Cerulean Blue is made by roasting Cobalt and Tin oxides. Sold as an artists pigment in 1860 by Rowney and Company.

It produces a very bright, clear, and unusually opaque blue, hence its name, which is derived from the Latin for "sky-blue", or perhaps "heaven-blue".

It has a very low tinting strength meaning that, although it is stable in all media, some artists may choose to bind it in poppy rather than linseed oil, so that the colour isn't affected by the colour of the binder.