From the ancient Phoenician dye to its symbolic use in medieval and Renaissance art, purple has conveyed notions of divine majesty and authority since 975 CE. But what lies behind this captivating and complex color?
Beyond its historical and cultural significance, purple holds profound psychological and spiritual meanings, evoking themes of royalty, creativity and enlightenment. Once reserved for royals, the advent of synthetic dyes in the 19th century democratized access to purple pigments, fueling artistic expression and cultural movements like Impressionism. Join us as we explore this rich and complex hue.
Color Science
Have you ever wondered why we see purple in the first place? Our perception of color is rooted in the physics of light and its wavelengths. Violet lies near-ultraviolet radiation, appearing energetic, while red sits at the opposite end with lower energy. Purple, however, defies this pattern, as its average wavelengths suggest a green-yellow hue.
Despite its non-spectral nature, our brains perceive purple due to the complex workings of our vision, particularly the cones in our eyes. Ultimately, color perception is a brain construct, interpreting signals from various wavelengths to create the vibrant spectrum we experience.
Violet Color vs. Purple
The distinction between violet and purple is essential in understanding the science of color perception. While both colors sit between red and blue on the color wheel, purple leans towards red, whereas violet is closer to blue. From an optical perspective, violet is a spectral color with its own place in the spectrum of light, identified by Isaac Newton in 1672. It possesses a distinct wavelength, unlike purple, which is a combination of red and blue and lacks a specific wavelength.
Interestingly, when we observe the "purple" color in a rainbow, it is actually violet. Our brain interprets violet as purple when the red and blue receptors in our eyes are stimulated, while the green receptors are not. Therefore, purple is a construct of our brain, resulting from the activation of specific color receptors. Violet is not a shade of purple; rather, our eyes and brain perceive it as such. Purple, on the other hand, is a shade of magenta when combined with blue.
Ancient Origins
Throughout history, purple pigments have been revered for their prestige and allure, with their origins tracing back to prehistoric times. Purple pigments are first seen during the Neolithic era in cave paintings. At sites like the Pech Merle cave in France, Neolithic artists utilized sticks of manganese and hematite powder to create depictions of animals and the outlines of their own hands on cave walls.
Tyrian purple, also known as royal purple, imperial purple or imperial dye, derives its name from the city of Tyre in Phoenicia, modern-day Lebanon, where it was first produced. This reddish-purple natural dye is secreted by several species of sea snails belonging to the family Muricidae.
When the snails are threatened or attacked, they release mucus as a defense mechanism. The dye can be collected through labor-intensive "milking" of the snails, a renewable but time-consuming method, or by crushing the snails destructively. However, the yield from a large number of snails is small, twelve thousand Murex brandaris snails produce only enough dye to color the trim of a single garment, such as the stunning fabric below.
The production of Tyrian purple dates back to ancient times, with the Phoenicians pioneering its extraction from the mucus of these sea snails around 1200 BC. This process continued through the Greek and Roman eras until the fall of Constantinople in 1453 AD. The dye was highly valued for its permanence and vivid color, becoming synonymous with power and wealth. Textiles dyed with Tyrian purple were status symbols, worn primarily by the elite.
In the 4th century BC, purple dye fetched its weight in silver. Its association with royalty was so entrenched that sumptuary laws in Rome restricted its use to the emperor and highest-ranking officials. The toga praetexta, edged in Tyrian purple, was worn by senior magistrates, while the toga picta, solid Tyrian purple with gold thread edging, adorned generals celebrating triumphs. By the 4th century AD, only the Roman emperor was permitted to wear Tyrian purple, cementing its association with imperial authority.
During the Byzantine Empire, the production of Tyrian purple was tightly controlled and subsidized by the imperial court, enhancing its exclusivity. Rulers adorned themselves in flowing purple robes and signed official decrees with purple ink, while their offspring were referred to as "born in the purple," symbolizing their royal lineage. Empresses even gave birth in the Purple Chamber lined with Egyptian Porphyry, connecting the color to divinity since birth.
