Artists' Pigments

A Pigment Handbook is designed to reach a wide audience as the ultimate authority on artists' colorants. With the support of the National Gallery of Art, Professor Robert Feller has edited a collection of essays on ten of the most important pigments for conservators, restorers and art historians. Many of the monographs first appeared in the quarterly of the International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Work. The first two sections describe the character and nomenclature of the pigment and the history of its use. The third deal with colour, permanence, and compatibility and the fourth section enumerates the varieties of the pigment available and explores the different methods of preparation. It also goes into the nature of colorants of natural origin and the potential variations of character dependent on the source. Section five describes methods and procedures to identify pigments and the last section lists principle citations about each particular pigment has been identified in various objects of artistic and historic significance.