To hue or not to hue

http://www.lawrence.co.uk/shop/Golden-Artist-Colours-p1.html#.UgECBKxX5I0 Artists often ask us why some paints are described as “hues”.  When a paint colour is described as a “hue” – for example Cadmium Red Hue, it means that it has the appearance of a particular pigment, but is not actually made from that pigment or contains less of it.  Often it is a blend of several pigments. This may make it less toxic, cheaper or simply match the colour of a pigment that is no longer readily available. Sometimes a natural earth pigment will vary in colour from batch to batch so its equivalent “hue” will be a representation of how it looked historically. For example, Golden Artist Colors make a Naples Yellow Hue – a warm yet pale yellow colour valued by many artists. Traditionally, Naples Yellow is a lead based pigment which is now banned in paints because it is highly toxic.  Golden has created a close copy of the original colour using a mixture of three pigments – Yellow Oxide, Diarylide Yellow and Titanium white.