Margret E. Short Fine Arts

Portland, Oregon artist Margret Short - a modern day master of 17th Century Dutch art using the chiaroscuro technique to create still life and floral paintings.

Dendera Temple Ceiling Colors

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Blue on ceiling Dendera

At several places within the Temple of Dendera the colors from antiquity were visible. Here you can see the remains of a bluish pigment on the ceiling. The ancient Egyptians used two blues. One is the Egyptian blue frit described in an earlier blog entry and the other azurite. It is impossible to tell which was used here without analyzing a fragment of the pigment. I suspect because the blue does not seem to be of a greenish cast it most likely is Egyptian Blue. Most azurite pigments I have seen have a definite blue/green appearance.

Does anyone have any specific information on this?

Fortunately these pigments are available, and I am using both in my experiments.

Chiaroscuro Painting

Oil painting with the chiaroscuro technique illuminates the focus area with a strong light. All other areas are painted with less detail, lower values, and intensity of color giving a mysterious appearance. By putting one or two objects in the important focus area, a strong but simple composition will emerge. Combining these oil painting techniques with a selection of superior natural pigments and oil paints result in the beautiful and evocative quality known as Chiaroscuro Painting.

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  1. Hello,
    I have just returned back from my visit to Egypt ending with the Temple of Hathor. And what a transformation!
    Nothing could have prepared me for the blues and reds that now are so vividly on display – approx. half of the Hypostyle hall. And I took photograph after photograph. I can upload some photo’s if you wish for your website.