The best-known crimson, Alizarin Crimson, is traditionally made from pigment PR83, which has fallen out of favor because it is not lightfast. Different companies have different solutions to this, offering colors with names like “Permanent Alizarin Crimson” made from various mixes of red pigments. Some artists also mix their own (a popular recipe is Perylene Maroon + Quin Rose).
I’ll start by looking at Da Vinci’s version, Alizarin Crimson Quinacridone, which is made from PV19, the same quinacridone pigment that is used for Quin Rose. Rather than compare it to the original, I focus on exploring it on its own merits as a possible deep red for my palette. Later, in “Comparison to Other Brands,” you can see other Alizarin Crimson alternatives I’ve tried.
Experiment Results
Gradient: The gradient is what made me fall in love with this paint. It’s so easy to grade. This seems to be a real superpower of all the Da Vinci paints I’ve tried. In masstone, it is a deep crimson red, similar to Pyrrol Crimson; but it fades to a pinker color that looks more like baby pink than light red.
Granulating: No.
Opacity: Looks totally transparent to me.
Glazing: Glazes to a deep maroon.
Color Mixes: Bright, cheerful mixes. This is one of the few reds that is totally versatile and just as easily makes bright oranges as bright purples! Phthalo Green was the closest to a complement.
Lightfastness Test for DV Alizarin Crimson Quinacridone
There’s some subtle warming/browning of the exposed swatch. The protected swatch remained cooler and pinker. However, it’s slight. This color performed better than DV – Red Rose Deep (PV19).
Comparison to Other Brands’ Permanent Alizarin Crimson
Although each brand’s Alizarin Crimson alternative has a slightly different pigment mix, I will include anything in this section that claims to be a “permanent Alizarin Crimson” or similar.
Opus Essential Watercolours – Alizarin Crimson
It is my belief that Opus is the same as Da Vinci. This paint made from PV19 certainly seems identical to DV Alizarin Crimson Quinacridone.
For Americans, I have also heard that the Cheap Joe’s house brand American Journey is the same as Da Vinci. They also offer Alizarin Crimson (Quinacridone).
Winsor & Newton – Permanent Alizarin Crimson
WN only lists one pigment for this. The old version (pre-2022) was PR206, aka Brown Madder. The new version, shown above, lists only PR179, aka Perylene Maroon. In either case, there is an unlisted pigment: quinacridone pyrrolidone (PR N/A). I’ve heard this pigment is not the most lightfast, so after awhile this may fade. The word “permanent” is used loosley.
This is a fairly pretty deep red, but it has a brickish edge to it I don’t love (maybe from the PR179? I never tried the PR206 version). I prefer the pinker hue of Da Vinci.
Holbein – Permanent Alizarin Crimson (PV19, PBr25)
I really like this one. It’s a rosy PV19 mixed with PBr25 (Imidazolone Brown). In dilute it still has that lovely high-chroma PV19 pink, but the masstone gets much darker and deeper than the single pigment PV19 crimson.
Daniel Smith – Permanent Alizarin Crimson (PR177, PV19, PR149)
Daniel Smith’s Alizarin Crimson replacement is a 3-color mix from three different reds. It is more red (less violet-toned) than the versions we’ve seen so far.
This one contains pigments that themselves have lightfastness concerns, notably Anthraquinone Red (PR177), which is LFIII in watercolor, only a little better than its cousin, genuine PR83 Alizarin Crimson. Once again, a case of the word “permanent” protesting too much.
Comparison to Genuine Alizarin Crimson
[Section added Feb 2026]
The obvious comparison is to original Alizarin Crimson. I don’t think that’s the be-all, end-all for evaluating a hue, and outside of this section I’ll try to evaluate it on its own merits as a palette filler, but since I’ve now tried Genuine Alizarin Crimson, I’d be remiss if I ignored this factor altogether.
