retrospect

Behold two works by Pre-Raphaelite Edward Burne-Jones. Admire the exquisite brown hues...  

Until one day, the horrified artist:  
- Dug a grave in his garden  
- Buried the paint tube with full ceremony  
- Planted flowers as a memorial  

What dark secret did he discover? Why ban this color forever?  

Take your guesses! The shocking truth tomorrow.

P.S.: And the flowers on the grave are painted... they are marigolds, a symbol of the transience of life in the Victorian language of flowers!

This paint was made from mummies. Real mummies. And it was called mummy brown. It is written that for its manufacture they mixed crushed remains of mummies with resin and got a universal brown shade. Good thing it wasn't the best quality, and there wasn't an endless supply of mummies, so the last such tube was produced in 1964.

Ironically, the Victorians collected mummies as curiosities, but it was considered sacrilege to *process* them. And Burne-Jones' gesture was the first act of ethical redemption in art.

Would you use paint from human remains?

You can't go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending. 
- C. S. Lewis