Brown ocher

Description

A natural earth brown pigment ranging in color from a dark yellow to a deep reddish brown. Brown ocher contains silica, clay, and a mixture of hydroxide iron oxides along with small amounts of dioxide manganese dioxide. It is more commonly called umber or sienna, depending on its color.

Synonyms and Related Terms

umber; sienna; brown ochre (Br.); ocra marrone (It.)

Authority

• Ralph Mayer, Ralph Mayer, A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques, Harper and Row Publishers, New York, 1969 (also 1945 printing)

• R.D. Harley, R.D. Harley, Artists' Pigments c. 1600-1835, Butterworth Scientific, London, 1982

• Art and Architecture Thesaurus Online, http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/aat/, J. Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles, 2000

• The Dictionary of Art, Grove's Dictionaries Inc., New York, 1996 Comment: "Pigments"