Magenta () is a color that is variously defined as pinkish- purplish- red, reddish-purplish-pink or mauvish-

crimson Crimson is a rich, deep red color, inclining to purple. It originally meant the color of the kermes dye produced from a scale insect, '' Kermes vermilio'', but the name is now sometimes also used as a generic term for slightly bluish-red co ...

. On color wheels of the RGB (additive) and CMY (subtractive) color models, it is located exactly midway between red and

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...

. It is one of the four colors of ink used in color printing by an inkjet printer, along with

yellow Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In th ...

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

, and

cyan Cyan () is the color between green and blue on the visible spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a predominant wavelength between 490 and 520 nm, between the wavelengths of green and blue. In the subtractive color system, or CMYK col ...

, to make all other colors. The tone of magenta used in

printing Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ...

is called "printer's magenta". It is also a shade of

purple Purple is any of a variety of colors with hue between red and blue. In the RGB color model used in computer and television screens, purples are produced by mixing red and blue light. In the RYB color model historically used by painters ...

. Magenta took its name from an

aniline Aniline is an organic compound with the formula C6 H5 NH2. Consisting of a phenyl group attached to an amino group, aniline is the simplest aromatic amine. It is an industrially significant commodity chemical, as well as a versatile starti ...

dye made and patented in 1859 by the French chemist François-Emmanuel Verguin, who originally called it ''fuchsine''. It was renamed to celebrate the Italian-French victory at the

Battle of Magenta The Battle of Magenta was fought on 4 June 1859 during the Second Italian War of Independence, resulting in a French-Sardinian victory under Napoleon III against the Austrians under Marshal Ferencz Gyulai. It took place near the town of Mage ...

fought between the French and Austrians on 4 June 1859 near the Italian town of Magenta in

Lombardy (man), (woman) lmo, lumbard, links=no (man), (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , ...

. A virtually identical color, called roseine, was created in 1860 by two British chemists, Chambers Nicolson and George Maule. The web color magenta is also called

fuchsia ''Fuchsia'' () is a genus of flowering plants that consists mostly of shrubs or small trees. The first to be scientifically described, '' Fuchsia triphylla'', was discovered on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic ...

In optics and color science

Magenta is an extra-spectral color, meaning that it is not a hue associated with monochromatic

visible light Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. Visible light is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometres (nm), corresponding to frequencies of 750–420 t ...

. Magenta is associated with perception of

spectral power distribution In radiometry, photometry, and color science, a spectral power distribution (SPD) measurement describes the power per unit area per unit wavelength of an illumination ( radiant exitance). More generally, the term ''spectral power distribution'' ...

s concentrated mostly in two bands: longer wavelength reddish components and shorter wavelength blueish components. In the RGB color system, used to create all the colors on a television or computer display, magenta is a secondary color, made by combining equal amounts of red and blue light at a high intensity. In this system, magenta is the

complementary color Complementary colors are pairs of colors which, when combined or mixed, cancel each other out (lose hue) by producing a grayscale color like white or black. When placed next to each other, they create the strongest contrast for those t ...

of green, and combining green and magenta light on a black screen will create white. Retinal cell responses

In the CMYK color model, used in color printing, it is one of the three primary colors, along with cyan and yellow, used to print all the rest of the colors. If magenta, cyan, and yellow are printed on top of each other on a page, they make black. In this model, magenta is the complementary color of green, and these two colors have the highest contrast and the greatest harmony. If combined, green and magenta ink will look dark gray or black. The magenta used in color printing, sometimes called process magenta, is a darker shade than the color used on computer screens. In terms of

physiology Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemic ...

, the color is stimulated in the brain when the eye reports input from short wave blue

cone cell Cone cells, or cones, are photoreceptor cells in the retinas of vertebrate eyes including the human eye. They respond differently to light of different wavelengths, and the combination of their responses is responsible for color vision. Cone ...

s along with a sub-sensitivity of the long wave cones which respond secondarily to that same deep blue color, but with little or no input from the middle wave cones. The brain interprets that combination as some hue of magenta or purple, depending on the relative strengths of the cone responses. In the Munsell color system, magenta is called ''red-purple''. If the spectrum is wrapped to form a color wheel, magenta (additive secondary) appears midway between red and violet. Violet and red, the two components of magenta, are at opposite ends of the visible spectrum and have very different wavelengths. The additive secondary color magenta is made by combining violet and red light at equal intensity; it is not present in the spectrum itself. File:RGB illumination.jpg, In the

RGB color model The RGB color model is an additive color model in which the red, green and blue primary colors of light are added together in various ways to reproduce a broad array of colors. The name of the model comes from the initials of the three ad ...

, used to make colors on computer and television displays, magenta is created by the combination of equal amounts of blue and red light. File:RBG color wheel.svg, In the RGB color wheel of

additive colors Additive color or additive mixing is a property of a color model that predicts the appearance of colors made by coincident component lights, i.e. the perceived color can be predicted by summing the numeric representations of the component colo ...

