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Ultramarine is a blue pigment historically made from rare lapis lazuli, but can now be made synthetically. The name comes from its original importation from Asia. The pigment is stable and non-toxic, making it useful in cosmetics and food packaging. It is also used to correct the color of white paper.
Ultramarine is a deep blue pigment that has historically been a rare and expensive pigment. In its natural form, blue is composed of ground lapis lazuli, a unique stone found in very few parts of the world. The pigment can, however, be made synthetically. The chemical compound that makes up ultramarine consists mainly of a double silicate of sodium and aluminum.
The name overseas comes from the Latin ultramarinus. In Middle Latin, ultra means beyond and marinus means sea. Therefore, the word means, beyond the sea. The term probably derives from the fact that the pigment was originally imported into Europe from Asia, via the historic Silk Road and the Mediterranean Sea.
The natural pigment ultramarine comes from the mineral lazurite, which is one of the main components of lapis lazuli. This is a deep blue stone that often has veins of pyrite or calcite running through it. The stone was originally quarried in what is now known as the Badakhshan province of Afghanistan. Other deposits have been located and mined in areas around the world, but the stone remains rare.
The synthetic pigment for ultramarine is typically created by firing clay, sulfur, charcoal, and special chemicals containing sodium, carbon, and silicon together in a kiln. Sometimes chemicals are altered to create different colors, such as ultramarine. The fired solids are ground and washed to create a usable pigment.
This blue has been used in paints and varnishes for thousands of years. Before being produced synthetically, ultramarine was very expensive to produce and was therefore rarely used. During the Middle Ages, manuscript illuminators typically saved color for pages with scenes of great religious significance.
Synthetic pigment was used in both oil and water-based paints. The chemical compound in ultramarine is stable and non-toxic, so it is generally safe for human contact. This property is the main reason it is often used in the production of cosmetics, food packaging and toy manufacturing. It also has excellent heat, light and weather resistance properties, so it can have many uses outdoors as well, such as in exterior paint.
Ultramarine pigment is often used as a color corrector for white paper. Adding some of the pigment to regular paper pulp, along with an optical brightening agent, often offsets the natural yellowness of the paper pulp. This process actually makes the finished paper a crisper, cleaner white color.
