A history of colour in the home - part 2

A History of Colour in the Home - Part 2

The Twelve Fundamental Pigments

Understanding and engaging with the grammar of these pigments is the key to creating a scheme of materials that feels harmonious and balanced. We will be going deeper into these pigments later in the course.

Earth pigments

• Yellow Ochre
• Red Ochre
• Raw Umber
• Raw Sienna
• Burnt Umber

Mineral pigments

• Violet
• Prussian Blue
• Ultramarine
• Chromium Green
• Lemon Yellow
• Lamp Black
• Titanium White

The Twelve Fundamental Pigments

The use of colour became almost instantly hierarchical due to the widely available nature of some pigments compared with the scarcity - and therefore expense - of others. This meant that more complex tones of red, purple and green for example were only found in the dwellings of the rulers and the rich.

As time went by, pigments became more widely available and these colours filtered through into the homes of different social groups and classes. The way in which these colours are used, where they are used and by whom therefore develops into the language of social status.

Tonal Neutrals

White, black and the two earth pigments red ochre and yellow ochre are what I call our democratic default palette. From these four pigments you can create greys, off-whites and stoney neutrals which are all incredibly useful in any decorating scheme. Think of these four pigments and the colours they create as underlying tones to form the base of your scheme.