Earths and minerals
Natural pigments and precious earths in icons
The colours of an icon come from the earth: ochres, green and red earths, precious minerals such as lapis lazuli and cinnabar. Ground by hand in a mortar and bound with egg yolk, they are the same materials used by the old masters, and they bring the mineral kingdom of creation into the icon.
The three kingdoms of creation
Every icon gathers the whole of creation: the wood of the panel recalls the plant kingdom, glue and egg yolk the animal kingdom, metal oxides, earths and minerals the mineral kingdom. Nothing is synthetic: everything is offered to God as He created it.
The earths and minerals of the palette
Yellow and red ochres
Natural earths rich in iron oxides: the warm base of faces and garments.
Green earths
Used for the first flesh tone, the darkest layer from which the light of the face is born.
Lapis lazuli
The precious mineral that yields ultramarine blue: the colour of heaven and of humanity.
Cinnabar
An intense red of mineral origin: the colour of life, love and martyrdom.
White
Used in the final highlights: the light that transfigures.
Egg yolk
The binder of tempera: it turns powder into colour and fixes it for centuries.
Why egg tempera
Egg tempera dries quickly and allows extremely thin glazes to be layered: this is what lets the iconographer move from the darkest tone to the light, layer after layer. Protected by olifa, it is one of the most durable painting techniques known.
