Clay earth pigment

As earthy various inorganic pigments are referred to, which are obtained by finely grinding and other machining operations ( eg by burning) of colored minerals or mineral mixtures. Frequently used earth colors are ocher, green earth, red ocher, sienna, umber, and vermilion.

Some earthy colors are variants of iron oxides from natural sources. They are lightfast, low-priced and suitable by their short drying time for oil painting. Examples of its earliest applications are delivered as prehistoric rock drawings and cave paintings.