Examples of Color Theory
Artists have been using color theory to guide their work since long before Isaac Newton invented the color wheel in the 1660s. Spanning from the Renaissance to the 21st century, these examples show how artists have used color theory to represent reality and express emotion.
Other People Are Reading
-
Renaissance
-
Greek philosopher Aristotle believed that all color consisted of light and dark. Renaissance painter Leonardo da Vinci used Aristotle's idea to develop chiaroscuro, a technique in which light and shadow is used to create dimension. If you look at da Vinci's Mona Lisa, you can see how he relies on white and black, as well as red, yellow, blue and green, to help him render Mona Lisa's signature smile.
Romanticism
-
In the 17th and 18th centuries, artists developed more complex approaches to color. Romantic painter Eugene Delacroix believed complementary colors, rather than light and dark, created the richest contrasts and shadows. If he wanted to add shadow to red, he would use green instead of black and, if he wanted to darken orange, he would add blue. This gave Delacroix's best known paintings, including Liberty Leading the People and The Women of Algiers, a nuanced range of hue and value.
-
Fauvism
-
At the turn of the 20th century, artists became more interested in color's emotive potential. The Fauves, a group led by French artist Henri Matisse, admired the way Impressionists Van Gogh and Gauguin had used color expressively. The Fauves---their name means "Wild Beasts"---included French artists André Derain, Maurice de Vlaminck, and Georges Braque. These artists all abandoned naturalistic color in favor of bold colors that would emotionally effect viewers. In Matisse's Green Stripe, one of Fauvism's seminal paintings, Matisse painted one half of his wife's face yellow and the other half a flesh tone. A green stripe separated the face's two sides.
Modernism
-
Modernist artists continued to explore color theory in terms of emotion and perception. Picasso notably had a three-year blue period, in which he painted only in blue, probing the range of moods one color could express. In the 1950s and 1960s, Josef Albers became interested in the way color combination affects perception. He painted a series of colored squares on top of one another. The placement of each square affected the way the human eye processed its color. Color Field painters like Mark Rothko would fill whole canvases with only one or two colors, showing how color can create the illusion of depth.
Contemporary Color
-
Technological developments have given contemporary artists new insights into color. Brooklyn Artist Cory Arcangel digitally projects moving stripes onto walls and screens, exploring how the movement affects our experience of color. London-based artist David Batchelor has photographed blank white squares that he encountered around London, showing how the absence of color can make dingy urban surroundings appear vibrant.
While artists initially used color theory to help them render reality, color theory has become a tool for questioning perception and emotion.
-
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Examples of color theory.
