Cornflower blue

Description

A fugitive organic blue colorant obtained from cornflower petals (Centaurea dyanus). Cornflower blue was used in some 18th century watercolor paintings.

Synonyms and Related Terms

Centaurea dyanus; Boyle's blue; cyan blue; blu fiordaliso (It.); ambreta, ciano (Port.)

Physical and Chemical Properties

• Not lightfast

Resources and Citations

• R.D. Harley, Artists' Pigments c. 1600-1835, Butterworth Scientific, London, 1982

• Art and Architecture Thesaurus Online, https://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/aat/, J. Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles, 2000