(ORDO NEWS) — The grim Mummy Brown paint color takes the adage “suffer for your art” to a new level, monopolizing the suffering of others, or at least their death.
Made from the crushed remains of mummified humans, it has been used for centuries and is believed to have been included in some famous paintings.
Pickled people pigment was created from mummies brought from Egypt, including cats and humans, that were ground into a powder.
While some of this powder has been incorporated into medicines, it has also found use in art as a pleasing pigment for a variety of uses.
Mummy Brown pigment paint became a favorite of European painters as early as the 16th century. She was valued for her transparency, which relied on shadows, skin tones, and glazing in both oils and watercolors.
By the 19th century, the Pre-Raphaelite painters were in possession of the paint, and although it is difficult to determine exactly which works it is depicted in, the artists Eugène Delacroix, Edward Burne-Jones and William Beechey are known to have acquired such paint.
How exactly these artists were aware of what was in Mummy Brown is a matter of debate, as the Pre-Raphaelites seem to have begun to abandon this material as understanding grew of where it actually came from.
So, according to some reports, when Burne-Jones discovered where the pigment came from, he was “extremely distressed” and arranged a ceremonial funeral in the garden to rest his stocks.
A combination of disgust and declining supplies meant that the use of this paint was greatly reduced by the 20th century. At the same time, the paint may not look so bad compared to other uses for mummies.
So, in our history, people have used mummies as food, as home games, and even taken them to bed as a means of healing.
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