Cobalt Green: The Pigment Overlooked by the Impressionists
Cobalt Green was first introduced as an artist pigment at the beginning of the 19th century. However, it was not very popular among artists at the time, and it often continues to be overlooked in favour of brighter and less expensive green pigments. This article examines the three Cobalt Green pigments in use today and explores the unique characteristics they bring to modern artists’ palettes. Cobalt Green: The Pigment Overlooked by the Impressionists The History of Cobalt Green The first Cobalt Green pigment, a compound of zinc and cobalt oxides, was formulated in 1780 by Swedish chemist Sven Rinman. However, zinc oxide was being manufactured on a small scale at the time, so the pigment wasn’t introduced in commercial artists’ paints until the 1830s. As far as chemical stability was concerned, Cobalt Green ticked every box: It was extremely lightfast and permanent and suitable for both oil and water-based binding mediums. These characteristics were extremely valuable at a time when new pigments were being developed and introduced very quickly, many of them chemically unreliable. However, Cobalt Green didn’t capture the imagination of many artists. It was very expensive, gritty, dull, lacking in tinting power, and …
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