Raw Sienna Pigment

Description

Raw Sienna is a natural, handmade single earth pigment made through a historical process of extraction, drying, and fine grinding from raw earth extracted from France. This pigment is composed of iron oxide and clay, giving it a warm, golden brown hue with subtle transparency. It is highly valued for its soft, natural tone and ability to create rich, glowing layers in paintings.

Raw Sienna has exceptional lightfastness, making it highly durable for both classical and contemporary artwork. It blends seamlessly with other earth pigments, offering warm and harmonious tones in painting. Its semi-translucent quality allows for excellent glazing, layering, and soft shading effects in oil, watercolor, and tempera applications. Compared to synthetic yellows and browns, it provides a soft and organic color, ideal for landscape, portrait, and decorative painting.

History

Sienna pigments have been in use for thousands of years, with evidence of their application in prehistoric cave paintings. Their natural abundance and stability made them one of the most important earth pigments in human history.

During antiquity, Raw Sienna was widely used in Egyptian, Greek, and Roman murals, pottery, and frescoes. Its warm, natural tone made it a favorite for creating lifelike flesh tones and sunlit highlights. The pigment was first sourced from the region around Siena, Italy, which gave it its name.

In the Renaissance, artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and Titian extensively used Raw Sienna for underpainting and glazing techniques. Its warm, golden undertones made it an essential pigment for rendering skin tones, landscapes, and luminous effects in oil painting. In the pictured artwork 'The Battle of Marciano in Val di Chiana' by Giorgio Vasari, raw sienna is used throughout the painting and underpainting to create rich warmth and warm browns and oranges through mixing.

By the 18th and 19th centuries, sienna was mined and processed in multiple regions beyond Italy, including France, Cyprus, and England. The pigment remained a staple in fine art, particularly for creating atmospheric effects and naturalistic color gradations in academic painting techniques.

Today, Raw Sienna continues to be one of the most widely used earth pigments in fine art, conservation, and restoration due to its historical authenticity and warm, natural hue.

Pigment Information

Pigment Type: Natural (Iron Oxide) from minerals (Goethite - FeO(OH))
Source: Iron oxide and clay based earth
Origin: France
Suitable Mediums: Watercolor, Oil, Tempera, Acrylic
Lightfastness: Excellent
Opacity: Semi-translucent
Other Names: Terre di Siena, Golden Earth, Natural Yellow Earth
Color Index Code: PBr7
Image: 'The Battle of Marciano in Val di Chiana' by Giorgio Vasari

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: Natural earths and minerals contain crystalline silica (quartz). Breathing the dust over long periods can cause serious lung disease (silicosis) and lung cancer. Always use a dust respirator with the dry pigment.

WARNING: This product can expose you to crystalline silica (airborne particles of respirable size), which is known to the State of California to cause cancer. For more information go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov.