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Naples yellow

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Naples Yellow
 
About these coordinates     Color coordinates
Hex triplet#FADA5E
SourceISCC-NBS
ISCC–NBS descriptorBrilliant yellow

Naples yellow, also called antimony yellow or lead antimonate yellow, is an inorganic pigment that largely replaced lead-tin-yellow and has been used in European paintings since the seventeenth century.[1][2](p219) While the mineral orpiment is considered to be the oldest yellow pigment, Naples yellow, like Egyptian blue, is one of the oldest known synthetic pigments.[3][2](p219) Naples yellow was used in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, finding widespread application during the Hellenistic and Roman periods.[2](p221) Prior to its earliest occurrences in European paintings, the pigment was commonly employed in pottery, glazes, enamels, and glass.[2](p225) The pigment ranged in hue from a muted, earthy, reddish yellow to a bright light yellow.

A Latin treatise from the late 17th-century by Andrea Pozzo referred to the pigment as luteolum napolitanum, which is the first recorded use of the term "Naples yellow"; its English name first appeared in print in 1738.[4](p76)[5] Naples yellow originally referred to the chemical compound lead antimonate (Pb2Sb2O7), but by the middle of the nineteenth century, a majority of manufacturers had stopped producing pure lead antimonate.[2](p219) Since then, writers and artists have incorrectly used Naples yellow to refer to other lead-based yellows.[6] The related mineral of lead antimonate is bindheimite. However, this natural version was rarely employed as a pigment. After 1800, Naples yellow was superseded by chrome yellow (lead chromate) cadmium sulfide, and cobalt yellow.[1]

Portion of the dilead antimonate (Pb2Sb2O7) structure (black = Pb, violet = Sb, red = O). This structure illustrates the complex, polymeric nature of many inorganic pigments.[7]

History

Naples yellow is one of the earliest synthetic pigments, its earliest uses dating from the period between the sixteenth and fourteenth century BC in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia.[8](p219) Traces of Naples yellow have been discovered on glass fragments, glazed bricks, and glazed tiles from these ancient civilizations.[8](p221) Since its basic components, such as lead oxide and antimony oxide, had to be chemically manufactured, its early production would have required a high level of knowledge and skill.[9](p77) Early color theorists speculated that Naples yellow had originated from Naples or Italy's Mount Vesuvius.[10] It was not until the late eighteenth century that Naples yellow was generally recognized as a synthetic pigment of lead antimonate.[10]

The Italians first adopted Naples yellow as an enamel for tin-glazed pottery, or maiolica, from the beginning of the sixteenth century.[8](p221) The pigment then started to appear in European paintings, and between 1750 and 1850, when it achieved greater popularity in the art world.[8](p226) "Naples yellow" was a phrase that was first used in a treatise on frescos by Andrea Pozzo, published in Rome between 1693 and 1700. There, Pozzo refers to Naples yellow as luteolum napolitanum.[9](p76) By 1850, Naples yellow was sold in a variety of shades, such as French Naples yellow.[8](p223)Manufacturers like C. Roberson and Co. produced Naples yellow until 1885.[8](p231) However, its popularity declined and it was progressively replaced by other yellow pigments like lead chromate and cadmium sulfide.[8](p226) Manufacturers today typically produce Naples yellow in combination with other pigments, such as  ochre, iron oxide, lead white, titanium white, or zinc white, rather than pure lead antimonate.[8](p245)

Adriaen van der Werff, Entombment of Christ, 1703. An early European painting that used Naples yellow.[11](p246)

Visual characteristics

Naples yellow is a saturated yellow, occasionally with pink or off-white hues.[12] It has a strong hiding power and effectively covers other pigments.[12] Temperature during production affects its hue. A more vibrant lemon-yellow is produced at higher temperatures, whereas an orange-yellow is produced at lower temperatures.[13](p227) Some manufacturers also note that there are six different shades of Naples yellow, ranging from a greenish yellow to a pinkish orange yellow.[13](p227)

Permanence

Naples yellow is not a stable pigment.[14](p76) It is susceptible to discoloration in humid air. George Field warned that Naples yellow can turn black.[14](p77) Naples yellow can also discolor in the presence of iron.[15](p227) Field therefore advised artists to use a palette knife made of ivory or horn, not metal.[14](p77)

Matthias Stom, The Arrest of Christ, c. 1630-1632. The earliest occurrence of Naples yellow in European painting.

