Green is in the middle of the colour spectrum and so represents balance and harmony. Being the colour of nature, it is colour that we recognise the most variations of. It is naturally calming and generally does denote feelings of growth, calm and hope. Green is restful to the eye, studies show that being in green is calming and can reduce fatigue.
Green in nature
Plants cells contain chloroplast which have a high concentration of chlorophyll making them appear green. This is what is involved in photosynthesis. The first photosynthesising organisms appeared in the Archean eon of earth’s geological history, 4 billion to 2.5 billion years ago. They became the base of the plant life today. Chlorophyll appears green because it doesn’t absorb green light waves well and so they bounce back into our eyes.
Some animals can camouflage with their green surroundings. There are various other pigments in nature that make certain creatures appear green.
Language
Word comes from Anglo-Saxon ‘grene’ meaning to grow. In mythology it is the language of the birds and beasts. In some languages, they use the same word for blue and green like old Chinese and Thai. Romans had a great appreciation of green, having up to 10 words in Latin for green.
‘Grass is always greener’ is a common proverb in English. Origin is in Latin. It is one of those proverbs that appear across various cultures and languages in different forms. Another related proverb is ‘the apples on the other side of the wall are the sweetest’. Other countries have their own versions, as the behaviour of coveting other people’s lives and possessions is a common part of the human condition.
Pigments of green
Palaeolithic times – people used green dye made from leaves of the birch tree.
Ancient Egypt – For painting, they used finely ground malachite. They also used a pigment made from blue azurite mixed with yellow ochre.
Verdigris was used as early as 5th century CE is made by placing a plate of copper, brass or bronze in a vat of fermenting wine, leaving it for several weeks and then scraping off the green that forms on it. It can be unstable though and rub off.
Green earth is a pigment used since the Romans, it is a mix of various elements.
1775 – Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele invented a new green pigment called Scheele’s green. It was popular for paints, carpets, candles, fabrics. In 1863, it was estimated that more than 500 tons of the green was produced annually to feed demand. However it contained copper arsenite as key ingredient which is toxic. In 1814 a new version came to market called Emerald Green which was brighter but also poisonous. In 1815, the toxicity of arsenic was scientifically detected. In 1871, a British medical journal wrote that a six-inch sample of Scheele’s green wallpaper contained enough arsenic to kill two people. Took another 4 decades before it was stopped being produced and consumers stopped buying it. It is noted that Scheele was aware that his pigment was toxic but chose not disclose this information to the consumer as it would have been bad for business.
1780s – Cobalt green was discovered by Sven Rinman.
1830s – Viridian was first prepared. A cheaper version was then patented in 1859 that enabled large distribution of the pigment.
1835 – Green chrome oxide was a synthetic pigment created by chemist called Pannetier.
Tones of green
We see more variations of green than any other colour. There are so many names for various shades of green. Some include: aqua, emerald, forest, khaki, bottle green, mint, jade, moss, pea, grass, pistachio. Colours that are lighter in intensity are usually calmer versions of the colours. Colours that mix up colours like turquoise, tend to be positive and uplifting in brighter tones. Colours that have darker undertones tones like olive can be quite heavy and intense.
General use in society
Ancient times
In Palaeolithic times, the clothes were dyed green albeit not well. In ancient Egypt, green was used in paintings on the walls of tombs or on papyrus. They dyed fabric green too, it was the symbol of regeneration and rebirth. The ruler of the underworld Osiris was portrayed with a green face. Makeup was found to be worn made of malachite around the eyes of the dead. They also made amulets from malachite. The Egyptian hieroglyph for green was green stalk of papyrus.
Ancient Greeks didn’t have a great appreciation for green, it was seen as similar to blue. However the Romans did. It was the colour of Venus, goddess of the gardens. They used green in wall painting, glass and mosaics.
Middle Ages and Renaissance
In Islam, green is a dominant colour. It is associated with creation, Garden of Eden, paradise and the resurrection of Muhammad. Green turbans were worn by his successors. In the Qur’an, paradise mentions green robes, green silk couches, green eternal garden.
It is also the current colour of Ireland drawn from tale of Saint Patrick and the green shamrock which denotes the holy trinity. Saint Patrick was a 5th century priest and became saint in 7th century. He arrived in Ireland as a slave from England and escaped 6 years later. When he returned to England, he entered the priesthood and was sent back to Ireland as a missionary. One method he had was to teach locals about the holy trinity using the three-leafed shamrock. The shamrock as a symbol gave rise to green as colour of Irish nation, particularly after Protestants adopted orange as their colour.
In pre-colonial central and South America, green symbolised fertility. For the Aztecs, the rich green of quetzal bird is abundance.
In 16th century in early modern Europe, green was associated with wealth, merchants and bankers while red was for nobility. The benches in the House of Commons are green, in the House of Lords they are red. Mona Lisa is wearing a green gown in the painting.
In 1603, William Shakespeare wrote about green being associated with envy in Othello. The green-eyed monster is later mentioned in The Merchant of Venice. In France however, envy is yellow, in China its red and for the Japanese it’s purple.
Modern Day
In modern day, green is used in business to create a restful brand and environment for their consumer. McDonalds is starting to add green to their branding and restaurants, potentially to make it more of a place to stop for longer rather than the fast food and colour of yellow and red. Starbucks use this well, as a restful green on their logo and brand. The locations follow on with this, with comfy chairs in restful cosy colours of browns and greens.
Green is also used as the safe colour for traffic lights. It is also the common colour for environmental movements and political parties.
We have explored green from various perspectives including basis in nature, meaning, language, pigments and use in society from ancient to modern times.
