Ultramarine is an extremely bright and rich shade of blue, named after the inorganic pigment of the same name. Ultramarine powder is widely used in the chemical industry because it is resistant to heat, light and alkaline solutions.
Ultramarine in art
Ultramarine naturally exists as a colored or colorless mineral called lapis lazuli. It acquires its stunning bright blue color due to annealing. In the 17th century, ultramarine was considered the best paint for medieval artists, which was brought from the East. In ancient India and Iran, lapis lazuli was ground with stone millstones, calcined, burning sulfur, and ground again. The resulting powder was then mixed with wax, resin and oil, rubbing again, and the result was an azure paint.
In Russia, lapis lazuli paint was called "cabbage roll" and was highly valued by icon painters who used it for their very best masterpieces.
For Western Europeans, ultramarine was more expensive than gold. So, the world famous artist Titian, working in Venice, specially stipulated the condition for the supply of three ounces of azure to him. Expensive and hard-to-obtain paint in those days was used exclusively for the most important elements of paintings - for example, the robe of the Virgin was painted with lapis lazuli.
Ultramarine at home
In the modern world, an ultramarine color or shade is sometimes used in interiors, making it the main focal point. In various industries, it is used for making paints, bluing paper, linen, food, and dyeing rubber. In addition, ultramarine blue is used for dyeing chalk, polymer materials, cement, as well as in the production of soap, ink, household chemicals, rubber, cosmetics and copy paper.
The rich color of ultramarine goes well with black, white, bright green and bright yellow shades.
Another advantage of ultramarine is its excellent whitening properties, completely neutralizing yellowness due to its unique reddish tint. When using ultramarine as a bleach, the color does not change depending on the light, which is very appreciated by manufacturers of detergents, paints and polymer products.
According to its main characteristics, ultramarine is not a poisonous pigment and is absolutely harmless both during processing and in the composition of the final product. It has excellent heat resistance, light fastness and weather resistance. Ultramarine does not migrate, is environmentally friendly and has excellent dispersion, as well as high alkali and acid resistance.