麻豆约拍

What stories are hiding among the paints and pigments in an art supplies shop?

L Cornelissen & Son has been supplying artists since the 19th century. Based in a little shop near the British Museum, it's a Victorian throwback - all dark wood, high shelves and creaky floorboards. Jars of pigment 'glint like jewels in the semi-dark' (as Derek Jarman put it), full of vibrant powders with mysterious names and long, strange histories - Lapis Lazuli, Rose Madder, Naples Yellow, Potters Pink, Egyptian Blue, Caput Mortuum.

Cathy FitzGerald holes up in the shop for a week to hear its customers' stories. What are they buying? What are they making?

Presented and produced by Cathy FitzGerald
Original music by Stephen Coates
A White Stiletto production for 麻豆约拍 Radio 4.