Category Archives: Chasing Caterpillars
Artists’ Pigments
The sole reason I toured Albrecht Dürer's house in Nürnberg, Germany, was because I had read there was a display of his paint and where it came from. Now Dürer lived 170 years before Maria Sybilla Merian did, but things were slow to change back in those days; I figured the source of paints would still be the same. I had already spent two and a half years researching the old paint recipes to find a few which would be usable in the classroom during the study of art in the Middle Ages. (I was bored with the time period and needed a way to "liven it up" 'cause it's a sure bet that if the teacher's already bored, the students will be triply bored, and the last thing we need is bored kids in the classroom.)
I was delighted to see that what I had read was confirmed here.
The blue pigment in the picture on top is azurite; the powdered form was kept on the half shell, it's source is the azurite rock behind. The red pigment was new to me–it is called Drachenblut, or Dragon's Blood. It comes from a red resin from the fruit of a palm tree found in Asia.
The center picture shows a pigment made from roots of the Rubia plant–also new to me–on the left. On the right is a dish of cochineal bugs which, when crushed, make a purply-red pigment. (And, yes, the dried bugs do stink if you get your nose too close to them!)
The bottom picture shows the beautiful bright red pigment derived from Cinnabar rocks from Spain.
One added note: most rocks lose their color when crushed and cannot be used to make paint. Those that do retain their color make very lovely paint, indeed.
Chörlein
The Frauenkirche on the Market Square
Before Streets Had Names
The Beautiful Fountain
The tall fancy spire you see above the market booths is the Schoenebrunnen, or the Beautiful Fountain, and is very aptly named! It is the most beautiul fountain I’ve ever seen. And probably the tallest. The workmanship that went into making this is absolutely incredible.
Here is a close up of this fountain. The photo was taken through the fancy wrought iron fence which encloses it.
The golden ring is supposed to bring good luck when you turn it. Yes, it does move! Of course, you have to find it first, and that is no easy task! The ornate iron work is such that the ring blends in beautifully, and even the change of color does not stand out immediately.
And, unbeknownst to a lot of tourists, there is an iron ring on the other side of the fountain. Some of the local people asked me if I knew about this one, and when I said no, they beckoned me to this side and said that turning this one ensures that you have children. Apparently especially important after the plague which wiped out so many. Can you find it?
A Walking Tour of the Old Town
The first thing I did was to take a walking tour just to get a basic idea of where things were and what there was. Supposedly a 2 1/2 hour tour, ours lasted another hour because our guide took the time to answer questions as well as adding more information when the group showed more interest. Walking around the town also showed us very quickly just how steep the terrain was going up to the base of the castle. And from the base on up to the castle grounds was even more so!
Entering the old city of Nürnberg
Train to Nürnberg
On to Nürnberg, the next city where Maria Sybilla Merian Graf lived.