Introducing Jackson’s Artist Pigment Sets

Jackson’s artist pigments are sourced and selected for their lightfastness and character, ranging from established historical colours and natural earths to the latest modern synthetics. From discovering the subtle chromatic differences of family colour groups to trying colours based on celebrated artists’ palettes, these carefully curated Jackson’s Artist Pigments Sets are a beautiful way of exploring the incredible spectrum that is colour. This article introduces each set, the pigments they contain, and the inspiration behind their curation.

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Introducing Jackson’s Artist Pigment Sets

Yellow Set

Hansa Yellow Light (PY3)
Benzymidazole Yellow (PY154)
Hansa Yellow Medium (PY74)
Cadmium Lemon (PY35)
Cadmium Yellow Pale (PY35)
Transparent Gold Ochre (PY43)

 

 

Of all of the groups in the Pigment Colour Index, yellow is one of the largest. The first yellow pigments were made from natural ochres containing hydrated iron oxides, and these have been used since prehistory until the present day. Artists throughout history have used yellow for its affinity with the sun, from Van Gogh’s sunflowers to J.M.W Turner’s glowing skies.

This set is focussed around modern yellow pigments. The earliest pigments in the set are the Cadmium Yellows. Invented in the 1840s, they are dense and opaque and were used by the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists, including Monet, Degas, and Van Gogh. Two shades of Cadmium Yellow are included in this set; Cadmium Lemon, a cool, zesty colour, and Cadmium Yellow Pale, a warmer version that is reminiscent of sunflowers.

Also in this set are 20th-century pigments; two Hansa Yellows and one Benzymidazole Yellow. These are part of the Azo family of pigments, a numerous and diverse group derived from watersoluble dyes. These pigments are very clean and bright, and much more transparent than the Cadmium Yellows, making them more suitable for techniques like glazing.

Lastly, Transparent Gold Ochre provides a more earthy yellow. It is made with a synthetic iron oxide pigment, a synthetically produced version of the Yellow Ochre pigments that were used in the very earliest examples of human mark-making.

 

 

Orange Set

Hansa Yellow Deep (PY65)
Cadmium Yellow Deep (PY37)
Titanium Orange (PBr24)
Permanent Orange (PO62)
Cadmium Orange (PO20)
Benzymidazole Orange (PO36)

 

 

Before the 16th century, the colour orange in English was simply described as ‘yellow-red’ (geoluread in Old English). The word ‘orange’ is derived from the Sanskrit nāraṅga, referring to the fruit. As oranges were imported from India into Europe in the early 16th century, the word travelled with them.

Muted orange hues have been produced using natural earth pigments since prehistory, but perhaps the first true, bright orange was Realgar, an arsenic-sulphide mineral that was used in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia from as early as the 14th century BC. The first modern orange pigment was Chrome Orange, introduced in the early 19th century. It was used by artists such as Vincent van Gogh and Amedeo Modigliani, as well as by Frederic Leighton in Flaming June (1895) where it glows with a fiery intensity.

The Orange Set is a mixture of 19th and 20th-century orange pigments. The oldest are Cadmium Yellow Deep and Cadmium Orange; punchy and opaque pigments beloved of the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists. Benzymidazole Orange is a particular stand-out pigment in the set. Introduced in the 1960s, it is a semi-transparent colour that hovers just on the edge of red and is among the most versatile of the modern oranges. Titanium Orange is another interesting modern colour. It is an opaque pigment with a golden, earthy quality not dissimilar to a genuine Naples Yellow, but is less toxic.

 

 

Red I Set

Cadmium Red Rubine (PR108)
English Red Deep (PR102)
Venetian Red (PR102)
Mars Red Deep (PR101)
Pompeii Red (PR102)
Terra Ercolana (PR102)

 

 

Red is one of the largest colour categories in the Pigment Colour Index. Throughout history, red has been produced from natural earths, minerals, insects, plant dyes, and even coal tar. It is a colour with complex cultural associations, often loaded with contrary meanings such as love and anger.

This set of red pigments is based around deep-bellied, earthy reds. Cadmium Red is a cadmium selenide sulfide pigment that was invented at the turn of the 20th century. It replaced the historic pigment Vermilion, which was made from a toxic mercury-based mineral. It is extremely opaque and has a dense, velvety quality.

This set includes four natural earth pigments, English Red Deep, Venetian Red, Pompeii Red, and Terra Ercolana. Natural red earths are composed primarily of red iron oxide, known as hematite. The various shades of red that each natural red earth pigment produces reflect the geological differences in the locations from which they’re sourced. Also in this set is Mars Red Deep, a synthetic iron oxide pigment. Synthetic iron oxides, known commonly as Mars pigments because of the association between the metal iron and the Roman god of war, were developed in the 17th century. Mars Red is often used as an alternative to natural red earth pigments, but it has much smaller pigment particles so it is higher in tinting strength and has far stronger staining power than a naturally-derived red earth.

