bistre, brown pigment made from boiling the soot of wood. Because bistre is transparent and has no body, it is frequently used in conjunction with pen and ink drawings as a wash, a liquid spread evenly to suggest shadows, and is especially associated with the appearance of the typical “old master drawing.”
It was used to its greatest effect in the 17th and 18th centuries, when the bistre wash was especially favoured by such artists as Rembrandt, Claude Lorrain, Alexander Cozens, and Thomas Gainsborough. The pigment is also used by miniaturists.