Chinese Painting Pigments: High-Quality Colors for Artists

The pigments from Gongbi painting from China is known for their great accuracy and vibrant color. Their source are natural minerals and plants which undergoes a complex process of grinding and refining to obtain the desired quality. These pigments are very dense allowing for quite detail and realistic representations. Cinnabar, for example, serves as a striking red color while azurite is used to represent blue. The pigments must be able to translate vigorously to the surface onto which they are drawn; these are mostly silk or fine paper requiring the highest quality of printing gold. Highly skilled application of Gongbi painting pigments is necessary due to many layers, mostly opaque, needed to build volume and texture in the picture.