 

 

Red II Set

English Red Light (PR102)
Transparent Oxide Red (PR101)
Mars Orange (PY42/PR101)
Mars Red Light (PR101)
Hematite Red (PR102)
Saturn Red (PR102)

 

 

This is a cadmium-free alternative to Red I Set, and it contains only natural and synthetic iron oxide pigments. Compared to the Red I Set, it includes shades that have a more golden, orange-brown dimension. The most orange of them is Mars Orange, a blend of yellow and red synthetic iron oxides. It is an intensely warm shade of orange which hovers on the edge of red. English Red Light is a muted, brick red made using a natural earth pigment. It is a gentle colour compared to the synthetic iron oxide pigments in this set, Mars Red Light and Transparent Oxide Red, which both have extremely high tinting strengths. Transparent Oxide Red is a particularly enigmatic shade. It is a deep brown-red when used thickly, but in dilution it is a beautiful gingery orange.

 

 

Red III Set

Azo Red (PR144)
Permanent Red (PR170)
Cadmium Vermilion (PR108)
Cadmium Red Light (PR108)
Cadmium Red Deep (PR108)
Pyrrole Red (PR254)

 

 

Red III Set contains the brightest, most vibrant pigments of the red sets, and all of the pigments here have been developed in the 20th century. Taking centre stage are three cadmium pigments; Cadmium Vermilion, Cadmium Red Light, and Cadmium Red Deep. Cadmium Red was introduced in 1919, around 100 years after the discovery of elemental cadmium. By this time Cadmium Yellow had already found its place in the artist palette, but the creation of Cadmium Red by combining cadmium sulphide and selenium was significant because it signalled the toppling of Vermilion, a historic mercuric sulphide pigment that had been used since the Neolithic period. All shades of Cadmium Red are dense, punchy, and opaque, and they remain popular artist pigments today.

Also included in this set is Pyrrole Red, which was invented accidentally by an American chemistry professor in 1974. Because of its vibrancy and durability, it was taken up by the Italian sports car manufacturer Ferrari as its signature colour. As a result, it has become one of the most recognisable shades of red in the world.

 

 

Violet & Pink Set

Quinacridone Magenta (PR122)
Potter’s Pink (PR233)
Quinacridone Violet (PV19)
Caput Mortuum (PR102)
Manganese Violet Deep (PV16)
Ultramarine Violet (PV15)

 

 

The most famous violet in history was Tyrian purple, a colour produced from the secretions of thousands of sea snails. Because of its high cost and laborious method of production, the colour was favoured by the Ancient Roman elite. Today, we still associate the colour purple with royalty. Pink is a colour category that can encompass a range of different shades, from pale red to magenta. The word ‘pink’, in the sense that we understand it today, is a relatively new addition to the English language. Until the 17th century it referred to a greenish yellow, but the popularity of pale red carnation flowers, commonly known as ‘pinks’, prompted a change in its meaning.

The Violet & Pink Set brings together a diverse range of pigments with a variety of characteristics. The violet-brown natural earth pigment, Caput Mortuum, has been used since the Roman period. Caput Mortuum is a moody, opaque colour that lends itself to portrait painting.

Potter’s Pink might look and feel like an earth pigment, but it is synthetic in origin. It was invented by an unknown English potter in the 18th century and is a compound of tin, alumina, chromium oxide, and quartz. Potter’s Pink is a muted, earthy shade of pink with a low tinting strength, and it is particularly special when used as a watercolour, in which it produces intense granulation.

Manganese Violet Deep is another muted pigment with a low tinting strength. It was developed in the 19th century and was used by the Impressionists, who loved the colour violet so much they were accused of suffering from ‘violettomania’.

Ultramarine Violet, which is much cooler than Manganese Violet, was invented at the turn of the 20th century. It is a derivative of Ultramarine Blue and shares many of its properties, including a moderate tinting strength, semi-opaque coverage, and granulation in watercolour.

The Violet & Pink Set also includes two Quinacridone pigments, Quinacridone Magenta and Quinacridone Violet. The Quinacridones are a family of pigments introduced in the 1950s. They were originally produced as pigments for car paints but their high-performance characteristics like excellent lightfastness, intense vibrancy, and high tinting strength, attracted artists too.

 

 

Blue Set

Cobalt Blue Deep (PB72)
Cobalt Blue Light (PB28)
Phthalo Blue Green Shade (PB15:3)
Prussian Blue Permanent (PB27)
Cobalt Cerulean Blue (PB36)
Cobalt Turquoise (PB36)

 

 

Blue pigments are rare in nature, and they have been highly sought after for centuries. The most famous historical blue is Natural Ultramarine Blue, a mineral pigment extracted from the semi-precious blue stone lapis lazuli. It has been mined in Afghanistan for centuries and was imported into Europe along the Silk Road from the 10th century onwards. Its remote origins and depth of colour made it the most expensive and coveted colour in the European palette, and it became associated with depictions of the Virgin Mary. Even today, blue robes remain a key part of her iconography.

