[2]: 165  Van Dyke brown was initially used in watercolor, oil, and encaustic, but in the nineteenth century its use spread to miniatures, crayons, and wood stains.

[2]: 164–65 Van Dyke brown is typically made by mixing raw umber or burnt sienna with black pigment, and as a rich, dark brown color, it is often used to create shadows and depth and can be mixed with other colors to create a range of earthy tones.

Depending on how it is used and combined with other colors, Van Dyke brown can create a range of effects and moods in an artwork.

[citation needed] Since the nineteenth century, the sensitivity of Van Dyke brown to light has been a recurring preoccupation in literature on the pigment.

[2]: 164  The pigment has been identified by infrared spectroscopy in numerous American paintings from the Upper Hudson Valley in the first half of the nineteenth century.