This is the first volume in the series�Artists' Pigments: A Handbook of their History and Characteristics�published by National Gallery of Art in association with Archetype Publications Ltd.�

Each volume concentrates on different pigments (see the contents for each volume). The series is an Encyclopedic Reference intended for:

-The practicing artist to learn a pigment�s color, hiding power, light-fastness, toxicity, compatibility;

-The art historian to know how an artist worked, what pigments were used, whether they were pure or mixed, opaque or transparent, layered or not;

-The conservator to devise techniques necessary for the care and conservation of works of art, to determine what is original, to repair damages, to compensate for missing portions of a painted surface;

-The curator and the connoisseur to know the history of manufacture and use of pigments, to authenticate and assign probable dates to works of art;

-The conservation scientist to learn identification methods used, including optical microscopy, microchemical tests, X-ray diffraction, infrared and reflectance spectrophotometry, and electron microscopy.