Colours of painting and art
On the palette: oils, watercolour, fresco, miniature and mural.
#80FF00
Chartreuse
A bright yellow-green named after a French liqueurNamed shade
#FFFDD0
Cream
A soft yellow-white named after the top layer of milkNamed shade
#000080
Navy blue
A deep blue shade named for the uniforms of the Royal NavyNamed shade · 🇺🇸 United States +2
Pink and magenta
Basic fuchsine
A magenta dye used in biology and textile staining since the 19th centuryPigment
#008080
Teal
A dark cyan named after the Eurasian teal bird’s blue-green head stripeNamed shade
#43B3AE
Verdigris
A historic bluish-green pigment formed on copper and used in art since antiquityPigment · 🇬🇷 Greece +1
#F4C430
Saffron
A yellow-orange shade named after the colour of saffron crocus threadsNamed shade · 🇮🇳 India +1
Orange
Annatto
A yellow-orange dye and flavour from the seeds of the achiote treeDye · 🇲🇽 Mexico +5
#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
Black
Bone char
A deep black pigment and filter made by charring animal bonesPigment
Green
Celadon青瓷
A jade-green ceramic glaze prized in East Asian pottery for centuriesNamed shade · 🇨🇳 China +4
#8A3324
Umber
A natural brown pigment from earth, valued for its warmth and versatility in artPigment · 🇨🇾 Cyprus +2
#FFFFF0
Ivory
A soft off-white shade with a hint of yellow, named after animal tusksNamed shade
#3D2B1F
Bistre
A dark brown pigment and colour made from soot, once used in Old Master drawingsPigment
#007BA7
Cerulean
A blue-green colour once made from cobalt stannate and linked with the skyNamed shade · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
#9966CC
Lavender
A pale purple named for the lavender flower, with many subtle variationsNamed shade
#E97451
Sienna
A reddish-brown earth pigment named after the city of Siena in ItalyPigment · 🇫🇷 France
#FFE5B4
Peach
A soft pastel shade named for the inside of a peach fruitNamed shade · 🇨🇳 China
#002366
Royal blue
A strong, deep blue linked with royalty and national flagsNamed shade · 🇫🇷 France +4
Green
Scheele's green
A yellowish-green pigment once prized for its brilliance, now infamous for its toxicityPigment
#E49B0F
Gamboge
A strong yellow pigment tapped from Southeast Asian treesPigment · 🇰🇭 Cambodia +5
#B7410E
Rust
A deep reddish-orange named after the colour of oxidised ironNamed shade
#40826D
Viridian
A blue-green pigment made from hydrated chromium oxide, valued in painting since the 1800sPigment
#E3A857
Indian Yellow
A clear, glowing orange-yellow pigment once made in India from cow urinePigment · 🇮🇳 India
#191970
Midnight blue
A deep blue that recalls the sky late at night under moonlightNamed shade
#FADA5E
Naples yellow
A historic synthetic yellow pigment once prized by painters and pottersPigment · 🇪🇬 Egypt +1
#FFA700
Chrome yellow
A bright yellow pigment made from lead chromate, once popular in art and industryPigment
Red
Kermes
A deep red dye made from Mediterranean scale insects, once prized for scarlet clothDye · 🇪🇬 Egypt +5
#73C2FB
Maya blueazul maya
A vivid turquoise blue pigment made by the ancient Maya and AztecsPigment · 🇲🇽 Mexico +1
#7DF9FF
Electric blue
A bright blue named for the glow of electrical discharges and lightningNamed shade
Red
Brazilin
A red dye from brazilwood and sappanwood, used in textiles and paints since the Middle AgesDye · 🇧🇷 Brazil +4
#006B3C
Cadmium pigments
A family of strong yellow, orange, red and green pigments made from cadmium compoundsPigment
Red
Lacलाक्षा
A red resin secreted by insects and used as dye, varnish and shellacColour named from nature · 🇮🇳 India +5
#0033CC
International Klein Blue
A deep blue made famous by Yves Klein's art and a special synthetic binderNamed shade · 🇫🇷 France
#B0E0E6
Powder blue
A pale blue once made from powdered cobalt glass, now a standard paint and web colourNamed shade
#CC8899
Puce
A brownish-purple shade named after the flea and once favoured in French fashionNamed shade · 🇫🇷 France +1
#BA160C
International orange
