When was the Pastels Girault colour chart created ?
Created in 1780, the PASTELS GIRAULT® brand quickly came up with a unique color chart including 526 shades.
It is unique because of its unusual presentation. It is not available in chromatic form, as color merchants may do, but in four sections.
Initially, pastel painters were mainly portraitists of kings, so the first section was named Figure or Portrait (shades from 1 to 132), followed by Landscape (shades from 133 to 264), Flowers and Fruits (shades from 265 to 396) and finally Broken Tones/Background Tones (shades from 397 to 526).
Colour chart archive from Lechertier Barbe store in London
What shades make up the Pastels Girault color chart ?
| FIGURE AND PORTRAIT (1 – 132) | LANDSCAPE (133 – 264) |
| Brown Black (1 – 5) Brown Red (6 – 12) Flesh Ochre (13 – 22) Oriental Earth (23 – 31) Blue to Orange (32 – 36) Orange Mine (37 – 44) Carmine brown (45 – 47) Carmine (48 – 56) Bistre (57 – 66) Red Ochre (67 – 74) Vermilion Brown (75 – 79) Dark Vermilion (80) Vermilion (81 – 88) Venice Red (89 – 96) Naples Yellow (97 – 103) Mummy (104 – 110) Dark Ochre (111 – 112) Yellow Ochre (113 – 119) Rhue Ochre (120 – 126) Golden Ochre (127 – 132) | Violet to Yellow (133 – 140) Leaf Green (141 – 147) Grass Green (148 – 154) Green Bronze Dark (155 – 160) Green Bronze Light (161 – 166) Grey Green Moss (167 – 176) Green Black (177 – 181) English Green (182 – 189) Brown to Green (190 – 195) Cadmium Yellow (196 – 198) Leaf Green (199 – 204) Apple Green (205 – 209) Grey Green Reseda (210 – 216) Saturn Brown (217 – 220) Green Earth (221 – 226) Chrome Green (227 – 234) Olive Green (235 – 242) Cobalt Green (243 – 249) Emerald Green (250 – 256) Green Blue Peacock (257 – 264) |
| FLOWERS AND FRUITS (265 – 396) | BROKEN TONES / BACKGROUND TONES (397 – 526) |
| Brown Lake (265 – 267) Grenat Lake (268) Carmine Lake (269 – 274) Veronese Green (275 – 280) Bluish Purple (281 – 286) Prussian Blue (287 – 296) Chrome Yellow (297 – 302) Scarlet Lake (303 – 308) Madder Violet (309 – 315) Reseda Green (316 – 322) Purplish Violet (323 – 330) Blue Violet (331 – 338) Orange Yellow (339 – 346) Green Ash (347 – 352) Cobalt Blue (353 – 360) Violet Lake (361 – 367) Gutte Gum (368 – 374) Burnt Madder (375 – 377) Carmine Madder (378 – 387) Ultramarine Blue (388 – 396) | Mouse Grey (397 – 404) Van Dyck Violet (405 – 411) Cassel Earth (412 – 418) Blue Grey (419 – 425) Grey russet (426 – 433) Van Dyck Brown (434 – 440) Brown Lake (441 – 448) Olive Grey (449 – 455) Burnt Sienna (456 – 462) Intense Blue (463 – 470) Grey beige (471 – 477) Purplish Grey (478 – 484) Grey Brown (485 – 490) Yellowish Green Grey (491 – 498) Bluish Green Grey (499 – 506) Natural Sienna (507 – 512) Black (513) Grey (514 – 524) White (525) Candle black (526) |
Why are there only 300 shades in the Harmonie set ?
In the late ’60s and early ’70s, the brand’s directors signed a contract with Lefranc Bourgeois, who decided to “cut” the color chart to 300 shades.
As a result, 226 shades were discontinued for over 50 years.
The Harmonie set shown below contains the 300 shades that have never ceased to be produced. It has been chromatically arranged by master pastellist Claude Texier, a loyal user and family friend.
The project : remake the entire color chart !
From the very beginning, Karine and Stéphane Loiseau, current directors of Pastels Girault, have set themselves the mission of re-producing all the shades in the color chart.
Indeed, more than just a project, it’s a mission that’s very close to their hearts, because these 526 shades are part of the brand’s heritage, and it can’t remain amputated.
Celebrate 240 years of Pastels Girault®
To celebrate the brand’s 240th anniversary, they decided to initiate this famous project.
In 2020, to mark the anniversary, Karine and Stéphane decided to revive some of the first missing shades.
So, with the help of their uncle Christian’s expertise, the small team had to carry out the painstaking task of adapting the original recipes to the materials available 50 years later.
20 shades were reborn from this year-long project !
As they consider the pen box to be a milestone in the history of the fine arts, they decided to place these 20 shades in this attractive numbered case and offer it as a limited edition.
Harmony Complement 1
In 2021 Harmony complement 1 is the first complement of 50 new shades to be added to the Harmony set (remember: the name of the 300-shade set).
It is made up of the 20 shades released at the time of the 240th anniversary, plus 30 new shades in continuity.
As a result, this complement 1 completes the entire gradient ranges of : Oriental Earth, Venice Red, Green Earth, Bluish Purple, Prussian Blue, Chrome Yellow, Cobalt Blue, Violet Lake, Madder Carmine, Ultramarine Blue, Brown Lake and Purplish Gray.
Harmony Complement 2
To conclude 2023 on a high note, the Pastels Girault team continues to carry out their project and presents Harmony complement 2.
Once again, 50 new shades are added to the available collection…
These include the entire Grass Green and Grenat Lake ranges, as well as gradations in Yellow Ochre, Gutte Gum, Orange Yellow, Madder Violet, Intense Blue, Carmine Lake, Brown Black, Grey Beige, Cassel Earth, Violet Blue, Blue Grey and Grey.
