Rose Madder

Rose Madder.

Rose madder (madder lake, French garance, German Krapprot), s. Alizarin, the red pigment obtained from the root of dyer’s madder (Rubia tinctorum), which has been used for thousands of years to dye red fabric for uniforms and insignia of the ancient Roman, as well as French, British, Prussian, and other armies. The conspicuous madder-red trousers and kepis of the French army were not replaced until 1915 by clothing made of horizon-blue fabric, see »bleu horizon«, with better camouflage properties. Depending on the quality of the plant roots, the dyeing technique chosen, and the respective outside temperature, fabric dyed with vegetable madder could vary from madder pink to orange-red and brick-red to purple. Officers, who procured and paid for their own uniforms, typically chose better quality fabric dyed with the more expensive carmine made from cochineal, which is why their uniforms often differed from those of the rank and file. After 1870, when William Perkin improved the production process of synthetic alizarin discovered by Graebe and Liebermann, fabric for red uniforms could be dyed cheaply and in consistent quality.

Rose Madder Artist Colours

  • Madder light, Schmincke Norma 11.316
  • Madder Red, Schmincke Norma 11.318
  • Alizarin Crimson Hue (PR 179, Perylene), Schmincke Norma 11.342
  • Madder brilliant, Schmincke PRIMAcryl 13.319
  • Alizarin Crimson Hue, Schmincke PRIMAcryl 13.324
  • Madder Brown, Schmincke PRIMAcryl 13.681
  • Permanent Madder Lake, Talens EXPERT 336
  • Permanent Madder Lake, Talens VAN GOGH 336
  • Rose Madder, REEVES 280
  • Madder Lake, LukasCryl STUDIO 4666
  • Madder Lake deep, Plaka 28

Source: Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon, 6. Auflage 1905–1909

Red