This post was originally in 2017, updated with the full range in 2019. Updated again in 2026 with better scanned swatches.
The French brand Sennelier, which has been around since 1887, make a huge range of wonderful art materials - inks, pastels, all sorts of paints, dry pigments and so on. I've used their oil pastels for years but I've actually never bought any of their watercolours, so this post is created entirely with the help of others :-)
The watercolour range of 98 colours was reformulated a few years ago (perhaps 2015?) with a higher honey content. Quoted from the Sennelier website -
"Honey has many virtues: a symbol of light and sun, an emblem of poetry and science and has been used since Ancient times as a remedy for dry skin and to help heal wounds. This nectar is used in L'Aquarelle Sennelier not only as a preservative but as an additive giving incomparable brilliance and smoothness to the paint. Always striving for excellence, Sennelier has reworked its watercolor formula with increasing the amount of Honey in the paint to reinforce the longevity of the colors, their radiance and luminosity."
Unfortunately, honey also makes watercolours stay more runny, so this has made it far more challenging to get hold of samples as they don't necessarily dry enough to be posted through the mail - lots of inventive solutions including using blister packs from chewing gum, contact lenses and tablets have needed to be devised.
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48 half pan set of
Sennelier L'Aquarelle Watercolours
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However they are also available in 1/2 and full pan form, and one of my students lent me her 48 colour pan set so I was able to fill a number of gaps.
In March 2019 I was finally able to fill the rest of the gaps and show the full range :-) So here is the Sennelier professional or L'Aquarelle range. There is also a student range called La Petite.
2026 update - I'm upgrading from the photos to individually colour-matched scans.
The set uses the same palette as Rembrandt, but includes this useful overlay showing what each colour is.
The full colour chart can be seen
here
There is a large Sennelier shop in Paris, opposite the Louvre at 3 Quai Voltaire that is a joy to visit - see some comments below. There are a couple of smaller Sennelier shops too, that sometimes stock items not seen anywhere else. In Australia, they can be found at
Adamstown Art.
For those who use watercolours straight from the tube, Sennelier (and M.Graham) tube colours are a possible choice. For those who, like me, use them dried out in palettes, the pan versions are the best options with this range. They rewet beautifully.
Here is the 48 colour set open.
As always, I have tried to colour-match as well as possible but this is just a guide to the actual colours. Here is the key to the symbols
Nickel Yellow is often a very weak yellow but this version, while still relatively gentle, painted out nicely.
Sennelier L'Aquarelle professional Watercolours - Titanium White, Chinese White, Nickel Yellow,
Lemon Yellow, Cadmium Lemon Yellow.
Sennelier L'Aquarelle professional Watercolours - Aureoline (not a recommended pigment),
Primary Yellow, Cadmium Yellow Light, Sennelier Yellow Light, Indian Yellow.
These are close to accurate colours, apart from Cadmium Yellow Deep, which looks too orange and too dull. It is more orange than the Sennelier Yellow Deep shown below. It is SO difficult to match orange-yellows and yellow-oranges.
Sennelier L'Aquarelle professional Watercolours - Yellow Lake, Naples Yellow, Yellow Sophie,
Naples Yellow Deep, Cadmium Yellow Deep. |
These warm yellows and oranges are lovely.
Sennelier L'Aquarelle professional Watercolours - Sennelier Yellow Deep,
Cadmium Yellow Orange, Red Orange, Sennelier Orange, Chinese Orange.
There are some gorgeous bright warm reds in this range! My favourite warm red is PR255. It is also the perfect mixing opposite for Phthalo Blue GS.
Sennelier L'Aquarelle professional Watercolours - French Vermilion, Scarlet Laquer,
Rose Dore Madder Lake, Bright Red, Cadmium Red Light.
Sennelier Red is the gorgeous mid 'fire engine' red pigment PR254. I tend to mix this hue using PR255 and PR264 but some people love to have a vibrant red in their palette. Alizarin Crimson Lake is a fugitive pigment PR83 - not recommended outside of sketchbook or reproduction work.
Sennelier L'Aquarelle professional Watercolours - Sennelier Red, Perylen Brown,
Cadmium Red Purple, Alizarin Crimson Lake, Venetian Red.
