Deadly chemical cousins: oranges and yellows

What makes two volcano-born pigments so dangerous? Hint: they weren’t scorching hot when artists used them. Orpiment and realgar both contain arsenic, a foe we’ve previously faced on ‘Stories in Colour’.

From volcanoes to ancient alchemical practices, art historian Evie Hatch joins Beks to uncover the origins and histories of these orange and yellow pigments. Together, they discuss how orpiment and realgar have been used, where their names come from and the risks artists faced painting with them.

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Evie Hatch is an art historian specialising in the history and characteristics of artist pigments. She is the writer and presenter of Jackson's Art Pigment Stories series and author of the 2025 book ‘Pigment Stories: The History of Artists' Colour’.

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Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXdv6XZoJBE

You can email us with any questions via podcast@nationalgallery.org.uk

Find out more about the podcast on our website: www.nationalgallery.org.uk/podcast

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Paintings mentioned:

Titian, ‘The Holy Family with a Shepherd’, About 1510 https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/titian-the-holy-family-with-a-shepherd

Titian, ‘Bacchus and Ariadne’, 1520-3 https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/titian-bacchus-and-ariadne