seventeenth century. Other possible sources for azurite during this period
may have included Sardinia, Chessy in France,20 the Tyrol21 and even Central and South
America.22
Azurite, in its mineral state, can be transformed into pigment (Appendix II)
through a process of grinding, washing, and sieving.23 The amount of grinding the azurite
endures will influence the intensity of the pigment shade. Large and irregularly shaped
azurite particles result in a dark blue pigment, whereas fine and regularly ground azurite
will produce a light blue pigment.24
Azurite, was more economical than lapis lazuli, and was the most commonly used
blue pigment during classical antiquity25 and the Middle Ages.26 In the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries it maintained its economic advantage, and was frequently utilized as
a substitute for ultramarine.27 Francisco de Zubarán used Azurite for the coat of Saint
Margaret of Antioch (PLATE 18). Azurite pigment was sometimes used in the under layers
of a painting coated by a layer of the more costly lapis lazuli,28 as was done in Annibale
Carracci’s Christ Appearing to Saint Anthony Abbot during his Temptation (PLATE 2).
Another example of this is Le Chapeau de Paille by Peter Paul Rubens (FIG. 2). In
contrast to ultramarine, azurite pigment frequently has a greenish undertone.29 This can be
utilized by artists to create specific colouring effects when the pigments are laid next to one
another on the canvas. The Toilet of Venus (‘The Rokeby Venus’) by Diego Velázquez
(PLATE 20) contains particles of ultramarine in the bluer areas and azurite in the greener
areas of Cupid’s sash. The application of azurite pigment to canvas or panel is a delicate
9
process whereby the pigment is built up in successively darker layers.30 According to
Laurie, in addition to its use in antiquity, azurite pigment was utilized between ca.1250
A.D. and ca.1400 A.D. and again between ca.1500 A.D. and ca.1650 A.D.31 (Appendix I).
More recent studies, however, have suggested the third quarter of the seventeenth century
as an approximate terminal date for the use of azurite as a pigment.32
II.3. Indigo
“Indigo is processed from the leaves of plants of the genus Indigofera.”33 Indigo has
in the past been referred to by many names including; color indicus, endego de Bagad,
indicum, indico, inde blew, pigmentum indicum, indigo de bagadel or lulax. “Until the
discovery of America, India was the sole source of indigo for Europe.”34 Sources of indigo
during the seventeenth century, other than India, include: Guatemala,35 the Americas and
the West Indies.36 However, its organic origins remained unknown to some Europeans, who
presumed it to be a mined mineral.37
The production of indigo is a labour-intensive process,38 and had strong links with
the slave trade.39 The diversity among the species of Indigofera has resulted in numerous
methods used for the extraction of indigo.40 One recipe describes how the flowering plants
were cut and “allowed to ferment in large vats in the presence of water.”41
Indigo dye (Appendix III) was an expensive commodity in northern Europe until
the latter part of the sixteenth century,42 and was used predominantly in paints and inks.43 It
was frequently mixed with other pigments in the production of various shades of green.44
Alternatively, it was used in under layers for more expensive pigments, such as
ultramarine,45 as in Charity by Anthony van Dyck (PLATE 7). Evidence indicates that it
was primarily used in the under layers of early seventeenth century easel paintings, but
during “the course of the seventeenth century, indigo came to be widely used in upper
layers as well.”46 In this study, in each of the paintings containing indigo, all used indigo in
combination with another blue pigment. This does not indicate that indigo was only used in
10
combination with other pigments. It merely means that none of the paintings sampled
solely used indigo. Frans Hals is known to have used indigo in the blue sashes of his 1627
version of the Banquet of the Officers of the St George Civic Guard Company47 (FIG. 3). It
has been suggested that shortages of azurite and ultramarine may have encouraged its
use.48 Indigo was replaced by Prussian blue49 after the seventeenth century, and was no
longer used in oil paint.50 Indigo has had an “exceptionally long history which extends
from early times into the twentieth century.”51 It was “used in Egypt in the sixteenth
century B.C. and possibly earlier,”52 and “continues to be used today as a water colour.”53
II.4. Ultramarine
Ultramarine pigment is derived from Lapis lazuli, a mineralized limestone
containing lazurite. It is a complex, sulphur-containing, sodium aluminium silicate,
(Na.Ca)8(AlSiO4)6(SO4.S.Cl)2.54 Lapis lazuli, has in the past been referred to by other
names including; azzurrum ultramarinum, azzurro oltramarino, azur d’Acre, pierre d’azur
and Lazurstein, to name a few.55 The mineral, lazurite, is the crucial ingredient of ‘true’56
ultramarine pigment.57 Although small deposits of lapis lazuli have been found in the
Americas and Burma in modern times, the historic source of the mineral has been
Afghanistan.58
Lapis lazuli requires a labour intensive process59 to extract the lazurite, the pigment
producing particles, from the rest of the stone.60 The simple process of grinding and
washing produces a pale grey-blue pigment that lacks both purity and intensity of colour.61
“The traditional method, first used ca. 1200 A.D.62 is to knead the crushed stone under
water with a paste of wax, resin and oil so that blue particles float in the water while the
unwanted minerals are retained by the paste”.63
Due to the forces of demand and supply, “ultramarine was for centuries the most
highly prized of all traditional pigments.”64 The “supply of small quantities at a reasonable
price enabled ultramarine to be used by miniature painters, but the pigment (Appendix IV)
11
was generally considered too costly for use in washing prints and maps.”65 Examples of
paintings in the Collection using pure ultramarine are Eustache Le Sueur’s Alexander and
his Doctor (PLATE 14), Savator Rosa’s Witches at their Incantations (PLATE 19), as
well as (PLATES 13, 16) and (FIG. 4). Due to it’s cost, ultramarine was frequently used
in combination with other pigments, or as a top coat over less costly blue pigments66 such
as azurite (PLATE 2), indigo (PLATE 7) or even smalt, as in the Equestrian Portrait of
Charles I by Anthony van Dyck (PLATE 12), and Jan van Heyden’s A View of Cologne
(PLATE 5). Despite notable differences in the quality of the pigment,67 ultramarine blue
has been used in western painting since at least 800 A.D.68 (Appendix I) Although mainly
replaced by French ultramarine, there is still a demand for the ‘true’ pigment. A notable
example is that of the infamous art forger Van Meegeren, who “went to the expense and
trouble of using natural ultramarine in some of his forgeries.”69
II.5. Smalt
“Smalt is a moderately to coarsely ground potassium glass of blue color [sic],”70 the
blue colour is attained by the addition of cobalt during the manufacturing process.71 Other
names used in the past to refer to smalt include; azur à poudrer, Azurblau, émail, esmail
and starch blue.72 Cobalt is found in various locations throughout the world.73 Although
“the history of cobalt mining in Europe is obscure,”74 Saxony was for centuries the
principal source of cobalt in Europe.75 In the sixteenth century smalt manufactured in the
Netherlands acquired a reputation for its superior quality.76
Smalt pigment (Appendix V) was made through the heating of the cobalt ore,
forming an oxide, which was then melted with either quartz and potash, or molten glass.
The mixture was then poured into cold water disintegrating the mass into small particles
which were then washed and ground.77 As with azurite, coarser and more irregular particles
of smalt produce a more intense colour.78
12
The scarcity of azurite and ultramarine during the seventeenth century encouraged
the use of smalt as a substitute, “particularly in the skies and backgrounds of paintings
where an intense blue was not needed.”79 Anthony Van Dyck used smalt in combination
with other pigments in the sky of his Portrait of a Woman and Child (PLATE 6), while
The Infant Saint John with the Lamb by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (PLATE 17) contains
discoloured smalt in the sky. Smalt was layered over smalt in the sky of Portrait of
Frederick Rihel on Horseback by Rembrandt Van Rijn (PLATE 11). Smalt was also used
as an underlayer for azurite (FIG. 5) or ultramarine.80 The exact date when smalt was first
utilized is uncertain,81 however its usage is thought to coincide with the development of
enamel pigments.82 Smalt was utilized by fifteenth century Venetian glass-makers,
however, “it seems to have been little used by Italian painters of the fourteenth and
fifteenth centuries, perhaps because of the general availability of the superior pigments,
ultramarine and azurite.”83 According to Laurie, smalt was used ca.1575 A.D. to ca.1800
A.D.84 (Appendix I). More recent studies have suggested that smalt was used in a limited
capacity during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.85 Smalt is still manufactured
today.86
II.6 Available Blue Pigments which were left out of this study:
Although widely available and used during the seventeenth century, Blue Verditer
and Woad will not be discussed in this study for reasons explained below.
i. Blue Verditer
Blue verditer is the artificial blue carbonate of copper and has a similar chemical
composition to azurite.87 Although manufactured in the seventeenth century,88 and used by
notable artists such as Jan Steen,89 blue verditer does not appear in any of the paintings
sampled for this study, and is therefore not discussed.90
13
ii. Woad
Woad (Isatis Tinctoria) is a native plant to Europe. It “was virtually obsolete as an
artists’ colour by the beginning of the seventeenth century,”91 although, it may still have
been used in the decorative arts.92 However “no professional artist of the seventeenth
century mentions woad, and it seems certain that indigo had then taken its place.”93 Indigo,
“prevailed over woad in the seventeenth century because of its higher pigment content.”94
More importantly, woad and plants of the genus Indigofera produce “the same indigo-blue
colourant after processing,”95 as a result, there is currently no known to method to
distinguish between woad and indigo96 on easel paintings.97
14
CHAPTER III.
SOCIETY AND CULTURE AND THEIR IMPACT ON THE
USE OF PIGMENTS
15
III.1. Taste
The “history of color [sic], is above all, a social history,”1 for it is through the codes
and values of society that colour is defined and its uses established.2 An important
historical influence on the role of taste in society and culture was the imposition of
sumptuary laws.
Between 1360 A.D. and 1380 A.D. consumer demands for black high quality fabric
increased. The causes for this increase are not yet fully understood, but, “the most
important reasons seem to have been moral and economic, tied to the proliferation of
sumptuary laws and the dress regulations throughout Christendom in the wake of the
plague (1346-50).”3 This rise in the preference for black, indirectly, aided blue, and “blue’s
status for many centuries thereafter.”4 Sumptuary laws were passed throughout Europe for
economic, religious and ideological reasons.5 They were part of a moralizing trend that led
to the Protestant Reformation.6 These laws decreed that certain colours were restricted to
specific social classes.7 “Everywhere in Europe, colors [sic] considered too rich or showy
were forbidden to all who had to project an image of dignity and reserve.”8 It was not the
specific colour that was an issue, but the cost of the material used in its production.9
The impact of sumptuary laws on the tastes of a society, or culture, should not be
underestimated. The imposition of laws dictating multiple10 aspects of daily life directly
influenced the acceptable norms within society. The enforcement of sumptuary laws, which
in some areas of Europe lasted for generations, inevitably influenced individual tastes.
These tastes are reflected in artefacts of the period, including paintings. The influence of
taste in paintings are not merely represented in the chosen subject matter, but, may also be
observed in the palette. Sumptuary laws may prevent an artist, for example, representing an
item of clothing in a specific colour. An interesting comparison can be made between the
following two portraiture groups. A Family Group in a Landscape by Frans Hals
(PLATE 9) and The Marquise de Seignelay and Two of her Children by Pierre Mignard
(PLATE 16). Smalt has been detected in the sky of the Hals' family portrait. In addition to
16
smalt, azurite and ultramarine were also used in the opulent group portrait. The Hals
painting of the Protestant family, does not portray their wealth, instead emphasis is placed
on moral virtue with the sole adult male prominently portrayed in the centre of this large
family group. The language is clear; in addition to his important role within society, he is a
devout Christian and devoted to his loving family. The allegorical portrait by Mignard does
allude to certain virtues of the sitters, however the emphasis remains on their wealth,
through both the richness of garments worn, and the abundance of precious jewellery on
display.
The use, or omission, of a specific pigment by an artist may have been dictated by
social protocol or taste. Regardless as to whether a painting is commissioned, or produced
for the ‘open market’, the patron, and or, the artist may have been forced to follow strict
guidelines set forth by local sumptuary laws. Even in areas where sumptuary laws were no
longer practised or enforced, the taste of both the patron and artist would most likely have
been influenced by traditional cultural and social values. Such influences would have
impacted the use of specific colours or pigments. The choice of pigments used, cannot be
merely ascribed to economic factors, as social norms and tastes may also have influenced
the selection process.
III.2. Religion: Reformation versus Counter Reformation Art
Historically, in Europe, religion and art are interrelated. The Reformation of the
sixteenth century initiated a series of events which would greatly influence art and its
production. The Reformation opposed the aesthetics of the Catholic Church and its
iconolatry practices,11 but the activists were by no means uniform in their opinions and
attitudes towards art.12 The Reformation and the ensuing Counter Reformation created a
north-south divide which impacted most aspects of daily life, including art and art
production. This disparity in artistic production culminated in the Baroque during in the
seventeenth century.
17
i. Subject Matter
In the Catholic nations and states such as France and Rome, hierarchy of the genres
was practised, with the most highly regarded subject matter being history painting,
followed by portraiture, landscape, and finally still-life. Art created in Catholic Europe
remained predominantly large-scale history paintings with religious, mythological or
allegorical subject matter. Two examples of these are The Adoration of the Golden Calf by
Nicolas Poussin (PLATE 1) and Landscape with the Marriage of Isaac and Rebekah by
Claude Lorrain (PLATE 3). Throughout Europe portraits of important figures were
frequently used as a form of political and social propaganda.13 Examples of this are the
afore mentioned equestrian portraits by Rembrandt (PLATE 11) and Van Dyck (PLATE
12). Portraiture was also sometimes incorporated into historical narratives through the
inclusion of the patron as a witness to an event such as Minerva protecting Pax from Mars
('Peace and War') by Peter Paul Rubens (PLATE 13). During the seventeenth century the
historical tradition of the use of expensive blue pigment for the depiction of important
figures continued as is evident in The Virgin in Prayer by Giovanni Battista Salvi
'Sassoferrato' (PLATE 4) and Mignard's painting (PLATE16), which both contain costly
ultramarine. Despite the prominence of portraiture and historical painting in Catholic
Europe there was also a demand for smaller-scaled landscapes and still-lives, these have
however received less attention in art history studies to date.
Art in the Reformed states and nations, such as England, Germany and the United
Provinces is in stark contrast to that of Catholic Europe. Seventeenth-century art of
northern Europe was dominated by portraits and landscapes and still-lives.14 Although
religion may play an important role in the choice of subject matter, the nature of the art
market may also limit the subject matter. 15 Still-lifes and landscapes such as The Avenue at
Middelharnis by Meindert Hobbema (PLATE 8), and A View of Cologne by van der
Heyden (PLATE 5) are subjects typical to paintings created for the art market and would
have been sold alongside works similar in subject to (FIGs. 6 and 7). While portraits from
18
the
Catholic south were items of political propaganda, promoting the sitter, their wealth and
their taste, portraits from the Protestant north were predominantly images promoting the
moral virtues of the sitters as demonstrated above in the Pierre Mignard (PLATE 16) and
Frans Hals (PLATE 9) example. The style of art in northern Europe was not stagnant, but
evolved throughout the century. This is most noticeable in the art from the United
Provinces, a group of states which were themselves developing into a nation. In the United
Provinces during the 1620s the demand for large scale historical subjects and works that
demanded minuscule details, such as still-lives declined.16 While, “There was a general
tendency in all genres, after around 1645, towards larger canvases, more sophisticated and
complex subjects, more grandeur and more vivid colouring.”17 The causes for these
dramatic changes will be covered in chapter IV.
ii. Colour
“This reform-minded iconoclasm was paralleled by a veritable “chromoclasm” that
has not yet been studied.”18 The Protestant position on colour is not explained by any
studies of iconoclasm.19 The war on colour was less violent and more subtle,20 targeting
colours that were “judged too vivid, rich or provocative.”21 Blue was not targeted during
the Reformation instead it was assimilated, as “an honest and temperate color [sic] evoking
the sky and spirit.”22 As demonstrated by A Young Woman standing at a Virginal by
Johannes Vermeer (PLATE 10). Evidence suggests that the absence of blue from the
system of liturgical colours resulted in the use of blue, by reformers for both “inside the
church and out, both in religious and in social and artistic practices.”23 A example in which
colour is used to identify the key figure in the painting is The Marquise de Seignelay and
Two of her Children (PLATE 16). The Marquise is draped in a robe painted with
ultramarine of the highest grade, the britches of her eldest son are painted with azurite
while the sea contains smalt.24
19
III.3. Art Market: Patronage versus the Early ‘Modern’25 Art Market
Patronage has historically been a significant component in the production of art.
The key figures in artistic patronage during the seventeenth century were the Catholic
church, autocratic rulers such as Louis XIV and other affluent individuals. In Italy, “court
patronage narrowed as compared with the glorious epoch of the Renaissance,”26 while in
France and Spain royal patronage dictated artistic fashion to the nobility.27 While Rome
was the centre of influence and patronage at the turn of the century, by the latter “part of
the century the centre of influence and patronage shifted to Versailles.”28
Patronage was not limited to the Catholic south, “in the early period of the Dutch
Golden Age nearly all purchasers of art of any value, and certainly practically all buyers of
paintings by artists of any note, belonged to the rank of the wealthy, usually merchants,
regents, officials and courtiers.”29 But the economic downturn reduced the demand for
commissions in addition to the price patrons were willing to pay.30
The role of art in society changed during the seventeenth century. While in previous
eras it was considered a luxury commodity only afforded by the wealthy, during the
seventeenth century art was increasingly seen as an investment.”31 “Art production is
inseparable from art market activity and in turn it is linked to the performance of the
domestic economy,”32 and throughout the century, paintings were considered a liquid asset,
used for purchases and debt settlements.33
i. Patronage
In a continuation of the Renaissance tradition, most art in Rome during the
seventeenth century was produced through a system of elite patronage.34 “Dominating this
economic activity was the court of the Church, with its wealthy Curia and extended
bureaucracy, which formed the backbone of the client-based, or demand-driven, patronage
system.”35 Wealth was distributed through the non-hereditary structure of the Church, and
by a system of privileges such as nepotism.36 During the seventeenth century ecclesiastical

