verdigris

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Verdigris

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.

Verdigris reacts with binding media and forms transparent glazes (copper resinates).

Manufacturer / product code: Kremer / 44450
Chemical description: basic copper-(II)-acetate-1-hydrate. Kremer PDF
Color: green
Color Index: PG20
More info: Pigments Through The Ages Colourlex

Verdigris is one of the oldest synthetic pigments in the history of art, known for its vivid blue-green hue and distinctive translucent quality. Its name derives from the Old French vert-de-Grèce (“green of Greece”), reflecting its geographical association. Produced by exposing copper plates to acetic acid vapors—traditionally wine or vinegar—the pigment is essentially a family of copper acetates. Recipes for its manufacture appear as early as antiquity, including in Pliny the Elder’s Naturalis Historia, and the process remained largely unchanged well into the early modern era.

Verdigris was widely used throughout the Middle Ages, both in manuscripts and panel painting. Illuminators prized it for its brilliance and its ability to create delicate, luminous greens in foliage, drapery, and ornamental details. In panel and fresco painting, artists used verdigris to achieve intense greens that were difficult to obtain from mineral-based pigments such as malachite or green earth. During the Renaissance, its popularity persisted, appearing in the works of masters including Giotto and later Venetian painters, who valued its transparency for glazing techniques.

However, verdigris has always presented challenges. It is chemically unstable, prone to darkening, browning, or even completely losing its color when exposed to humidity, sulfur compounds, or certain binders. Despite these limitations, its striking chromatic intensity ensured its continued use until more stable synthetic greens became available in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Pigments Checker (TP-MSI calibration card included)

Pure pigments (no binder, just powder)

DOWNLOAD Free Raman Database

DOWNLOAD paper: “Pigments Checker version 3.0, a handy set for conservation scientists: A free online Raman spectra database”

Verdigris 44450 Raman Spectroscopy Pigments Checker

XRF spectroscopy

XRF Spectroscopy Pigments-Checker Database (88908 downloads )

DOWNLOAD previous database from Pigments Checker V.3 DOWNLOAD paper: R. Larsen, N. Coluzzi, A. Cosentino “Free XRF Spectroscopy database of Pigments Checker” Intl Journal of Conservation Science.