Minerals and art have always been linked in various ways: not only because magnificent sculptures and architecture were created by sculpting or carving stones, but also because minerals are the source of most of the pigments, that is colours, used in painting.
In the hall there are examples showcasing minerals and their utilization as pigments: for example the oldest, yellow ochres (derived from goethite) and red ochres (from haematite) used in caves to make mankind’s earliest paintings and later in Pompeii and during in the Renaissance; or ultramarine blue, the brightest and deepest, used for the most precious details because it was obtained, by a long process, from lapis lazuli: found in the jewelry of the pharaohs and, in Padua, in the vault of the Scrovegni Chapel, frescoed by Giotto, right next to the museum.
