Chemistry of Pigments & Dyes

Lightfastness: The Chemistry of Why Colors Fade Over Time

In the dimly lit galleries of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, visitors gather around Vincent…

The Toxicity of Color: Lead, Arsenic, and Cadmium in Art History

Walk through any major museum, and you are surrounded by hazardous chemistry. The glowing flesh tones…

Lake Pigments: How We Turn Liquid Dye into Solid Paint

For millennia, painters looking across nature faced a frustrating materials problem. The natural world was full…

Organic vs. Inorganic Pigments: The Chemistry of Color Guide

Organic pigments are carbon-based compounds featuring complex conjugated chemical rings that provide high tinting strength, vivid…

The History of Synthetic Dyes: From Coal Tar to Modern Textiles

The transition from extraction-based natural dyes to coal tar synthetic colorants solved the chronic industrial problem…

Materials Science: The Chemistry of Pigment and Dye

This guide outlines the chemical rules that govern how pigments and dyes react, hold their color,…