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Lapis Lazuli
#26619C · click to copy
Cool
HEX
#26619C
RGB
38, 97, 156
CMYK
76%, 38%, 0%, 39%
Pigment
NB29 (lazurite mineral)
Lightfastness
Excellent (I) — lapis lazuli pigment is extraordinarily permanent; examples 5,000 years old retain f
Moods & Keywords
expensive
medieval
sacred
mineral
cool
blue
Pigment & Material
NB29 (lazurite mineral)
Natural
Lazurite mineral complex with calcite and pyrite inclusions. The deepest, most luminous blue in nature. Lightfast and permanent. Complex extraction: the raw stone was purified through repeated kneading with wax and oil over days.
Origin & History
Lapis lazuli was mined in Afghanistan 6,000 years ago — the same mines still produce stone today. It was used in ancient Sumerian inlays, Egyptian scarabs, and the beard of Tutankhamun's funeral mask. For Renaissance artists, it was both the most sacred and most expensive colour — surpassing gold. The process of extraction — kneading the ground stone in wax and washing out the pure colour — was a closely guarded craft secret.
Also Known As
Lazurite
Ultramarine (genuine)
Oltramarino
Azul de Ultramar
Lapis
Psychology
Sacred, infinite, and materially precious. Lapis lazuli carries the full weight of 5,000 years of use as the colour of the sacred sky, of divinity, and of the impossible distance between earth and heaven. Its physical preciousness — harder to obtain than gold — amplifies its psychological charge. When you look at genuine lapis lazuli pigment, you look at the same material that decorated the tomb of Tutankhamun and the Virgin's robe in Raphael's Madonnas.
In Culture
Vermeer's extraordinary use of lapis lazuli — using it more lavishly than almost any other Dutch painter — is believed to have contributed to his financial ruin and death in debt in 1675. He left 11 children and substantial debts to his paint supplier. The colour that makes his paintings so luminous may have bankrupted him. The Afghan mines at Sar-e-Sang have been worked continuously for 6,000 years — they are currently under Taliban control, raising concerns about the art world's relationship with this material.
Natural Sources
Lazurite (Na,Ca)₈(AlSiO₄)₆(SO₄,S,Cl)₂ — the blue mineral component of lapis lazuli rock. Found almost exclusively in the Sar-e-Sang mines, Badakhshan province, Afghanistan — the only significant source for 5,000 years of use. Minor deposits exist in Russia (Lake Baikal), Chile, and Canada, but the Afghan mine has provided virtually all art-quality lapis.
Making It Yourself
Genuine lapis lazuli pigment (the most labour-intensive pigment process in art history):
1. Obtain raw lapis lazuli
2. Grind coarsely — the rock contains lazurite (blue), calcite (white), and pyrite (gold flecks)
3. Make a "dough" by kneading ground lapis with warm wax, resin, and linseed oil
4. Knead the dough in warm (not hot) water — the pure lazurite slowly separates and floats off
5. First 3–4 washings = finest ultramarine (most expensive); subsequent = progressively paler and cheaper
6. Dry the collected pigment, grind finely
Note: this process takes days of labour per small quantity of pigment.
1. Obtain raw lapis lazuli
2. Grind coarsely — the rock contains lazurite (blue), calcite (white), and pyrite (gold flecks)
3. Make a "dough" by kneading ground lapis with warm wax, resin, and linseed oil
4. Knead the dough in warm (not hot) water — the pure lazurite slowly separates and floats off
5. First 3–4 washings = finest ultramarine (most expensive); subsequent = progressively paler and cheaper
6. Dry the collected pigment, grind finely
Note: this process takes days of labour per small quantity of pigment.
Art Movements
Ancient Art (Egypt
Mesopotamia
Indus Valley)
Medieval Manuscript Illumination
Byzantine Art
Renaissance
Baroque
Famous Works
Tutankhamun's funeral mask
lapis lazuli inlay
Vermeer
virtually all blue passages (he used genuine lapis lavishly — possibly why he died in debt)
Michelangelo
Sistine Chapel (the Virgin's robe)
Leonardo da Vinci
Virgin of the Rocks
Available As
Daniel Smith — Lapis Lazuli Genuine (genuine mineral)
Natural Pigments — Lapis Lazuli (genuine mineral)
Zecchi (Florence) — Lapislazzuli (genuine)
Note: extremely expensive; most "lapis" paints use synthetic ultramarine
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Colour data compiled with AI. Spot an error or have more to add? Leave a Note — ekphra reviews and updates.
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