or aniline, phenylamine. Liquid, aromatic amine that is colorless and oily. Obtained for the first time in 1826 through the distillation of anil (Spanish name for indigo, from which its name derives), it was utilized in 1856 by the English chemist, W. Perkin, as a primary substance for obtaining the first synthetic colorant, mauveine. Originally obtained from distilled products of fossil coal tar and successively through the synthesis of nitrobenzene, it is today prepared with various industrial procedures. It is largely utilized as an intermediary in the preparation of colorants (moreover it is extremely unstable and thus not advised in restoration nor painting), synthetic resins, solvents, and varnishes.