Rose Madder Lake is the colour usually referred to as Quinacridone Rose or Permanent Rose - a great cool red option, though Carmine is the same pigment and also very pretty if you want a slightly more crimson option. Quinacridone Red is a true coral - always SO difficult to colour match.
Sennelier L'Aquarelle professional Watercolours - Alizarin Crimson,
Carmine, Crimson Lake, Quinacridone Red, Rose Madder Lake.
Sennelier L'Aquarelle professional Watercolours - Opera Rose, Cobalt Violet Light Hue,
Permanent Magenta, Cobalt Violet Deep Hue, Red Violet.
Sennelier L'Aquarelle professional Watercolours - Helios Purple, Blue Violet,
Dioxazine Purple, Prussian Blue, Indigo.
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The French Ultramarine Blue is a two pigment mix so go with the Ultramarine Deep if you want a single pigment Ultramarine.
Sennelier L'Aquarelle professional Watercolours - Blue Indanthrone, Cobalt Deep, Cobalt Blue,
Ultramarine Deep, French Ultramarine Blue.
'Blue Sennelier' is the pigment often referred to as Phthalo Blue Red Shade.
Sennelier L'Aquarelle professional Watercolours - Ultramarine Light, Blue Sennelier,
Phthalo Blue, Cinereous Blue, Royal Blue
It's unusual to see a Cerulean made with PB28 rather than PB35 or PB36.
Sennelier L'Aquarelle professional Watercolours - Cerulean Blue, Cerulean Blue Red Shade,
Turquoise Green, Cobalt Green, Phthalo Turquoise.
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There isn't a single pigment Phthalo Green PG7, but the mixed pigment Viridian is a rather nice option.
Sennelier L'Aquarelle professional Watercolours - Forest Green, Phthalo Green Deep, Viridian,
Emerald Green, Sennelier Green.
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The Sap Green is a very usable foliage green mix. I love the granulation of the opaque Chromium Oxide Green - a colour I've never used but always rather like...
Sennelier L'Aquarelle professional Watercolours - Cadmium Green Light, Hooker's Green,
Chromium Oxide Green, Green Earth, Sap Green.
The Olive Green is a lovely premixed green. I don't know where the 'Brown Pink' gets it name...
Sennelier L'Aquarelle professional Watercolours - Olive Green, Phthalo Green LIght,
Bright Yellow Green, Brown Green, Brown Pink.
The Quinacridone Gold is a nice version, even though a three pigment mix.
ennelier L'Aquarelle professional Watercolours - French Ochre, Light Yellow Ochre,
Yellow Ochre, Gold Ochre, Quinacridone Gold.
I'm always happy to see a PBr7 Burnt Sienna. Caput Mortuum is like a deep Indian Red.
Sennelier L'Aquarelle professional Watercolours - Burnt Sienna, Permanent Alizarin Crimson Deep,
Caput Mortuum, Payne's Grey, Neutral Tint.
Sennelier L'Aquarelle professional Watercolours - Van Cyck Brown, Warm Sepia, Raw Umber,
Raw Sienna, Burnt Umber.
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Sennelier L'Aquarelle professional Watercolours - Transparent Brown, Warm Grey, Sennelier Grey,
Greenish Umber, Light Grey |
Sennelier L'Aquarelle professional Watercolours - Lamo Black,
Ivory Black, Raw Sepia
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I hope this will be useful for those looking at Sennelier - especially if you are in or near France :-)
A 12-colour sketching palette suggestion would be pans (rather than tubes) of Lemon Yellow (as a cool yellow) or Primary Yellow; Sennelier Yellow Deep or Quinacidone Gold as a warm yellow; Scarlet Laquer or Rose Dore Madder Lake (my favourite warm red pigment) or French Vermilion as a warm red; Rose Madder Lake or Carmine as a cool red; Ultramarine Deep as a warm blue; Cobalt Green as a cool blue - an unusual choice as it is a turquoise, but it is non-staining, or use Phthalo Blue; Sap Green or Olive Green as a convenient green; Yellow Ochre as an earth yellow; Burnt Sienna as an earth orange; Caput Mortuum as an earth red; then Warm Grey as a convenience light for marble and stone; Payne's Grey as a convenient dark.
