Litharge Massicot Lead Pigment

Description

Litharge is a heavy, opaque yellow-to-reddish pigment made from lead(II) oxide (PbO). Depending on the method of preparation, it can appear as a soft lemon-yellow or a deeper orange-red tone. It has been used since antiquity not only as a pigment but also as a key ingredient in glassmaking, ceramics, and in historical oil painting as a drier (accelerating drying times of oils).

As a pigment, litharge is opaque with strong covering power but limited tinting strength. In oil painting it was more often used in mediums than as a primary color, since it could affect drying and gloss.

History

Litharge has been known since ancient times, produced as a byproduct of refining silver and lead ores. The Greeks and Romans referred to it in alchemical and medical texts, using it both in pigments and cosmetics.

During the Middle Ages and Renaissance, litharge was employed in stained glass, ceramic glazes, and in making lead-based oil painting mediums. Painters would grind it into oils to create litharge varnish, a quick-drying, resinous medium. In manuscript and panel painting, it occasionally appears as a yellow or reddish pigment but was more often hidden within mediums rather than used directly. In the pictured artwork "The Bedroom " by Van Gogh, Litharge is used for the warm orange of the bedstand.

Litharge gradually fell out of common artistic use as safer yellows (like Naples Yellow and later cadmiums) became available. Today it is primarily of interest to conservators, pigment historians, and artisans reproducing historic painting methods.

CONTAINS LEAD. WEAR P100 FULL FACE OR HALF FACE PLUS GOGGLES RESPIRATOR. DO NOT SWALLOW OR INHALE. WEAR GLOVES AND DO NOT ALLOW IT TO BE ABSORBED THROUGH SKIN. P95 IS NOT SUFFICIENT.

Pigment Information

Pigment Type: Synthetic Inorganic (Lead Oxide)

Chemical Composition: PbO (Lead(II) Oxide)

Suitable Mediums: Watercolor, Oil, Tempera, Acrylic, Encaustic, Cold Wax, Casein, Milk, Swedish Flour, Lime / Fresco, Ceramics

Lightfastness: Excellent

Opacity: Opaque

Other Names: Lead Monoxide, Lithargyrum, Massicot (yellow form, uncalcined), Red Lead precursor

Color Index Code: PY46

Pictured Artwork: "The Bedroom " by Van Gogh from the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam