My reasons for writing today’s article were selfish. Having not gone to art school, I know very little about the history of color. I knew I would never sit down and do the research unless I was forced. My research below is the compilation of hours of reading, skimming hundreds of articles.

The most shocking discovery in all my research is how “colorful” the history of color really is - from deadly paint pigments and the odd ways they’re made, to the powerful feelings colors invoke. Let’s just say I walked around for days spewing facts about color. It became a bit of an obsession. My husband can attest.

I hope you enjoy this information as much as I did. I tried to only include what I found to be highly important or interesting, and left everything else out. Despite being one of the must interesting topics I’ve ever studied, there are A LOT of boring articles about color history on the internet. Hopefully this is not one of them!

“Why do two colors, put one next to the other, sing? Can one really explain this?” – Pablo Picasso

RED

“A thimbleful of red is redder than a bucketful.” -Henri Matisse

Positive Associations: life, health, vigor, courage, love | Negative Associations: war, anger, danger

Red was the first pigment known to man. The first shade of red was Red Ochre, derived from clay. It was used in prehistoric cave paintings.
In the 1500s, a red pigment from the cochineal insect (found in Mexico and South America) became popular. This dye is called Carmine. It’s still used to color foods and cosmetics today (something I wish I didn’t know).
Vermillion became popular in the Renaissance era, but ended up being too toxic and expensive. It was derived from cinnabar, found in oxidized mercury. This shade can still be purchased today, but it’s derived from safer materials.
Matisse popularized the pigment Cadmium. The EU tried to ban it in 2014, claiming it was polluting the water with toxins. They were unsuccessful because the pigment is only “mildly” toxic - hence why you can find both “cadmium” and “cadmium-free” pigments at the art store.
Fun fact: Men and women see the color red differently. The X chromosome helps women see red and orange more vividly. Red is also the first color a baby can see.
Meanings for different cultures:
China: Luck (symbolizes Chinese New Year)
Middle East: Danger
India: Purity (brides often wear red)
Latin America: Religious Devotion

ORANGE

“Orange is the happiest color.” - Frank Sinatra

Positive Associations: warmth, success, joy, health | Negative Associations: superficial, proud, indulgent

The color didn’t have a name until the 1500s. Before then, it was called yellow-red or saffron. Believe it or not, it’s actually named after the fruit!
In the Elizabethan Era, only nobility were allowed to wear orange.
In 1809, synthetic Chrome Orange was invented. It was an immediate success, especially among the impressionists. Monet, Renoir, Gauguin, and Van Gogh were its biggest advocates.
Orange is the easiest color to see in low lighting, which is why it’s used for life jackets, construction blockades, and prison jumpsuits.
Fun Fact: The Golden Gate Bridge is painted with the color ‘international orange.’ It’s commonly used in the aerospace industry as a way of highlighting objects.
Meanings for different cultures:
Middle East: Mourning and Loss
India: Sacred
Japan: Love, Courage, Happiness

YELLOW

“What a horrible thing yellow is.” -Edward Degas

Positive Associations: happiness, warmth, sunshine | Negative Associations: caution, deceit, cowardess

Yellow Ochre was the first yellow pigment in existence. Like Red Ochre, it was also found in prehistoric cave paintings, and is derived from clay.
A popular shade during the French impressionist era was Indian Yellow, derived from the urine of mango fed cows. It was eventually banned because of animal cruelty.
Yellow is often the color Judas wears in Christian paintings, hence why it can symbolize deceit.
Because yellow is a highly reflective, bright color, it’s used for school buses, caution tape, and taxicabs.
Fun Fact: Yellow can cause nausea, so it’s avoided on airplanes.
Meanings for different cultures:
Egypt & Latin America: Death and Mourning
Germany: Envy and Jealousy
Africa: Money and Success
Polynesia: Sacred

GREEN

“Green is the prime color of the world, and that from which its loveliness arises.” -Pedro Calderon de la Barca

Positive Associations: tranquility, luck, health, energy | Negative Associations: envy, jealousy, greed

Believe it or not, green has a dark past. It’s the most poisonous color throughout history.
In 1775, Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele invented Scheele’s Green, which was laced with arsenic. Napolean Bonaparte’s bedroom was painted with this color, and many think it contributed to his death.
In the late 1800s, Paris Green was invented. It was a favorite of Monet, Cezanne, and Renoir. Also a toxic paint color, many believe it contributed to the artists health issues (Cezanne’s diabietes and Monet’s blindness). It was finally banned in the 1960s.
Fun fact: Green is the color used in night vision goggles because the human eye can interpret the most shades of this color.
Meanings for different cultures:
China & Indonesia: Infidelity and Disgrace
Japan: Eternal Life
England: Heroism (Robin Hood)
South America: Death
Mexico: Independence
Islam: Paradise

