With the historical founding product of the Schmincke company from 1881, oil painters receive a unique resin-oil colour based on recipes of old masters. These recipes are based on the rich experience of Professor Cesare Mussini, who at that time worked at the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence. Countless masterpieces prove the advantages of this artists’ colour: the high luminosity and the greatest possible lightfastness of the colours, the many glazing colours and the special light refraction properties of the colours resulting from the resin components make MUSSINI® a treasure among artists' paints.

Based on many decades of scientific experience, Schmincke combines a variety of painting oils such as linseed, safflower, and walnut oil with dissolved dammar natural resin. The amount of dissolved dammar resin to be added depends on the oil requirements of the respective pigment, so that each of the 108 colours has an individually balanced recipe.

Due to the well-balanced recipe based on selected painting oils, MUSSINI® is not a closed system despite the resin content - on the contrary: All colours can be mixed and combined excellently and without any additional painting mediums even with "normal" oil colours! This makes it easy for oil painters: existing oil colours can be combined with MUSSINI® colours and therefore the own palette can be upgraded. The selection of precious glazing colours as well as unique colours such as Caesar purple, Atrament or Byzantine blue will make expert painters rave.

With the finest processing of precious glazing pigments, Schmincke creates a comprehensive range of transparent colours for the special glazing technique. The 44 glazing colours, including famous colours such as Florentine red or Transparent oriental blue, are characterized by the highest brilliance and luminosity as well as a very special and unique depth light-effect.

The unique formulation of MUSSINI® results in a special harmonious drying behaviour:  The drying process, which initially takes place on the surface by oxygen absorption of the chemically drying oils, leads to an increase in volume. This is largely compensated by the solvent content of the dammar resin solution evaporating from the inside. This in turn allows oxygen to penetrate more easily into the deep layers of the colours and results in a tension-free, more harmonious deep and surface drying.

The time required for a painting layer to dry is as individual as the colours in the MUSSINI® series. As the drying time depends essentially on four factors, the oils and pigments, each according to type and quantity, as well as the thickness of the paint layer and the temperature during drying, a "drying time scale (DTS)" with three drying categories was defined. Each colour in the MUSSINI® range is assigned to one of the three categories, which makes it easier for oil painters to better estimate the respective drying times of the colour and thus to harmonise the painting flow even better.

The drying time scale (DTS) indicates when a paint layer of 30µm (or comparatively a thin brushstroke) of a colour on canvas has dried at room temperature (23°C/ 73°F). With this layer thickness, it can be assumed that the colour layer has dried through both on the surface and in the layer.

The MUSSINI® range contains many colours with unusual origins or unusual names that are also unsurpassed for their excellent painting properties. Do you already know the following colours?

MUSSINI® Caesar purple (13 366): In ancient times, purple was obtained by means of a complicated process from the gland of a snail and was much sought-after as a particularly valuable dye for artists’ colours. The MUSSINI® Cesar purple is a finely translucent colour, bluer than magenta.

MUSSINI® Atrament (10 779): “Atrament” was the name for a very cold black in Roman times (“àtro” (ital.) = dark, gloomy, murky, “atramentarius” (lat.) = like ink). Today it is produced using a modern organic pigment. The MUSSINI® Atrament is a very deep black in full tone, close to a Russian green in glazes. It produces green-tinged grey tones when mixed with white.

MUSSINI® Sfumato (10 790): "Sfumato" refers to a fine grey mist that was applied to portraits, for example, to make them appear softer ("sfumato" (Ital.) = tinted, shaded; "fumo" (Ital.) = smoke). Sfumato is a colour used in particular by Italian masters. The MUSSINI® Sfumato is a greenish, semi-bluish grey.

With the multitude of colouristic treasures, the well-balanced drying properties, a guarantee for long-lasting colour layers and the pleasant, modest soft resinous odor, MUSSINI® offers artists worldwide unique and finest resin-oil colours of the highest quality!

• A totally unique formulation
• 108 colours of highest brilliance
• 60 single pigment colours; 44 precious, transparent colours
• Special special colour shades unique to Mussini
• Excellent mixing results with any other oil paint
• Pleasant, modest soft resinous odour
• Well-balanced and tension-free drying process