Zinc Yellow / Zinc Potassium Chromate, Lemon Yellow (Genuine Historical Pigment)
PY36
Alternate Names
Zinc Chrome Yellow
Zinc Chromate
Ultramarine Yellow
Citron Yellow
Pigment Description
Zinc chromate is dully yellow which is toxic and discontinued. This color has a note of green leaning in the yellow, but may change further due to lightfastness issues. It is rarely used in artists paint and is currently not used at all. We include it here as some vintage tubes may turn up. According to Colour Lex, "…it is not very lightfast and can change its colour to gray-green… research shows that it can also change its colour to dirty brown…"
Vintage Zinc Yellow by Winsor and Newton
This color is highly toxic and seems to contain an extremely dangerous compound called hexavalent chromium. The Artist's Guide to Health and Safety has information about the hazards of pigments containing Barium and also pigments containing Chrome. It may also have some chemical variations (like zinc potassium chromate hydrate, or Co-precipitated calcium and zinc chromates, according to Artiscreation).
Vintage Zinc Yellow, PY36
Field calls this color Citron Yellow in distinction from Lemon Yellow, which can be confusing. When he wrote in the 19th century he called a chromate of zinc PY36 Citron Yellow, which he described as a "bright, pale, lemon-like yellow," but used the name Lemon Yellow for Barium Chromate PY32.
Tint of Zinc Yellow, Vintage Winsor and Newton, with Titanium White
Resources
PY36 pigment data from David G. Myers, The Color of Art Pigment Database, Artiscreation.com
Bomford, David, et. al,. Impressionism. London: The National Gallery, in association with Yale University Press, 1990. Internet Archive, Web. Accessed June 2025. https://archive.org/details/impressionism0000unse_z3w3
Church, A. H. The Chemistry of Paints and Painting. London : Seeley Service, 1915. Internet Archive, Web. Accessed June 2025. https://archive.org/details/chemistryofpaint00churuoft
Field, George. Field's Chromatography : a treatise on colours and pigments for the use of artists. London : Winsor and Newton, 1885. Internet Archive, Web. Accessed June 2025. https://archive.org/details/Fieldquotschrom00Fiel
Gettens, Rutherford J.. Painting materials : a short encyclopaedia. New York : Dover Publications, 1966. Internet Archive, Web. Accessed June 2025. https://archive.org/details/paintingmaterial0000gett
Feller, Robert L, ed.. Artists' pigments : a handbook of their history and characteristics. Washington, DC : National Gallery of Art, 1986. Internet Archive, Web. Accessed June 2025. https://archive.org/details/artistspigmentsh0000unse
Koleske, J. V. Paint and coating testing manual : fourteenth edition of the Gardner-Sward handbook. Philadelphia, PA : ASTM, 1995. Internet Archive, Web. Accessed June 2025. https://archive.org/details/paintcoatingtest0000unse
Information about PY36 from Bruce MacEvoy, Handprint Guide to Watercolors, General information about this class of pigments from Handprint
Lipscher, Juraj (Accessed June 2025). Zinc Yellow https://colourlex.com/project/zinc-yellow/. ColourLex.
Mayer, Ralph. The Artist's Handbook of Materials and Techniques, 5th ed. New York, NY, Penguin Group, 1991. https://amzn.to/44OzBN9
CAMEO Materials Database: Conservation & Art Materials Encyclopedia Online, Museum of Fine Arts Boston. (Accessed June 2025). Zinc Yellow https://cameo.mfa.org/wiki/Zinc_yellow, . Museum of Fine Arts Boston.
Stats
Lightfastness
Poor, Varies
Though the lightfastness may be listed as higher, this color does degrade. See Colour Lex for details on long-term degradation. The chromate of zinc described by Field was also said to loose its color with exposure to light, "even when stored in a book.\” Some indoor lightfastness tests show good results, so it may vary.
Transparency
Semi-Transparent, Transparent
Toxicity
Extremely Toxic, Chromium VI, Zinc
This pigment is extremely toxic and may contain hexavalent chromium, which is itself extremely toxic. Artiscreation gives this a "B", meaning "Hazard if carelessly handled, ingested in large amounts or over long periods of time; Do not ingest; Avoid dust & spray." The Artist's Guide to Health and Safety has information about the hazards of pigments containing Barium and also pigments containing Chrome, specifically Chromium VI. We urge others to consult multiple qualified third party experts.
Tinting
Low
Dry Time
Fast
Oil Content
Moderately low
Low by volume. Mayer assigns this to the low category for oil volume with a 72, which is on the upper end of the low cateogry.
DISCLAIMER: Please note that we are not experts in health and safety and we are not toxicologists, please consult the proper experts. We are not liable for any issues that may arise from the use of our website or its contents. The information contained in this site is provided without warranty or guarantee of any kind. We do not necessarily endorse any other website that are linked from our site. For any important pigment specs, please reference the manufacturer details. If you discover errors or omissions, please reach out through our contact form. Thank you.