20
patronage promoted the wealth and power of the church. Secular patronage operated in a
similar manner, promoting the wealth and power of the patron. Whereas art for the Church
was always religious in nature, secular patronage favoured portraits, allegories and
mythological subjects such as the Allegorical Figure of Grammar by Laurent de la Hyre
(PLATE 15) other examples are the afore mentioned (PLATEs 13 and 16).
Beginning in the fourteenth century, the emphasis on the use of “precious pigments
became less prominent, [while] a demand for pictorial skill becomes more so.”37 The
financial expenses incurred by an artist were sometimes distinguished from labour costs,
and a “client might provide the costlier pigments and pay the painter for his time and
skill.”38 In the fifteenth century great attention was paid to colour and pigment quality.
Contracts of the period sometimes stipulated the use of ultramarine, and some even make
reference to a specific pigment quality or grade.39 Different grades of pigment were still
available in the seventeenth century, and although the use of specific pigments was still
stipulated, the patron was less likely to demand the use of a particular grade.40 By the
seventeenth century only the cost of the stretcher, the priming and ultramarine were
covered by the patron.41 Ultramarine was the only pigment on which the price was
negotiated because it was so expensive.42
ii. The Early ‘Modern’ Art Market
Although patronage occurred in Protestant countries and states, it remained
predominantly a Catholic phenomenon. Due to the disdain for religious imagery, “church
patronage disappeared in the areas dominated by the Calvinists.”43 In their place, “a newly
wealthy group of middle and upper middle class emerged as potential customers for
paintings.”44 These individuals did not commission works or art, but would buy a painting
already finished, or near completion either directly from the artist himself or an art dealer.
Artists produced works of art, in anticipation of a sale, without waiting for a commission.45
It is apparent that certain subjects were less feasible for this type of market. Landscapes,
21
such as the previously discussed A view of Cologne (PLATE 5) and The Avenue at
Middelharnis (PLATE 8) and still-lifes however,“which also include architectural pictures,
battle pieces and genre painting, lent themselves particularly well to art dealing.”46 “They
did not, moreover, have problematic subjects and so could be produced without any contact
between patron and painter about the subject matter. They could be painted for an
anonymous buyer.”47 While portraiture, in particular, is impossible in such a market
system.
The ‘modern’ art market that we know today has its roots in the seventeenth-
century system.48 The seventeenth-century art market, although dominant in northern
Europe, is not purely a northern phenomenon. Cities such as Rome and Naples had
comparable market systems. A developing tourist industry in Rome encouraged artists to
“keep in their studios a small number of pictures, often uncompleted ones, which they
showed to visiting clients as samples of their work. If found attractive, the picture would
then be finished once a suitable price had been agreed upon.”49 Salvator Rosa, for example
always had his “studio full of pictures ready for sale.”50 Finished works were also bought
and sold by other artists or art dealers.51 “Dealing connected the painter’s workshop to a
wider network of other painters and collectors. It also enables painters to strengthen and
diversify their audiences and to increase the viability and marketability of their careers.”52
The price of a painting during the seventeenth century was influenced by “the value of a
painting depended on the name of the artist, the age at which he or she created the work,
and the total number of paintings produced; also considered important was the provenance
of the painting.”53
“Little attention has been paid to the cost of making paintings, which affected
artists’ net earnings”54 Artists producing art for sale on the art market would have incurred
the cost of their materials themselves. Unless he was under contract and the materials were
provided for in the conditions of the contract.55 Without a contract the price of materials
used in works created for the art market are difficult to come by. Only excellent record
22
keeping by an artist would provide that sort of information. Therefore, the price of
pigments in art market locations should be obtained from records of the pigment traders
themselves. Vermeer used smalt in many of his early works, 56 such as The Little Street
(FIG. 8). Later works, contain expensive ultramarine and Naples yellow57 such as Young
Woman with a Water Jug (FIG. 9).This suggests that Vermeer began painting for the art
market using cheap materials he purchased himself, and that later, he was able to purchase
for his own pleasure or for that of a patron, the more expensive pigments. This is supported
by the fact that “in the case of blues, the most abundantly available pigment in
seventeenth-century Holland was certainly smalt.”58 This supports the contemporary theory
of the importance of Vermeer in his own time. Scientific analysis of the paint pigments
used in the two Vermeer’s owned by the National Gallery A Young Woman standing at a
Virginal (PLATE 10) and A Woman seated at a Virginal (FIG. 10) may lead to more
conclusive dating of these works.
The growing demand for paintings by popular artists lead to a supply in copies,59
these copies were produced by students, followers and even sometimes by the artist
himself. One example of this is Landscape with the Marriage of Isaac and Rebekah by
Claude Lorraine (PLATE 3). There is another version of this work also by Claude, with
minor variations60 at Galleria Doria Pamphilj in Rome entitled The Mill (FIG.11). It is
plausible that followers and copiers of works might not purchase the same, or the same
grade of pigment as the artist and in some instances, an authentic work might be
distinguishable from a copy through the pigment analysis. The art market is plagued by
copies, versions and later replicas of original masterpieces, thorough investigation through
scientific analysis may aide appraisers, connoisseurs and dealers in distinguishing an
authentic work from the less valuable copies. Greater knowledge of pigment use and
practices of the past may answer questions of attribution and authorship in the future.
23
CHAPTER IV.
TRADE AND TRADE ROUTES
24
IV.1. Economic Climate
A growing sense of national identity coupled with the goal to amass “treasure by a
single country became a conscious aim of policy,”1 enabled the seventeenth century to be a
period of expansion and colonization beyond the borders of Europe. The establishment of
colonies and settlements enabled nations to increase there trade both within and outside of
Europe.
Prior to the expansion of maritime trade, the ‘silk road’ (Appendix VI) was
commonly used to transport goods from east to west.2 Spices, silk and other commodities
such as indigo and lapis lazuli, were transported along these routes to European trading
centres, such as Genoa and Venice. From these trading centres, commodities would be
transported over land to northern cities (Appendix VIII) and by sea to the Iberian
Peninsula (Appendix IX).
The Seventeenth century saw a “shift in the pattern of trade between northern
Europe and the Mediterranean.”3 The decline of Antwerp as an entrepôt was marked by the
sacking of the city in 1576.4 This enabled Hamburg to become the primary northern
European trading centre from 1584 until the 1630s at which time the sea routes became
more popular.5 Amsterdam eventually replaced Antwerp as the principal entrepôt in the
North Sea. 6 “The seventeenth century is normally regarded as a time of crisis for the
Mediterranean World.”7 As a result of their maritime activities, commerce in Amsterdam
and London expanded rapidly, while Mediterranean cities such as Venice suffered relative
decline.8 These northern cities gradually replaced Venice, as key trading centres in Europe.9
From the dawn of the seventeenth century new transoceanic routes promoted north-
south mercantile trade within Europe, and many commodities were increasingly
transported via these sea routes.10 “The great sea explorers who opened new trade routes
east and west were driven by the aim of trading directly with the mythic countries that
produced spices and colorants [sic].”11 In addition, “they were looking to avoid paying tolls
and taxes to the intermediaries encountered on the land routes.”12 Despite lengthy sea
25
voyages and dangers, including piracy and storms, the potential for profit through maritime
trade was enormous.13 Indigo became a “major trading item,”14as a result of the mercantile
trade of the seventeenth century.
Information regarding the actual routes of transportation by individual pigments
during the seventeenth century is not well documented. It may be assumed that they
followed similar routes used by other commodities during the seventeenth century. Azurite
was transported principally from Ottoman occupied Hungary to Venice in the early part of
the seventeenth century. 15 Indigo, regardless of its origins travelled by sea, “the largest
emporia were Amsterdam and London,”16 but Guatemalan indigo entered Europe at
Seville.17 “Lapis was valuable enough to be bought and sold like jewels, in relatively small
quantities and usually carried in the merchant’s personal effects (this might also have
helped avoid import duties).”18
Specific aspects of seventeenth century trade make it difficult for contemporary
historians to analyse the pigment trade. “The evaluation of the prices of the individual
products is a problem. The buying power of the currencies is not known, nor are we
currently able to interconvert [sic] the currencies of individual towns.”19 During the period
cartels20 formed in the pigment market and “Sailors traded unofficially in these imported
goods, as did quack doctors and persons from a shady underworld.”21 The wide spread
smuggling during the period made it difficult “to measure the extent of commerce within
Europe,”22 By extension, it is impossible to currently evaluate the seventeenth century
pigment trade. The use of diplomatic pouches as well as black markets and smuggling
make it impossible to accurately estimate the state of the pigment trade during the
seventeenth century without further research.
IV.2. Political Climate
Despite the artistic production that took place in the seventeenth century, the period
was marred by wars and struggles for religious, political and economical control. “Rivalry
26
and warfare among the great powers of Europe”23 was such that they “were at peace in
only a single year during the period 1600 to 1667.” 24 The shear volume and complexity of
the wars of the seventeen century are too extensive to discuss in detail in this section
(Appendix X). Instead, this part will focus on the impact of wars on trade and the
implications that these wars had on the pigment trade and trade routes in particular.
The range of available pigments was reduced during the Thirty Years’ War (1618-
1648).25 Similarly, embargoes effected the availability, and hence the price of pigments.
The Spanish embargo on the United Provinces prevented many commodities from entering
the United Provinces through their usual route. Items such as ultramarine were still
available in the Low Countries, brought there by indirect routes, but its high cost must
have made it almost prohibitively expensive even for the most successful artist.”26 It has
been suggested that the embargoes influenced the choice of pigments used by artists in the
United Provinces. It was during the 1620s that artists began to systematically avoid vivid
pigments, “restricting themselves to a very limited range of readily available and cheap
‘earth pigments.”27 This is supported by the notable changes in the colour palettes of such
artists as Rembrandt and Jan Lievens,28 and a return to the more vivid palette of the 1620s
after 1646.29
IV.3. Judicial Climate
As previously discussed, the enforcement of local sumptuary laws, influenced the
choice and use of specific pigments in painting. Another legal implication, on the
availability and trade of pigments, was the toxicity of certain pigments or their
ingredients.30 As a result, many pigments were only available from a trained pharmacist.31
During the 17th century the Latin term pigmentum was used in reference to drugs as well as
pigments,32 and certain substances were stocked with dual purpose.33 Therefore, in addition
to fulfilling legal requirements, it was also practical from a business standpoint, that the
27
apothecary was the principal supplier of pigments. This role of the apothecary, as the
accepted supplier of pigments, is verified by documents from the period.34
