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 primarily be looking at Da Vinci’s version, Alizarin Crimson Quinacridone, which is made from PV19, the same quinacridone pigment that is used for Quin Rose. I have never tried PR83, so I can’t compare it to the original; I’ll just be 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
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, which doesn’t have a pigment number. I’ve heard this pigment is not the most lightfast, so after awhile this may fade. Just goes to show the word “permanent” is usually used loosely.
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)
This one is a mix! A more standard PV19 is mixed with PBr25 (the pigment of Imidazolone Brown). I think this is super effective! In dilute it still has that lovely PV19 pink but the masstone gets much darker and deeper than the single pigment PV19 crimsons.
Comparison to Other Colors
Daniel Smith – Quinacridone Rose (PV19)
Alizarin Crimson is redder and Quin Rose is more blue-toned, closer to a magenta. But they’re made from the same pigment, mix similarly, and are arguably too similar on the palette to have both.
Being brighter and more purple-toned, Quin Rose makes much more vibrant purples. Being redder, 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.
Compared to Pyrrol Crimson, the Alizarin Crimson hue is bluer-toned; a similar hue in masstone but pinker in dilute; and makes purples rather than grays with blue.
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.
Color Mixes
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.
What Others Say
About old/genuine Alizarin Crimson:
It’s a cool, intense red and very useful for tempering down Payne’s grey for clouds – a combination I probably use more than any other.
Ron Ranson, On Skies (1996)
A strong, deep red that can give a warm blush to any mix.
Richard Bolton, Handbook of Watercolour Landscape Tips & Techniques (2009)
My Review of Alizarin Crimson (Alternatives)
I really enjoy this deep red – it sparks joy! I prefer its handling and color to Pyrrol Crimson (PR264) or other similar deep reds, and I like its mauves with Phthalo Turquoise.
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. This is especially true of single-pigment PV19 versions of Alizarin Crimson hue, such as Da Vinci, and the redder PV19 roses, such as DS Quin Red or DV Red Rose Deep.
Favorite version: Currently Holbein – it has that pinky hue I love, and because it’s a mix of two transparent pigments, it gets the darkest.
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Holbein – Permanent Alizarin Crimson, 5 ml tube: Jackson’s US