Blue: A Brilliant Pigment is the first exhibition examining the use of synthetic blue pigments throughout the history of painting. Spanning from 3100 BCE to the 21st century, the exhibition focuses on the synthetic blue pigments behind many famous artworks. It will discuss the creation and history behind each pigment, its aesthetic use in painting, and current-day applications outside of art. The exhibition features five pigments each of which is paired with an artwork in the following order; Egyptian Blue and Hunting in the Marshes, Han Blue, and Detail of Mural Showing a Pair of Luibo Players, Prussian Blue and The Great Wave, Cobalt Blue and The Umbrellas, and YinMn Blue.
While blue might be one of the most popular colors, it is the rarest naturally occurring pigment. Before the creation of synthetic blue pigments, blue pigments were created by crushing up semi-precious stones such as Lapis Lazuli. Lapis was an expensive stone, and blue pigments were often inaccessible to artists without wealthy backing. Because of its high price, the color has historically been reserved for the most important of subjects, Egyptian Pharaohs and the Virgin Mary's robe. Ultramarine, a pigment made of crushed Lapis Lazuli, was so expensive in some areas it was considered more valuable than gold. While many synthetic blue pigments were created by accident, they helped to make the color more accessible to artists.
The exhibition begins with Egyptian Blue, the first synthetic pigment ever created ca. 3100 BCE. It quickly spread from Egypt through trade routes. At its height, the pigment was used in Rome, Greece, and the Ancient Near East. Shortly after the creation of Egyptian Blue, China developed its own synthetic blue, Han Blue, named after the Han period, in which it was most prominently used. The use of both pigments dwindled by the Renaissance; another synthetic blue would not appear until the early 1700s. In 1706 Prussian Blue was accidentally created by Johann Jacob Diesbach. The pigment was prominently used among Japanese print artists and is still used today. Following Diesbach, a French paint maker named Thenard created cobalt blue, a favorite pigment among Impressionists and Post-Impressionists in coloring the sky. The final pigment in the exhibition is YinMn blue, the first synthetic blue pigment in 100 years discovered by two researchers at Oregon State University.