Caravaggio - paintings of armor and edged weapons 1590s-1610

[Philip]

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

It would seem that the white pigment was the real culprit for lead, and later zinc oxide was one of the substitutes as the white lead was of course noxious.

Other sources such as the wine circumstance, or exposure in other environmental circumstances are more likely for consideration.

Jim, you might also want to know that white lead, until the last century, was widely used in many places for architectural and maritime applications. It was considered efficacious in protecting the joints of timber framing against rot. During my college years I worked part time for a local museum restoring a 19th cent. iron-hulled four-master, which of course had wooden decks, bulkheads, rails, and other elements of the superstructure and rigging. We occasionally had to apply white lead to areas such as the mating surfaces between wood and wrought iron. And of course warned by the foreman to wear gloves and goggles, and keep fingers away from our faces! The stuff had the consistency of thick yogurt.

Another protective, red lead, was painted onto exposed iron as a primer because of its rust-proofing qualities.