Who Invented Watercolor Paint? 2min. Crash Course

Artrageous with Nate

12 Jul 202102:21

Summary

TLDRThis video traces the fascinating history of watercolor paint, dating back 17,000 years to the cave paintings of Lascaux, France, where early artists mixed natural pigments with water. The evolution continued through the 1400s when artists manually ground pigments. In 1766, William Reeves revolutionized watercolor by selling portable, honey-based dried cakes. In 1856, Louis Prang introduced affordable watercolors to the masses, popularizing them in American art rooms. The video highlights key innovations that made watercolor painting more accessible and colorful throughout history.

Takeaways

🎨 Watercolor paint has ancient origins, dating back almost 17,000 years to cave paintings in Lascaux, France.
🖌️ Early humans used natural materials like charcoal, colored rocks, and flowers to create pigments by grinding them into powder and mixing with water.
⏳ The concept of watercolor paints evolved, and by the 1400s, artists were mixing and using pigments more similar to modern watercolors.
🤐 Artists in the 1400s kept their pigment mixing recipes secret, making it challenging for others to recreate their paints.
💡 Entrepreneurial artists sold clay-like clumps of paint to others, but these were hard and required grinding before use.
🍯 In 1766, William Reeves revolutionized watercolor by introducing dried cakes of paint that only needed a little water to activate, using honey as a secret ingredient.
📦 Reeves' paints were portable and accessible to both professional and amateur artists, though they were expensive.
🇺🇸 In 1856, Louis Prang made watercolor paints more affordable, helping to popularize watercolors in American art rooms.
🖼️ Reeves' and Prang's innovations democratized watercolor painting, making it more widely available.
🎨 The history of watercolor paints is a long and colorful journey from prehistoric times to the modern era.

Q & A

Where does watercolor paint originate from?
-Watercolor paint can be traced back to almost 17,000 years ago to the caves at Lascaux, France, where early humans mixed pigments like charcoal and colored rocks with water to create paint.
How was early watercolor paint made?
-Early watercolor paint was made by grinding natural materials like charcoal, colored rocks, and flowers into a powder and then mixing the powder with water as a binder.
When did artists start using watercolor paints similar to today's version?
-In the 1400s, artists began using watercolor paints more similar to the ones we know today, although they were still grinding and mixing their own pigments.
How did artists make watercolor paints in the 1400s?
-Artists in the 1400s had to mix and grind their own pigments, often keeping their recipes secret, and the paints were typically sold in hard clay-like clumps.
Who was William Reeves and what was his contribution to watercolor paints?
-William Reeves was an entrepreneur in 1766 who revolutionized watercolor paint by selling dried cakes that only needed water to activate. He used honey as a secret ingredient, making the cakes pliable and easy to use.
What was the advantage of William Reeves’ watercolor cakes?
-William Reeves’ watercolor cakes were easily accessible and could be used by both professional and amateur artists. They were bendable, could be made into different shapes, and only needed a small amount of water to activate.
Why were watercolor paints in the 1700s considered expensive?
-Watercolor paints were expensive during this time due to the intricate production process, the quality of the pigments, and the fancy packaging such as decorative shields.
What significant development did Louis Prang introduce to watercolor paints?
-In 1856, Louis Prang introduced affordable watercolor paints, making them accessible to the general public and spreading their use in art rooms across America.
What is the importance of Louis Prang's contribution to watercolor paint history?
-Louis Prang made watercolor paints affordable for the masses, democratizing art materials and enabling more people to engage in painting.
How has the history of watercolor paints evolved over time?
-Watercolor paints have evolved from being a primitive mixture of natural pigments and water 17,000 years ago to becoming widely accessible art materials, thanks to innovations by figures like William Reeves and Louis Prang.

Outlines

00:00

🖌️ The Origins of Watercolor Paint

The origin of watercolor paint dates back 17,000 years to the cave paintings of Lascaux, France. Early humans created primitive paints by grinding natural elements like charcoal, rocks, and flowers into a powder, which they mixed with water as a binder. Though basic, this method of making watercolor-like paint has endured millennia.

🎨 Watercolor in the 1400s: A Secretive Art

By the 1400s, artists began developing watercolor paints similar to those used today, though they still had to grind their own pigments. Artists kept their paint recipes secret, making it difficult for others to replicate their colors. Some entrepreneurial artists sold clay-like paint clumps to other artists, which required significant work to prepare, as they had to grind the clumps and add water to create usable paint.

