Vermilion (also spelled vermillion) is a red pigment and color

Vermilion is a brilliant red or scarlet pigment originally made from the powdered mineral cinnabar, and is also the name of the resulting color. It was widely used in the art and decoration of Ancient Rome, in the illuminated manuscripts of the Middle Ages, in the paintings of the Renaissance, and in the art and lacquerware of China, where it is often called “Chinese Red”.


Hex triplet #E34234
sRGB (r, g, b) (227, 66, 52)
CMYK (c, m, y, k) (0, 84, 71, 0)
HSV (h, s, v) (5°, 77%, 89%)


A “Chinese red” lacquerware roundbox from the Qing dynasty (1736-1795), from the National Museum of China in Beijing.

Scarlet (color)

Scarlet is a bright red with a slightly orange tinge. In the spectrum of visible light, and on the traditional color wheel, it is one-fourth of the way between red and orange, slightly less orange than vermilion.

Hex triplet #FF2400
sRGB (r, g, b) (255, 36, 0)
CMYK (c, m, y, k) (0, 86, 100, 0)
HSV (h, s, v) (8.5°, 100%, 100%)

Scarlet, on a traditional color wheel, is one quarter of the way between the colors red and orange. It is the color worn by a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. This is Cardinal Théodore-Adrien Sarr of Senegal.