At its most basic, it's just a mixture of oil and pigment.

它基本上其實就是將油和色素混合。

But depending on the color and quality, a liter of this paint could cost you between $285 and $1,000.

但是取決於顏色和品質，一公升的顏料可能要價 285 美金到 1000 美金。

So what is it that makes this paint so special, and why is it so expensive?

所以是什麼讓這些顏料如此特别？而且為何如此昂貴？

Oil paint has been used for hundreds of years.

油畫顏料已被使用了上百年。

It's made from a drying oil, like flaxseed, and pigment, sometimes with fillers and thickeners added.

它由乾燥的油 (如亞麻籽油) 和色素製成，有時還會添加填充物和增稠劑。

When mixed and crushed, these ingredients bind and thicken to form a permanent paint.

當這些原料被混合並壓碎，它們會凝固、變濃稠，形成一種永久的顏料。

While the rise of oil paint is associated with the Renaissance, paintings using poppy-seed oil have been dated as far back as seventh-century Afghanistan.

雖然人們將油畫的興起和文藝復興聯想在一起，使用罌粟花籽油製成的顏料 (即最早的油畫顏料) 可追溯回 7 世紀的阿富汗。

But there's one key reason this paint hasn't ever been cheap: Pigments cost a lot of money.

但之所以昂貴有一個關鍵原因：色素要價不菲。

So in a good oil paint, you're gonna be looking for a high pigment loading and a good-quality pigment in that high pigment loading.

所謂好的油畫顏料，要是色素含量高的，而且是品質良好的色素。

So it doesn't matter if you have loads of pigment if it's a bad-quality pigment.

所以就算有高含量的色素，如果品質不好也沒意義。

You're looking for lightfastness so it doesn't fade, and tests on light-fastness that have been going on for generations, in fact, for some pigments.

還要看重耐光性，才不會容易褪色，有一些色素背後是長達幾世紀的耐光性測試。

So you're not gonna create a masterpiece and then 50 years down the line it's completely washed out.

才不會說你創作了一幅傑作後，過了 50 年顏色都褪了。

The highest-quality oil paint can be up to 75% pigment.

最高品質的油畫顏料含有高達 75% 色素。

And throughout history, the most sought-after pigments have been worth far more than their weight in gold.

在歷史上，最難能可得的色素甚至比同重量的黃金還有價值。

And that's because they take a lot of work to discover and to make.

那是因為這些色素要花很多心力尋找和製作。

The favorite imperial color in Roman times, Tyrian purple, was a bright pigment made from the glands of sea snails.

古羅馬時期皇室最愛的帝王紫 —— 「骨螺紫」，就是一種用海螺腺體製成的明亮色素。

And it could take 12,000 snails to make just 2 grams of the color.

要花上 1 萬 2000 隻海螺才能得到 2 公克色素。

Indian yellow was originally made from the urine of cows fed only on mango leaves.

「印度黃」最初來自於只吃芒果葉的牛隻的尿液。

And in the 16th to 19th centuries, mummy brown was actually made with the ground-up remains of Egyptian mummies.

而在 16 至 19 世紀，「木乃伊棕」其實就是用埃及木乃伊磨製成。

And while the color was perfect for some flesh tones, we quickly ran out of mummies to use.

雖然這種顏色非常適合拿來畫皮膚色調，卻很快就沒有木乃伊可以使用了。

Pigments do dramatically change the cost.

色素會大大影響花費。

And in professional levels, you'll have series, so you'll have probably a series one, well, up to series seven.

在專業等級上，還會分系列，例如會有系列一到系列七。

The higher the number, the more expensive it is.

系列數字越高，價格越昂貴。

And that's due to the pigments, how difficult they are to obtain, where they come from, and also how in-demand they are as a product in the real world.

那取決於色素的取得難易度，在哪可以取得，還有市場上有多少需求。

Possibly the most valuable, though, was ultramarine, literally meaning "beyond the sea," as it had to be mined in Afghanistan.

其中最有價值的或許是「群青」(ultra marine)，字面上意指「超越海洋」，因為它需要從阿富汗採礦而得。

It was made from lapis lazuli, which in its purest pigment form can still cost up to $30,000 per kilo.

