Rublev Colours Alizarin Crimson is ground in linseed oil without using stearates or other additives that affect the behavior of the pigment in oil. The pale linseed oil used to make this color is well-aged and refined to provide higher levels of reactivity and oxidation than raw oil. The consistency is a smooth, thick, rich color that is 'short' and buttery.
| Color Information | |
| Single Pigment: | |
| Binder: | Linseed Oil |
| Pigment Information | |
| Color: | Bluish Red |
| Colour Index: | Pigment Red 83 (58000) |
| Chemical Name: | Anthraquinone: 1,2-dihydroxyanthraquinone lake |
| Chemical Formula: | C14H8O4 |
| Properties | |
| Opacity: | Transparent |
| Tinting Strength: | High |
| Drying rate: | Slow |
| Permanence: | B - 5, 6 |
| ASTM Lightfastness: | III |
| Health and Safety: | Based on the toxicological review, there are no acute or known chronic health hazards with the anticipated use of this product. Always protect yourself against potentially unknown chronic hazards of this and other chemical products by avoiding ingestion, excessive skin contact, and inhalation of spraying mists, sanding dust, and concentrated vapors. Contact us for further information or consult the SDS for more information. |
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NotesSome separation of pigment and oil may occur in Rublev Colours Artist Oils and is a natural process when no wax or stabilizers are added to paint to prevent this from occurring.
All images of color swatches on this website are only approximations of the actual color of the oil paint. We have carefully matched the color in these pictures on calibrated color monitors to the actual color. However, the results you get may vary because of the wide variance in color monitors.
Color Swatch Note: The color swatch was created with a thick application (left side) of color and a tint (right side) made with equal parts of color and titanium white and applied on acrylic primed cotton canvas.
Drawdown Note: The image of the "drawdown" contains a pre-mixed paint film of 6 mils (0.006 inches) thickness applied to a standard test card to examine color consistency, opacity, and other qualities. The drawdowns show the full-color strength (mass tone) on the left and mixed in a 1:2 ratio with titanium white on the right. The bottom area of the drawdowns is scraped to show undertones.
| Color Names | |
| Common Names: | English: alizarin French: alizarine German: Alizarin Italian: alizarina Portuguese: alizarina Russian: ализарин Spanish: alizarina |
| Alternate Names: | The following names are given to the natural analog of the colorant in artificial alizarin: English: madder lake French: laque de garance German: Krapplack Italian: lacca di robbia Portuguese: laca de ruvia Russian: крапплак Spanish: laca de rubia |
Notes About Lightfastness
Although assigned to lightfastness category III (ASTM D 4302), alizarin crimson may be a permanent color under certain conditions. Franz Hals was well aware of the correct way to use fugitive lakes to produce vivid flesh tints. The ruddy nose and rosy cheeks portrayed by him, which after a lapse of centuries, have shown that this color, when intelligently used, is stable. According to Maximilian Toch (Toch, 1911), if madder lake (the natural lake pigment related to alizarin) is used as a glaze over a color that has been allowed to dry thoroughly, it will remain permanent. Still, if mixed with any mineral pigment, such as ocher, lead, sienna, etc., it is altered and loses color. This Toch based on his observation of Rembrandt's use of color in works like the Anatomy Lesson, in which 'upon close examination, the flesh tones have suffered very likely due to the fact that the lake used in glazing was mixed with the under-coat.'
Based on this observation, Toch makes this recommendation for alizarin reds:
It is, therefore, reasonable to assume that alizarin or madder lakes should be used as glazing colors over a properly dried surface. Alizarin or madder lakes will not decompose when mixed with various blacks such as bone black, lamp black, and carbon black.
Madder lake may be mixed with oxide of iron that has been burnt, but may not be mixed with any raw iron color. For instance, madder or alizarin may be mixed with Indian red, forming a color known as Tuscan red, which is perfectly permanent. It may also be mixed with burnt sienna, burnt ocher, burnt umber, etc., but is fugitive when mixed with raw ochre, raw sienna or raw umber. The chemical colors like flake white (white lead), zinc oxide, chrome yellow, Naples yellow, and chrome greens all bleach it, but colors like quick silver, vermilion, cadmium yellow, and all of the blacks do not affect it.
The safest way to use it is as a glaze over a thoroughly dry ground. Madder lake deepens considerably when placed in a dark place, but is revived when subjected to bright sunlight.
Vermeer more than once placed a glaze of lake pigment (carmine lake) over vermilion. He first modeled the object to be represented in various tones of vermilion, using white to lighten the tone and black to darken them. Once the area was dry, he glazed over it with a red lake.
The recommendation of raw natural iron oxide pigments and the mention of bleaching with "chemical colors" requires further investigation because other authors have made contrary claims.
Maximilian Toch, Materials for Permanent Painting, New York: D. Van Nostrand Company, 1911. pp. 85–87.