Venetian red

American  

noun

1. a red pigment, originally prepared from a natural oxide of iron, now usually made by calcining a mixture of lime and ferrous sulfate.

2. a dark shade of orangish red.

---

Venetian red British  

noun

1. natural or synthetic ferric oxide used as a red pigment

2. 1. a moderate to strong reddish-brown colour

   2. ( as adjective )

      a Venetian-red coat

---

Etymology

Origin of Venetian red

First recorded in 1745–55

Example Sentences

But the painter has drenched the rest of the space — walls, floor and furniture — in Venetian red.

From Washington Post • Jun. 22, 2022

The painting was unusual for its time — representing identifiable objects awash in a flat monochrome surface of Venetian red, combining the figurative with the abstract and dismantling the illusion of depth.

From New York Times • Sep. 12, 2021

“FROM CHILDHOOD, I was drawn to old houses,” says Lumley, sitting at the top of his house, in a room painted Venetian red.

From New York Times • Sep. 10, 2018

The clear note of the salmon pink blossoms against the accompaniment of the carefully distinguished grays and the Venetian red in leaves, wall, and draperies is finely felt.

From Handbook of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts by Breck, Joseph

The Venetian red of his plumes and scarf is splendid.

From Heroic Spain by O'Reilly, Elizabeth Boyle