Lapis Lazuli

Our study of lapis lazuli throughout the term integrated art and science. Lapis lazuli is a brilliant blue-purple hue used in many paintings throughout the late Middle Ages and Renaissance. The pigment lapis lazuli can be used in fresco, tempera, and oil paintings. Lapis lazuli originates from Afghanistan and makes its way into Europe through the port city of Venice. Lapis lazuli could be more expensive than gold during this time period which makes it a highly desirable pigment and hue. We also studied the chemical structure of lapis lazuli as well as analysis methods such as infrared reflectography and SEM-EDS.