Laboratory methods of preparing alizarin from anthraquinone were discovered in 1868, and, upon commercial introduction of the synthetic dye in 1871, the natural product disappeared from the market for textile dyes, though natural rose madder is still occasionally used, as a lake, for artists' colours.

Who found alizarin?

About the same time, the English dye chemist William Henry Perkin independently discovered the same synthesis, although the BASF group filed their patent before Perkin by one day.

How is alizarin made?

Alizarin is prepared using a mixture of sodium perchlorate, water, potassium hydroxide, and anthraquinone. The mixture is heated in an oil bath at 200 °C. It is then cooled and dissolved in water. The solution is then put through several filtering processes in order separate other substances from the alizarin.