Blue vs. Ultramarine — What's the Difference?
By Urooj Arif & Fiza Rafique — Updated on April 9, 2024
Blue is primary color perceived when observing light with dominant wavelength between approximately 450 and 495 nanometers. Ultramarine, deeper variant, is pigment originally made by grinding lapis lazuli into powder, known for its vivid, deep blue hue.
Difference Between Blue and Ultramarine
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
Blue, as one of the primary colors in both the additive (light) and subtractive (paint or pigment) color systems, serves as the basis for creating a wide range of colors through mixing. It is associated with a broad spectrum of shades and is fundamental in art, design, and nature. Ultramarine, on the other hand, is a specific shade of blue, historically significant and prized for its deep, vibrant hue. It was originally derived from the precious stone lapis lazuli, making it one of the most expensive pigments.
The perception of blue is due to the absorption and reflection of light, with the specific hue dependent on the wavelength of the light being reflected. Ultramarine has a particular significance in art history, not just for its color but for its cost and rarity. It was often reserved for highly important subjects and figures, such as the Virgin Mary in Renaissance art, symbolizing its value and the esteem in which the color was held.
In terms of application, blue is ubiquitous, found in everything from everyday objects and designs to natural phenomena like the sky and the sea. Ultramarine, especially in its natural form, is more niche, used by artists seeking its specific shade and qualities. While synthetic alternatives have made ultramarine more accessible, its use still implies a choice for quality and depth of color.
Culturally, blue is often associated with calm, stability, and depth, symbolizing trust and serenity. Ultramarine, with its historical and artistic significance, carries connotations of luxury, depth, and rarity. Its use in art and design often seeks to invoke these qualities, making a statement of sophistication and significance.
The production of blue pigments and dyes is varied, encompassing chemical processes for synthetic dyes and natural extractions for organic pigments. Ultramarine’s original method of production from lapis lazuli is a labor-intensive process that added to its value. Modern synthetic ultramarine, while maintaining the color’s intensity, has made the pigment more accessible and affordable, democratizing its use beyond the confines of high art.
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Comparison Chart
Definition
A primary color visible in the spectrum between approximately 450 and 495 nm.
A deep blue pigment originally made from ground lapis lazuli.
Color Spectrum
Encompasses a wide range of shades from light to dark.
Known for a specific deep and vivid blue shade.
Historical Significance
Widely used and recognized in various cultures and contexts.
Prized in art for its brilliant hue and was historically expensive.
Applications
Ubiquitous in art, design, and nature.
Used specifically for its distinctive shade and quality in art.
Cultural Associations
Often symbolizes trust, calm, and stability.
Connotes luxury, depth, and rarity.
Compare with Definitions
Blue
A color associated with calmness and stability.
Blue is often used in bedrooms for its calming effect.
Ultramarine
Symbolizes luxury and depth in art.
The use of ultramarine can elevate a piece of art, adding a layer of luxury.
Blue
Symbolic of depth and infinity.
Artists use blue backgrounds to suggest vastness and depth.
Ultramarine
Known for its deep, vibrant blue hue.
Ultramarine is prized for the richness it brings to artworks.
Blue
A primary color in the visible spectrum.
The clear sky is a perfect example of blue.
Ultramarine
Now accessible as a synthetic pigment.
Synthetic ultramarine has made this beautiful color available to all artists.
Blue
The hue of the deep sea.
The deeper you go, the darker the blue of the ocean.
Ultramarine
A pigment made from lapis lazuli.
The artist used ultramarine to highlight the importance of the figure in the painting.
Blue
A common choice for corporate logos.
Many technology companies use blue in their branding to signify trust.
Ultramarine
Historically expensive and rare.
Ultramarine was once more valuable than gold in the artist's palette.
Blue
Blue is one of the three primary colours of pigments in painting and traditional colour theory, as well as in the RGB colour model. It lies between violet and green on the spectrum of visible light.
