The metal cobalt has been used for centuries as an ingredient in glass making. It can be found in the luminous bright colours of medieval stained glass windows, as well as in the blue and white pottery of China produced during the Tang dynasty. Then, in the nineteenth century, the pigment cobalt blue was produced...
Continue readingWe had the pleasure to interview Belgian artist, Johan Van Mullem during his recent exhibition REVERENCE in London, following his successful exhibition Bleu-Topique at the Musee d’Art Classique de Mougins in France. Driven by emotion and human gesture, Johan van Mullem’s art captures traces of ethereal portraits which radiate through earthly tones. Every face is...
Continue readingFaded, monumental figures loom out of a haze of muted blue and white tones. Classical in representation and with an air of piety, this drawing looks as though it could be a fresco by an Italian master, fading away on the wall of a stone chapel. In fact, Trio (Tendon Transplant) is from a series...
Continue readingThe much loved seventeenth century Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer remains something of an enigma, even today. After his death in 1675, unlike many artists, Vermeer did not leave behind any drawings or plans of his paintings, nor any diaries. Yet we have come to recognise and relish the idyllic quality that Vermeer captures in...
Continue readingBlue is all around us. As the renowned British presenter and naturalist Sir David Attenborough reminds us, our beautiful Earth is so abundant in oceans, it is often referred to as The Blue Planet. Yet, as surrounded by blue as we are, it has not been the easiest colour from which to create pigment. Early...
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