#paintedbypixels

Did you know that before the invention of synthetic pigments, the colour blue was one of the most expensive colours to produce, as it was derived from lapis lazuli, a semi-precious stone found only in a few regions of the world. In fact, some famous paintings such as "The Virgin and Child with St. Anne" by Leonardo da Vinci, were so costly to produce due to their blue hues, that they bankrupted the artists or the patrons who commissioned them.