BLUE

Positive Associations: freedom, intuition, imagination, inspiration | Negative Associations: depressive, passive, stubborn

”Blue is the only color which maintains its own character in all its tones… it will always stay blue; whereas yellow is blackened in its shades, and fades away when lightened; red when darkened becomes brown, and diluted with white is no longer red, but another color – pink.” -Raoul Dufy

In ancient Rome, blue was seen as a working class color. The color didn’t become mainstream until much later. Many would argue that the depictions of the Virgin Mary wearing blue in the 1100s changed this perception.
Ultramarine Blue originally came from the rare lapis lazuli stone, found only in Afghanistan. This made the paint super expensive. In the 1950s, a synthetic version of the pigment was created, making this shade more affordable.
Blue is the number one favorite color around the world. Because it’s a universally loved color, it’s often used to communicate messages in advertising and across cultures.
Fun Fact: Mosquitos are especially attracted to blue.

Meanings for different cultures:

China: Immortality & Advancement
Japan: Purity
Latin America: Hope & Health
Hinduism: Heaven & Spirituality (many gods are depicted as having blue skin)
Catholicism: Purity (the Virgin Mary is often shown wearing blue)

PURPLE

“I have finally discovered the true color of the atmosphere. It’s violet. Fresh air is violet.” - Claude Monet

Positive Associations: magic, spirituality, bravery, royalty | Negative Associations: sensitive, immature, emotional

During the Byzantine empire, purple represented wealth and royalty because of how expensive the dye was to produce. Tyrian purple (named after the Phoenician port city of Tyre) came from sea snails. It would take over 250,000 snails to produce one ounce of dye. The process was extremely tedious. Few could afford the cost.
Student William Henry Perkin invented a synthetic purple dye in 1856 at the Royal College of Chemistry. It was a malaria treatment experiment gone wrong. This was the first time the color was widely available, and it made him a rich man. He named the shade Mauve.
Purple was associated with the psychedelic drug culture of the 1960s and 70s, making it cool again.
Purple is the second most favorite color around the world.
Fun Fact: There is only one nation with purple in its flag - Dominica.

Meanings for different cultures:

Thailand: Mourning
Middle East: Wealth
Africa: Femininity
Japan: Nobility & Strength

WHITE

Such a magnificent sky, and it’s nothing but white paper! -Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Positive Associations: purity, virtue, innocence | Negative Associations: bland, empty, cold

White was one of the first pigments used - also found in prehistoric cave drawings. It was derived from calcite and chalk.
White is another color with a toxic past. Lead White was a popular poisonous pigment. It was invented in 400 BC, and wasn’t banned until 1978. Much too late if you ask me! Unfortunately, it was used in large quantities to prime canvases. It was even used in cosmetics.
Zinc White was invented in 1782 by French chemist Louis-Bernard Guyton de Morveau as a safer alternative to Lead White. Unfortunately it wasn’t widely used at first because it was much more expensive and translucent. It inspired Chinese White, invented by Winsor & Newton in 1834.
In 1921, Titanium White (or Permanent White) was invented, making Lead White less popular. It provided better coverage and was a brighter shade of white.
Fun Fact: White is the safest car color.

Meanings for different cultures:

China: Mourning & Death
India: Innocence & Purity
Africa: Peace & Purity
Japan: Spirituality & Purity

BLACK

There’s something about black. You feel hidden away in it. -Georgia O’Keeffe

Positive Associations: power, sophistication, magic, elegance | Negative Associations: mourning, evil, death

Black was another color seen in cave paintings. It was derived from charcoal, burnt bones and maganese oxide powder.
In the 1300s, it became a very “official” color worn by royalty, clergy, judges and government officials throughout Europe.
In the 1800s, it became a popular color amongst poets and businessmen. It didn’t become a high fashion color until the 1900s.
Lamp Black, still a popular shade today, is obtained from the soot of burned fat, oil, tar, or resin. It was commonly used in ancient Egyptian tombs.
Fun Fact: We are more likely to remember something we see in color, rather than in black and white.