cinnabar colors

Literary analysis:

In literature, cinnabar is most frequently celebrated not as a mere mineral but as a vivid, evocative red pigment that conjures images of passion, luxury, and even alchemy. Historical texts note its use in extravagant displays—for example, an emperor’s mixing of the brilliant red of cinnabar with chrysocolla highlights its association with imperial opulence [1]—while cosmetic manuals prescribe cinnabar for painting cheeks, emphasizing its rich, alluring tone [2]. In modern literary descriptions, authors like Joyce evoke its visual splendor by juxtaposing cinnabar with metals and precious gems, creating a tapestry of color that conveys both beauty and decay [3]. Scientific and aesthetic discussions further refine its character as a yellowish-red hue that lends a unique brightness to any surface it colors [4, 5, 6].

Caligula, in a fit of extravagance, used chrysocolla; and Nero, to surpass him, caused the brilliant red of cinnabar to be mixed with it.
— from Museum of Antiquity: A Description of Ancient Life by T. L. (Thomas Louis) Haines
Vermillion, cinnabar : Rub the right cheek with the fingers of the right hand.—The chief use of this pigment was to paint the cheeks.
— from Maximilian, Prince of Wied's, Travels in the Interior of North America, 1832-1834, part 3 and appendix by Wied, Maximilian, Prinz von
Dust slept on dull coils of bronze and silver, lozenges of cinnabar, on rubies, leprous and winedark stones.
— from Ulysses by James Joyce
Genuine carmine has a red color with a slight bluish cast whereas cinnabar approaches yellowish-red.
— from The Progress of the Marbling Art, from Technical Scientific Principles With a Supplement on the Decoration of Book Edges by Josef Halfer
With barium, the acid furnishes a yellowish-red powder, insoluble in, but made denser by water, which imparts to it a cinnabar colour.
— from Field's Chromatography or Treatise on Colours and Pigments as Used by Artists by George Field
This oxide is of a cinnabar-red colour.)
— from Personal Narrative of Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of America, During the Year 1799-1804 — Volume 1 by Alexander von Humboldt

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