Naples_Yellow

Naples yellow

Naples yellow

Lead-antimonate inorganic pigment used in paintings

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]: 219  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]: 219  Naples yellow was used in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, finding widespread application during the Hellenistic and Roman periods.[2]: 221  Prior to its earliest occurrences in European paintings, the pigment was commonly employed in pottery, glazes, enamels, and glass.[2]: 225  The pigment ranged in hue from a muted, earthy, reddish yellow to a bright light yellow.

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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]: 76 [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]: 219  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 After 1800, Naples yellow was superseded by chrome yellow (lead chromate) cadmium sulfide, and cobalt yellow.[1]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]: 219  Traces of Naples yellow have been discovered on glass fragments, glazed bricks, and glazed tiles from these ancient civilizations.[8]: 221  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]: 77  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]: 221  The pigment then started to appear in European paintings, and between 1750 and 1850, when it achieved greater popularity in the art world.[8]: 226  "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]: 76  By 1850, Naples yellow was sold in a variety of shades, such as French Naples yellow.[8]: 223 Manufacturers like C. Roberson and Co. produced Naples yellow until 1885.[8]: 231  However, its popularity declined and it was progressively replaced by other yellow pigments like lead chromate and cadmium sulfide.[8]: 226  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]: 245 

Adriaen van der Werff, Entombment of Christ, 1703. An early European painting that used Naples yellow.[11]: 246 

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]: 227  Some manufacturers also note that there are six different shades of Naples yellow, ranging from a greenish yellow to a pinkish orange yellow.[13]: 227 

Permanence

Naples yellow is not a stable pigment.[14]: 76  It is susceptible to discoloration in humid air. George Field warned that Naples yellow can turn black.[14]: 77  Naples yellow can also discolor in the presence of iron.[15]: 227  Field therefore advised artists to use a palette knife made of ivory or horn, not metal.[14]: 77 

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]: 248  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]: 245  The earliest occurrence of Naples yellow in European art is Matthias Stom's Arrest of Christ.[16]: 223 

See also

References

  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]
    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. [3]
    Völz, Hans G.; et al. (2006). "Pigments, Inorganic". Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry. Weinheim: Wiley-VCH. doi:10.1002/14356007.a20_243.pub2. ISBN 3-527-30673-0.
  4. [4]
    St. Clair, Kassia (2017). "Naples Yellow". The Secret Lives of Color. New York, New York: Penguin Books. pp. 76–77.
  5. [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. [6]
    Eastaugh, Nicholas (2004). The Pigment Compendium: A Dictionary of Historical Pigments. Boston: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann. p. 273.
  7. [7]
    Ivanov, S. A.; Zavodnik, V. E. (1990). "Crystal structure of lead antimonate Pb2Sb2O7". Kristallografiya. 35: 842–p846.
  8. [8]
    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]
    St. Clair, Kassia (2017). "Naples Yellow". The Secret Lives of Color. New York, New York: Penguin Books. pp. 76–77.
  10. [10]
    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. [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]
    Pastoureau, Michel (2019). Yellow: The History of a Color. Princeton: Princeton University Press. p. 152.
  13. [13]
    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]
    St. Clair, Kassia (2017). "Naples Yellow". The Secret Lives of Color. New York, New York: Penguin Books. pp. 76–77.
  15. [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]
    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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