“Let the blue sky meet the blue sea and all is blue for a time.” Moncy Barbour (from The Painter’s Keys)
How can a blue go from the color of heaven to the definition of depression? Cerulean Blue has an array of descriptions that run the gamut from peace and harmony to gloomy moodiness. Pantone.com claims Cerulean as the color of the millennial year because it is very calming. The Urban Dictionary implies Cerulean Blue is the color of depression and cites this sentence as an example: “Why do you look so cerulean, man?” Does that mean he’s looking heavenly, moody or calm? Sounds pretty sad, in any case.
Though the discovery of Cerulean blue dates to around 1805 in Germany, it didn’t gain wide popularity until the 1860’s. Several sources attribute the name “Cerulean” to the Latin word for “sky” or “heaven.” Winsor Newton calls Cerulean a “pure blue pigment” that is opaque and says today’s Cerulean is “an inorganic synthetic mineral pigment made by calcination of tin salts and silica with cobalt sulphate.” Thick applications of Cerulean to the sky in the landscapes of the Impressionists led to its popularity today. However, Cerulean’s opaque-ness does not lend itself well to the transparency of watercolor.
Metaphysical people claim Cerulean is the color of peace, harmony and all things Zen. Yet the serial killer, Pusher, from the X-Files uses the line, “Cerulean is the color of the gentle breeze,” as he deceives the police into driving into the deadly path of a large Cerulean Blue truck. Pantone claims Cerulean is calming. The Urban dictionary implies Cerulean is the color of depression, even profound depression as in “you’re not just blue, you’re Cerulean.” Perhaps Cerulean will leave you harmoniously depressed. Or you could be a calmly moody millennial. We won’t even consider it in the case of the serial killer. But whatever your situation, you can be sure with Cerulean Blue, your skies will always be heavenly.
A description of Pusher, the X-files serial killer is here.
This following clip has a wonderfully confusing description of Cerulean Blue from the world of high fashion:
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