The exploitation of ocher began in Luberon around 1780, under the leadership of Jean-Étienne Astier, who rediscovered the stability and inalterability of ocher in painting. The extraction, processing, and marketing of ocher took off considerably from the end of the 19th century, in particular following the construction of the railway that transported the production to Marseille. In 1900, the 32 open-cast quarries and 17 underground mines of the region produced 14,600 tonnes of ocher.