Blue: The World's Favourite Colour and Its Origins

Blue was revealed to be the world's favourite colour in a series of surveys covering 10 countries across four continents.

The colour blue has been around us for as long as we have existed, but the pigment blue came later in history when we were finally able to create and hold it in our hands. 

While the sky and water appear blue, they do not produce pigment. This is because the chemical properties that create blue pigments are different from the optical properties that make things look blue. 

 Due to its rarity, the word 'blue' was a latecomer to many languages. 

Linguistic Origins 

In English, we call the colour between green and violet on the visible spectrum 'blue.' But travel anywhere else in Europe, and you'd experience it as 'azul' in Spanish and Portuguese, 'azzurro' in Italian, and 'bleu' in French. What accounts for these differences? The history of language evolution, cultural exchange, and trade. 

The English word 'blue' is from the Old French 'bleu,' which comes from a Germanic root, probably Old High German 'blao,' meaning lustrous or shimmering. The word was loaned into Middle English around the time of the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. The Normans were Old French speakers, and their impact on the English language was considerable, introducing many colour-related words. 

The Romance languages, such as Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian, derived from Latin, the language of the Roman Empire. In Latin, the root word for blue was 'caeruleus,' meaning something blue or sky-blue in colour. However, the influence of Arabic on the Iberian Peninsula, due to the Moorish occupation, is likely responsible for the term 'azul,' which most likely comes from the Arabic word 'lazaward'—referring to the blue stone, lapis lazuli, that was highly valued and traded across medieval Europe and the Middle East. 

Similarly, the Italian 'azzurro' stems from 'azzurra,' another derivative of the Arabic word 'lazaward.' Italy, an important center of trade during the Renaissance, facilitated many cultural exchanges and passed many terms through its widespread networks of Eastern commerce. 

Blue as a pigment

There’s a long list of inventions that we can thank the ancient Egyptians for, and the colour blue as a pigment is one of them. Egyptian blue, also known as cuprorivaite, is considered to be the first synthetic colour pigment. It was created around 2,200 B.C. by grinding limestone and mixing it with sand and a copper-containing mineral, such as azurite or malachite. This mixture was then heated to temperatures between 1470 and 1650°F, resulting in an opaque blue glass. The glass was crushed and combined with thickening agents like egg whites to create a durable paint or glaze. 

 

The "Juglet" from the Middle Kingdom, dating back to around 1750–1640 B.C.

Lapis lazuli, a semi-precious gemstone used to make jewellery and headdresses, was also employed to create blue pigments. The process to make the pigment, however, was complex. Various attempts often resulted in a dull grey colour. The most prized pigment, ultramarine, was derived from lapis lazuli and was highly valued for its intense blue hue.

Lapis lazuli intaglio: Serapis enthroned

Ultramarine Blue

Fun fact: It is said that Vermeer’s love for the colour pushed his family into debt 

The Milkmaid (detail) Johannes Vermeer c. 1658–1661 Oil on canvas, 45.5 x 41 cm. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Cobalt Blue

Cobalt blue is a vibrant blue pigment made from cobalt salts and alumina. This vivid blue glass could also be ground into a fine powder to make a blue-violet pigment similar to ultramarine but far less expensive. It was widely used primarily in ceramics and stained glass, becoming the chosen pigment for the iconic blue and white Chinese porcelains in the 8th and 9th centuries.

Indigo Blue

Although blue was extremely expensive to use in paintings, it was much cheaper to use for dyeing textiles. Unlike the rarity of lapis lazuli, the introduction of a new blue dye called 'indigo' came from an abundantly grown crop, Indigofera tinctoria, a plant originally from India that was cultivated worldwide. Its introduction in the 16th century disrupted the European textile industry, sparking trade conflicts between Europe and America. There were almost no other sources of blue dye. If you've ever worn blue jeans, you're familiar with indigo.

Indigo Blue

Today, we use synthetic dye to achieve that deep, rich blue colour. However, in the last decade, scientists have discovered that the bacteria Escherichia coli can be bio-engineered to produce the same chemical reaction that creates indigo in plants. This method, known as 'bio-indigo,' is expected to play a significant role in manufacturing environmentally friendly denim in the future.

Prussian Blue

Another accidentally discovered blue is Prussian blue, also known as Berliner Blau, found by German paint maker Diesbach in Berlin in 1704. Diesbach was working on creating a new red pigment when one of his materials, potash, came into contact with animal blood. Instead of intensifying the red colour, the animal blood caused a surprising chemical reaction, resulting in a vibrant blue. Prussian blue creates perfect copies of drawings, which architects use to replicate their designs. This practice led to the term ‘blueprints’. 

Katsushika Hokusai from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji 

International Klein Blue

French artist Yves Klein, in his pursuit of the colour of the sky, developed a matte version of ultramarine that he considered the best blue of all. He famously declared the blue sky as his first artwork and went on to discover groundbreaking methods to depict the infinite and immaterial in his creations. By 1957, he was working solely in blue, spray-painting canvases, everyday objects, and casts in a flat blue. 

'Blue has no dimensions. It is beyond dimensions.'Yves Klein 

Klein with his sculpture Blue Globe (RP 7) in his Paris atelier in 1961© Norfolk Museums Service/Photograph By John Hammond

This intense ultramarine pigment became a hallmark of his monochrome paintings and performance art, where he sought to evoke a sense of the infinite and the immaterial. Klein's artistic philosophy was deeply rooted in concepts of space, mysticism, and spirituality, which he expressed through his use of pure colour and unconventional techniques such as body painting and fire paintings. His work had a significant impact on the development of contemporary art, influencing movements like minimalism and conceptual art. Klein's legacy continues to inspire artists and art enthusiasts worldwide.