This hue is inspired by Marian blue, the deep, luminous blue traditionally used to depict the Virgin Mary in Western Christian art. Favored from the Middle Ages through the Renaissance, the color symbolized purity, humility, and divine grace—and was often rendered with ultramarine made from lapis lazuli, a semiprecious stone imported from mines in Afghanistan along ancient trade routes. So costly it exceeded the price of gold, ultramarine was reserved for the most sacred subjects, with contracts sometimes specifying its use for Mary’s robes alone. Masters like Giotto, Fra Angelico, and Titian employed this precious blue to honor the Queen of Heaven, its celestial depth reflecting her role as mediator between earth and the divine. Its rich, reverent tone conveyed spiritual importance across centuries of altarpieces, frescoes, and icons, making Marian blue not just a color, but a visual language of faith, care, and sacred presence that still resonates in religious art today.