The library of rare colors

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 17 มี.ค. 2019
  • The Forbes Pigment Collection at the Harvard Art Museums is a collection of pigments, binders, and other art materials for researchers to use as standards: so they can tell originals from restorations from forgeries. It's not open to the public, because it's a working research library -- and because some of the pigments in there are rare, historic, or really shouldn't be handled by anyone untrained.
    More about the Forbes Pigment Collection: www.harvardartmuseums.org/art...
    The Harvard Art Museums: www.harvardartmuseums.org/
    Edited by Michelle Martin (@mrsmmartin)
    Audio mix by Graham Haerther haerther.net/
    🟥 MORE FROM TOM: www.tomscott.com/
    (you can find contact details and social links there too)
    📰 WEEKLY NEWSLETTER with good stuff from the rest of the internet: www.tomscott.com/newsletter/
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ความคิดเห็น • 1.5K

  • @TomScottGo
    @TomScottGo  5 ปีที่แล้ว +9319

    I realised, after filming this, that it feels a little weird to have my introduction outside the Museum and the interview inside. But I'm weeks out of Boston now, so it has to stand!

    • @wongmjane
      @wongmjane 5 ปีที่แล้ว +66

      >1 week ago

    • @mug1wara262
      @mug1wara262 5 ปีที่แล้ว +33

      how long ago did you flim this and why did you put this 1 week ago

    • @mvwinf
      @mvwinf 5 ปีที่แล้ว +336

      I didn’t think it was weird!

    • @cheersluv5510
      @cheersluv5510 5 ปีที่แล้ว +80

      It feels like you're just pointing out a fact as you happen to walk past it, and not like you're about to go inside

    • @anto687
      @anto687 5 ปีที่แล้ว +203

      Works just fine, gives a general location then the interview!

  • @acrouzet
    @acrouzet 5 ปีที่แล้ว +8335

    3:17 "Lead white is toxic in the way that lead is...toxic."
    Best quote in the video.

    • @gonaldocr24
      @gonaldocr24 5 ปีที่แล้ว +137

      You can tell its an Aspen by the way it is

    • @TheVergile
      @TheVergile 5 ปีที่แล้ว +334

      well, its a reasonable observation. Some lead compounds arent toxic at all (for example if the lead is bound in a very stable way). Some lead compounds are toxic, but in a different way (due to a different mechanism) than pure lead.

    • @veloriders
      @veloriders 5 ปีที่แล้ว +60

      @@TheVergile True. My mouth has a lot of mercury in it.

    • @Azivegu
      @Azivegu 5 ปีที่แล้ว +53

      Instructions not clear, rubbed lead white over my phallus.

    • @anderslolle2147
      @anderslolle2147 5 ปีที่แล้ว +18

      The mummi brown was really funny too 😂

  • @zappawoman5183
    @zappawoman5183 5 ปีที่แล้ว +19252

    I had a dream about a brand new colour I discovered! However, it turned out to be just a pigment of my imagination...

    • @OrionMelodyMusic
      @OrionMelodyMusic 5 ปีที่แล้ว +749

      Oh, hi Dad!

    • @daniellewillgruber2768
      @daniellewillgruber2768 5 ปีที่แล้ว +603

      Sighs. Take your upvote.

    • @Lardum
      @Lardum 5 ปีที่แล้ว +237

      @@OrionMelodyMusic I did not hit her I did nooooot.
      Oh hi Dad

    • @powpuck5031
      @powpuck5031 5 ปีที่แล้ว +576

      I see what hue did there

    • @rkirke1
      @rkirke1 5 ปีที่แล้ว +340

      I had an inkling there would be bad puns to follow. Seems to be making people madder..

  • @kieran461
    @kieran461 5 ปีที่แล้ว +9292

    This feels like something someone would start as a hobby, and somehow turned it into a job.

    • @jl721ATcairn
      @jl721ATcairn 5 ปีที่แล้ว +136

      The pigment library or the channel?

    • @GabyGeorge1996
      @GabyGeorge1996 5 ปีที่แล้ว +284

      I have a feeling they’re referring to the pigment collection; but I also feel like the statement is equally applicable to the channel

    • @jl721ATcairn
      @jl721ATcairn 5 ปีที่แล้ว +46

      @@GabyGeorge1996 kind of my point

    • @GabyGeorge1996
      @GabyGeorge1996 5 ปีที่แล้ว +30

      John Lasher touché

    • @dustinwheat4096
      @dustinwheat4096 4 ปีที่แล้ว +27

      As it should be. Passion will keep you driven for decades

  • @billysmith6891
    @billysmith6891 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2598

    Going straight from VantaBlack to showing Stuart Semple's Pinkest Pink and Diamond Dust was a move of pure classiness.

    • @jezusmylord
      @jezusmylord ปีที่แล้ว +74

      Now i get it, that is pure comedy genius

    • @bab00shka48
      @bab00shka48 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@jezusmylord Stuart Semple is the definition of classy kiss my ass

    • @finleydrage5066
      @finleydrage5066 ปีที่แล้ว +36

      Omg yess I laughed at this so hard and my family looked at me weird

    • @The-Silliest-Little-Guy
      @The-Silliest-Little-Guy ปีที่แล้ว +32

      ​@jezusmylord i might be stupid but whats the joke?

