Blue pigments

Description

Blue is a color produced by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of about 450-490 nm. It is considered a primary color in both the RGB additive as well as in the traditional RYB color wheel. An average blue color is represented by the following color coordinates:

• Hex triplet: # 0000FF
• RGB: (0, 0, 225); CMYK (0, 0, 0, 100)
• HSV: (240°, 100%, 100%)

Examples of inorganic blue pigments:

• oxide ( Cobalt blue, Smalt, Cerulean blue)
• carbonate (Azurite, Verditer)
• silicate (ultramarine, Lazurite, Egyptian blue)
• other (Prussian blue, Manganese blue)

Examples of organic blue pigments:

• plant (Indigo, Woad)
• synthetic (Phthalocyanine blue, Aniline blue)

Synonyms and Related Terms

Blau (Deut.); azul (Esp.); pigments bleus (Fr.); pigmenti blu (It.); caeruleus (Lat.); blauw (Ned.); blå (Dan., Sven.); pigmentos azuis (Port.)

Comparisons

Characteristics of Common Blue Pigments

Resources and Citations

• Ruth Siddall, 'Mineral Pigments in Archaeology: Their Analysis and the Range of Available Materials' Minerals Vol 8, p. 201 (2018). Link
• Nicholas Eastaugh, Valentine Walsh, Tracey Chaplin, Ruth Siddall, Pigment Compendium, Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, 2004
• R. J. Gettens, G.L. Stout, Painting Materials, A Short Encyclopaedia, Dover Publications, New York, 1966
• Ralph Mayer, A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques, Harper and Row Publishers, New York, 1969 (also 1945 printing)
• Art and Architecture Thesaurus Online, http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/aat/, J. Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles, 2000