Grumbacher Pre-Tested Artists' Oil Color - Cobalt Violet Hue, 1.25 oz tube

Pigment Information

This color contains the following pigments:

PV16-Manganese Violet

PV14-Cobalt Violet

Pigment Name

PV16-Manganese Violet

Pigment Type

inorganic

Chemical Name

manganese ammonium pyrophosphate

Chemical Formula

(NH4)2Mn2(P2O7)2 - Mn3(PO4)2 * 3H2O or H4O7P2H3NMn

Properties

Manganese Violet is a semi-transparent, bluish-violet pigment with a discrete opacity and low tinting strength. It is the reddest of the violets, and it covers and dries well in oil and tempera. It also performs well in pastel, encaustic, and watercolor. Manganese Violet is not well suited for fresco or acrylic painting. There can be significant differences in color across brands. It shares similar properties with bluish shades of Cobalt Violet.

Permanence

Manganese Violet has excellent permanence and lightfastness, and it is one of the most lightfast, balanced violets in watercolor form.

Toxicity

Manganese Violet is highly toxic if inhaled and moderately toxic if ingested.

History

This pigment was developed in 1868 by E. Leykauf to replace the more expensive Cobalt Violet. It was not offered as an artists’ pigment until 1890.

Pigment Name

PV14-Cobalt Violet

Pigment Type

inorganic

Chemical Name

cobalt phosphate

Chemical Formula

Co3(PO4)2

Properties

Cobalt Violet is a pure hue that cannot be mixed from other colors. It is cool in its masstone, chemically stable, and semi-opaque. It has a weak tinting strength and is generally offered in a bluish and a reddish-violet shade. Cobalt Violet can be quite expensive, so it is used mostly as a top coat color. It is compatible with all painting media, but its light variety can change in oil form. It grays down considerably when mixed with white. Manganese Violet is a less costly substitute for the bluish variety of Cobalt Violet.

Permanence

Cobalt Violet has excellent permanence, and its lightfastness makes it more desirable than older organic dye violets.

Toxicity

Cobalt Violet is highly toxic by both ingestion and inhalation, particularly in dry pigment form. However, much of the material presently used to make paints of this color is non-toxic cobalt phosphate.

History

Cobalt comes from the Middle High German word kobolt, an underground goblin, because miners thought cobalt harmed silver ores. Cobalt Violet was the first real violet pigment and was described by Salvetat in 1859. The light variety of this pigment, developed in Germany earlier in the 19th century, was particularly poisonous due to its arsenic content. Cobalt Violet hues were the only permanent bright violets available to artists until the 1950s.