    • @crypticcorvid
      @crypticcorvid ปีที่แล้ว +331

      @@The-Silliest-Little-Guy Iirc, Anish Kapoor is an artist who bought the sole right to use the vantablack pigment, so in retaliation Stuart Semple (also an artist) created the pinkest pink and made it available for everyone EXCEPT Kapoor. Semple said he'd make pinkest pink available to Kapoor only when he allows other people to use vantablack. Semple also created diamond dust, which is supposed to be the most shiniest glitter.

  • @cosmicjenny4508
    @cosmicjenny4508 5 ปีที่แล้ว +12304

    Imagine dying, being mummified, and then thousands of years later, getting mushed up and put on a canvas.
    There’s donating your body to science, and then there’s whatever this is...

    • @PhoenixClank
      @PhoenixClank 5 ปีที่แล้ว +881

      Donating your body to art?

    • @Howtard
      @Howtard 5 ปีที่แล้ว +749

      I don't think it could be called "donating" in general, I doubt anybody thought to ask them for informed consent for paint-making in their lifetimes.

    • @Ellyerre
      @Ellyerre 5 ปีที่แล้ว +438

      Well, it's not as bad as being eaten as medicine which happened in Europe during the 12th to 16th century.

    • @peter_smyth
      @peter_smyth 5 ปีที่แล้ว +576

      Do you mean dyeing?

    • @theotherwalt
      @theotherwalt 5 ปีที่แล้ว +330

      I want to know how the idea of using mummified remains as a pigment in a paint came about....
      Did someone dig up a body for some other reason and think, "that is a really nice color."?

  • @MarkWTK
    @MarkWTK 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2415

    colour exist
    artist: *gotta catch them all*

    • @AngryKittens
      @AngryKittens 5 ปีที่แล้ว +48

      PETA: colors must be free!

    • @Mr_Makina
      @Mr_Makina 5 ปีที่แล้ว +29

      *gotta shade them all*

    • @RafaelCouto
      @RafaelCouto 5 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      now I just have to make a game about this.

    • @J374338
      @J374338 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      天吉Mark I’m gonna be the KARAA MASTAA!!

    • @oceanfloor3524
      @oceanfloor3524 4 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      i am an artist, i can confirm

  • @Sypaka
    @Sypaka 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4601

    "When I was 18, i sloppily said: I rather collect colors then go to work"
    ...
    "50 years later, here I am, at this University.
    I am the Master of Colors and Pigmentresearch."

    • @renzo6490
      @renzo6490 4 ปีที่แล้ว +15

      You're still sloppy. :o)

    • @The_Simple_Dj
      @The_Simple_Dj 3 ปีที่แล้ว +15

      Cap

    • @name89452
      @name89452 ปีที่แล้ว +56

      @@The_Simple_Dj r/ wooosh

    • @JohnnyArtPavlou
      @JohnnyArtPavlou ปีที่แล้ว +1

      ❤❤❤

    • @visassess8607
      @visassess8607 ปีที่แล้ว +21

      @@name89452 What does cap mean and how did they miss a joke?

  • @psychosorcerer9438
    @psychosorcerer9438 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1773

    Glad to see Stuart's Pinkest Pink in there.

    • @SteelSkin667
      @SteelSkin667 5 ปีที่แล้ว +256

      I like that they showed them right after mentioning Vantablack.

    • @ActualCharky
      @ActualCharky 5 ปีที่แล้ว +76

      I imagine he'd get a giggle out of that positioning

    • @nazhif1
      @nazhif1 5 ปีที่แล้ว +22

      glad im not the only one who's glad

  • @kuronosan
    @kuronosan 5 ปีที่แล้ว +3936

    Haha, just had to get that shot of pinkest pink just after vantablack.

    • @bookslug2919
      @bookslug2919 5 ปีที่แล้ว +43

      Just wait.... someone will try to market pink nanotubes for 'lady-scientists'

    • @Jemima1377
      @Jemima1377 5 ปีที่แล้ว +335

      @@bookslug2919 You are not getting the point... ^_~

    • @DrZaius3141
      @DrZaius3141 5 ปีที่แล้ว +147

      @@jorgeamadosoriaramirez8953 No need to google it, just watch Tom's video on it.^^

    • @camiblack1
      @camiblack1 5 ปีที่แล้ว +126

      Not just that, but Diamond "Put Your Finger in This" Dust.

    • @LilChuunosuke
      @LilChuunosuke 5 ปีที่แล้ว +67

      I was afraid the video wouldn't include shots of stuart semple's colors, but they did!

  • @lucweerts4970
    @lucweerts4970 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2366

    I study chemistry and one of the best things is when your product turns a colour you have never seen. I had a liquid that was red from the top and green from the side, turns out it was the Tyndall effect.

    • @pandakatiefominz
      @pandakatiefominz 5 ปีที่แล้ว +160

      I have a fountain pen ink that works something like that. It's a green ink with a red sheen. Jacques Herbin 1670 Anniversary Emerald de Chivor. It also shimmers gold

    • @rickh3714
      @rickh3714 4 ปีที่แล้ว +116

      Pthalocyanine blue was invented by chance. My dad once worked with the ICI scientist that discovered it. Monastral blue. An enamel dish had a crack in it which turned bright blue when holding a solution.

    • @clockworkkirlia7475
      @clockworkkirlia7475 4 ปีที่แล้ว +67

      Tyndall... TO THE GOOGLEMOBILE! It definitely rings a bell but Chemistry is definitely my weakest science. :P Anything I should know that google won't tell me? Thank you for this knew knowledge.
      EDIT: Oh, yay! Structural colour! Butterfly wings and irises and biological photo-physics! (as I'm sure you already know) I probably heard of it around cuttlefish or chameleons. Now I have a fun fact: the vast majority of blues in the animal world are not pigment colour; they're structural colour. That's still real colour, of course (eat it, NatGeo), but it's all down to processes like the Tyndall effect instead of simple pigment-based absorption-vs-reflection.

