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Dioxazine Purple
#32174D · click to copy
Cool
HEX
#32174D
RGB
50, 23, 77
CMYK
35%, 70%, 0%, 70%
Pigment
PV23
Lightfastness
Very Good (I–II) — significantly better than many other purples
Moods & Keywords
intense
transparent
dark
cool
purple
Pigment & Material
PV23
Synthetic
Carbazole dioxazine (PV23). Extremely transparent and intense. Excellent lightfastness. Very high tinting strength — like phthalo pigments, small amounts go very far.
Origin & History
Dioxazine purple was developed in the mid-20th century as the most intensely coloured violet pigment available. Its extreme transparency and tinting power make it the default violet for mixing — small amounts produce profound colour shifts.
Also Known As
Carbazole Violet
Dioxazine Violet
Permanent Violet
Psychology
Deep, powerful, and slightly overwhelming. Dioxazine is purple at its most concentrated — the violet of the deepest meditation or the most intense spiritual experience. Used with restraint, it creates extraordinary depth; overused, it makes everything murky. It is a colour that demands respect and careful handling.
In Culture
Dioxazine purple is the workhorse purple of the contemporary art world — it appears in virtually every professional paint range. Its power and transparency make it invaluable for glazing and mixing, even if it is rarely used as a featured colour in its own right.
Natural Sources
No natural source — dioxazine (carbazole dioxazine) is a synthetic organic pigment developed in the 20th century. It is the most powerful violet pigment available — extremely transparent and deeply coloured.
Making It Yourself
Dioxazine purple is synthesised industrially — not available for home production.
Usage notes: like phthalo pigments, it is extremely powerful — use sparingly.
A tiny amount darkens and deepens any colour it is added to.
Mix with ultramarine for rich blue-purples.
Mix with quinacridone red for warm burgundy-purples.
Add to any colour for a transparent darkening effect.
Usage notes: like phthalo pigments, it is extremely powerful — use sparingly.
A tiny amount darkens and deepens any colour it is added to.
Mix with ultramarine for rich blue-purples.
Mix with quinacridone red for warm burgundy-purples.
Add to any colour for a transparent darkening effect.
Art Movements
Contemporary Painting
Abstract Art
Famous Works
Contemporary abstract painting broadly
Used as a mixing pigment rather than featured colour
Available As
Winsor & Newton — Winsor Violet (Dioxazine) (PV23)
Daniel Smith — Dioxazine Purple (PV23)
Golden — Dioxazine Purple
M. Graham — Dioxazine Purple
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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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