Ultramarine
Ultramarine is a deep blue color pigment which was originally made by grinding lapis lazuli into a powder. The name comes from the Latin ultramarinus, literally "beyond the sea", because the pigment was imported into Europe from mines in Afghanistan by Italian traders during the 14th and 15th centuries.Ultramarine was the finest and most expensive blue used by Renaissance painters.
Blue
The hue of that portion of the visible spectrum lying between green and indigo, evoked in the human observer by radiant energy with wavelengths of approximately 420 to 490 nanometers; any of a group of colors that may vary in lightness and saturation, whose hue is that of a clear daytime sky; one of the additive or light primaries; one of the psychological primary hues.
Ultramarine
A brilliant deep blue pigment originally obtained from lapis lazuli, now made from powdered fired clay, sodium carbonate, sulphur, and resin
Ultramarine blue
Blue
A pigment or dye imparting this hue.
Ultramarine
A blue pigment made from powdered lapis lazuli.
Blue
Bluing.
Ultramarine
A similar pigment made synthetically by heating clay, sodium carbonate, and sulfur together.
Blue
An object having this hue.
Ultramarine
A vivid or strong blue to purplish blue.
Blue
Dress or clothing of this hue
The ushers wore blue.
Ultramarine
Of the color ultramarine.
Blue
A person who wears a blue uniform.
Ultramarine
Of or from a place beyond the sea.
Blue
Blues A dress blue uniform, especially that of the US Army.
Ultramarine
(archaic) Beyond the sea.
Blue
A member of the Union Army in the Civil War.
Ultramarine
Of a brilliant dark blue or slightly purplish colour like that of the pigment (noun sense 1).
Blue
The Union Army.
Ultramarine
In full ultramarine blue: a brilliant blue pigment that was traditionally made from ground-up lapis lazuli, and now usually either extracted from mineral deposits or made synthetically.
Blue
A bluefish.
Ultramarine
A brilliant dark blue or slightly purplish colour like that of the pigment.
Blue
Any of various small blue butterflies of the subfamily Polyommatinae.
Ultramarine
Situated or being beyond the sea.
Blue
The sky.
Ultramarine
A blue pigment formerly obtained by powdering lapis lazuli, but now produced in large quantities by fusing together silica, alumina, soda, and sulphur, thus forming a glass, colored blue by the sodium polysulphides made in the fusion. Also used adjectively.
Blue
The sea.
Ultramarine
Blue pigment made of powdered lapis lazuli
Blue
Of the color blue.
Ultramarine
Vivid blue to purple-blue
Blue
Bluish or having parts that are blue or bluish, as the blue spruce and the blue whale.
Ultramarine
Of a brilliant pure blue to purplish blue color
Blue
Having a gray or purplish color, as from cold or contusion.
Blue
Wearing blue.
Blue
Being a trail, as for skiing, marked with a sign having a blue square, indicating an intermediate level of difficulty.
Blue
Relating to or being a blue state.
Blue
Gloomy; depressed.
Blue
Dismal; dreary
A blue day.
Blue
Puritanical; strict.
Blue
Aristocratic; patrician.
Blue
Indecent; risqué
A blue joke.
A blue movie.
Blue
To make or become blue.
Blue
Having blue as its color.
The deep blue sea
Blue
(informal) Depressed, melancholic, sad.
Blue
Pale, without redness or glare; said of a flame.
The candle burns blue.
Blue
(politics) Supportive of, run by (a member of), pertaining to, or dominated by a political party represented by the colour blue.
Blue
Supportive of, run by (a member of), pertaining to, or dominated by the Democratic Party.
I live in a blue constituency.
Congress turned blue in the mid-term elections.
Blue
Supportive of or related to the Liberal Party.
Illawarra turns blue in Liberal washout
Blue
(UK politics) Supportive of or related to the Conservative Party.
Blue
(astronomy) Of the higher-frequency region of the part of the electromagnetic spectrum which is relevant in the specific observation.
Blue
(of steak) Extra rare; left very raw and cold.
