Cadmium red

A brilliant color, dense, opaque and permanent, made from cadmium sulfide and cadmium selenide. Cadmium is a chemical element of soft, metal, found with zinc ores and said to be cancer causing. It is used primarily in batteries and pigments, especially in plastic products. For pigments, the shades are light red, which replaced the less reliable vermilion, and deep red or maroon, which first appeared in Germany where it was introduced in 1907 by de Haen. By 1919, American artists were using Cadmium Red. It is available in a pure grade or with cadmium-barium, which has cadmium sulfate as part of the pigment and which is preferred by most artists. In 1942, the term 'cadmium-barium' was adopted by the Paint Standard, the entity which establishes environmental criteria for paint. Sources: Ralph Mayer, "A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques"; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadmium