Chartreuse is a yellowish green or golden green color named after the alcoholic French liqueur of the same name. The liqueur made by Carthusian Monks in France’s Grande Chartreuse monastery since the 18th century is famous for its unique yellowish green color. The name “chartreuse” has come to refer specifically to this distinctive hue.
The Carthusian monks have perfected their secret recipe of 130 medicinal and aromatic plants used to produce the herbal elixir over hundreds of years. The exact formula is known by only two monks at a time. Chartreuse liqueurs come in both yellow and green varieties, with the yellow form mellower and sweeter than the stronger, drier green. Both use the chlorophyll from plants to derive their one-of-a-kind color.
Beyond describing the popular French liqueur, chartreuse has become established as a color term in English and other languages to refer to rich yellowish green shades reminiscent of the drink. As a color name used in fashion, design and beyond, chartreuse has inspired everything from governance flags and school uniforms to haute couture gowns and cosmetics.
History and Origins
Chartreuse liqueur traces its origins back to a French monastery in the early 1700s. The Carthusian religious order was founded in 1084, though the Grande Chartreuse monastery in Voiron, near Grenoble, was built in the 12th century. Carthusian monks, known for their silence and contemplative lifestyle, have resided here for centuries.
The Carthusians have expertise in preparing herbal distillates and medicines dating back to medieval times. The early elixirs they formulated were believed to promote health and longevity. Their signature “Elixir of Long Life” developed in the early 18th century was the predecessor of what became Chartreuse liqueur.
The monastery has a vast pharmacy and library brimming with ancient texts concerning herbal medicine. The distillation process for Chartreuse is based on a manuscript from 1605 by an apothecary from Grenoble. This manuscript had been gifted to the Carthusians in 1737 by French marshal François-Louis de Bourbon, while he was in Grenoble.
The formula for the elixir contained 132 botanicals, including plants like hyssop, lemon balm, chamomile, cardamom, angelica, sage, nutmeg, juniper and aloe. The exact recipe remains a tightly guarded trade secret, entrusted to only two monks at a time.
In 1764, the friars refined their elixir and presented it to the public under the name “Chartreuse” as a medicinal digestive tonic. The rest, as they say, is history. The world soon recognized Chartreuse as a pleasant herbal liqueur as much as an elixir. By the early 1800s, its reputation was sealed.
The monks originally made only the green variety, using chlorophyll from plants to give it its signature color. The mellower yellow version was introduced much later in 1840.
Chartreuse Color Name Origin
While the Carthusians had begun making their herbal liqueur in 1764, the name “chartreuse” was not established as a color term until the 1860s.
In the 19th century, the vivid green color of the popular drink caught the eye of textile manufacturers in France and Britain. They began referring to that specific hue seen in the liqueur as “chartreuse” in fabric swatch catalogs.
Before this, there were no standard names assigned to particular shades of green. The rich yellow-greens were often just described as “green” or with vague color words like “verdant.” As dyes and fabric production became more sophisticated, exact color definitions were needed.
The vivid yellowish green was seized upon not only for its connection to the famous French liqueur, but also because “chartreuse” sounded elegant and had refinement as a French word. It joined other liquor-inspired color names used in fashion like burgundy, brandy and champagne.
“Chartreuse” provided the wine and textile trades with a practical and poetic term for the uniquely likable yellow-green. By the late 1800s, “chartreuse green” and “chartreuse yellow” were established in English as color words referring specifically to the hues of the famous French liqueur.
Use of Chartreuse as a Color Name
Beyond the liqueur itself, chartreuse has inspired everything from haute couture and cosmetics to politics and sports teams. Given its name recognition and pleasing shade, chartreuse has secured a niche as a color name in various domains.
Fashion and Design:
The eye-catching chartreuse hues lent themselves to the world of textiles and fashion that originally named them. Chartreuse became a trendy color in late 19th century interior design and women’s dresses in France and Britain.
Coco Chanel was one designer who embraced chartreuse in the 1920s for its playful allure. Celebrity fashion icons like Keira Knightley and Catherine Zeta-Jones have memorably donned chartreuse gowns on red carpets.
Chartreuse remains a staple color for shoes, makeup and accessories wanting to capture that distinctly French je ne sais quoi. It also translates well to modern industries like web design, highlighting its energizing boldness.
Flags and Symbols:
Chartreuse has noteworthy resonance as the color associated with the city of Voiron and surrounding Chartreuse mountains where the liqueur originated.
The flag of Voiron in southeastern France features two horizontal bands of chartreuse green and white as an homage to history. Additionally, the EU flag includes chartreuse among the symbolic circle of yellow stars.
For Italian sports teams like the Bologna football club, a chartreuse green uniform honors a sense of place and cultural heritage. The rich yellow-greens evoke the Veronese green marble quarried locally in the Alpine foothills by Bologna.
Cars and Cosmetics:
Memorable shades like chartreuse have mass appeal in the realms of automobiles and cosmetics for their vibrancy. Carmakers often release models in limited edition chartreuse colors that generate buzz.
Chartreuse lipsticks and nail polishes have joined makeup staples for their playful uniqueness. Much like fashion, cosmetics companies recognize the subtle sophistication and hint of European flair chartreuse provides.
Botany and Biology:
In science, chartreuse has come to represent the lime-yellow color in thethroats of certain hummingbird species like the saw-billed hermit. These South American varieties have evolved to attract pollinators.
Botanists also use “chartreuse” to describe the yellow-green shade found in leaves, buds and some fruit. While the term “chartreuse” originally referenced only the liqueur’s signature tone, it has expanded to mean a wider range of lively yellowish greens.
Chartreuse Color Shades
There are no single definitive swatches for chartreuse as a color. It is essentially a family of rich yellowish greens taking inspiration from the famous herbal liqueur first created by French monks.
Both web and print color dictionaries like Pantone, Crayola and RGB list an array of shades named “chartreuse” along with their respective hex codes and mixing formulas. Here are some of the most common variations:
– Apple green – vibrant yellow-green
– Asparagus – muted grey-green
– Green-yellow – bright lime green
– Harlequin – bold blue-green
– Lime – intense greenish yellow
– Spring bud – soft muted green
The green version of the liqueur provides the base reference point in most cases, though chartreuse can range from intense near-yellow greens to more muted blue-tinged greens. The unifying theme is a bold vibrancy perfect for highlighting text or graphics.
Conclusion
Chartreuse has secured its place as a color name synonymous with the vivid yellow-green liqueur first crafted by Carthusian monks in 18th century France. It arose as a practical term in the textile industry using the famous French beverage as inspiration.
Beyond the drink itself, chartreuse has provided fashion, design, sports, politics and science with a recognizable color evoking refinement, place and heritage. It epitomizes the bold greens of the natural world.
The monks still produce Chartreuse liqueur today at France’s Grande Chartreuse monastery, but its legacy now extends to representing a family of vibrant greens. Chartreuse continues to add inspiration and sophisticated color wherever it is found.
