Colour Story: Winsor Orange

In art, orange can invigorate a palette, provide striking contrasts or stand as a bold statement on its own. Winsor Orange, developed by Winsor & Newton, captures this spirit in a lightfast, semi-opaque pigment that offers artists a consistent alternative to mixing red and yellow.

Origins of orange

The word orange only entered the English language in the 16th century, after the fruit was introduced to Europe from Asia. Before then, the colour was simply described as “yellow-red” or compared to saffron. 

Long before the colour was named, cultures were already creating and using orange pigments. In Ancient Egypt, artists used realgar, a vivid but highly toxic arsenic-based mineral, to create orange tones for tomb murals and protective amulets.

Orpiment, another arsenic-based mineral, was used in Roman and medieval art to create golden-yellow-orange tones, and to add vibrance and decorative flourishes to manuscripts. 

Orange in popular culture

Orange plays an important role in modern cinema. It has become central to the “orange-and-teal” colour grading trend seen in films such as Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), where the warm glow of desert landscapes juxtaposes with cyan skies to heighten visual drama.

The contrast between orange and blue can also be found in videogames, where visually distinctive colours play an important role in guiding players through puzzles and quests. Portal (2007) is a notable example: its use of orange is key to both the mechanics and visual identity of the game. 

In Netflix series Orange Is the New Black (2013–2019), orange is both a literal reference to prison uniforms and a symbolic expression of vibrancy within confinement.

Elsewhere, fashion designers have embraced orange as a luxury accent, whether in Hermès’ iconic orange boxes or bold statement pieces on contemporary runways.

How artists use orange

Vincent van Gogh frequently paired orange with blue to dramatic effect. In Café Terrace at Night (1888), glowing orange lamplight stands out against the deep blue of the night sky, resulting in a dramatic, contrasting scene.

Henri Matisse turned to orange as a way of heightening the emotional impact of his compositions. In The Red Studio (1911), touches of orange break through the dominant reds and balance against cooler tones, demonstrating the colour’s ability to animate a space and infuse it with warmth.

Decades later, Mark Rothko made orange the subject of entire canvases. In works such as Orange and Yellow (1956), large expanses of luminous colour are layered, demonstrating how orange can move beyond representation and become an experience in itself.