Notable occurrences

Naples yellow was frequently used in ancient times to glaze pottery and glass. A piece of glass from the site of Amenhotep II's palace at Thebes (now at the Victoria and Albert Museum) is one of the earliest known examples.[16](p248) Naples yellow has frequently appeared on the palettes of European painters such as Anton Raphael Mengs, Francisco Goya, Jacques-Louis-David, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Eugène Delacroix, and Paul Cézanne.[16](p245) The earliest occurrence of Naples yellow in European art is Matthias Stom's Arrest of Christ.[16](p223)

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Robin J. H. Clark; Lucas Cridland; Benson M. Kariuki; Kenneth D. M. Harris; Robert Withnall (1995). "Synthesis, Structural Characterization and Raman Spectroscopy of the Inorganic Pigments Lead Tin Yellow Types I and II and Lead Antimonate Yellow: Their Identification on Medieval Paintings and Manuscripts". Journal of the Chemical Society, Dalton Transactions (16): 2577–2582. doi:10.1039/DT9950002577. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Wainwright, Ian. N. M; Taylor, John M.; Harley, Rosamond D. (1986). "Lead Antimonate Yellow". Artists' Pigments: A Handbook of their History and Characteristics, vol. 1 (R. L. Feller ed.). Washington: National Gallery of Art. pp. 219-254. 
  3. ↑ Völz, Hans G. (2006). Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry. Weinheim: Wiley-VCH. doi:10.1002/14356007.a20_243.pub2. ISBN 3-527-30673-0. 
  4. ↑ St. Clair, Kassia (2017). "Naples Yellow". The Secret Lives of Color. New York, New York: Penguin Books. pp. 76-77. 
  5. ↑ Maerz and Paul. A Dictionary of Color New York: McGraw-Hill, 1930, p. 205; Color Sample of Naples Yellow: Page 43, Plate 10, Color Sample F3
  6. ↑ Eastaugh, Nicholas (2004). The Pigment Compendium: A Dictionary of Historical Pigments. Boston: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann. p. 273. 
  7. ↑ Ivanov, S. A.; Zavodnik, V. E. (1990). "Crystal structure of lead antimonate Pb2Sb2O7". Kristallografiya 35: 842–p846. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 Wainwright, Ian. N. M; Taylor, John M.; Harley, Rosamond D. (1986). "Lead Antimonate Yellow". Artists' Pigments: A Handbook of their History and Characteristics, vol. 1 (R. L. Feller ed.). Washington: National Gallery of Art. pp. 219-254. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 St. Clair, Kassia (2017). "Naples Yellow". The Secret Lives of Color. New York, New York: Penguin Books. pp. 76-77. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Maerz and Paul. A Dictionary of Color New York: McGraw-Hill, 1930, p. 205; Color Sample of Naples Yellow: Page 43, Plate 10, Color Sample F3
  11. ↑ Wainwright, Ian. N. M; Taylor, John M.; Harley, Rosamond D. (1986). "Lead Antimonate Yellow". Artists' Pigments: A Handbook of their History and Characteristics, vol. 1 (R. L. Feller ed.). Washington: National Gallery of Art. pp. 219-254. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Pastoureau, Michel (2019). Yellow: The History of a Color. Princeton: Princeton University Press. p. 152. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Wainwright, Ian. N. M; Taylor, John M.; Harley, Rosamond D. (1986). "Lead Antimonate Yellow". Artists' Pigments: A Handbook of their History and Characteristics, vol. 1 (R. L. Feller ed.). Washington: National Gallery of Art. pp. 219-254. 
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 St. Clair, Kassia (2017). "Naples Yellow". The Secret Lives of Color. New York, New York: Penguin Books. pp. 76-77. 
  15. ↑ Wainwright, Ian. N. M; Taylor, John M.; Harley, Rosamond D. (1986). "Lead Antimonate Yellow". Artists' Pigments: A Handbook of their History and Characteristics, vol. 1 (R. L. Feller ed.). Washington: National Gallery of Art. pp. 219-254. 
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Wainwright, Ian. N. M; Taylor, John M.; Harley, Rosamond D. (1986). "Lead Antimonate Yellow". Artists' Pigments: A Handbook of their History and Characteristics, vol. 1 (R. L. Feller ed.). Washington: National Gallery of Art. pp. 219-254. 

Literature

  • Wainwright, I.N.M., Taylor, J.M. and Harley, R.D. Lead Antimonate yellow, in Artists' Pigments. A Handbook of Their History and Characteristics, Vol. 1: Feller, R.L. (Ed.) Oxford University Press 1986, p. 219 – 254

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