Terre Verte Green Earth Pigment

Description

Terre Verte is a natural, handmade single earth pigment produced through the ancient process of grinding raw green earth. Extracted from the Verona, Italy, this pigment has been prized since Roman times for its soft, gentle green tones and excellent stability.

Terre Verte is a 100% natural pigment, renowned for its subtle and naturalistic hues, making it an essential color for landscape and portrait painting. Historically favored for its ability to render lifelike shadows and flesh tones, this pigment is highly valued in fresco work and classical oil painting.

Compared to synthetic greens, Terre Verte offers unparalleled delicacy and harmony in mixtures. Its semi-transparent nature allows for soft layering, creating depth and dimension in paintings. It remains a vital pigment for artists seeking authentic historical tones and organic color transitions.

History

Terre Verte has been used as a pigment since antiquity, with evidence of its application in Roman frescoes and medieval manuscript illuminations. It was a staple in Renaissance painting, often employed in underpaintings for flesh tones in tempera and oil. Artists such as Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael utilized green earth to create naturalistic shading in portraiture. In the image pictured of 'The Manchester Madonna' by Michelangelo, Terre Verte is used extensively in the background and under the flesh tones to balance strong reds.

During the 14th and 15th centuries, the pigment was particularly valued in Italy, where the finest deposits were extracted near Verona. Green earth was frequently used in the verdaccio technique, a method of underpainting that provided depth and lifelike qualities to skin tones. Its enduring popularity continued through the Baroque and Neoclassical periods, cementing its place as one of the most important natural greens in art history.

Today, Terre Verte is cherished by both classical and contemporary artists for its authenticity and historical significance, preserving its legacy as one of the oldest green pigments still in use.

Pigment Information

Pigment Type: Natural (Mineral) from minerals (Celadonite and Glauconite) (Italy)

Suitable Mediums: Watercolor, Oil, Tempera, Acrylic, Encaustic, Cold Wax, Casein, Milk, Swedish Flour, Lime / Fresco

Lightfastness: Best

Opacity: Semi-transparent

Other Names: Verona Earth Green, Bohemian Green Earth, Green Ochre, Terra Verde, Prason

Color Index Code: PG23

Image: 'The Manchester Madonna' by Michelangelo from the National Gallery