, magenta is midway between blue and red. File:SubtractiveColor.svg, In the CMYK color model, used in color printing,

, magenta, and

combined make black. In practice, since the inks are not perfect, some black ink is added. File:Blended colour wheel.svg, Visible spectrum wrapped to join violet and red in an additive mixture of magenta. In reality, violet and red are at opposite ends of the spectrum and have very different wavelengths.

Fuchsia and magenta

The web colors

and magenta are identical, made by mixing the same proportions of blue and red light. In design and printing, there is more variation. The French version of fuchsia in the

and in printing contains a higher proportion of red than the American version of fuchsia.

Gallery

File:DoubleFuchsias wb.jpg, The flower of the

Fuchsia ''Fuchsia'' () is a genus of flowering plants that consists mostly of shrubs or small trees. The first to be scientifically described, '' Fuchsia triphylla'', was discovered on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic ...

plant was the original inspiration for the dye, which was later renamed magenta dye. File:Basic Fuchsine Crystals.JPG, Magenta took its name in 1860 from this aniline dye that was originally called " fuchsine", after the fuchsia flower. File:NIEdot367.jpg, Magenta has been used in color printing since the late nineteenth century. Images are printed in three colors; magenta, cyan, and yellow, which when combined can make all colors. This image from 1902 is using the alternative RYB color model instead. File:Refill Ink Kit Color crop.jpg, Color printers today use magenta, cyan, and yellow ink to produce the full range of colors. File:Komplementärfarben magenta auf grün.png, Magenta is the

green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combin ...

. The two colors combined in the RGB model form white. Side-by-side, they provide the highest possible contrast and reinforce each other's brightness. File:Marinir Indonesia.png, The Indonesian Marine Corps beret color is magenta purple.

History

Fuchsine and magenta dye (1859)

The color magenta was the result of the industrial chemistry revolution of the mid-nineteenth century, which began with the invention by William Perkin of

mauveine Mauveine, also known as aniline purple and Perkin's mauve, was one of the first synthetic dyes. It was discovered serendipitously by William Henry Perkin in 1856 while he was attempting to synthesise the phytochemical quinine for the treatment of ...

in 1856, which was the first synthetic aniline dye. The enormous commercial success of the dye and the new color it produced,

mauve Mauve (, ; , ) is a pale purple color named after the mallow flower (French: ''mauve''). The first use of the word ''mauve'' as a color was in 1796–98 according to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', but its use seems to have been rare befo ...

, inspired other chemists in Europe to develop new colors made from aniline dyes. Originally referenced from French edition pp. 311–312 In France, François-Emmanuel Verguin, the director of the chemical factory of Louis Rafard near

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...

, tried many different formulae before finally in late 1858 or early 1859, mixing aniline with

carbon tetrachloride Carbon tetrachloride, also known by many other names (such as tetrachloromethane, also recognised by the IUPAC, carbon tet in the cleaning industry, Halon-104 in firefighting, and Refrigerant-10 in HVACR) is an organic compound with the chemi ...

, producing a reddish-purple dye which he called " fuchsine", after the color of the flower of the fuchsia plant. He quit the Rafard factory and took his color to a firm of paint manufacturers, Francisque and Joseph Renard, who began to manufacture the dye in 1859. In the same year, two British chemists, Chambers Nicolson and George Maule, working at the laboratory of the paint manufacturer George Simpson, located in Walworth, south of London, made another aniline dye with a similar red-purple color, which they began to manufacture in 1860 under the name "roseine". In 1860 they changed the name of the color to "magenta", in honor of the

fought by the armies of France and

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label= Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, aft ...

against Austrians at Magenta, Lombardy the year before, and the new color became a commercial success. Starting in 1935 the family of

quinacridone Quinacridone is an organic compound used as a pigment. Numerous derivatives constitute the quinacridone pigment family, which finds extensive use in industrial colorant applications such as robust outdoor paints, inkjet printer ink, tattoo in ...

dyes was developed. These have colors ranging from red to violet, so nowadays a quinacridone dye is often used for magenta. Various tones of magenta—light, bright, brilliant, vivid, rich, or deep—may be formulated by adding varying amounts of white to quinacridone artist's paints. Another dye used for magenta is Lithol Rubine BK. One of its uses is as a food coloring.

Process magenta (pigment magenta; printer's magenta) (1890s)

color printing Color printing or colour printing is the reproduction of an image or text in color (as opposed to simpler black and white or monochrome printing). Any natural scene or color photograph can be optically and physiologically dissected into thre ...