Blue
(of a dog or cat) Having a coat of fur of a slaty gray shade.
Blue
(archaic) Severe or overly strict in morals; gloomy.
Blue and sour religionists;
Blue laws
Blue
Literary; bluestockinged.
Blue
(particle physics) Having a color charge of blue.
Blue
(informal) Risqué; obscene; profane; pornographic.
His material is too blue for prime-time
The air was blue with oaths.
A blue movie
Blue
The colour of the clear sky or the deep sea, between green and purple in the visible spectrum, and one of the primary additive colours for transmitted light; the colour obtained by subtracting red and green from white light using magenta and cyan filters; or any colour resembling this.
Blue
Anything coloured blue, especially to distinguish it from similar objects differing only in color.
I don't like red Smarties. Have you got a blue?
Blue
A blue dye or pigment.
Blue
Blue clothing.
The boys in blue marched to the pipers.
Blue
(in the plural) A blue uniform. See blues.
Blue
A member of a sports team that wears blue colours; (in the plural) a nickname for the team as a whole. See also blues.
Come on you blues!
Blue
An umpire, in reference to the typical dark blue color of the umpire's uniform. Sometimes perceived by umpires as derogatory when used by players or coaches while disputing a call.
He was safe! Terrible call, blue!
Blue
Sporting colours awarded by a university or other institution for sporting achievement, such as representing one's university, especially and originally at Oxford and Cambridge Universities in England. See also full blue, half blue.
He excelled at rowing and received a blue in the sport at Oxford.
Blue
A person who has received such sporting colours.
He was a blue in rugby at Cambridge.
Blue
(slang) A member of law enforcement.
Blue
A bluestocking.
Blue
The sky, literally or figuratively.
The balloon floated up into the blue.
His request for leave came out of the blue.
Blue
The ocean; deep waters.
Blue
The far distance; a remote or distant place.
Blue
A dog or cat with a slaty gray coat.
Blue
(snooker) One of the colour balls used in snooker, with a value of five points.
Blue
(entomology) Any of the butterflies of the subfamily Polyommatinae in the family Lycaenidae, most of which have blue on their wings.
Blue
A bluefish.
Blue
An argument.
Blue
A liquid with an intense blue colour, added to a laundry wash to prevent yellowing of white clothes.
Blue
Any of several processes to protect metal against rust.
Blue
(British) A type of firecracker.
Blue
(particle physics) One of the three color charges for quarks.
Blue
(UK) A member or supporter of the Conservative Party.
He is a true blue.
Blue
(ergative) To make or become blue; to turn blue.
Blue
To treat the surface of steel so that it is passivated chemically and becomes more resistant to rust.
Blue
To brighten by treating with blue (laundry aid).
Blue
To fight, brawl, or argue.
Blue
To spend (money) extravagantly; to blow.
Blue
Having the color of the clear sky, or a hue resembling it, whether lighter or darker; as, the deep, blue sea; as blue as a sapphire; blue violets.
Blue
Pale, without redness or glare, - said of a flame; hence, of the color of burning brimstone, betokening the presence of ghosts or devils; as, the candle burns blue; the air was blue with oaths.
Blue
Low in spirits; melancholy; as, to feel blue.
Blue
Suited to produce low spirits; gloomy in prospect; as, thongs looked blue.
Blue
Severe or over strict in morals; gloom; as, blue and sour religionists; suiting one who is over strict in morals; inculcating an impracticable, severe, or gloomy mortality; as, blue laws.
Blue
Literary; - applied to women; - an abbreviation of bluestocking.
The ladies were very blue and well informed.
For his religion . . . 'T was Presbyterian, true blue.
Blue
One of the seven colors into which the rays of light divide themselves, when refracted through a glass prism; the color of the clear sky, or a color resembling that, whether lighter or darker; a pigment having such color.
Blue
A pedantic woman; a bluestocking.
Blue
Low spirits; a fit of despondency; melancholy.
Blue
To make blue; to dye of a blue color; to make blue by heating, as metals, etc.
