Once you get into an art shop, you may find it hard to orient in the names of oil paints. Cinnabar, chromium oxide green, cadmium, terra umber, ochre, cobalt blue, ultramarine and Berlin blue – these names are all around you. Certainly, there are paint-test paper-sheets that help you define the necessary hue. However, it would be great to wade through all these details and know the ropes, wouldn’t it? Then you may find the following information useful.
So, why don’t they just write on the paint tubes ‘blue’, ‘green’, ‘red’ or ‘yellow’? The reason is each of these colours has a whole range of properties and hues. By and large, in the past it was impossible to come into an art store and choose this or that paint according to the paint-test paper-sheets. In the past artists would have to prepare the paints from pigments themselves. So, the names originating from these pigments that sound so unusual for us would ring a bell for old masters.
Let’s start from the very beginning: each oil paint consists of a pigment and a binding substance. Now the pigments are mostly synthetic. However, about 100-150 years ago all the colouring ingredients were mostly inartificial. Natural pigments can be divided into mineral and organic substances.
All the pigments have a range of characteristics the quality of which affects their price:
The most popular pigments for oil painting that should be mentioned are:
Cinnabar is one of the oldest mineral pigments producing a bright red colour. Traces of cinnabar pigment were found in the Neolithic age murals in Anatolia (contemporary Turkey) and China (7000 – 5000 BC). In Egypt and Greece cinnabar was utilized for colouring statues, while in the Roman Empire it was commonly used for wall paintings. In Byzantium cinnabar became the colour of emperors whereas in the Renaissance epoch cinnabar was the core red pigment for spiritual pictorial art. In 19th century cinnabar was gradually replaced with a cheaper red pigment – cadmium.
Cadmium was discovered in the 19th century in Germany. A red variety of cadmium can be orange-red, light, dark or purple. Its hue depends on the proportion of chemical elements in the structure of the paint. Cadmium paints have a great tinting power. Their colour does not change upon drying. However, they may fade after adding pinene (turpentine) which is often used as a solvent for oil paints. Apart from red there exists a yellow variety of cadmium (light, medium and dark). These paints do not darken upon blending with white lead. However, they change colour if mixed with ochre and sienna (as well as other paints based on iron oxide). When mixed with blue, yellow cadmium may produce a range of green hues.
Sienna is a yellow-brown pigment that used to be a standard of brown for Caravaggio and other artists of the 17-19th centuries. Sienna can be classified as natural, burnt and dark.
Ochre is a natural pigment of iron oxide with admixtures of clay. The colour of ochre may vary from light yellow to brown yellow. Traditionally, ochre has been a key pigment on any painter’s palette.
Ultramarine is a complex chemical compound that creates the blue colour. In olden days ultramarine was obtained from a precious stone lazurite (lapis lazuli) and was one of the most expensive pigments. In China ultramarine was used for painting chinaware, while in the European art ultramarine was often associated with Holy Virgin. Ultramarine has a high degree of light-resistance.
Chromium III oxide came into use as a pigment in the 19th century. It gives the paint a concentrated dark green colour. Chromium III oxide is an indispensable pigment on the palette of artists of the 20th century and the modern epoch.
Berlin blue has been famous since the 18th century. It produces a range of hues from dark blue to bright blue depending on the chemical content. It is considered that Berlin blue is perfect for painting the sky and water. Berlin blue has an average (medium) photosensitivity.
Cobalt blue is mainly used as a blue pigment. In the medieval period it was a cheap alternative to ultramarine. However, cobalt blue requires careful attitude. If too much oil is added to the pigment, the colour becomes a dirty green grey and loses it picturesque qualities. Cobalt blue possesses incredible advantages in comparison with other blue pigments: it has maximum light-resistance and absolute tinting power.
These are just a few basic pigments. However, we will continue discussing this topic. We will dwell on the yellow, white, red, blue and brown pigments in details in our next articles. In order to get acquainted with the paints more closely, come to our oil painting master-classes that take place daily in our art studio.
У меня синдром Стендаля сегодня. Утром ходили в Падуанский баптистерий. Смотрели фрески Менабуя. А после обеда у нас было посещение каппелы Скровеньи. Теперь я понимаю , что сделал Джотто для мира. Очень меня все это впечатлило в живую. Привет передала.
Мир прекрасен. Падуя очень понравилась:) спасибо за лекции Света!
Lily Golovchak
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