i. Apothecaries, Grocers and Pigment Traders
Generally speaking, many pigments or their constituents were controlled
substances throughout Europe and were only available through a pharmacy or apothecary.
However, other pigments were apparently less rigorously regulated and were obtainable
from other merchants. The types of merchants and their specific wares varied from town to
town, sometimes regulated by local laws. The role played by the pharmacist regarding
“their function as traders of artists’ materials has been largely overlooked until now.”35
It is an area of research currently under investigation.36 As a result, an extensive description
of the types of merchants and the pigments they sold in not feasible at this time. However,
a summary of the some of the merchants selling pigments in different areas of Europe are
described below.
It is in Venice, historically one of the principal supply centres for the pigment trade
in Europe,37 where the first noticeable changes in the types of pigments merchants occur.
The occupation of vendecolori or ‘pigment trader’ first appeared in Venice around the
thirteenth century.38 It has been argued that “easel painters must have constituted a
relatively small part of the clientèle of the vendecolori, for such a specialised trade could
only have developed in response to a particularly strong demand.”39
During the seventeenth century, in Delft, “apothecaries and grocers supplied
medicinal herbs and spices as well as painting materials for artists.”40 However, it was the
city surgeon who maintained control over the preparation and storage of pigments.41 By the
“last quarter of the sixteenth century a figure officially termed a “grocer”, who dealt in
herbs, spices, and painter’s supplies, had developed out of the former specialist
apothecary.”42 Provisions and supplies were obtained from “wholesale dealers in drugs and
provisions,”43 which were then refined by the grocer into pigment form.44
28
The Münchner Taxenprojekt has shown that even in small and relatively
unimportant towns, such as Kołobrzeg in Poland, the local pharmacy “provided absolutely
everything that a contemporary painter required.”45 This ongoing project demonstrates that
pharmacists in smaller towns, situated away from significant trade routes, would obtain
their supplies from the biannual trade fairs in cities such as Frankfurt, or Strasbourg.46 In
the United Provinces, grocers, under the supervision of a pharmacist, were occasionally
given permission to trade in artists’ materials. “It was only from about 1800 onwards that
shops specializing in artists’ materials took over this function from the pharmacy, at least in
large cities.”47
It has been suggested that artists were not restricted to their local pigment supplier
and that they would purchase supplies from dealers in other towns and cities. 48 The actual
merchant from which an artist obtained his pigments varied from location to location, but
in all instances the pigments were for the most part regulated to some degree and were
obtainable from merchants who dealt with medicinal supplies or herbs and spices.
IV.4. Meteorological Climate
An important factor that has yet to be discussed in regards to the pigment trade is
climatic changes or events.49 The impact of climate on trade is of particular relevance to the
seventeenth century. It falls within a period of climatic history, from the 15th through to the
19th century, known as the ‘Little Ice Age’. Evidence suggests that the Little Ice Age was a
global event in which Europe and other parts of the world were gripped by an extensive
cold spell,50 the coldest part of the Little Ice Age known as the Maunder Minimum which
lasted from the mid seventeenth century into the early eighteenth century.53 Other
meteorological events during the seventeenth century which may have influence trade
include two large volcanic eruptions; Huaynaputina in Peru in 160051, and Mount Parker on
Mindanao in 164152
29
i. Volcanic eruptions
The largest historical volcanic eruption in the Andes,54 took place in 1600A.D. with
the eruption of Huaynaputina (VEI=6)55 in Peru. It is thought to be one of the largest
eruptions of the half millennium.56 Evidence suggests that Huaynaputina was comparable
or greater in magnitude than that of Krakatoa which erupted in 1883.57 The Huaynaputina
eruption may have triggered a short term cooling event in the Northern Hemisphere in
1601.58 However, since Huaynaputina erupted after the onset of the Little Ice Age one can
conclude that it “did not trigger a change in climate.”59 The eruption of Mount Parker
(VEI=6)60 in 1641 had a similar short term impact on the Northern Hemisphere.61
ii. Maunder Minimum
The Maunder Minimum decreased the winter temperatures in Europe from 1° to
1.5° C.62 This slight dip in temperature was to have an enormous impact across the whole
of Europe. Glaciers in the Alps advanced destroying whole communities,63 while in
northern Europe, rivers, such as the Thames, froze.64 The build-up of the glacial ice led to a
drop in worldwide sea-levels.65 Research suggests that despite the lower sea-levels during
the Maunder Minimum, there were “more frequent and more severe storms in the southern
part of the North Sea,”66 which resulted in disastrous floods in England, Flanders and the
United Provinces. Thus, the sea conditions in the North Atlantic amplified the
meteorological changes in the region.67 On land, the climate change is thought to have
reduced crop yields, and may be partially responsible for the agrarian recession endured in
the latter part of the seventeenth century.68
The Maunder Minimum undoubtedly influenced both trade and the trade routes of
many supplies in the seventeenth century. An important factor that hampered mobility and
trade during the Little Ice Age was that “snow cover lasted longer into the spring.”69
With glacial advancement, trade routes were impassable for an extended period of time,
forcing merchants to follow other, usually longer, routes to their destination. A longer route
30
usually means greater transportation costs, thus driving up the price of the commodities
being transported. The sea routes, especially those through the North Atlantic were also
affected by climatic changes. A long and treacherous ocean voyage to a distant land was
made more dangerous and unpredictable because of the sea conditions off the north
European coast.
Considering that in the twentieth century, even with the aide of modern technology,
Lapis Lazuli can only be mined in Afghanistan for five months of the year because of
impassable routes from Kabul.70 It is feasible that the supply of Lapis Lazuli and many
other commodities utilizing the same trade routes, during the seventeenth century were
hampered by weather conditions and climatic changes impeding trade.
31
CHAPTER V.
CONCLUSION
32
This work merely skims the surface of the complex nature of the trade in blue pig-
ments in Western Europe during the seventeenth century. The types of blue pigments used
during this period are fairly straightforward since all the pigments, with the exception of
blue verditer, are obtained from natural resources. This facilitates the process of tracking
their place of origin, especially in the case of ultramarine which had only one source dur-
ing the entire century.
The impact and legacy of sumptuary laws and the ensuing Reformation on soci-
ety and taste should not be underestimated. Although the colour blue was not a targeted
during the Reformation, the predominantly monochromatic palate decreased the demand
for bright and vivid clothing. This chromoclasm has not yet been studied but would shed
light on the subject of taste. The introduction of the art market in Northern Europe was
another important factor which I anticipated would influence an artist's choice in pig-
ments.
I hypothesized that these factors would influence the choice in pigments of artist
working in a Protestant country. I was expecting artists working in Northern Europe to
utilized smalt, indigo and azurite in their works, with little or no use of ultramarine blue.
However I was genuinely surprised by the significant number of the Northern paintings,
utilizing ultramarine. Although most frequently 'watered down' with lead white, I am sur-
prised by these findings and although this sample is too small to draw a conclusion, it is
an interesting result and required further investigation.
Maritime trade, initiated in the seventeenth century, was dominated by England
and the United Provinces, it competed with the long established silk road. As a result, the
ports of entry of goods into Europe was no longer restricted to Genoa or Venice. The nu-
merous wars and political upheaval impacted all aspects of daily life and the trade routes
were no exception. The wars and resulting embargoes raised the price of many commodit-
ies. It is most certainly plausible that the Thirty Years Wars triggered the muted earthy
palate found in painters from the United Provinces between 1620 and 1646. Only two
paintings included in this study were painted in the north during this period, although they
each contain ultramarine blue pigment both works were painted on commission and in
England during peacetime. The judicial regulation of many pigments or their constituents,
as a controlled substance, restricted the marketability of many pigments to apothecaries.
Climate can also effect trade. A short term impact such as may have beenfelt with
the eruption of Huaynaputina was probably only minimal in Europe and would not have
lasted much longer than one season. However, the impact of the Little Ice Age and the
Maunder Minimum are still being investigated by scientists and researchers today.
33
Prior to the maritime trade, exotic goods entering Europe travelled from south to
north over land. The new maritime trade increased the importance of northern European
cities, especially Amsterdam as a port of entry for exotic goods. There is a high number of
paintings executed in the north of Europe containing ultramarine in this study. Despite, or
possibly as a result of, the political turmoil and embargoes ultramarine somehow made its
way north, where despite my hypothesis, it was “frequently” used in paintings, although a
larger sample is needed to draw a definitive conclusion.
The subject of this thesis requires further investigation, the following should be
considered by future researchers. The inconsistent spelling and terms used for pigments as
well as other drugs and minerals complicate the task of following the pigments once they
leave their point of origin. Poor, inaccurate and frequently non-existent documentation by
merchants, traders, apothecaries, artists and others compound the problem. Locating these
documents in archives throughout Europe was an obstacle that this particular researcher
was unable to overcome in the time allotted for this study. Social and cultural aspects
should not be overlooked in regards to their influence on the use of pigments and the sub-
sequently local pockets of pigment trade. Social norms, taste, religion, and even the local
art market itself are all important factors which influence the use of pigments and impact
the pigment trade. The choice of pigment used, therefore cannot be merely ascribed to
economic factors as social and cultural values may have influenced the selection process.
The dynamic political and economic shifts during the seventeenth century are reflected in
the art of the Baroque, and should be considered in any study the seventeenth century. An-
other component, so far over looked in all other studies of the pigment trade, is the met-
eorological impact. Did the colder climate make the traditional route from Afghanistan to
Venice impassable for an extended period of time that pigment merchants utilized mari-
time trade routes? Does this explain the apparent abundant utilization of ultramarine blue
in the paintings within this study? Or are these findings a mere anomaly and is ultramar-
ine pigment not as prevalent in art from the north compared to art from the south of
Europe. This study had some surprising results and raises some interesting questions, I
hope to answer definitively at some point in the future.
A single thesis cannot do justice to the vast area of study that is the pigment trade.
This uncharted area of art history requires extensive and dedicated research into documents
and archives. There are many questions yet unanswered, I hope that my thesis sheds light
onto the trade in blue pigments during the seventeenth century and will benefit future his-
torians on this, or a similar path.
34
APPENDIX I
Table Showing the Historical Use of Pigments1
1
This table is taken from LAURIE, A. P. (1914). The pigments and mediums of the old masters, with a special
chapter on microphotographic study of brushwork. London, p. 136
35
APPENDIX II
Azurite
Azurite in pigment form