One of the most historically significant pigments in the Blue Set is Prussian Blue. It was invented accidentally in Berlin at the beginning of the 18th century, and it quickly became the blue pigment of choice among the Rococo artists of the French court. The pale, fluffy blues in the flamboyant works of Jean-Honoré Fragonard and François Boucher are the result of Prussian Blue and Lead White. Prussian Blue is deep and inky when used straight from the tube, but it extends out to cool greenish blues. This tonal range made it valuable to Japanese printmakers, including Hokusai, who used the pigment to convey depth and distance in their woodblock prints.

The Blue Set is dominated by cobalt pigments. Cobalt is a metallic element that has been used as colourant for glass and ceramic since the Bronze Age, and crushed cobalt-containing glass was used as a blue pigment from the 16th century. The 19th century brought new innovations in colour chemistry, including the modern Cobalt Blues. Cobalt Blue is a compound of cobalt and aluminium oxide, while Cerulean Blue contains cobalt chloride and potassium stannate. Both are characterful, semi-opaque blues that granulate beautifully in watercolour.

 

 

Green Set

Chromium Green Oxide (PG17)
Cobalt Green Light (PG50)
Green Earth (PG23)
Phthalo Green Blue Shade (PG7)
Verona Green Earth (PG23)
Antique Green Earth (PG23)

 

 

While green can be mixed with blue and yellow, single-pigment greens can play an important role in the artist palette, whether as beautiful colours in their own right or as a starting point for mixing other greens.

Of all of Jackson’s Artist Pigment Sets, the Green Set has the most varied range of characteristics. It contains three Green Earth pigments, which are derived from clay containing the minerals glauconite and celadonite. Green Earths have been used for at least two thousand years, and they range from a blue shade, like Terre Verte, to an olive shade, like Antique Green Earth, depending on the precise concentration of minerals. Natural Green Earths are quiet and understated, and they have extremely low tinting strengths. By contrast, the set also contains Phthalo Green, a 20th-century colour made by chlorinating copper phthalocyanine. It is a powerful pigment with an incredibly high tinting strength and a distinctly blue undertone. It lends itself well to seascapes and when mixed with white it makes a range of turquoises.

Chromium Oxide Green is the most opaque green in the set. It is a dense, vegetable green that was once used to print US dollar bills. In the artist palette, it is a versatile pigment that is a brilliant starting point for mixing with yellows and earth pigments for making natural, landscape greens.

 

 

Black Set

Graphite Silver (PBk10)
Graphite Black (PBk10)
Carbon Black Deep (PBk7)
Ivory Black (PBk9)
Lamp Black Intense (PBk6)
Natural Black Iron Oxide (PBk11)

 

 

Despite the fact that black is not typically included in artist colour wheels, it is an important part of the spectrum of colour available to artists. It is also a colour with which humans have an extremely long relationship. Carbon-based black pigments have been made from charred bones or vegetable matter since prehistory, and many of the black pigments we use today are essentially made from the same materials, even if the methods of production are different.

Carbon Black Deep, Ivory Black, and Lamp Black Intense are all amorphous carbon pigments. Their names are clues to their history; Lamp Black used to be made by collecting the sooty residue from oil lamps, while Ivory Black was once produced by charring ivory. Today, Lamp Black and Carbon Black are made industrially by burning oil and gas, and Ivory Black is made by charring animal bones. Of these three pigments, Ivory Black is the warmest in hue, and it has a slightly yellow undertone.

Graphite Silver and Graphite Black are also carbon-based, but graphite has a crystalline structure rather than an amorphous one. These pigments, regardless of the medium they are bound in, are like painting with a graphite pencil. They provide soft grey-blacks with a slightly metallic sheen.

Natural Black Iron Oxide is the odd one out in this set, as it is the only non-carbon-based black pigment. It is made from magnetite, a naturally occurring iron oxide mineral. It is an extremely deep black, and when bound with an oil binder it is the most fast-drying black pigment in this set.

 

 

Monochrome Set

Zinc White (PW4)
Titanium White Rutile (PW6)
Slate (PBk19)
Titanium White Anatase (PW6)
Lamp Black Intense (PBk6)
Mars Black (PBk11)

 

 

While often considered to be shades, rather than colours, black and white pigments are just as characterful as any chromatic pigment. White has historically been sourced from materials like chalk and lead and, despite its toxicity, Lead White was the dominant white pigment in the European artist palette until the 20th century. Zinc White ​​was introduced in the 1790s, but it didn’t immediately take off in popularity because of its long drying time, low covering power, and thin consistency. These characteristics have since been improved, and it is a useful semi-transparent white with a moderate tinting strength. The decline of Lead White really began when Titanium White was developed at the beginning of the 20th century. This set contains two varieties of Titanium White; Rutile and Anatase. Rutile is the most opaque Titanium White pigment thanks to its superior light-scattering properties, and Anatase is slightly less powerful and more subtle.