    • @gairisiuil
      @gairisiuil 3 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      makes me think of the shiny bits on US $10s and $20s that's iridescent because of copper particles

    • @58mph48
      @58mph48 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@clockworkkirlia7475 Huh. I heard of it in relation to Japanese toilet humour.

  • @mikaelagomez5424
    @mikaelagomez5424 4 ปีที่แล้ว +839

    My favorite part of this video is seeing Stuart Semple's color creations featured immediately after the Anish Kapoor owned "Vanta-Black." If you're not aware of the awesomely petty but insanely entertaining feud between the two, please look it up.

    • @sirgarberto
      @sirgarberto ปีที่แล้ว +30

      came here looking for this, was not disappointed

    • @TS6815
      @TS6815 ปีที่แล้ว +29

      i can't recall if this one came out before or after but Tom did an interview with Stuart regarding the feud and Pinkest Pink

    • @sirgarberto
      @sirgarberto ปีที่แล้ว +8

      @@TS6815 that was about two years (2017) before this (2019)

    • @MH_VOID
      @MH_VOID ปีที่แล้ว +28

      good reaction by Mr. Semple. Quite unethical for Mr. Kapoor to get exclusive access to it, unless it is only for a reasonably short period of time (certainly no more than a decade)

    • @luviana_
      @luviana_ ปีที่แล้ว +9

      @@MH_VOID and this is exactly why I am against patents

  • @iabervon
    @iabervon 5 ปีที่แล้ว +491

    Someone else was commenting on vantablack that it was especially odd when it was on crinkled aluminum foil; it absorbs light so well that the foil looks flat because how it looks doesn't depend on the angle of the surface. It looks like a hole in reality or a rendering error rather than a paint color.

    • @jimmurphy6095
      @jimmurphy6095 ปีที่แล้ว +24

      Someone had painted a ping pong ball with it and it looked like a hole in the Space-Time continuum when they held it up.

  • @smartereveryday
    @smartereveryday 5 ปีที่แล้ว +755

    Awesome video.

  • @leonkoster01
    @leonkoster01 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2629

    mummie brown = ground up mummie
    baby oil = ground up b..... wait what

    • @cesariojpn
      @cesariojpn 5 ปีที่แล้ว +375

      Baby Oil is distilled Baby. Put them into a pressure cooker, and tap the resulting distillate.

    • @Lyle-xc9pg
      @Lyle-xc9pg 5 ปีที่แล้ว +82

      Oh but its only late-term aborted fetuses

    • @The_Jzoli
      @The_Jzoli 5 ปีที่แล้ว +169

      @@cesariojpn Baby powder on the other hand...

    • @torstengang5521
      @torstengang5521 5 ปีที่แล้ว +44

      I laughed. Am I bad person?

    • @baconwizard
      @baconwizard 5 ปีที่แล้ว +55

      Fred Austere no, we are terrible people

  • @Axalon45
    @Axalon45 5 ปีที่แล้ว +655

    Having a shot of Stuart Semple's "exclusive" dyes seconds after the bit on Vantablack was a class act that you may well never top, Tom.
    Well done.

  • @itaybron
    @itaybron 5 ปีที่แล้ว +183

    when you're not sure if you want to major in chemistry or art so you just do both

  • @SomeGuyCalledJ
    @SomeGuyCalledJ 5 ปีที่แล้ว +305

    Stuart Semple's pink is really the pinkest pink I've ever seen (4:36), and is worth buying just to make pink things at home

    • @LilChuunosuke
      @LilChuunosuke 5 ปีที่แล้ว +26

      It's insanely cheap as well, so it's worth investing in!

    • @kanamekiyru
      @kanamekiyru ปีที่แล้ว +4

      I bought his pink and yellow just to see it in person. Camera doesn't do it justice

  • @DasGanon
    @DasGanon 5 ปีที่แล้ว +399

    "We have 60 different samples of Hematite"
    How awesome would it be if they eventually got a Hematite sample from Mars to add to the collection after some astronaut decides "Hey, I'm going to paint something out of paint I make myself"

    • @Ezullof
      @Ezullof 5 ปีที่แล้ว +18

      Hematite from Mars would probably be very abrasive, so not a good pigment. There are also probably many types of Martian hematites just like on Earth (well, technically Earth has a more diverse geology so not as many, but you get the point).
      Of course it's still cool if you can say something was painted with Martian pigments.

    • @vladolkhovetsky1070
      @vladolkhovetsky1070 5 ปีที่แล้ว +26

      Wonder if you can turn the moons regolith in to pigment, luner gray,

    • @andreww2098
      @andreww2098 5 ปีที่แล้ว +34

      @@vladolkhovetsky1070 One of the former Apollo astronauts Alan Bean painted pictures using moon dust and Apollo spacecraft parts

    • @Abdega
      @Abdega 5 ปีที่แล้ว +15

      @vlad olkhovetsky
      They did that in the video game “Portal 2”

    • @dewolen
      @dewolen 5 ปีที่แล้ว +50

      @@Abdega "The bean counters told me we literally could not afford to buy seven dollars worth of moon rocks, much less seventy million. Bought 'em anyway. Ground 'em up, mixed em into a gel. And guess what? Ground up moon rocks are pure poison. I am deathly ill."
      - Cave Johnson

  • @neilsutcliffe5825
    @neilsutcliffe5825 ปีที่แล้ว +79

    I am fascinated by the extinction of Quinacridone Gold. It was discontinued as an artist grade pigment in 2018, as the automotive industry simply stopped using it, and it was no longer available to artists. Artists are a small percentage of the consumers of pigment and we simply get what other industries need.

