prussian blue

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Prussian blue

The first of the modern pigments available to artists by 1724 and since then extremely popular.

Manufacturer / product code: Kremer / 45202
Chemical description: iron-hexacyanoferrate. Kremer PDF
Color: blue
Color Index: PB27
More info: Pigments Through The Ages Colourlex

Prussian Blue holds the distinction of being the first modern synthetic pigment, a discovery that permanently altered the trajectory of art history. Its creation in Berlin around 1706 was a serendipitous accident: a dye-maker named Johann Jacob Diesbach, attempting to make a red pigment, used potash contaminated with animal blood (specifically, from the alchemist Johann Dippel). Instead of red, the iron-rich reaction produced a deep, potent blue.

Before this accident, artists had few options: the prohibitively expensive Lapis Lazuli (Ultramarine) or the unstable Azurite. Prussian Blue arrived as a miracle—affordable, accessible, and intensely dark. It was immediately adopted by European masters like Watteau and Canaletto, but its most dramatic impact occurred a century later in Japan. Because it was chemically stable and fade-resistant compared to traditional organic indigo, it revolutionized woodblock printing (ukiyo-e). It is the defining color of Hokusai’s The Great Wave off Kanagawa, allowing for the depiction of deep, saturated water that didn’t turn brown over time.

In the 20th century, it became the melancholy soul of Picasso’s Blue Period and the chemical foundation of the cyanotype (the original “blueprint”). Although it can be somewhat difficult to control due to its high tinting strength and tendency to dry with a bronze sheen, it remains a vital, moody essential on the palette, valued for its ability to produce deep, mysterious blacks and atmospheric greens.

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