Cobalt blue

This box shows the colour cobalt blue.
 

Cobalt blue is a cool blue colour. Louis Jacques Thénard discovered this color in 1802.[1][2] People make it using cobalt salts. That is why it is called cobalt blue.

Many artists use cobalt blue. Many pieces of glassware have this colour. Glassware that has this colour is called cobalt glass.

Cobalt blue in popular media

  • John Varley said that cobalt blue should be used to paint skies. Before this, most artists used ultramarine blue.
  • Maxfield Parrish was a famous painter who painted the sky. People liked the bright colors that he used in his paintings. Commonly, he used cobalt blue. Because he was so popular, cobalt blue is also called Parrish blue.
  • The Chinese used cobalt blue to make blue and white porcelain. They used it as the main blue pigment because it was easy to make. The first used it during the late 1700s and early 1800s. It was very good and they used it for a long time afterwards.[3]

Tones of cobalt blue colour comparison chart

Name Color HEX Code Red Green Blue Hue Sat Lum Source
Cobalt blue #0047AB 0 71 171 215° 100% 34%
Zaffre #0014AB 0 20 171 233° 100% 34%
Smalt #003399 0 51 63 220° 100% 30% (Dark Powder Blue)
Spanish Cobalt Blue #00438A 0 67 138 211° 100% 27% Cobalt Blue (Gallego & Sanz)
Thenard Blue #333C87 51 60 135 234° 45% 36% Gallego & Sanz

Cobalt Blue Media

Related pages

References

  1. "Louis Jacques Thénard". philamuseum.org. Retrieved 2024-11-24.
  2. Brown, Evan Nicole (February 5, 2021). "It's Not Every Day We Get a New Blue". The New York Times: 1. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/05/style/blue-pigment-YInMn.html. Retrieved November 24, 2024. 
  3. "Chinese visual arts » Stylistic and historical development, 1206–1912 » Yüan dynasty (1206–1368) » Ceramics." Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Accessed 14 May 2009.