Viridian
# Viridian

Viridian is a blue-green pigment, a hydrated chromium(III) oxide, of medium saturation and relatively dark in value. It is composed of a majority of green, followed by blue. The first recorded use of viridian as a color name in English was in the 1860s. Viridian takes its name from the Latin viridis, meaning "green". The pigment was first prepared in mid-19th-century Paris and remains available from several US manufacturers as prepared artists' colors in all $media.^{:276–77}$

## History

Viridian pigment was first prepared in 1838 in Paris by Parisian color chemist and painter Pannetier alongside his assistant Binet as a hydrated form of chromium oxide. The preparation process was demanding, expensive, and shrouded in $secrecy.^{:275}$ The French chemist E. E. Guignet developed and patented a cheaper manufacturing method in 1859 that enabled larger distribution and use of the $pigment.^{:274}$ This method involved calcining a combination of boric acid and potassium bichromate, then washing the $material.^{:280–281}$

Winsor and Newton's catalogue listed the pigment as early as 1849. It was used as early as 1840 in a work by J. M. W. $Turner.^{:275}$ Viridian was in prominent use by the mid-nineteenth century, but was less popular than three to four times more affordable alternatives including emerald and chrome $greens.^{:276–77}$

## Visual characteristics

Viridian is a bright shade of spring green, which places the color between green and teal on the color wheel, or, in paint, a tertiary blue–green color. Viridian is dark in value, has medium saturation, and is transparent $.^{:275}$

## Variations of viridian

### Paolo Veronese green

Paolo Veronese green is the color that is called Verde Verones in the Guía de coloraciones (Guide to colorations) by Rosa Gallego and Juan Carlos Sanz, a color dictionary published in 2005 that is widely popular in the Hispanophone realm.

Paolo Veronese green was a color formulated and used by the noted 16th-century Venetian artist Paolo Veronese.

Paolo Veronese green began to be used as a color name in English sometime in the 1800s (exact year uncertain).

Another name for this color is transparent oxide of chromium.

### Viridian green

At right is displayed the color viridian green.

The source of this color is the "Pantone Textile Paper eXtended (TPX)" color list, color #17-5126 TPX—Viridian Green.

### Generic viridian

Generic viridian is the color that is called Viridian inspecifico in the Guía de coloraciones (Guide to colorations) by Rosa Gallego and Juan Carlos Sanz, a color dictionary published in 2005 that is widely popular in the Hispanophone realm.

### Spanish viridian

Spanish viridian is the color that is called Viridian specifico in the Guía de coloraciones (Guide to colorations) by Rosa Gallego and Juan Carlos Sanz, a color dictionary published in 2005 that is widely popular in the Hispanophone realm.

## Permanence

Viridian is considered durable and permanent as an artist's $pigment.^{:278}$ Viridian is unaffected by temperatures up to 260 °C (500 °F), but it is unsuitable for use in ceramic $glazes.^{:278}$ Viridian is compatible with all pigments in all media, and has high oil $absorption.^{:278}$ Pure pigment formulations of viridian are hard and may separate in tubes, but adding barium sulfate in small quantities enables easy grinding and $dispersion.^{:278}$

## Notable occurrences

* Viridian as a quaternary color on the RYB color wheel:
* green
* viridian
* teal

Although viridian is not a frequent color name in English, it is used in a number of cultural references, probably because it is derived from viridis, the Latin word for green, so using the word viridian sounds more elegant than simply referring to the Old English word green.

Fine art painting

* Fritz Bamberger, Afterglow in the Sierra Nevada, $1863.^{:288}$
* Claude Monet, Arrival of the Normandy Train, Gare Saint-Lazare, 1877, oil on $canvas^{:287}$ includes traces of viridian in the grassy area.
* Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Flowers, $1919.^{:288}Fritz$ Bamberger - Ansicht der Sierra Nevada, 1863. Bavarian State Painting Collections.Claude Monet - Arrival of the Normandy Train, Gare Saint-Lazare, 1877, oil on canvas. Art Institute of Chicago.Renoir - Flowers, 1919.

### Automobiles

* "Viridian Joule" was the winning color name in Chevrolet's Volt Paint-Color Naming Contest.

### Broadcasting

* Viridian was the signature color of BBC Two's identity from 1991–2001.

### Television

* Viridian was the name of an Orion starship in Star Trek: Discovery

### Environmental design

* The viridian design movement is a popular design movement based on a bright green environmentalism philosophy.

### Film

* Viridian is mentioned by Otho when discussing remodeling, in the 1988 film Beetlejuice.

### Music

* "Viridian" is the seventh song on Between the Buried and Me's Colors.
* "Viridian (Interlude)" is the sixteenth track on Bethel Music's Without Words: Synesthesia
* Viridian is the name of the ninth studio album by rock band Closterkeller whose releases are usually named after colors
* "Viridian" is the fourth song in Novo Amor's 2022 instrumental album Antarctican Dream Machine

### Literature

* In the Space opera series Dread Empire's Fall, by American author Walter Jon Williams, the first mention of viridian is in the initial book of the series, The Praxis ISBN 0-7434-2897-8 for both the sky color of Shaa Empire capital world Zanshaa as well as color of the uniforms of their Fleet.

### Video games

* In the Pokémon franchise, in the Kanto region, Viridian City is the first town one encounters after leaving Pallet Town via Route 1 and also home to the final gym.
* In VVVVVV, the player character is Captain Viridian, who is a light blue-green color. All characters have names referencing their color and starting with the letter V.
* In Knights of the Old Republic II the player character can find and use a viridian lightsaber crystal.
* In League of Legends the champion Kayle has a viridian costume that is green with black wings.
* In Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney − Trials and Tribulations, there is a running joke about the color, started by the character Larry Butz.
* In the Steam game Aviary Attorney, the Viridian Killer is responsible for murders in France during the 1830s.
