The Japanese word iro (色) and the English word "color" (or "colour"), which originated from the Latin colōr (meaning "appearance" or "hue"), have different etymological origins. Yet, both originally referred to surface visual appearances and the shifting human emotions reflected in one's complexion, before eventually referring to shades and hues.
While blending and layering can create an infinite number of colors, the true origin of this beauty lies in nature, and from there, pigments were discovered through human technological innovation.
In this article, we focus on green, which has a rich history and myth. Through cultural contexts and fascinating stories, we invite you to explore the world of green pigments.
Contents
Minerals and Earth: Natural Pigments Used Since Ancient Times
Malachite: An Essential Mineral for Civilization
Malachite (the blue areas are azurite)
Malachite is the most famous natural green pigment. It was highly valued in ancient Egypt as a copper ore, where copper smelting had already developed by the 4th millennium BCE. Malachite has been discovered across the Ural Mountains, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zimbabwe, and Chile, and is far more abundant than azurite, which is renowned as a source of blue pigment. It is often mined in large, high-purity masses, frequently found alongside other copper-bearing minerals such as azurite, cuprite, and chrysocolla.
In ancient Egypt, green symbolized vitality and vegetation, which is why Osiris, the god of fertility and rebirth, was famously depicted with green skin. People also revered the iridescent green shell of the scarab beetle as a sacred emblem of immortality. Through maritime trade during the Archaic period (around the 7th century BCE), these beliefs spread across the Mediterranean. On the island of Cyprus, renowned for its copper deposits, malachite was carved into scarab-shaped rings and seals, serving as widely cherished amulets for good fortune and protection against evil.
Ring with scaraboid, 7th–6th century B.C. / The Metropolitan Museum of Art (CC0)
Alongside its sacred associations, malachite was extensively utilized for its beautiful color. It served as a painting pigment, a ceramic glaze, a coloring agent for glass, an ornamental stone, and even as eye makeup. In ancient Egypt, malachite and turquoise, which shared similar green tones, were collectively called mafek, reflecting just how deeply people loved this vibrant green.
Traditional Japanese Rokusho: Shades Created by Variations in Grain Size
Although there is no evidence of malachite being used in Paleolithic cave paintings, it has been cherished by artists worldwide up to the present day. While the stone itself displays a vivid green, its low refractive index gives it noticeable transparency when mixed with oil mediums, which is why its true beauty is best revealed in egg tempera or watercolor.
Malachite has also played an important role in East Asian art, especially in Japan and China. To extract color from the mineral, it must be ground into powder. During this process, as the grain becomes finer, the color turns progressively lighter and paler.
Japan's traditional mineral pigments, known as iwa-enogu, rely directly on this principle. These pigments are categorized into roughly ten distinct tonal gradations purely through differences in grain size.
The primary malachite-derived pigments are called rokusho in Japanese. Artisans expanded this palette even further, creating yaki-rokusho (baked rokusho) through heat processing to obtain deeper, dusky tones, and gunroku (where gun derives from gunjo, the blue pigment made from azurite, and roku from rokusho), a mixture shade in which green malachite naturally intermingles with blue azurite. Originating from the exact same mineral source, these pigments produce a remarkably rich spectrum of green expressions.
| Natural Mineral Pigments [Green] Product list |
Greens of Minerals and Earth Pigments
Other than malachite, there are various minerals and earth pigments that yield green tones. Many of them feature deep, grayish tones, or the soft, pale colors unique to mineral pigments.
Amazonite (left) and Bloodstone (right)
For example, amazonite, a stone known for its bright blue-green hue with white patterns, produces an elegant mint green pigment called Natural Hakusuimatsu.
Bloodstone, on the other hand, is characterized by blood-red spots of iron oxide (hematite) scattered across a deep green base colored by chlorite and amphibole. When ground into pigment, it transforms into a rich, subdued dark green called Natural Midorimenou.
In addition, glauconite, the raw material for Natural Kairyokusekimatsu, is a mineral that forms gradually in shallow marine sediments through the interaction of organic matter, iron, magnesium, and potassium.
It also serves as the primary component of green earth pigments.
【Related Articles】
Understanding particle sizes of mineral pigments.
The science and colors of earth pigments.
Poison and Beauty: The Synthetic Pigment "Emerald Green"
Emerald Green is a vibrant green with a subtle bluish undertone, named after the precious gemstone emerald (suigyoku in Japanese). Because it is a synthetic pigment with extreme toxicity, it is no longer manufactured today. However, its mysterious, almost luminous color has captivated many artists.
The Toxic Legacy of Scheele’s Green and Paris Green
The origin of synthetic copper-arsenic pigments dates back to 18th-century Sweden. In 1778, a chemist developed the synthetic pigment Scheele’s Green. Later, in 1814, efforts to improve its quality led to the birth of Emerald Green, with an even more brilliant blue-green hue.
Produced by heating verdigris, vinegar, and white arsenic together, then grinding the resulting precipitate with linseed oil, this brilliant green became immediately popular.
Following the publication of its manufacturing process in 1822, it spread rapidly, becoming known by diverse names depending on its origin and use, such as Paris Green and Schweinfurt Green.
Although severely hindered by great toxicity and susceptibility to fading, its low production cost led to widespread mass manufacturing. It reached well beyond fine art mediums like oil, watercolor, and pastel, finding its way into industrial coatings, garments, wallpaper, and ultimately insecticides. Owing to its striking brilliance, it remained in use as a painters' pigment in the West into the 1960s.
