Post on 27-Jan-2021
© Charlotte Herczfeld , for The Pastel Scribbler March 2012.
A Review of Henri Roché pastels By Charlotte Herczfeld
Have you heard about the pastels called Roché? Many pastel painters know about them, but are
reluctant to try them because they are priced as luxury items. The question we all tend to ask is: are
they really worth it?
La Maison du Pastel in Paris has a long and respectable history dating back to 1720. In 1887, M. Henri
Roché became the head of the firm, and it has stayed in the family since. Today, Isabelle Roché keeps
up the tradition of making these handmade pastels using the old equipment and methods. (Read
more about the charming history at http://www.lamaisondupastel.com/en/history )
The sticks I’m testing are indeed pure
and vibrant in colour. A yellow, an
orange, deep red, violet red, deep
blue, blue green, and a pale peachy
colour (picture 1). What immediately
strikes me is that although the Roché
sticks feels to be on the hard side, they
release the pigment very readily, and I must take care to apply only a light pressure. The pigment is
quite granular and rough, as you can see in picture 2, where the upper rows of swatches are of the
Rochés, with their interesting play of light and shadow, and the lower are of the likewise handmade
UK brand Unison. These marks are made on ordinary printer paper.
Picture 1
Picture 2
© Charlotte Herczfeld , for The Pastel Scribbler March 2012.
One of my favourite pastel papers is the
Fisher 400, as I layer a lot and normally
need the tooth it provides. I rarely use
fixative, as usually it “melts” the
pigments together in a way that
destroys the shimmering effect of
overlapped and adjacent marks. I use
paper with a deep tooth instead. So my
first sketch was made on this paper
(picture 3). The aggressive tooth of the
paper really “eats” the pastel sticks at a
rate which is frightening with this
expensive pastel. When I continued
layering with the sides of the sticks, the
Roché pastels deposited less and less
pigment – it felt as if the sticks were
rolling on the granular pigments already
down on the paper, as if on ball
bearings. That was interesting, and got
me thinking about the glow of old oil
paintings, when the pigment particles
were larger than today’s.
Next sketch is on Clairefontaine-Rhodia
Pastelmat (picture 4). This paper
normally acts as if one was painting on
the sticky side of tape and a pastel mark
will not move until there are several
layers under it. The Roché pastels are
the only ones I have tried (of some 10
different brands) where the first marks
actually could be smoothed out and into
the paper, and where the second layer
could be blended into the first. The
marks went down in an uneven way, and
if I pressed too hard there was a lot of
loose granular dust. Now I’m starting to
see a trend for these pastels, and the
light bulb turns on!
Picture 3
Picture 4
© Charlotte Herczfeld , for The Pastel Scribbler March 2012.
As Edgar Degas used the Roché pastels, what would happen
if I used papers and methods similar to his? He worked on
papers without special tooth, used fixative liberally to keep
the strokes from blending too much, and laid down the first
layers flat and then switched to hatching marks creating an
optical blending in the eye.
The Roché pastels release their pigments beautifully on a
simple pastel paper of the Ingres type. I work similarly to
how Degas did his first layers, and I stopped sketching at the
point of picture 5 as the paper was too full with pigment. I
used a very good fixative which I know makes minimal
changes to single layer colours, but tends to melt together
layered colours of other pastel brands. In other words, this is
a tough test. I applied four light layers of fixative, and
allowed them to dry completely between applications. The
fixated painting is in picture 6. To my surprise, there is no
spotting where droplets have fallen. The colours stay pure
and separate – even the light yellow marks on top of darker
pastel only darken very slightly. I’m deeply impressed!
The rougher texture
of the fixated layers
works beautifully as a
toothy ground and
would allow me to put
on as much pastel as
before fixating, but
I’m content with
touching up the
sketch just a little bit
more. There is no
visible difference
between the fixated
layers and the new
pastel pigment.
(Picture 7.)
Picture 5, above, before fixating Picture 6, below, after fixating
Picture 7
© Charlotte Herczfeld , for The Pastel Scribbler March 2012.
I find I really like how the Roché pastels make uneven marks, allowing previous layers to peek
through without my having to make the marks separated or very small. The marks have a look much
like scumbled oil paint, which is difficult to achieve with soft pastels, but the Rochés perform just
wonderfully in this respect. I find I love the vibrancy and painterly look which is so easily made.
I’m amazed at discovering how Degas made it work for him. It wasn’t a special fixative, it wasn’t
secret methods he took with him to the grave – it was the beautiful performance of the Roché
pastels working so well with fixative. The “secret” was in the pastel sticks all the time!
The price range for a single full stick is between €16 and €20 (VAT included). That is about seven
times more than what my machine-made “workhorse” sticks cost. However, La Maison du Pastel
now offer small sets with half-sticks, for half the price, which is a good option for trying them out.
Are the Roché pastels really worth it, then?
That is the question. There are other brands with high pigment content and brilliant colours. I
couldn’t in good conscience recommend the Roché pastels to a beginner because of the cost, but the
more seasoned painter would get an additional variation of expression in their toolbox. My personal
opinion is this: What makes the Roché pastels so special are their comparatively temperamental
nature in how the strokes go down in a lovely varied way, and how excellently the layers take a high
quality fixative, allowing for a truly impressionist manner of painting. The rougher granular texture
lets the light and shadow play in every stroke, truly adding that special sparkle which makes a pastel
painting so unique. If that is what you dream of for your paintings, then an investment in Roché
pastels would be worth it.