Pigments of timeless mastery
Below you can read more about the ten most important pigments that formed the basis of Vermeer’s timeless mastery:
1. Lead white
- What is it? A basic lead carbonate. It was the most important white pigment in the seventeenth century due to its excellent covering power and the unique way in which it reflects light.
- Example in Vermeer’s work: The Milkmaid. The subtle sheen on the spout of the milk jug and the iconic play of light on the wall are masterfully rendered using lead white.
- Interesting fact: White lead is extremely toxic. Artists at the time ran the risk of lead poisoning (‘painters’ colic’). Nevertheless, it was indispensable, as it also helped the oil paint to dry more quickly. From the 19th century onwards, white lead was banned and replaced by zinc white and titanium white.
2. Yellow Ochre
- What is it? A natural earth pigment consisting of clay and iron oxides. It has a warm, golden-yellow to brownish-yellow hue.
- Example in Vermeer’s work: Woman Reading a Letter in Blue. The warm, neutral tones in the background and on the map demonstrate Vermeer’s strategic use of ochre to create balance.
- Interesting fact: Ochre is one of the oldest pigments in the world and was already being used in prehistoric times for cave paintings. It was cheap, highly stable and mixed perfectly with almost any other pigment.
3. Vermilion
- What is it? A bright red pigment made from mercury sulphide. It could be extracted naturally from the mineral cinnabar, but was often produced synthetically in the Netherlands.
- Examples in Vermeer’s work: *The Glass of Wine* and *Lady with Two Gentlemen*. The vermilion can be seen in the young women’s dazzling red-orange satin garments.
- Interesting fact: In the 17th century, Dutch vermilion was renowned as the finest in the world. The process of heating mercury and sulphur to produce a deep-red powder was a well-guarded chemical secret. Vermilion has good covering power and colour intensity, but it lacks lightfastness. The colour fades over time and turns black.
4. Raw Umber
- What is it? A natural earth pigment containing manganese oxide as well as iron, which gives it a cooler, greenish-brown hue.
- Example in Vermeer’s work: View of Delft. Vermeer made extensive use of raw umber in the shadowed areas of the buildings and the water to create depth and an atmospheric coolness.
- Interesting fact: Umber is known for significantly speeding up the drying time of oil paint due to its manganese content. Vermeer often used it in his ‘underpaintings’ (the initial sketchy layers). The name is derived from ‘umbria’ – shadow – and refers to the Italian province where this raw material is mined.
5. Madder lacquer
- What is it? A transparent, organic red pigment extracted from the roots of the madder plant (Rubia tinctorum).
- Example in Vermeer’s work: Girl with a Pearl Earring. Her soft pink, glossy lips owe their vibrant colour to a transparent glaze of madder lacquer applied over a brighter underlayer.
- Interesting fact: In the 17th century, Zeeland was a global centre for the cultivation and processing of madder. As it is a transparent ‘lacquer pigment’, it was applied in thin, glossy layers (glazes).
6. Green Earth
- What is it? A natural silicate mineral with a soft, grey-green hue and low opacity.
- Example in Vermeer’s work: Seated Virginal Player. Vermeer used green earth in a highly unconventional way: he mixed it into the shadows of the skin tones on his characters’ faces and necks.
- Interesting fact: The use of green earth in flesh tones (skin) was actually a medieval technique (verdaccio). Vermeer’s contemporaries found it strange at the time, but it gave his shadows a unique, cool vibrancy.
7. Soot Black and Ivory Black
- What is it? Soot black is produced by collecting soot from burning oil or fat (cool, bluish black). Ivory black (or bone black) is made by charring bones or ivory (deep, warm black).
- Example in Vermeer’s work: The Guitar Player. The deep, dark patterns on her jacket and the shadows behind her demonstrate Vermeer’s use of these blacks to create contrast.
- Interesting fact: Vermeer rarely mixed his black pigments in their pure form. To give the shadows a sense of ‘air’, he often mixed soot black with a touch of ultramarine or ochre, ensuring the shadows remained transparent and vibrant rather than ‘flat’.
8. Ultramarine blue
- What is it? A legendary blue pigment made from ground lapis lazuli, a semi-precious stone which, at the time, was imported exclusively via Afghanistan.
- Example in Vermeer’s work: Girl with a Pearl Earring (her iconic blue turban) or Woman in Blue Reading a Letter.
- Interesting fact: In the seventeenth century, ultramarine was more valuable than gold. The name derives from ‘ultra mare’, meaning ‘beyond the sea’. Whilst most painters used it sparingly, Vermeer was almost reckless with it; he even mixed it into the backgrounds, white walls and shadows to capture the characteristic ‘Delft light’. This plunged his family into deep debt at the time.
9. Lead yellow
- What is it? A synthetic, bright yellow pigment produced by fusing lead and tin oxides at high temperatures.
- Example in Vermeer’s work: The Love Letter. The radiant yellow jacket worn by the seated woman is painted with this intense, opaque yellow.
- Interesting fact: Lead tin yellow was the yellow of the Renaissance and Baroque periods, but after 1750 it suddenly fell completely into obscurity, overshadowed by rediscovered pigments such as Naples yellow. It was not until the 20th century that the formula was rediscovered by scientists. Lead tin yellow was, alongside ultramarine blue, the second most precious pigment. Warmer shades of lead tin yellow were produced at lower temperatures, whilst the lighter lemon yellow was produced at higher temperatures.
10. Smalt
- What is it? A pigment made from finely ground, cobalt-containing glass. It has an intense blue colour, but when mixed with oil it often loses its colour intensity over the centuries.
- Example in Vermeer’s work: Christ in the House of Martha and Mary. Mary’s blue dress contains smalt as a cheaper base for the expensive ultramarine.
- Interesting fact: As smalt is essentially glass, it had to be ground very coarsely; if ground too finely, the powder turned grey. Unfortunately, the cobalt-containing glass often reacts with oil, causing many blue areas in 17th-century paintings to have turned a dull grey or brown over the centuries.
The alchemy of Vermeer
Vermeer’s genius lay not in possessing an infinite array of colours, but in the way he combined these specific substances. Through the contrast between the exorbitantly expensive, bright ultramarine and the warm lead tin yellow, overlaid with the brightness of lead white, he succeeded in freezing time and capturing Dutch daylight forever on the canvas.
In the ‘Vermeer Studio’ at the Vermeer Centrum Delft, you can discover even more about Johannes Vermeer’s pigments. Click here to book your online ticket.