Magenta or Mauve? the True Color Wheel Science Behind Pink and Purple

Is magenta or Mauve? the True Color Wheel Science Behind Pink and Purple a topic you are researching? Discover expert analysis in our feature story.

Color wheel theory dictates that purple is a secondary color formed by joining primary red and primary blue. Pink is a tint, traditionally manufactured by folding white into red. When an artist combines pink and purple, the fundamental equation reads as red plus blue, plus an extra portion of red, tempered by white pigment.

Physical paint mixing functions under the laws of subtractive color mixing. Every pigment added to an acrylic paint mixing well absorbs specific visible wavelengths of light while reflecting others back to the human retina. Blue pigments absorb long red wavelengths; red pigments swallow short blue wavelengths. Introducing white light-scattering titanium dioxide into the blend diffuses this absorption. Because the mix possesses a surplus of red wavelengths over blue, the resulting shade shifts past true purple toward tertiary red-violet territory. It lands squarely between pure violet and scarlet, modulated by the lightening presence of white.