Cadmium orange was developed in the 1840s as part of the cadmium pigment family — the first truly reliable, permanent orange available to artists. Before cadmium, orange was notoriously difficult to achieve with permanent pigments.

Cadmium orange is pure solar energy — unambiguous, warm, and advancing. It cannot be subtle. It is the orange of autumn leaves at their peak, of sunsets at the horizon, of things that demand to be seen.

Van Gogh used cadmium orange extensively — his sunflowers and wheat fields owe their intensity to it. Cézanne used it for the warm passages in his Provence landscapes. The EU restriction on cadmium pigments has forced manufacturers to develop alternatives, though none match the original's opacity and saturation.