There are two black pigments in this set; Lamp Black and Mars Black. Lamp Black is pure amorphous carbon and, as the name suggests, it was once made from sooty residue collected from oil lamps. Today, however, it is made from the burning of gas or oil. It is very dense with a high tinting strength, and it has a cool undertone that produces blue-greys when mixed with white. While most black pigments are organic (based on carbon), Mars Black is an inorganic pigment. It is a black synthetic iron oxide with a warm undertone and is one of the most opaque of black pigments. In an oil binder, Mars Black dries faster than organic black pigments, and it also granulates heavily in watercolour.

A special pigment in this set is Slate, a powdered metamorphic rock composed of mica and clay minerals. It is an unusual, gentle grey with a low tinting strength and a warm undertone.

 

 

Ochre Set

Orange Oche (PY43)
Raw Cyprus Ochre (PY43)
Yellow Ochre Deep (PY43)
Gold Ochre (PY43)
Red Ochre (PR102)
Yellow Ochre (PY43)

 

 

The word ‘ochre’ comes from the Ancient Greek ōchra meaning ‘yellow earth’, but the definition has expanded to include a plethora of earthy red, orange, and yellow pigments. Earth pigments get their colour from the iron oxides they naturally contain, and they have been used continuously from the very earliest cave paintings until the present day. These are pigments with which we have an enduring relationship.

The pigments in the Ochre Set are all natural, rather than synthetic, in origin. Although they have been refined to ensure consistency in colour and handling properties. They vary from a sandy yellow (Raw Cyprus Ochre) to a deep earthy red (Red Ochre) with various shades of yellow and orange in between. The Orange Ochre is a particularly bright shade and shows just how vibrant natural earth pigments can be.

 

Earth Set

Antique Green Earth (PG23)
Verona Green Earth (PG23)
Slate (PBk19)
Terra Ercolana (PR102)
Carbon Black Deep (PBk7)
Van Dyck Brown Natural (Nbr8)
Italian Burnt Sienna (PBr7)
Natural Sienna Monte Amiata (PBr7)
Yellow Ochre (PY43)
Raw Umber Greenish (PBr7)
Cyprus Burnt Umber (PBr7)
Venetian Yellow Earth (PY43)

 

 

This set of 12 pigments shows the spectrum of colour that natural pigments can produce. The colours are determined by various metal oxides, clays, and minerals that are unique to the geology of a particular location. Earth pigments are extremely lightfast and permanent, making them ideal for artist colours.

Among the most beautiful pigments in this set are the two Green Earth pigments. Cool and gentle, green earths have been used since at least the Ancient Roman period, but most likely for much longer. During the Medieval and Renaissance periods, Green Earth was often used as an underpainting for flesh tones. It neutralised the red tones of the red pigments that were glazed on top of it, making the skin look more naturalistic. This technique, known as verdaccio, is still used today.

Two unusual pigments in the Earth set are Slate and Van Dyck Brown Natural. Slate is a metamorphic rock composed of clay or volcanic ash. When it is ground into a pigment it produces a gentle, soft grey. Van Dyck Brown is a deep brown organic earth pigment composed of decomposed organic vegetable matter in the form of lignite or peat. It is named after the 17th-century Flemish artist Anthony Van Dyck, who used it frequently. Most Van Dyck Brown paints today are made using alternative earth pigments, so this is an unusual pigment to have in your collection.

 

 

Sienna Set

Natural Sienna Monte Amiata (PBr7)
Burnt Sienna Monte Amiata (PBr7)
French Burnt Sienna (PBr7)
French Raw Sienna (PBr7)
Italian Burnt Sienna (PBr7)
Italian Raw Sienna (PBr7)

 

 

Sienna is named after the city of Siena, Italy, where it was first sourced, and it was a staple in the palettes of Sienese proto-Renaissance artists. While Sienna pigments are now sourced in other locations around the world, the name has stuck. Sienna is a yellow-brown pigment that can vary depending on its source and production, but it typically has a moderate tinting strength, granulates in watercolour, and is fast drying in oil. It is a staple colour in the artist’s palette.

This set has been devised as a set of pairs, and there is a raw and burnt variety of each Sienna pigment. The burnt versions are made by calcining the raw pigment (roasting it at a high temperature), which partially dehydrates the yellow iron oxide, converting it to a red iron oxide. The result is a colour that is redder and darker than the raw version, ideal for creating shadowy mixtures and for desaturating high-chroma green pigments.

 

 

Umber Set

Cyprus Burnt Umber (PBr7)
Cyprus Burnt Umber Brownish (PBr7)
Cyprus Burnt Umber Light (PBr7)
Cyprus Burnt Umber Deep (PBr7)
Raw Umber Reddish (PBr7)
Raw Umber Greenish (PBr7)

 

 

The Umber colours are brown earth pigments named after the Italian region of Umbria, where such pigments were once extracted. Brown earth pigments are not unique to Italy, and they can be sourced from all over the world. Their colour is due to the presence of iron and manganese oxides, and they have been used to make paints since prehistory.

