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Burnt Sienna
#E97451 · click to copy
Earth
HEX
#E97451
RGB
233, 116, 81
CMYK
0%, 50%, 65%, 9%
Pigment
PBr7
Lightfastness
Excellent (I)
Moods & Keywords
brown
orange
earth
warm
mediterranean
terracotta
natural
portrait
iron oxide
earth
warm
earth
portrait
iron oxide
earth
warm
earth
Pigment & Material
PBr7
Natural
Roasted iron oxide earth (Fe₂O₃). Heating raw sienna drives off water and converts it to the deeper, redder burnt version.
Origin & History
Burnt sienna is raw sienna transformed by heat — the same Sienese earth, calcined. The process has been practised since antiquity: heating iron-rich earth to intensify its colour is one of the earliest examples of human chemical processing of a natural material. The Siena region of Tuscany has provided this pigment continuously for centuries.
Also Known As
Terra Bruciata di Siena
Burnt Italian Earth
Rosso di Siena
Psychology
Warm, autumnal, and glowing. Burnt sienna is the colour of sunlit terracotta, autumn leaves at their peak, and the warm flesh tones of Mediterranean portraiture. It is earth transformed by fire — warmer, more intense, more expressive than its raw form. Associated with warmth, creativity, and the particular quality of afternoon light in southern Europe.
In Culture
Burnt sienna is the most widely used warm brown in Western painting history — it appears in virtually every era and tradition. The specific warm orange-brown of Florentine and Sienese buildings (also made from local iron-rich stone) creates a visual unity between the paintings made in these cities and the landscape they inhabit. The "Burnt Sienna" crayon has been in every Crayola box since 1903.
Natural Sources
Raw sienna mineral (iron oxide-rich clay from Siena, Italy) heated/calcined at high temperature — the dehydration of goethite (FeO·OH) to hematite (Fe₂O₃) shifts the colour from yellow-brown to warm red-orange. The same mineral, same source, transformed by fire.
Making It Yourself
Heat raw sienna in a metal pan over a flame or in an oven (200–300°C):
1. Spread raw sienna powder in thin layer in metal baking tray
2. Heat at 200–300°C, stirring occasionally
3. Watch the colour shift from yellow-brown toward orange-red
4. Remove when desired colour is reached
5. Cool completely before using
The process converts goethite to hematite — the same transformation that occurs geologically over millions of years, compressed into minutes.
1. Spread raw sienna powder in thin layer in metal baking tray
2. Heat at 200–300°C, stirring occasionally
3. Watch the colour shift from yellow-brown toward orange-red
4. Remove when desired colour is reached
5. Cool completely before using
The process converts goethite to hematite — the same transformation that occurs geologically over millions of years, compressed into minutes.
Art Movements
Renaissance
Baroque
Impressionism
Plein Air Painting
Famous Works
Titian
flesh tone glazes throughout his work
Rembrandt
warm light passages
Monet
autumn landscape passages
Available As
Winsor & Newton — Burnt Sienna (PBr7)
Daniel Smith — Burnt Sienna (PBr7)
Golden — Burnt Sienna
Natural Earth Pigments — Burnt Sienna (genuine calcined mineral)
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Colour data compiled with AI. Spot an error or have more to add? Leave a Note — ekphra reviews and updates.
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