Egyptian blue was a firm favourite among some of the best artists of that time, who hailed the pigment for its ability to create shadows, folds in garments, glow highlights in eyes and its all ...

Evidently, Egyptian blue was another key ingredient in the palace ... and to add a striking gleam to the eyes. The earliest documented use of the pigment comes from the mid-third millennium ...

(There are outliers, however. A 2024 genetic analysis showed a 1-year-old boy who lived in Europe about 17,000 years ago had dark skin, dark hair and blue eyes.) The genetic basis for lighter skin ...