A lake pigment is a pigment made by precipitating a dye with an inert binder, or mordant, usually a metallic salt. Lake pigments are largely chemically organic. Manufacturers and suppliers to artists and industry frequently omit the lake designation in the name. Many lake pigments are fugitive because the dyes involved are not lightfast. Red lakes were particularly important in Renaissance and Baroque paintings; they were often used as translucent glazes to portray the colors of rich fabrics and draperies.
Etymology
The term lake is derived from the term lac, the secretions of the Indian wood insect Kerria lacca (formerly Laccifer lacca or Coccus lacca). It has the same root as the word lacquer, and comes originally from the Hindi word , through the Arabic word and the Persian word .
Chemistry
thumb|upright|alt=Molecular diagram; refer to image caption|A typical lake pigment: [[Lithol Rubine BK]]
Many modern lake pigments are azo dyes. They characteristically have sulfonate and sometimes carboxylate substituents, which confer negative charge to the chromophore (colored species).
The metallic salts or binders used are typically colourless or almost so. Carminic acid, the organic compound which gives carmine its color, was synthesized in 1991. Researchers in 2022 were examining the potential to genetically engineer microbes to produce carminic acid.
Rose madder is now produced more cheaply from synthetic sources, although some use of natural products persists, especially among artisans. The food and cosmetics industries have shown renewed interest in cochineal as a source of natural red dye.