Timeline of Yellows

Yellow has shaped the history of art for thousands of years. From prehistoric Yellow Ochre and the brilliance of Naples Yellow in ancient civilizations to Cadmium Yellow and today's highly stable synthetic pigments, each yellow tells a story of scientific innovation, artistic practice, and cultural heritage.

Understanding pigments is far more than recognizing a color. Their chemical composition, permanence, transparency, opacity, and historical availability provide valuable clues for art historians, conservators, conservation scientists, provenance researchers, and collectors. Pigment identification can help establish chronology, reveal later restorations, identify anachronisms, and contribute to authentication studies.

This timeline presents the evolution of the most significant yellow pigments used by artists, illustrating how advances in chemistry transformed artists' palettes over the centuries.