Beautiful Greens Preserved on Canvas
The vivid brilliance of Emerald Green, unattainable from natural pigments, captivated numerous masters, including Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Claude Monet, and Paul Cézanne. Major works featuring this color include Paul Gauguin’s Old Women of Arles and Vincent van Gogh’s La Berceuse (Woman Rocking the Cradle), where the intense green of the background and dress leaves a lasting impression.
Vincent van Gogh, La Berceuse (Woman Rocking a Cradle), 1889 / The Metropolitan Museum of Art (CC0)
This wave also reached Japan around the Meiji Restoration, where the imported pigment came to be known as hana rokusho (literally "flower verdigris") . Its vivid, powerful green, unlike anything found in the traditional palette, came to symbolize the dawn of a new era, finding widespread use in multicolored woodblock prints such as nishiki-e.
* Please note that the "Suihi Hana Rokusho" available at PIGMENT TOKYO is not made from the hazardous copper acetoarsenite, but is instead manufactured using carefully selected, safe modern pigments.
Tradition and Innovation: Modern Greens
In the past, synthetic pigments had a risk of toxicity, but today’s chemistry has developed them into pigments that combine high safety standards with outstanding durability.
Artificial Mineral Pigments: Born as Alternatives to the Natural
Because natural mineral pigments are both finite and expensive, artificial mineral pigments were developed to ensure a stable, reliable supply.
They are produced by fusing vitreous glazes with colorants at high temperatures and allowing the mixture to cool into artificial colored stones. These color blocks are then crushed and sieved according to particle sizes.
Depending on the glaze composition, these artificial pigments are categorized into varieties such as lead-bearing Shin-iwa-enogu (new mineral pigments) and lead-free Kyojo-iwa-enogu.
View Products
| Shin-iwa (Artificial）Mineral Pigments [Green] |
| Lead-free Mineral Pigments (Kyojyo Iwa Enogu) [Green] |
【Related Article】
Safe Modern Synthetic Pigments
Today, fine particle pigments are produced under strictly monitored safety standards, ensuring outstanding lightfastness and stability. These contemporary pigments support artistic creation with clear, vibrant color. For instance, viridian, composed of hydrated chromium oxide, features a refreshing bluish tone, while versatile cobalt pigments offer an extensive range of hues and values.
| Pigments (Fine Particles) [Green] |
Effect Pigments: The Science of Light
The main components of the latest effect pigments are coated mica, glass, and metal substrates.
They have high brilliance and a unique visual effect (structural color) that changes color through the reflection and interference of light.
They are widely used in industrial applications, but all products handled by PIGMENT TOKYO are carefully selected for art materials.
| Effect Pigments [Green] |
【Related Article】
By mixing pigments with a binder, you can make your own paints for watercolor, oil, acrylic, or traditional Japanese painting (Nihonga).
If you find a favorite shade among the more than 600 green pigments available at PIGMENT TOKYO, we invite you to enjoy turning it into paint, crafting your own color recipes, and bringing those hues into your artwork.
For more details on making paint, please check out this article.
Even tracing the journey of a single color reveals humanity's pursuit of beauty and the evolution of science. When you discover the story inside a single jar of pigment, perhaps even the most familiar hues will begin to shine in a new light.
Taking inspiration from the rich history of greens loved and crafted through the ages, we invite you to come find "your green" at PIGMENT TOKYO.
References and Image Sources
■ Images Credits
・Vincent van Gogh, La Berceuse (Woman Rocking a Cradle), 1889 The Metropolitan Museum of Art / Open Access (Public Domain/CC0)
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/437984
・Ring with scaraboid, 7th–6th century B.C. / The Metropolitan Museum of Art / Open Access (Public Domain/CC0)
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/243571
■ References
【Malachite and Green Verditer】
・Rutherford J. Gettens and Elisabeth West FitzHugh, "Malachite and Green Verditer", Ashok Roy (ed.), Artists' Pigments: A Handbook of Their History and Characteristics, Volume 2, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1993.
・David A. Scott, Copper and Bronze in Art: Corrosion, Colorants, Conservation, "3. BASIC COPPER CARBONATES", The Getty Conservation Institute, Los Angeles, 2002.
https://media.getty.edu/Text/a33da677-13c2-5f35-8954-7c4e1eef454b.pdf
・Department of Greek and Roman Art, "Geometric and Archaic Cyprus", Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2004.
https://www.metmuseum.org/ja/essays/geometric-and-archaic-cyprus
・Isabel Stünkel (Department of Egyptian Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art), Ancient Egyptian Amulets, Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, 2019
https://www.metmuseum.org/ja/essays/egyptian-amulets
【Emerald Green and Scheele's Green】
・Inge Fiedler and Michael Bayard, "8 Emerald Green and Scheele's Green", Elisabeth West FitzHugh (ed.), Artists' Pigments: A Handbook of Their History and Characteristics, Volume 3, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1997.
・Ashok Roy, "The Palettes of Three Impressionist Paintings", National Gallery Technical Bulletin, Vol. 9, The National Gallery, London, 1985, pp. 12–20.
https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/media/15818/roy1985.pdf
Editor & Writer
Natsuko Shiraishi
Graduated from the Textile Design at Tama Art University. She is an artist who mainly works with original Washi paper and calligraphy.
Favorite matière: Paper, dynamic moves of wood fiber
Graduated from the Textile Design at Tama Art University. She is an artist who mainly works with original Washi paper and calligraphy.
Favorite matière: Paper, dynamic moves of wood fiber