In the 18th century, quinine, obtained from South America was the expensive medicine used to treat Malaria. Because of the high costs, chemists were experimenting to develop a synthetic equivalent, so did W.H.Perkin. He did not succeed in creating quinine out of coal tar but accidentally discovered the colour mauve.
I combined violet pigments with some green mineral pigments, mixed them with a light grey in cold wax and acrylic to create a more soft, subtle, undecided appearance.
Mauve was long time a colour preferred by noble women, such as Eugenie, the Empress of France and thus became very fashionable for some decades but this trend burnt quickly.
For a long time, the greyish violet was often related to old women and not popular at all.
This might change as Pantone declared ultra-violet the colour of the year 2018 and I guess, all it’s shades will become fashion again 😉