PROSPECTUS:_IN 1887, GUSTAVE SENNELIER, A DEVOTED CHEMIST, ESTABLISHED HIMSELF AS A PURVEYOR OF FINE-ARTISTS’ PAINTS AT 3 QUAI VOLTAIRE FACING THE LOUVRE AND STEPS AWAY FROM L’ECOLE DES BEAUX-ARTS.
HAVING THOROUGHLY RESEARCHED THE HISTORY AND USAGE OF PIGMENTS, HE DEVELOPED A DISTINCTIVE PROCESS FOR MANUFACTURING OIL COLOURS, FORMULATING PRECISE METHODS FOR MIXING TONES AND FOR CONTROLLING THEIR OPACITY AND TRANSPARENCY.
HIS WORK WAS SO METICULOUS AND HIS EYE FOR COLOUR SO ACCURATE THAT ARTISTS SOON BEGAN TO REGARD THE SENNELIER PALETTE AS THE ULTIMATE STANDARD OF QUALITY.
Sennelier gathers only the finest natural and inorganic pigments from around the world for their Artist’s Oil Colour. The pure pigments are ground very slowly with extreme care to an extra-fine consistency.
They are then combined at maximum concentration with archival safflower oil (non-yellowing) to yield the highest possible tinting strength and rich satin finish.
These paints have a uniquely dense but firm and buttery texture, a consistency originally developed for the expressive style of the impressionist painters who frequented the Sennelier store in the 19th century.
Sennelier’s meticulous work and collaboration with Cezanne and other masters gave rise to a palette of colours that quickly became the standard of quality.
Favoured by some of the worlds greatest artists (Monet, Cezanne, Gauguin, Matisse, Picasso, Bonnard, Modigliani, Chagall, Ernst, Hockney),
- SELECTION_144 colours_it you are counting that is one less than Holbein and 20 less than Old Holland.
- PROPRIETARY COLORS_Senneliers’ chemistry is unique many of their colours differ from colors of the same name in other brands. We attribute part of this to unique pigment recipes their chemist’s developed to match many to their historic hues and part of it to the Safflower Oil binder which makes most colors noticeably more vivid. Their array of blues is exceptional.
- PIGMENT LOAD_High
- CONSISTENCY AND TEXTURE_As per their perspectus_firm, with a slight density, and brushable right out of the tube. Not as creamy as Rembrandt or as stiff as Old Holland.
- BINDERS_Primarily Safflower.
- ADDITIVES_They makes very little mention of ingredients beyond binders but like all professional-grade paint manufacturers, we tested they only use modifiers required to make a pigment more usable.
- FINISH OR SHEEN_The French Satin Sheen is unique to Sennelier.
- PACKAGING_Some of the information on the label is confusing and small.
- TOXICITY_Large group of Cadmiums, no lead whites because of legal restrictions in the country of origin.
- TRANSLUCENCY_Excellent.
- OPACITY/COVERAGE_Excellent
- MIXABILITY/TINTING STRENGTH_Outstanding because of small pigment size, i.e., Extra-Fine and Safflower oil binder.
- INTENSITY_ Excellent
- LIGHTFASTNESS_Good
- DRYING TIME_ Faster than expected for Safflower Oil, and Varies depending on the pigment.
- AVAILABILITY_ Fair Presence at Art Supply Retailers.
SYNOPSIS:_Sennelier is almost synonymous with Impressionism which makes their story more romantic than most. Archival Safflower oil binder_it is true that Safflower is Archival rather is it as Archival as Linseed is subject to debate. The trade-off is the non-yellowing attributes of Safflower Oil versus the longer archival track record of Linseed_Of course, if the painting is hanging in a major museum with a restoration department it is a moot point_Rich Satin Finish_This is another one of the unique attributes of this brand_if you are not fond of a gloss finish this may be a good alternative_uniquely dense but firm and buttery texture_we fine this very confusing_it is firm but not stiff and brushable right out of the tube. Famous painters frequented to store_no doubt this is true because of the location_The painters mentioned probably used other brands as well but it is well documented that they used some Sennelier products. We have used Sennelier on the same palette with Rembrandt, Blockx, and Michael Harding with great success_Another unique attribute of Sennelier is that many of the colors are available as oil sticks____Sorry Old Holland and Blockx_Sennelier is the oldest continuously family-run and operated paint manufacturer in Europe_Sennelier is a top-tier professional-grade artist oil paint.