Cadmium yellow

DEFINITION

Made from cadmium sulfide, a metal often found with zinc ores and said to be cancer causing. It is frequently used in batteries and pigments. Cadmium Yellow was discovered in 1817 in Germany by Friedrich Strohmeyer. Because of scarcity of the metal, it was several years before it was used by artists. By 1829, German artists were using the color, and several years later it appeared in France. It was made in England by the mid-19th Century, and was in New York by the early 1840s. The color of Cadmium Yellow is brilliant, dense, opaque and permanent. Shades range from pale and light or lemon to medium or deep golden to orange. Cadmium Yellow can be obtained in a pure grade or with barium sulfate; the latter being preferred by most artists because it is just as permanent but not as strong in color. 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"; //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadmium