In 1949, Parisian painter Henri Goetz approached Henri Sennelier the famous artist materials manufacturer, about creating a wax colour stick for his friend Pablo Picasso. Picasso, a long-time Sennelier customer and a frequent visitor to their store across the street from the Louvre museum, was looking for a medium that could be used freely on a variety of surfaces without fading or cracking.
Their collaboration produced the incomparable Sennelier oil pastels. Originally available in a palette of classic hues, the colour selection was expanded with the addition of metallic and iridescent hues.
Beyond these classic hues a selection of unique shades is available, and in particular a gradation of greys, required for a balanced palette. This evolution is the fruit of a long-standing collaboration with European and North American painters, who have worked with our company in developing an exceptional palette of shades.
The Sennelier oil pastel is a product that makes use of the components used in all Sennelier colours: top quality pigments, an extremely pure synthetic binding medium and mineral wax. The pigments are ground with an inert, non-siccative binding medium that does not oxidise and that has no effect upon either film stability or surface. This base is then mixed with wax (neutral pH). The balance of this mix provides Sennelier oil pastels with a creamy texture that allows for a great deal of freedom in pictorial expression.
The Sennelier oil pastels possess an extraordinarily high pigment content, thus providing them with a high colouring and covering potential, excellent brightness and a high degree of light stability (with the exception of metallic and fluorescent shades). The remarkable properties of these components, along with their precise dosage, provide Sennelier oil pastels with unique properties, making the brand a world-recognised reference.
Please note: contents may vary according to availability of colours. Up to 3 colours out of the 24 might be changed when raw materials are unavailable for a long period of time. The supplier tries as much as possible to stay close to the original colours.
This set contains a total of 125 pastels, including five bonus pastels selected by Sennelier. The 120 colors included with the set are Black 023, White 001, Transparent Medium 221, Charcoal Blue 235, Indigo Light 080, Blue Chromium Green 084, Phthalo Blue 222, Midnight Blue 211, Blue Alizarin Lake 075, Azure Blue 002, Cerulean Blue 003, Ash Blue 207, Sky Blue 223, Indian Blue 225, Delft Blue 203, Cobalt Blue 004, French Ultramarine Blue 237, Prussian Blue 007, Ultramarine Blue 005, Royal Blue 227, Pale Blue 006, Parma Violet 216, Blue Violet 047, Cobalt Violet Light 217, Red Violet 048, Violet Alizarin Lake 076, Bordeaux 008, Purple 027, Cobalt Violet Light Hue 095, Pale Pink Madder Lake 077, Geranium Lake Light 202, Permanent Intense Red 220, Ruby Red 031, Red Deep 030, Pink 028, Red Light 029, Vermilion 038, Mandarin 200, Bright Yellow 018, Yellow Deep 020, Yellow Lake 074, Gold Yellow 022, Naples Yellow 021, Nickel Yellow 201, Lemon Yellow 019, Moss Green 205, Cinnabar Yellow Brown 204, Phthalo Green Light 086, Green Yellow Light 072, Cinnabar Green Yellow 042, Green Medium 045, Permanent Green Light 234, Cinnabar Green Deep 041, Chrome Green Medium 085, Sap Green 087, Pine Green 213, Sap Green Light 088, Olive Green 046, Barite Green 040, Cobalt Green Light 043, Viridian Green 044, Bright Turquoise 082, Turquoise Blue 206, Celestial Blue 219, Chromium Green Deep 039, Prussian Green 218, Celadon Green 214, English Gray 229, Blue Gray 011, Gray Green 016, Yellow Gray 013, Reddish Brown Gray 015, Cold Gray 223, Light Gray 014, Medium Gray 224, Gray Deep 012, Charcoal 228, Mars Black 098, Payne's Gray 096, Burnt Umber 034, Burnt Sienna 036, Brown Madder 092, Venetian Red 032, Red Brown 239, Chrome Red 091, Light English Red 240, Mummy 212, Violet Ochre 209, Violet Gray 017, Sepia 033, Raw Umber 035, Sennelier Brown Light 093, Earth Brown 243, Brown Ochre 241, Chrome Brown 242, Titanium Buff 099, Yellow Ochre 026, Raw Sienna 037, Luminous Yellow 233, Terra Cotta 232, Gold Brown 231, Mars Orange 208, Chinese Orange 090, Coral 236, Rose Ochre 230, Orange Ochre 238, Flesh Ochre 025, Havana Ochre 215, Brown Pink 094, Olive Brown 210, Aluminium 111, Pale Gold 112, Rich Pale Gold 113, Rich Gold 114, Red Copper 115, Transparent Blue 123, Golden Pearl 132, Red Gold 134, Iridescent White 125, and Reddish Brown Gold 135.