Rhapsody in Blue

(Rhapsody in blue, G. Gershwin)[1]

Blue is the favorite color of the majority of human beings, without sex, age or culture distinctions. It has no negative connotations and it’s accepted in all circumstances, but the one of food. (You can read this post about it.)

Picasso, The old blind gitarist,
1903

If red is the color that approaches, blue is the color that takes us to the horizon, to the distance. That’s why it also represents melancholy, the nostalgia found in the American slaves’ “blues”. Picasso starts his “Blue Period” when he suffers the death and the absence of his friend Casagemas.

If red is the synonym of heat, blue is the one of cold: walls and window frames tend to be painted blue in places with hot climates. Also frozen and cleaning products are sold in blue packages.

Our planet looks blue from the outer space! It’s also linked with the spiritual and divinity, with the eternity, for being the sky’s and the sea’s color. It used to be exclusive for pharaohs and the French Kings, which is why it’s said that the noble are blue blood.  Dreams, fantasies, the intellectual, lasting values and confidence are also related to this color. ‘Deep blue’ was a chess playing machine. The United Nation’s World Peacekeeping Body are the Blue Berets. And the artists of the group ‘The Blue Rider’ (Kandinksy, Marc…) painted blue horses to obtain the essence and spirit of the animal. 

Marc, The little blue horses, 1911

We have already talked about Yves Klein. (Here's the post.)

Virgin Mary used to wear a blue veil in Middle Age representations. But since it was the most expensive pigment, it was kept only for the most important figure, which is why also Christ was mostly painted in blue, instead of the Virgin being the one. After the Lourdes apparition (1858), the Virgin Mary is commonly represented wearing a blue dress and a white veil.

January, Très Riches Heures du
 Duc de Berry, 1411

The ultramarin blue, which receives its name from being imported from Afghanistan, was so so expensive that artists had to stipulate how much of it they would use. 1 kg (Slightly over 2 pounds) of this pigment might cost nowadays 18000€ (around $22700 or £14000). It was later substituted by the indigo blue, which is much cheaper, but also much less bright. It’s worth mentioning that the ultramarin blue found in Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry still shines like it did in the XV century.

In 1834, it was achieved to produce it in a laboratory, and it’s now quite affordable. It appears now in the executive’s suits, in work clothing, in pilot’s uniforms and in our everday jeans, which formerly appeared as hard work pants for the American miners.

How many songs are inspired by sky’s or sea’s blue?

And why are Smurfs also blue?

Welsch, N.-Liebmann, C.Chr. Farben. München, Elsevier V.2004;

Heller, E. Wie Farben auf Gefühl und Verstand wirken. München, Droemer V., 2000;

personal notes.
Translation: Lorenzo Vigo

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[1] If you want to listen to it, click here.

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