Crimson

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Crimson
 
Gtk-dialog-info.svg    Color coordinates
Hex triplet #DC143C
sRGB B (r, g, b)(220, 20, 60)
HSV (h, s, v)(348°, 91%, 86%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)(47, 140, 8°)
Source HTML/CSS [1]
ISCC–NBS descriptor Vivid red
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

Crimson is a rich, deep red color, inclining to purple. [2] It originally meant the color of the kermes dye produced from a scale insect, Kermes vermilio, but the name is now sometimes also used as a generic term for slightly bluish-red colors that are between red and rose. It is the national color of Nepal.

Contents

History

Crimson (NR4) is produced using the dried bodies of a scale insect, Kermes, which were gathered commercially in Mediterranean countries, where they live on the kermes oak, and sold throughout Europe. [3] Kermes dyes have been found in burial wrappings in Anglo-Scandinavian York. They fell out of use with the introduction of cochineal, also made from scale insects, because although the dyes were comparable in quality and color intensity, ten to twelve times as much kermes is needed to produce the same effect as cochineal.

Carmine is the name given to the dye made from the dried bodies of the female cochineal, although the name crimson is sometimes applied to these dyes too. Cochineal appears to have been brought to Europe by the Spaniard Hernán Cortés during the conquest of the Aztec Empire and the name 'carmine' is derived from the French carmin. It was first described by Pietro Andrea Mattioli in 1549. The pigment is also called cochineal after the insect from which it is made.

Alizarin (PR83) is a pigment that was first synthesized in 1868 by the German chemists Carl Gräbe and Carl Liebermann and replaced the natural pigment madder lake. Alizarin crimson is a dye bonded onto alum which is then used as a pigment and mixed with ochre, sienna and umber. It is not totally colorfast.

Etymology

The word crimson has been recorded in English since 1400, [4] and its earlier forms include cremesin, crymysyn and cramoysin (cf. cramoisy, a crimson cloth). These were adapted via Old Spanish from the Medieval Latin cremesinus (also kermesinus or carmesinus), the dye produced from Kermes scale insects, and can be traced back to Arabic qirmizi (قرمزي) ("red") [qrmzj] ( listen ), also borrowed in Turkic languages kırmız' and many other languages, e.g. German Karmesin, Italian cremisi, French cramoisi, Portuguese carmesim, Dutch “karmozijn”, etc. (via Latin). The ultimate source may be Sanskrit कृमिज kṛmi-jā meaning "worm-made". [5]

A shortened form of carmesinus also gave the Latin carminus, from which comes carmine.

Other cognates include the Persian ghermez "red" derived from "kermest" the red worm, [6] Old Church Slavonic чрьвл҄ѥнъ (črьvl'enъ), archaic Russian чермный (čermnyj), Bulgarian червен (cherven), and Serbo-Croatian crven "red". Cf. also vermilion.

Dyes

Carminic acid Carminic acid structure.png
Carminic acid

Carmine dyes, which give crimson and related red and purple colors, are based on an aluminium and calcium salt of carminic acid. Carmine lake is an aluminium or aluminium-tin lake of cochineal extract, and crimson lake is prepared by striking down an infusion of cochineal with a 5 percent solution of alum and cream of tartar. Purple lake is prepared like carmine lake with the addition of lime to produce the deep purple tone. Carmine dyes tend to fade quickly.

Carmine dyes were once widely prized in both the Americas and in Europe. They were used in paints by Michelangelo and for the crimson fabrics of the Hussars, the Turks, the British Redcoats, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Nowadays carmine dyes are used for coloring foodstuffs, medicines and cosmetics. As a food additive in the European Union, carmine dyes are designated E120, and are also called cochineal and Natural Red 4. Carmine dyes are also used in some oil paints and watercolors used by artists.

