Thứ Năm, 31 tháng 12, 2009

Artists, Thank the Automobile

The development of modern, lightfast pigments owes a great deal to the automobile.



Cars are parked outdoors in all kinds of weather. The sun beats down on them year after year. That puts a tremendous demand on any pigment. Scientists had to develop reliable pigments, especially for yellows, reds, and violets, which had been notoriously fugitive. And the car industry had the money to do the lab work.

The quinacridone red pigments were developed in the 1950s and are mainly used for car paints. Pyrrole Red is also known as Ferrari Red because of its use in sports cars. But it’s exactly the same basic pigment you'll find a tube of Winsor Red.