Ultramarine is a pigment that for hundreds of years had a very special status among artists’ materials. Traditionally ground from the semi-precious stone lapis lazuli, it can produce the most intense, deep, cool shades of blue. It also has a particular translucency that gives paintings a brilliance that no other pigment can provide, and, crucially, it is a stable, which means that it does not deteriorate or fade easily. This exotic pigment has been used by European artists since the thirteenth century and for a long time was the most extensive and desirable blue. Read more >