• Vibrant cadmium yellow pigment with rich, warm tones and excellent opacity. Highly lightfast and durable, perfect for oil, acrylic, and watercolor painting. Offers smooth blending, strong tinting strength, and brilliant luminosity. A favorite among artists for bold highlights and mixing vibrant greens and oranges. Finely ground for professional-quality applications. Available in various sizes.
  • Cadmium Yellow Medium Pigment
  • Cadmium Yellow Medium Pigment
  • The Orangerie canvases tend to have recognisable details of trees and foliage which act as compositional anchors and help locate the viewer in the scene. However, this painting lacks any of these; distance and perspective are abolished and a limitless expanse of water occupies our entire field of vision. The huge pale picture offers an immersive experience, its surface alive and shimmering with trails of green, ochre, violet, yellow, sky blue and pink.
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Cadmium Yellow Medium Pigment

Cadmium Yellow Medium Pigment

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Description

Cadmium Yellow is a created single pigment created through a process of precipitating cadmium sulfide, producing a rich, highly saturated yellow with excellent opacity and durability. This pigment is known for its bright, warm yellow tone, extremely high chroma, and strong tinting strength. It is widely used in painting due to its smooth consistency and ability to create vivid, pure color mixtures.

Cadmium Yellow has exceptional lightfastness, making it highly durable for both classical and contemporary artwork. It blends seamlessly with other pigments, offering brilliant, warm hues in painting. Its opaque nature allows for strong coverage and clean, bright color mixing in oil, watercolor, and tempera applications. Compared to organic yellows such as Hansa Yellow, Cadmium Yellow provides greater opacity and a richer, more saturated tone, making it ideal for bold compositions and layering.

History

Bright, stable yellow pigments have been sought after by artists for centuries, with early alternatives including toxic lead based yellows and unstable organic yellows.

During the early 19th century, cadmium based pigments were first discovered as byproducts of zinc refining. In 1817, Friedrich Stromeyer identified cadmium, and by 1840, chemists had developed Cadmium Yellow (cadmium sulfide) as a pigment.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Cadmium Yellow quickly gained popularity among artists, replacing hazardous lead chromate based yellows (Chrome Yellow). It became a favored pigment among the Impressionists and later Modernist painters due to its brilliance, opacity, and superior lightfastness. Artists such as Vincent van Gogh and Henri Matisse took advantage of its vibrant intensity. In the pictured artwork 'Water Lilies' by Monet, cadmium yellow is used in thick impasto to create the rich yellows of the water lilies as well as mixed with blues such as cobalt blue and created French ultramarine to create greens and blues.

By the mid-20th century, Cadmium Yellow became a standard pigment in professional artist palettes across multiple mediums, including oil, acrylic, watercolor, and tempera. While concerns about cadmium toxicity led to the development of alternatives like Arylide Yellow, Cadmium Yellow remains a preferred pigment for its unmatched depth, permanence, and performance.

Today, Cadmium Yellow is carefully regulated for safety but continues to be widely used in fine art due to its historical significance and superior color properties.

Pigment Information

Pigment Type: Synthetic (Cadmium Sulfide) (CdS)
Source: Cadmium sulfide (CdS)
Origin: USA
Suitable Mediums: Watercolor, Oil, Tempera, Acrylic
Lightfastness: Excellent
Opacity: Opaque
Other Names: Cadmium Sulfide Yellow, Permanent Yellow, Cadmium Lemon (lighter variations)
Color Index Code: PY37
Image: 'Water-Lilies' by Monet from the National Gallery

Health and Safety

  • For art use only. Not for cosmetic, food or children's use.
  • Keep out of reach of children and pets. Do not eat, drink or smoke while working.
  • Avoid creating or breathing dust. Work in a ventilated area and wear a NIOSH approved dust respirator (P100 or better) when handling dry pigment.
  • Wear gloves and eye protection. Wash hands and work surfaces after use, and never rinse pigment into drains.
  • Do not spray apply, sand or burn.
  • If swallowed or if you feel unwell, contact a poison control center (U.S. 1-800-222-1222) or a doctor.
  • Safety Data Sheet available on request.

Caution: Contains cadmium. May cause cancer if dust is inhaled. Causes damage to the kidneys and lungs through prolonged or repeated exposure. Suspected of damaging fertility or the unborn child. Avoid all dust. Not for use by children or by anyone pregnant. Never sand, spray, burn or heat dry paint. Do not rinse into drains. Wear a P100 respirator (full face, or half face with goggles) when handling the dry pigment; N95 and P95 masks are not sufficient.

WARNING: This product can expose you to cadmium, which is known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm. For more information go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov.