Product information Alizarin Crimson

Alizarin Crimson / Madder Lake: Different names for a historically important brilliant colour

Alizarin Crimson or Madder Lake belongs to one of the That means that the colour Alizarin Crimson is listed in the oldest known pigments and has been used for over 3000 Schmincke range under Alizarin and/or Madder Lake as you years in the production of artists’ colours. Originally the can see in the following: pigment was obtained from the root of the madder plant. ® MUSSINI : Since the middle of the 19th century, however, Alizarin has Madder lake brilliant (10 344) been synthesized from organic chemicals as a first natural Alizarin madder lake 10 347) dye. The pigment is mainly used in the oil, tempera, acry- Madder lake dark (10 346) lic and water-colour painting techniques. The definition is quite different, sometimes it is called Alizarin Madder Lake, Madder Light or Madder Deep or Madder Lake or Alizarin ® Crimson, which is very common in English speaking coun- Norma Professional: tries. Apart from the different names the shade is always Madder light (11 316) related to the same colour field, depending on the variant Madder red (11 318) of a lighter or deeper, cold or translucent red – in any case Madder deep (11 342) a typical traditional pigment!

Why are there so many different names ? ® The description Alizarin Madder Lake or Alizarin Crimson is AKADEMIE Öl color: not established through a standard, this means that the Alizarin crimson hue (41 312) colour manufacturers choose one of the names often rela- ted to their own history.

® The different descriptions mean the following: HORADAM AQUARELL: Alizarin crimson (14 357) • Alizarin = alizarin (synthetic form of madder), Madder lake deep (14 358) madder red Madder red dark (14 354) • Madder = colour formerly obtained from the Rose madder ((14 356) madder plant • Madder lake = madder red • Crimson = carmine, purple ® • Used as adjective: blood red, deep red, purple red, Finest Artists’ Acrylic PRIMAcryl : carmine or crimson red Alizarin Crimson (13 324)

In the past, Schmincke has used the names Alizarin Madder Lake or Madder Deep and now Alizarin ® Crimson in the new series Finest Artists’ Acrylic AKADEMIE Acryl color: ® PRIMAcryl . Other manufacturers use names like Alizarin crimson hue (23 343) Alizarin Carmesin, Alizarin Crimson or Permanent Alizarin Crimson as well as Alizarin Crimson hue for the same or similar shades.

H. Schmincke & Co. GmbH & Co. KG · Otto-Hahn-Str. 2 · D- 40699 Erkrath · Tel.: +49-211-2509-0 · www.schmincke.de · [email protected] 09/2013 Product information Alizarin Crimson

The described product attributes and application examples have been By the way: Specifics for handling and product safety you will find on tested in the Schmincke laboratory. The information is based on our cur- our website www.schmincke.de (e.g. download/safety data sheets). rent state of technical findings and experience. Due to the diversity of applications in terms of painting techniques, materials and working con- For special questions please don´t hesitate to ask our team in the lab! ditions, as well as numerous possible influences, this information is ba- The best way to get in contact with them is via mail at: sed on a general application range. A legally binding guarantee of specific [email protected]. attributes or the suitability for a specific usage purpose cannot be derived from our information; therefore the use of the products must be adapted to the users' individual conditions and tested in trials. For this reason, we cannot provide a warranty for product attributes and/or assume liability for damages that occur in connection with the use of our products.

H. Schmincke & Co. GmbH & Co. KG · Otto-Hahn-Str. 2 · D- 40699 Erkrath · Tel.: +49-211-2509-0 · www.schmincke.de · [email protected] 09/2013