FIRST CENTURY COLOUR PALETTES

The sources of pigments used in European painting are found in classical antiquity, and the over 40 pigments in use were described b y Theophrastus, Vitruvius, Pliny the Elder, and Dioscorides. The principles of painting were also described by Pliny, to be picked u p by Italian Renaissance painters of the 15th century, and they are discussed by the Editor. The pigments in the four extant treatis es are described in full which, together with the artistic principles, make this little book a basic primary source for both classic al paint...[Read more]