🍯 William Reeves and the Honey Revolution

In 1766, William Reeves revolutionized watercolor painting by selling dried cakes that were easy to activate with water. His innovation came from adding honey to the cakes, making them pliable and easy to shape. This innovation allowed both professional and amateur artists to access high-quality paint that was convenient to use, though the paints were still relatively expensive.

🖼️ Louis Prang: Affordable Watercolors for All

In 1856, Louis Prang entered the watercolor scene, making the medium more affordable for the masses. His introduction of more accessible and reasonably priced watercolor paints led to widespread use in American art classrooms, making watercolor painting more popular and available to a broader audience.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡watercolor paint

Watercolor paint is a type of paint that uses water as a solvent. It is known for its translucent properties and the way it blends on paper. In the video, watercolor paint is traced back to prehistoric times, with the earliest examples found in the Lascaux caves, where pigments were mixed with water to create paintings.

💡pigment

Pigment refers to a substance that provides color when mixed with a binder. In the context of the video, pigments were derived from natural sources like charcoal, colored rocks, and flowers. The use of pigments is central to the creation of watercolor paints, as they are the colored components that, when mixed with water, form the paint.

💡Lascaux caves

The Lascaux caves are a series of caves in France that are famous for their prehistoric cave paintings. The video mentions these caves as an early example of using pigments with water to create art, which is a precursor to modern watercolor painting.

💡1400s

The 1400s, or the 15th century, is a period in history when watercolor paints began to resemble their modern form. The video discusses how artists of this era started creating and using watercolor paints, although they still had to grind their own pigments.

💡secret recipes

In the video, 'secret recipes' refers to the proprietary formulas that artists used to create their pigments and paints. These recipes were kept secret to maintain an advantage over other artists, which is an important aspect of the history of watercolor paint development.

💡clay-like clumps

Clay-like clumps refer to the form of early watercolor paints that artists would have to grind into a fine powder and mix with water to use. The video describes how these clumps were sold to artists, requiring a significant amount of preparation before they could be used.

💡William Reeves

William Reeves is mentioned in the video as an innovator who, in 1766, began selling dried cakes of watercolor paint that only needed a little water to activate. His use of honey as a secret ingredient made the cakes pliable and easier to use, which was a significant step in the evolution of watercolor paint.

💡honey

Honey is highlighted in the video as a key ingredient used by William Reeves to make his watercolor cakes bendable and pliable. This innovation allowed the paint to be more easily manipulated and used by artists, contributing to the accessibility of watercolor painting.

💡Louis Prang

Louis Prang is noted in the video as another pivotal figure in the history of watercolor paints. In 1856, he introduced affordable watercolor paints, making them accessible to a wider audience and contributing to their popularity in America.

💡affordable watercolor paints

The term 'affordable watercolor paints' refers to the economic accessibility of these art supplies. The video discusses how, with the efforts of figures like Louis Prang, watercolor paints became more affordable and thus more widely used, democratizing the art form.

💡colorful history

The phrase 'colorful history' is used metaphorically in the video to describe the rich and varied past of watercolor painting. It encapsulates the narrative of the development of watercolor paints from primitive pigments to the accessible art supplies of today.

Highlights

Watercolor paint dates back almost 17,000 years to the caves at Lascaux, France.

Early humans mixed pigment, such as charcoal and colored rocks, with water to create primitive watercolor paints.

In the 1400s, artists began using watercolor paints similar to what we know today.

Artists in the 1400s still had to grind and mix their own pigments, keeping their recipes secret.

Entrepreneurial artists in the 1400s began selling hard clumps of paint to other artists, which had to be ground and mixed with water.

In 1766, William Reeves introduced dried watercolor cakes that only needed a little water to activate.

Reeves' watercolor cakes included honey, making them pliable and easier to shape and use.

William Reeves' innovation made high-quality watercolor paints more accessible to both professional and amateur artists.

Despite Reeves' innovation, his watercolor cakes were not cheap, reflecting their quality.

In 1856, Louis Prang revolutionized watercolor paints by making them more affordable for the general public.

Prang’s affordable paints made watercolors accessible to a much wider audience, including schools and art rooms across America.

Primitive watercolor paints, made 17,000 years ago, are still visible in cave paintings today.

In the early days, making watercolor paints involved using natural pigments like flowers and rocks, a simple yet effective method.

The use of watercolor paints transitioned from being an artisan's secret to becoming more widely distributed and commercially accessible over time.

The introduction of easily portable and ready-to-use watercolor paints transformed art, allowing for more spontaneous and widespread artistic expression.