Bistre brown
A medium brown once used in ink by the Old Masters
Bistre brown is a medium brownish shade, closely matching the ink used by Old Master artists for drawings. The colour is also known as soot brown and shares its tone with drab, sand dune, and mode beige, names recorded in English from the late 17th to early 20th centuries.
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- Bistre brown matches the ink used by Old Master artists.
- Also known as soot brown, drab, sand dune, and mode beige.
- The name drab for this colour dates back to 1686.
What colour is Bistre brown?
Bistre brown is a medium brownish colour, also called soot brown. It is the shade that most closely matches the sample shown in the 1930 reference work A Dictionary of Color. This tone is notable for being the colour of ink used by the Old Masters, artists known for their skill in drawing. Bistre brown sits among the earthier browns, not as dark as some, but with a muted, natural look.
Where does Bistre brown come from?
The name bistre brown comes from its link to bistre, a pigment made from soot. This particular shade is also called soot brown, reflecting its origin. The colour is matched to the ink used by artists in earlier centuries. The names drab, sand dune, and mode beige refer to the same colour and were first recorded in English between 1686 and 1928.
Where Bistre brown is used
Bistre brown is best known as the colour of ink used by the Old Masters for their drawings. Its earthy, subdued tone made it a popular choice for sketching and studies in art. The colour is also referenced in colour dictionaries and has been used under other names in various contexts.
Brown around the world
What the brown family means from country to country.
Brown is the colour of Nazism in German political speech, after the brown shirts of the party's stormtroopers. To call a view "brown" is to call it far right.
Politics and protestDanger and warningShameSource: SturmabteilungMasi is bark cloth beaten from paper mulberry and printed in brown and black. It is worn at weddings and funerals and given in ceremonial exchanges.
Sacred and holyWeddings and marriageSource: Tapa clothKuntunkuni is a dark brown mourning cloth of the Asante, dyed with tree bark. Adinkra cloth, stamped with symbols, was first made on such dark grounds for funerals.
Mourning and deathSadnessSource: Adinkra symbolsThe batik of the Javanese courts at Yogyakarta and Surakarta is dyed in soga brown with indigo and cream. Some court patterns were once reserved for the royal family.
Royalty and powerPrideSource: BatikBogolanfini, or mud cloth, is cotton painted with fermented river mud in browns, black and white. Hunters wear it for protection, and women after childbirth.
Protection and healingSacred and holySource: BògòlanfiniShades and relatives of Bistre brown
Bistre brown is identical in colour to drab, sand dune, and mode beige. These names refer to the same medium brownish shade, though they may be used in different contexts or periods. The tone is a specific version of bistre, which can come in slightly different shades.
Colours that go with Bistre brown
Harmonies are worked out from the value #967117. Contrast ratios follow the WCAG 2 formula.
Questions people ask about Bistre brown
What colour is bistre brown?
Bistre brown is a medium brownish shade, similar to the ink used by Old Master artists for their drawings.
Where does the name bistre brown come from?
The name comes from bistre, a pigment made from soot, and this shade is also called soot brown.
Is bistre brown the same as drab or sand dune?
Yes, bistre brown has the same colour coordinates as drab, sand dune, and mode beige.
When was bistre brown first named in English?
The colour name drab, which matches bistre brown, was first recorded in 1686.
Good reading and sources
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Bistre" (the section "Bistre brown"), written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence. Rang rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.
It may contain mistakes. The swatch is an approximation: named colours are not fixed standards, and every screen shows them a little differently. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-03.
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