LoginDeadly chemical cousins: oranges and yellows | Stories in Colour Podcast S2 Ep3 | National Gallery
From volcanoes to ancient alchemical practices, art historian Evie Hatch joins Beks to uncover the origins and histories of these orange and yellow pigments. Together, they discuss how orpiment and realgar have been used, where their names come from and the risks artists faced painting with them.
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Evie Hatch is an art historian specialising in the history and characteristics of artist pigments. She is the writer and presenter of Jackson's Art Pigment Stories series and author of the 2025 book ‘Pigment Stories: The History of Artists' Colour’.
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🎨 Find out more about the artworks in this episode:
Domenichino and assistants, ‘The Judgement of Midas’, 1616-18 https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/domenichino-and-assistants-the-judgement-of-midas
‘Marble portrait bust of the emperor Gaius, known as Caligula’, AD 37-41 © The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Washington https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/248851
Titian, ‘The Holy Family with a Shepherd’, About 1510 https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/titian-the-holy-family-with-a-shepherd
Titian, ‘Bacchus and Ariadne’, 1520-3 https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/titian-bacchus-and-ariadne
Jacopo Tintoretto, ‘Christ washing the Feet of the Disciples’, About 1575-80 https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/jacopo-tintoretto-christ-washing-the-feet-of-the-disciples
Jacopo Tintoretto, ‘The Origin of the Milky Way', About 1575 https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/jacopo-tintoretto-the-origin-of-the-milky-way
Rachel Ruysch, ‘Flowers in a Vase’, About 1685 https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/rachel-ruysch-flowers-in-a-vase
Margarito d’Arezzo, ‘The Virgin and Child Enthroned, with Scenes of the Nativity and the Lives of the Saints’, Probably about 1263-4 https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/margarito-d-arezzo-the-virgin-and-child-enthroned-with-narrative-scenes
Abraham Mignon, ‘Still Life with Flowers and a Watch’, About 1660-79 © Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/object/Still-Life-with-Flowers-and-a-Watch--7404dc80eb5bfc4161ed6ccf454e293f?tab=data
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Further reading:
Pliny the Elder, ‘Natural History’ [Book]
Cennino Cennini, ‘Il Libro dell’arte’, produced in late 14th-century [Book]
Find out more about ‘Titian’s Painting Technique before 1540’ in the National Gallery Technical Bulletin: https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/media/16259/vol-34-essay-1-2013.pdf
Find out more about the use of orpiment in Margarito d’Arezzo’s ‘The Virgin and Child Enthroned’: https://artsandculture.google.com/story/bAVhk85cvIns0Q
Find out more about research on degrading colours in yellow flowers in 17th-century still life paintings: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9176749/
Listen to our episode from series one of ‘Stories in Colour’ on deadly green pigments: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PIn-7FesV8
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Additional note: Please note that mentions of the emperor Caius during this episode are in reference to the Roman emperor Gaius Caesar (Caligula). https://www.britannica.com/biography/Caligula-Roman-emperor
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Episode credits:
Guest: Evie Hatch
Host and executive producer: Beks Leary
Producer: Harry Rosehill
Researcher: Hannah Rogers
Technicians: Ian Warren and Tom Gulliver
Video Producer: Alessandro Sorenti
Editor: Paul Frankl
Theme music: Theo Elwell
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