Reproduced by Permission of the Scientific Department, National Galley, London.
Azurite x 275 under transmitted light

36
APPENDIX III
Indigo
Indigo in pigment form

Indigo x 220 under transmitted light

37
APPENDIX IV
Ultramarine
Ultramarine in pigment form

Ultramarine x 110 under transmitted light

38
APPENDIX V
Smalt
Smalt in pigment form

39
APPENDIX VI
Map showing the Silk Road 2
2
This map is taken from: DREGE, J.-P., & BUHRER, E. M. (1989). The Silk Road saga. Oxford, p.36-37.
40
APPENDIX VII
Map showing the Spice Routes 3
3
This map is taken from: BOHUN, SEAN C (1996) ‘The Spice Trade’, in Maritime Museum of British Columbia
Internet Publication, http://collections.ic.gc.ca/maritime_museum/index.html (accessed 15-09-2004).
41
APPENDIX VIII
Map showing the North-South Terra firma Trade Routes 4
4
This map is taken from: PAGANO DE DIVITIIS, G. (1997). English merchants in seventeenth-century Italy.
Cambridge, U.K., p.
77.
42
APPENDIX IX
Map showing the important trade routes in use by the 16th century 5
5
This map is taken from: CHENCINER, R. (2000). Madder red: a history of luxury and trade : plant dyes and
pigments in world commerce and art. Richmond, p. 52.
43
APPENDIX X
A Summary of the Important Political Events of the 17th Century in Western Europe 6
1609: The start of a Twelve year truce between Spain and the United Provinces.
1610: Henry IV of France is murdered.
1617: Regency in France Terminated by force.
1621: Death of Philip III of Spain
1624: Anglo-French War
1625: Death of James VI/I of England and Scotland.
Surrender of Breda
1627: Siege of La Rochelle
War of Mantuan Succession
1629: English Parliament dissolved
1632: Major Rebellions in France which continue into the 1640s
1635: Franco-Spanish War, (-1659)
1636: France invaded by Hapsburg Army
1639: Spanish navy defeated by the Dutch
1642: English Civil War
1643: Death of Louis XIII
1648: Peace of Westphalia
1649: Charles I of England, beheaded
1652: Anglo-Dutch War
1655: Anglo-Spanish war, (-1659)
1660: Restoration of the English monarchy
1661: Death of Mazarin
6
MUNCK, T. (1990). Seventeenth century Europe: State, conflict and the social order in Europe 1598-1700.
Basingstoke, p. ix-xix.
44
1664: Anglo-Dutch War
1665: London Plague
1666: Great Fire of London
1667: French War of Devolution in Flanders (-1668)
1672: Franco-Dutch War (-1678)
1677: William of Orange marries Princess Mary Stuart
1683: Franco-Spanish War
1685: Death of Charles II
1694: Widespread famine in Europe
1700: Death of Philip IV of Spain
45
Glossary
Artificial Ultramarine Also known as ‘French Ultramarine’ it is an artificially

manufactured pigment invented in 1828.
Azur A heraldic term used to denote the colour blue.
Blue Verditer An artificially produced pigment similar in chemical

composition to azurite.
Chromoclasm A dislike for bright colour to the degree that one damages
works of art to remove vivid colours.
Entrepôt A Commercial centre where goods are received for

redistribution.
French Ultramarine see Artificial Ultramarine.
Iconoclasm The destruction of religious icons or images.
Iconolatry The worship of religious icons or images.
Indigofera (latin.) the genus of all indigo producing plants.
Isatis Tinctoria (latin.) the genus and species of the woad plant.
Lazurite Is the pigment bearing component in lapis lazuli.
Little Ice Age A period in history, from roughly the 15th through to the 19th
century, during which there was a general global drop in
temperature.
Liturgical Of, or pertaining to public worship.
Maunder Minimum The name given to the coldest period during the Little Ice
Age. During which time there is thought to have been a
decrease in the total energy output from the sun.
46
Münchner Taxenprojekt A research project that is examining the apothecaries’
pricelists as a new source of documentation regarding the
pigment trade.
Sumptuary laws Laws which were enacted as a means of social control over
society, by prohibiting certain colours and fashions
Taxae A type of public price provided by German pharmacies

during the early modern period.
Transmitted Light Is a type of lighting used with microscope technology,

whereby the source of the light is behind the object
VEI is the abbreviation for Volcanic Explosivity Index. This index

is used by volcanologists to measure the severity of a
volcanic eruption using the numbers 0 through 8, with 8
being the most severe eruption.
Vendecolori (Italian) – literally means a ‘seller of colours’. The name

given to pigment vendors in Venice.
47
CATALOGUE
48
PLATE 1
Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665)

The Adoration of the Golden Calf
1634-1635
Oil on canvas laid down on board, 154.3 x 214 cm.
NG 5597
49
PLATE 1
Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665)

The Adoration of the Golden Calf
1634-1635
Oil on canvas laid down on board, 154.3 x 214 cm.
NG 5597
Provenance7
NG 5597 was commissioned by Amadeo dal Pozzo, and was painted by Poussin in Italy.
In the Collection of Amadeo del Pozzo by 1634
Bought by Sir Jacob Bouverie (later Viscount Folkstone), 1741
Bought with a contribution from the NACF, 1945
Exhibitions8
1873, London, R.A.,Exhibition of the Works of the Old Masters (155)

1903, London, R.A.,Exhibition of the Works of the Old Masters (63)
1932, London, R.A.,Exhibition of Franch Art 1200-1900 (143, no. 123 in cat.)
1945-46, London, N.G., Exhibition in Honour of Sir Robert Witt (18)
1960, Paris, Louvre, Nicolas Poussin (38)
Selected Bibliography9
BLUNT, A. (1966). The paintings of Nicolas Poussin. Critical catalogue. London, p.66
MEROT, A., & POUSSIN, N. (1990). Nicolas Poussin. London, p. 255
NATIONAL GALLERY (GREAT BRITAIN), & DAVIES, M. (1957). French school.
London, p 177-9.
NATIONAL GALLERY (GREAT BRITAIN), & WINE, H. (2001). The seventeenth
century French paintings. London, p. 312-323.
POUSSIN, N., & THUILLIER, J. (1974). L'opera completa di Poussin. Milano, p. 96.
WILD, D., & POUSSIN, N. (1980). Nicolas Poussin. Zurich, p. 64.
WRIGHT, C. (1985). Poussin, paintings: a catalogue raisonne. London, p. 180.
Blue Pigments10: ultramarine and smalt
The greyer areas in the sky contain smalt, while the bluer parts use ultramarine. The blue
draperies are painted with ultramarine, dark draperies use an ultramarine glaze over black.
7
NATIONAL GALLERYComplete Illustrated Catalogue on CD-ROM, version 3.0, Expanded Edition,
London, 2001.
8
NATIONAL GALLERY (GREAT BRITAIN), & WINE, H. (2001). The seventeenth century French
paintings. London, p. 314.
9
NATIONAL GALLERYComplete Illustrated Catalogue on CD-ROM.
10
paintings.op. cit., p. 317.
50
PLATE 2
Annibale Carracci (1560-1609)

Christ appearing to Saint Anthony Abbot during his Temptation
ca. 1598
Oil on copper, 49.5 x 34.4 cm.
NG 198
51
PLATE 2
Annibale Carracci (1560-1609)

Christ appearing to Saint Anthony Abbot during his Temptation11
ca. 1598
Oil on copper, 49.5 x 34.4 cm.
NG 198
Provenance
Villa Borghese, Rome, 1650

Purchased 1846
NATIONAL GALLERY (GREAT BRITAIN), & LEVEY, M. (1971). The seventeenth and
eighteenth century Italian schools. London, p. 69-70.
POSNER, D. (1971). Annibale Carracci; a study in the reform of Italian painting around
1590. London, p. 46.
NG 198 is considered a work dating from Carracci’s early Roman period
Blue Pigments:13 azurite and ultramarine
The sky is composed of ultramarine mixed with lead white over azurite mixed with lead
white.
11
NATIONAL GALLERY, Complete Illustrated Catalogue on CD-ROM.
12
13
Scientific Department National Gallery, London.
52
PLATE 3
Claude Gellée ‘ Le Lorrain’ (1604/5? - 1682)

Landscape with the Marriage of Isaac and Rebekah ‘The Mill’
1648
Oil on canvas, 149.2 x 196.9 cm.
NG 12
53
PLATE 3

Landscape with the Marriage of Isaac and Rebekah ‘The Mill’
1648
NG 12
Signed and dated bottom right: CLAVDIO.G.L. (perhaps over GILLE) / I.N.V. ROMAE
1648/.F
Inscribed on the tree stump in the foreground : MARI(age)/DISAC/AVEC/REBECA
Provenance14
Bought by Duc de Bouillon, 1648

Purchased with the J.J. Angerstein Collection, 1824
Exhibitions15
1994, London, N.G., Claude, The Poetic Landscape (21)
KITSON, M. (1978). Claude Lorrain, Liber veritatis. London, p. 121-3.

LORRAIN, C., ROTHLISBERGER, M. G., & CECCHI, D. (1975). L'opera completa di
Claude Lorrain. Milano, p. 109.
London, p. 35-42
ROETHLISBERGER, M., & LORRAIN, C. (1961). Claude Lorrain: the paintings.
London, p.279-85.
WINE, H. (1994). Claude: the poetic landscape. London, p.75.
NG 12, as inscribed on the tree stump, was painted in Rome
Blue Pigments17: ultramarine
Finely ground ultramarine was mixed with lead white for the sky.
14
15
paintings. op. cit., p. 66.
16
17
paintings. op. cit.
54
PLATE 4
Giovanni Battista Salvi ‘Sassoferrato’ (1609-1685)

The Virgin in Prayer
1640-50
Oil on canvas, 73 x 57.7 cm.
NG 200
55
PLATE 4
Giovanni Battista Salvi ‘Sassoferrato’ (1609-1685)

The Virgin in Prayer18
1640-50
NG 200
Provenance
Bequeathed by Richard Simmons, 1846
eighteenth century Italian schools. London, p. 207-208.
SASSOFERRATO, MACE DE LEPINAY, F., CUPPINI SASSI, S., & ZAMPETTI, P.
(1990).Giovan Battista Salvi, "Il Sassoferrato" / Francois Mace de Lepinay, Pietro
Zampetti, Silvia Cuppini Sassi]. [Milano], p. 86.
NG 200 was probably a private devotional piece based on a composition by Guido Reni.
Blue Pigments:20 ultramarine
The Blue robe of the Virgin was painted using ultramarine mixed with lead white.
18
19
NATIONAL GALLERY, Complete Illustrated Catalogue on CD-ROM
20
56
PLATE 5
Jan van der Heyden (1637-1712)

A View of Cologne
ca. 1660-1665
Oil on oak, 33.1 x 42.9 cm.
NG 866
57
PLATE 5
Jan van der Heyden (1637-1712)

A View of Cologne21
ca. 1660-1665
NG 866
Signed, lower left: J.V.D.H.
Provenance
Possibly Petronella de la Court sale, Amsterdam, 1707

Collection of Sir Robert Peel, Bt, by 1834
Purchased with the Peel Collection, 1871
MACLAREN, N., & BROWN, C. (1991). The Dutch School, 1600-1900. London, p.169-
171.
Blue Pigments:23 ultramarine and smalt
The sky consists of ultramarine mixed with lead white over smalt mixed with lead white.
21
22
23
58
PLATE 6
Anthony Van Dyck (1599-1641)

Portrait of a Woman and Child
ca. 1620-1621
NG 3011
59
PLATE 6

Portrait of a Woman and Child24
ca. 1620-1621
NG 3011
Provenance
Recorded in the Palazzo Balbi, Genoa, 1758

In the Collection of Sir Abraham Hume by 1815
Bought from a descendant (Earl Brownlow) in 1914
BROWN, C. (1987). The National Gallery Schools of Painting: Flemish paintings.