Another example of a tightly controlled purple resource, Egyptian or Imperial Porphyry is an 'extinct' stone characterized by its deep wine-purple hue. This exceptionally hard stone was quarried from a single site in Egypt and became a potent symbol of imperial wealth and power, demonstrating the vast reach of an empire. The stone’s association with Tyrian purple further cemented its status as an imperial material.
The stone’s exclusivity and symbolism continued to captivate even centuries later. Napoleon Bonaparte, inspired by its imperial legacy, endeavored to rediscover the lost vein of Imperial Porphyry. Despite sending teams at great expense to locate this elusive stone, he ultimately was interred in an imitation porphyry sarcophagus.
Additionally, Han purple, an artificial pigment utilized in China from 500 BC to AD 220, played a significant role in adorning the Terracotta Army.
Purple’s enduring legacy as a symbol of wealth and status continues to captivate modern imaginations despite its rarity during its time.
Medieval and Renaissance Symbolism
Artists in the Middle Ages created purple hues by combining blue and red pigments, such as blue azurite or lapis-lazuli with red ochre, cinnabar or minium. Additionally, they would mix dye with powder, employing woad or indigo dye for the blue component and dye from cochineal for the red. These intricate methods resulted in rich purple toned paint that was prominent in medieval artworks.
In Medieval and Renaissance art, purple often symbolized divine majesty and heavenly grace. Inspired by the return to the classical ideals of Roman customs including royal purple, Renaissance artists particularly embraced the color. Religious figures, particularly Christ and the Virgin Mary, were frequently depicted adorned in robes of vibrant purple, emphasizing their elevated spiritual status and authority. These representations reinforced the association of purple with divine favor and spiritual significance.
The use of purple and violet extended to many religious paintings of the Renaissance, where angels and the Virgin Mary were commonly portrayed wearing robes in these hues, further highlighting their sacred and celestial qualities. Although often depicted in blue, purple is also a fitting color for Mary and the Christ Child, since the royal color asserts that Mary and Christ are part of King David’s lineage.
Within illuminated manuscripts of the time, purple featured prominently in full-page title or 'incipit' pages, often paired with text written in gold or silver. While some manuscripts utilized purple backgrounds achieved through staining or painting parchment, others employed purple made from natural sources like orchil. Notably, purple robes were reserved for high-ranking church officials in Catholic and Orthodox traditions, symbolizing their authority and connection to divinity.
The Modern Era: Discovery of Synthetic Dyes
Purple’s colorful history continued into the synthetic world purely by chance. In 1856, a young and ambitious William Henry Perkin, at the request of his chemistry professor August Wilhelm von Hofmann, embarked on a scientific quest to synthesize quinine, the potent antimalarial compound vital for combating the scourge of malaria, then rampant in the expanding reaches of the British Empire.
During Perkin's experimentation, he attempted to oxidize aniline which yielded a seemingly failed organic reaction, leaving behind a murky black precipitate in his glassware. Perkin, in the process of cleaning the vessel with alcohol, stumbled upon an astonishing discovery: remnants of a vibrant purplish hue clinging to the glass's surface.
This chance encounter marked the birth of mauveine, the world's first synthetic dye. Patented by Perkin in August 1856, this transformative discovery promised to revolutionize the textile industry, offering a cost-effective alternative to the labor-intensive extraction of natural dyes from plants and mollusks. Originally dubbed aniline purple, the dye soon earned its enduring moniker, mauve, derived from the French word for the mallow flower.
In 1859, several years after the spontaneous discovery of mauve, cobalt violet was synthesized by Frenchman Salvetat and appeared on the pigment market. Cobalt violet marked a significant milestone as the first true violet pigment, however, they were composed of cobalt arsenate which is highy toxic.
Manganese violet emerged nine years later, offering a brighter hue while mitigating safety concerns. Artists such as Claude Monet incorporated manganese violet prominently in their works, notably in his Rouen Cathedral series, where it provides a glimmer within shadows. Beyond its application within the artistic sphere, manganese violet imparts its vibrant hue to products like lipstick and eyeshadow.
