What Is Color?

Squeeze a blob of paint from its tube. You use the rich, pure color all the time. But have you ever wondered where it actually comes from? What would you say if you found out that crushed insects, a medical experiment gone awry, or even toxic chemicals were used to make your paints?

The colors in art supplies are made with pigments. They can be natural, meaning they’re made with ingredients from animals, vegetables, or minerals. Pigments can also be synthetic, or created in a lab. They are mixed with a material, such as oil, to turn them into paint, ink, or other art media.

Pigments can come from surprising—and sometimes shocking—sources. They can also be used to color the world around you. Every color has a story. Here are just a few examples that might spark your curiosity the next time you open a tube of paint.

In 1856, 18-year-old student William Henry Perkin accidentally invented mauve while doing his homework. The assignment? Find a cure for malaria. Instead of a new medicine for the mosquito-transmitted disease, he ended up creating one of the first synthetic dyes.

French ultramarine is a synthetic pigment that can be used in place of bleach. When added to a load of laundry, the special blue powder returns white clothing to its original brightness.

Did wallpaper kill Napoleon Bonaparte? In the 19th century, trendy emerald green appeared on fabrics, toys, and wallpaper—even though people knew it was toxic. There are rumors (and some scientific evidence!) that the British intentionally housed French military and political leader Napoleon in a luxurious room with emerald green wallpaper in an attempt to poison him.

The origins of Indian yellow are a mystery. A 19th-century scholar reported that the pigment was made from the urine of cows fed on mango leaves. His theory remains unconfirmed.

According to an ancient legend, when dragons and elephants battle, their blood mixes and forms a resin, which people called dragon’s blood. This pigment actually comes from a compound found in dragon trees.

Did you know that the rubber used to make tires is actually white? Carbon black pigment gives tires their color and makes them more durable. A typical passenger car tire contains about 6 to 7 pounds of the pigment, which is about a third of the tire’s weight.

Some pigments, called fugitive colors, fade with exposure to light. American artist Edward Hopper mixed blue and yellow paint to render green trees in his 1939 Cape Cod Evening, above. It turns out that the yellow he chose was unstable. Less than 100 years later, the yellow has faded, leaving the once-green trees an eerie blue.