cerulean

Cerulean, also spelled caerulean, may be applied to a range of colors from deep blue, sky-blue, bright blue or azure color through greenish blue colors.

The first recorded use of cerulean as a color name in English was in 1590.^[1] The word is probably derived from the Latin word caeruleus, "dark blue, blue or blue-green", which in turn probably derives from caelulum, diminutive of caelum, "heaven, sky".^[2]

Use in artistic painting

Cerulean Blue PB35

Corporate logo of a Colombian company (Cerulean Blue Hue), using synthetic pigments to simulate the cerulean blue hue; on canvas.

In classical times, cerulean was used to describe blue pigments, particularly mixtures of copper and cobaltous oxides. These early attempts to create sky blue colors were often less than satisfactory due to greenish hues and lack of permanence. When the pigment cerulean blue (shown in the color box to the right) was invented, it largely superseded all these prior pigments. See also Tekhelet.

Cerulean blue pigment

Discovered in 1805 by Andreas Höpfner, the pigment originally referred to as cerulean blue (or corruleum blue) was first marketed in 1860 as "coeruleum" by George Rowney of the United Kingdom. The primary chemical constituent of the pigment is cobalt(II) stannate.^[3][4][5]

It is particularly valuable for artistic painting of skies because of the purity of the blue (specifically the lack of greenish hues), its permanence (no other blue pigments retained color as well), and its opaqueness.^[6]

Today, cobalt chromate is sometimes marketed under the cerulean blue name but is darker and greener (Rex Art color index PB 36) than the cobalt stannate version (color index PB 35). The chromate makes excellent turquoise colors and is identified by Rex Art and some other manufacturers as "cobalt turquoise".^[7][8]

Other variations of cerulean

Pale cerulean

Cerulean (Pantone)
— Color coordinates —
Hex triplet		#98B4D4
RGBB	(r, g, b)	(152, 180, 212)
HSV	(h, s, v)	(212°, 28%, 83%)
Source		PerBang.dk[9]
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

Pantone, in a press release, declared the pale tone of cerulean at right, which they call cerulean, as the "color of the millennium".^[9]

Bright cerulean

Cerulean (Crayola)
— Color coordinates —
Hex triplet		#1DACD6
RGBB	(r, g, b)	(29, 172, 214)
HSV	(h, s, v)	(209°, 94%, 49%)
Source		Crayola
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

This bright tone of cerulean is the color called cerulean by Crayola crayons.

Cerulean frost

Cerulean frost
— Color coordinates —
Hex triplet		#6D9BC3
RGBB	(r, g, b)	(109, 155, 195)
HSV	(h, s, v)	(208°, 44%, 77[10]%)
Source		Crayola
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

At right is displayed the color cerulean frost.

Cerulean frost is one of the colors in the special set of metallic colored Crayola crayons called Silver Swirls, the colors of which were formulated by Crayola in 1990.

Cerulean blue pigment

Cerulean blue pigment
— Color coordinates —
Hex triplet		#2A52BE
RGBB	(r, g, b)	(42, 82, 190)
HSV	(h, s, v)	(224°, 78%, 75%)
Source		Internet (averaged swatch)
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

Pigments through the ages shows a "Painted swatch of cerulean blue" that is representative of the actual cobalt stannate pigment. The color coordinates for a smoothed average of that swatch are shown at the right.^[11]

Cerulean in nature

• Cerulean Cuckoo-shrike
• Cerulean Kingfisher
• Caerulean Paradise-flycatcher
• Cerulean Warbler
• Cerulean-capped Manakin

Cerulean in human culture

Aerobatics

• The United States Navy Blue Angels aerobatics team wears uniforms that are a rich bright tone of cerulean.^[12]

Computer software

• Cerulean Studios is a software house based in Connecticut, United States.

Film

• In The Devil Wears Prada, Miranda Priesly (Meryl Streep) makes a reference to a cerulean colored sweater, and other high fashion clothes items in Cerulean.

• in Rio, a newspaper article announces that Blu's owner, Linda, won the state spelling bee by spelling Cerulean. ("Cerulean for the win.")

Literature

• Cerulean Sins is the eleventh book in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series by Laurell K. Hamilton.

Music

• Cerulean is the album title for the September 10, 1991 music release by the band The Ocean Blue.
• Cerulean is the favorite color of singer Panic!at the disco frontman Brendon Urie.

Science

• Cerulean cyan fluorescent protein is a mutant of green fluorescent protein.

Television

• Repetition of the words "cerulean blue" is a method the "Pusher" villain uses at the beginning of the eponymous X-Files episode 17 season 3 in order to lull his victims to do what he wants.

Video games

• Azul the Cerulean is the blue-haired 33 year-old final recruit of the Tsviets in Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII.
• Cerulean City is one of the pivotal locations in the game and anime Pokémon and is home to the Water Pokémon Gym in Kanto.

See also

• Pigment
• List of colors

References

External links

• A page on Cerulean Blue