Term commonly utilized beginning in the last century to indicate the coloured powder and colorants that, incorporated with a binder , form the material of the painting. The pigments may be organic and inorganic, natural and artificial: in most cases, the pigments consist of minerals and finely ground earth, which are purified or refined with a series of washes in water. Currently, the assorted nomenclature of pigments is not differentiated from those of the colours.