How is a South American insect of miniscule proportions associated with some of the greatest European painters ever to have lived?
The answer lies in the discovery by Spanish conquistadors of a mysterious red dye that was known to the Mesoamerican people for centuries but went on to revolutionize the Western art world, with the likes of Caravaggio, Peter Paul Rubens, and Vincent van Gogh all wanting to paint with a pigment so vibrant and dazzling it impacted art history, from the Renaissance to Modernism. But how did this vivid colorant reach the European continent, and what else was it used for?
Click through the following gallery and find out how a bug painted Europe red.