Red Oil Paint: Which to use? Cadmium Red, Naphthol Red, Alizarin Crimson, or Quinacridone Red?
- Katherine Griffin
- 24 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Red is the most important color in the world. Why is debatable, but what we do know is that for some reason throughout all cultures, and throughout all time, red is the first color named and blue is the last.
Today we will be covering the top characteristic of the color red, the most commonly used modern red oil paints (along with examples of each in art), and finally how to pick the correct red for your project.
Note: This is not a exhaustive discussion on red's history nor all of its pigment used throughout time. Instead, this is a very focused discussion on the most common modern red pigments in use today. However, further reading links will be provided throughout.
Red, the color of sin, nobility, authority, ceremony, fertility, and revolution, was not a very versatile hue until the 20th century when Cadmium Red become available and then even later in the 1950s when the automobile industry created more dynamic reds with the creation of transparent hues. If only Jan Van Eyck, Manohar Das, and Martin had such reds! Not that they did too badly with what they had.
Top Characteristic
Red is one of the more fugitive colors, and historical colors like the madder lakes would start to fade quickly. Red is also one of the hardest pigments to use well. In strict atelier schools, painting a red fabric is one of the last things learned due to the difficulty of creating red highlights that do not appear bright pink and shadows that do not grow too dark or muddy.
When you see red used in pre-modern paintings, it is usually a way for the artist to show their premier skills.
Common Modern Red Pigments: Cadmium Medium, Naphthol, Alizarin, Quinacridone Red
Cadmium Red Medium (PR 108): Made from the same process that creates Cadmium Yellow and Orange, Cadmium Red is almost a neutral opaque red, with a slightly warm cast and creates muted tints.
Boasting a strong mass tone, Cadmium Red is usually picked as a primary in most color palettes for its clean mixtures, although muted secondaries, and superior lightfastness.
Cadmium Red was the much needed synthetic replacement for the very toxic pigment Vermillion, also known as Cinnabar, a mercury sulfide mineral that was used throughout ancient China, Greece, and Rome. The Pompeiian baths at Titus and the Villa of the Mysteries used Vermillion. In fact, in ancient Rome prisoners were forced to extract the pigment from mercury mines, who would then die after only a few years of exposure to the heavy metal.
Although Cadmium Red is a safer option than Vermillion, cadmiums are still a carcinogenic. Consider instead Naphthol red (read below) as a safer alternative.
Be cautious of Cadmium free or Cadmium "safe" alternatives. The paint companies Gamblin and Graham make cadmiums that are "relatively insoluble in the human digestive system," but if you sand a painting that has cadmium, inhaling the dust will cause damage. And while Winsor Newton claims to make a Cadmium free paint, they do not name the pigment used in the paint, which is suspicious, and is most likely Pyrrole Red.
Cadmium in Art
Cadmium Red was used by artists such as Henri Matisse, Franz Marc, and Marc Chagall, and is sometimes marketed as Cadmium Red Medium.
Napthol Red (PR112): An organic red, Naphtol Red (also spelt Napthol and Naphtol) is a warm, semi-transparent red that closely matches Cadmium Red in masstone and produces strong tints.
Naphthol is a less expensive and healthier alternative to Cadmium. It is slightly less lightfast than Cadmium, and tends a little bit more towards purple-brown in its tone and shade, but I love it. It mixes so well into other pigments, and it makes bright, clear secondaries.
Naphthol in Art
While Rothko used several different reds in his paintings, he favored Naphthol Red.
Alizarin Crimson Permanent: Anciently known as Madder Lake, Alizarin is a cool, transparent red with a muted tint.
Originally made from madder root and used to dye clothing, Alizarin is now synthetically produced. Sadly, true Alizarin has a poor lightfastness and should be avoided. Luckily, a few companies do produce permanent, lightfast options. While these permanent options do differ in chemical composition from a true Alizarin, the permanent option is still an excellent match in masstone and transparency.
I love this color. It is also THE cool red. Alizarin is used by everyone and should be one of the first reds a beginner purchases.
Alizarin in Art
Quinacridone Red (PV19): A product of the automobile industry, Quinacridone Red is a cool, transparent red with moderate tinting strength.
Quinacridone matches the opaque Cadmium Red Deep in masstone, but is useful when a true transparent red is wanted. Quinacridone also offers a lesser cool option to Alizarin and also provides stronger, brighter mixtures. Since its manufacture in the 1950s, Quinacridone is a staple of almost all color palettes.
If you would like to try out Quinacridone's more exotic cousin, take a look at the color Pyrrole Red:
How to Pick the Right Red for Your ProjectÂ
As Red is the most temperamental of all colors, it is the color I recommend initially investing in the most. I do recommend getting Naphthol, Quinacridone, and Alizarin for all beginners.
When picking the right red to use for your painting, remember the three main characteristics of a paint: temperature, opacity, and tinting strength. Are you looking for a warm or cool color? Are you painting in the shadows or highlights? You can read more about picking the right color every time in my post here.
Is there anything that I missed? Is there a popular/common red that I left out? Let me know down in the comments!
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For additional reading, I recommend the books: The Secret Lives of Color and The Brilliant History of Color in Art.
This is a rewrite of my post Red Oil Paint: Pigments, Basics, and How to Pick the Right Red.