Inspiration in the color verdigris.

Learn the history and meaning of the color verdigris, the ethereal hue that forms over copper.

Design with verdigris

Verdigris

#43B3AE

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How to use the color verdigris.

Verdigris

#43B3AE,#000000

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Information about verdigris color.

The verdigris HEX code picker is #43B3AE. This is the other-worldly and ambiguous hue that predates most other blue-green color words.

Verdigris color can be achieved in a RGB space with 67 red, 179 green, and 174 blue. The color verdigris can be achieved in a CMYK color space with 63% cyan, 0% magenta, 3% yellow, and 30% black.

The psychology of the color verdigris.

It stands to reason that the psychology of verdigris would mix that of blue and green. Part of its influence, however, comes from the human reaction to bright blue-greens like cyan. The color has a celestial quality to it that conjures a sense of wonder.

Combine verdigris with other colors.

Split verdigris into analogous colors, and you have Kelly green and steel blue. Together, these two along with verdigris create a palette evocative of the sea. Combined in palettes with shades of pink, verdigris shows its cooler side. Verdigris color has a higher contrast with black than with white, so pairing it with black creates a more dramatic look than with white and other light neutrals.

The evolution of verdigris.

The color verdigris is based on change. It’s the unforgettable hue that copper takes on when exposed to oxygen and salt. It’s a changing color even after it achieves its balance of blue and green, too. It’s a color, but verdigris is also a quality. It’s a color that morphs, and this changing quality is part of its charm.

The combined effects of blue, green, and yellow.

The color verdigris combines the vivaciousness of green and the profoundness of blue. Surprisingly, it’s also a warm color. Its copper beginnings seem to peek through as a warm and faded yellow. Together, these qualities make the color verdigris a truly invigorating hue.

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What is the meaning of the color verdigris?

Verdigris color is a mystical hue that isn’t quite green or blue. This medium-bright cyan has a surprising warmth to it, a nod to its source. The color verdigris was first made by applying vinegar to copper, which causes a chemical reaction and color change. The effect can be admired in the blueish-green facade of the Statue of Liberty.

Often compared with cyan, aqua, turquoise, Tiffany blue, and teal, verdigris color was the first name for this in-between color category.

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The history of verdigris color.

Verdigris color was the “green of Greece.”

Occurring as a natural protective layer on copper, brass, and bronze, verdigris is an age-old and highly desired aesthetic. Thanks to its bright and saturated hue, it became one of the oldest manufactured pigments. Verdigris color and its source material (scraped off copper) entered English in the 13th century, first as vertegrez from Old French, verte grez (“green from Greece”). Verdigris is also called “copper green” in English.

Historic debate between blue and green.

The blue-green spectrum has been a source of linguistic and chromatic debate for centuries. In some languages, like Japanese, Vietnamese, and Lakota Sioux, blue and green are on one spectrum. Specific shades of each have their own names, but some languages go further in describing specific hues. The color verdigris has stretched across a greater number of languages because of the ubiquity of copper and its natural aging process.

Verdigris is a naturally-occurring material, but its recipe has changed with time.

Over history, the color verdigris has been produced using a changing list of ingredients. In the Middle Ages, copper strips were treated with acetic acid, then buried in dung and dug up weeks later to scrape off the verdigris. In Montpellier, France, a pulverized verdigris industry was born in the 18th century, and was long dominated by women who used their cellars to make verdigris on copper plates stacked in distilled wine.

The color verdigris across different cultures.

The verdigris Lady Liberty.

When the Statue of Liberty arrived in New York in 1886, she was shrouded in a French Flag, waiting for her ceremonious unveiling. When the lady and her torch were revealed, she shone brilliantly brown, made entirely of copper. About 30 years later, Lady Liberty was no longer copper color—she was entirely verdigris green. Her copper had been slowly torn away by oxygen particles, leaving it susceptible to react with the saltwater surrounding her.

Verdigris color in interior design.

The color verdigris is an ambiguous color used as an element of intrigue in interior design. In centuries past, it was a popular color for velvet and other upholsteries, and its use on furniture now gives off a vintage feel. Many interior paints in verdigris color today have names inspired by the verdigris figure of Lady Liberty, like: “Liberty Green” by Donald Kaufman, “Lady Liberty” by Benjamin Moore, and “Parisian Patina” by Sherwin-Williams.

The color verdigris in art.

Verdigris color is one of the oldest pigments in classical painting, from the Middle Ages to modern-day. Masterpieces by Hieronymus Bosch, Giovanni Bellini, and Sandro Botticelli used verdigris color, sometimes abundantly. A particularly striking and more recent example that features abundant verdigris color is The Singer in Green (1884) by Edgar Degas.