Description
Terra Rosa Val d'Orcia is a red earth from the Mount Amiata region of Tuscany - a heritage pigment no longer produced - a genuine rarity.
This area was pretty much at the heart of the Italian Renaissance and the pigment will be very close in nature to the pigments that those great Italian painters used, Caravaggio, Titian, etc (one of his works is the image above - those warm browns on the bottom right are indicative of the hue). I could fill this page with more examples, but onto the paint itself!
In masstone it is a dark red brown and it feels gritty under the palette knife, it is very earthy, don't expect the heat of a burnt sienna or the richness of an indian red with this paint.
It feels like crushed rock in oil, which it is, like it has just walked out of a renaissance studio in the 1500's
An image of the red soil in the area is above.
Given the larger pigment particle size the tint power is low, it produces a range of almost neutral hues with a slight violet edge when white is added.
I see this having most potential in glazing, building heat in shadows or adding depth to dark, transparent passages.
Unusual and authentic.
Technical Overview
Pigment - PBr7
Vehicle - Linseed Oil
Opacity - Semi-Transparent
Tint Power - Medium
Munsell - Hue 2.5 YR - Value 3 - Chroma 5
Wallace Seymour Paints
