Some of our most popular paint colors are based on traditional dyes or pigments with interesting histories. Let me introduce you to some of my favorites.
Pocket Histories
Indian Yellow: Cow urine?
What actually was Indian Yellow? It’s still unknown: all we have is 17th-century urban legends. The most sticky of these legends is that idea that was the urine of cows fed only mango leaves. This was concentrated down and sold from India to Europe. At any rate, this is the story: it’s never been confirmed, which leads me to be skeptical. [Source: Wikipedia]
Gamboge: Garcinia resin
The original genuine gamboge pigment, a bold and toxic warm yellow, came from the resin or latex of trees in the Garcinia genus. This is a specific type of evergreen native to Cambodia; the word “Gamboge” has the same origin as the English romanization of “Cambodia.” A chilling Radiolab segment tells the story of Winsor & Newton employee finding bullets in the pigment during Khmer Rouge regime. [Source: Radiolab]
Vermilion: Cinnabar
Vermilion traditionally refers to a pigment derived from the mineral cinnabar. Some small historical pigment houses offer genuine cinnabar vermilion, but it is generally not sold as it is quite toxic (derived from mercury). Cinnabar has a long history of use in art, including in Chinese laquerware and Mayan burial grounds. [Source: Wikipedia]
Carmine: Cochineal insects
Although “carmine” paints today are typically made from synthetic benzimidazolone carmine (PR176), historically they were made from cochineal, which is made from insects! The cochineal insect produces carminic acid as a natural defense mechanism, and this can be turned into a red or fuchsia dye. It’s not lightfast enough to compete with modern watercolor pigments, but it’s nontoxic and still used as a food and cosmetic colorant. Gross! [Source: Wikipedia]
Rose Madder/Alizarin Crimson: Madder plant dye
The pigment typically known as “alizarin crimson” today, PR83, is actually a synthetic replacement for traditional alizarin crimson, also known as rose madder or madder lake. This is a lake pigment derived from a dye made from the roots of the Rubia tinctorum or rose madder plant. Humans have been dying clothes with rose madder for over a thousand years. [Source: Wikipedia]
Although synthetic Alizarin Crimson is considered a fugitive pigment by modern standards, it was more permanent than natural rose madder, so some PR83 paints are still named “permanent rose madder.” Permanent is all relative, huh?
Tyrian Purple: Snails
Although I don’t know of that many watercolors named Tyrian purple (there’s one by A. Gallo made from Ultramarine Violet and Manganese Violet), it’s a memorable color inspiration because it was originally made from snails! This was a very expensive dye in ancient Rome, reserved for royalty, because it took so many snails and so much labor to produce. [Source: Wikipedia]
Indigo: Indigo plant dye
Indigo today is almost always made in watercolor from a mix of phthalo blue and black pigments, sometimes with some violet added in. The color is based on indigo dye, which is also traditionally used a clothing dye (e.g. for denim, though most jeans today use synthetic dyes as well). Like alizarin crimson, natural indigo dye-based paints were replaced with a synethic pigment, PB66, in the last 19th century, but today, that pigment too is now considered fugitive and rarely found in commercial watercolors. [Source: Wikipedia]
Emerald Green: Arsenic
One of the most prized colors of the mid-nineteenth century, Emerald Green, also known was Paris Green or Scheele’s Green, was a synthetic bright green derived from copper and arsenic. It was extremely widely used, and extremely toxic – though this was not at first known. Many people died from living in rooms decorated with green paint or wallpaper; burning green candles; eating green sweets; and working in factories producing various green consumer goods. There’s something poetic and horrible about people trying to bring the outside in by decorating with poison fake flowers. [Source: Wikipedia]
Sap Green: Buckthorn berry juice
Sap green gets its name because it was originally made from berries: the juice of the unripe berry of the buckthorn (Rhamnus). Again, being a natural green, this is not a lightfast pigment, and all modern sources use a mix of modern green, yellow, and earth pigments. Actually this one isn’t very interesting, but it’s one of the ones I was most surprised to discover was a “hue,” since I thought it was always a mixed green that kind of looks like sap. [Source: Winsor & Newton]
Mummy Brown: Mummies
This one just bums me out. Starting in the 1700s and going through to the early 20th century, English people used to actually grind up mummies robbed from Egyptian graves and turn it into brown paint. They also used mummies for a bunch of other stuff, like patent medicine and beauty products. What a bunch of assholes. The modern Daniel Smith paint Mummy Bauxite is an ochre, like all modern earth pigments. I wish they wouldn’t use such an unsavory name. I don’t even want to pretend I’m painting with mummies. [Source: Wikipedia]
Van Dyck Brown: Coal
Named for the Flemish Baroque painted Anthony Van Dyck, who used a lot of it, I guess. Also known as Cassel Earth because it came from the dark brown earth of Kassel, Germany. The dark color comes from a mix of soil, peat, and lignite (coal). Today, it’s mainly made from a mix of modern brown and black pigments. [Source: Web Exhibits]
Sepia: Cuttlefish ink
The Sepia is a genus of cuttlefish, and sepia paint was originally derived from its ink! Every time I think these are about to get boring, they drag me back in with another weird animal. [Source: Wikipedia]
Further Reading
- The Secret Lives of Color by Kassia St. Clair
- Color: A Natural History of the Palette by Victoria Finlay
Summary
| This name… | Originally meant… | Usually now refers to… |
|---|---|---|
| Quinacridone Gold | PO49 | Nickel Azo Yellow (PY150) + an earth orange |
| Indian Yellow | NY20 (said to be cow urine) | Diarylide Yellow (PY83), Nickel Dioxine Yellow (PY153), or other warm yellow mixes |
| Gamboge | NY24 (garcinia resin) | Isoindolinone Yellow (PY110) or other warm yellow mixes |
| Vermilion | cinnabar (mineral) | Naphthol Scarlet (PR188) or a mix of reds |
| Carmine | NR4 (cochineal, aka bugs) | Benzimidazolone Carmine (PR176) |
| Rose Madder, Alizarin Crimson | NR9 (madder plant extract) | Synthetic Alizarin Crimson (PR83) or other rose/red pigments |
| Tyrian Purple | NV1 (shellfish) | mix of magenta + blue pigments |
| Indigo | NB1 (indigo plant dye) or PB66 (synthetic indigo) | Phthalo Blue + black + violet |
| Emerald Green | PG21 (copper arsenic) | Phthalo Green + white |
| Sap Green | NG2 (buckthorn extract) | Phthalo Green + yellows/earths |
| Mummy Brown | mummies | PBr7 or other earth/ochre pigments |
| Van Dyck Brown | NBr8 (coal earth) | PBr7 + black |
| Sepia | NBr9 (cuttlefish ink) | PBr7 + black |
I won’t buy anything named “mummy brown” because it’s so horrible. But I love the story of the artist who rushed outside to bury his tube and when he found out it wasn’t just an evocative name (at the time), which I read here: https://www.artinsociety.com/the-life-and-death-of-mummy-brown.html