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Art & Art History vocabulary · Materials & Techniques

Pigment

Meaning in art & art history, with examples

/ˈpɪɡmənt/nounCommon term

In art & art history, pigment means: A coloured powder, made from minerals, plants, insects or chemicals, that gives paint its colour when it is mixed with a binder such as oil, egg or gum.

In Turkish: pigment, boya maddesi, renk maddesi

How it is used

Used by painters, conservators and scientists. Historic pigments include ultramarine (made from lapis lazuli), ochre and lead white. Conservators analyse pigments to date paintings and to detect forgeries.

Example sentences

  1. Ultramarine was made from ground lapis lazuli, so it was one of the most expensive pigments.

  2. The lab found a modern pigment in the paint, which proved the work could not be from the 1600s.

Common collocations

  • natural pigment
  • mineral pigment
  • pigment analysis
  • grind pigments
  • paletteThe range of colours an artist uses in a work or in a period of their career; also the flat board on which a painter mixes paints.
  • oil paintPaint made by mixing pigments with a drying oil, usually linseed oil; it dries slowly, so artists can blend colours and build up layers.
  • temperaPaint made by mixing pigments with egg yolk and water; it dries quickly to a matt, durable surface and was the main technique for panel painting in Europe before oil paint.
  • forgeryA work made to look like the genuine work of another artist or period in order to deceive buyers; also the crime of making such works.

More terms: Materials & Techniques

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