    • @mydogeatspuke
      @mydogeatspuke ปีที่แล้ว +5

      PO49 stopped being used at the turn of the century in the automotive world, so it took almost 2 decades for the majority of the remaining supply to be used up. It's still available as a pigment, it just isn't commercially used to produce paint anymore, likely due to it being cost prohibitive to obtain in large quantities.

  • @mukrifachri
    @mukrifachri 5 ปีที่แล้ว +291

    Chemistry lab storage + Art gallery. Interesting.

    • @MICHGO1
      @MICHGO1 5 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      SO IS THE SUNLIGHT BRIGHTENING UP THE ROOM.

  • @Z0mbieAnt
    @Z0mbieAnt 5 ปีที่แล้ว +626

    Putting vantablack under a reflective glass plate kinda defeats it's purpose, doesn't it?

    • @JNCressey
      @JNCressey 5 ปีที่แล้ว +256

      Who would win? The world's blackest black, or the world's mirrorest mirror?

    • @Ken_neThT
      @Ken_neThT 5 ปีที่แล้ว +13

      There's a portion of it that isn't covered by the glass as seen in the video... I think

    • @pauljones3017
      @pauljones3017 5 ปีที่แล้ว +59

      Not if you don't want people to start touching it.

    • @suegaashoeseok4895
      @suegaashoeseok4895 5 ปีที่แล้ว +17

      @@JNCressey u mean 'one mirror boi'?

    • @neolexiousneolexian6079
      @neolexiousneolexian6079 4 ปีที่แล้ว +22

      Not really. Glass reflects quite a bit specularly, but it exhibits basically no diffuse illumination (because that light gets transmitted instead).

  • @keinGenug
    @keinGenug 5 ปีที่แล้ว +456

    I have a weird obsession with color and pigment, and this video was heaven for me

    • @lawrencecalablaster568
      @lawrencecalablaster568 5 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      isaac grandas Me too :)

    • @takarifan
      @takarifan 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Yup, this is Color Mecca for me.

    • @dennismitchell5276
      @dennismitchell5276 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      If I keep using egg tempra, I'm afraid I'll get that obsession.

    • @irissupercoolsy
      @irissupercoolsy 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      i have been painting & drawing a lot most of my life, so same... I clicked on this video really fast

    • @creativesolutions902
      @creativesolutions902 ปีที่แล้ว

      Same… I got really giddy when I saw the title of this video

  • @SheriLynNut
    @SheriLynNut 2 ปีที่แล้ว +99

    As a graphic designer for 23 years, the colors in this video took my breath away- I stopped it and took about 100 screen shots! I’m so very happy there are people who have preserved this part of history, and those who continue to develop new material for us all to share. What a neat video, Thank you.

    • @mydogeatspuke
      @mydogeatspuke ปีที่แล้ว +1

      You never got into gouache or its close relative, watercolour? It seems to be the primary medium for graphic design, so it's strange to me that you'd be new to any of these colours.

    • @amozinshade484
      @amozinshade484 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      ​@@mydogeatspukein Graphic design, we studied different things, this knowledge is more related to fine art or illustration maybe.

    • @mydogeatspuke
      @mydogeatspuke 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@amozinshade484 gouache is very popular if not THE standard in graphic design, and all of these colours are very prominent in that medium, as I already said.

    • @amozinshade484
      @amozinshade484 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      @@mydogeatspuke Seriously? If you don't realize that other countries didn't have access to gouache or even the fact fine art knowledge hasn't been accessible, you lucked out. Again all you needed was at least decent quality paint and in my case it was acrylics, of course we learned color theory but pigment knowledge is again not really covered, probably mentioned but not really. When I studied graphic design it is mostly digital stuff, and a lot to deal with printing.

    • @mydogeatspuke
      @mydogeatspuke 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@amozinshade484 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄 all countries have access to gouache, stop being silly. Gouache is not a fine art material. Digital graphic design is incredibly modern, so all you're really doing is saying that you're too young to know anything about anything and that upsets you. Hardly my problem. Simmer down.

  • @jpe1
    @jpe1 5 ปีที่แล้ว +148

    Tom, while you are at Harvard you might enjoy visiting the *Ware Collection of Blaschka Glass Models of Plants* (aka *Glass Flowers*). It’s one of those “has to be seen to be believed” things, pictures don’t do it justice. Amazing in detail, artistry, and scope, it’s both a teaching tool and a stunning artistic achievement.

    • @Dinlitla
      @Dinlitla 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Agree...that collection is remarkable!

    • @ballinangel3231
      @ballinangel3231 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I've seen these! They are truly lovely!

    • @stevepeaple9051
      @stevepeaple9051 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      It' so remarkable it's verges on ordinary. I was there a few years back and they are so perfect the collection starts looking like a room filled with random grasses. I also love those crystal rooms nearby. Wish I could see this collection.

    • @jpe1
      @jpe1 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      @@stevepeaple9051 I will have to remember the phrase “so remarkable [that it] verges on ordinary.” I definitely get what you are saying there!

