Sennelier Oil Pastel 6pc Set - Pears

These sets of six of the highest quality Oil Pastels come in a range of curated hues from the 120 available colours made by Sennelier.

The Sennelier Oil Pastels are highly pigmented, and have a smooth and creamy consistency perfected over many generations of the Sennelier family in France.

The intense and opaque colours are achieved with a formula that contains high quality pigments, a very pure synthetic binding medium and mineral wax. Each Oil Pastel is individually wrapped.

To watch a product demonstration click here for a video from Sennelier.

Features:

• Set of six Oil Pastels in luminous greens and earth tones

• Use on pastel paper, gessoed boards, plates, glass and canvas

• Dimensions: each pastel 67 x 10 mm

• Made in France

About the Brand

One morning, in April 1887, Gustave Sennelier takes the horse-drawn carriage along the banks of the Seine. Like every day, he passes in front of the shop, selling colour pigments, of Joseph Léon Prévost. He discovers a ‘for rent’ sign in front of the art store on the quai Voltaire. A deal is quickly agreed, and the transfer of the lease is endorsed in the Paris records.

Initially, Sennelier sold paints made by various manufacturers; later he chose to produce his own paints using local pigments and binders procured from his travels across Europe.

Anecdotally, it is believed that Sennelier gained prominence at this time. Art-supply shops were ubiquitous, and Cézanne, Gauguin, and many other artists would shop around in the neighbourhood, in search of specific shades of paint. If Gustave Sennelier didn't stock the colour, he would create it for his painters.

In 1949, Henri Sennelier, Gustave's son, created the first professional-quality oil pastel for Pablo Picasso. Picasso wanted colours he could use on any surface, without any special preparation. In addition to the Cézanne, Gauguin, and Picasso, Vincent van Gogh was also known to have used Sennelier oil paint.

Sennelier is one of just a few companies that still provides dry pigments for sale. While the vast majority of artists today simply buy ready-mixed paints, the range of dry pure pigments offered by the company is quite large, exceeding eighty colours. The artist can then mix the colours into the preferred medium, creating a range of possibilities.