In nature

Crimson rosella Crimson Rosella dec07.jpg
Crimson rosella

In culture

Literature

Music

Film

Nobility

Religion

Food

Military

School colors

Crimson (UA)
 
Gtk-dialog-info.svg    Color coordinates
Hex triplet #9E1B32
sRGB B (r, g, b)(158, 27, 50)
HSV (h, s, v)(349°, 83%, 62%)
CIELChuv (L, C, h)(35, 91, 7°)
Source [11]
ISCC–NBS descriptor Vivid red
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

Vexillology

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red</span> Primary color

Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondary color in the CMYK color model, and is the complementary color of cyan. Reds range from the brilliant yellow-tinged scarlet and vermillion to bluish-red crimson, and vary in shade from the pale red pink to the dark red burgundy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Purple</span> Range of colors with the hues between blue and red

Purple is a color similar in appearance to violet light. In the RYB color model historically used in the arts, purple is a secondary color created by combining red and blue pigments. In the CMYK color model used in modern printing, purple is made by combining magenta pigment with either cyan pigment, black pigment, or both. In the RGB color model used in computer and television screens, purple is created by mixing red and blue light in order to create colors that appear similar to violet light.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pigment</span> Colored material

A pigment is a powder used to add color or change visual appearance. Pigments are completely or nearly insoluble and chemically unreactive in water or another medium; in contrast, dyes are colored substances which are soluble or go into solution at some stage in their use. Dyes are often organic compounds whereas pigments are often inorganic. Pigments of prehistoric and historic value include ochre, charcoal, and lapis lazuli.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alizarin</span> Chemical compound and histologic stain

Alizarin is an organic compound with formula C
14
H
8
O
4
that has been used throughout history as a prominent red dye, principally for dyeing textile fabrics. Historically it was derived from the roots of plants of the madder genus. In 1869, it became the first natural dye to be produced synthetically.

Carmine – also called cochineal, cochineal extract, crimson lake, or carmine lake – is a pigment of a bright-red color obtained from the aluminium complex derived from carminic acid. Specific code names for the pigment include natural red 4, C.I. 75470, or E120. Carmine is also a general term for a particularly deep-red color.

A lake pigment is a pigment made by precipitating a dye with an inert binder, or mordant, usually a metallic salt. Unlike vermilion, ultramarine, and other pigments made from ground minerals, lake pigments are organic. Manufacturers and suppliers to artists and industry frequently omit the lake designation in the name. Many lake pigments are fugitive because the dyes involved are not lightfast. Red lakes were particularly important in Renaissance and Baroque paintings; they were often used as translucent glazes to portray the colors of rich fabrics and draperies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scarlet (color)</span> Color shade of bright red

Scarlet is a bright red color, sometimes with a slightly orange tinge. In the spectrum of visible light, and on the traditional color wheel, it is one-quarter of the way between red and orange, slightly less orange than vermilion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kermes (dye)</span> Red dye derived from scale insects in genus Kermes

Kermes is a red dye derived from the dried bodies of the females of a scale insect in the genus Kermes, primarily Kermes vermilio. The Kermes insects are native in the Mediterranean region and are parasites living on the sap of the host plant, the Kermes oak and the Palestine oak.

Kermes vermilio is a species of Kermes which feeds on trees. Some of the species are used by humans to make vermilion; though a mineral form used in many cultures and discovered at a similar time is cinnabar. For details of further chemical alternatives see vermilion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rose madder</span> Red paint made from the madder plant

Rose madder is a red paint made from the pigment madder lake, a traditional lake pigment extracted from the common madder plant Rubia tinctorum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polish cochineal</span> Species of true bug

Polish cochineal, also known as Polish carmine scales, is a scale insect formerly used to produce a crimson dye of the same name, colloquially known as "Saint John's blood". The larvae of P. polonica are sessile parasites living on the roots of various herbs – especially those of the perennial knawel – growing on the sandy soils of Central Europe and other parts of Eurasia. Before the development of aniline, alizarin, and other synthetic dyes, the insect was of great economic importance, although its use was in decline after the introduction of Mexican cochineal to Europe in the 16th century. Historically earlier was used Armenian cochineal scale insect, Porphyrophora hamelii, which is in a same taxonomic family Porphyrophora of the Polish cochineal and in different taxonomic family from cochineal found in the Americas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cochineal</span> Species of insect producing the crimson dye carmine

The cochineal is a scale insect in the suborder Sternorrhyncha, from which the natural dye carmine is derived. A primarily sessile parasite native to tropical and subtropical South America through North America, this insect lives on cacti in the genus Opuntia, feeding on plant moisture and nutrients. The insects are found on the pads of prickly pear cacti, collected by brushing them off the plants, and dried.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alizarin crimson (color)</span>

