Did You Know?

Italian artists of the Renaissance used red lac or "lake" pigment for their flesh tints. The red lac was usually made from coloring taken from insects that bred in abundance on the kermes oak. Painters from the medieval-renaissance eras also often developed underpaintings in an olive green pigment (particularly for the figures). If you ever notice rather green figures in a painting from these eras--you may well be looking at some of the underpainting. Some of the final pigments applied may have been lost over time.
Reader Comments