Daniel Smith – Alizarin Crimson (PR83)
Genuine Alizarin Crimson is strong, transparent, true red, with a slightly pinky undertone. Personally, I think the DV ACQ I showed first comes closest. Holbein is too pink and high-chroma, but I think DS is not pink enough.
Comparison to Other Colors
In this section, I’ll compare to similar colors with other names.
Daniel Smith – Quinacridone Rose (PV19)
Quin Rose is higher-chroma and more violet-toned than Alizarin Crimson and its alternatives; closer to a primary magenta. But the DV ACQ is made from the same pigment, mixes similarly, and is arguably too similar on the palette to have both.
In mixing, Quin Rose makes much more vibrant purples. Alizarin Crimson Quinacridone makes it easier to produce colors in the red/orange range, whereas Quin Rose can make it hard to make reds that aren’t really pink.
Daniel Smith – Quinacridone Red (PV19)
DS Quin Red is another formulation of PV19 that’s in-between ACQ and Quin Rose: red (and shiny) in masstone, but quite pink in the middle. A good middle ground if you can’t decide. Warmer than Quin Rose, but still reads as pink to me; but it does not get as deep as ACQ.
Benzimidazolone Carmine (PR176)
Paints made from PR176 can range in rosy-to-reddishness, but are often quite similar to the Alizarin Crimson range, such as the pictured Rose Madder paint from Mission Gold which I think looks a lot like DV’s PV19 Alizarin Crimson Quinacridone. PR176 may not be the most lightfast.
Quinacridone Pyrrolidone (PR N/A)
Winsor & Newton offers a “permanent carmine” color using the quinacridone pyrrolidone pigment (PR N/A) that is also used, unlisted, in their Permanent Alizarin Crimson mentioned above. To my eye this looks a lot like the PR176 carmine; it’s just slightly more violet-toned than genuine Alizarin Crimson, but a similar chroma (i.e. lower chroma than Quin Rose). That said, as I mentioned, the word “permanent” is suspect and PR N/A is not said to be super lightfast.
Pyrrol Crimson/Rubin (PR264)
While most of the alternatives I’ve suggested so far have been a bit more on the violet-toned or magenta side of Alizarin Crimson, PR264 is a little more on the reddy side but still has the depth of value and mid-chroma. It is less transparent and a little “heavier” feeling, but I think the color is really nice, and it’s more distinct from Quin Rose etc. if you also have something like that on the palette.
Color Mixes
These are color mixes with DV Alizarin Crimson Quinacridone.
Rich Green Gold (PY129)
Imidazolone Yellow (PY154)
Moderate oranges to goldenrod.
Transparent Brown Oxide (PR101)
Brick colors. A bit granulating due to the TBO.
Phthalo Blue Green Shade (PB15:3)
A touch of blue deepens and mutes the crimson; a touch of crimson deepens and mutes the blue. Purples are fairly muted. Mixes are darker than either color unmixed.
Prussian Blue (PB27)
Both colors are on the dark side, so all the mixes are dark. Again, colors mute each other to some extent, resulting in muted purples, violet-blues, or dark crimsons.
Cerulean Blue (PB35)
I truly love this as a sunset-cloud purple. The granulation from the Cerulean gives it nice texture, and the color is lovely and bold but not over-the-top.
Phthalo Green Yellow Shade (PG36)
Roughly complementary, darkening to blackish red-browns and gray-greens. I think I see a true gray in there, though it could be on the bluey side.
My Review of Alizarin Crimson (Alternatives)
I really enjoyed DV ACQ from the moment I swatched it out. Unfortunately, one of the reasons I like it so much is also one of the reasons I don’t use it often: it’s too similar in use case to Quin Rose/Red!
Favorite version: Of the Permanent Alizarin Crimsons, I like Da Vinci’s and Holbein’s, which gets even darker.
Favorite alternatives: In reality, I don’t tend to use an official Alizarin Crimson hue, preferring a combo of Quin Red and Pyrrol Rubin.
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Holbein – Permanent Alizarin Crimson, 5 ml tube: Jackson’s US