Pigments used in paint are as old as mankind – from ochre and soot used in prehistoric cave paintings to modern synthetic pigments. Artists have always looked for the new, the exciting, and the rare to use in their art. And boy-oh-boy, are there some truly weird pigments that artists have used!
Any painter would tell you that Indian yellow is a sublime, vibrant deep yellow, the colour of freerange egg yolk and golden sunset. It’s still muchloved today, but nowadays, it is synthetic. This wasn’t always so, as it involved animal cruelty. Indian yellow, as its name hints, was made in India and derived from cow urine. The unfortunate creatures were fed on a diet of pretty-much indigestible mango leaves – they didn’t live long
