Violet (color)

Violet is the color of light at the short wavelength end of the visible spectrum. It is one of the seven colors that Isaac Newton found when he studied light in 1672. Violet light has a wavelength between about 380 and 435 nanometers. The color is named after the Viola genus of flowers.

In the RGB color model for screens, violet is made by mixing red and blue light, with more blue. In the older RYB color model for painters, violet is made by mixing red and blue pigments. It sits between blue and purple on the color wheel. For printing, the CMYK color model uses magenta and cyan pigments to make violet.

Violet is often linked with purple. In science, violet is a spectral color, meaning it is the color of single wavelengths of light. Purple is made by combining red and blue light. In everyday language, people use both violet and purple to describe colors between blue and red in hue.

Throughout history, violet has been connected to royalty and importance. This is because Tyrian purple dye was very expensive. Roman emperors and later Byzantine emperors wore purple clothing. During the Middle Ages, violet was worn by bishops and university teachers and was used in art for the robes of the Virgin Mary. In Chinese painting, violet represents harmony and balance in the universe. Some modern beliefs link violet with spiritual ideas and personal expression.

Etymology and definitions

The word violet comes from old languages. It started with the Latin word viola, which means the violet flower. People began using "violet" to name a color in English around the year 1370.

Violet is very close to purple. In science, violet is a special color that comes from a single wavelength of light, between about 380 and 435 nanometers. Purple is made when red, blue, and violet lights mix together. In everyday language, people use both violet and purple for colors that are between blue and red. Traditionally, violet is used for colors closer to blue, while purple is used for colors closer to red. On the color wheel, both violet and purple sit between red and blue, with violet being nearer to blue.

In science

Optics

Violet is one kind of color we can see. It is at one end of the spectrum of visible light, between indigo light and ultraviolet light. Ultraviolet light has a shorter wavelength and we cannot see it. Violet light has wavelengths between about 380 and 435 nanometers.

Chemistry – pigments and dyes

People used violet colors a very long time ago. They got violet from minerals like manganese and hematite. Some indigenous Australians, like the Aranda people, still use manganese today. The Hopi Indians in Arizona also used it.

A famous violet-purple dye called Tyrian purple came from a sea snail called the murex. People around the Mediterranean made it.

In Polynesia, people made a violet dye from sea urchins. In Central America, people used a different sea snail called the purpura to make violet dye. The Mayans used it for religious clothes. The Aztecs used it in paintings.

During the Middle Ages, artists mixed red and blue paints to make violet. They used red ochre, cinnabar, or minium for red, and woad or indigo for blue.

Orcein, also called purple moss, was another violet dye. People made it from a lichen called Roccella tinctoria mixed with ammoniac.

In the 1700s, people began making new dyes in labs. Two new purple dyes were made around the same time.

Cobalt violet is a violet paint made in labs. It is very common for artists today.

Mauveine was the first new dye made in a lab. People found it in 1856.

In the 1950s, new violet paints called quinacridones were made. They are strong and do not fade in sunlight. People use them for paints and car coatings.

In [amethyst](/wiki/Amethyst), the violet color comes from a tiny bit of iron.

Chemical structure of [pigment violet 29](/wiki/Pigment_Violet_29).

Manganese violet, a popular violet paint.

Zoology

The [marine hatchetfish](/wiki/Marine_hatchetfish) lives very deep in the ocean.

The [purple sea urchin](/wiki/Strongylocentrotus_purpuratus).

The violet carpenter bee ([Xylocopa violacea](/wiki/Xylocopa_violacea)) is one of the largest bees in [Europe](/wiki/Europe).

The [violet-backed starling](/wiki/Violet-backed_starling) lives in [Sub-Saharan Africa](/wiki/Sub-Saharan_Africa).

The [violet sabrewing](/wiki/Violet_sabrewing) lives in [Central America](/wiki/Central_America).

The [imperial amazon](/wiki/Imperial_amazon) parrot is on the flag of [Dominica](/wiki/Dominica). It is the only flag in the world with violet.

