The darkest of the major earth pigments, Burnt Umber has become one of the most popular earth colours due to its usefulness in creating shadows. Burnt Umber is the term used to describe Raw Umber after it has been heated (calcined). Heating Raw Umber results in a deep, chocolate brown pigment with a warm orange undertone.

Artist Notes: Use Burnt Umber to darken colours such as Mayan Royal Blue and Mayan Indigo Blue. Incredibly useful for creating shadows, the word umber comes from the Latin word ombra meaning shadow.

Paint Maker’s Notes: The use of earth pigments such as umbers and siennas grew during the Renaissance and became extremely popular among artists. Dutch landscape artists used the colour extensively in their works and by the 18th century the pigment could be found on the majority of artist palettes across Europe.

Transparency: Semi-Transparent

Staining: Semi-Staining

Granularity: Semi-Granular

Pigment Number: PBr 7

Pigment Type: Synthetic Inorganic

Pigment Composition: Calcined natural iron oxide containing Manganese

Lightfastness: I - Excellent

Toxicity: Non toxic with appropriate use