Scheele’s Green is a pigment that was commonly used in the late 1700s to the early 1800s. The pigment was found to be responsible for the death of Napoleon Bonaparte. He was staying at the Longwood House in St. Helena at the time of his death. The wallpaper lining the room he was in, was dyed with the infamous Scheele’s Green pigment, containing deadly amounts of arsenic. The moth in the linoleum carving is representative of what I think the moths on the wallpaper would have looked like at the time of his death. The house, is Longwood House. The chemical formula is representative of the chemical compound for Scheele’s Green.
Vermilion is a pigment that was widely used in many cultures from Peru to Asia. Alchemists were obsessed with creating gold—which they believed to be red rather than yellow. This is represented by the mine cart in the linoleum carving. Vermilion, when handled directly, causes side effects similar to Mad Hatter’s Disease due to the High Mercury content in the pigment, so I illustrated and carved his hat. Lastly, the chemical formula is representative of the chemical compound of Vermilion.
Chrome yellow was heavily favored by Van Gogh during his sunflower period, but like most things besides wine, it tended to age terribly. It browns with exposure to light. The pigment can lead to lead poisoning when one is exposed for extended periods of time. The sunflowers in the linoleum carving are representative of Van Gogh’s sunflower period. The ear is also representative of Van Gogh. The last element is the chemical formula representative of the chemical compound for Chrome Yellow.
