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Film summary
The story of how a contaminated reaction in the early 1700s led to the accidental discovery of blue pigment, the first synthetic paint.Key facts
- In the 1700s, paints were colored using naturally occurring pigments.
- Heinrich Diesbach discovered the first modern synthetic paint, Prussian Blue, by accident.
- Prussian Blue was created by many chemical processes.
- Prussian Blue was made commercially and used widely throughout Europe in the 18th century.
Transcript
In the early 1700s, Berlin was the capital of Prussia. Flamboyant Baroque design was in vogue, and paint was big business.
At the time, paints were coloured using naturally occurring pigments – like black charcoal or red and yellow ochre.
But there wasn't an affordable and stable source of blue …
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