Casein is a quick–drying, aqueous medium using a milk–based binding agent, and is one of the most durable mediums known to man. Nine thousand year old Casein cave paintings have been discovered in Asia, and later, the medium was used by Byzantine, Roman and Renaissance artists including the Old Masters. In 1933, Casein pigments in tubes were developed by Ramon Shiva who relied on the expertise of the artists who used them to help perfect his high–quality paints.