Alizarin crimson is a shade of red that is biased slightly more towards purple than towards orange on the color wheel and has a blue undertone. It is named after the organic dye alizarin, found in the madder plant, and the related synthetic lake pigment alizarin crimson. William Henry Perkin had co-discovered a way to synthesize the pigment alizarin, which became known as the color alizarin crimson. Its consistency and lightfastness quickly made it a favourite red pigment for artists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthraquinone dyes</span>

Anthraquinone dyes are an abundant group of dyes comprising a anthraquinone unit as the shared structural element. Anthraquinone itself is colourless, but red to blue dyes are obtained by introducing electron donor groups such as hydroxy or amino groups in the 1-, 4-, 5- or 8-position. Anthraquinone dyestuffs are structurally related to indigo dyestuffs and are classified together with these in the group of carbonyl dyes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natural dye</span> Dye extracted from plant or animal sources

Natural dyes are dyes or colorants derived from plants, invertebrates, or minerals. The majority of natural dyes are vegetable dyes from plant sources—roots, berries, bark, leaves, and wood—and other biological sources such as fungi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glossary of dyeing terms</span>

Dyeing is the craft of imparting colors to textiles in loose fiber, yarn, cloth or garment form by treatment with a dye. Archaeologists have found evidence of textile dyeing with natural dyes dating back to the Neolithic period. In China, dyeing with plants, barks and insects has been traced back more than 5,000 years. Natural insect dyes such as Tyrian purple and kermes and plant-based dyes such as woad, indigo and madder were important elements of the economies of Asia and Europe until the discovery of man-made synthetic dyes in the mid-19th century. Synthetic dyes quickly superseded natural dyes for the large-scale commercial textile production enabled by the industrial revolution, but natural dyes remained in use by traditional cultures around the world.

<i>Dactylopius</i> Genus of insects

Dactylopius is a genus of insect in the superfamily Coccoidea, the scale insects. It is the only genus in the family Dactylopiidae. These insects are known commonly as cochineals, a name that also specifically refers to the best-known species, the cochineal. The cochineal is an insect of economic and historical importance as a main source of the red dye carmine. It has reportedly been used for this purpose in the Americas since the 10th century. Genus Dactylopius is also important because several species have been used as agents of biological pest control, and because several are known as invasive species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armenian cochineal</span> Species of true bug

The Armenian cochineal, also known as the Ararat cochineal or Ararat scale, is a scale insect indigenous to the Ararat plain and Aras (Araks) River valley in the Armenian Highlands and in Turkey. It was formerly used to produce an eponymous crimson carmine dyestuff known in Armenia as vordan karmir and historically in Persia as kirmiz. The species is critically endangered within Armenia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red pigments</span> Materials used to make red colors in painting

Red pigments are materials, usually made from minerals, used to create the red colors in painting and other arts. The color of red and other pigments is determined by the way it absorbs certain parts of the spectrum of visible light and reflects the others. The brilliant opaque red of vermillion, for example, results because vermillion reflects the major part of red light, but absorbs the blue, green and yellow parts of white light.

References

  1. "W3C CSS3 Color Module". Archived from the original on 2017-11-29. Retrieved 2015-01-18.
  2. "crimson" . Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press.(Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  3. "Naturenet article with images and description of Kermes vermilio and its foodplant". 15 January 2009. Archived from the original on 2014-01-14. Retrieved 2012-05-16.
  4. The first recorded use of crimson as a color name in English was in 1400 according to the following book: Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930--McGraw Hill Page 193; Color Sample of Crimson: Page 31 Plate 4 Color Sample K6
  5. "American Heritage Dictionary", s.v. Kermes; also Kluge, "Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache", s.v. Karmesin, et al.
  6. Dehkhoda Dictionary https://www.vajehyab.com/dehkhoda/قرمز Archived 2021-11-29 at the Wayback Machine
  7. Taherzadeh, Adib (1992). The Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. p. 162. ISBN   0-85398-344-5.
  8. "Rhubarb —the crimson stalks--rhubarb recipes". 18 April 2010. Archived from the original on 2011-10-13. Retrieved 2012-05-28.
  9. "Rhubarb plants—the crimson stalks". Archived from the original on 2017-02-11. Retrieved 2012-05-28.
  10. "Crimson x Saira Shakira stalks". Archived from the original on 2021-05-14. Retrieved 2021-05-14.
  11. 1 2 "Graphic Standards 2018–19" (PDF). University of Alabama. May 18, 2018. p. 27. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
  12. Flag of Nepal-2nd line