, the color called process magenta, pigment magenta, or printer's magenta is one of the three primary pigment colors which, along with

and

, constitute the three subtractive primary colors of pigment. (The secondary colors of pigment are blue, green, and red.) As such, the hue magenta is the complement of

: magenta

pigment A pigment is a colored material that is completely or nearly insoluble in water. In contrast, dyes are typically soluble, at least at some stage in their use. Generally dyes are often organic compounds whereas pigments are often inorganic compou ...

s absorb green light; thus magenta and green are opposite colors. The

CMYK The CMYK color model (also known as process color, or four color) is a subtractive color model, based on the CMY color model, used in color printing, and is also used to describe the printing process itself. The abbreviation ''CMYK'' refers ...

printing process was invented in the 1890s, when newspapers began to publish color

comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics ter ...

s. Process magenta is not an RGB color, and there is no fixed conversion from CMYK primaries to RGB. Different formulations are used for printer's ink, so there may be variations in the printed color that is pure magenta ink.

Web colors magenta and fuchsia

The web color magenta is one of the three secondary colors in the

. On the RGB color wheel, magenta is the color between

rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...

and violet, and halfway between red and

. This color is called ''magenta'' in X11 and ''fuchsia'' in

HTML The HyperText Markup Language or HTML is the standard markup language for documents designed to be displayed in a web browser. It can be assisted by technologies such as Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and scripting languages such as JavaS ...

. In the RGB color model, it is created by combining equal intensities of red and blue light. The two web colors magenta and fuchsia are exactly the same color. Sometimes the web color magenta is called ''electric magenta'' or ''electronic magenta''. While the magenta used in printing and the web color have the same name, they have important differences. Process magenta (the color used for magenta printing ink—also called printer's or pigment magenta) is much less vivid than the color magenta achievable on a computer screen. CMYK printing technology cannot accurately reproduce on paper the color on the computer screen. When the web color magenta is reproduced on paper, it is called fuchsia and it is physically impossible for it to appear on paper as vivid as on a computer screen. Colored pencils and

crayon A crayon (or wax pastel) is a stick of pigmented wax used for writing or drawing. Wax crayons differ from pastels, in which the pigment is mixed with a dry binder such as gum arabic, and from oil pastels, where the binder is a mixture of w ...

s called "magenta" are usually colored the color of ''process magenta'' (''printer's magenta'').

In science and culture

In art

Paul Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (, ; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French Post-Impressionist artist. Unappreciated until after his death, Gauguin is now recognized for his experimental use of colour and Synthetist style that were distinct fr ...

(1848–1903) used a shade of magenta in 1890 in his portrait of Marie Lagadu, and in some of his South Seas paintings. *

Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known prim ...

and the members of the Fauvist movement used magenta and other non-traditional colors to surprise viewers, and to move their emotions through the use of bold colors. * Since the mid-1960s, water based fluorescent magenta paint has been available to paint

psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science o ...

black light A blacklight, also called a UV-A light, Wood's lamp, or ultraviolet light, is a lamp that emits long-wave (UV-A) ultraviolet light and very little visible light. One type of lamp has a violet filter material, either on the bulb or in a sepa ...

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and a ...

s. (Fluorescent cerise, fluorescent chartreuse yellow, fluorescent blue, and fluorescent green.) File:Bouguereau-Psyche.jpg, Magenta, along with mauve, made with the newly discovered aniline dyes, became a popular fashion color in the second half of the nineteenth century. It appeared in art in this 1890 work, ''Psyche'', by

Bouguereau William-Adolphe Bouguereau (; 30 November 1825 – 19 August 1905) was a French academic painter. In his realistic genre paintings, he used mythological themes, making modern interpretations of classical subjects, with an emphasis on the female ...

. File:Paul Gauguin 099.jpg,

, ''Portrait of Marie Lagadu'' (1890). File:Matissetoits.gif,

, ''Les toits de Collioure'' (1905). Henri Matisse and the other painters of the Fauvist movement were the first to make a major use of magenta to surprise and make an impact on the emotions of the viewer. File:1967 Mantra-Rock Dance Avalon poster.jpg, In the 1960s, magenta was a popular color in psychedelic art, such as this concert poster for the Avalon Ballroom in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

(1967).

In literature

* The color plays a central role in Craig Laurance Gidney's novel ''A Spectral Hue''.

In film

* The titular alien entity in the 2019 horror film '' Color Out of Space'', an adaptation of the 1927 H. P. Lovecraft short story '' The Colour Out of Space'', is depicted as being magenta due to the color’s extra-spectral status.

