Before the invention of artificial pigments, artists turned to nature to source components for paint. Minerals have been used as natural pigments for thousands of years—and have even been found in some of the earliest cave paintings. From the deep blue paints of azurite to the dark grays derived from galena––both used in medieval and Renaissance paintings made in the 1200s to 1500s––humans have long relied on color to tell stories and depict the world around them.