Notorious Yellows
Historical artists generally had much less choice in pigments than painters today, but this was especially true of yellow pigments. For centuries, in pursuit of sunny, bright yellows, artists resorted to using materials prone to fading and discoloration, and even poisonous. This remained an enduring reality until finally, in the 19th century, a newly introduced yellow pigment, Aureolin, became the first in a cascade of increasingly better performing, more permanent, and safer yellow artist’s colors.
For much of art history, there were few bright yellows available, and fewer still that were sufficiently stable and lightfast. Inorganic pigments like Yellow Ochre, Naples Yellow, and Lead-Tin Yellow lacked the brilliance to match the brightest reds and blues. Ancient, plant- derived colorants like the tree gum Gamboge were highly prone to fading. Yellows introduced in the 18th and early 19th century synthesized from strontium, zinc, and chrome were subject to discoloration. The work of important artists who used these pigments now shows dramatic darkening, including Van Gogh’s formerly bright sunflowers, which now have a brownish-green appearance due to the presence of lead-based Chrome Yellow.
A new yellow pigment first synthesized in 1831 became the first in a wave of improvements in the yellow color space. This cobalt yellow named Aureolin was first made available to artists in 1851, and it represented a major innovation in the art materials industry. In “The Art of Landscape Painting in Oil Colours” (published in 1863 by Winsor & Newton), Aureolin was lauded as “… one of the latest and most important contributions of science to the Artist’s palette… ranks in importance with Genuine Ultramarine.” Aureolin is highly transparent and ideal for use in watercolors, where it gained greatest acceptance. It is also effective for glazing in oils and can be mixed with white to improve covering power and opacity.
Despite the innovation it represented, Aureolin never managed to catch on durably in the standard palette. It became popular for a time, and though it performed better in many respects than the problematic Chrome Yellow, it wasn’t completely without issues relating to color change and reactivity. Within a few decades, Cadmium Yellow and synthetic-organic pigments like Hansa Yellow pushed Aureolin off the list of most artists’ favorites.
While a huge range of reliable, safe, and permanent alternatives exist today, Aureolin is still available as an oil color and in many watercolor assortments. Though eclipsed by successors, Aureolin holds a permanent place in history for opening up a hopeful future for bright, durable yellows at a time when artists were starting to use and explore color more boldly than ever before.