The Umber Set is a testament to how varied brown earth pigments can be. It contains two Raw Umber pigments, one with a red bias due to the presence of naturally occurring red iron oxides, and one with a green bias which contains more manganese. The burnt varieties are made by calcining, or roasting, the raw pigment. It partially dehydrates the brown iron oxides, converting them to red iron oxides. Raw Umber pigments are fast drying when combined with an oil binder, as manganese is a natural siccative. This makes them ideal underpainting colours.

 

 

Mars Set

Mars Brown (PR101/PBk11)
Mars Orange (PY42/PR101)
Mars Red Deep (PR101)
Mars Red Light (PR101)
Mars Yellow Deep (PY42)
Mars Yellow Light (PY43)

 

 

This is a collection of pigments from the Mars family. Mars pigments are synthetic iron oxides. Natural iron oxides are found in red, yellow, brown, and black earth pigments, but a process for synthesising them was developed in the 17th century. The name ‘Mars’ comes from the Latin martis, referring to the planet and the Roman god of war, who was associated with the metal iron.

The various Mars colours ultimately derive from Mars Yellow, which is composed of mostly hydrated iron oxides. Mars Yellow can be calcined (roasted) to different degrees to produce the orange, red, violet, brown, and black varieties. The spectrum of colour that can be produced in this process makes the Mars pigments an extremely versatile family.

Despite the fact that Mars pigments can be thought of as synthetic earth pigments, and are often used in place of natural earths, artists will find that Mars pigments behave quite differently. They are free from the natural impurities found in earth pigments and have smaller, more regular pigment particles. This means that the colour they produce is much cleaner and brighter, more transparent, and they typically have a much higher tinting strength.

 

 

Transparent Set

Benzymidazole Yellow PY154
Transparent Oxide Yellow PY42
Hansa Yellow Deep PY65
Permanent Red PR170
Phthalo Blue (Green Shade) PB15:3
Phthalo Green (Blue Shade) PG7
Quinacridone Magenta PR122
Quinacridone Violet PV19
Prussian Blue Permanent PB27
Transparent Oxide Red PR101
Transparent Oxide Brown PR101
Transparent Gold Ochre PY43

 

 

Whether a pigment is transparent or opaque is a key consideration for artists when they are putting together their palette. The science of transparency and opacity is complex, but it comes down to the degree to which the pigment reflects, scatters, or transmits light. Opaque pigments, like Titanium White, scatter most of the light that falls on them, so that it cannot reach the substrate below the paint layer. Transparent pigments, like the Quinacridone pigments, allow light to be transmitted through the paint film, so the layer below remains visible. This is often determined by the shape and size of the pigment particles, as well as the relationship between the refractive indices of the pigment particles and the paint binder.

Transparent pigments have historically been incredibly valuable for oil painters. The ability to glaze translucent layers of colour allows artists to build an illusion of three-dimensionality, a technique that the Old Masters employed to describe billowing drapery and sculptural robes, as well as the effects of light and shadow. Transparent pigments also open up the possibilities for optical mixing. This is when colours are created not through the direct mixing of pigments on the palette but by the layering of colours over others. For example, rich greens can be created by glazing a thin layer of transparent blue, like Phthalo Blue, on top of a bright yellow.

A particular innovation in transparent pigment technology was the synthetic iron oxide pigments, four of which are included in the Transparent Set. Synthetic iron oxides, also known as Mars pigments, were first developed in the 17th century. They are essentially synthetic earth pigments, so they have an earthy quality, but unlike most earth pigments they can be formulated to be transparent.

 

 

Artist Era Pigment Sets

The Artist Era Sets are collections inspired by periods and movements from art history. Many pigments from the past are no longer used today, often because of toxicity, permanence, or lightfastness concerns, so obsolete pigments have been replaced with modern alternatives that capture something of the spirit of the historical colour. All of these sets are cadmium and cobalt-free.

 

Italian Renaissance Set

Titanium White Anatase (PW6)
Venetian Yellow Earth (PY43)
Verona Yellow Earth (PY43)
Verona Green Earth (PG23)
Green Earth (PG23)
Ultramarine Red Shade (PB29)
Venetian Red (PR102)
Hematite Red (PR102)
Italian Burnt Sienna (PBr7)
Italian Raw Sienna (PBr7)
Brown Ochre (PBr7)
Lamp Black Intense (PBk6)

 

 

The Italian Renaissance was a period of extraordinary artistic development spanning the 15th and 16th centuries. It is often identified as a time of transition from the Middle Ages (often pejoratively called the ‘Dark Ages’) to the early modern era. The term ‘Italian Renaissance’ is something of a misnomer as the country of Italy had not yet been established. The region was divided into sovereign states which had distinct identities and made unique contributions to the wider Renaissance movement. The Republic of Florence is widely considered to be the birthplace of the Renaissance, from where it spread to other Italian states, Europe, and beyond.

