The pigment made from ground lapis lazuli and highly prized in Renaissance art was ultramarine.
Natural ultramarine came from lazurite, the blue mineral component of lapis lazuli. Much of the finest lapis lazuli reached Europe from mines near Sar-e-Sang in modern-day Afghanistan. Italian merchants imported it across long-distance trade routes, which helps explain the name ultramarine, meaning “beyond the sea.”
Producing the pigment was laborious. Artisans ground the stone, mixed it with waxes, resins, and oils, wrapped the mixture in cloth, and kneaded it in a mild alkaline solution to separate the blue material from unwanted minerals. The process made high-quality pigment exceptionally expensive—sometimes comparable in value to gold.
Renaissance painters often reserved ultramarine for especially important passages, including the robes of the Virgin Mary. It was prized for its rich, stable blue, while cheaper azurite was sometimes used underneath or in less prominent areas. Synthetic ultramarine became available in 1826, making the color far more affordable.