The Color Purple, Violet, or Lilac in Art

In this post, we will explore the colors of purple (blue and red), violet (short end of the spectrum), and lilac (pastel). Technically, violet is closer to blue and purple is closer to red. Purple is not typically found in nature. The color violet was used early on in cave paintings by mixing manganese and hematite powder. Much later, the color was used in paintings of royalty and also to symbolize magic, mystery, and piety (e.g. of the Virgin Mary). Today, we see purple used for a beautiful summer sky. 

Haystack in the Evening Sun (1891), Monet

Claude Monet

Impressionists like Monet used such colors for darkness and shadows in their paintings, never wanting to use black. Monet experimented with purple in his studies of light effects using haystacks as his subject. 

The Four Trees (1891), Claude Monet

Also painted in 1891, Monet's The Four Trees uses the color purple, although the versions I've seen on the Internet look more blue to me. It reminds me of a painting by Abstract Expressionist, Jackson Pollock.

Blue Poles (No. 11) (1952), Jackson Pollock

Pollock's Blue Poles (No. 11) may not have been inspired by Monet's trees, but the eight poles appear to have something resembling leaves coming out of them. The blue reads almost like indigo or violet. It is difficult for the human eye to detect the difference between indigo and violet due to the short wavelength of light at that end of the spectrum.

The Grand Canal of Venice
(1874), Édouard Manet

The Grand Canal, Venice (1908),
Claude Monet

The Impressionists soon began to use excessive amounts of manganese violet, blues, and pinks in their paintings for creating expressive sunsets and sunrises. This was termed violetomania. The Grand Canal of Venice was a subject for both Monet and Manet (Sorry, no purple!)

Camille Pissarro

Snow Scene at Éragny (View of Bazincourt)
(1884), Camille Pissarro

I also appreciate this snow scene by French Neo-Impressionist, Camille Pissarro. It's like a value study in purple. I appreciate the hints of pink and cyan and the subtlety of the colors in the sky. Purple works for snow when there is more blue than red in the mixture. I should have used this Pissarro work in my post, Snow Scenes in Painting and Photography.

Vincent Van Gogh

Irises (1889), Vincent Van Gogh

It is difficult to find the color purple in paintings prior to the 1860s. Often, the red pigment fades leaving behind only the blue color. This is apparent in Van Gogh's paintings of irises and the versions of the artist's bedroom. However, his two Starry Night paintings clearly use blue and yellow (or do they?).

Online versions are presented in a variety of tones, making it difficult to discern the real color saturation. MS-PowerPoint presentations also exhibit such effects, so I always remind my students to view art in person to appreciate the true colors. 

Henri Matisse

Woman in a Purple Coat (1937), Matisse

Henri Matisse's decorative paintings are often dominated by reds and other bold colors and patterns. Here is a portrait of a woman dressed in a red-violet Moroccan costume. While the areas of color are compartmentalized and outlined in black, I appreciate all the different color contrasts, patterns, and lines. He left white space around the woman's head, but her left hand gets lost in the yellow sofa.

Le filigrane violet (1945), Marc Chagall

Marc Chagall

I also recall Marc Chagall using red-violet and blue-violet in his surreal, dreamlike paintings of floating figures. He was definitely channeling the magic and the mystery and wasn't afraid of color.

Georgia O'Keeffe

Purple Petunias (1925),
Georgia O'Keeffe

Purple Leaves (1922),
Georgia O'Keeffe

The last of our purple paintings are by Georgia O'Keeffe. Much of her floral abstractions are bold closeups showing the interiors of flowers. I think I enjoy her softer Purple Leaves. My colleague from the Black Diamond Arts Alliance was inspired by the New Mexico artist and also Monet.

Hope Highlands Middle School, in Cranston, RI, has a wonderful site asking the question, "Why Purple?" Check it out!