Special Historical Colours in Mussini Oil Paints

Schmincke Mussini Oil Colours have unique drying properties because they are made with an old-master’s resin and oil formula – the oil part of the colour increases in volume by absorbing oxygen, while the solvents of the natural resin solution evaporate, reducing its volume. These two processes balance each other and this creates tension-free and even drying of the colour layers and thus increases the longevity of the painting surface, as well as reducing wrinkles in the surface. In addition to the unusual formula of the oil paints, Mussini also has a carefully considered range of colours to ensure the most useful palette to painters.

Painting has a long tradition of certain classic colours; many artists today use the same colours used by painters centuries ago. Some of the colours are exactly the same and some have been improved with better quality pigments. Some of these colours with a long history are a necessary part of a classical colour range, like Carmine, Cerulean Blue and Burnt Umber. Some historical colours are less commonly used but are still highly prized by some painters. For more than 130 years Schmincke have continuously searched for ways to use traditional formulations as a base for better, more stable and modern modifications of traditional colours. Consequently, Schmincke offers a number of unusual historical colours, which are well regarded by classical painters. The unusual colour names you often find in historical colours have their roots in history and foreign languages, especially Latin and Italian. These extraordinary colours with lyrical and exotic names have come down to us through history because they are still as useful to modern painters as they were to the painters of the past.

The history of artist pigments is full of surprises. In the past there were some rather dubious practices – pigment was obtained unethically or made from substances that were very poisonous to the artist. The colour Mummy or Mummy Brown which has not existed for many years was made from pulverised imported mummies, Schweinfurt Green or Paris Green contained arsenic and Genuine Vermilion contained mercury. Of course those colours have disappeared and there are now substitutions made with harmless, better and more stable products. Many of the natural earth colours have been mined out and are no longer obtainable so synthetic verions are now made.

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Here are some examples of the fascinating colours with extraordinary properties in the wide Schmincke Mussini Oil Colour range

A note on terms used:
Organic pigments are made from a formerly living thing so are carbon-based. (I remember this by thinking organic = organism.)
Inorganic pigments are made of earth so are silica-based.

Medieval Yellow

Appearance: Pale, greenish, opaque yellow.

This was the brightest yellow used by Medieval painters. Mussini’s version of this colour is an imitation of the original shade made with a more lightfast and inorganic pigment. Nickel Titanate PY53 is a very lightfast, semi-opaque, staining, very light valued, moderately dull yellow pigment.

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Florentine Red

Appearance: A translucent, cool, dark red with a slight brown tint.

Based on the old Florentine colour which was obtained from Brazilwood. Today it is made of Perylene Maroon pigment. PR179 is a lightfast, transparent, highly staining, very dark valued, moderately intense deep red pigment.

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Caesar Purple

Appearance: A translucent colour, bluer than magenta.

In ancient times purple was obtained by means of a complicated process from the gland of a sea snail, and was much sought-after as a particularly valuable dye for artists’ colours. The Mussini version is made from Quinacridone Rose pigment. PV19 (gamma quinacridone) is a lightfast, semitransparent, staining, moderately dark valued, intense deep red to violet red pigment.

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Byzantine Blue

Appearance: Dark black blue which retains its blue character.

This blue often appears in Byzantine frescos, when it was made from Azurite and a small fraction of coal. Today it is made from modern, lightfast pigments: Indanthrone Blue, Black Iron Oxide and Zinc Oxide. PB60 is a lightfast to very lightfast, semi-opaque, heavily staining, very dark valued, dull blue violet pigment. Magnetic black or iron oxide black PBk11 is a very lightfast, semiopaque, staining, very dark valued black pigment. PW4 is a very lightfast, opaque, moderately staining white pigment.

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Ultramarine Blue

Appearance: Mussini has two Ultramarine Blues: Light and Deep. Ultramarine Blue Deep: Very translucent, very pure blue with a red tinge. Ultramarine Blue Light: Lighter than Ultramarine Dark and with a slightly less pronounced red tinge.

In the Middle Ages, Ultramarine was obtained from the semi-precious stone Lapis Lazuli. It was not possible until the beginning of the 19th century to produce Ultramarine synthetically without losing quality. Synthetic Ultramarine, because of its lack of mineral impurities, has a richer tone than its semi-precious predecessor. Ultramarine Blue PB29 is a very lightfast, semitransparent, staining, very dark valued, intense violet blue pigment.

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Royal Blue

Appearance: Mussini has two Royal Blues: Light and Deep. By varying the amount of cobalt or ultramarine pigment the Royal Blue Light is light green-tinged sky blue and the Royal Blue Deep is brilliant medium blue.

The classical royal blue was a light green-tinged sky blue introduced under King Louis XIV of France, based on a cobalt pigment. Mussini’s modern version is made from zinc and titanium white plus PB36. The many shades of cobalt chromium oxide (PB36) (called cerulean blue, cerulean blue GS, cobalt turquoise or cobalt green deep) are very lightfast, semi-opaque, moderately staining, granulating, dark valued, moderately dull to moderately intense, blue to green blue pigments.

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Verona Green Earth

Appearance: Translucent, dull green with a slight grey tinge.

A well-known pigment used since historical times. Ideal for producing the “verdaccio” effect, the green priming coat applied to the main areas in portrait painting. It used to be produced with the best Terra Verde earths from Baldo (Lake Garda) and traded via Verona. As theses earths aren’t available anymore, the colour is now an imitation with high-quality pigments: Hydrated Chromium-Oxide Green PG18 and Red Iron Oxide PR101. Viridian PG18 is a very lightfast, transparent, moderately staining, moderately dark valued, moderately dull blue green pigment. Synthetic red iron oxide PR101 is a very lightfast, opaque to transparent, staining, dark valued to very dark valued, moderately dull to dull earth orange, earth red or brown pigment (the variations in color and transparency arise from differences in pigment particle size, metal additives and hydration).

