Prussian blue is a vibrant hue first created in 1706 by Swiss German paint manufacturer Johann Diesbach (1670 - 1748) in Berlin. A vivid example of chemical reaction, it's also called Berlin Blue, Brandenburg Blue, Parisian, Iron and Midnight Blue.
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Prussian blue is an accident of chemistry. In 1703 Diesbach wants to make a red cochineal dye. The cochineal is a scale insect in the suborder Sternorrhyncha, from which natural dye carmine is derived. Only females have the bright red color.
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Cochineal insects and the dye they produce are introduced from Mesoamerica to Europe in the 16th century. The color is carmine, also called cochineal extract, crimson lake or carmine lake. It's effective as a yarn and clothing dye, but can turn brown in canvas art.
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Cochineal insect dye from crushed dried insects is one of the earliest colors used in history. In Eurasia, a related kermes insect dye creates some of the reds found in prehistoric cave paintings.
To make his red, Diesbach needs to prepare an extraction of crushed cochineal insects, iron (ferric) sulphate and potash, a compound of various potassium salts. The mixture creates the color cochineal red lake.
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Potash is mined in Ethiopia from the 14th century CE. Deposits are created millions of years ago by evaporation of inland seas. Over time the dry sea basins are buried in earth, covering potash concentrations.
Potash deposits date back to the Cambrian period, about 550 million years ago. Potash is a mix of potassium salts. One of its constituents, the caustic chemical potassium hydroxide or lye, can burn or cause eruptions of skin ulcers on contact.
Evidence of lye used in soapmaking dates to c. 2800 BCE. People make lye by leaching water through layers of wood ashes. Before industry it's the common method. Lye is used today as an electrolyte in alkaline batteries; electroplate, lithography and paint removers.
Diesbach is running low on potash, and contacts alchemist Johann Konrad Dippel. Dippel is known for his animal oil, and as one of the inhabitants of Frankenstein's Castle in Odenwald (Forest of Odes) Germany.
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Born at Castle Frankenstein, Dippel later returns there to work. To create Dippel's Oil he dissects animals, leading to rumors of human corpses used in experiments of soul transferral. Soul transferral is a major topic of discussion in alchemical and academic circles.
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Dippel achieves some fame in Germany for his animal oil, a distillation made from bones. It's later used as an insect repellent and even chemical warfare.
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Claiming his animal-derived oil is the Elixir of Life, at one point Dippel tries to trade the recipe for the castle. The owners of Castle Frankenstein do not leap at the opportunity.
Finding the elixir of life is one of the goals of alchemy. The Elixir is said to make a person young and/or immortal. As one Chinese Emperor finds out, it isn't mercury. Rumors of a fountain of youth for women also surround Castle Frankenstein.
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In 1703 Dippel is in Berlin. He sends over some potash. As Diesbach gets to work he discovers one batch is light pink compared to the red he's trying to achieve. When he concentrates the mixture, it turns purple, then deep blue.
He calls on Dippel. They deduce the reaction occurs because the potash is contaminated with either bone oil or blood (historians disagree which it is). The components bond in a form called iron ferrocyanide, a distinct blue hue.
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In 1709 it's named Preußisch Blau (Prussian Blue) and Berlinisch Blau (Berlin Blue) by its first trader. Prussian blue is considered to be the first modern synthetic color.
At this time the recipe for Egyptian Blue is lost (it's been found again). Ultramarine, made from expensive lapis lazuli, is virtually the only blue on the market. Prussian blue is popular in paint, blueprints, glazes and 19th-century aizuri-e (Japanese woodblock prints).
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Like most toxic medicines, a little can heal and a little too much can kill. Prussian Blue can be given orally as an antidote to heavy metal poisoning.
From Prussian Blue comes prussic acid, or hydrogen cyanide. In German, hydrogen cyanide is known as Blausäure or blue acid. French chemist Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac names it cyanide after the blue color cyan.
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Cyanide comes in more than a few forms, and is deadly poison. First phase symptoms of cyanide poisoning include headache, dizziness, fast heart rate, shortness of breath, and vomiting.
This phase is followed by a second phase including seizures, slow heart rate, low blood pressure, loss of consciousness and cardiac arrest. Onset of symptoms usually occurs within a few minutes and death within half an hour.
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For poison purveyors and many crime novel writers, cyanide topples arsenic on the top ten list of the 18th and 19th centuries. While it may have a giveaway almond scent, not all people can smell it.
Pure cyanide can be consumed by inhalation, ingestion or can be absorbed through the skin. A volatile compound, cyanide has been used as inhalant rodent killer and human poison.
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Exposure to lower levels of cyanide over a long period increases blood cyanide levels, causing weakness, paralysis, nervous lesions, hypothyroidism and miscarriage. Other effects include liver and kidney damage.
Poisoning over the long term can happen by eating improperly processed cassava roots. Cassava (tapioca, yuca or manioc) is a staple food in parts of West Africa. Other foods containing cyanide include almond, apricot, apple, orange and flax seed. Oils have none.
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Today most toxic chemicals in house and artist paint, such as mercury, cyanides or lead, have been replaced by safe pigments. Artists' paint Lead White has no lead, Prussian Blue is devoid of cyanide compounds, and green paint is still not a vegetable.
The oldest painting to use Prussian blue is the 1709 Entombment of Christ by Pieter van der Werff. Painters at the Prussian court are using the pigment by cl 1710 CE.
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Prussian blue is the first totally modern synthetic pigment made as a product of a chemical reaction. The production of Prussian blue is difficult to control and can result in changes of color in the final pigment.
It's also prone to fading, and can seep into adjoining paints. Nonetheless, artists are ecstatic. In Paris, artist Antione Watteau and his contemporaries make liberal use of Prussian blue, giving it the nickname Parisian Blue.
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Due to excellent marketing, the fame of Prussian blue spreads throughout Europe. It's later eclipsed by other synthetic blues, but can still be found in some palettes.
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