  • @mateuszmalenta4570
    @mateuszmalenta4570 5 ปีที่แล้ว +91

    I recommend reading 'Secret Lives of Colour' by Kassia St Clair if anyone wants to read about origins and uses of some of the most popular and influential colours.

    • @lars1588
      @lars1588 4 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      I just put it on hold at my local library. I should be able to pick it up soon. Thanks for the recommendation! I've been looking for some new, interesting reading material.

  • @Tefans97
    @Tefans97 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    thanks to Tom Scott for my win in a pub quiz last week, one of the questions was on mummy-based pigments, another about the 1904 olympic marathon (from citation needed). Couldn't have done it without him

  • @TobiasRieper047
    @TobiasRieper047 2 ปีที่แล้ว +23

    This is amazing, I could spend countless days glancing around there at all the colors, knowing they all have their own story behind them. Its fascinating, we should cherish things like this and the people that do those jobs.

    • @oliverp3545
      @oliverp3545 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      I'm thinking about their practical uses, there are so many models I could use.

  • @limebanter4603
    @limebanter4603 5 ปีที่แล้ว +128

    Mummy Brown is people!

    • @TheGahta
      @TheGahta 5 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      funnily enough, brown people

    • @diamond_miner_8670
      @diamond_miner_8670 5 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      is Soylent Green a shade of green? It better be or I'll be disappointed

    • @futurestoryteller
      @futurestoryteller 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      Interestingly that's said to be the reaction many people had to learning this news. Iirc artists knew, but the public was horrified, and that stymied the sale of "mummy brown" from that point forward.

    • @rachele3334
      @rachele3334 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I love a good obscure movie reference, especially when I get the joke. 😂

    • @aburningwalloftext8778
      @aburningwalloftext8778 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      When you didn’t have a skin color colored pencil:

  • @sloanemactire8780
    @sloanemactire8780 3 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    Props to the editor who put the B-roll of Pinkest Pink and Diamond Dust in right after talking about Vantablack. Brilliant!

  • @evilpandakillabzonattkoccu4879
    @evilpandakillabzonattkoccu4879 5 ปีที่แล้ว +14

    I used to custom match paint colors manually (as opposed to using a color sensor and having a computer make the formula) for a couple paint stores and i fell in love with it! this collection is absolute heaven!! wow, i can only imagine the colors my monitor cant show accurately....

  • @Dakakeisalie
    @Dakakeisalie 5 ปีที่แล้ว +64

    Tom you never cease to amaze in finding bizarre yet fascinating places

  • @tommegg8486
    @tommegg8486 5 ปีที่แล้ว +83

    When I see old blue pigment what can I think about is only how expensive they are

    • @tommegg8486
      @tommegg8486 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      @LagiNaLangAko23 it's crazy expensive back then

    • @KamuiPan
      @KamuiPan 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      Sure, look at the raw material and process of making it. Cobalt is not a soft material.

    • @emilv.3693
      @emilv.3693 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Purple was even more expensive

    • @allangibson2408
      @allangibson2408 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@KamuiPan Ultramarine Blue has no cadmium in it. It is made by grinding up Lapis Lazuli gemstones from Afghanistan. Then as now, going to Afghanistan was bad for your health (for exactly the same reasons).

  • @martijnvanweele6204
    @martijnvanweele6204 5 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    3:20 *looks at a shade of brown on a canvas* "Are you my mummy?"

  • @michaelnelson2976
    @michaelnelson2976 5 ปีที่แล้ว +12

    I love this video, this is a perfect example of the things that matter out in the world in their own way that you shine light on Tom. Loving it.

  • @tazmon122
    @tazmon122 4 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    it was a great pleasure to get closer than the average museum goer to this collection and see real deal what i'm working with as a painter. glad you got that opportunity as well, and put it up on youtube for the world to see.

  • @aretorta
    @aretorta 5 ปีที่แล้ว +25

    My favourite field: the chemistry of colour! Specially form a historical point of view!

  • @user-xy4wq8hh6t
    @user-xy4wq8hh6t 5 ปีที่แล้ว +451

    Him: “Mummy brown is made up from crushed Egyptian mummies.”
    Me: Hmmm interesting
    Also him: “Indian yellow...”
    Me: absolutely disgusting..

    • @josinboop6132
      @josinboop6132 3 ปีที่แล้ว +30

      Baby blue "crush up ba...
      .

    • @doubleT84
      @doubleT84 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      When the supply of ancient mummys ran out some people made their own, for the profits.
      Let that sink in.

    • @variegatus4674
      @variegatus4674 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      if theres an 'Indian Brown' it'd obviously be the aftermath of cheap indian food

  • @juliaconnell
    @juliaconnell 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    it's one of my dearest dreams to see a new colour

  • @CrimsonMemes
    @CrimsonMemes ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Imagine how annoying an Earthquake would be there.

  • @GordonHenderson
    @GordonHenderson 5 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    Burnt Umber - one of my favourite colours when a kid in school - I now live a few miles from one place they used to make it and worked in the building for a short while - long after the furnace had been removed though. Fascinating stuff!

  • @LingTinaTV
    @LingTinaTV 5 ปีที่แล้ว +48

    As an artist, it's amazing to look at the differences in consistently and how paint changes over time. It's fascinating that we now have things like the Pantone charts and grading to get exact shades and variations. Furthermore, there are modern digital tools that try and copy traditional looks and textures of classical mediums. However, I don't think we've gotten to the point where we can simulate the exact outcomes. We can only get close to it.