London, p.76.
LARSEN, E. (1988). The paintings of Anthony van Dyck. Freren, Luca.
NATIONAL GALLERY (LONDON), & MARTIN, G. (1970). The Flemish school: circa
1600-circa 1900. London, p.47-48.
ROY, A. (1999). The National Gallery Van Dycks: technique and development. National
Gallery Technical Bulletin / Publ. by Order of the Trustees, Publications Department,
National Gallery, London. 51-55.
NG 3011 was most likely painted by Van Dyck either in Antwerp, right before his
departure for Italy, or upon his arrival in Genoa in 1621. Recent technical analysis26
suggests that it was painted in Antwerp and as such in included in the Spanish Netherlands
part of the exhibition.
Blue Pigments:27 azurite and smalt
The sky is composed of among other pigments, smalt. Azurite is present in cheeks of the
child. Azurite is also suspected in the complexion of the woman.
24
25
26
ROY, A. (1999). The National Gallery Van Dycks: technique and development. National Gallery Technical
Bulletin / Publ. by Order of the Trustees, Publications Department, National Gallery, London, pp.51-55.
27
ROY, A. (1999). The National Gallery Van Dycks: technique and development, op. cit., pp. 52.
60
PLATE 7

Charity
ca. 1627-1628
Oil on oak, 148.2 x 107.5 cm.
NG 6494
61
PLATE 7

Charity28
ca. 1627-1628
Oil on oak, 148.2 x 107.5 cm.
NG 6494
Provenance
Goubau Collection, Antwerp, by 1763

Bought for Sir James Lowther, 1763
Bought from his descendant, the Earl of Lonsdale, 1984
BROWN, C. (1987). Flemish paintings. London, p. 82.

National Gallery, London. pp.63-66
Blue Pigments:30 indigo, ultramarine, smalt
The blue drapery consists of sections of ultramarine and ultramarine glaze over indigo in
the under layers. The sky contains of smalt.
28
29
30
ROY, A. (1999). The National Gallery Van Dycks: technique and development, op. cit., pp. 65-66.
62
PLATE 8
Meindert Hobbema (1599-1641)

The Avenue at Middelharnis
1689
Oil on canvas, 103.5 x 141 cm.
NG 830
63
PLATE 8
Meindert Hobbema (1599-1641)

The Avenue at Middelharnis31
1689
NG 830
Signed and dated bottom right: M: hobbema / 1689
Provenance
Collection of Theodorus Kruislander (died 1782)

Hung in the town hall of Middelharnis from 1782 until sold in 1822
Collection of Sir Robert Peel, by 1834
Purchased with the Peel Collection, 1871
MACLAREN, N., & BROWN, C. (1991). The Dutch School, 1600-1900. London, p. 176-
179.
Blue Pigments:33 smalt
The sky consists of smalt mixed with lead white.
31
NATIONAL GALLERY, Complete Illustrated Catalogue on CD-ROM..
32
33
64
PLATE 9
Frans Hals (ca. 1580? - 1666)

A Family Group in a Landscape
ca. 1647-1650
NG 2285
65
PLATE 9
Frans Hals (ca. 1580? - 1666)

A Family Group in a Landscape34
ca. 1647-1650
NG 2285
Provenance
Perhaps in the Buckingham House sale, London, 1763

Purchased from Lord Talbot of Malahide Castle, near Dublin, 1908
Selected Bibliography
157.
SLIVE, S. (1970-1974). Frans Hals / [in 3 vols]. London, Phaidon.
Blue Pigments: 35 smalt
Smalt is present in the blue-grey areas of the sky.
34
35
66
PLATE 10
Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675)

A Young Woman standing at a Virginal
ca. 1670
NG 1383
67
PLATE 10

A Young Woman standing at a Virginal36
ca. 1670
NG 1383
Signed on the side of the Virginal: IVMeer (or IMeer, the capitals in monogram).
Provenance
Possibly in the Collection of Diego Duarte, Antwerp, 1682

Collection of Etienne-Joseph-Théophile Thoré (Thoré-Burger), Paris by 1866
Purchased in 1892
COSTARAS, N. (1998). A study of the materials and techniques of Johannes

Vermeer.Studies in the History of Art / Publ. by the National Gallery of Art,
Washington. 144-167.
468.
WHEELOCK, A. K. (1998). Jan Vermeer. New York, Abradale. p. 152-153.
Blue Pigments: 38 None
No blue pigments have yet been located in the areas sampled. But blue is suspected of
being present.39
36
37
38
39
COSTARAS, N. (1998). A study of the materials and techniques of Johannes Vermeer.Studies in the
History of Art / Publ. by the National Gallery of Art, Washington. pp. 157.
68
PLATE 11
Rembrandt Van Rijn (1606-1669)

Portrait of Frederick Rihel on Horseback
probably 1663
NG 6300
69
PLATE 11
Rembrandt Van Rijn (1606-1669)

Portrait of Frederick Rihel on Horseback40
probably 1663
NG 6300
Signed left: R. .brandt 166(3?)
Provenance
Count Ferdinand of Plettenberg and Witten sale, Amsterdam, 1738

Collection of the 2nd Earl of Cowper by about 1750
Collection of the Earls of Cowper, Panshanger
Purchased with a special Grant and contributions from the NACF and the Pilgrim Trust,
1959
BOMFORD, D., BROWN, C., & ROY, A. (1988). Art in the making, Rembrandt.
[London], National Gallery Publications. p. 134-139.
BREDIUS, A., & GERSON, H. (1969). Rembrandt. p. 568-569.
BROWN, C. (1976). Art in seventeenth century Holland: the National Gallery, 30th
September to 12th December 1976 : a loan exhibition. London, National Gallery. p. 78-79.
MACLAREN, N., & BROWN, C. (1991). The Dutch School, 1600-1900. London, p.358-
362.
The sky consists of a top layer of smalt over smalt mixed with lead white.
40
41
42
70
PLATE 12

Equestrian Portrait of Charles I
ca. 1637-1638
NG 1172
71
PLATE 12

Equestrian Portrait of Charles I43
ca. 1637-1638
NG 1172
Inscribed on the tablet hanging on the tree: CAROLUS / REX MAGNAE / BRITANIAE
(Charles King of Great Britain).
Provenance
Painted for King Charles I

At Hampton Court Palace by 1639
Sold to Sir Balthazar Gerbier, 1650
Purchased in Antwerp by Duke Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria, 1698
Looted from Munich by Emperor Joseph I and presented by him to the 1st Duke of
Marborough, 1706
Purchased from the 8th Duke of Marlborough, 1885
BROWN, C. (1987). Flemish paintings. London, p. 92

LARSEN, E. (1988). The paintings of Anthony van Dyck. Freren, Luca.
MARTIN, G. (1970). National Gallery catalogues: the Flemish School circa 1600 - circa
1900. London, p. 41-47.
National Gallery, London. pp.77-79.
STRONG, R. (1972). Van Dyck: Charles I on horseback.
Blue Pigments:45 ultramarine and smalt
The sky consists of smalt mixed with lead white with a top layer of ultramarine mixed with
lead white in the brighter blue areas.
Cross section of from the bright blue sky in NG 1172

43
44
45
ROY, A. (1999). The National Gallery Van Dycks: technique and development. op. cit.,
p.79.
72
PLATE 13
Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640)

Minerva protecting Pax from Mars ‘Peace and War’
1629-30
NG 46
73
PLATE 13

Minerva protecting Pax from Mars ‘Peace and War’46
1629-30
NG 46
Provenance
Gift to Charles I, 1629-30

Presented by the Duke of Sutherland, 1828
BROWN, C., & RUBENS, P. P. (1979). 'Peace and War' Minerva protects Pax from Mars
by Rubens. London, National Gallery.
BROWN, C. (1987). Flemish paintings. London, National Gallery Publications, National
Gallery. p.40.
HUGHES, A. (1980). Naming the unnameable: an iconographical problem in Rubens's
'Peace and War'. The Burlington Magazine / Ed. Benedict Nicolson. 157-165.
JAFFE, M., & RUBENS, P. P. (1989). Rubens: catalogo completo. Milano, Rizzoli., p. 314
MARTIN, G. (1970). National Gallery catalogues: the Flemish School circa 1600 - circa
1900. London, p. 116-125.
ROY, A. (1999). Rubens's "Peace and War". National Gallery Technical Bulletin / Publ. by
Order of the Trustees, Publications Department, National Gallery, London. 89-95.
Blue Pigments:48 azurite, indigo and ultramarine
Azurite and indigo are present in the drapery around the waste of the woman carrying the
treasure. Azurite is also present in the foliage on the right and the darker details of the
landscape. The sky contains ultramarine and ultramarine over azurite mixed with white.
Paint cross-section from the sky, consists of ultramarine over a thin layer of brown
underpaint.
46
47
48
ROY, A. (1999). Rubens's "Peace and War". National Gallery Technical Bulletin / Publ. by Order of the
Trustees, Publications Department, National Gallery, London. pp. 95.
74
PLATE 14
Eustache Le Sueur (1616-1655)

Alexander and his Doctor
ca. 1649
Oil on canvas, diameter 96 cm.
NG 6576
75
PLATE 14
Eustache Le Sueur (1616-1655)

Alexander and his Doctor49
ca. 1649
Oil on canvas, diameter 96 cm.
NG 6576
Provenance
Jérome de Nouveau, about 1649

Orléans Collection by 1711
Purchased by Lady Amabel Lucas, St. James’s Square, London, in 1799
Purchased in 1999
MEROT, A., & LE SUEUR, E. (2000). Eustache Le Sueur, 1616-1655. Paris, p. 480
MEROT, A., & WINE, H. (2000). "Alexander and his doctor": a rediscovered masterpiece
by Eustache Le Sueur. The Burlington Magazine / Ed. Benedict Nicolson. 292-296.
The drapery worn by the figure on the right contains ultramarine mixed with charcoal and
lead white. Ultramarine is also present in the drapery between the legs of the seated figure.
49
50
51
paintings. op,cit., p. 228
76
PLATE 15
Laurent de la Hyre (1606-1656)

Allegorical Figure of Grammar
1650
NG 6329
77
PLATE 15
Laurent de la Hyre (1606-1656)

Allegorical Figure of Grammar
1650
NG 6329
Signed bottom left: l. de la hire in x.f 1650

Inscribed: VOX LITTERATA ET ARTICVLATA DEBITO MODO PRONVNCIATA
Provenance52
Hôtel Tallemant, Paris, probably until 1760

Cardinal Fesch Collection, 1844
Bequeathed by Francis Falconer Madan, 1961
Exhibitions53
1937, Paris, Palais National des Arts, Chefs d’ Œuvre de l’Art Français (80)
1939, Oxford, Ashmolean Museum
1947, London,Wildenstein / Co. Ltd., Exhibition of French Paintings of the XVIIth
Century (16)
1947-51, Oxford, Ashmolean Museum
1962, London, Colnaghi, Exhibition from the Collection of Francis Falconer Madan (9)
1979, London, N.G., Howard Hodgkin: The Artist’s Eye (11)
1989-90, Grenobles, Rennes and Boudeaux, Laurent de La Hyre 1606-1656 (261)
1992, Copenhagen, (3)
1994, London, N.G., Themes and Variations.Ideas Personified (no cat.)
NATIONAL GALLERY (GREAT BRITAIN), & WILSON, M. (1985). French paintings

before 1800. London, p. 50-51.
century French paintings. London,. p. 188-193.
WINE, H., ACKROYD, P., & BURNSTOCK, A. (1993). Laurent de La Hyre's Allegorical
Figure of Grammar. National Gallery Technical Bulletin. 14,
22-33.
The blue drapery is of a high quality ultramarine, and azurite is present in the foliage
52
53
paintings. London,. p. 188.
54
55
WINE, H., ACKROYD, P., & BURNSTOCK, A. (1993). Laurent de La Hyre's Allegorical Figure of
Grammar. National Gallery Technical Bulletin.14, p. 30.
78
PLATE 16
Pierre Mignard (1612-1695)

