Called everything from sinopia to Venetian red, this warm reddish brown paint is a red earth color often used in Italian Renaissance paintings.  Its warm depth is perfect for mixing with white to create creamy skin tones, as described by the 15th-century Italian painter and writer Cennino Cennini in his handbook on painting, Il libro dell'arte. Cennini recommended mixing Venetian red with lime white, in proportions of two to one, to paint the skin tones of faces, hands and nudes.