  • @benmaughan7452
    @benmaughan7452 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I swear, these Tom Scott videos from 3 years ago literally just spawn in every day

  • @LindsayDaly
    @LindsayDaly 5 ปีที่แล้ว +332

    Anish Kapoor is *S* *H* *A* *K* *I* *N* *G*

    • @ricchburglar
      @ricchburglar 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Who is that sounds like a famous chess player.

    • @sciblastofficial9833
      @sciblastofficial9833 4 ปีที่แล้ว +16

      @@ricchburglar Some guy who stole the Pinkest Pink pigment, after the guy who made the P.P. pigment got jealous at him becaude Anish got to have Vantablack (one of the darkest blacks) and the P.P. creator didn't.

    • @fomalhaut_the_great
      @fomalhaut_the_great 3 ปีที่แล้ว +13

      @@sciblastofficial9833 Anish stole the (at the time) blackest pigment from the artistic community as a whole. The greedy bastard.

    • @moduspwnenz
      @moduspwnenz 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@fomalhaut_the_great how? Its an expensive pigment to make and used for aeronautics. Thats like complaining Apple is greedy for trademarking something they made

  • @eily_b
    @eily_b ปีที่แล้ว +21

    Nice to see some Kremer Pigmente 3:47 on their shelves, too. Amazing company making pigments in Bavaria, Germany.

  • @trumpetperson11
    @trumpetperson11 3 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    This was way more interesting than I expected it to be.

  • @SarahAndBoston
    @SarahAndBoston 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Thanks for this awesome video! I am a painter and I live in Boston. I’ve been to this exhibit before, but only a small amount of pigments are out of display, the vast majority are too far away to be really observed, so this video was a treat! Thank you.

  • @mirjanbouma
    @mirjanbouma 5 ปีที่แล้ว

    I love all the interesting topics and places you she's with us, Tom. It's fun but also educational without talking to us like we are children.
    You have a great channel. Love from the Netherlands.

  • @deannam-host6584
    @deannam-host6584 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    As an artist i found this both fascinating and delightful 😀 thanks for spotlighting this! 👍

  • @grabasandwich
    @grabasandwich 5 ปีที่แล้ว +14

    "This beautifully painted winter scene smells like sh*t!"

    • @Riolupai
      @Riolupai 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      well, y'see, the brown used for the wood of the tree is... well...

  • @GermaphobeMusic
    @GermaphobeMusic 5 ปีที่แล้ว +72

    The pinkest pink better be in this

    • @todbilegotgonbat3943
      @todbilegotgonbat3943 5 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      How's the blacker Vantablack?

    • @randomizednamme
      @randomizednamme 5 ปีที่แล้ว +18

      4:37 I think

    • @WoLpH
      @WoLpH 5 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Don't forget about the yellowest yellow, greenest green and loveliest blue

    • @TotalElipse
      @TotalElipse 5 ปีที่แล้ว +19

      It is! They have most of Stuarts stuff in there. As randomizednamme pointed out you can see two of his pigments at 4:37.

    • @ralanham76
      @ralanham76 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      Had to have the diamond dust it's a girl's best friend

  • @trevoranderson4414
    @trevoranderson4414 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    This is one of those exhibits I never would've sauntered into on my own accord, but Tom manages to put it in an interesting light.
    5 stars, Tom 👍

  • @crashrose6128
    @crashrose6128 2 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    I work at an art supply store with some high end specialty paints, and one of my favorite things to do to demonstrate the difference between lead oils and non lead oils is have customers hold a tube of a modern paint, and then hand them a tube of red lead

    • @Khunark
      @Khunark ปีที่แล้ว +1

      so what's the difference?

    • @crashrose6128
      @crashrose6128 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@Khunark in terms of how the paint itself paints the difference is really in things like flexibility and achievability, but the reason i have people hold the two tubes side by side is to feel the weight. the tubes with lead in them are SIGNIFICANTLY heavier than those without.

  • @terrotorotbart8319
    @terrotorotbart8319 5 ปีที่แล้ว +67

    This was certainly a colourful video. :D

    • @dlrss1v274
      @dlrss1v274 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      hue are nice

    • @HolyKhaaaaan
      @HolyKhaaaaan 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      Sends mum to whack with an umbrella

  • @verynormalvic
    @verynormalvic ปีที่แล้ว

    Thank you for coming to our city! I hope you enjoyed exploring the Harvard Art Museum and the other museums in the area, artistic and scientific.

  • @blueferral3414
    @blueferral3414 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Tom thank you for your videos. In the depressing times we have to deal with it is nice to see a video on how fascinating our world is.

  • @artstsym
    @artstsym 5 ปีที่แล้ว +49

    So, is the gallery UV shielded? Obviously part of it is understanding how they age, but it still feels like that might compromise their practical use to some degree.

    • @niklasohlsson
      @niklasohlsson 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Meris I was thinking the same. Thought someone else had written a comment about it, and I was right :)

    • @Helveteshit
      @Helveteshit 5 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Doubt that part of the gallery is within the light source. Even then, it is behind several layers of glass. At that point, most of the UV should of been filtered/diminished greatly in strength.

    • @MICHGO1
      @MICHGO1 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      IT LOOKED LIKE IT WAS LINED WITH WINDOW WITH SUNLIGHT BEAMING IN.

