Sickening Secrets of the Art Galleries
This painting by Claughton Pellew shows the view from his studio out onto a textured snowy landscape with spooky trees in the distance. He’s also included a pot of paintbrushes near the windowsill.
Which animals have a dark connection to paintbrushes?
Look at the shades of autumn in this painting! The artist, Frederick Sandys, belonged to a group of artists called the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. They loved using bright colours to make their paintings stand out.
Which poisonous paint was a favourite of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood?
The Conjuror was painted by John Everett Millais. He belonged to the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, like Frederick Sandys from Question 2. The people watching the conjuror in this painting look scared, but there is something far scarier about the Brotherhood and the colours they used…
The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood liked to paint with which horrifying brown pigment?
The title of this painting is The Paston Treasure. It was created around 1665 for the wealthy Paston family from Norfolk. Look at the girl in the painting and her ghostly white face!
Which poisonous pigment has been used to paint her?
Look closely at this pretty Floral Study. Can you spot all of the insects crawling around the flowers? There are at least four different types, but there might be another bug you can’t spot so easily…
What colour of pigment can you get from crushed cochineal beetles?
This early 17th century painting known as Vanity is full of spooky symbols, such as the skull and the snarling black cat under the bed. Black cats have been said to bring bad luck, to act as dark omens, or to be witches’ familiars (or shapeshifting witches themselves!)
What was used by some artists to produce black paint?