In astronomy

* Astronomers have reported that spectral class T brown dwarfs (the ones with the coolest temperatures except for the recently discovered Y brown dwarfs) are colored magenta because of absorption by

sodium Sodium is a chemical element with the symbol Na (from Latin ''natrium'') and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal. Sodium is an alkali metal, being in group 1 of the periodic table. Its only stable ...

and

potassium Potassium is the chemical element with the symbol K (from Neo-Latin '' kalium'') and atomic number19. Potassium is a silvery-white metal that is soft enough to be cut with a knife with little force. Potassium metal reacts rapidly with atmos ...

atom Every atom is composed of a nucleus and one or more electrons bound to the nucleus. The nucleus is made of one or more protons and a number of neutrons. Only the most common variety of hydrogen has no neutrons. Every solid, liquid, gas, a ...

s of light in the green portion of the spectrum. File:T-dwarf-nasa-hurt.png, Artist's vision of a spectral class T brown dwarf

In biology: magenta insects, birds, fish, and mammals

File:Reef0484.jpg,

Coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and se ...

from the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bo ...

File:Andean Flamingo Adult, Phoenicopterus andinus.jpg, An Andean flamingo, ('' Phoenicopterus andinus'') File:Anisoptera Ana Cotta 2830198213.jpg, A

dragonfly A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of true dragonfly are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat thre ...

, or Anisoptera Ana Cotta File:Pseudanthias tuka.jpg, '' Pseudanthias'' tuka, a reef fish from the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by ...

In botany

Magenta is a common color for flowers, particularly in the tropics and sub-tropics. Because magenta is the complementary color of green, magenta flowers have the highest contrast with the green foliage, and therefore are more visible to the animals needed for their pollination. File:Orchid Phalaenopsis hybrid.jpg,

Orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of floweri ...

Phalaenopsis File:Rhododendron sp. 016.JPG,

Rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...

File:Clematis patens sunset 02.JPG, Clematis "Sunset" File:Geraniaceae - Geranium sanguineum-1.JPG, '' Geranium sanguineum'' File:Dahlia - "Hillcrest Royal" cultivar.jpg, Dahlia "Hillcrest Royal" File:Rambler Roses Cape Cod.jpg, Rambler

File:Syringa 'Paul Deschanel' 02.jpg, Syringa "Paul Deschanel" File:Lilium 'Malinoviy Zvon' 03.JPG,

Lily ''Lilium'' () is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. They are the true lilies. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. M ...

"Malinoviy Zvon" File:Blüte Sommerphlox, Kategorie-Polemoniaceae.JPG,

Polemoniaceae The Polemoniaceae (Jacob's-ladder or phlox family) are a family of flowering plants consisting of about 25 genera with 270–400 species of annuals and perennials native to the Northern Hemisphere and South America, with the center of diver ...

, or phlox File:Cactus plant petailed.jpg, A

cactus A cactus (, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Gree ...

flower File:Achillea 'Staroe Burgundskoe' 02.jpg, Achillea "Staroe Burgundskoe" File:2006-10-18Mirabilis jalapa02.jpg, '' Mirabilis jalapa'' "Four O'Clock Flower"

In business

The Germany, German telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom uses a magenta logo. It has sought to prevent use of any similar color by other businesses, even those in unrelated fields, such as the insurance company Lemonade (insurance), Lemonade.

In public transport

Magenta was the English name of Tokyo's Toei Ōedo Line, Oedo subway line color. It was later changed to ''ruby''. It is also the color of the Metropolitan line of the London Underground.

In transportation

In aircraft autopilot systems, the path that pilot or plane should follow to its destination is usually indicated in cockpit displays using the color magenta.

In numismatics

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued a Magenta colored banknote of Indian 2000-rupee note, ₹2000 denomination on 8 November 2016 under Mahatma Gandhi New Series. This is the highest currency note printed by RBI that is in active circulation in India. Image:India_new_2000_INR,_MG_series,_2016,_obverse.jpg, Indian 2000-rupee note, Indian 2000 rupee note, obverse Image:India_new_2000_INR,_MG_series,_2016,_reverse.jpg, Indian 2000-rupee note, Indian 2000 rupee note, reverse

In vexillology and heraldry

Magenta is an extremely rare color to find on heraldic flags and coats of arms, since its adoption dates back to relatively recent times. However, there are some examples of its use: File:Cantabrian_Lábaru_Flag.svg, Cantabrian Labarum, Cantabria, Spain. File:Blason ville fr Magenta (Marne).svg, Canting arms of the Magenta, Marne, commune of Magenta, France. File:Flag of Cartago (Valle del Cauca).svg, Flag of the Cartago, Colombia, municipality of Cartago, Colombia.

In politics

* The color magenta is used to symbolize anti-racism by the Amsterdam-based anti-racism Magenta Foundation.Magenta Foundation
Organization website
. * In Danish politics the magenta is the color of Det Radikale Venstre, the Danish social-liberal party.

References

External links

Pictures of actual aniline dye samples in various shades of magenta.

Magenta is a product of the brain rather than a spectral frequency

Color Mixing and the Mystery of Magenta
, Royal Institution video {{Color topics Primary colors Secondary colors Tertiary colors Shades of magenta, Optical spectrum Web colors