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Ultramarine was ground from lapis lazuli, mined in one remote valley in Afghanistan and carried across Asia. It cost more by weight than gold, which is why Renaissance painters saved it for the Virgin's robe.

Ultramarine

ArtHistory

Why it matters

The idea in context

The name means 'beyond the sea' — the direction it arrived from. Contracts of the period specified how much ultramarine a patron was paying for, as they would specify gold leaf. Extracting a pure blue from the stone took days of grinding, kneading with wax and washing. In 1824 a French prize was offered for a synthetic version; it was met within a few years, and the colour that had signalled devotion and expense became available to anyone. Yves Klein later built an entire body of work around the shade.

Türkçe

Aynı kart, başka bir dilde.

Ultramarin, Afganistan'da tek bir ıssız vadide çıkarılan ve Asya boyunca taşınan lapis lazuliden öğütülüyordu. Ağırlık başına altından pahalıydı; Rönesans ressamlarının onu Meryem'in cübbesine saklamasının nedeni buydu.
Ultramarin

Ad 'denizin ötesi' anlamına gelir — geldiği yön. Dönemin sözleşmeleri, altın varakta olduğu gibi, bir haminin ne kadar ultramarin için ödeme yaptığını belirtirdi. Taştan saf mavi çıkarmak günlerce öğütme, balmumuyla yoğurma ve yıkama isterdi. 1824'te sentetik bir sürüm için Fransa'da ödül kondu; birkaç yıl içinde kazanıldı ve bağlılığı ve masrafı simgeleyen renk herkes için ulaşılır oldu. Yves Klein sonradan tüm bir külliyatı bu tonun üzerine kurdu.

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Background reading: UltramarineAttribution and context are revised when stronger evidence appears. Corrections are welcome through the editorial page.
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