During the 17th Century, artists Rubens and Carravagio used ultramarine blue pigments that were made using crushed semi-precious lapis lazuli stones mined in Afghanistan, which cost more than its weight in gold. Due to its expense, only the most illustrious artists were allowed to use this pigment.
Early 17th Century painters in Mexico, however enjoyed the use of a vivid azure blue pigment which originated with the Indigenous Maya.
From as early as 450 AD, the Maya created murals featuring a generous application of a rich blue pigment that was created by mixing dye from the *añil plant, a member of the indigo family, with a rare clay called attapulgite. An example of this is found in the Mayan temple of Chichén Itza.
In a first-hand account written during the 16th Century by Bishop Diego de Landa Calderón, he writes that sacrificial victims and the alters upon which they were to be sacrificed were painted in a brilliant blue paint. The paint which we now refer to as Maya Blue shows no signs of degradation when exposed to boiling nitric acid, strong solvents, and bases. It has shown stability even at very high temperatures (up to 250⁰C).
Baltasar de Echave Ibia painted such elaborate blues that he became known as ‘El Echave de los azules’ (the Echave of the blues). His father, Baltasar de Echave Orio, also used blue generously, but Echave Ibia was especially famous for his copious use and mastery of the colour.
The 17th Century artists of Mexico were only able to avail themselves of this color due to the artistry of their indigenous predecessors.
#Mexico #Mexican #Maya #Mayan #MayaBlue #ultramarineblue #blue #TheImmaculateConcepcion #Mary #Maria #ImmaculadaConcepción #MuseoNacionaldeArte #BaltasardeEchaveIbia #art #artist #arte #painter #mannerist #indigenous #indigenouspeople
* This is Indigofera Suffruticosa, widely distributed throughout the American tropics and subtropics, and therefore known as Guatemala Indigo, Wild Indigo, and Añil.
Comments