它由青金石製成，含量最純的青金石色素甚至要價每公斤 3 萬美金。

The gemstone was used to make the pigment until a synthetic version was created in 1826.

在人造色素於 1826 年問世前，這種色素都是用礦石製成。

And the vibrant blue was valued so highly in the Renaissance that it was generally reserved for painting the robes of the Virgin Mary.

這種鮮亮的藍在文藝復興時期極受人珍賞，通常特別保留來繪製聖母瑪麗的袍子。

Synthetic versions of many of these pigments have now been created.

這些色素現在都已經可以人工製造。

And while this means many are cheaper, some can still be difficult to produce.

雖然這意味著多數會便宜一些，還是有幾種非常難製成。

Cobalt blue, for example, has to be made by heating its components to 1,200 degrees Celsius.

舉例來說，「鈷藍色」的製作過程需要加熱到攝氏 1200 度。

And once you have these pigments, they're tricky to work with.

而且儘管有了色素，之後的步驟還是不容易。

Winsor & Newton has been making oil paints for almost 200 years.

溫莎牛頓有近 200 年製作油畫顏料的經驗。

And its factory in France produces over 5 million liters of paint each year.

他們位於法國的工廠每年生產超過 500 萬公升的顏料。

In fact, produce paint is like cooking.

製作顏料其實就像在料理。

So here you have mixing, so we are mixing components like pigments and other additives like oil.

我們在這裡混合色素和其他添加劑，例如油。

We are then milling.

接著是磨製。

So it depends. We're using different type of machines.

情況不一定。我們使用不同種類的機器。

So we're using granite, ceramic, or steel.

我們會使用花崗石、陶瓷或是鋼。

Then we are testing, OK.

然後做測試。

So testing the viscosity of the grain and, of course, the color.

要測試顆粒的黏性，以及顏色，理所當然地。

The whole process is so select.

整個過程都是精挑細選的。

So for every single pigment, you need to handle it in a particular way.

每一種色素都需要用個別不同的方式調理。

So it will need a particular amount of oil with it, and that ratio changes for every pigment.

會需要特定含量的油，每一種色素所需的油比例都不同。

And you're going to need to grind it to a particular fineness.

然後要磨到一定的精細程度。

And actually even with the same pigment the milling and the grinding will affect the color you have.

即使是同一種色素，只要磨製過程不同，就可能影響到顏色。

So if you overgrind you might end up with something duller, or with another color if you grind it very fine; you might end up with a purple rather than a blue.

例如要是磨過頭了，最後顏色可能比較深，或是另一種色素如果磨得很細，可能得到的是紫色而不是藍色。

The research and testing for these colors can take months or even years to get right.

研究和測試這些顏色可能要花上數月甚至是數年才能得到對的結果。

Small samples of each color are made in a lab to measure consistency and lightfastness.

實驗室裡會先給每種顏色製作一小份樣本，測其的濃度和耐光性。

Above all else, the quality of oil paint needs to be reliable, as professional artists need to guarantee that what they're working on now will last for hundreds of years.

除此之外，油畫顏料的品質必須值得信賴，因為專業畫家們要能擔保他們的作品能夠存續上百年。

And despite comparatively new paints like acrylic, oil still remains an artist favorite.

雖然有像是壓克力等相對新型的顏料，油畫顏料還是藝術家的最愛。

We've still got works that are still beautiful and relevant from the 15th century.

有一些 15 世紀的作品在我們現今看來依舊美麗、貼近人們。

And it's also, it's durable.

而且耐久。

And it has this ability to layer, where you can scrape back, you can keep working, you can work on a piece for years and keep on redoing it, and it gives every piece this history.

而且油畫能夠堆疊，你能夠將顏料刮下再繪，你能夠持續繪製一幅畫好多年，所以每幅作品都是一段歷史。

And, you know, the materials themselves are expensive.

而且你知道的，器材本身很貴。

They're reliable. They're gorgeous.

它們值得信賴。美麗動人。

I mean, they come out of the painting at you.

我的意思是，它們會跳出畫框直接觸及你。