Mix Colors Like Cennino Cennini
Table of Contents
Cennino Cennini was a late‑medieval craftsman best known for “Il Libro dell’Arte,” a practical handbook on panel painting. His approach to color relies on disciplined drawing, egg‑tempera body color, and the verdaccio understructure that keeps flesh calm and natural. In this guide, you’ll use those principles with period‑correct materials and beginner‑clear recipes, plus safe modern substitutes where helpful.
In this guide you’ll mix colors the way Cennino Cennini described—using egg tempera on a gessoed wood panel. We discuss the historical materials, but the recipe formulas below use modern, safe pigments for accessibility (e.g., Titanium/Zinc White PW6/PW4, Bismuth Yellow PY184, Ultramarine Blue PB29). Each recipe is written in plain language with “parts” (for example, 2 parts Yellow Ochre + 1 part Titanium/Zinc White), and we explain any terms as we go. At the end of the materials section you’ll find optional modern equivalents if you need alternatives.
What Defines Cennini's Color and Light
- Clear value separation with restrained chroma and earth-biased palette.
- Verdaccio influence in flesh (green-biased understructure yielding calm halftones). For a comprehensive modern approach to achieving these flesh tone principles, see our tutorial on mixing oil colors for realistic skin tones.
- Panel clarity: crisp drawing, controlled edges, matte-to-satin surface.
- Sky/blue garments from azurite/ultramarine; greens from green earth and mixes.
- Gold/neutral grounds kept low-chroma so focal reds and lights read strongly.
Historically Attested Materials → Optional Modern Equivalents
| Historical material | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Lead White | Lights, body in highlights | Period binder: egg yolk (tempera) or glair; keep lights structured |
| Lead-Tin Yellow (Type I/II) | Warm lights, gold notes | Strong tinting; sparing in lights |
| Yellow Ochre | Earth yellow | Controls midtones, especially flesh |
| Raw/ Burnt Sienna | Warm earth yellow/red-brown | Useful for halftones and warm veils |
| Red Ochre / Venetian Red | Opaque red earth | Drapery and flesh accents |
| Vermilion/Cinnabar | Warm accent red | Use sparingly due to high chroma |
| Azurite / Ultramarine (natural) | Deep/cool blue | Garments and shadows; expensive pigments used judiciously |
| Green Earth (Terre Verte) | Cool halftones | Verdaccio understructure for flesh |
| Verdigris | Transparent green glaze | For veils; stability considerations noted in period sources |
| Bone/Ivory Black | Deep shadows | Low chroma; semi-transparent |
Optional modern equivalents (for safety/practicality; not primary recipes):
| Modern substitute | Replaces | Pigment code(s) | Brand examples | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Titanium/Zinc White | Lead White | PW6/PW4 | W&N, Gamblin | Cooler lights; adjust warmth with ochres |
| Bismuth Vanadate (Naples/Lead-Tin hue) | Lead-Tin Yellow | PY184 | MH, W&N | Strong tinting; use sparingly |
| Ultramarine Blue (modern) | Natural ultramarine/azurite | PB29 | Any | Transparent bias for shadows |
| Viridian | Verdigris | PG18 | W&N, Rembrandt | Safer green glaze |
Note on safety and access: If your local store doesn’t stock historical pigments or you avoid lead‑based paints, use the optional substitutes above. They won’t be a perfect 1:1 match, but they are safe, stable, and easy to buy.
Mediums, Grounds, and Surfaces
- Support: rigid wood panel, gesso ground (animal-glue gesso), optionally toned with thin earth wash (ochre/sienna).
- Binder (period-correct): egg yolk tempera (or glair) for body color; oil use is limited/contested for this period—if used, note as later retouch or specific passages.
- Surface sheen: matte to satin native to tempera; burnishing and thin oiling-out only if historically attested.
Value Design and Lighting Setup
- Simple, directional window light; keep background values in V2–V3 and low chroma.
- Reserve highest value/chroma for small accents (lights, reds).
- Use soft edges in halftones; crisp in drawing breaks and speculars.
