When summer comes, with its flaring sun and gigantic columns of white clouds rising in the sky, the blue sea fascinates people more than in any other season. Many people find that blue is most beautiful in summer, since this is the color of the sky and the sea. Meanwhile, on hot summer days when the temperature rises to between 32 and 34 degrees Celsius, the steamy air is best represented by reddish orange, the color of flaring fire. Enveloped by reddish orange ambience, people subconsciously seek a cool and refreshing color. Blue is a cool color, representing calmness and composure. Accordingly, blue fascinates us particularly in summer. In other words, when we are fascinated by blue, we need the calming and tranquilizing power of that color, so as to maintain our mental balance.
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There are various tones of blue. Cobalt blue, for instance, is named after cobalt aluminate pigment. The discovery of this pigment in the latter half of the 18th century was an epochal event in the history of art, since there had been only a few blue pigments before. Ultramarine blue, made from azurite, a mineral found in copper ore deposits, is familiar in Japan. In Japanese paintings, this elegant tone is frequently used, especially in the paintings of fusuma (papered sliding doors) and walls of the Azuchi-Momoyama Period (1568 - 1603), and folding screens painted during the Edo Period (1603 - 1868). In these paintings, the combination of this blue pigment and gold foil makes the works gorgeous and dazzling. Indigo, the world's oldest dyestuff made from a plant, has been continuously used for clothing of common people. Owing to its snake-repellent function, travelers, farmers and other outdoor workers wore clothing and socks that had been soaked in thick indigo solution.
Although people have likes and dislikes regarding colors, I understand that around 75% have constantly favored blue. This is because blue is the color of the sea and the sky, for which people continuously feel a longing. Blue also harbors a mysterious spirituality, which enchanted such a genius as Picasso during his Blue Period.
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