Madder & Woad: Red + Blue = Black
Imagine a time when durable, light-fast black dyes and pigments were so expensive that black was the color of prosperity.
During the Medieval period, black colors were worn as a sign of privilege only by the Blessed Mother, rich royals, and bishops.
The most valuable black color was the magnificent “brunette.” The dye was developed from a complex over-dyeing process of madder red over woad blue. Silk (or wool) fabric was dyed the deepest shade of blue in the woad vat first, then submerged in the madder dye vat with alum as a mordant. Two teams of skilled dyers worked to bring the color of the fabric to the highest possible chroma.
Considering the cost of materials and the cost of production, each batch was unique. Working with a colorist and dyer, the designer and master studio weaver would have specified the exact final color, which could vary from lightly bluish to a slightly reddish aura. These specialty fabrics were not available ready-made
Everybody knew wearing brunette-colored garments displayed wealth and luxury status. Those rich from the silk trade who could afford to were portrayed by famous painters wearing black hats and cloaks. Some will look prosperous forever. Middle-class people wore duller colors in shades from light grey to dark grey. While they often wore clothing made from fine silk and wool fabrics, they put on bright colors only for the occasional accent. In the Christian tradition, wearing bright colors in public was considered immodest.
Dyes from organic materials like madder roots and leaves from woad plants were made to be reasonably lightfast considering how the fabric is used. In general, people expected paintings to last longer than silk shirts so painting colors had to be made more durable.
Durability is often at the expense of high chroma. Artists and artisans had to develop palettes of colors that would make their patrons look fabulous wearing colorful silk fabrics that didn’t fade too fast.
While black was the most exclusive color, colors from the blue hue were most often associated with the Medieval era. In Christian iconography, from pale tints of woad to the deepest shade of lapis lazuli, blue colors were associated with the divine, heaven, purity, power, and spirituality. Blue colors were also sacred to the Egyptians.
For at least 5,000 years in the Mediterranean region, the least expensive blue dyes were made from the leaves of the woad plant. Woad is a herbaceous biennial plant belonging to the mustard family, which also includes kale and cabbage. Initially, rosettes of leaves formed on stalks. The best leaves form rosettes on the stocks. The blue-green ones coated with a fine, hairy surface were considered the best.
“Indigo” is the common name for the range of blues produced from woad leaves. Perhaps because the two dye stuffs were so often blended together, dyers decided indigo was a better name than woad. Indigo plants were introduced into the region from Asia during the first millennium BCE. Indigo dyes produced darker, more intense blue shades similar to Prussian blue when used on animal fibers. When used to dye cotton and linen, indigo dyes produced a lighter blue, akin to a tint of Ultramarine (lapis).
Woad dyes were easier to make. Once crushed, the leaves were steeped in hot water, and natron (soda ash) was added to enhance the color intensity. Woad and indigo dyes made a physical bond with fabrics, so the dyes did not require a mordant. (A mordant is an additive that produces a chemical bond between dye color and fabric.)
Red madder dye, made from a natural dye extracted from well-ground roots of the “Rubia tinctorum” plant, does require a mordant during the dye-making process. The chemical component was named alizarin based on the ancient Greek word, alizári. Even before the Egyptians and Greeks, artisans from earlier human cultures made dyes from madder roots to produce brighter red colors with higher chroma from mauve to maroon. Popular throughout most of art history, red madder colorants were at the top of their popularity during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria of Great Britain.
After the death of her husband, Prince Albert, the queen led her court in a decades-long period of mourning. She decreed that only colors in shades of mauve (rose madder), black, and grey were to be worn by those appearing in court.
Demand for madder root dye increased significantly, as did demand for an alternative source for the dye colors. Chemists throughout the world chased a prize for the formulation of the synthetic color that would match the color of natural red madder root. In 1826, two French chemists, Colin and Robiquet, made significant strides in formulating synthetic madder by isolating two distinct dyes from the madder plant: alizarin and purpurin.
By mid-19th century, chemists decided on a standard formula for “alizarin crimson”, the first synthetic dye color formulated to replicate the complex colors of natural red madder. Very soon, synthetic alizarin crimson pigment was cheaper to make than natural madder was to cultivate. Also, manufactured alizarin pigments produced good color consistency and much better lightfastness.
As with all advances, there was a decline. Due to lack of demand, the cultivation of madder roots declined in Burgundy, France. French farmers had to tear up their fields of madder roots. Interestingly, madder roots were replaced with the roots of grape vines, which soon produced Pinot Noir. The wine produced on the land is the same color as madder roots.
Captions:
Edinburgh Madonna and Child with Angels mid-15thC unattributed
The Arnolfini Portrait Jan van Eyck 15thC National Gallery of London
Silk Dyers 15thC
Indigo pigment
Queen Victoria by Thomas Sully 1838 Metropolitan Museum of Art
Color examples