Description
Titanium white artist color with high pigment content, pure linseed oil and without solvents. The consistency is like butter at room temperature, and for many artists the paint can be used directly from the tube without the addition of paint.
Titanium white (TiO2) Titanium dioxide, is a wonderfully opaque white, and the clearest and most brilliant of them all. The name comes from Titan = older brother to Kronos and ancestor of the Titans, from Greek tito = day, sun. Here, the naming has clearly thought of the right-reflecting property of the pigment, ie that it reflects a lot of white sunlight back. Titanium white was invented in 1916 and was first mass-produced in the United States and Norway from 1921 onwards.
The colour is to be found in pretty much every artist’s painting palette today. If the great masters of painting at the time, like Rembrandt, had it available in their time, they would all clearly use it as well. If you are a landscape painter and you paint clouds, you are especially happy that it exists. This is because other historical whites did not completely cover so well without extra work, which caused some artists to leave areas with gesso primer untouched in the underpainting, where clouds were about to form in the motif later.
To understand the groundbreaking of the color, it is worth comparing Titanium with two other popular whites. The two whites are zinc and lead, respectively. Both are more transparent and do not reflect quite as much white light.
Zinc is towards the blue-gray and excellent to work with. But zinc white creates problems worldwide that need to be remedied by desperate art conservators. Most recently, we have had peeling of P.S Krøyer’s Harmoni in blue, where the painting, after many years of fine integrity, suddenly begins to crumble. Therefore, we strongly advise you to consider dropping the use of zinc white, and using only titanium white. In fact, we do not understand why zinc white is still sold.
Lead white is a warmer and more natural white. Unlike zinc, lead increases the durability of the painting. Unfortunately, heavy metal lead is toxic, making titanium white a far healthier choice. So healthy that titanium dioxide has been used in toothpaste. In 1992, it became illegal to use lead in paint throughout Europe. It prompted figurative artist Lucian Freud to ask his assistant to stock up on all the lead-containing Cremnitz whites that were about to go out of business. Producer Michael Harding delivered a half garage full in Notting Hill. That said, Freud also would not do without titanium white after he started using it at some point. Lead white has been used extensively to blend skin tones convincingly. As an untrained artist, titanium white tends to make skin tones look like those of plastic dolls rather than humans. But it is possible to get a handle on practice, and you can advantageously make titanium white semi-transparent with e.g. oleogel. If you really want lead white, you can get it sneaked in from other continents. You can also buy the color in Europe from individual wholesalers if you take the written oath that you are an image conservator and know the possible consequences for health.
If a counterfeit painting is suspected, the very first and cheapest test in the laboratory is to detect the extent to which titanium white appears in the painting. Titan white was first invented in 1916, so if the painting’s province says the picture is before that year, then there is either something wrong with the province or the painting is a forgery. This was shared by the German Wolfgang Beltracchi in 2011, who had carefully forged a three-digit million amount in euros. He had used zinc white from a Dutch supplier, which against his own expectations contained residues of titanium white.
If a counterfeit painting is suspected, the very first and cheapest test in the laboratory is to detect the extent to which titanium white appears in the painting. Titan white was first invented in 1916, so if the painting’s province says the picture is before that year, then there is either something wrong with the province or the painting is a forgery. This was shared by the German Wolfgang Beltracchi in 2011, who had carefully forged a three-digit million amount in euros. He had used zinc white from a Dutch supplier, which against his own expectations contained residues of titanium white.
Degree of lightfastness
Opaque
Titanium white is not toxic / toxic, but must not be eaten or otherwise ingested. The product has not been allergy-tested, but if you only use it for its intended purpose – to paint with a brush and palette knife – there is no immediate health risk.
This colour is known internationally as: Titanium White | Titaniumhvid | Blanc de Titane | Bianco di Titanio | Titanweiß
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