Clay earth pigments are naturally occurring minerals, principally iron oxides, that have been used since prehistoric times as pigments. The primary types are
- ochre
- sienna
- umber
Earth pigments are known for their fast drying time in oil painting, relative inexpensiveness, and lightfastness. Cave paintings done in sienna still survive today.
Famous quotes containing the words clay, earth and/or pigment:
“Protoplasm, simple or nucleated, is the formal basis of all life. It is the clay of the potter: which, bake it and paint it as he will, remains clay, separated by artifice, and not by nature from the commonest brick or sun-dried clod.”
—Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–1895)
“What should such fellows as I do crawling between earth and
heaven?”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“Separation penetrates the disappearing person like a pigment and steeps him in gentle radiance.”
—Walter Benjamin (1892–1940)