Magenta is a violet-red or purplish-red color and one of the three primary colors of the subtractive CMYK color model. On color wheels of the RGB (additive) and CMYK (subtractive) color models, it is located midway between red and blue. It is the complementary color of green.
Magenta was first introduced as the color of a new aniline dye called fuchsine, patented in 1859 by the French chemist Francois-Emmanuel Verguin. Its name was changed the same year to magenta, to celebrate a victory of the French and Sardinian army at theBattle of Magenta on June 4, 1859, near the Italian city of that name.