Conté à Paris Pastels

Square-profile drawing sticks (Carrés) made from natural pigments, kaolin clay, and a cellulose binder, then baked to set their hardness. Conté à Paris traces back to 1795, when Nicolas-Jacques Conté invented the modern pencil during the Napoleonic-era graphite shortage. The square shape allows fine lines from the edges and broad coverage from the flat side. They are harder and less dusty than soft pastels, making them well suited to sketching, figure drawing, and tonal work.