Zinc white

[1]: 172–75  It was initially developed in the 1780s by the French chemist and magistrate Louis-Bernard Guyton de Morveau, who struggled to popularize its use.

[5] Since antiquity, zinc oxide has been a readily available byproduct of brass production, but the idea of using it as a pigment was not widely considered until the eighteenth century.

[1] A report drafted by Guyton de Morveau in 1782 brought the first significant attention to zinc oxide as a pigment.

[8]: 178  The pigment was commercially available in Europe in the 1790s, but its use remained limited; commentators noted its high price and its thin viscosity.

Working in the late 1830s and early 1840s, he improved the hiding power of zinc white and added siccatives that reduced its drying time in oil.

[6]: 180  When zinc white has been found in works by Impressionists, it generally constitutes a lightening agent that was added to another color by the paint manufacturer, not the artist.