    • @NazzaKandybar
      @NazzaKandybar 4 ปีที่แล้ว +19

      All the light in the gallery is UV filtered. These pigments have been blasted by light for decades and only the thinnest edge where the light reaches the pigment is affected. If you take the lid off the containers you can see that most of the pigment is unaffected, so we get a sample of both the degraded and original material for analysis.

  • @MaraK_dialmformara
    @MaraK_dialmformara 5 ปีที่แล้ว +14

    This is wonderful. If you want to learn more about the histories of pigments, I recommend The Secret Lives of Colour by Kassia St. Clair.

  • @JaRule6
    @JaRule6 ปีที่แล้ว

    OMG! That was freaking awesome! Thank you for sharing this with us ❣️

  • @jahrenskiashkevron1499
    @jahrenskiashkevron1499 5 ปีที่แล้ว +25

    Very interesting! Even thought I can only name about 12 colors.

    • @kvweber
      @kvweber 5 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Start with the ones at the beginning of a Bob Ross video, that'll give you a good jumping point! :D

    • @vividandlucid
      @vividandlucid 5 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Get your Titanium Hwhite

    • @DaedalusYoung
      @DaedalusYoung 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Phthalo Blue.

    • @hyacinthivy7479
      @hyacinthivy7479 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Creamy Pasta Good pun!🤣

  • @radianzero
    @radianzero 5 ปีที่แล้ว +36

    "Lead white is toxic in the same way that lead is... toxic"
    Me: *_"Well yes, but actually _**_-no-_**_ yes."_*

    • @emmastilwell759
      @emmastilwell759 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      Willing to explain? Now I'm really curious :)

  • @ShadowDrakken
    @ShadowDrakken 5 ปีที่แล้ว

    This was amazing. Thank you Tom and Mr Khandekhar!

  • @Sp00kq
    @Sp00kq 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Each day I discover a new older Tom Scott video I haven't seen scrolling through his channel

  • @salmeza85
    @salmeza85 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Would have thought every shade of colour imaginable would have been discovered. Especially in the digital age. Great to be educated on something new. Thank you.

    • @rubybuttons668
      @rubybuttons668 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Oh no, people are still discovering, creating and working towards pigments. It’s not always a new colour they find but rather a pure hue, or a more stable and light fast one.

  • @arothmanmusic
    @arothmanmusic 5 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    I highly recommend “The Secret Lives of Color” by Kassia St. Clair. It talks all about the history and invention of pigments like these. It’s really fascinating.

  • @mygoldfisharegold
    @mygoldfisharegold 5 ปีที่แล้ว

    I would definitely attend a display of these colours and the materials used to make them, it's so fascinating!

  • @dlbstl
    @dlbstl 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I love learning where colored pigment comes from. Thanks so much!

  • @larnregis
    @larnregis ปีที่แล้ว +13

    I wonder if there's a scientific way to describe/define a certain color. A way that doesn't uses references to certain materials that are dissolving over time, but actualy physical constants.
    So even if the original color/pigment is dissolved over time, you can reproduce the color exactly the same, even though the materials used are not the same.

    • @aaronisnotalive
      @aaronisnotalive ปีที่แล้ว +9

      That would probably be the hex code.

    • @wolfetteplays8894
      @wolfetteplays8894 ปีที่แล้ว

      No, there isn’t. Because vision and color detection inherently has a lot of variation

    • @larnregis
      @larnregis ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@aaronisnotalive The hex code is a 32bit simplification of a color which doesn't include any info about reflectivity, opacity, vibrancy etc.
      e.g. gold, silver, bronze and other shiny colors can't be described in hex.

    • @lemons1559
      @lemons1559 ปีที่แล้ว

      I would imagine not, but even if the pigment is faded and gone, you can use the original materials to make more of the pigment.

    • @larnregis
      @larnregis ปีที่แล้ว

      @@lemons1559 "original material" is a subjective/changing definition as well.
      You don't get the pulver for "mummy brown" nowadays anymore and several other materials changed over time due to different purification and synthesis methods.

  • @YusriRilke
    @YusriRilke 5 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Another great and interesting video. Never wondered how they judged forgery from authentic in the art world :)

  • @bronzejourney5784
    @bronzejourney5784 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    1:38 I love the way the building and sorting is arranged.

  • @dacr0n229
    @dacr0n229 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    that is perfectly encapsuling the beauty of knowledge I never imagined to want to know but now that Ive seen it, find super interesting and want to see for myself some day

  • @JollibeenosHasYourCoordinates
    @JollibeenosHasYourCoordinates 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    1:34
    A "what Arabic"?!
    That caught me off-guard.

  • @bluzshadez
    @bluzshadez 5 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    The best thing that I've learned from this video is that the Archive of Colours are like books that can be taken out of the display cases and can be studied/ used for reference. I thought those were just for display.

    • @PurpleShift42
      @PurpleShift42 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      bluzshadez Yep, specialist research libraries can end up collecting all sorts of things! There are other libraries out there that collect various chemical compounds for people to do assays and chemical analysis on.

    • @bluzshadez
      @bluzshadez 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@PurpleShift42 Thanks for sharing information. I grew up with the notion that Libraries are only for books and other printed materials, movies, vinyl, etc. I learned something new today. God bless!

