Friday, May 20, 2011

"Smalt"...an art phenomena


Ground glass used in paint pigments?--yep. Renaissance artists used ground cobalt containing glass to add vibrancy to their paintings. Smalt is "...a ground blue potassium glass containing cobalt used among the 15th and the 18th centuries. In Europe the use of smalt as an artist's pigment was widespread certainly as early as the late sixteenth century. Smalt was popular because of its low cost and its manufacture became a specialty of the Dutch and Flemish in the 17th century. Smalt is a very good dryer and was used for this purpose and also to give bulk to thick glazes containing lake pigments which are poor dryers."

Smalt [Wikipedia]

essential vermeer

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