Prussian Blue: First Blue

Prussian Blue: First Blue

Published on in blues, paint, putting paint to canvas

Prussian Blue: First Blue

Prussian Blue, the first blue synthetic pigment for artists, dates back to 1704. Its accidental discovery by a Berlin color maker, Diesbach, was a closely guarded secret for the next two decades until the formulation was published, in 1724. By this time an intern of Diesbach, De Pierre, was manufacturing the pigment in Paris and by mid 18th century Prussian Blue, known also as Berlin Blue and Paris Blue, was available throughout Europe.

Prussian Blue spread from the tube at top, then mixed with differing amounts of Titanium White.
Self-Portrait with Turban, by Paul Cézanne, 1881-82, oil on canvas, 21.8 x 18.1 inches, Neue Pinakothek, Munich

Deep Mixtures and Luminous Tints

Intensely deep genuine Prussian Blue only mixes to the green, producing soft tints and facilitating dark mixtures. Its place on the palette preceded both 19th century Cobalt and Ultramarine Blues; Prussian Blue was often found in mixtures with white or black as a way to extend the choices of blue in that earlier century.

From top to bottom: Prussian Blue first unmixed then deepened with our warm and transparent Ivory Black, which is then tinted with Flake White into luminous blue grays at bottom.
Summer Night, by Winslow Homer, 1890, oil on canvas, 30.1 x 40.1 inches, Musée d’Orsay, Paris
Imaged here is a mixture of Prussian Blue with our Permanent Bright Red to create a mixed black. Because Prussian Blue tends to mix toward green, it’s easily complemented by a warm red. Vincent van Gogh would have used Vermilion in this same mixture at the time his self-portrait, shown below, was painted.
Self-Portrait, by Vincent van Gogh, Spring of 1887, oil on cardboard, 16.5 x 13.2 inches, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL

Remington’s Nocturns

Frederic Remington’s celebrated night paintings of the American West are inspiring works of both nuance and rich color. Prussian Blue was used freely in thin layers, alone, mixed with Ivory Black and/or tinted with whites. He also used a mixed green based on Prussian Blue, and often combined his various yellows in the tints of Prussian Blue for moonlit nuances of green. In 2003, the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, in association with the Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, OK, exhibited 29 of these works in Frederic Remington: The Color of Night, which is archived on their website here. Below are several of the paintings from this exceptional past exhibition.

The Old Stage-Coach of the Plains, by Frederic Remington, 1901, oil on canvas, 40¼ x 27¼ inches, Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, TX
The Outlier, by Frederic Remington, 1909, oil on canvas, 40⅛ x 27¼ inches, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, NY
Prussian Blue unmixed at top and then tinted with Titanium-Zinc White. Bottom left is Cadmium Yellow Light that is also mixed into the tint in differing amounts for pale greens.
Figure of the Night (the Sentinel), by Frederic Remington, 1908, oil on canvas, 30⅛ x 21⅛ inches, Sid Richardson Museum, Fort Worth, TX

Prussian Blue in Mixed Greens and Premixed Greens

As a cool mixing blue, Prussian is ideal for creating mixtures of green with any yellow, warm or cool, vibrant or earthy. Here are some examples where painters have utilized this characteristic of Prussian Blue and its rich color strength in depicting nature and a sense of light or shadow.

The Hay Wain, by John Constable, 1821, oil on canvas, 51.2 x 72.9 inches,
The National Gallery, London
Mixtures of deep green with earth colors:
In this image Prussian Blue is at top left and our French Yellow Ochre is at right. These are then mixed into a deep green that is slightly tinted at bottom with the delicate Flake White.
In this mixture Prussian Blue at top is unmixed and then combined into a rich deep olive green with our Burnt Sienna, shown at bottom right.

Chrome Green, based on Prussian Blue plus Chrome Yellow, was popular among painters as a premixed green of great economy in the 19th century. More expensive and somewhat more exclusive were the single pigmented greens Chromium Oxide and Viridian. Here is a landscape by Monet and several mixtures based on Prussian Blue with similar results:

The House on the River Zaan in Zaandam, by Claude Monet, 1871, oil on canvas, 18.8 x 20 inches, Städel Museum, Frankfurt
In this image, Prussian Blue is unmixed at top and then combined with our Brilliant Lemon, at right, for several shades of green. This bright mixture is then tinted with Titanium-Zinc White at bottom.
Prussian Blue is unmixed at top and then combined with a warm Cadmium Yellow, which appears unmixed at middle right. More of the Cadmium Yellow is added to the mixture for greater warmth and sunlight.

Visit our website here to learn more about our authentic Prussian Blue.

29 Comments

  1. Adele Corrigan
    February 26, 2019 at 6:34 pm  ·  Reply

    Love how you gave examples of master paintings to go along with the mixing of color combinations.
    As always, you are teaching us color use.

    • Gail Spiegel
      February 27, 2019 at 8:44 pm  ·  Reply

      Hello Adele,
      Thank you for your appreciation of the post and your positive feedback. Painting is a wonderful journey of discovery isn’t it?
      Thank you again,
      -Gail

  2. Kathryn Keller
    February 28, 2019 at 11:08 am  ·  Reply

    This article on Prussian Blue is a piece of art in itself. Thank you for this marvelous information including the excellent examples of the master paintings. All this wealth of information in one email!

