The collection of the Arzamas Art Museum includes a stone for colour grinding from the A. V. Stupin School of Painting. It was found after a major fire at the School in November 1842. 

Colours would be ground by apprentices, sometimes artists themselves, therefore knowledge of chemistry was a must. Pyotr Kornilov, an art historian and collector, wrote: “Chemistry is useful in painting due to ingredient materials which have a bearing on the convenience, endurance, and quality of the work.” By the way, Stupin’s painting school in Arzamas had a special-purpose room, a colour grinding shop, where the students prepared paints for work by grinding, mixing, and diluting. The rhodonite stone from the museum collection is an irregular-shaped pentagon, well polished on top. For centuries, it was thought to be helpful in developing artistic talent, especially in painting.

Rhodonite is a mineral, a manganese compound, sedimentary rock. Its name originated from the Greek ῥόδον meaning ‘rose’.

The best known rhodonite mine in Russia is in the Urals, south of Yekaterinburg. Rhodonite also occurs in central India, North America, British Columbia, and Australia.