Dr. Kyle McPhail, Intern Curator
The colour blue has a very complex history with origins in Afghanistan, journeying down the Silk Road to Renaissance Venice and eventually ending up being manufactured in the laboratories of Germany. In the classical period, for the Romans the colour was a symbol of misfortune, mostly due to Celtic soldiers wearing blue body paint. Later to people in the Middle Ages, it was considered divine and associated with the Virgin Mary, with most images of Mary depicting her wearing blue robes. In the 12th century blue was embraced by royalty and became the royal colours of France. This association with royalty, and the Virgin Mary, made the colour blue’s popularity increase over the centuries. During the Industrial Revolution it was a symbol of the improvements of pigment manufacturing. The discovery of synthetic blue pigments made it accessible and among the most popular colours used by artists. From religion, to royalty, to industry and then to art, let’s take a closer look at blue.
Lapis lazuli and ultramarine blue
The key to most blue pigments is lapis lazuli. This semi-precious and complex rock was mined in parts of Afghanistan as early as the 7th century BCE. For most of the colour blue’s history, this was the only place people mined for lapis lazuli. It was very expensive; in fact, it was similar in price to gold. Additionally, there is evidence and artworks from Ancient Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt that show the use of lapis lazuli, however they did not grind it to make a pigment. Due to its composition, when they would attempt to grind it, the colour would end up being grey rather than a brilliant blue.
In the 6th century CE people figured out how to properly utilise the pigment by mixing it with several materials to form a paste and then heating it. It was then used to create a colour known as ultramarine blue. It did not make it to Europe until the Middle Ages; however, for centuries it had been traded along the Silk Road, an ancient trading route that linked East Asia and Southeast Asia with South Asia, Persia, the Arabian Peninsula, East Africa and Southern Europe. Eventually it made its way from Afghanistan to the Mediterranean via the Silk Road. An example of a Middle Ages artwork featuring lapis lazuli is the illuminated manuscript The Book of Kells, from the late 8th early 9th century. The presence of the pigment means that the lapis lazuli went all the way from Afghanistan to Scotland, where the book was made. This shows that a great deal of money was paid to create the illuminated manuscript, but also how precious and important the colour was to those creating the artwork. Blue, or specifically ultramarine blue, was often used in images of the Virgin Mary. Her robes would be painted blue, this was meant to represent wisdom and humanity. Due to the expensive price of the pigment, this was an extra honour to Mary in religious paintings.
The Book of Kells (late 8th early 9th century).
Source: https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20160425-the-book-of-kells-medieval-europes-greatest-treasure.
Venice was an important city for art during the Renaissance in the 15th and 16th centuries. As Venice would be the first city to receive many of the shipments from the east, the artists of Venice were the first to use pigments like ultramarine blue. There are many examples from the late 15th and 16th centuries of Renaissance artists using ultramarine blue, for example artists like Michelangelo, Titian and Raphael used the pigment. Early in the Renaissance, Titian used ultramarine in many of his paintings, including Bacchus and Ariadne (1520–23). A century later, Baroque artist Johannes Vermeer’s most well-known painting, Girl with the Pearl Earring (c. 1665) notably features ultramarine blue in the turban of the young woman at the centre of the painting. Another Baroque artist Artemisia Gentileschi was known for her rich colour use, also included ultramarine in her dramatic artworks.
The use of ultramarine blue faded with the Industrial Revolution and the invention of cheaper and more accessible synthetic colours. In fact, the first modern synthetic pigment was a shade of blue. Eventually, in the 19th century a synthetic ultramarine was invented.
Bacchus and Ariadne (1520–23) Titian
Source: https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/titian-bacchus-and-ariadne.
Girl with the Pearl Earring (c. 1665) Johannes Vermeer
Source: https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-understanding-vermeers-mysteries-girl-pearl-earring.
Prussian Blue
Prussian blue is considered the first modern synthetic pigment. This dark blue is an iron pigment and was first introduced in the early 1700s, and ever since it has been widely used in art and design. It was accidentally discovered by Johann Diesbach, who was attempting to make red but didn’t have the proper ingredients. Diesbach then was adamant in trying to figure out exactly how the chemicals he mixed created such a wonderful colour. As it turns out, the potash (used in many pigments) had animal blood in it, which contains iron. The iron created a chemical reaction that resulted in blue.
