Vermilion
From Free net encyclopedia
- For other uses, see Vermilion (disambiguation).
Vermilion, also spelled vermillion, when found naturally-occurring, is an opaque reddish orange pigment, used since antiquity, originally derived from the powdered mineral cinnabar. Chemically the pigment is mercuric sulfide, HgS. Like all mercury compounds it is toxic.
Today vermilion is most commonly produced artificially by reacting mercury with molten sulphur, in which case it may also be known as vermilion substitute. Most naturally produced vermilion comes from cinnabar mined in China, giving rise to its alternative name of China red.
As pure sources of cinnabar are rare, natural vermilion has always been extremely expensive. In the middle ages, vermilion was often as expensive as gilding. As of 2006 a 225ml tube of genuine Chinese Vermilion oil paint can cost £200 (US $300) [1].
In painting, vermilion has largely been replaced by the pigment cadmium red, a chemically similar pigment that is usually more lightfast due to the replacement of mercury with cadmium, especially in certain applications such as watercolors. The last mainstream commercial source in watercolors was Blockx, although the pigment can still be obtained in oils, where it is considered more stable. Unlike mercuric sulfide, cadmium sulfide is available in a large range of warm hues, including hues obtained by the addition of selenium or zinc. The range is from lemon yellow to a dull deep red, sometimes referred to as "cadmium purple".
Vermilion is also the name of the typical color of the natural ground pigment, which is a bright red tinged with orange. It is somewhat similar to the color scarlet. As with cadmium sulfide, mercuric sulfide can be found in a range from a bright orange-toned red to a duller slightly bluish red. The differences in hue are due to the range in the size of the ground particles. The larger the average crystal is, the duller and less orange-toned it appears. It has been theorized that the more coarsely ground "Chinese" form of vermilion is more permanent than the more orange "French" variety. It is also theorized that purification leads to increased stability, as with many other pigments.
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History
Vermilion is one of the oldest pigments used by human beings. There is evidence of its use in India and China since prehistory. It was known to the Romans; Pliny the Elder records that it became so expensive that the price had to be fixed by the Roman government.
The pigment was used throughout Europe from the 12th century, mostly for illuminated manuscripts, although its use didn't become widespread until the 15th century when the artificially produced alternatives started to become available.
Another red mercury pigment, mercuric iodide, briefly sold in the 19th century to artists as "Scarlet Lake" and "Iodide Scarlet", was more vivid than either vermilion or cadmium red, but it is very light sensitive and few artists used it. One who did was J.W. Turner, an artist infamous for his use of even the most fugitive paints. His response to criticism from a paint dealer was to point out that he was not the one who produced the paints.
Vermilion was frequently adulterated due to its high price, usually with red lead, an inexpensive bright lead oxide pigment that was too reactive to be trustworthy enough for use in art.
"American Vermilion" is the name for a historical vermilion imitation.
China red
"China red" is another name for the pigment vermillion, as derived from cinnabar, which is the traditional red pigment of Chinese art. Chinese name chops are printed with a red cinnabar paste, and cinnabar is the pigment used in Chinese red lacquer. Cinnabar also has significance in Taoist culture, and was regarded as the color of life and eternity.
China red has a special significance in hacker culture. The documentation for Digital Equipment Corporation's VMS version 4 came in memorable, distinctively-colored orangish-red ring binders, and "China red" was Digital's official name for this color. (According to http://www.inwap.com/pdp10/usenet/history.9612, Mark Crispin seems to claim Digital's name for the color was Terracotta, at least in the context of PDP-10 machines running Tops-20.)
See also
"Vermillion Line" - the upper edge of the lip, a medical designation. The fleshy brilliant red mucosa of the lips is called "vermilion" a term linked with ideas found in "vermin" and "worms" (insects were used to make red dyes). The curved outline of the upper edge of the vermilion of the upper lip is called "Cupid's bow" (as if blowing kisses is akin to shooting love arrows).