Ultramarine Violet

Description

Ultramarine Violet (PV15) is a handmade single-pigment ultramarine violet, a modern synthetic extension of the ultramarine family. It produces a soft, transparent violet with a distinctly blue-leaning, smoky undertone and a gentle, low-chroma masstone. Compared to bright quinacridone and dioxazine violets, this pigment is quieter and more mineral, offering a calm, atmospheric violet that feels closer to stone and shadow than to neon purple.

In use, Ultramarine Violet gives a delicate, transparent to semi-transparent color ideal for florals, distant hills, twilight skies, reflective shadows, and subtle atmospheric passages in both landscape and figurative work. It has low to moderate tinting strength and often a lightly granulating character (especially in watercolor), making it excellent for layered washes, veil-like glazes, and soft transitions. It mixes beautifully with blues for gentle blue-violets and cool shadows, with earths for muted mauves and lavender-grays, and with warm reds and pinks for refined, rose-violet tones that stay understated rather than overpowering.

This ultramarine pigment is generally low in toxicity, highly lightfast, and compatible with a wide range of binders and mediums. In artist’s colors it serves as a subtle, mineral violet that can function as a primary quiet purple on the palette, a low-key alternative to high-chroma violets, or a key mixer for palettes that favor nuance, atmosphere, and softly shifting shadow color.

History

Synthetic ultramarine was first developed in the early 19th century as an affordable replacement for natural lapis lazuli blue. By adjusting the composition and firing conditions of the sodium aluminosilicate–sulfur mixture, chemists discovered they could shift the hue from deep blue toward redder and more violet tones. From this work emerged what is now known as Ultramarine Violet (PV15), along with related red- and blue-shade ultramarines.

Initially produced for coatings, printing inks, and decorative applications, ultramarine violets soon attracted paintmakers and artists who wanted a gentle, stable violet for shadows and atmospheric work. Unlike some earlier violets, PV15 offered excellent lightfastness and a quiet, mineral character that harmonized well with traditional earths and ultramarine blues. Today, Ultramarine Violet is a staple in many professional watercolor, oil, and acrylic ranges, appreciated by painters who prefer a restrained, naturalistic violet over more intense, high-chroma purples.

Pigment Information

Pigment Type: Synthetic (Inorganic) ultramarine pigment (complex sodium aluminosilicate with sulfur)

Suitable Mediums: Watercolor, Oil, Tempera, Acrylic, Lime / Fresco, Ceramic and cement applications

Lightfastness: Best

Opacity: Transparent

Other Names: Ultramarine Violet, French Ultramarine Violet, PV15

Color Index Code: PV15