Of the many colors that scenic artists used were pigments that derived from Madder Root. In 1916, Frank Atkinson listed the following Madders in his color palette for his “Scene Painting and Bulletin Art.”
“Madder Lake: ranges from pink to the deepest rose color, under the names of pink madder, rose madder, madder lake and madder carmine. They are the only permanent transparent reds know. Rose madder is mostly used and is very rich and transparent.
Rose Madder: Most popular of the madder group, permanent; dries slowly
Brown Madder: One of the madder family; affords the richest shadows and the most delicate pink tints. With ultramarine or cobalt and a white, a series of fine warm or cold grays will result; with blues and bright yellows it gives fine autumnal russet greens.
Scarlet madder: deep and rich; permanent; dries slow
Pink Madder: excellent; permanent; dries slowly
Madder Carmine: the carmine par excellence; very rich and permanent; slow drier
Crimson Madder: another of the madder group; bright; permanent; dries slow”
I decided to do a little research on the variations as I was curious. Here is a basic explanation to explain the production and division of reds. Robert Chencier wrote a book on the color, titled “Madder Red, A history of luxury and trade.” His madder variation tied into the creation and production of Turkey Red.
Madder red, extracted from the root of the madder plant (Rubia tinctorum), grows in many countries around the world. It was commonly incorporated into most of the maroon and ruby reds. To produce the pigment, the madder plant was uprooted and left to dry in the fields in small piles and then eventually dried in warm airdrying houses. The roots were then initially crushed and separated from the bark by sifting. Finally the roots were crushed with stones and sifted into a fine powder. Some madder could not be used immediately and was left to ferment in barrels for a few years (eg. Alsatian or Dutch Madder). But it was this beginning that became the start for a variety of red pigments.
Cloth dyed with madder root dye was found in the tomb of the Pharoah Tutankhamun. Egyptian tomb painting (from the Graeco-Roman period) often depicts the color diluted with gypsum, producing a pink color. Oriental dyeing process of this root became the origin for “Turkey Red,” a color avidly sought after by Europeans. One story places the introduction of Madder into Italy during the time of the Crusaders in the thirteenth century. The French finally deciphered this foreign process about 1760 and were then able to dye wool, silk and cotton bright red. The quest for Turkey Red went hand in hand with an avalanche of scientific research, which not only improved the yield of dyestuff from the roots but led to its chemical synthesis and the collapse of the world-wide madder industry.
Natural rose madder supplied half the world with red, until 1868, when its alizarin component became the first natural dye to be synthetically duplicated. Many of the nascent dye companies grew into chemical giants of our time.
Advances in the understanding of chemistry, such as chemical structures, chemical formulas, and elemental formulas, aided these scientists in discovering that alizarin had ananthracene base. Anthracene is a component of coal tar and used in the production of the red dye alizarin and other reds. It is colorless, but exhibits a blue fluorescence under the ultraviolet radiation (400-500 peak). Madder lake contains two red dyes: alizarin and purprin. As a paint, it has been described as fugitive and transparent.
On a final note today, a lake pigment is a pigment manufactured by precipitating (creating a solid from a solution) a dye with an inert binder or mordant, usually a metallic salt. Unlike vermillion or ultramarine and other pigments made from ground minerals, lake pigments are organic. Manufacturers and suppliers to artists and industry frequently omit the lake designation in the name. Many lake pigments are fugitive because the dyes involved are unstable when exposed to light. Red lakes were often used as translucent glazes to portray the colors of rich fabrics and draperies, especially in Renaissance and Baroque paintings.
Here is an example of the madder root plucked from the ground
The brilliant ruby color derived from madder root.
Madder roots and one possible outcome. This reminds me of the many variations when grinding lapis lazuli. Madder root extract varies from a light pink to a deep red depending on the final processing of the root.
A contemporary version of brown madder to depict the richness of the hue for visual reference.
