We are big fans of the color magenta. We find it to be striking, vibrant and empowering. It's the perfect balance between red and blue; eye catching and dare we say, FUN! Whether you’re wearing a Magenta Sparkle Scarf, setting the table with colorful magenta stripe placemats or adding a Magenta Brocade Pillow to your sofa or bed, this great pop of color is always ready to make a statement.
You won’t find magenta on the rainbow (surprise!), but you can find magenta in nature, mostly in flowers like orchids or fushchia, or on some types of birds. Magenta is an extra-spectral color. This means that magenta doesn’t have its own wavelength of visible light and our brains invent what color it appears to us.
The color magenta was created by a French chemist back in 1859. It was first named fuschine after the fuschia plant. It was then later renamed magenta shortly after the Battle of Magenta, a significant (bloody) French-Italian victory over the Austrians in a town called Magenta outside of Milan.
Before the invention of synthetic dyes like magenta, rich red and purple hues were difficult to make and very expensive. They had to be made from crushed insects (like cochineal) or rare plants. The invention of magenta made vivid colors much more accessible for paintings and textiles. The dyes were not only more vivid, but more colorfast too. Magenta became popular in the Art Nouveau movement as well as in the psychedelic art movement of the 1960’s. Impressionist painters like Monet and Renoir used magenta to capture light particularly when painting sunrises or sunsets.
Since it is a mix of red and blue, magenta has qualities of both colors. It often symbolizes harmony and balance. Magenta brings the passion and energy from red and combines it with elements of calm from blue and violet. In the words of Laurie Pressman, VP of The Pantone Color Institute, “magenta is assertive but not aggressive … one of the strongest and brightest [colors] the world has known.” We have to agree with Laurie which is why we enjoy using magenta in many of our products whether it's something for the home or something to wear. Magenta is a cheerful color known for bringing out optimism in people. Take a look at our Magenta Collection and see if you agree.
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