This is the first volume in the series?Artists' Pigments: A Handbook of their History and Characteristics?published by National Gallery of Art in association with Archetype Publications Ltd.?

Each volume concentrates on different pigments (see the contents for each volume). The series is an Encyclopedic Reference intended for:

-The practicing artist to learn a pigment’s color, hiding power, light-fastness, toxicity, compatibility;

-The art historian to know how an artist worked, what pigments were used, whether they were pure or mixed, opaque or transparent, layered or not;

-The conservator to devise techniques necessary for the care and conservation of works of art, to determine what is original, to repair damages, to compensate for missing portions of a painted surface;

-The curator and the connoisseur to know the history of manufacture and use of pigments, to authenticate and assign probable dates to works of art;

-The conservation scientist to learn identification methods used, including optical microscopy, microchemical tests, X-ray diffraction, infrared and reflectance spectrophotometry, and electron microscopy.