  • @twothreebravo
    @twothreebravo 5 ปีที่แล้ว

    I love that this isn't just a static display but is used in research and reference. I might have to head out to see this museum one of these days now that I'm back in Massachusetts

  • @aightman340
    @aightman340 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I just binge watched every Tom Scott video and I’ve finally made it to the most recent

  • @jakeroosenbloom
    @jakeroosenbloom 5 ปีที่แล้ว +40

    Halfway through I started thinking this was an Objectivity video

  • @CatsMeowPaw
    @CatsMeowPaw 5 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    This was a nice colour piece about Harvard

  • @turmat01
    @turmat01 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    4:45 If your boss ever accuse you of slacking off, you reming him that this dude was paid for FOUR MONTHS to line up bottles on a shelf.

  • @thetimitzers
    @thetimitzers 5 ปีที่แล้ว +12

    As a partial colorblind I'm actually quite curious to how they all actually look on our eyes...

    • @leifvejby8023
      @leifvejby8023 5 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Me too!

    • @lassievision
      @lassievision 5 ปีที่แล้ว +10

      Depending on your type of colour blindness, some people have had great results with enchroma glasses, which can help to give an idea about how the rest of us see colours.

  • @andrewtaylor-innes9791
    @andrewtaylor-innes9791 5 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    Fun fact uranium was used as a green pigment back in the 1800s.

    • @tompw3141
      @tompw3141 5 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      It was used as an orange pigment (in pottery glazes) until the 1950s!

  • @dantheman2907
    @dantheman2907 5 ปีที่แล้ว

    This was absolutely fascinating! This place is now on my must-see list.

  • @mrskitkats
    @mrskitkats 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Cool! You always show me things I hadn’t even thought of as something people need.

  • @lordeisschrank
    @lordeisschrank 4 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    If some of them are sensitive to light... then shouldn't they be stored in a darker room?

  • @TheKazragore
    @TheKazragore 5 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    Just waiting for someone to discover ocatrine.

  • @Prawnsly
    @Prawnsly 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Something about this whole collection is really inspiring

  • @Weisior
    @Weisior ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Amaizing! Finally saw something worth remembering for life today...

  • @ketsuekikumori9145
    @ketsuekikumori9145 5 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    How very colourful. (Also love how autocorrect highlights colour as incorrect)

    • @joshuaclare4860
      @joshuaclare4860 5 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      Ketsueki Kumori the autocorrect occurs because it defaults to the American spelling of the English words. So colour becomes color, armour becomes armor, and so on. Quite frankly it’s rather aggravating

    • @Hannah_Em
      @Hannah_Em 5 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Honestly, you can't trust the Americans to build anything properly! ;D

    • @ginismoja2459
      @ginismoja2459 5 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Just change your autocorrect language to literally any variety of English but American. Colour is the correct spelling everywhere else.

    • @andymcl92
      @andymcl92 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@ginismoja2459 *any variety of English but Simplified.

    • @cityuser
      @cityuser 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@Hannah_Em Just look at 9/1... maybe too inappropriate of a joke.

  • @anotheraccount7637
    @anotheraccount7637 5 ปีที่แล้ว +21

    What do you do for a living?
    I feed cows mango leaves them collect the urine.

    • @dont-want-no-wrench
      @dont-want-no-wrench 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      ask the same question to the cow, and it's even worse

  • @rhettorical
    @rhettorical 5 ปีที่แล้ว

    I was waiting for the reference to Stuart Semple, and was pleased to see that his pigments were briefly included.

  • @japjotsinghrajbans
    @japjotsinghrajbans 4 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Can we please take a moment to appreciate the pixels that are displaying the colour?

  • @mjmdiver1137
    @mjmdiver1137 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Tom, if you haven't, you should do an episode on how/why magenta isn't a 'real' color... Its a fascinating perspective on color theory;

  • @cjsimmons6535
    @cjsimmons6535 5 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    The mummy brown is creepy though

  • @juliejanesmith57
    @juliejanesmith57 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Thanks Tom. Always been fascinated y colors, pigments and other ways to represent colors

  • @magellanicraincloud
    @magellanicraincloud 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    So nice to see pigments by Stuart Semple in there since you did the video on his pink :)

  • @elmadicine
    @elmadicine ปีที่แล้ว +3

    um... did we gloss over the part where it distinctly featured "dragon's blood" as an ingredient

  • @Screamo_RC
    @Screamo_RC ปีที่แล้ว +4

    I somehow forget these pigments have to be made by things, they don't just happen. How amazing.

  • @a.w.1499
    @a.w.1499 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I could probably spend a whole day looking at the pigment collection.

  • @SpeakerMunkey
    @SpeakerMunkey 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Incredible. They should do some kind of public exhibition to show what they are doing. It would be so interesting.

  • @MouseFloof
    @MouseFloof 5 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    Do they have a sample of Stuart Semple's Pinkest Pink?

    • @IanTester
      @IanTester 5 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      Yes, 4:36

    • @psychosorcerer9438
      @psychosorcerer9438 5 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Yes! They showed it in the video.

    • @novafawks
      @novafawks 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      No. They don't. Not at all.

  • @zachheilman784
    @zachheilman784 5 ปีที่แล้ว +41

    RARE COLOR RARE COLOR RA...sorry, forgot this wasn't a Regular Car Reviews video.

    • @kylejscheffler
      @kylejscheffler 5 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      NOT A CAR!

    • @NextDoorGuy
      @NextDoorGuy 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      LMAO exactly what I thought midway of the video. Imagine the resale value!

    • @tommykl
      @tommykl 5 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      And here I thought the overlap between RCR and Tom Scott viewers consisted of literally just me

    • @Iiimitation
      @Iiimitation 5 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@tommykl there are dozens of us!

    • @Trogdor390
      @Trogdor390 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      B R O W N on B R O W N