The Marquise de Seignelay and Two of her Children
1691
NG 2967
79
PLATE 16
Pierre Mignard (1612-1695)

The Marquise de Seignelay and Two of her Children
1691
NG 2967
Signed and dated: P. MIGNard/ PINxIT. 1691.
Provenance56
Collection of Sir Richard Wallace, Paris, by 1874

Inherited by Sir John Murray Scott; by whom bequeathed, 1914.
Exhibitions57
1874, Paris, Palais de la Présidence du Corps Législatif, Exposition au profit de la

colonisation de l’Algérie par les Alsaciens-Lorrains (931)
1888, Paris, Exposition de l’Art Français sous Louis XIV et sous Louis XV (15)
1956-76, London, Lancaster House, Long Term Loan
1981, Montreal, Largillièrre and the French 17th Century Portrait (7)

London, p.157.
NIKOLENKO, L. (1983). Pierre Mignard, the portrait painter of the Grand Siecle.
Munchen, p. 94-95.
LARGILLIERE, N. D., & ROSENFELD, M. N. (1981). Largillierre and the eighteenth-
century portrait: The Montreal Museum of fine Arts, september 19 to november 15, 1981.
Montréal, p. 76-78.
NATIONAL GALLERY (GREAT BRITAIN), & WILSON, M. (1985). French paintings
before 1800. London, p. 74.
century French paintings. London,p. 244-253.
Blue Pigments:59 azurite, ultramarine and smalt
The cloak of the Marquise is composed of ultramarine of the highest quality. The britches
of the elder boy contain azurite, and smalt has been utilized in the colouring of the sea.
56
57
paintings. op. cit., p. 244.
58
59
paintings.op. cit., p. 246.
80
PLATE 17
Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1617-1682)

The Infant Saint John with the Lamb
1660-1665
Oil on canvas, 165 x 106 cm.
NG 176
81
PLATE 17
Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1617-1682)

The Infant Saint John with the Lamb60
1660-1665
NG 176
Inscribed on the scroll of the cross on the ground: ECCE AGNVS DEI (‘Behold the Lamb
of God’).
Provenance
Collection of the Comte de Lassay (died 1750)

Purchased from Lord Ashburton, 1840
NATIONAL GALLERY (GREAT BRITAIN), MACLAREN, N., & BRAHAM, A.

(1970). The Spanish School. London, p. 65-67.
Discoloured smalt is present in the sky.
Discoloured smalt from the sky in NG 176.

Reproduced by Permission of the Scientific Department, National Galley, London
60
61
62
82
PLATE 18
Francisco de Zurbaran (1598-1664)

Saint Margaret of Antioch
1630-1634
NG 1930
83
PLATE 18
Francisco de Zurbaran (1598-1664)

Saint Margaret of Antioch63
1630-1634
NG 1930
Provenance
Possibly in the Collection of Prince Charles (later Charles IV of Spain) by 1789

Perhaps given by the King of Spain to the 2nd Baron Ashburton
Purchased from the 5th Marquess of Northhampton who was the executor of Lousia, Lady
Ashburton, 1903.
BATICLE, J. (1987). Zurbaran. New York, p. 247-248.

(1970). The Spanish School. London, p. 138-140.
Blue Pigments:65 azurite
The blue-green coat contains azurite.
63
64
65
84
PLATE 19
Salvator Rosa (1615-1673)

Witches at their Incantations
ca. 1646
NG 6491
85
PLATE 19
Salvator Rosa (1615-1673)

Witches at their Incantations66
ca. 1646
NG 6491
Signed on the stone seat of the naked witch beneath the hanging man: ROSA
Provenance
Sir William Hamilton sale, 1761

Althorp, the Spencer Collection
Purchased, 1984
ROSA, S. (1973). Salvator Rosa. London, Arts Council of Great Britain. p. 24.
ROSA, S., & SALERNO, L. (1975). L'opera completa di Salvator Rosa. Milano, p. 90.
Ultramarine is used in the sky.
66
67
68
86
PLATE 20
Diego Velázques (1599-1660)

The Toilet of Venus ‘The Rokeby Venus’
1647-51
NG 2057
87
PLATE 20
Diego Velázques (1599-1660)

The Toilet of Venus ‘The Rokeby Venus’69
1647-51
NG 2057
Provenance
Collection of Don Gaspar Méndez de Haro, 1651

Given by the Duchess of Alba to Don Godoy in 1799/1800
In England in 1813, and purchased in the following year by John Bacon Sawrey Morrit of
Rokeby Hall, Yorkshire
Presented the the NACF, 1906
Exhibitions
1981, London, N.G., El Greco to Goya, The Taste for Spanish Painting in Britain and
Ireland.
Selected Bibliography
BRAHAM, A. (1981). El Greco to Goya: the taste for Spanish paintings in Britain and
Ireland. London, p. 69-70.
BROWN, C. (1986). Dutch landscape: the early years, Haarlem and Amsterdam, 1590-
1650 : an exhibition at the National Gallery, London, September 3rd-November 23rd 1986.
[London], p.118-183.
LOPEZ-REY, J. (1963). Velazques: a catalogue raisonne of his oevre, London, p. 143-
144.
(1970). The Spanish School. London,p. 125-129.
Cupid’s sash contains both ultramarine and azurite. Ultramarine is found in the areas which
appear more blue, and azurite can be found in the greener areas.
69
National Gallery Complete Illustrated Catalogue on CD-ROM.
70
88
COMPARATIVE ILLUSTRATIONS
89
FIGURE 1
Gonzales Coques (1614/18-1684)

Portrait of a Woman as Saint Agnes
ca. 1680
Oil on silver, 18.3 x 14.4 cm.
NG 1011
90
FIGURE 2

Portrait of Susanna Lunden (?) ‘Le Chapeau de Paille’
probably 1622-1625
Oil on oak, 79 x 54.6 cm.
NG 852
91
FIGURE 3
Frans Hals (ca.1580? - 1666)

Banquet of the Officers of the St. George Civic Guard Company
1627
Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem
92
FIGURE 4
Carel Fabritius (1622-1654)

A View of Delft, with a Musical Instrument Seller’s Stall
1652
Oil on canvas stuck on to walnut panel, 15.5 x 31.7 cm.
93
FIGURE 5

Lord John Stuart and his Brother, Lord Bernard Stuart
ca. 1638
NG 6518
94
FIGURE 6
Samuel Van Hoogstraten (1627-1678)

A Peepshow with Views of the Interior of a Dutch House
ca. 1655-1660
Oil and egg on wood, exterior measurements 58 x 88 x 60.5 cm.
NG 3832
95
96
FIGURE 7
Jacob Van Ruisdael (1628/9? - 1682)

A Road winding between Trees towards a Distant Cottage
probably 1645-1650
NG 988
97
FIGURE 8

The Little Street
ca. 1657-1658
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
98
FIGURE 9

Young Woman with a Water Jug
ca. 1664-1665
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
99
FIGURE 10

