The Materials Foyer is a carefully-curated reference library in the heart of the Art School where students can learn more about what materials mean to conservators, carvers and artists. Its purpose is to draw attention to materials, create dialogue and acknowledge the breadth of processes used across our Historic Carving, Conservation and Fine Art departments. The Materials Foyer is curated to reflect the current Materials Matters focus; for 2018/19, this is Pigment.

  • Sketchbook pages, Keith Price
  • Exposed, Onya McCausland
  • Gilding sample board, Silje Loa Thrysøe Jørgensen
  • Little fighter, Sarm Derbois
  • Research into colour variation of copper sulphate for egg tempera, Catalina Christensen
  • Jiacopo di Cione’s San Pier Maggiore Altarpiece (Saint Gregory), Meredith Thomas
  • Sugarlift aquatint etched on zinc plate
  • Synthetic pigments, Winsor & Newton
  • Carved upholstery sample, Kristy Flood
  • Colour wheel of translucent and opaque pigments, Melaney Gibson
  • Carved eagle, 1800-1850
  • Terre Verte (natural earth pigment and Historic Indian yellow
  • Carved acanthus leaf, Silje Loa Thrysøe Jørgensen
  • Samples exposed to 150 years of light at average gallery conditions
  • Studio composition for egg tempera painting, Andrew Grassie

As essential key material for artists, designers, craft specialists, conservators and restorers, pigments have been used through millennia to image and ornate, from the most domestic object to the most ritually significant. With thousands of known pigments available across the world, their historic impact is profound and enduring.

Sketchbook pages
Visual complements derived from after-images mapped against pigment mixtures that produce neutrals
Artists’ quality oil paints on primed paper

Keith Price, Head of Foundation Diploma in Art & Design

Exposed
Chalk from Steeple Morton, Hertfordshire

Onya McCausland, Visiting lecturer, Fine Art

Gilding sample board
Gold and silver leaf on varying bole colour grounds

Silje Loa Thrysøe Jørgensen, Diploma Ornamental Woodcarving & Gilding student

Little fighter
Bronze with ferric nitrate and copper nitrate

Sarm Derbois, MA Fine Art graduate

Research into colour variation of copper sulphate for egg tempera
dependent upon the feed and breed of hens

Catalina Christensen, BA Fine Art graduate

Jiacopo di Cione’s San Pier Maggiore Altarpiece (Saint Gregory)
Gesso grosso, gesso sottile, shell gold, gold and silver gilding, punchwork and egg tempera on panel

Meredith Thomas, BA Conservation Studies student

Sugarlift aquatint etched on zinc plate
Left, black printing ink with 25% Prussian blue
Right, black printing with 50% raw umber

Synthetic pigments
Cadmium red, terre verte, ultramarine blue, and yellow ochre with linseed oil, gum arabic and acrylic medium on paper

Winsor & Newton

Carved upholstery sample
Paint layers, tinted oils, beeswax and pigment on tulip wood

Kristy Flood, Diploma Ornamental Woodcarving & Gilding graduate

Colour wheel of translucent and opaque pigments

Melaney Gibson, BA Conservation Studies student

Carved eagle, 1800-1850
Pigment dispersion of red lead ground layer on left wing, below laminated joint
Sample on glass slide
Polarised light microscopy x400
Cross-polar light microscopy x400
Under polarised light x100
Under cross-polar light x400

Terre Verte (natural earth pigment)
Samples on paper – natural earth and synthetic pigment
Contemporary Terre Verte products
Historic Indian Yellow
Samples on paper – historic and synthetic pigment
Contemporary Indian Yellow products

Winsor & Newton Archive

Carved acanthus leaf
Gesso, bole, gilding, burnishing, toning and distressing on lime wood

Silje Loa Thrysøe Jørgensen , Diploma Ornamental Woodcarving & Gilding student

Samples exposed to 150 years of light at average gallery conditions
Above and below show natural earth and contemporary synthetic Terre Verte
Left to right show before and after test

Winsor & Newton Laboratory & Archives

Studio composition for egg tempera painting
Pigment and artists’ materials for painting Object 1

Andrew Grassie, Lecturer, Fine Art

The Materials Foyer is kindly supported by Winsor & Newton.

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