Pigment Stories... a Colourful History

At Winsor & Newton we have dedicated 175 years to exploring colour working out how to get hold of the best pigments to make the purest oil, acrylic and water colours. We bet you’ll be pretty surprised by some of the ways that colour has been sourced throughout history.

Holy cow! The original Indian Yellow was made from the soiled earth of mango leaf-fed cattle in the Monghyr region of India.  The earth was dried, powdered, purified, and then pressed into lumps.  Because of the poor health of the mango-fed cattle, the Indian government banned production of the pigment in the early 20th century.

The colour to die for - Emerald Green was originally made from arsenic, a deadly poison.

Who ever discovered Tyrian Purple?! It was made from the bodies of whelks- 12,000 whelks were needed to make 1.5 grams of pigment. A pricey purchase indeed.

The white stuff - Some of the first whites were made from animal bones that had been incinerated producing a grey white ash.

A porky tale - Before metal tubes, oil paints used to be stored in bags made from pigs’ bladders.

Beetles about - Crimson was made from dried and crushed cochineal beetles.

A trip to the loo - Gamboge is a yellow made from the resin of trees in the Cambodian forests. A beautiful transparent yellow it may be, but the colour makers had to avoid touching their mouths or the rest of the day could be spent in the small room.

Pretty in pink - The recipe for making the unique colour Rose Madder Genuine, has not changed in over 200 years, the ingredients are still exactly the same today.

November 2007