Table 1 A summary of the pigments listed by Giorgio de Chirico in his writings on painting and studio practice

Piccolo trattato di tecnica pittorica (Petit traité de technique de peinture)

1928

Zinc white, lead white, Naples yellow, chrome yellow, “mineral yellow,” yellow lakes, Veronese green, Cassel earth, bitumen, and crushed charcoal for black

Arte Italiana Contemporanea

1940

Lead white, bone black, vine black, burnt Sienna, burnt umber, van Dyck brown, Morellone red, red earth, vermilion, carmine lake, yellow ochre, Naples yellow, chrome yellow (lemon and orange), “brilliant yellow,” emerald green, Veronese green, green earth, “mineral blue,” Prussian blue, cerulean blue, and cobalt violet

“The Technique of Painting” in The Memoirs of Giorgio de Chirico

1962

For ground preparation: Spanish white, lead white, zinc white, silver white, powdered black, red clay, yellow clay, and lead oxide

Undated technical note

After 1940?

Cassel brown, vermilion, emerald green, Naples yellow, green earth, dark chrome yellow, Prussian blue, burnt Sienna, yellow ochre, raw umber, zinc yellow, “straw yellow,” “red brown,” “black,” “raw Italian earth,” “dark white,” “yellow and red lacquer,” “white,” “light chrome,” “cadmium” and “cobalt”