Recipes — Swatches and Ratios (Period-Correct Tempera)
Mix these recipes by volume using a small spatula or palette knife. Value scale: V1 is darkest black, V5 is middle gray, V9 is pure white.
All recipe formulas below use modern-safe pigments (historical materials are discussed above for context).
| Target color | Use case | Recipe (parts by volume) | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Verdaccio base | Flesh understructure | 2 parts Green Earth + 1 part Yellow Ochre + 0.5 parts Titanium/Zinc White (PW6/PW4) + 0.25 parts Bone Black (PBk9) | V4–5 (mid-dark gray-green) | Keep cool and low-chroma; thin, lean mix with egg tempera |
| Flesh light | Forehead/cheek planes | 6 parts Titanium/Zinc White (PW6/PW4) + 1 part Yellow Ochre (PY43) + 0.5 parts Red Ochre | V8 (very light) | Veil warms with sienna; cool with ultramarine trace |
| Half-tone flesh | Transitional planes | 2 parts Yellow Ochre (PY43) + 1 part Burnt Sienna (PBr7) + 1 part Titanium/Zinc White (PW6/PW4) | V6 (mid-light) | Avoid chalky look; keep binder minimal. When studying historical paintings, you can extract precise flesh tone color palettes from your reference images to compare with these period-correct formulas |
| Subsurface warm | Ears/nose accents | 1 part Red Ochre + 1 part Yellow Ochre + 0.5 parts Titanium/Zinc White (PW6/PW4) | V6–7 (light warm) | Glaze thinly over dry underlayers |
| Deep neutral shadow | Form shadows | 3 parts Bone Black + 1 part Burnt Sienna + 0.25 parts Ultramarine | V2 (very dark) | Low saturation; wipe back to unify edges |
| Blue mantle | Drapery cool | 3 parts Ultramarine Blue (PB29) + 1 part Titanium/Zinc White (PW6/PW4) + tiny trace Red Ochre | V3–5 (dark to mid blue) | Red trace warms and naturalizes the blue |
| Gold note (painted) | Warm light accents | 2 parts Yellow Ochre (PY43) + 1 part Bismuth Yellow (PY184) + 0.5 parts Burnt Sienna (PBr7) | V7–8 (bright warm) | For painted gold highlights beside metal leaf |
| Background dark | Panel field | 2 parts Bone Black + 1 part Burnt Sienna + 0.5 parts Ultramarine | V1–2 (near-black) | Slight cool bias pushes depth and air |
Step-by-Step Workflow
Underlayer and Drawing
Apply a light imprimatura (thin wash of Yellow Ochre + Burnt Sienna mixed with egg tempera). Block-in accurate drawing and shadow shapes; keep the mixture lean.
Establish Shadow Family
Mix Bone Black + Burnt Sienna with a touch of Ultramarine (lean mixture). Place large, connected shadow masses; avoid overblending.
Midtones and Lights
Build from the verdaccio influence: start with Yellow Ochre mixtures, add Red Ochre for warmth, then step into Titanium/Zinc White (PW6/PW4) for lights. Keep lights thicker and slightly warmer.
Edges and Accents
Sharpen selective edges around focal areas. Use Cadmium Red Light (PR108) (or saturated Red Ochre) for tiny warm hits; reserve highest value highlights for last.
Unify with Glazes (Optional)
After the underlayers dry, apply very thin, controlled glazes (Ultramarine for cool depth, Burnt Sienna for warmth). With tempera, keep glazes very dilute.
Troubleshooting and Pitfalls
- Chalky lights: reduce Titanium/Zinc White (PW6/PW4), warm slightly with a trace of Bismuth Yellow (PY184) or Red Ochre, consider a unifying glaze.
- Muddy halftones: separate cool/warm piles on your palette; avoid overmixing complementary colors. For foundational principles on preventing muddy mixes, see our tutorial on mastering color theory for oil painters.
- Dead shadows: add transparent warm colors (Burnt Sienna) sparingly; keep values very low and edges soft.
- Over-saturation: favor earth tones; use Vermilion only as tiny accents for maximum impact.
Get your color palette from your reference photo
Upload your reference image and get instant, accurate oil paint color recipes based on your palette.