The Renaissance was marked by a renewed interest in classical art and ideas, and Renaissance works were characterised by mathematical perfection, classical idealism, and emotional realism. Some of the great titans of art history emerged during this time, including da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Titian.

 

 

It is Titian that has particularly inspired this Italian Renaissance Set. Born in the late 15th century, he was one of the most important artists of the Venetian school. Titian’s colour palette, like that of most Renaissance painters, was underpinned by natural earth pigments. These are represented in this set by various yellow, red, and brown earth pigments which contribute to the characterful golden warmth that is typical of Titian’s palette.

 

 

The overall warmth of this set is juxtaposed by the comparative coolness of Ultramarine Blue. Ultramarine Blue is a modern synthetic pigment developed in the 19th century. It is chemically identical to Natural Ultramarine Blue, a pigment that Titian used, which was made from the precious stone Lapis Lazuli. It was the most highly prized and expensive pigment of the Italian Renaissance.

Also in this set are a white and a black pigment. White has always been an important colour in artist palettes, and Titian and his contemporaries would have used Lead White. In this set, it has been replaced with a modern Titanium White pigment. The inclusion of Lamp Black is a nod to Titian’s technique of using fluid black paint to sketch in his composition in the earliest stages of his painting.

 

 

Dutch Golden Age Set

Titanium White Rutile (PW6)
Yellow Ochre (PY43)
Yellow Ochre Deep (PY43)
English Red Light (PR102)
Verona Green Earth (PG23)
Antique Green Earth (PG23)
Ultramarine Blue Red Shade (PB29)
Raw Umber Greenish (PBr7)
Cyprus Burnt Umber Brownish (PBr7)
Van Dyck Brown Natural (NBr8)
Ivory Black (PBk9)

 

 

The period of artistic flourishing in the 17th-century Dutch Republic is often referred to as the Dutch Golden Age. During this time, the idealised subjects and religious themes of previous centuries were replaced in favour of realistic portraits and scenes of everyday life. Artists were renowned for their meticulous attention to detail and realism, and their precision in rendering textures, materials, and light. Portraiture was also highly popular, and painters excelled in capturing the likenesses and personalities of their subjects. Many artists from this time were deeply influential in shaping the direction of European art, including Johannes Vermeer, Frans Hals, and Rembrandt van Rijn.

 

 

Rembrandt’s rich and earthy colour palette is one of the most iconic in European art history. In his early career, Rembrandt’s palette was brighter and more varied, with a greater use of vivid reds, blues, and greens. As he matured his palette became more restrained and dominated by earth colours, which contributed to the introspective atmosphere of his later portraits. It is this period of Rembrandt’s artistic development that has most inspired this set.

 

 

Accordingly, this set is dominated by earth pigments which are much darker than those in the Italian Renaissance Set. It includes two different variations of Umber pigment, Raw Umber Greenish and Burnt Umber, which both provide rich and sumptuous shades of brown. Also in the set is Van Dyck Brown, a natural earth pigment used by Rembrandt as a transparent, deep brown. The other earth pigments in this palette are yellow and red, which were expertly used by Rembrandt in skin tones and drapery. His work is a masterful example of the broad spectrum of colour that earth pigments can provide.

 

 

Rembrandt’s blue pigment of choice was Smalt, a cobalt-containing potassium glass. It tends to go brown in oil, which may in part account for the lack of blue in Rembrandt’s paintings. The only blue in this set is Ultramarine Blue, which is similarly warm in hue but is permanent and lightfast.

 

Romantic Set

Titanium White Rutile (PW6)
Nickel Titanate Yellow (PY53)
Benzymidazole Yellow (PY154)
Transparent Gold Ochre (PY43)
English Red Light (PR102)
Permanent Red (PR170)
Prussian Blue Permanent (PB28)
Caput Mortuum (PR102)
Transparent Yellow Oxide (PY42)
Raw Umber Greenish (PBr7)
Van Dyck Brown Natural (NBr8)

 

 

The European Romantic movement emerged at the beginning of the 19th century as a reaction against a rapidly industrialised world. For the Romantic painters, nature was not something that could be rationalised by science, but a powerful, uncontrollable force. Central to the Romantic movement, which encompassed literature as well as art, was the awe, wonder, and sometimes terror, that could be inspired by the natural world. This concept, known as ‘the sublime’, was felt through the towering mountains, stormy seas, and vast uninhabited wildernesses that were so often depicted by Romantic artists. Iconic artists from this period include J.M.W Turner, Caspar David Friedrich, John Martin, and John Constable.

 

 

The turbulent landscapes of British painter J.M.W Turner have come to define the Romantic sensibility, and they have inspired the pigment choices in this set. Turner was an experimental painter, and his experimentation extended to his pigment choices. He tried every pigment he could get his hands on, from well-established colours, like Prussian Blue and natural earths, to those that were at the cutting edge of pigment technology.