“I have finally discovered the true color of the atmosphere. It is violet. The open air is violet. I found it! […] In three years from now, everyone will be wearing purple!” -Claude Monet.
The Impressionists' infatuation with the color purple led to labels like "violettomania" and "indigomania." In 1859, a Punch magazine article described all of London as afflicted with "mauve's measles," attributing it to Perkin's fortuitous error.
Along with these new pigments, the commercialization of paint tubes revolutionized the art world's approach to color application. Before 1841, artists relied on containers like pig's bladders tied with string to transport paint. These bladders, each containing a single color, required piercing with a pin or tack for access. However, once opened, all the paint had to be used immediately due to the inability to seal the bladder. Furthermore, their cumbersome nature made them difficult to transport, limiting painters' access to a diverse color palette, especially when working in different locations.
John Rand's tin paint tube design from 1841 allowed painters to store and transport their entire palette, enabling them to work en plein air and complete works in fewer sittings. The affordability and convenience of Rand's tubes eventually won over artists, including prominent figures like Pierre-Auguste Renoir, who credited them with enabling Impressionism's emergence. The availability of portable tubes in violet hues facilitated the rapid production of purple canvases.
Cultural and Psychological Meanings
Violet holds the distinction of being the highest vibrating color both in the realm of physics and spirituality. As a combination of blue and red, purple signifies stability from blue and energy from red. It is widely associated with themes of royalty, luxury, nobility, power and ambition, while also representing creativity, extravagance, dignity, grandeur, independence, pride, peace, mystery and magic.Purple has been embraced by significant movements such as the suffragette movement and is emblematic of honor and bravery in military contexts. The association with royalty adds an aura of sophistication and exclusivity, while spiritually, purple is tied to higher consciousness and enlightenment, particularly in Hindu and Buddhist traditions where the purple or crown chakra is considered vital for spiritual growth.
Viewed through the lens of color psychology, studies show that purple can foster a sense of harmony between the mind and emotions, promoting mental equilibrium, peace of mind and a connection between the spiritual and physical realms, as well as between thought and action. In Chinese painting, the color violet symbolizes the concept of unity transcending the duality of Yin and Yang, as well as representing the ultimate harmony of the universe.
During the 1960s and early 1970s, purple also became linked with counterculture movements, psychedelics and influential musicians such as Jimi Hendrix in the United States, known for his 1967 song "Purple Haze," and the English rock band Deep Purple, formed in 1968. The color continued its cultural resonance into the 1980s, notably featured in the song and album "Purple Rain" (1984) by the musician Prince.
Overall, purple is revered for its complexity, embodying a blend of passionate red and tranquil blue, evoking contemplation and introspection. Its association with creativity and imagination makes it a favored choice for inspiring spaces, stimulating artistic thoughts and fostering innovation.
Shades of Purple
Purple comes in many shades and hues, many just as iconic as purple itself, such as lavender, plum, violet, fuchsia, magenta, indigo, thistle and orchid. Many of these shades get their names from nature, especially flowers where the color is more common and especially vivid.
The naming of the color purple varies depending on factors such as the color space model or cultural and geographical context. For example, many English speakers in the United States would refer to a blue-dominated shade as purple, but the same color is referred to as violet by many in the United Kingdom.
As previously mentioned, violet technically is its own spectral color distinct from purple, one of the seven colors that Isaac Newton labeled when dividing the spectrum of visible light in 1672.
In the 2000s, computers revolutionized the representation of colors like electric purple. Through additive color mixing on screens, computer artists achieved a much brighter and purer purple compared to traditional pigments. Electric purple, precisely halfway between violet and magenta, epitomizes this advancement, embodying the purest and brightest purple achievable on computer screens. Additionally, the color name Mardi Gras has been in use since 2001 to refer to a vivid reddish purple color that is closely associated with the Carnival celebrations.
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