Raphael

Raphael has made artists' brushes at Le Mans in France since 1793, and sits in the same French group as Sennelier, which is why the two ranges are usually stocked together. The house is best known for its kolinsky rounds and, more recently, for SoftAqua, one of the few synthetics that genuinely competes with squirrel on water capacity.

What SoftAqua actually does

Squirrel hair holds an enormous amount of water but has almost no spring, so it collapses under pressure and will not hold a point for detail. SoftAqua fibres are crimped rather than straight: the waves trap water between them the way natural hair does, while the filament itself recovers its shape. In practice one brush lays a broad wash and then takes the detail inside it without a change of tool, which is the whole argument for a pointed quill mop.

Stocked here

Le Voyageur travel mop 3/0, with a reversible cap that extends the handle for plein-air and sketchbook work
SoftAqua Kazan pointed quill mop, mini size 4, for washes and contours in small studies

Compare against our own handmade Kolkata mop brushes, browse all artist brushes, or read which paint brush to buy. Raphael brushes are stocked at Stationerie in Kolkata and shipped across India.