09/03/2026
❤️ The History of Colour: Cadmium Red
Bold, brilliant, and unmistakably intense—Cadmium Red helped bring a new kind of red to the artist’s palette.
Unlike many of the ancient pigments we’ve explored in this series, Cadmium Red is a relatively modern colour. Cadmium itself was discovered in the early 19th century, and cadmium-based pigments eventually gave artists access to exceptionally vivid yellows, oranges, and reds. By the early 20th century, Cadmium Red had become an important addition to the artist’s palette.
Its rich colour, strong opacity, excellent permanence, and powerful tinting strength made it especially valuable to painters looking for a dependable, saturated red. From fiery orange-reds to deeper crimson shades, the cadmium family offered artists an impressive range of warm, vibrant colour.
🎨 Did you know? Cadmium Red gets its colour primarily from cadmium sulfide combined with selenium—the amount and composition can be adjusted to create different shades ranging from bright scarlet-red to deeper reds.
Because cadmium compounds require careful handling, many manufacturers today also offer Cadmium Red Hue alternatives made without cadmium, recreating a similar colour using other pigments.
From the chemistry laboratory to the artist’s studio, Cadmium Red changed what a brilliant, permanent red could be.
Every colour has a story.
✨ Which historic colour should we explore next?