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Attish or Attic Light Ochre

Appearance: Semi-opaque to semi-translucent fiery golden yellow.

In ancient times this was a highly sought-after colour from the area around Athens (‘Attic’ means Athens). Originally made of earth, today it is an imitation made with modern Hydrated Iron Oxide PY42. Synthetic Yellow Iron Oxide is a very lightfast, opaque, staining, light valued to moderately dark valued, moderately intense to dull earth yellow pigment.

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Caput Mortuum

Appearance: Violet-tinged dark reddish brown with high opacity and tinting power.

The name ‘caput mortuum’ is derived from the field of alchemy and means ‘dead head’ or ‘worthless remains’, as this colour was obtained from iron salts which were baked down to their ‘dying’ embers. Now made from Synthetic Red Iron Oxide. PR101 is a very lightfast, opaque to transparent, staining, dark valued to very dark valued, moderately dull to dull earth orange, earth red or brown pigment (the variations in color and transparency arise from differences in pigment particle size, metal additives and hydration).

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Tourmaline Green

Appearance: Dark, rich bluish green, whose shades range from yellowish green and olive green to bluish green.

Colour similar to the semi-precious stone tourmaline. Mussini uses Cobalt Chromium Oxide Spinel for this colour. PG26 is a very lightfast, opaque, staining, dark valued, dull blue green pigment.

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Viridian

Appearance: Semi-translucent, gentle, yellow-tinged green.

The name is borrowed from Latin ‘viridis’ which means green. Successor of the original Schweinfurt green, an important artists’ colour in the 19th century, which was highly toxic because of its arsenic content. Mussin make this colour from Zinc oxide (PW4), Bismuth Vanadate-Hydrated (PY184) and Chromium Oxide Green (PG18). Bismuth yellow PY184 is a lightfast, semiopaque, staining, very light valued, intense green yellow pigment. Viridian PG18 is a very lightfast, transparent, moderately staining, moderately dark valued, moderately dull blue green pigment.

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Pozzuoli Earth

Appearance: Red-brown, slightly lighter and more yellow than Pompeiian red, with high opacity and tinting power.

Originally this was made from the famous natural earths from Italy. The name relates to the place where it was formerly found at the foot of Mount Vesuvius. Now made as a high-quality imitation, because these earths are no longer available. Now made from Synthetic Red Iron Oxide. PR101 is a very lightfast, opaque to transparent, staining, dark valued to very dark valued, moderately dull to dull earth orange, earth red or brown pigment (the variations in color and transparency arise from differences in pigment particle size, metal additives and hydration).

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Atrament Black

Appearance: Very deep black in mass tone, close to a Russian green in glazes. Produces green-tinged grey tones when mixed with white.

Atrament was the name for a very cold black in Roman times (àtro (Italian) = dark, gloomy, murky; atramentarius (Latin) = like ink). Today it is made with a modern organic pigment: Perylene Black. PBk31 is a very lightfast, semitransparent, staining, very dark valued dark shade pigment (yellow green hue).

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Brown Pink (Stil de Grain)

Appearance: A warm, translucent brown tone.

Made since the 1600s, Stil de Grain was obtained from the un-ripe berries of the Buckthorn plant. Like most plant-based pigments it was not lightfast. The name Pink is confusing these days as it is an archaic use of the word. The first recorded use of ‘pinke’ as a colour name in English for a yellowish-brown pigment was in 1598. Also called Yellow Lake, Dutch Pink, Brown Pink and English Pink. The modern version by Mussini is made from a mix of metals: Red Iron Oxide, Hydrated Iron Oxide and Phthalocyanine Green. PY153, PR101, PY42 PG7. Nickel dioxine yellow PY153 is a very lightfast, semitransparent, lightly staining, non-granulating, light valued, intense orange yellow pigment. PR101 is a very lightfast, opaque to transparent, staining, dark valued to very dark valued, moderately dull to dull earth orange, earth red or brown pigment (the variations in color and transparency arise from differences in pigment particle size, metal additives and hydration). Synthetic yellow iron oxide PY42 is a very lightfast, opaque, staining, light valued to moderately dark valued, moderately intense to dull earth yellow pigment. Phthalocyanine green PG7 (blue shade) is a very lightfast, transparent, heavily staining, dark valued, moderately dull blue green pigment, one of the most widely used modern industrial colourants.

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Sfumato (Shade grey)

Appearance: Greenish, semi-transparent grey.

“Sfumato“ – especially developed to produce the Italian masters famous “sfumato” – a fine grey mist which was often applied to portraits. (sfumato (Italian) = shaded; fumo (Italian) = fume/ smoke). Mussini is made from Hydrated chromium oxide, Hydrated iron oxide, Black iron oxide and Zinc oxide. Viridian PG18 is a very lightfast, transparent, moderately staining, moderately dark valued, moderately dull blue green pigment. Synthetic yellow iron oxide PY42 is a very lightfast, opaque, staining, light valued to moderately dark valued, moderately intense to dull earth yellow pigment. Magnetic black or iron oxide black PBk11 is a very lightfast, semiopaque, staining, very dark valued black pigment. PW4 is a very lightfast, opaque, moderately staining white pigment.

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