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It's important to know about the materials artists and designers of all kinds have used through the centuries - because it's a useful kicking-off point for the work you do today.
This Revision Bite gives you a timeline of the materials people have used throughout history.
Timeline
This interactive timeline has photos of the materials. Use the arrows to scroll through it.
Timeline of art materials
| Time | Material |
|---|---|
| 40,000 - 10,000 BC | Clay - the earliest form of art was finger painting in soft clay onto rock. |
| 40,000 - 10,000 BC | Oxides - from rocks and trees, these were crushed into fine powder and mixed with animal fat and water to make the first basic paint. |
| 4,000 BC | Papyrus - the Egyptians made papyrus from thinly cut strips from the stalk of the Cyprus Papyrus plant. |
| 3,000 BC | Ink - early Chinese ink was a mixture of soot from pine smoke, lamp oil, and gelatin from animal skins and musk. In Asia, inks of many colours were made from berries, plants and minerals. |
| 1200 AD | Egg tempera - the Byzantine artists used egg tempera made from pigment and egg yolk. |
| 1400 AD | Oil paint - oil paint was invented in Europe by Jan van Eyck. |
| 1500 AD | Pastels - the first modern style pastel appeared in France. Pigment is ground into a paste with water and gum binder and then rolled into small sticks. |
| 1600 AD | Graphite pencils - graphite was discovered in England and the first proper pencils were also made in England. |
| 1700 AD | Eraser - rubber was brought to Europe from South America. Before rubber, breadcrumbs were used to erase pencil marks. |
| 1900 AD | Felt-tip pens - the first felt-tips were made from glass bottles containing ink with a wool felt wick and writing tip. |
| 1900 AD | Acrylic paint - the Mexican mural artists of the 1930s developed acrylic paint from synthetic materials. These were durable enough to paint onto rough walls and could withstand rain, wind and harsh sunlight. |
Links
On bbc.co.uk
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