The Colors Issue

Description

From the Lascaux caves to Jeff Koons, through Leonardo Da Vinci and Perugino. Egyptian blue, ultramarine blue, red ochre, lead white. These are just some of the pigments used historically for the set of compositions that we usually classify as graphic art. But perhaps not everyone knows where they come from and how these colours have been created over the centuries, gradually grinding minerals, kneading and fixing them to create some of civilisation’s greatest masterpieces. And hardly anyone knows how they are analysed today in chemistry, mineralogy, geology, sometimes even resorting to the “mysteries” of quantum mechanics. This is why, in collaboration with scientists from the University of Perugia, we decided to turn to Leonardo Da Vinci and Peruginetto (perhaps the cousin of the more famous Perugino?) to learn more about the mysteries of the materials they used in their compositions. And as is so often the case, we discovered more than a thing or two along an exhilarating, wildly temporal trip by Walter Leoni and Filippo Paparelli. An adventure that, no matter how absurd, never forgets the rigorous documentation that is the trademark of Comics&Science.