The colour Violet
If there was a colour that married science with spirituality, it would be violet – the popping hue between purple and blue. From alchemy and rainbows to chemistry and the colour spectrum, it’s transformed the world in both how we see it and how it’s seen. And this is where some hard-hitting questions need to be asked: what was an ancient Phoenician doing to a sea snail that harkened the discovery of Tyrian purple, a rather costly dye? And in 1856, was William Henry Perkin just looking to improve his afternoon gin when he accidentally created the world’s first synthetic dye, mauveine, in an attempt to synthesise quinine?
ENCHANTMENT
For me, violet falls firmly on the side of alchemy and represents the quiet enchantment of making posies as a little girl. Tiny, shy, yet they have such strength in scent and colour. My winter bedside was never without a vaseful, their perfume seeping into my heart as I read. Even to this day, Anne of Green Gables evokes violets!
COLOUR FACTS: VIOLET
Back to that snail – the required chemical compound was found in its ‘milk’, which was secreted by glands when under attack.
The Impressionists were fans of violet, most notably Van Gogh. As it was complementary to yellow, the colour of the sun and light, it represented darkness and shadow.
Violets contain more vitamin C than most veggies. Add them to a salad for a splash of colour and a dash of scurvy prevention!
Violet is one of the seven spectral colours that make up Newton’s colour wheel. A spectral colour is a frequency of light that can be seen in a rainbow or through a prism.