The añil plant, part of the indigo family, was widely available in the region but was mostly used for dyes rather than paint. In Mexico, on the other hand, blue was used to paint altogether less holy and everyday subjects.Īrchaeologists were puzzled by the resilience of the blue in the murals. The colour was primarily used to paint the robes of the Virgin Mary, and later extended to include other royalty and holy figures. Rubens' Adoration of the Magi – the version that hangs in the Museo del Prado in Madrid and which he worked on for over 20 years – is an example. In Europe, blue was reserved for the most important subject matter. The ultramarine blue procured from lapis lazuli in Europe was not only incredibly expensive, but also extremely laborious to make.

The world’s most mysterious silver cups It wasn’t until the middle of the 20th Century that archaeologists discovered the Maya had invented a resilient and brilliant blue, centuries before their land was colonised and their resources exploited.

How could this be? Lapis lazuli was even rarer in the New World. Across the Atlantic Ocean, colonial Baroque works created by artists like José Juárez, Baltasar de Echave Ibia and Cristóbal de Villalpando in early 17th Century Mexico – New Spain – were full of this beautiful blue.

Maya inventor