The meanings of color needed paints to carry them. Egyptian painters made their colors mostly from minerals and worked on plaster or smoothed stone.
Key idea
Painters used mineral colors, including the first known synthetic pigment, Egyptian blue, on plaster or stone. Most Egyptian art was painted in bright colors.
| Color | Made from |
|---|---|
| Black | soot (carbon) |
| White | gypsum or chalk |
| Red and yellow | ochres: iron-rich earths |
| Green | malachite, a copper mineral, or ground green frit |
| Blue | Egyptian blue, made by heating sand, lime, copper and a flux |
Why it works
Mineral colors last. They do not fade in sunlight the way many plant dyes do, which suited art made for eternity. Blue minerals like lapis lazuli were rare and costly, so Egyptians invented a way to make blue: heating sand, lime and copper with a little natron in a furnace, then grinding the blue glassy result. Egyptian blue is the first known synthetic pigment, and it was used for thousands of years.
How a wall was painted
- The wall was smoothed. Poor stone or mud brick was coated with mud plaster and a thin white layer.
- A grid and a sketch in red were drawn, then corrected in black.
- Colors were mixed with a binder, such as plant gum, and laid on the dry plaster in flat areas. This is not fresco, which paints into wet plaster.
- Brushes were made from reeds and palm fibers; fine outlines were added last.
Worked example: Why make blue?
Why did Egyptians manufacture blue instead of grinding a blue stone?
- Blue stones like lapis lazuli were rare and imported.
- Sand, lime and copper were easy to find.
- Heating them made a lasting blue in quantity.
Answer: Egyptian blue was cheaper and plentiful.
Worked example: Fresco or not?
A painting’s colors sit on top of a dry white layer, held by gum. Is it a fresco?
- A fresco is painted into wet plaster.
- Here the plaster was dry and the color was held by a binder.
Answer: No: it was painted on dry plaster.
Common mistake
Thinking Egyptian art was the plain stone color we see today. Most was painted in bright colors; the paint has worn away. Quick check: look for traces of color in protected corners.
Some of the finest New Kingdom paintings come from the tomb chapel of Nebamun at Thebes, now in the British Museum: a garden pool, a banquet and a hunt in the marshes.