A strong reddish-orange used for safety in engineering, aerospace and maritime workNamed shade · 🇺🇸 United States +1
#824B27
Mummy brown
A transparent brown pigment once made from ground Egyptian mummiesPigment · 🇪🇬 Egypt
#318CE7
Bleu de France
A vivid blue long linked with France and its national identityNamed shade · 🇫🇷 France
#2E5090
YInMn Blue
A modern, stable blue pigment made from yttrium, indium and manganese oxidesPigment · 🇺🇸 United States +1
#FF3800
Coquelicot
A vivid reddish-orange named after the wild corn poppy flowerNamed shade
#6699CC
Blue-gray
A cool-toned mix of blue and grey seen in nature, art, and uniformsNamed shade
#664228
Van Dyck brown
A deep, earthy brown once made from German peat and soilPigment · 🇩🇪 Germany
#E32636
Rose madder
A traditional red pigment made from the roots of the madder plantPigment · 🇪🇬 Egypt +5
#D40000
Rosso corsa
The deep red that marks Italian racing cars and teamsNational or team colour · 🇮🇹 Italy
#FDF8FF
Zinc white
A cool, low-toxicity white pigment made from zinc oxidePigment
#A91101
Turkey red
A lasting bright red dye for cotton, made from madder root by a complex processNamed shade · 🇹🇷 Turkey +4
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Lavender: User:Fir0002, GFDL 1.2, source
- Bistre: The original uploader was Jean-no at French Wikipedia ., Public domain, source
- Bleu de France: Lars-Göran Lindgren Sweden, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Blue-gray: IlyaHaykinson, CC BY 2.0, source
- Sienna: DanielCD~commonswiki, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Umber: Gixie, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cadmium pigments: Marco Almbauer, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cream: Aleksey Pogrebnoj-Alexandroff, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Gamboge: Maša Sinreih in Valentina Vivod, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ivory: By Aaron Logan, CC BY 1.0, source
- Maya blue: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Mauve: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Midnight blue: Kippelboy, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Navy blue: Official Navy Page, Public domain, source
- Rosso corsa: Matthew Lamb, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Viridian: Josh814, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- YInMn Blue: Mas Subramanian, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Zinc white: Johann Georg von Dillis, Public domain, source
- Lac: Jeffrey W. Lotz, CC BY 3.0, source
- Annatto: Porto Neto, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Celadon: Vassil, Public domain, source
- Electric blue: User:Pslawinski, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- International Klein Blue: Yves Klein, Public domain, source
- Mummy brown: Geni, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Scheele's green: Georg Friedrich Kersting, Public domain, source
- Bone char: Honza Groh ( Jagro ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kermes: MyName ( Gryffindor ) stitched by Marku1988 This panoramic image was c, Public domain, source
- Basic fuchsine: LHcheM, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Coquelicot: Robert Vonnoh, Public domain, source
- Rust: AndrewHenkelman, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Peach: Jack Dykinga, USDA, Public domain, source
- Saffron: Albert Bridge, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Naples yellow: Matthias Stom, Public domain, source
- Indian Yellow: Shisha-Tom, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Chrome yellow: FK1954, CC0, source
- Chartreuse: Jeuwre, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Verdigris: No machine-readable author provided. Nartoun assumed (based on copyrig, Public domain, source
- Teal: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Cerulean: Stephhzz, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Egyptian blue: Bairuilong, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- International orange: Ad Meskens, CC BY-SA 3.0, source