Botany

[Lobelia](/wiki/Lobelia)

[Crocus](/wiki/Crocus) flowers.

[Lilac](/wiki/Lilac) flowers

[Pansy](/wiki/Pansy) flowers.

[Sweet violet](/wiki/Sweet_Violet) flowers.

The [iris](/wiki/Iris_\(plant\)) flower is named after the [Greek](/wiki/Greek_language) word for [rainbow](/wiki/Rainbow).

[Lavender](/wiki/Lavender) fields in the [Vaucluse](/wiki/Vaucluse), in [Provence](/wiki/Provence), France

[Wisteria](/wiki/Wisteria) blooms are a light violet color.

An [eggplant](/wiki/Eggplant).

In history and art

Prehistory and antiquity

Violet is one of the oldest colors humans used. Very dark violet was made by grinding the mineral manganese and mixing it with water or animal fat. This color was found in prehistoric cave art in Pech Merle, France, about 25,000 years ago. It was also used in the cave of Altamira and Lascaux. Sometimes it was used instead of black charcoal. Sticks of manganese were found at places where Neanderthals lived in France and Israel. It may have been used to color bodies or to decorate animal skins.

Berries like blackberries from the genus rubus were often used for dyes in ancient times. The ancient Egyptians made a violet dye by mixing mulberry juice with crushed green grapes. The Roman historian Pliny the Elder wrote that the Gauls used a violet dye from bilberry to color the clothing of slaves. These dyes made a purple color, but they faded quickly in sunlight or when washed.

Middle Ages and Renaissance

Violet and purple were important colors for emperors and church leaders during the time of the Byzantine Empire.

Violet was worn by professors at many new universities in Europe. Their robes looked like those of church leaders, and they often wore square violet caps and violet robes, or black robes with violet edges.

Violet was also important in religious paintings during the Renaissance. Angels and the Virgin Mary were often painted in violet robes. The 15th-century Florentine painter Cennino Cennini gave artists advice on mixing violet colors.

The Wilton Diptych (1395), painted for King Richard II.

A violet-clad angel from the Resurrection of Christ by Raphael (1483–1520).

18th and 19th centuries

In the 18th century, purple was a color for royalty, aristocrats, and wealthy people. Good purple fabric was too expensive for ordinary people.

The first cobalt violet, a red-violet color, was very poisonous. It was later replaced with safer cobalt compounds. Cobalt violet became available in the second half of the 19th century, giving artists more purple colors. It was used by Paul Signac, Claude Monet, and Georges Seurat.

In the 1860s, violet colors became very popular with painters. Vincent van Gogh used violet in many of his paintings, often with its complementary color, yellow. In a letter about his painting of his bedroom in Arles (1888), he talked about how he used violet and other colors to create a feeling of rest.

In 1856, a young British chemist named William Henry Perkin was trying to make medicine. Instead, he made a deep purple dye called mauveine, or simply mauve, named after the mallow flower. This dye became very popular with noble and upper-class people in Europe, especially after Queen Victoria wore a dress dyed with mauveine. Before this, only very rich people could afford mauve. Perkin built a factory to make the dye, so almost anyone could wear mauve. It was the first of many modern industrial dyes that changed the chemical industry and fashion.

Charles de Bourbon, the future King Carlos III of Spain (1725).

In England, pre-Raphaelite painters like Arthur Hughes loved purple and violet. This is April Love (1856).

Nocturne: Trafalgar Square Chelsea Snow (1876) by James McNeill Whistler, used violet to create a wintery mood.

The Starry Night, by Vincent van Gogh (1889), Museum of Modern Art.

In culture

In a European survey, violet was a favorite color for some people. It was less popular than blue, green, red, black, and yellow. It was also sometimes not a favorite color.

Violet has been linked to royalty and luxury because it was once the color of Roman emperors. It is often used in luxury items like watches and jewelry. In some religions, violet is a special color worn by important leaders. It is also used in spiritual practices and by some political groups.