Colors with Undefined Names

93. Umber Color 970 - #635147

Umber is a natural brown or reddish-brown earth pigment that contains iron oxide and manganese oxide. It is darker than the other similar earth pigments, ochre and sienna. In its natural form, it is called raw umber. When heated (calcinated), the color becomes more intense, and the color is known as burnt umber. The name comes from terra di ombra, or earth of Umbria, the Italian name of the pigment. Umbria is a mountainous region in central Italy where the pigment was originally extracted. The word also may be related to the Latin word Umbra and the old French word ombre, meaning shade or shadow.

Umber is not one precise color, but a range of different colors, from medium to dark, from yellowish to reddish to grayish. The color of the natural earth depends upon the amount of iron oxide and manganese in the clay. Umber earth pigments contain between five and twenty percent manganese oxide, which accounts for their being a darker color than yellow ochre or sienna. Commercial colors vary depending upon the manufacturer or the color list. Not all umber pigments contain natural earths; some contain synthetic iron and manganese oxide, indicated on the label.