Paint colors from 1913?

[Nerys]

Few years ago found online a fabulous oil painting from 1913 I revisit it each year. I am curious as to the colors used back then? I do not paint in oils but other media : watercolors, gouache, acrylic gouache and acrylics. Some of my acrylics are near empty so need to buy new. So I got thinking to buy acrylics in colors of 1913 art supplies sold at the time. Searched online but not found.
Does anyone know this?

Lady in a green jacket by August Macke, oil painting 1913, he died in ww1 1914.
The colors are beautiful.

 

[Donna T]

That is a beautiful painting and it's really sad that his career was cut short. From my quick research it looks like acrylic paint wasn't invented until the 1930's. Are you thinking of buying similar acrylic colors in order to paint in that style or do a copy of the painting? It shouldn't be too hard to match some of those colors.

 

[Enyaw]

… you are not looking for tube colours you are looking at mixing colour. With a warm and cold of the three primaries you should be able to find those colors.

 

[Nerys]

I did read up on acrylics history it was indeed invented later and big commercial selling use was in 1960s from one text. Think imo in 1950s some used it and sales rise of it.

Yes sadly he died in the second month of ww1 at age 27 left behind young widow and their little kids.

I never copy painting. I do not use reference pictures. I paint from imagination.My eyesight is not what it used to be to identify colors. And my museum visits is long past because health issues I can not travel go see it in person. I only leave my house for medical appointments. I do have some small jars pigments to mix paints but only landscape colors few types sienna, green earth.
Been looking at different brands acrylics but many paints are hue.
I also prefer small tubes as I only paint small size due to my arthritis.

 

[Enyaw]

Wow. That’s a lot to deal with. Wish you the best.

 

[Kyle Martin]

Earth colors were around since probably before the renaissance.
Mineral colors were new around the 1850s, they were the palette of French Impressionism (cadmium’s etc). These are mainly opaque.
Modern organic are the hansa, pthalo, and quinacridone colors that and they are semi transparent and from when organic chemistry developed around 1900.

This palette could have been made using many diffferent palette colors. But a warm and cool of all the primaries is a good starting point.

I use probably 20 colors on my palette, check out my paintings if you like www.kyle-martin.blogspot.com

Cool primaries- lemon yellow (cad lemon or hansa), quinacridone magenta, ultramarine blue
Warm primaries- cad yellow med (or hansa), vermillion or pyrrol red, pthalo blue green shade

Then add pthalo green, cad orange, and diox violet (secondaries) and you have a good starting point.
I’d add burnt sienna and raw sienna too
Check out gamblins palette site they list a bunch

 

[Nerys]

Earth colors were around since probably before the renaissance.
Mineral colors were new around the 1850s, they were the palette of French Impressionism (cadmium’s etc). These are mainly opaque.
Modern organic are the hansa, pthalo, and quinacridone colors that and they are semi transparent and from when organic chemistry developed around 1900.

This palette could have been made using many diffferent palette colors. But a warm and cool of all the primaries is a good starting point.

I use probably 20 colors on my palette, check out my paintings if you like www.kyle-martin.blogspot.com

Cool primaries- lemon yellow (cad lemon or hansa), quinacridone magenta, ultramarine blue
Warm primaries- cad yellow med (or hansa), vermillion or pyrrol red, pthalo blue green shade

Then add pthalo green, cad orange, and diox violet (secondaries) and you have a good starting point.
I’d add burnt sienna and raw sienna too
Check out gamblins palette site they list a bunch

Thanks very much for all the great information on paint colors. Yesterday I see the Gamblin list of colors sorted by warm and cool very useful.

 

[Marc]

 

[Marc]

Supposedly from 1910.* They must have added cadmium red shortly afterwards.

Personally, I wouldn't worry too much about what they used. Just pick the modern ones closest and adjust in mixing.

*Why isn't viridian in there?

 

[Nerys]

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Thank you.

 

[ADA]

Few years ago found online a fabulous oil painting from 1913 I revisit it each year. I am curious as to the colors used back then? I do not paint in oils but other media : watercolors, gouache, acrylic gouache and acrylics. Some of my acrylics are near empty so need to buy new. So I got thinking to buy acrylics in colors of 1913 art supplies sold at the time. Searched online but not found.
Does anyone know this?

Lady in a green jacket by August Macke, oil painting 1913, he died in ww1 1914.
The colors are beautiful.

I'm not certain if it'll work for you, but this online color analyzer may be helpful:

Color Problems | a color analysis generator

For the lay student of color-harmonies, disagreeable extremes, and unexpected combination, in the style of Emily Vanderpoel (1842-1939).

colorproblems.art

I think I've seen lists of the colors various artists of different eras have used. Perhaps selecting another more well known artist of the same period and then searching for their palette colors might be helpful.
Here is what's thought to be the palette colors of John Singer Sargent, who painted more or less around the same time:

Colors on John Singer Sargent's palette. On the right are modern colors one could use.


This is from the book, "The Technique of Portrait Painting" by Harrington Mann, J.B.


1. Blanc d' Argent 1. Permalba White


2. Pale Chrome 2. Cadmium Yellow Light


3. Transparent Gold Ochre 3. Transparent Gold Ochre


4. Chinese Vermillion 4. Cadmium Red Light


5. Venetian Red 5. Venetian Red


6. Chrome Orange 6. Cadmium Orange


7. Burnt Sienna 7. Burnt Sienna


8. Raw Umber 8. Raw Umber


9. Garance Fronce 9. Rose Madder or Perm Alizarin Crimson


10. Viridian 10-14. same as old name


11. Cobalt Blue


12. Fr Ultramarine Blue


13. Ivory Black


14. Cobalt Violet


The Conservation Dept of Tate Britain, London also discovered Mars Yellow,


Emerald Green, Sienna, Mars Brown, Red Lead, Cerulean. The dark backgrounds were often a mixture


of ivory black, mars brown, and lot of medium mixed from stand oil and turpentine.

Some of the more poisonous ones may have been replaced by now, but you can probably find acceptable substitutes. I hope this info is helpful and please post info on the palette you ultimately decide on.

 

[Nerys]

Thank you very much.