Vermilion, Umber, or Malachite no longer appear among the common words in today´s dictionary. Navy, Mahogany, or Olive may sound more familiar and lead you to the right color. Names of colours evolve with people, especially artists, through the centuries, expressing the characteristics of each colour or shade. Despite being slowly replaced by more precise numerical values, there still is some beauty in these old poetic names that are worth keeping in mind.
Vermilion
Numeral values: Hex#E34234 / RGBB 227, 66, 52 / CMYK 0, 84, 71, 0
Vermilion red powder / Photo: Shutterstock
Titian Assumption of the Virgin (1516–18) – the vermilion robes / Photo: Wikipedia
Umber
Numeral values: Hex #635147 / RGBB 99, 81, 71 / CMYK 0, 18, 28, 61
Umber powder / Photo: Shutterstock
Caravaggio – umber used in his chiaroscuro/ Photo: Wikipedia
Malachite
Numeral values: Hex#0bda51 / RGBB 11, 218, 81 / CMYK 95, 0, 63, 15
Earrings and ring with malachite / Photo: Shutterstock
Ruby, Gold and Malachite by Henry Scott Tuke (1902) / Photo: Wikipedia
Navy blue
Numeral values: Hex #1974D2 / RGBB 25, 116, 210 / CMYK 88, 45, 0, 18
Admiral Horatio Nelson by – use of Navy blue in the uniform / Photo: Wikipedia
Mahogany
Numeral values: Hex #C04000 / RGBB 192, 64, 0 / CMYK 0, 67, 100, 25
Mahogany Flower Trinidad / Photo: Shutterstock
Olive Green
Numeral values: Hex #808000 / RGBB 128, 128, 0 / CMYK 0, 0, 100, 50
Virgin Enthroned by Abbott Handerson Thayer / Photo: Wikimedia
Flamingo
Numeral values: Hex#fc8eac / RGBB 252, 142, 172 / CMYK 0, 44, 32, 1
Pink Flamingo / Photo: Shutterstock
Cadmium Yellow
Numeral values: Hex #FFF600 / RGB 255, 232, 0 / CMYK 0, 4, 100, 0
Sea-Roses (Yellow Nirwana) by , after 1916 / Photo: Wikipedia
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