Barite White "Permanent white" Watercolor Paint | Rublev Colours

Rublev Colours Barite White is an opaque white made using the natural mineral barite (U.K. English baryte or heavy spar; chemical name: barium sulfate). British watercolorists used barium sulfate as a body color in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The synthetic mineral was often called "Constant White" or "Permanent White," and it was ranked as a white watercolor pigment second to Chinese white (zinc oxide). It consists of precipitated barium sulfate or blanc fixe. In the twentieth century, the name was also used for zinc white or mixtures of barium sulfate with zinc white.

Chinese White or Zinc White has the very unpleasant property of cracking when used in heavy coats; that is, the coat splits into small blocks after drying. Barite White is much better in this respect. The single disadvantage of Barite White is that it appears darker when wet and has less covering power after drying when the water has evaporated. Since it is sometimes difficult for the artist to use colors that dry visually different from those produced when they are first laid on, it is best to use Barite White with sufficient watercolor medium to provide conditions that will make the final differences as small as possible.

In the nineteenth century, Barite White was often formulated with both gum tragacanth and gum arabic due to the quality previously discussed and because of the very high specific gravity of the pigment. Rublev Colours Barite White is made based on the same nineteenth-century formulas, using both gums as the binding medium.

Rublev Colours Barite White watercolor follows historical recipes, combining fine natural barite with gum arabic to produce an opaque white with a soft, slightly warm undertone. The pigment’s high specific gravity means it dries darker than it looks when wet, so artists should test swatches to gauge its dry appearance. Barite White lifts easily from the paper and is essentially non‑staining, making it ideal for lightening washes and for traditional techniques where a separate body color is required.

Composition and Permanence

For a detailed explanation of the terms in the table above, please visit Composition and Permanence.

Note: Rublev Colours watercolors are prepared with pigment, gum arabic, and a small amount of humectant. No stabilizers, fillers, brighteners, or other modern additives are used, so some separation of pigment and medium may occur. Color swatches are shown in mass tone and in tints for reference; due to variations in monitors and paper, the color you see may differ slightly from the actual paint.

Color Names