Holbein Artists' Oil Color - Naples Yellow, 20 ml tube

Pigment Information

This color contains the following pigments:

PY42-Mars Orange

PY37-Cadmium Yellow

PW6-Titanium White

Pigment Name

PY42-Mars Orange

Pigment Type

inorganic, earth

Chemical Name

iron oxide

Chemical Formula

Fe2O2 or Fe2O3 • H2O

Properties

Mars Orange is a bright, extremely light red and appears almost pinkish in contrast with darker colors. It has incredible tinting strength and opacity. The synthetic form of Mars Orange is made from iron oxides and is cleaner, brighter, and denser than its ochre-based counterparts.

Permanence

Mars Orange has excellent permanence and lightfastness.

Toxicity

Mars Orange has no significant hazards.

History

The word Mars refers to the Roman god of iron and war. Mars Orange has been manufactured as a pigment since the 17th century.

Pigment Name

PY37-Cadmium Yellow

Pigment Type

inorganiic, cadmium

Chemical Name

cadmium(II)-sulfide

Chemical Formula

CdS

Properties

Cadmium Yellow is brilliant, dense, and opaque, with good tinting strength and very high hiding power. It is the artist’s principal bright yellow and is available in light, medium, and dark shades. The deeper shades appear deep orange and have the greatest tinting strength. It is slow-drying in oil form and is used in both oil and watercolor form. It cannot be mixed with copper-based pigments. A clean Cadmium Orange is created when Cadmium Yellow is mixed with Cadmium Red. Hues vary by brand. Cadmium pigments have been partially replaced by azo pigments, which are similar in lightfastness to the cadmium colors, cheaper, and non-toxic. Cadmium Yellow is usually available in a pure grade, or in a cadmium-barium mix. This mix has the same permanence with a lower tinting strength.

Permanence

Cadmium Yellow is lightfast and permanent in most forms, but like most cadmium colors, it will fade in fresco or mural painting. The deeper shades are the most permanent. The pale varieties have been known to fade with exposure to sunlight.

Toxicity

Cadmium Yellow is a known human carcinogen. It can be hazardous if chronically inhaled or ingested.

History

Cadmiums get their names from the Latin word cadmia meaning zinc ore calamine, and the Greek word kadmeia, meaning Cadmean earth, first found near Thebes, the city founded by the Phoenician prince Cadmus. Metallic cadmium was discovered in 1817 by Friedrich Strohmeyer. Oil colors were first made from Cadmium Yellow pigments in 1819, replacing toxic Chrome (lead) Yellows. However, their production was delayed until 1840 due to the scarcity of cadmium metals. Landscape painters, such as Claude Monet, preferred Cadmium Yellow to the less expensive Chrome Yellow because of its higher chroma and greater purity of color.

Pigment Name

PW6-Titanium White

Pigment Type

inorganic

Chemical Name

titanium dioxide

Chemical Formula

TiO2

Properties

Titanium White is the most brilliant of the white pigments. It is considered an all purpose oil color useful in all techniques and the best all around white. Its masstone is neither warm nor cool, placing it somewhere between Lead White and Zinc White. It is less prone to cracking and yellowing than Lead White, but it still yellows easily. Titanium White dries slowly in oil form, more slowly than Lead White but more quickly than Zinc White. It is opaque in oil and acrylic forms and semi-opaque in watercolor form. This pigment has good chemical stability, and its tinting strength is superior to both Lead White and Zinc White.

Permanence

Titanium White has excellent permanence and lightfastness.

Toxicity

Titanium dioxide is highly stable and is regarded as non-toxic.

History

Titanium is the ninth most abundant element in the Earth's crust, however mineral deposits that are economical to mine are less common. Titanium dioxide was first discovered in 1821, although it could not be mass produced until 1919. Widespread use of the pigment began in the 1940s. Since that time, it has become the most commonly used white pigment. The name comes from the Latin word Titan, the name for the elder brother of Kronos and ancestor of the Titans, and from the Greek word tito, meaning day or sun.