With the advancement of technology, today’s visual artists have access to safe and, even more recently, environmentally sustainable materials. However, in the time of the old masters, all the way until about 1978, paint and many other art materials were notoriously toxic. 

Ancient civilizations used many innovative ways to create pigments to color clothing, objects and even buildings, striking hues that, literally in some cases, were to die for. 

  My personal favorite pigment to study, not use, is Mummy Brown, also known as Egyptian Brown, from its distinct hue being derived from the ground-up remnants of ancient Egyptian mummies, both human and feline. It has nice transparency and could be used for glazes, shadows and flesh tones but has the tendency to crack and waiver due to the ammonia and particles of fat that also affected the other colors used. The demand for the pigment became so great that it outstripped the available supply of true Egyptian mummies, leading the use of “other” corpses. 

The most commonly used pigment that posed a threat to health was Lead White. It was traced back to about 2,500 years ago, making it one of the earliest synthetic pigments created by mankind. The production of this color is described in detail by Theophrastus of Eresos, stated in his work “On Stones:”

  “It is made from very fine shavings of lead, placed over a vessel filled with the strongest vinegar; by which means the shavings become dissolved. That which falls into the vinegar is first dried, and then pounded and sifted, after which it is again mixed with vinegar, and is then divided into tablets and dried in the sun, during summer.”

  Through ingestion, inhalation and skin absorption this paint can lead to lead poisoning in which one will experience headaches, abdominal pains, joint and muscle pain and high blood pressure. The effects are even more detrimental for children who may suffer from developmental delays and weight loss.  Even though today we have developed safer pigments for creating white, titanium dioxide, lead white is warmer and softer, making it better for painting skin tones. This led to some painters purposely seeking out toxic paints.

A more recently manufactured deadly pigment is Uranium Orange, which is a product of the 20th century; it was not used by painters but used as a ceramic glaze. In the 1930s, Fiesta (Fiestaware), a line of ceramic dinnerware, was introduced to the United States. It came in five colors: red-orange being the most popular. The red set has also been more expensive due to the greater level of control needed during the firing process. 

   Despite their quality control, the ingredient that gave these dinner wares their striking colors was achieved by adding uranium oxide in the glaze, the same uranium that would be confiscated by the government in World War II to make the Atomic Bomb and other nuclear weapons.

   Its production would resume in 1956 after the war was over with depleted uranium, then the red hue would be discontinued entirely in 1973. Due to these events being very recent people still own these dinner sets, or find them in antique shops.