PR179

An excellent burnt red crimson, useful for botanicals as well as the highest chroma deep reds in oil paint. We fell in love with this pigment years ago when working on a commission that involved a lot of realistic work as well as botanicals. Valuable as a transparent red, in thicker glazes it can appear similar to Anthraquinone (PR177), but in thinner glazes a different nature is revealed. An excellent pigment to try for the substitution of Alizarin Crimson, but this depends on the brand.

Some versions feel like a cross between Alizarin Crimson and Quinacridone Violet (truly maroon) with a tiny bit of desaturation to it, while others can look like more of a deep red. Some versions look like a slightly deeper kind of cadmium red deep, but with semi-opacity. Perylene Maroon is helpful color where deep, chromatic reds and violets are needed.

PR179 is reported to have excellent lightfastness, but Perylenes in general may struggle a little in tints. This one seems to come through better than most. Refer to the Blue Wool Scales on Artiscreation for specifics. Schmincke lists their version in watercolor as four out of five stars for lightfastness, meaning it has very high lightfastness (five stars is for the incredibly high lightfastness associated with earth tones). In oil, some versions of PR179 are very slow drying, but for a color in this shade range it feels worth it. In oils, Perylene Maroon tends to be transparent, but Schmincke's version in watercolor is semi-opaque.

This color has a structure that is similar to the anthraquinones (possible carcinogens) so please consult Monona Rossol's work for more information.

Perylene Maroon gestures to the depth of Alizarin Crimson but has a slightly different color. Of course, nothing perfectly emulates Alizarin. However, Perylene Maroon is one of our preferred recommendations for pigments to try.