Lake pigments from Ruth Siddall’s pigment collection. Image courtesy of Ruth Siddall.
RUTH SIDDALL
I’m a geologist who applies the techniques used in the Earth sciences to analyse and identify pigments. I did my PhD at University College London (UCL) on plate tectonics, geotectonics and the formation of the Bay of Biscay, however on finishing my studies, my first job was at the American School of Classical Studies in Athens (Greece), where I was tasked with identifying, describing and curating the rock and mineral collections in the ASCSA’s Weiner Lab. During this time I developed a passion for applied mineralogy, using the techniques I had learned as a geologist but applying them to cultural and heritage materials. I began a study working on plasters, mortars and concretes at Ancient Corinth and it was here that I first became interested in the mineralogy and chemistry of pigments and developed a deep interest in Roman wall paintings, their techniques and materials ever since.
I took up a lectureship in Earth Sciences at UCL and taught in that department for 20 years. I continued working at Corinth and on a number of other Greek archaeological surveys and excavations, mainly studying the geology of archaeological sites and the materiality of ceramics and cements. In the late 1990s my friend and colleague Tracey Chaplin, a spectrochemist, began working on the analysis of artist’s pigments. Through Tracey, I met Valentine Walsh and Nick Eastaugh and they invited me to collaborate with them on The Pigment Compendium: A Dictionary of Historical Pigments, which was first published in 2004. The rest is history. Since then I have continued to work on stone, ceramics and cements but have a passion for pigments!
My main interest is the characterisation, physically and chemically, of artists’ pigments. This necessitates putting together a pigment collection (with just over a thousand pigments at the time of writing) which I use for comparative analysis. Art historically, my main interest and expertise is in Roman-period paintings and painting techniques but over the last decade I have also been working with contemporary fine artists at UCL’s Slade School of Fine Art. Mainly collaborating with Jo Volley (Slade Deputy Director [Projects]) and the Materials Research Project, this has been an amazing opportunity to learn, teach, mentor and discuss pigments, paints and practice with artists. For the academic year 2018-2019 I held the post of Scientist in Residence at the Slade School.
More information about my publications and projects is available here.
Red lead on the mulling glass. Image courtesy of Ruth Siddall.