A natural mineral, it was unpopular in oil paint because of its coarse granules, but worked well in water-based media. It faded from use after a brief revival in the 19th century.
Renoir
First imported through Venice by 1300, it became more precious than gold until it could be made synthetically from 1830. The queen of pigments.
Our ancestors went to the beach and swam there for health. They soon wrapped themselves up in clothing, though, and only in late 19th century dared to dress for the beach.
In narrative, including Degas’ ‘Waiting’, as a sign of wind, as an arc of colour, or simply to tell the viewer that it’s raining.
No public holidays, and no paid leave either. Despite that, mill workers travelled by train to the seaside in Wakes Weeks.
Mr Punch and his wife Judy, and the crocodile as acted by puppets and itinerant players, and circus clowns. Paintings by Cézanne, Renoir and others.
A deer substituted for the sacrifice of Iphigenia, as companions for the sorceresses Medea and Circe, in Bonnard’s rural idyll, Rosa Bonheur’s wildlife portraits, and others.
Paintings by Edgar Degas, John Brett, Alfred Hunt, Giuseppe De Nittis, Marià Fortuny, Renoir, Joseph Stella, and others.
Paintings by Martín Rico, a Spaniard who painted in Venice ever summer, and died in the city, Renoir, John Henry Twachtman, Frank Duveneck, Boudin, and others.
Later landscapes from 1880, by Boudin, Vincent van Gogh, Gauguin, Renoir, and others, prior to their decline in the early 20th century.
The Eclectic Light Company 