Red pigments are materials used to create red colors in painting and other art forms. They are typically made from minerals, but can also be derived from insects or plants.
Historically, red pigments were often made from iron oxides, such as hematite. These pigments have been found in cave paintings in France dating to between 16,000 and 25,000 BC. The bright scarlet color, vermilion, was made by pulverizing the mineral cinnabar.
Other sources of red pigments include:
- Cochineal: This vibrant red dye is derived from the crushed bodies of cochineal insects, which are grown on plantations in South America and Mexico.
- Natural Red Ochre pigments: These pigments are derived from earths containing high amounts of hematite, a blood-red mineral. They have been used since prehistory.
Modern red pigments are often synthetically produced, but many traditional methods of extracting red pigments from natural sources are still in use today.
