Manganese Black
Natural inorganic pigmentComposition and Properties of Manganese Black
Manganese black is a mixed oxide of manganese and iron. The pigment is stable in acids and alkalis and also at high temperatures, shows excellent lightfastness, and is compatible with all other pigments.
Pigment
Painted swatch
Names
Color Index
PBk 33, CI 77537
Word origin
As the name of a black mineral, oxide of manganese (used from ancient times in glassmaking for removing coloring matter), from French manganèse (16c.), from Italian manganese, alteration or corruption of Medieval Latin magnesia.
From Online Etymology Dictionary
Manganschwarz
German
Noir de manganèse
French
Nero di manganese
Italian
Negro de manganeso
Spanish
Preparation
Manganese dioxide (MnO2) can be found in nature as the mineral pyrolusite. This compound shows a similar composition to the actual manganese black.
History of Use
Manganese black was in use in European oil painting since the nineteenth century (1,2). Black pigments containing manganese were found in Etruscan (3) and even prehistoric (4,5,6) artworks.
Examples of use
Painting in the cave of Lascaux, France, about 17 000 years old
References
(1) Nicholas Eastaugh, Valentine Walsh, Tracey Chaplin, Ruth Siddall, Pigment Compendium, Routledge, 2008, p. 255
(2) Kühn, H. Pigmente in den Gemälden der Schack-Galerie, Doerner Institut, 1975.
(3) François Schweizer and Anne Rinuy, Manganese Black as an Etruscan Pigment, Studies in Conservation, Vol. 27, No. 3 (Aug., 1982), pp. 118-123.
(4) B. Guineau, M. Lorblanchet, B. Gratuze, L. Dulin, P. Roger, R. Akrich, Fabrice Muller, Manganese Black Pigments in Prehistoric Paintings: the Case of the Black Frieze of Pech Merle (France), Archaeometry, Wiley, 2001, 43, pp.211-225. doi: <10.1111/1475-4754.00015>
(5) Marcela Sepúlveda, Sebastián Gutiérrez, Marcelo Campos Vallette, Vivien G. Standen, Bernardo T. Arriaza and José J. Cárcamo-Vega, Micro-Raman spectral identification of manganese oxides black pigments in an archaeological context in Northern Chile, Heritage Science 2015, 3:32. DOI: 10.1186/s40494-015-0061-2. Available online.
(6) Chalmin, Emilie; Menu, Michel; Vignaud, Colette, Analysis of rock art painting and technology of Palaeolithic painters, Measurement Science and Technology 14 (9): 1590–1597. doi:10.1088/0957-0233/14/9/310
Identification
Raman Spectrum
Marcela Sepúlveda, Sebastián Gutiérrez, Marcelo Campos Vallette, Vivien G. Standen, Bernardo T. Arriaza and José J. Cárcamo-Vega, Micro-Raman spectral identification of manganese oxides black pigments in an archaeological context in Northern Chile, Heritage Science 2015, 3:32. DOI: 10.1186/s40494-015-0061-2. Available online.
Further Reading
References
François Schweizer and Anne Rinuy, Manganese Black as an Etruscan Pigment, Studies in Conservation, Vol. 27, No. 3 (Aug. 1982), pp. 118-123.
B. Guineau, M. Lorblanchet, B. Gratuze, L. Dulin, P. Roger, R. Akrich, Fabrice Muller, Manganese Black Pigments in Prehistoric Paintings: the Case of the Black Frieze of Pech Merle (France), Archaeometry, Wiley, 2001, 43, pp.211-225. doi: <10.1111/1475-4754.00015>
Marcela Sepúlveda, Sebastián Gutiérrez, Marcelo Campos Vallette, Vivien G. Standen, Bernardo T. Arriaza and José J. Cárcamo-Vega, Micro-Raman spectral identification of manganese oxides black pigments in an archaeological context in Northern Chile, Heritage Science 2015, 3:32. DOI: 10.1186/s40494-015-0061-2. Available online.
S. Muntwyler, J. Lipscher, HP. Schneider, Das Farbenbuch, 2nd. Ed., 2023, alataverlag Elsau, p. 65.