Viridian
- HEX
- #40826D
- RGB
- 64 130 109
- HSL
- 161° 34% 38%
- CMYK
- 51 0 16 49
Viridian or Teal?
Greener than teal.
History
Viridian is hydrated chromium oxide, a cool, transparent blue-green first made in Paris in 1838 by the color maker Pannetier. He and his successor Binet kept the process secret and the paint expensive, until Charles Guignet patented a cheaper method in 1859. J. M. W. Turner was already using it by 1840. See viridian-pigment.
Language
Its name comes from Latin viridis, green, the root of French vert and English verdant.
Art
Viridian became the Impressionists' green. Monet counted it among his newest colors, Renoir laid it on almost pure in Boating on the Seine, and it was Cézanne's main green: of all the new synthetic pigments, it was nearly the only one he used. Unlike the arsenic greens, it was stable and non-toxic.
Kin
- Emerald: Chromium again: it tints emerald, and viridian is a chromium oxide
- Green: A permanent green with no arsenic in it
In paintings
- Impression, Sunrise, Claude Monet
- The Japanese Footbridge, Claude Monet
- Water Lilies, Claude Monet
Sources
- Wikipedia, 'Viridian' (Pannetier and Binet 1838; Guignet 1859; Turner 1840)
- Ball, Bright Earth: The Invention of Colour (2001)
- Gage, Colour and Culture (1993)
- WebExhibits, Pigments through the Ages, 'Viridian' (Pannetier and successor Binet)
Hex values are screen approximations. Every page lists its sources.