"If modern paint companies’ pretentiously-named color palettes gall you to the point of an exclusively black-and-white existence, the Harvard Art Museums’ Forbes pigment collection will prove a welcome balm. The hand and typewritten labels identifying the collection’s 2500+ pigments boast none of the flashy 'creativity' that J. Crew employs to peddle its cashmere Boyfriend Cardigans. The benign, and wholly unexciting-sounding 'emerald green' is — unsurprisingly —the exact shade legions of Oz fans have come to expect. The thrills here are chemical, not conferred. A mix of crystalline powder copper acetoarsenite, this emerald’s fumes sickened penniless artists as adroitly as they repelled insects. Look how nicely it goes with Van Gogh’s ruddy hair. ..."
Open Culture (Video)
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