A J Ludlow Anthraquinone Crimson Professional Watercolour

Anthraquinone Crimson is just one of the bright and exquisite Professional Watercolours made in the UK by A J Ludlow. Being based on a single pigment with excellent permanence and light fastness, ensures that this watercolour’s properties are exceptional.

Anthraquinone Crimson Professional Watercolour is prepared using a synthetic blue-shade red organic complex, from the anthraquinone-type class of light stable and high-performance pigments. This pigment is often found on the modern watercolourist’s palette because it is used as a good shade alternative for the fugitive natural anthraquinone lake pigment derived from the madder root, Alizarin Crimson ( C.I. PR83) and so, because of its good light fastness is often referred to as “Permanent Alizarin Crimson”. So, as a direct consequence, this particular anthraquione pigment has been selected for use in A J Ludlow’s Professional watercolour range and can be used on the artist’s palette as a cool primary red.

Traditionally, Alizarin Crimson occupies an important area on the watercolourists’ palette. Its blue-shade red is often considered as a cool primary red. It can be used to create a wide range of rich purples and browns and is often used as the red component in painting Caucasian flesh tones. Although the original Alizarin Crimson was derived from an anthraquinone compound extracted from the madder root, the compound was eventually synthesised in 1868 when Carl Graebe and Carl Liebermann produced a “synthetic alizarin lake” ( C.I. PR83:1) from anthracene.

The pigment, 1-Amino-4-(4-amino-9, 10-dioxoanthracen-1-yl) anthracene-9, 10-dione ( C.I. PR177) was first introduced as Cromophtal Red A3B in 1967, so is a relatively modern addition to the artists’ colour box. This pigment is also referred to as “Anthraquinoid Red”; anthraquinoid being another name for the anthraquionone-type pigments.

Pigment Details: 1-Amino-4-(4-amino-9, 10-dioxoanthracen-1-yl) anthracene-9, 10-dione / Colour Index Pigment Red 177 ( C.I. PR177)