Blue moved from one of the rarest and most expensive colours in art history — natural ultramarine cost more than gold by weight — to one of the most common and affordable colours after 18th- and 19th-century synthetic breakthroughs.
No single HEX value defines this entire colour family — see individual colour profiles below for specific shades.
Natural ultramarine, ground from the semi-precious stone lapis lazuli, was for centuries one of the most expensive pigments available, often reserved in Renaissance painting for the most important subjects.
medieval to Renaissance Europe
Prussian blue, first produced in Berlin around 1706, is widely credited as the first modern synthetic pigment, making a strong, stable blue significantly more affordable.
early 18th century
Indigo dye, produced from plants across Asia, Africa and later the Americas, was a major historical trade commodity for textile dyeing long before synthetic indigo production began in the late 19th century.
antiquity to 19th century
Blue is one of the most consistently favoured colours in modern surveys across many Western countries, and is heavily used in corporate and technology branding, often associated with trust and stability.
General