Prof. Theo de Beer about Cerulean Blue

In the section  “Prof. Theo de Beer about ….”  we share with you articles from the unpublished book of Professor Theo de Beer “Everything about art materials”. Prof. Theo de Beer managed the Old Holland company from 1982 till 2000 and made a huge contribution to its development.

LIGHT CERULEAN BLUE, LIGHT SKY BLUE

Light cerulean blue was discovered in 1805 by the German Von Höpfner and it was taken into production in 1821. Only in 1860 was the pigment used for making artists’ paint. Cerulean blue is made from cobalt stannate, which is a compound of cobalt and tin oxide, and is PB 35. Light cerulean blue has low colour strength and is lightfast. The opacity is higher than that of cobalt blue. It forms a soft layer of oil paint. Unlike cobalt blue, cerulean blue will not lose its fresh colour in artificial light. When used as a watercolour, the pigment particles remain visible. The colour is popular with landscape painters, because of the wonderful effects it gives when painting wet-on-wet. You can obtain surprising colours by mixing this blue with the quinacridone pigments. The lightfast quinacridone pigments are described in chapter 5 under point 10. Light cerulean blue is very suitable for making an opaque acrylic paint.

DARK CERULEAN BLUE, DARK SKY BLUE

Dark cerulean blue was introduced in the early 20th century. It is a compound of cobalt, aluminium and chromium oxide. The chrome that is present makes the colour darker and dirtier or duller. The colour is related to cobalt blue turquoise, which also has the same pigment number, but is composed in different proportions. Chromium-cobalt-aluminium oxide is PB 36. Dark cerulean blue has low colour strength and is lightfast. The opaque pigment gives a soft layer of oil paint. The blue has a green undertone. When used as a watercolour, the pigment particles remain visible on the paper. The pigment is very suitable for making an opaque acrylic paint.

Check these Cerulean colours  in Old Holland colour collection:

Old Holland Classic Oil Colours

E235 Cerulean Blue Deep

F39 Cerulean Blue

F238  Cerulean Blue Light

Old Holland Classic Watercolours

E235 Cerulean Blue Deep

F39 (Granular colour) Cerulean Blue

F238 (Granular colour) Cerulean Blue Light

New Masters Classic Acrylics

E686 Cerulean Blue

F689 Cerulean Blue Deep