Blue
The color of the clear sky in the daytime;
He had eyes of bright blue
Blue
Blue clothing;
She was wearing blue
Blue
Any organization or party whose uniforms or badges are blue;
The Union army was a vast blue
Blue
The sky as viewed during daylight;
He shot an arrow into the blue
Blue
Used to whiten laundry or hair or give it a bluish tinge
Blue
The sodium salt of amobarbital that is used as a barbiturate; used as a sedative and a hypnotic
Blue
Any of numerous small chiefly blue butterflies of the family Lycaenidae
Blue
Turn blue
Blue
Having a color similar to that of a clear unclouded sky;
October's bright blue weather
A blue flame
Blue haze of tobacco smoke
Blue
Used to signify the Union forces in the Civil War (who wore blue uniforms);
A ragged blue line
Blue
Low in spirits;
Lonely and blue in a strange city
Depressed by the loss of his job
A dispirited and resigned expression on her face
Downcast after his defeat
Feeling discouraged and downhearted
Blue
Characterized by profanity or cursing;
Foul-mouthed and blasphemous
Blue language
Profane words
Blue
Morally rigorous and strict;
Blue laws
The puritan work ethic
Puritanic distaste for alcohol
She was anything but puritanical in her behavior
Blue
Causing dejection;
A blue day
The dark days of the war
A week of rainy depressing weather
A disconsolate winter landscape
The first dismal dispiriting days of November
A dark gloomy day
Grim rainy weather
Common Curiosities
What are the uses of blue in design?
Blue is used widely in design for its versatility and the calm, stable feelings it evokes, from corporate branding to interior design.
Why was ultramarine so expensive?
Ultramarine was expensive due to its origin from lapis lazuli, a rare gemstone, and the complex process required to make the pigment.
How is synthetic ultramarine made?
Synthetic ultramarine is produced through chemical processes that replicate the color of natural ultramarine without the need for lapis lazuli.
What is the difference between blue and ultramarine?
Blue is a primary color with a wide range of shades, while ultramarine is a specific, deep blue pigment originally made from lapis lazuli.
What does ultramarine symbolize in art?
Ultramarine symbolizes depth, luxury, and rarity, often used to convey importance and reverence in art.
Can ultramarine be considered a shade of blue?
Yes, ultramarine is a specific and vibrant shade of blue, known for its depth and intensity.
Can the color of ultramarine vary?
While ultramarine is known for a specific deep blue hue, there can be slight variations in shade in both natural and synthetic forms.
Are there natural sources of blue pigments other than lapis lazuli?
Yes, there are other natural sources of blue pigments, such as indigo, though each has unique properties and hues.
What cultural associations does blue have?
Culturally, blue is associated with peace, tranquility, stability, and trust, among other things, varying somewhat across different cultures.
Is ultramarine used only in art?
While its historical and primary use is in art, ultramarine is also used in other industries, such as fabric dyeing and cosmetics, for its vivid color.
How do artists choose between blue and ultramarine?
Artists choose based on the desired shade and emotional impact, with ultramarine offering a depth and intensity that is distinct from other blues.
Why is blue so prevalent in corporate branding?
Blue is prevalent in corporate branding because it symbolizes trust, reliability, and professionalism, appealing to a wide audience.
How did the availability of synthetic ultramarine change its use?
The development of synthetic ultramarine made it more accessible and affordable, expanding its use beyond fine art to various applications.
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Written by
Urooj ArifUrooj is a skilled content writer at Ask Difference, known for her exceptional ability to simplify complex topics into engaging and informative content. With a passion for research and a flair for clear, concise writing, she consistently delivers articles that resonate with our diverse audience.
Co-written by
Fiza RafiqueFiza Rafique is a skilled content writer at AskDifference.com, where she meticulously refines and enhances written pieces. Drawing from her vast editorial expertise, Fiza ensures clarity, accuracy, and precision in every article. Passionate about language, she continually seeks to elevate the quality of content for readers worldwide.
