Rublev Colours Italian Burnt Umber Warm is a finely ground roasted earth pigment from northern Italy (Lombardy), made by calcining natural umber clays rich in iron and manganese oxides. Roasting deepens the colour into a warm, dark reddish-brown masstone with a gentle yellow undertone, giving painters a classic burnt umber with extra warmth for portraits, landscapes, and traditional underpainting.

This pigment offers excellent tinting strength, good covering power, and reliable permanence across common painting mediums. It disperses well for tempera and watercolour, grinds smoothly into oil paint, and is suitable for fresco and acrylic systems where a stable, warm brown earth is needed. Because umber naturally contains manganese, it is often chosen in oil painting for its ability to support faster drying behaviour compared to many other earth colours.

Key features

• Natural roasted umber earth from Lombardy, northern Italy

• Colour Index PBr7, permanent and lightfast (ASTM I)

• Warm reddish-brown with yellow undertone and strong coverage

• Ideal for shadows, portrait underpainting, landscape earths, and neutral mixing

• Suitable for making oil paint, watercolour, tempera, acrylic dispersions and fresco

Safety note: Avoid inhaling dry pigment dust. Umbers contain manganese, so use a mask, gloves, and good ventilation when handling powder.