 

 

Turner famously disregarded warnings about lightfastness, and often chose the brightest pigments for the vibrant effects they could provide, despite knowing that they would fade rapidly. One of these was Iodine Scarlet, a pigment that was relatively new at the time. He used it in The Fighting Temeraire, one of his most famous paintings, and as a result, the vivid red sky has now faded. Iodine Scarlet has been replaced in the set by Permanent Red, a semi-transparent Napthol pigment developed in the 20th century.

 

 

Turner is famous for his use of yellow, and this set includes three yellow pigments. Nickel Titanate Yellow is an opaque lemon yellow developed in the 1960s. It has a beautifully milky quality reminiscent of Turner’s pale dawn skies. Benzymidazole Yellow is another 20th-century pigment, and it is stronger and more punchy. When mixed with a deep red it produces fiery oranges like those found in The Fighting Temeraire. Finally, Transparent Gold Ochre provides a more earthy note, excellent for golden touches in a landscape.

 

 

Impressionist Landscape Set

Titanium White Rutile (PW6)
Hansa Yellow Light (PY3)
Hansa Yellow Deep (PY65)
Chromium Oxide Green (PG17)
Phthalo Green Blue Shade (PG7)
Phthalo Blue Green Shade (PB15:3)
Ultramarine Blue Red Shade (PB29)
Ultramarine Violet (PV15)
Permanent Red (PR170)
Yellow Ochre (PY43)
Raw Umber Greenish (PBr7)
Transparent Oxide Brown (PR101)

 

 

The Impressionists rocked the art establishment when their landscape paintings were introduced to the world in the middle of the 19th century. Using visible brushstrokes and bold use of colour, their paintings evoked spontaneity and sunlight. The Impressionists also left their studios, venturing out into the landscape to paint en plein air. Impressionist paintings, by artists like Monet, Renoir, and Cezanne, are some of the most well-known ever created, and they continue to be deeply influential today.

 

 

The Impressionist colour palette was largely a product of the Industrial Revolution. Advancements in inorganic chemistry gave rise to new pigments, like Chromium Oxide Green and Synthetic Ultramarine Blue, and the Impressionists made extensive use of them. While Ultramarine Violet was not developed until the 20th century, the inclusion of a violet is essential in this set. Impressionist painters, particularly Claude Monet, were so enamoured by the colour violet that they were accused of suffering from ‘violettomia’. Violet played a key role in Monet’s famous Water Lilies series, where it helped describe the shimmering interplay of light and colour on the surface of the water.

 

 

The two Phthalo pigments in this set might seem out of place. Phthalo Blue and Phthalo Green were developed in the 20th century, and are thoroughly modern pigments unlike those used by the Impressionists. However, they play an important role in a landscape set inspired by the movement. Phthalo Green can be used as an alternative to Viridian, a blue-green found across Impressionist work, and Phthalo Blue creates some luminous sky blues when mixed with white.

 

 

Impressionist Portrait Set

Titanium White Rutile (PW6)
Hansa Yellow Light (PY3)
Benzymidazole Yellow (PY154)
Ultramarine Blue Green Shade (PB29)
Prussian Blue Permanent (PB27)
Pyrrole Red (PR254)
Italian Raw Sienna (PBr7)
Italian Burnt Sienna (PBr7)
Yellow Ochre (PY43)
Cyprus Raw Umber Deep (PBr7)
Ivory Black, PBk9 (25g)
Carbon Black Deep, PBk7 (10g)

 

 

This set is inspired by the portraits of the French Impressionists. While the Impressionists are best known for their radical treatment of the landscape, portraiture was another area in which they broke the mould of European painting traditions. Impressionist portraiture should be seen in the context of the development of photography; while the camera could capture a static likeness of a subject, artists would capture a fleeting impression of the sitter with more dynamism and movement than had been typical in European academic portraiture.

 

 

The Impressionist movement owed its broad and vibrant palette to the advancements in colour chemistry of the 19th century. New pigments were being introduced every decade, and the artist palette was constantly expanding and evolving. Chrome Yellow was a bright, intense yellow introduced at the beginning of the 19th century. Because it has been largely phased out of the artist palette now, it has been replaced in this set by two 20th-century organic pigments; Hansa Yellow Light, a zingy lemon yellow, and Benzymidazole Yellow, a warmer shade reminiscent of sunflowers. The two blue pigments, Prussian and synthetic Ultramarine Blue, were both used by the Impressionists and they play very different roles in the palette. Ultramarine Blue is bright, mid-valued, and jewel-like, while Prussian Blue is deep and inky.

The Impressionist Portrait Set contains more earth pigments than the Impressionist Landscape Set, as the muted, earthy shades are useful for mixing skin tones. The inclusion of Carbon Black Deep is a nod to the work of Édouard Manet who, unlike many Impressionists, didn’t shy away from using black in his paintings.

