Sennelier Artists' Extra Fine Oil Paint - Modigliani Ochre, 200 ml tube

Pigment Information

This color contains the following pigments:

PR102-Natural Light Red Iron Oxide

PW4-Zinc White

PY43-Yellow Ochre

Pigment Name

PR102-Natural Light Red Iron Oxide

Pigment Type

inorganic, natural

Chemical Name

iron oxide

Chemical Formula

Fe2O2

Properties

Natural Light Red Iron Oxide is a brick red pigment with a bright, scarlet top tone. Mineral sources vary considerably in both hue and transparency. It is generally opaque and has great tinting strength and hiding power, but more transparent versions are available. It creates salmon pinks when mixed with white. Natural Light Red Iron Oxide is often replaced by Mars colors or bright red oxides, which are cleaner and more powerful.

Permanence

Natural Light Red Iron Oxide has excellent permanence and lightfastness.

Toxicity

Natural Light Red Iron Oxide has no significant hazards.

History

Natural red iron oxide comes from the mineral ore hematite, called bloodstone by the ancient Greeks from the word hema, meaning blood. It is one of the oldest pigments, has been used by every major civilization, and was an important mineral for medieval alchemists. It was not widely used in artists' materials until the 17th century and was not produced in large quantities until the 18th century.

Pigment Name

PW4-Zinc White

Pigment Type

inorganic

Chemical Name

zinc(II)-oxide

Chemical Formula

ZnO

Properties

Zinc White is the coolest white, and it has a cold, clean masstone and a slightly bluish tint. It has less hiding power and is more transparent than other whites. It dries slowly and is good for painting wet into wet and for glazing and scumbling. Zinc White is neither as opaque nor as heavy as Lead White, its covering power is not as good, and it takes much longer to dry. However, it does not blacken when exposed to sulfur in the air as Lead White does. It is very valuable for making tints with other colors. Unmixed Zinc White dries to a brittle and dry paint film that may crack over the years, so it is not good for frescoing. It is more transparent in acrylic form than Titanium White and is the most commonly used white with gouache. Chinese White is a version of Zinc White appropriate for opaque watercolor techniques.

Permanence

Zinc White has great permanence and lightfastness.

Toxicity

Zinc White is moderately toxic if ingested and slightly toxic if inhaled.

History

Though historians are divided on who first isolated the element zinc, they agree that it was first suggested as a white pigment in 1782. Zinc White was accepted as a watercolor in 1834 and was called Chinese White due to the popularity of oriental porcelain in Europe at the time. Ten years later, a suitable oil form was produced. By the early 20th century, it had improved to the point where it was an acceptable alternative to Flake White.

Pigment Name

PY43-Yellow Ochre

Pigment Type

earth

Chemical Name

iron(III)-oxide, hydrated

Chemical Formula

Fe2O3H2O

Properties

Yellow Ochre provides artists with earthtones from cream to brown. It has good hiding power, produces a quick drying paint, and can be safely mixed with other pigments. Its transparency varies widely from opaque shades to more transparent ones, which are valued for their use as glazes. If gypsum is present, Yellow Ochre is not suitable for frescoing. (See Brown Ochre, PY43.) PY42 is made from synthetic iron oxides. PY43 is made from natural iron oxide.

Permanence

Yellow Ochre has excellent permanence because ochres are some of the most permanent pigments available.

Toxicity

Yellow Ochre is non-toxic unless it contains manganese.

History

Ochre comes from the Greek word ochros, meaning pale yellow. It was one of the first pigments to be used by human beings, and evidence of its use has been found at 300,000 year old sites in France and the former Czechoslovakia.