Hands are typically an excellent gray reference for photography, ensuring that the captured photos represent the color accurately given the photographer’s platform constraints. Hands also help the human brain correct for variations in lighting, color profiles, monitor calibration, and so on. Showing the dye color on skin ensures the highest fidelity conveyance of the hue to the reader possible without control over how it’s viewed. Other examples of the pigment’s use would be abstract and “just another blue”; by showing in this way, it’s possible to see that it’s an uncommon and high-key blue.

It’s also extremely unusual to see a skin-safe saturated dye in this shade; most powdered sources of blue and white, which would necessarily be blended to reach these shade, would be highly toxic. So, for pigment historians and aficionados, these photographs are eerie and compelling. This is what working with pigment used to be like, before we understood how much of it was toxic and deadly to the people working with and wearing it. You could just dip your hands in the forbidden color and admire them. It’s very cool to see and I’m glad they used hands as the focus.

(There may also be cultural reasons why the dye is shown here on skin; I haven’t yet studied mesoamerican cultures and body painting, but others who are more familiar should chime in.)

Thank you for sharing this--I was also confused by the hand photos but viewing them again with this reference point gave me a new appreciation for the entire work!

To add to this: the RGB colorspace reproducible by modern displays is limited compared to the full colorspace that humans can see so when photographing pigments, photographers need a proper reference for color correction. Wikipedia says the CIELCh of Maya blue is (76, 66, 238°) which is at the edge of the RGB colorspace. Depending on purity and composition, the real pigment might be just outside the range, so for a viewer to get a realistic portrayal they need that contrast too.

Mesoamerican cultures did use a lot of body paint for special occasions like warriors going into battle and religious ceremonies. This Maya blue would likely have been used by priests and other high status individuals in religious ceremonies, rather than the general population though.

>photographers need a proper reference for color correction

easily solved with a chip chart. they even have them "pocket" sized.

Maybe this is partly because of Islamic aniconism.

You're implying the only other use of the pigment is to make idols?

Even though this is Al Jazeera, there are photos of iconic works further into the article. Masks, a bust, murals…