 

 

Post-Impressionist Set

Titanium White Rutile (PW6)
Nickel Titanate Yellow (PY53)
Yellow Ochre (PY43)
Permanent Orange (PO62)
Chromium Green Oxide (PG17)
Ultramarine Blue Red Shade (PB29)
Prussian Blue Permanent (PB27)
Pyrrole Red (PR254)
Red Ochre (PR102)
French Raw Sienna (PBr7)
French Burnt Sienna (PR102)
Carbon Black Deep (PBk7)

 

 

Beginning in around 1886, the Post-Impressionist movement both reacted against and built upon the work of the Impressionists. They were less concerned with naturalism and explored colour in a more abstract, emotive way. This set is especially inspired by the work of Vincent van Gogh, whose paintings display a scintillating use of bold, vivid pigments.

 

 

Some of the pigments in this set were used by Van Gogh himself. Prussian and Ultramarine Blue swirl together in Starry Night, and Yellow Ochre was one of many golden yellows in his palette. One of Van Gogh’s greatest strengths was how he juxtaposed contrasting colours to enhance their vibrancy. In this set, Chromium Oxide Green, a dense, opaque green, is complemented by Permanent Orange, a vibrant benzymidazole pigment that is so warm it’s almost red. When used together, they make each other sing. It’s an approach used by Van Gogh in many of his paintings including La Berceuse, seen above, where the emerald green skirt is enhanced by the blood red background.

 

American Modernist Set

Titanium White Rutile (PW6)
Transparent Gold Ochre (PY43)
Titanium Orange (PBr24)
Chromium Oxide Green (PG17)
Phthalo Green Blue Shade (PG7)
Phthalo Blue Green Shade (PB15:3)
Prussian Blue Permanent (PB27)
Ultramarine Blue Red Shade (PB29)
Ultramarine Violet (PV15)
Benzymidazole Orange (PO36)
Quinacridone Magenta (PR122)
Cyprus Burnt Umber Light (PBr7)

 

 

Emerging during the first half of the 20th century, the American Modernist movement was a cultural and artistic shift characterised by a break from traditional forms of artistic expression. There is no definitive style associated with American Modernism. Painters used a range of approaches and techniques; Edward Hopper used realism to capture the solitude of modern urban living, while Arthur Dove pursued a rhythmic, abstract style that fragmented natural forms. Many American Modernist painters straddled the space between representation and abstraction, laying the ground for subsequent movements that emerged in the second half of the 20th century, including Abstract Expressionism and Colour Field Painting.

 

 

Georgia O’Keeffe (1887-1986) is the inspiration behind this set. Often credited with being the ‘Mother of American Modernism’, O’Keeffe is best known for her New Mexican landscapes and billowing flower paintings. Her use of colour was both sensual and considered. Sometimes she only used a limited colour range, for example, only blues and greens or reds and yellows, fostering a sense of mellowness and introspection. Other times, she juxtaposed vivid complimentary colours to dynamic, resonant effect.

This set includes some pigments that O’Keeffe used; Burnt Umber, Yellow Ochre, Prussian Blue, Chromium Oxide Green, and Ultramarine Violet. It also includes some pigments that had not been introduced until after O’Keeffe’s lifetime, but which have a vibrancy and depth of colour that evoke her colour palette. These include the Phthalo pigments, Benzymidazole Orange, and Quinacridone Magenta.

 

 

Using Jackson’s Artist Pigment Sets

Jackson’s Artist Pigments are intended for artists who make their own paints. They can be milled into a paint binder, such as gum arabic or linseed oil, on a slab using a hand muller. Every artist has their own methods and recipes for making paint, but our guides to making handmade oil paints or watercolour paints are good starting points for beginners. Handmade paints are not typically as finely dispersed or consistent as industrially-made paints. Every pigment will require a different proportion of binder and other additives – even commercial paint makers can take months to perfect a formula! Nevertheless, making paint is a great way of getting in touch with the unique characteristics of each pigment.

 

 

Pigments are chemical compounds composed of tiny particles, and there are particular safety considerations to bear in mind when working with them in dry form. It is very easy to get pigment under your nails or on clothing, and particles can become airborne when agitated. When making paints with dry pigment we recommend using protective clothing, like gloves and a dust mask, to avoid accidental inhalation or ingestion. Avoid eating and drinking when using dry pigments, and keep them away from children or pets. Jars of pigment should be closed securely after use to avoid spillage.

Some of our pigment sets contain cobalt or cadmium pigments. Both are heavy metals that may be harmful if inhaled or ingested. The above precautions are therefore particularly important to follow when using these pigments. However, we recommend you follow this guidance when using any kind of dry pigment.

 

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Further Reading

Fugitive Pigments: Why Do They Fade, and Does It Matter?

Recreating the Colour Palette of Edgar Degas

Exploring the Impact of the Victorian Colour Revolution

The History of Potter’s Pink (And Why It’s a Watercolourist’s Secret Weapon)

 

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