    • Gail Spiegel
      March 2, 2019 at 12:29 pm  ·  Reply

      Hello Kathryn,
      Thank you for visiting our blog and your kind remarks. We appreciate your feedback!
      -Gail

  3. Lee Hatfield
    February 28, 2019 at 11:45 am  ·  Reply

    I love your emails & how you teach color blending & then show us how the masters used those paints! Painting with your oils is like painting with butter! Thank you for teaching us so many interesting blends!

    • Gail Spiegel
      March 2, 2019 at 12:46 pm  ·  Reply

      Hello Lee,
      Thank you for your valuable feedback. That’s the great thing about using authentic pigments like Prussian Blue, it’s a present day inspiration that links us to master painters from the past. Thank you for your support of our colors,
      -Gail

  4. Linda Murphy
    February 28, 2019 at 1:20 pm  ·  Reply

    Thanks to David Lidbetter for sharing this excellent article. I am just about to check out the others in the series. It really made me think more consciously of the mixtures to be created with a colour that I love to use.

  5. Jen Greely
    March 2, 2019 at 8:36 am  ·  Reply

    My favorite pigment – mixed with black in printmaking it adds such depth – thank you for this wonderful article with sublime paintings to accompany the mixes. Well done!

    • Gail Spiegel
      March 2, 2019 at 1:05 pm  ·  Reply

      Hello Jen,
      Thank you for your visit and kind remarks. We appreciate your insights on this historic blue!
      -Gail

  6. Lynne
    March 2, 2019 at 9:23 am  ·  Reply

    Excellent article and examples. Thank you so much. I’ve always used viridian along with various yellows for a great variety of greens, but this now has to be in that repetoire!

  7. Pat Millin
    March 9, 2019 at 8:57 am  ·  Reply

    I learn so much from this color study using Vasari paint, I will copy this and start saving them for reference! Thank you👩‍🎨

    • Gail Spiegel
      March 11, 2019 at 6:47 pm  ·  Reply

      Hello Pat,
      You are welcome! Thank you for visiting the blog and your positive review. We appreciate your support.
      Best regards,
      Gail

  8. Katherine
    March 9, 2019 at 3:53 pm  ·  Reply

    So interesting to see how these colors have been used by the masters to create such a variety of tone and atmosphere and color. Thank you!

  9. Richard Wyatt
    March 9, 2019 at 5:53 pm  ·  Reply

    Gail,
    I’ve been waiting a long time for your collection of blog posts to come out in book form.
    They are wonderful and inspiring and I love to see how they can be used.

    Richard

    • Gail Spiegel
      March 11, 2019 at 7:01 pm  ·  Reply

      Hello Richard,
      Nice to hear from you! Thank you for your positive review and kind remarks. We appreciate your generous support.
      A book?…have to add that one to my “to do” list!
      Best regards,
      Gail

  10. Penny Otwell
    March 10, 2019 at 12:09 pm  ·  Reply

    Thank you for this blogpost. I love the color mixing examples along with masterworks. Prussian Blue will be on my next order! Your paint outshines all the others! I appreciate your company so much.

    • Gail Spiegel
      March 11, 2019 at 7:04 pm  ·  Reply

      Hello Penny,
      And we appreciate your generous support. Thank you for visiting the blog and your positive feedback.
      -Gail

  11. KaustavM
    March 11, 2019 at 1:30 am  ·  Reply

    I use Prussian Blue as my primary studio blue. I can create any kind of blues (violety or greenish), any greens, purples, blacks etc. Due to high tinting strength this is helpful in toning down of colors. I don’t use any other blue for my studio works. With some experience in paint handling this helps to achieve wonders as mentioned above.

    • Gail Spiegel
      March 11, 2019 at 7:13 pm  ·  Reply

      Hello Kaustav,
      Thank you for visiting our blog and your valuable insights on working with Prussian Blue. I tried to focus on painters that only used Prussian Blue as the blue on their palette or were otherwise known for favoring this unique color.
      -Gail

  12. Anita Kersch
    April 13, 2019 at 8:56 am  ·  Reply

    Thank you for this email and the uses of Prussian blue! I was especially interested in the night scenes by Remington! That green is amazing! Anita Kersch

    • Gail Spiegel
      April 13, 2019 at 3:58 pm  ·  Reply

      Hello Anita,
      Thank you for your positive feedback. You are right about Remington’s nocturnals, they are so engaging and believable in every way.
      And Prussian Blue was a key pigment in his achievement.
      Thank you for your comment,
      -Gail

  13. Julie Schultz
    April 13, 2019 at 11:44 am  ·  Reply

    I’ve always loved Prussian blue but now I get to love it even more with all the combinations you’ve illustrated. Thanks for the visual info!

    • Gail Spiegel
      April 13, 2019 at 4:03 pm  ·  Reply

      Hello Julie,
      Thank you for your appreciation of the post. You are welcome, I hope it inspires your work.
      -Gail

  14. Rita Burnap
    April 14, 2019 at 11:39 pm  ·  Reply

    Thank you so much for your emails. I look forward to reading them and gain so much inspiration from the information that you include. I especially gained insight on your demonstration of Prussian Blue.

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