Lead White: A Timeless Art Pigment - Cultural Heritage Science Open Source

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Lead white

This page presents the Spectroscopic analysis of this pigment.
The pigment has been examined using XRF spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, FTIR spectroscopy, and Reflectance Spectroscopy. These complementary techniques provide valuable insights into the pigment’s composition and structure.
This page aims to show which analytical methods are most effective for identifying this pigment in artworks and historical materials. By comparing results across different techniques, it serves as a practical reference for Heritage Science, Conservation, and Pigment Analysis.

It was in use since antiquity and it was the only white used in European easel paintings until the 19th century

Manufacturer / product code: Kremer / 46000
Chemical description: basic lead carbonate
Color: white
Color Index: PW1
More info: Pigments Through The Ages

Lead white is one of the oldest and most influential pigments in the history of art, used for over two millennia across cultures and techniques. Known since antiquity, it was produced through the “stack process,” in which metallic lead was exposed to vinegar and warmth, gradually transforming into basic lead carbonate. This method, already described by Pliny the Elder, remained essentially unchanged until the industrial era. Lead white became indispensable to Greek and Roman painters, who valued its opacity and bright, warm tone. It continued to dominate throughout the Middle Ages, especially in manuscript illumination and tempera painting.

During the Renaissance, lead white reached its height of importance. Masters like Titian, Rembrandt, and Vermeer relied on it not only for highlights but also for creating subtle flesh tones and building underlying layers thanks to its excellent drying properties in oil. Its role extended into the Baroque and Neoclassical periods, where it remained the primary white pigment for artists across Europe.

Only in the 19th and early 20th centuries did lead white begin to decline, replaced gradually by zinc white, lithopone, and later titanium white due to health concerns and tightening regulations.