A Young Woman seated at a Virginal
ca. 1670
NG 2568
100
FIGURE 11

The Mill
1647
Galleria Doria Pamphilj, Rome
101
Notes & References
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION
1 Email correspondence with Jo Kirby, National Gallery, London. (26th April 2004).
2 HARLEY, R. (2001). Artists' pigments c. 1600-1835: a study in English documentary sources. London, p. 29-40.
KIRBY, J. (1999). The painter's trade in the seventeenth century: theory and practice. National Gallery Technical
Bulletin / Publ. by Order of the Trustees, Publications Department, National Gallery, London. 5-49., p. 10.
R.D. Harley dedicates an entire chapter to “Sources for the History of the Colour Trade”. Although restricted to the
study of British documentary sources, it provides an insight into the diverse array of records, which may contain
relevant information, for art historians or others, regarding the pigment trade. Records which may contain information
on the pigment trade, include, but are not restricted to: accounts, duty records, letters to or from artists or their
patrons, import and export records, inventories, price lists, taxae, and wills.
3 A few sources for further information regarding the pigment trade during this period are:
DELANCEY, J. (2003). Dragonsblood and ultramarine: the apothecary and artists' pigments in Renaissance Florence.
The Art Market in Italy / Ed. by Marcello Fantoni ; Louisa C. Matthew ; Sara F. Matthews-Grieco. 141-150.
ROY, A., & SMITH, P. (eds.) (1998). Contributions to the Dublin Congress, 7-11 September 1998: painting
techniques : history, materials and studio practice. London, International Institute for Conservation of Historic and
Artistic Works. p. 101-105.
KREKEL, C., & BURMESTER, A. (2001). Das Münchner Taxenprojekt: Apothekentaxen als neuer Quellentyp für
die Erforschung historischer Künstlermaterialien. Restauro. 450-455., p. 32-36.
MATTHEW, L. C. (2002). 'Vendecolori a Venezia': the reconstruction of a profession. The Burlington Magazine / Ed.
Benedict Nicolson. 680-686.
4 LAVIN, M. A. (1970). A seventeenth-century painter's supplies: document of payment to Andrea Camassei. The Art
Bulletin / Ed. John Shapley [U.a.]. 192-194.
LEVY- VAN HALM, K. (1998). Where did Vermeer buy his painting materials?: theory and practice. Studies in the
History of Art / Publ. by the National Gallery of Art, Washington. 136-143.
5 Conversation with Dr. Julia DeLancey, Associate Professor of Art, Truman State University, MO, USA.(7 th June 2004)
6 HARLEY, R. (2001). Artists' pigments, op. cit., p. 42.
7 PASTOUREAU, M. (2001). Blue: the history of a color. Princeton, NJ, Princeton University Press, p.11.
8 Ibid., p.11,123.
9 Ibid., p. 11.
10 Ibid., p. 11,26.
FITZHUGH, E. W. (1997). Artists' pigments: a handbook of their history and characteristics. Vol. 3. Washington,
National Gallery of Art. p. 83.
11 PASTOUREAU, M. (2001). Blue op. cit., p. 34.
12 Ibid., p. 26.
13 Ibid., p. 13.
14 This is discussed under the individual pigment sections in CHAPTER II
15 SPIEGEL, H. W. (1992). The growth of economic thought. Durham, Duke University Press. p. 98.
16 ASHLEY, M. (2002). The golden century: Europe 1598-1715. London, Phoenix, p. 233.
17 Ibid., p. 15.
18 Ibid., p. 54-55.
19 Ibid., p. 28.
20 Ibid., p. 226.
21 BROWN, J. (1995). Kings & connoisseurs: collecting art in seventeenth-century Europe. Princeton, N.J., Princeton
University Press, p. 228.
22 BROWN, J. (1995). Kings & connoisseurs , op. cit., p. 229.
23 Ibid., p. 229-230.
24 Ibid., p. 230.
26 All technical and scientific information regarding the works of art discussed in this thesis was obtained directly
from the Scientific Department at the National Gallery, in London.
Additional information was obtained from:
NATIONAL GALLERY (GREAT BRITAIN), & WINE, H. (2001). The seventeenth century French paintings.
London, National Gallery Co.
27 KIRBY, J. (1999). The painter's trade in the seventeenth century, loc. cit., p. 10.
28 Conversation with Jo Kirby, National Gallery, London (25th May 2004). Conversation with Dr. Julia DeLancey,
Associate Professor of Art, Truman State University, MO, USA.(7th June 2004)
102
29 Although it is possible that an artist obtained his pigments from a different location than the area in which he painted
a work, the present findings of the The Münchner Taxenprojekt suggest that at least in some areas all available
pigments were obtainable from the local pharmacy regardless as to the size or importance of the town. For more
information see: KREKEL, C., & BURMESTER, A. (2001). Das Münchner Taxenprojekt, loc. cit., p. 33.
30 Email correspondence with Jo Kirby, National Gallery, London. (3rd September, 2004).
31 COSTARAS, N. (1998). A study of the materials and techniques of Johannes Vermeer. Studies in the History of Art /
Publ. by the National Gallery of Art, Washington. 144-167, p. 157.
32 LEVY- VAN HALM, K. (1998). Where did Vermeer buy his painting materials?, loc. cit., p. 138.
33 The relevance of subject matter and commissions is discussed in III.2.i. Subject Matter
34 Conversation with Jo Kirby, National Gallery, London (28th July 2004).
CHAPTER II. THE HISTORICAL USE OF BLUE PIGMENTS
1 For a more detailed history of blue see: PASTOUREAU, M. (2001). Blue op. cit.
2 Ibid., p. 32.
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid., p. 35.
5 Ibid., p. 41.
6 Ibid., p. 49.
7 Ibid., p. 49.
8 Ibid., p. 50.
9 Ibid.
10 Ibid., p. 52.
11 Ibid., p. 50, 56-57, 60-62.
12 Ibid., p. 63.
13 Ibid., p. 11.
14 BEAL, M. (1984). A study of Richard Symonds: his Italian notebooks and their relevance to seventeenth-century
painting techniques. London, Garland, p. 100.
ROY, A.(ed) (1993). Artists' pigments: a handbook of their history and characteristics. Washington, D.C., National
Gallery of Art, p. 23.
GETTENS, R. J., & FITZHUGH, E. W. (1966). Azurite and Blue Verditer. Studies in Conservation. 11, 54-61 , p. 54.
HARLEY, R. (2001). Artists' pigments, op. cit., p. 46.
PRICE, M. (2000). A Renaissance of color: particle separation and preparation of azurite for use in oil painting.
Leonardo / Leonardo, the International Society for the Arts, Sciences and Technology. 281-288, p. 282.
WILD, A. M. D., & JACKSON, L. C. (1929). The scientific examination of pictures; an investigation of the pig-
ments used by the Dutch and Flemish masters from the brothers Van Eyck to the middle of the 19th century. London,
G. Bell & Sons, Ltd, p. 21.
15 ROY, A.(ed.) (1993). Artists' pigments,op. cit., p. 23.
GETTENS, R. J., & FITZHUGH, E. W. (1966). Azurite and Blue Verditer, loc. cit., p. 54.
16 BEAL, M. (1984). A study of Richard Symonds, op. cit., p. 100.
ROY, A.(ed.) (1993). Artists' pigments,op. cit., p. 23.
GRAAF, J. A. V. D., & MAYERNE, T. T. D. (1958). Het De Mayerne manuscript als bron voor de schidertechniek
van de barok, British Museum, Sloane 2052, p. 38.
PRICE, M. (2000). A Renaissance of color, loc. cit., p. 282.
WILD, A. M. D., & JACKSON, L. C. (1929). The scientific examination of pictures, op. cit., p. 21.
GRAAF, J. A. V. D., & MAYERNE, T. T. D. (1958). Het De Mayerne manuscript, op. cit., p. 39.
KRISCHEL, R. (2002). Zur Geschichte des venezianischen Pigmenthandels: das Sortiment des "Jacobus de
Benedictis à coloribus". Wallraf-Richartz-Jahrbuch / Hrsg. Im Auftr. Der Freunde Des Wallraf-Richartz-Museums
Und Des Museums Ludwig E.V., Koln. 93-158, p. 120.
LAURIE, A. P. (1914). The pigments and mediums of the old masters, with a special chapter on microphotographic
study of brushwork. London, Macmillan, p. 42.
PACHECO, F., & CRUZADA VILLAAMIL, G. (1866). Arte de la pintura su antigüedad y grandezas, describense
los hombres eminentes que ha habido en ella... del dibujo, y colorido, del pintar al temple, al olio... por Francisco
Pacheco,... Segunda edicion... dirigela D. G. Cruzada Villaamil. Tomo I [- Tomo II]. Madrid, impr. de M. Galiano,
p. 61.
103
Wellcome Library (Great Britain) Manuscript MSL.98/1, Charles Alston's Lectures, Vol. I c. 1720, p.364.
18 CENNINI, C., & THOMPSON, D. V. (1954). The craftsman's handbook. New York, Dover Pubications, p. 35.
LAURIE, A. P. (1914). The pigments and mediums of the old masters, op. cit., p. 42.
MERRIFIELD. (1849). Original treatises, dating from the 12th to 18th centuries on the arts of painting in oil, minia-
ture, mosaic and on glass; of gilding, dyeing, and the preparation of colours and artificial gems : preceeded by a
general introduction with translations, prefaces, and notes Vol. 2, p. cxcviii.
POMET, P. (1737). A compleat history of druggs written in French by Monsieur Pomet, chief druggist to the late
French King Lewis XIV. To which is added what is further observable on the same subject, from Mess. Lemery and
Tournefort, divided into three classes, vegetable, animal and mineral ; with their use in physick, chymistry, phar-
macy, and several other arts. Illustrated with above four hundred copper cutts, curiously done from the life ; and an
explanation of their different names, places of growth, and countries from whence they are brought ; the way to know
the true from the false ; their virtues, &c. A work of very great use and curiosity. Done into English from the origi-
nals. London, Printed for J. and J. Bonwicke, R. Wilkin, S. Birt, T. Ward and E. Wicksteed, p. 404.
Wellcome Library (Great Britain) Manuscript MSL.98/1, Charles Alston's Lectures, op. cit., p.364.
19 CENNINI, C., & THOMPSON, D. V. (1954). The craftsman's handbook, op. cit., p. 35.
Wellcome Library (Great Britain) Manuscript MSL.98/1, Charles Alston's Lectures, op. cit., p.364.
21 GRAAF, J. A. V. D., & MAYERNE, T. T. D. (1958). Het De Mayerne manuscript, op. cit., p. 39.
POMET, P. (1737). A compleat history of drugs, op. cit., p. 404.
23 BEAL, M. (1984). A study of Richard Symonds, op. cit., p. 91, 101.
Ibid., p. 54.
For a more detailed method of pigment extraction see:
PRICE, M. (2000). A Renaissance of color, loc. cit., p. 283-286.
Traditional recipes for the preparation of azurite into pigment form can be found in:
CENNINI, C., & THOMPSON, D. V. (1954). The craftsman's handbook, op. cit., p. 35.
GRAAF, J. A. V. D., & MAYERNE, T. T. D. (1958). Het De Mayerne manuscript, op. cit., p. 39-40.
HARLEY, R. (2001). Artists' pigments, op. cit., p. 47-48.
PRICE, M. (2000). A Renaissance of color, loc. cit., p. 282-283.
National Art Library (Great Britain). Manuscript. MSL/1865-6-14.Miniatura; or, the art of limning; the manner and
use of the colours both for picture by the life, landscape & history : transcript, [17--]. Norgate, Edward, d. 1650,
p.2-5.
24 ROY, A.(ed.) (1993). Artists' pigments, op. cit.,.p. 25.
25 GRAAF, J. A. V. D., & MAYERNE, T. T. D. (1958). Het De Mayerne manuscript, op. cit., p. 38.
PASTOUREAU, M. (2001). Blue op. cit., p. 22.
26 ROY, A.(ed.) (1993). Artists' pigments, op. cit.,.p. 25.
ROY, A.(ed.) (1993). Artists' pigments, op. cit.,.p. 40.
As well as intentional substitution, azurite has been mistaken for, and used to adulterate or counterfeit, lapis lazuli
pigment (ultramarine). Documents from the period describe methods to distinguish genuine ultramarine from azurite,
for more information see:
BEAL, M. (1984). A study of Richard Symonds, op. cit., p. 101.
GRAAF, J. A. V. D., & MAYERNE, T. T. D. (1958). Het De Mayerne manuscript, op. cit., p. 38-39.
MERRIFIELD. (1849). Original treatises, op. cit., p. cxcvii-cxcix.
28 BEAL, M. (1984). A study of Richard Symonds, op. cit., p. 101.
KRISCHEL, R. (2002). Zur Geschichte des venezianischen Pigmenthandels, loc. cit., p. 120.
GETTENS, R. J., & FITZHUGH, E. W. (1966). Azurite and Blue Verditer, loc. Cit., p. 55.
104
WILD, A. M. D., & JACKSON, L. C. (1929). The scientific examination of pictures, op. cit., p. 22.
30 PRICE, M. (2000). A Renaissance of color, loc. cit., p. 286.
31 LAURIE, A. P. (1914). The pigments and mediums of the old masters, op. cit., p. 127-8, 130-3, 136.
32 ROY, A.(ed.) (1993). Artists' pigments, op. cit., p. 25.
34 FITZHUGH, E. W.(ed.) (1997). Artists' pigments, op. cit., p. 83.
36 BALFOUR-PAUL, J. (1998). Indigo. London, British Museum Press, p. 42.
FITZHUGH, E. W.(ed.) (1997). Artists' pigments, op. cit., p. 82.
38 BALFOUR-PAUL, J. (1998). Indigo, op. cit., p. 60.
39 Ibid., p. 60.
40 Ibid., p. 89.
43 Ibid., p. 27.
HENDRIKS, E., VAN EIKEMA HOMMES, M., & HALM, K. L.-V. (1998). Indigo used in the Haarlem Civic
Guard group portraits by Frans Hals. Studies in Conservation. 43, 166-170, p. 166.
FITZHUGH, E. W.(ed.) (1997). Artists' pigments, op. cit., p. 88.
HENDRIKS, E. et al. (1998). Indigo used in the Haarlem Civic Guard group, loc. cit., p. 166.
46 Ibid., p. 166
47 Ibid., p. 166.
48 Ibid., p. 167.
53 Ibid., p. 84.
55 Ibid.,p. 37.
Ibid., p. 62.
56 ‘True’ ultramarine refers to ultramarine pigment derived from lapis lazuli, whereas ‘Artificial’ or ‘French’
ultramarine is a substitute accidentally discovered by a Frenchman, Guimet in 1828. For the purpose of this thesis,
the term ‘ultramarine’, unless stated otherwise, refers to the pigment derived from lapis lazuli. For further
information on ‘Artificial’ or ‘French’ Ultramarine see:
ROY, A.(ed.) (1993). Artists' pigments,op. cit., p. 54-65.
Ibid., p. 76-81.
Ibid., p. 62.
58 Ibid., p. 38.
Ibid., p. 63.
VON ROSEN, L.(1988). Lapis lazuli in geological contexts and in ancient written sources. Partille, P. Aström, p. 11.
59 MATTHEW, L. C. (2002). 'Vendecolori a Venezia': the reconstruction of a profession. The Burlington Magazine /
Ed. Benedict Nicolson. 680-686, p. 682
Ibid., p. 64.
60 Ibid., p. 37.
Ibid., p. 62.
61 LAURIE, A. P. (1914). The pigments and mediums of the old masters, op. cit., p. 41.
Ibid., 63.
105
62 Ibid., p. 38.
Ibid., p. 63.
For this, and similar recipes see:
DELAMARE, F., & GUINEAU, B. (2002). Colour: making and using dyes and pigments. London, Thames &
Hudson, p. 142.
ROY, A.(ed.) (1993). Artists' pigments, op. cit., p. 38-39.
Ibid., p. 63-64.
65 Ibid., p. 45.
66 ROY, A.(ed.) (1993). Artists' pigments, op. cit., p.38, 39-40.
Ibid., p. 64-65.
67 This diversity in the quality of the pigment was due to a refinement in the pigment extraction process, see:
ROY, A.(ed.) (1993). Artists' pigments, op. cit., p. 38.
Ibid., p. 63.
ROY, A.(ed.) (1993, p 39) gives a revised date of between the 6th and 7th C
71 Ibid., p. 113.
72 Ibid.
74 Ibid., p. 53.
75 Ibid., p. 53.
76 Ibid., p. 55.
77 Ibid., p. 53.
Ibid., p. 113.
For more information and other recipes for the tradition preparation of smalt see:
ROY, A.(ed.) (1993). Artists' pigments, op. cit., p. 113, 115.
79 Ibid., p. 114.
80 ROY, A.(ed.) (1993). Artists' pigments, op. cit., p. 39-40.
82 Ibid., p. 114.
83 Ibid., p. 114.
86 Ibid., p. 122.
90 For further information regarding blue verditer see:
ROY, A.(ed.) (1993). Artists' pigments, op. cit., p. 31-32.
92 Ibid., p. 66.
93 Ibid., p. 66-67.
For more information on the competition between woad and indigo see:
BALFOUR-PAUL, J. (1998). Indigo, op. cit., p. 55-58.
95 Ibid., p. 89, 94.
96 Although a distinction was made in the seventeenth century between woad and indigo, for the purpose of this Thesis,
unless stated otherwise, the term ‘indigo’ will refer to any pigment obtained from the woad plant (Isatis Tinctoria) or
from any plant of the genus Indigofera.
106
CHAPTER III. SOCIETY AND CULTURE AND THEIR IMPACT ON THE USE OF PIGMENTS

