At the end of the 19th century, a chemist named Gustave Sennelier embarked on a journey of color that resulted in a range of artists’ color of world renown. Gustave’s expertise in the field of chemistry led to a range of colors specially made for his artist clients. He realized that the quality of pigments used were the core of his paints’ beauty, and thus began the Sennelier tradition of uncompromising vigilance in choosing only the finest pigments from around the world for Sennelier artists’ colors.

Today, that family tradition continues at Sennelier in a line of pigments of uncompromising quality. The range features earth pigments mined from traditional locations as they have been for centuries. Sennelier ochres, siennas, umbers and other classic earths pigments are mined from quarries in Provence, Tuscany and Cyprus, the finest found in the world. Their line of inorganic mineral pigments like the cadmiums, cobalts and manganese are unsurpassed in luminosity and vibrancy, and were favored by the Impressionists at the end of the 19th century for their lightfastness and brilliance.

A wonderful line of transparent alizarin pigments are available, as well as true French Ultramarine as discovered by Guillemet in 1828. Modern pigments like phthalos, quinacridones, azos and toluidines are represented to provide the artist with high intensity pigments in unique colors, or as less expensive choices (hues) for more expensive cadmiums or toxic/fugitive pigments from antiquity. A complete selection of Mars pigments give the artist the option of very lightfast synthetic iron oxides as earth tones, offering much higher tinting strength than natural earth pigments.

Sennelier makes what many artists consider to be the most opaque Titanium White on the market. Traditional but hard to find lead/chromate pigments are offered like true Flake White, Chrome Yellow and Green, and a true chromate based Emerald Green as found on the palettes of the Impressionists. Specialty pigments like iridescents, metallics, fluorescents and a phosphorescent yellow green offer unique optical effects for different techniques. A primary blue, yellow and red in the palette for artists wishing to achieve color mixes of exacting values.