Prussian blue is a very recognisable colour in paintings and has been frequently used since its invention. The earliest known usage of Prussian blue was in Jean-Antoine Watteau’s Pilgrimage to Cythera (1717).
Pilgrimage to Cythera (1717) Jean-Antoine Watteau
Source: https://smarthistory.org/antoine-watteau-pilgrimage-to-cythera/.
Apart from being the first known artist to have used Prussian blue, Watteau is considered to be the originator of French Rococo style painting. In 1723 it was used in America as an interior wall pigment, showing that the popularity of the pigment reached beyond Europe.
After its invention Prussian blue quickly became a favourite pigment of artists and was used heavily on many palettes. It was non-toxic and affordable. It did have a tendency to fade, as noted in paintings by Thomas Gainsborough who was a fan of using Prussian blue, notably The Blue Boy (c.1770). During the Victorian era, Prussian blue was popular and fashionable in decorative design. It is a very versatile pigment, being used to mix with other pigments to create a range of colours but also on its own being very vibrant. Some well-known artists favoured it, including Vincent van Gogh. Perhaps the most striking example of van Gogh’s use of Prussian blue is Starry Night (1889). Also, due to trading with the Netherlands, the pigment was also available in Japan, and was extensively used in the 19th century. One of the most recognisable artworks to utilise Prussian blue is The Great Wave off Kanagawa (c.1829-33) by Katsushika Hokusai.
Worldwide, Prussian blue has been not only used on an artist’s palette, but to colour linoleum, cosmetics, automotive painting and was the original colour of blueprints.
The Great Wave off Kanagawa (c.1829-33) Katsushika Hokusai. Source: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/45434.
Starry Night (1889) Vincent Van Gogh. Source: https://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/vincent-van-gogh-the-starry-night-1889/.
Cobalt Blue
Another important blue of the 19th century was cobalt blue. Although it had been around for centuries and used in China, Louis-Jaques Thénard’s 1802 synthetic version of cobalt blue improved on the original recipe. It was this new synthetic version that took off in the Victorian era, and was used by many artists like blue enthusiast Vincent van Gogh, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Mary Cassatt, for example in the painting Little Girl in a Blue Armchair (1878).
Little Girl in a Blue Armchair (1878) Mary Cassatt. Source: https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/becoming-modern/avant-garde-france/impressionism/a/cassatt-little-girl-in-a-blue-armchair)
Blue is very representative of the Victorian era in that blue was one of the first synthetic pigments. The Victorians had a fascination with new inventions and wanted to implement them and/or display them in their home. Additionally, there are many blue decorative objects in Dalnavert, most of which are cobalt blue. Blue has played a significant role in the histories of art and remains one of the most popular colours.
This is part of a series of blog posts related to our Dalnavert, in Colour exhibit. Look out for posts on more colours!
Bibliography
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Feller, Robert L. Artists’ Pigments: A Handbook of Their History and Characteristics, Vol.I. Washington: National Gallery of Art, 1986.
Fitzhugh, Elizabeth West (ed.). Artists’ Pigments: A Handbook of Their History and Characteristics, Vol. III. Washington: National Gallery of Art, 1997.
Gottesman, Sarah. ‘The 6,000-Year History of Blue Pigments in Art.’ Artsy. 29/11/2016 [retrieved 18/02/2021]. https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-a-brief-history-of-blue.
Hulsey, John and Ann Trusty. ‘The Color That Changed the World.’ Artists Network. N/D [retrieved 18/02/2021]. https://www.artistsnetwork.com/art-techniques/color-mixing/world-changing-color-prussian-blue/.
Roy, Ashok. Artists’ Pigments: A Handbook of Their History and Characteristics, Vol. II. Washington: National Gallery of Art, 1993.
St Clair, Kassia. The Secret Lives of Colour. London: John Murray, 2016.