The medium of watercolour has been particularly associated with England for several hundred years. However, its origins lie further back in the history of European painting. Pigments, consisting of earths or vegetable fibres ground to powder and bound with gum or egg, were in use in the Middle Ages. They were applied to vellum to adorn manuscripts, to depict religious and (later) secular scenes – as well as to enrich capital letters and ornament borders.
– By Andrew Wilton
