Deadly chemical cousins: oranges and yellows

From Stories in Colour by The National Gallery

June 2, 2026 · 42 min · Season 2 · Episode 3

About this episode

Evie Hatch joins Beks to discuss the dangerous history of the orange and yellow pigments orpiment and realgar, both containing arsenic.

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. ------- 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’. ------- 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 ------- 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’…

People in this episode

Host: Beks

Guest: Evie Hatch

Topics covered

pigments
art history
arsenic
volcanic pigments
artist risks

Keywords

orpiment
realgar
arsenic
pigments
art history
volcanoes
alchemical practices

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The National Gallery

Books & works: The Holy Family with a Shepherd, Bacchus and Ariadne, Christ washing the Feet of the Disciples