Green pigments and mixtures
Artists' Materials
Green hues were obtained in a variety of ways: copper sulphates, copper carbonates as well as mixtures of azurite with lead-tin yellow and an organic yellow were identified. The individual artists seemed to favour one or more of these greens, which helps define their ‘signature’ palette.
Areas painted with copper sulphates were often found to contain high amounts of silicon. This may be due to the presence of quartz and other silicates, which would be naturally mixed with mineral copper sulphates.
Saints Peter and Paul (suffrage to saints Peter and Paul)
St Peter holds a book and keys, St Paul a sword. The saints’ images exemplify the Master of James IV of Scotland’s remarkable skill as a portraitist. The architectural border was supplied by the Painter of Additional 15677.
Like the other two miniatures painted by the Master of James IV of Scotland, this image is characterised by the exclusive use of lead-tin yellow in yellow areas, the lack of significant impurities in the blue azurite, the presence of indigo in grey areas and of a copper pigment mixed with the clay-rich ochre, and the use of a copper carbonate or sulphate mixed with lead-tin yellow in green areas. The three architectural borders on these folios are the only ones amongst those analysed which contain mosaic gold.