| Colour |
Composition |
(X) |
Permanence |
Fresco |
Observations |
| White lead |
Basic lead carbonate |
Harmful |
** |
Yes |
Don't mix with cadmiums - excellent for highlights |
| Titanium white |
Titanium dioxide |
- |
**** |
Yes |
Don't mix with cadmiums - luminous - intense |
| Zinc white |
Zinc oxide |
- |
**** |
No |
Has a tendency to turn gray in mixture - not very covering - solid - use it for glazing |
| Cerulean blue (substitute) |
Barite sulfate and phtalocianine blue |
- |
**** |
Yes |
High colouring capacity |
| Cerulean blue (genuine) |
Cobalt stanate |
- |
**** |
Yes |
Opaque - unvarying in mixture |
| Cobalt blue |
Cobalt aluminate |
- |
**** |
Yes |
Excellent light resistance - stable in mixture |
| Manganese blue |
Manganate |
Harmful |
*** |
Yes |
- |
| Prussian blue |
Ferrocyanide of iron |
- |
*** |
No |
Use alcohol to get it wet - high colouring capacity - dry action with fatty binders (tempera) |
| Ultramarine blue |
Silico-aluminate of polysulfuretted sodiums |
- |
**** |
Yes |
Luminous and intense - don't mix with chrome yellow |
| Cadmium yellow (substitute) |
Mixed organic colours |
- |
*** |
No |
Good light resistance |
| Cadmium yellow (genuine) |
Cadmium sulfide |
- |
**** |
Yes |
Covering - don't mix with white lead or with ultramarine blue |
| Chrome yellow |
Lead chromate |
Harmful |
* |
No |
Bad light resistance - turns black over time |
| Naples yellow (substitute) |
Zinc oxide - titanium dioxide - monoazoics |
- |
*** |
No |
Luminous - Good light resistance - often used for the background of icons |
| Naples yellow (genuine) |
Lead antimoniate |
Harmful |
* |
No |
Avoid iron and oxide contact |
| Black lake |
Aniline |
- |
** |
Yes |
Has a tendency to become blue - use it in mixture |
| Lamp black |
Carbon |
- |
**** |
Yes |
The favourite black for fresco |
| Ivory black |
Burnt bones |
- |
**** |
No |
Don't use it in tempera - tendancy to peel off |
| Ochre (Kitrino) |
Natural earth (Greece) |
- |
**** |
Yes |
Use it for the last enlightenment of the face - covers well |
| Brown ochre |
Mixed natural earth |
- |
**** |
Yes |
- |
| Golden ochre |
Natural earth (Italy) |
- |
**** |
Yes |
- |
| Deep ochre |
Natural earth (Italy) |
- |
**** |
Yes |
- |
| Yellow ochre |
Natural earth |
- |
**** |
Yes |
- |
| Deep ochre |
Natural earth (burnt yellow ochre) |
- |
**** |
Yes |
- |
| Burnt umber |
Burnt natural earth |
- |
**** |
Yes |
Mix it well before puddling the colour (icon) |
| Raw umber |
Natural earth |
- |
**** |
Yes |
Tendancy to flour : needs a lot of binder |
| Mars orange |
Iron oxide |
- |
*** |
Yes |
- |
| Cadmium red purple (substitute) |
Zinc oxide - azoics - mineral charges |
- |
** |
No |
- |
| Cadmium red purple (genuine) |
Cadmium sulfo seleniure |
- |
**** |
Yes |
- |
| Alizarine carmine |
Azoic lake on alumine |
- |
*** |
No |
High colouring capacity - use it in glaze - transparent |
| Cadmium red (substitute) |
Zinc oxide - azoics - mineral charges |
- |
**** |
No |
Very good light resistance - stable in mixture |
| Cadmium red (genuine) |
Cadmium sulfo seleniure (mineral) |
- |
**** |
Yes |
Covering - don't mix with lead and titanium white |
| Mars red |
Iron oxide |
- |
**** |
Yes |
High colouring capacity - gives a transparent film |
| China red |
Azoic-pigments - mineral charges |
- |
*** |
No |
- |
| Pozzuoli red |
Natural earth (Italiy) |
- |
**** |
Yes |
Very covering |
| Venise red |
Iron oxide |
- |
**** |
Yes |
Very good light resistance - stable in mixture |
| Helios red |
Toluidine red (organic) |
- |
** |
No |
Luminous and intense - High colouring capacity |
| Molibdene red |
Lead molibdate |
Harmful |
**** |
Yes |
Intense - luminous and covering - may warm the flesh tones (carnations) |
| Vermilion (substitute) |
Azoics et mineral charges |
- |
**** |
No |
Luminous and covering |
| Vermillon (genuine) |
Toluidine red and mineral charges |
- |
** |
Yes |
Don't mix with lead pigments |
| Burnt Sienna |
Natural earth (Italie) |
- |
**** |
Yes |
Mix it well with the brush before application |
| Raw Sienna |
Natural earth (Italie) |
- |
**** |
Yes |
- |
| Green earth |
Natural earth |
- |
**** |
Yes |
- |
| English green |
Azoique et phtalocianine |
- |
*** |
No |
- |
| Barium green |
Barium chromate - phtalocianine and strontium chromate |
Harmful |
** |
No |
Luminous and covering |
| Chromium oxide green |
Chrome oxide |
- |
**** |
Yes |
Covering and coloring - very stable in mixture |
| Viridian (substitute) |
Phtalocianine and mineral charges |
- |
*** |
No |
Luminous - high colouring capacity - stable in mixture |
| Viridian (genuine) |
Hydraded chrome oxide |
- |
*** |
Yes |
Very solid in mixture - use it in glazes |
| Veronese green |
Monoazoic - phtalocyanine and mineral charges |
- |
*** |
No |
Luminous - covering but not very coloring |
| Cobalt violet |
Cobalt arseniate |
Harmful |
**** |
Yes |
Covering but not very coloring - very stable in mixture |
ICON TECHNIQUE: Color table.