2 Ibid., p. 10.
3 Ibid., p. 86.
4 Ibid., p. 86.
For more information on the origins of the demand for black see:
PASTOUREAU, M. (2001). Blue op. cit., p. 96-99.
Sumptuary laws survived into the eighteenth century, and their influence is still noticeable in contemporary fashion.
For more information see:
5 Ibid., p. 87.
For more information on Sumptuary Laws and their purpose see:
6 Ibid., p. 87.
For more information on colour during the Reformation see:
7 Ibid., p. 88-89.
8 Ibid., p. 90-91.
9 Ibid., p. 89, 91.
10 Ibid., p. 87-88.
11 Ibid., p. 101.
12 HAUSER, A. (2002). The social history of art, vol. 2: Renaissance mannerism and baroque, p. 113.
13 ADAMSON, J. S. A. (1999). The princely courts of Europe: ritual, politics and culture under the ancien régime,
1500-1750. London, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, p. 35-36.
14 ASHLEY, M. (2002). The golden century, op. cit., p. 50.
15 This is covered in more detail in III.3. ii The Early ‘Modern’ Art Market
16 ISRAEL, J. I. (1997). Adjusting to hard times: Dutch art during its period of crisis and restructuring, c. 1621-c1645.
Art History. 449-476, p. 454.
17 Ibid., p. 459.
19 Ibid., p. 102.
20 Ibid.
21 Ibid., p. 105.
22 Ibid., p. 99.
23 Ibid., p. 104.
24 NATIONAL GALLERY (GREAT BRITAIN), & WINE, H. (2001). The seventeenth century French paintings, op.
cit., p. 246.
25 PRAK, M. R. (2004). Guilds and the development of the art market during the Dutch Golden Age. Simiolus. 236-
251, p. 236.
26 ASHLEY, M. (2002). The golden century, op. cit., p. 43-44.
27 Ibid., p. 47.
28 Ibid., p. 44.
29 ISRAEL, J. I. (1997). Adjusting to hard times, loc. cit., p. 451.
30 Ibid., p. 453.
31 ROBERTSON, I.A. (1992). Shared values: then and now. Lessons from the seventeenth-century Dutch art
market. Apollo: the international magazine of the arts. Vol. 136, London. p. 248.
32 Ibid., p. 247.
33 Ibid., p. 248.
34 SPEAR, R. E. (2003). Scrambling for scudi: notes on painter's earnings in early Baroque Rome. The Art Bulletin /
Ed. John Shapley [U.a.]. 310-320, p. 310.
35 Ibid., p. 310.
36 Ibid., p. 311.
37 BAXANDALL, M. (1990). Painting and experience in fifteenth century Italy: a primer in the social history of pic-
torial style. Oxford, Oxford University Press, p. 14.
38 Ibid., p. 8.
39 Ibid., p. 11.
107
40 HASKELL, F. (1998). Patrons and painters: a study in the relations between Italian art and society in the age of
the Baroque. New Haven and London, Yale University Press, p. 13.
41 Ibid., p. 13.
42 SPEAR, R. E. (2003). Scrambling for scudi, loc. cit., p. 314.
43 PRAK, M. R. (2004). Guilds, loc. cit., p. 239.
44 Ibid., p. 239.
45 Ibid., p. 240.
46 MARSHALL, C. R. (2000). 'Senza il minimo scrupolo': artists as dealers in seventeenth-century Naples. Journal of
the History of Collections / Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. 15-34, p.16.
47 Ibid., p. 17.
48 ROBERTSON, I.A. (1992). Shared values, loc. cit., p. 247.
49 HASKELL, F. (1998). Patrons and painters , op. cit., p. 15.
50 Ibid., p. 15.
52 MARSHALL, C. R. (2000). Senza il minimo scrupolo, loc. cit., p. 27.
55 MARSHALL, C. R. (2000). Senza il minimo scrupolo, loc. cit., p. 27.
56 COSTARAS, N. (1998). A study of the materials and techniques of Johannes Vermeer, loc. cit., p. 157.
59 BROWN, J. (1995). Kings & connoisseurs , op. cit., p. 231.
60 NATIONAL GALLERY (GREAT BRITAIN), & WINE, H. (2001). The seventeenth century French paintings, op.
cit., p. 66, 68.
Chapter IV. Trade and Trade Routes
1 ASHLEY, M. (2002). The golden century, op. cit., p. 66-67.

2 DREGE, J.-P., & BUHRER, E. M. (1989). The Silk Road saga. Oxford, Facts on File, p.6.
3 PAGANO DE DIVITIIS, G. (1997).English merchants in seventeenth-century Italy. Cambridge, U.K., Cambridge
University Press, p. 1.
4 Ibid., p. 5.
5 Ibid., p. 76.
7 PAGANO DE DIVITIIS, G. (1997).English merchants in seventeenth-century Italy, op. cit., p. xiii.
8 Ibid., p. 10.
9 British Library (Great Britain) Unpublished PhD Thesis, Oxford DICKIE, T. (1997). Commerce and experience in
the seventeenth-century Mediterranean: the market dynamics, commercial culture and naval protection of English
trade to Aleppo, p. 12.
10 PAGANO DE DIVITIIS, G. (1997).English merchants in seventeenth-century Italy, op. cit., p. 88.
11 DELAMARE, F., & GUINEAU, B. (2002). Colour, op. cit., p. 69.
12 Ibid., p. 69.
13 Ibid., p. 69.
18 MATTHEW, L. C. (2002). Vendecolori a Venezia, loc. cit., p. 682.
19 KREKEL, C., & BURMESTER, A. (2001). Das Münchner Taxenprojekt, loc. cit., p. 35.
21 Ibid., p. 140.
23 SPIEGEL, H. W. (1992). The growth of economic thought, op. cit., p. 98.
24 Ibid.
27 Ibid., p. 463.
28 Ibid., p. 454-455.
29 Ibid., p. 467.
108
31 Ibid., p. 32.
32 HARLEY, R. (2001). Artists' pigments, op. cit., p. 8, 30.
33 DELANCEY, J. (2003). Dragonsblood and ultramarine, loc. cit., p 143.
KREKEL, C., & BURMESTER, A. (2001). Das Münchner Taxenprojekt, loc. cit., p. 32.
von Krischel, R. (2002). Zur Geschichte des Venezianischen, loc. cit., p. 97.
LEVY- VAN HALM, K. (1998). Where did Vermeer buy his painting materials?, loc. cit., p. 140.
36 For more information on pharmacies, apothecaries and pigment traders see footnote 3
38 von Krischel, R. (2002). “Zur Geschichte des Venezianischen Pigmenthandels”loc. cit., p. 97.
41 Ibid., p. 138.
42 Ibid., p. 138.
43 Ibid., p. 138.
46 Ibid., p. 33.
47 Ibid., p. 32.
50 HENDY, E. J., & GAGAN, M. K. (2002). Abrupt decrease in tropical pacific sea surface salinity at end of little ice
age. Science. 295, 1511-1514, p. 1511.
53 SHINDELL, D. T. (2001). Solar forcing of regional climate change during the maunder Minimum. Science. 294,
2149-2152, p. 2149.
51 SHINDELL, D. T. et al. (2004). Dynamic winter climate response to large tropical volcanic eruptions since 1600.
Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres. 109, p. 3.
52 SHINDELL, D. T. et al. (2004). Dynamic winter climate response, loc. cit., p. 3.
54 THOURET, J.-C., et. al. (2002). Reconstruction of the AD 1600 Huaynaputina eruption based on the correlation of
geologic evidence with early Spanish chronicles. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research. 115, 529-570,
p. 530.
55 THOURET, J.-C., et. al. (2002). Reconstruction of the AD 1600 Huaynaputina eruption, loc. cit., p. 529, 567.
56 DE SILVA, S. L., & ZIELINSKI, G. A. (1998). Global influence of the AD 1600 eruption of Huaynaputina, Peru.
Nature. 393, 455-458, p. 455.
57 DE SILVA, S. L., & ZIELINSKI, G. A. (1998). Global influence of the AD 1600 eruption , loc. cit., p. 455.
58 BRIFFA, K. R., & JONES, P. D. (1998). Influence of volcanic eruptions on Northern hemisphere summer
temperature over the past 600 years. Nature. 393, p. 450.
59 THOURET, J.-C., et. al. (2002). Reconstruction of the AD 1600 Huaynaputina eruption, loc. cit., p. 568.
60 BRIFFA, K. R., & JONES, P. D. (1998). Influence of volcanic eruptions, loc. cit., p. 453.
61 BRIFFA, K. R. (2000). Annual climate variability in the Holocene: interpreting the message of ancient trees.
Quaternary Science Reviews. 19, 87-105, p. 96.
62 SHINDELL, D. T. (2001). Maunder Minimum, loc. cit., p. 2149.
63 CUTLER, A. (1997). “The Little Ice Age: When Global Cooling Gripped the World, The Washington Post (13th
Aug. 1997), p. H. 01.
64 Ibid.
65 GROVE, J. M. (1988). The Little Ice Age. London, Methuen, p. 379.
66 LAMB, H. H. (1988). Weather, climate & human affairs: a book of essays and other papers. London, Routledge,
p.106-107, 125-127.
67 Ibid., p. 142.
68 MUNCK, T. (1990).Seventeenth century Europe: State, conflict and the social order in Europe 1598-1700.
Basingstoke, Macmillan, p. 84-85.
69 GROVE, J. M. (1988). The Little Ice Age, op. cit., p. 380.
70 VON ROSEN, L. (1988). Lapis lazuli in geological contexts, op. cit., p. 13.
109
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THE TRADE IN BLUE DURING THE 17TH CENTURY:

An examination of the Western European pigment trade in Azurite,

List of the Works of Art iv

List of Comparative Illustrations vi

I.1. Why the Pigment Trade? 2

II.2 Why Blue? 2

I.3. Why the 17th Century? 3

I.4. The Structure of the Study 4

CHAPTER II. THE HISTORICAL USE OF BLUE PIGMENTS

II.1. General Background 8

III.2. Religion: Reformation versus Counter Reformation Art 17

CHAPTER IV. TRADE AND TRADE ROUTES

IV.1. Economic Climate 25

IV.2. Political Climate 27

IV.3. Judicial Climate 27

i. The Role of the Apothecary 28

IV.4. Meteorological Climate 29

ii. Maunder Minimum 30

Appendix I – Table showing the Historical Use of Pigments 35

Appendix III – Indigo 37

Appendix VI – Map showing the Silk Road 40

Appendix VII – Map showing the Spice Routes 41

Appendix X – A Summary of the Important Political Events of the 17th century 44

Catalogue of the Works of Art 48

Notes & References 102

pigments such as war, laws and even climate.

word count: 14,070

PLATE 1 : Nicolas Poussin The Adoration of the Golden Calf, 1634-1635

PLATE 4 : Giovanni Battista Salvi ‘Sassoferrato’ The Virgin in Prayer, 1640-50

PLATE 5 : Jan van der Heyden A View of Cologne, ca. 1660-1665

PLATE 7 : Anthony van Dyck Charity, ca. 1627-1628

PLATE 8 : Meindert Hobbema The Avenue at Middelharnis, 1689

PLATE 9 : Frans Hals A Family Group in a Landscape, ca. 1647-1650

PLATE 10 : Johannes Vermeer A Young Woman standing at a Virginal, ca. 1670

PLATE 11 : Rembrandt van Rijn Portrait of Frederick Rihel on Horseback

PLATE 12 : Anthony van Dyck Equestrian Portrait of Charles I, ca. 1637-1638

PLATE 14 : Eustache Le Sueur Alexander and his Doctor, ca. 1649

PLATE 15 : Laurent de la Hyre Allegorical Figure of Grammar, 1650

PLATE 18 : Francisco de Zurbaran Saint Margaret of Antioch¸1630-1634

PLATE 19 : Salvator Rosa Witches at their Incantations, ca. 1646

FIGURE 1: Gonzales Coques Portrait of a Woman as Saint Agnes ca. 1680

FIGURE 8: Johannes Vermeer The Little Street, ca. 1657-1658

FIGURE 11 : Claude Gellée ‘ Le Lorrain’ The Mill, 1647

NOTE: NOT DRAWN TO SCALE

become of “general interest recently”.1 Despite good documentation, as a pioneering

I.2 Why the colour Blue?

Arabic: blue (blau) and azure (lazaward).”12

traceable origins,14 making it a suitable colour for this study.

The seventeenth century was a period of enormous religious, political and

period of international commercial expansion, and colonization.16 New commercial centres

evolve from its predominantly feudal past.19

was raised as a result of the large-scale collecting activities of courtiers throughout

innovation in pigment production,25 enabling us to exclude technical innovation as a factor

in the demand or supply for blue pigments.

I.4. The Structure of the Study

from the Scientific Department at the National Gallery.26

There is an abundant amount of information available on pigment trade in the

seventeenth century. However, most of it is still hidden in archives throughout Europe.27

and works represented within the Collection.

pigments, such as ultramarine. Additionally, a positive evaluation of the artist in modern

An example of this is Johannes Vermeer’s A Young Woman Standing at a Virginal

requested the use of specific pigments.

based on their location of production, not by artist nationality.