White pigments

Double figure effigy
MFA# 1993.752

Description

White is a color that is defined as the total reflection of all frequencies of visible light. It occurs visually when all three color receptor cones in the eye are exposed to equal amounts of light. The color white is represented by the following color coordinates:

• Hex triplet: #FFFFFF
• RGB: (255, 255, 255)
• HSV: (-°, 0%, 100%)

Examples of opaque white pigments:

• oxides (Zinc oxide, Titanium dioxide, Antimony trioxide)
• carbonates (Lead white)

Examples of transparent or translucent white pigments:

• hydroxides (Alum)
• carbonates (Chalk, Barium carbonate)
• sulfates (Gypsum, Anhydrite, Baryte, Lead sulfate)
• silicates (Pumice, Talc, Clay, Silica)

Synonyms and Related Terms

hvid (Dan.); Weiss (Deut.); Weiß (Deut.); blanco (Esp.); blanc (Fr.); bianco (It.); albus (Lat.); wit (Ned.); branco (Port.); vit (Sven.)

Comparisons

Characteristics of Common White Pigments

Resources and Citations

• R. J. Gettens, G.L. Stout, Painting Materials, A Short Encyclopaedia, Dover Publications, New York, 1966

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