![]() ![]() Our first President lavished this late 18th-century status symbol on his Virginia home, Mount Vernon. ![]() A rich dark blue with greenish undertones, it has a high tinting strength but is changeable when exposed to light and air. As a result, when the first modern pigment, Prussian blue, was introduced in the 18th century, it was a smashing success. Notably, white is not among them, nor is a pure blue. These traditional pigments impart a subtle movement and life to painted surfaces, which modern synthetic paints cannot match. That means that a historical paint made from red ochre, for instance, can vary wildly in color from earthy brown to reddish purple, depending on the “mixers.” No wonder historical color palettes tend toward regional hues. The West Parlor at Washington’s Mount Vernon was first painted an eye-popping Prussian blue in 1787.īefore the first pre-mixed paints appeared in the 1870s, paints were mixed locally on site by blending dry pigments with minerals like sand from a nearby beach, quarry, or desert. In the 17th and 18th centuries, that made it easy for German and Swiss immigrants settling in Pennsylvania, for example, to transfer their folk painting traditions to the new world, resulting in Pennsylvania Deutsch furniture and decoration. They’re also available almost everywhere. The eight essential colonial colors are the most stable natural colorants. Copper is the basis for many blues and greens, including the turquoise color known as Egyptian blue, first mixed 5,000 years ago. The warm hues so familiar to us from early American applications-brown, burnt orange, tawny red and pink, rich tan, and yellow-come from iron oxides like ochre, umber, and sienna. This is especially so considering the tints come from about eight core colors, sourced either from iron oxide or copper. That said, even historical palettes based on earth pigments are surprisingly varied. Their alternatives-earthy, ground pigments mixed with minerals and binders-tended to be both similar to and harmonious with the colors found in building materials like stone and brick. Yes, it’s a fact: Early in our history, those with the means to buy painted finishes chose bright colors like the fabled Prussian blue used by George Washington. Pale pinks were possible in the early 18th century thanks to the wide availability of pigments of a reddish cast, which acquired delicacy when mixed with white.
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