Kremer Pigments

Malachite natural, extra fine, PB 30

SKU:10310.12010.104

Color Index Code: PB 30 (Pigment Blue 30)

Malachite is a rich, natural copper mineral celebrated for its striking, bold striations and is recognized as perhaps the oldest known bright green pigment. Historically sourced from the Sinai Peninsula and Eastern Egypt, it was widely utilized in pre-dynastic Egypt for cosmetics, as well as in early panel and wall paintings. Up until the 18th century, it remained the most crucial green in the artist's palette globally, even though its chemical cousin, azurite, was slightly more dominant in European painting. Chemically, malachite is a basic copper carbonate distinguished from azurite by a higher level of combined water. As a pigment, it is highly versatile, excellently suited for tempera, and completely permanent in true fresco when mixed fresh with lime; however, when bound in oil mediums, it naturally takes on a warmer, yellowish-green hue. To create this specific pigment, raw ore is sourced from the Eastern Congo. Because it arrives as a very crude stone, it undergoes a meticulous preparation process inspired by historical European and Chinese recipes, wherein the mineral is carefully hand-separated, crushed, ground, sieved, and levigated to extract the purest color and properly clean the pigment's surface.

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