The Paint Made From Corpses That Shocked The Art World

Did you know the brown color used in many famous 19th-century paintings was literally made from human remains? Meet "Mummy Brown," the most disturbing pigment in art history.
Welcome back to Ars Historica! In Episode 02 of "The Alchemy of Art," we dive into the bizarre pigment trade of the Victorian era. Discover how sacred ancient Egyptian mummies were looted, imported, and ground up by apothecaries to create one of the most coveted colors by master painters: Mummy Brown.
From Eugène Delacroix to the horror of painter Burne-Jones (who literally buried his tubes of paint when he discovered the truth), follow the history of the pigment that destroyed the past to paint the future.
0:00 - The Secret in the Shadows 0:56 - Medicinal Cannibalism and Apothecaries 1:55 - The Apothecary's Paint 2:54 - The Royal Pigment 3:45 - The Ignorant Geniuses 4:38 - The Funeral of a Paint Tube 5:30 - The End of the Supply 6:24 - The Paradox of Immortality 7:09 - The Eternal Shadow


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