Colours of painting and art
On the palette: oils, watercolour, fresco, miniature and mural.
#FF00FF
Magenta
A purplish-pink colour named after a battle and key to modern printingNamed shade · 🇫🇷 France +4
Brown
Aniline
A colourless oil that darkens with air and launched the first synthetic dyesPigment · 🇩🇪 Germany
Blue
Methylene blue
A synthetic blue dye and medicine first made in 1876Dye
#003153
Prussian blue
A deep blue pigment first made in Berlin in the early 1700sPigment · 🇯🇵 Japan
#E32636
Alizarin
A deep red dye first made from madder roots, later produced from coal tarDye · 🇹🇷 Turkey +1
Black
Vantablack
A super-black coating made from carbon nanotubes that absorbs nearly all visible lightPigment
Purple and violet
Crystal violet
A synthetic purple dye used in science, medicine, and industryDye
Green
Malachite green
A synthetic green dye once common for silk, now controversial in aquacultureDye · 🇨🇳 China +3
Pink and magenta
Basic fuchsine
A magenta dye used in biology and textile staining since the 19th centuryPigment
#E0B0FF
Mauve
A pale purple named after the mallow flower and once a fashion sensationNamed shade · 🇫🇷 France
#1034A6
Egyptian blue
A vivid blue pigment first made in ancient Egypt from copper, lime, and sandPigment · 🇪🇬 Egypt +5
#FADA5E
Naples yellow
A historic synthetic yellow pigment once prized by painters and pottersPigment · 🇪🇬 Egypt +1
#0033CC
International Klein Blue
A deep blue made famous by Yves Klein's art and a special synthetic binderNamed shade · 🇫🇷 France
#2E5090
YInMn Blue
A modern, stable blue pigment made from yttrium, indium and manganese oxidesPigment · 🇺🇸 United States +1
Blue
Han purple and Han blue
Ancient synthetic pigments of blue and purple, first made in early ChinaPigment · 🇨🇳 China
White
Titanium dioxide
A brilliant white pigment made from titanium, used in paints, food and sunscreenPigment · 🇨🇳 China +5
#E32600
Methyl orange
An orange-red azo dye used as a pH indicator in chemistryDye
White
Zinc phosphate
A white inorganic compound used to protect metal and in dental cementPigment
Yellow
Calcium chromate
A bright yellow, highly toxic pigment and industrial chemicalPigment
Red
Azo dye
A large group of synthetic dyes with vivid reds, oranges, and yellowsDye
Purple and violet
Cobalt(II) phosphate
A violet pigment and chemical compound used as cobalt violet in artPigment
Yellow
Strontium chromate
A yellow pigment and corrosion inhibitor made from strontium and chromium compoundsPigment
#000F89
Phthalo blue
A strong, synthetic blue pigment made from copper phthalocyaninePigment · 🇩🇪 Germany +1
Red
Cinquasia red
A deep red pigment from the quinacridone family, valued for its durabilityPigment
#E73501
Chrome orange
A yellowish to deep orange pigment once prized by 19th-century paintersPigment
Green
Cobalt green
A green pigment made by adding cobalt to other oxidesPigment
Yellow
Bismuth vanadate
A strong yellow pigment made from bismuth and vanadium oxidesPigment
Brown
Haematin
A dark bluish or brownish iron pigment formed by oxidising haemPigment
Purple and violet
Manganese violet
A synthetic purple pigment once favoured by Impressionist paintersPigment
#FDEE00
Aureolin
A transparent yellow pigment made from potassium cobaltinitritePigment
#123524
Phthalo green
A synthetic green pigment made from copper and chlorinated phthalocyaninePigment
#E9D66B
Arylide yellow
A family of semi-transparent yellow pigments used in art and industryPigment · 🇩🇪 Germany +1
Orange
Perinone
A group of organic pigments with orange and red isomersPigment
Red
Naphthol Red
A synthetic red pigment widely used in car paints and art materialsPigment
Red
Cerium(III) sulfide red
A bright red pigment made from a rare earth sulfide compoundPigment
Red
Alizarin Red S
A synthetic red dye used to reveal calcium and minerals in scienceDye
#EEE600
Titanium yellow
A strong yellow pigment made from titanium, nickel, and antimony oxidesPigment
Yellow
Pigment Yellow 154
A synthetic yellow pigment valued for its high light and weather resistancePigment
Red
Pigment Red 3
A dark red azo pigment once common in oil paintsPigment
Yellow
Pigment Yellow 74
A yellow-green azo pigment used in inks, paints, and tattoo coloursPigment · 🇮🇹 Italy
Yellow
Pigment Yellow 97
A synthetic yellow pigment valued for its high fastness and stabilityPigment
Purple and violet
Pigment violet 23
A synthetic violet pigment from the dioxazine family, used in commercial applicationsPigment
Yellow
Benzimidazolone pigments
A group of strong, lightfast yellow, orange, and red synthetic pigmentsPigment
Yellow
Pigment Yellow 16
A synthetic yellow pigment used in paints and printing inksPigment
Orange
Pigment Orange 36
A synthetic orange pigment valued for its lasting colour in paints and coatingsPigment
Black
Super black
A surface treatment that absorbs nearly all visible lightStandard colour · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
Blue
Engineer's blue
A blue paste used to check how closely two surfaces fit togetherPigment
Blue
Indigo carmine
A water-soluble blue dye made from indigo, used in food, medicine and sciencePigment · 🇺🇸 United States
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Magenta: Basile Morin, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mauve: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Phthalo blue: Smokefoot, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Trypan blue: Smokefoot, Public domain, source
- YInMn Blue: Mas Subramanian, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Aniline: Smokefoot, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Perinone: Stephhzz, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Strontium chromate: Quatrostein, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- International Klein Blue: Yves Klein, Public domain, source
- Cobalt(II) phosphate: Smokefoot, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Vantablack: Surrey NanoSystems, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Titanium dioxide: The original uploader was Walkerma at English Wikipedia ., Public domain, source
- Cobalt green: Stephhzz, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Manganese violet: Georges Seurat, Public domain, source
- Basic fuchsine: LHcheM, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Methylene blue: Amanda Slater, Flickr user amandabhslater, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Naphthol Red: Edgar181 ( talk ), Public domain, source
- Crystal violet: Richard Masoner, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Alizarin Red S: Waughd, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Pigment Yellow 154: Hardcoreraveman, Public domain, source
- Pigment violet 23: Smokefoot, Public domain, source
- Benzimidazolone pigments: Hardcoreraveman, Public domain, source
- Alizarin: M. Girard - University of Kansas, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Naples yellow: Matthias Stom, Public domain, source
- Methyl orange: Rubashkyn, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Chrome orange: FK1954, CC0, source
- Egyptian blue: Bairuilong, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Prussian blue: Picture created by publunch, Public domain, source
- Indigo carmine: -- メルビル ( talk ) 08:10, 28 January 2011 (UTC), CC BY-SA 3.0, source