Recently, out of curiosity to understand what pigments people in the Edo period used for woodblock prints, I have been reading Mad About Painting, a translation of Hokusai's remarkable painting manuals. Alongside lessons on drawing and composition is a fascinating glossary of pigments and painting techniques: a rare glimpse into the practical world of an artist's workshop two hundred years ago. The more I read, the more I realised that Hokusai's greatest lessons were not simp

A major part of traditional Japanese and Chinese painting is the use of mineral pigments. Nowadays, colours and paint can be made...