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Wilma, The palette you are referring to was created by Frank Reilly. There are many versions but all are based on cadmiums. I studied the Reilly method with John Murray and taught it for many years as well. I changed it because of the difficulty students were having in controlling the cadmiums.
If you are learning to paint it would be a mistake, in my opinion, to use a palette that has a plethora of colors. It can be very confusing as Denise, who was using such a palette before studying with me, can attest to.
Tim, I find Godward's flesh very dense and far from the kind of luminous skin tone I'm interested in achieving. He was good at fabric but could have used my workshop to improve the waxy complexions he painted. Sargent, for all his brilliance didn't come close to achieving the kind of luminosity that Paxton or Bouguereau did. Nor was he interested in doing so, or he would have been using different colors.
Paxton said that since we come from dust and we return to dust when painting people we should use pigments made from dust.
Terra Rosa and Indian Red need to be used properly to tap into their great potential. Using them the way that one would use cadmiums would indeed produce a dull result. There is nothing lacking with the pigments themselves. Those who choose to study with me are very clear about the proper way to best utilize these pigments' potential.
The bottom line is that they work for me and the myriad of students that come to me looking to take it to the next level.
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