The Formation of Color Theory Scientific and psychological

The Formation of Color Theory Scientific and psychological explainitions

Color Theory and the Ancient World

Color Theory and the Ancient World • Empedocles – (492 -431 BC) – Through observation determined color is perceived, not the property of the object. • Democritus – (? 460 -431 BC) – First atomic theory: color was the result of atomic arrangements. • Plato – (428 -347 BC) – Worked with perception of reality. If color changes based on the viewer, how can we determine the true color of objects.

Aristotle • (384 -322 BC) – De Coloribus ( the first know book about color) – Composition and relationship of color. • Derived from the blending of sunlight, fire, light, and lack of light. • Hue identification- white, black, red, yellow, brown, violet, green, blue. • Proposed the mixing of white and black with these hues resulted in all colors.

Leonardo Da Vinci • Mathematician, scientist, artist (1452 -1519) – Treatise on Painting, 1651 – Simple (primary) colors: white, yellow, green, blue, red, black. – Ranked color: white- light, yellow- fire, green- water, blueair, red- fire, black- total darkness. • 1 st to… – Create system of primary colors arranged in order – Direct contraries intensify each other (complements) – Certain responses take place when colors are placed next to each other (simultaneous contrast)

Sir Isaac Newton mathematician, physicist • 1643 -1727 • Opticks, 1704 • Interested in the physics of color, not the perception. • Newton discovered measurable, mathematical patterns in the phenomenon of color. • He found white light to be a mixture of infinitely varied colored rays (manifest in the rainbow and the spectrum)

• Based on additive color – Red – Orange – Yellow – Green – Blue – Indigo – Violet Newton’s Color Wheel

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe German writer, poet, philosopher, and scientist: 17491832 • Theory of Colors, 1810. • First modern thinker to record the function of the eye rather than the properties of light. • Opponent to Newton’s physics of light. • Explored every aspect of color: – – – Complementary color Simultaneous contrast Successive contrast Effects of cast light Proportional color

Goethe Color Triangle Goethe Color Wheel

• Philip Otto Runge Notables – German painter: 1 st 3 D color model • J. C. Maxwell – Scottish physicist: concepts of additive color. Extensive work with spinning discs and pioneer to modern-day photography • Michel Eugene Chevreul – French chemist: (dye master) The Principles of Harmony and Contrast of Colors – All hues could be obtained from mixing primaries (red, yellow, blue) – Established the laws of: simultaneous contrast, successive contrast, and optical mixing. • Ewald Hering – German physiologist and psychologist – Theories of color perception – Psychological Primaries: the primary colors of vision. • Red, yellow, blue, green

Albert Munsell • American-born color theorist: 1858 -1918 • Color Notation, 1905 • Color describe by three variables – Hue, value, chroma • Expanded the primary hues- principle colors – Red, yellow, blue, green, purple • Adopted by the US Bureau of Standards as the acceptable language of color • Created a system for color standardization in art

Munsell Tree • Gradation of value along the vertical axis • Gradation in saturation/ chroma along the horizontal branches • The equator of the solid shows the hues • Munsell notation: • 1 st number and letter= • hue • 2 nd number= value • 3 rd number= chroma • 5 R 5/14= pure, middlevalue red

Wilhelm Ostwald • German Chemist, 1853 -1932 • Nobel prize winner • Color model based on geometric progression 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32… • All colors are a combination of hue, black, white • Created the term – Tint: addition of white – Shade: addition of black

• Two triangular solids joined at one side with black at one point and white at the other. • 24 pure hues at the equator.

Johannes Itten • Swiss artist, teacher: 1888 -1967 • The Art of Color/ The Elements of Color- 1961 • Bauhaus instructor- approached education both physically and mentally. • Used Runge’s color sphere but placed yellow at the top (brightest)

Itten’s 6 basic contrast of color: • Light-dark • Cold-warm • Complementary • Simultaneous contrast • Quality or Saturation • Quantity or Extension

Josef Albers 1888 -1976 Teacher at the Bauhaus. Refined Itten/ Kandinsky At Yale, Interaction of Color- 1963 Much of his work was based on simultaneous contrast. • “Homage to the Square”- investigate infinite color combinations and their reactions. • Explored materials beyond painting/ printmaking • •

Louis Prang German immigrant, printer: 1824 -1909 • printer and developer of a four-color printing process known as chromolithography in the 1860's. (the father of the American Christmas Card) • Prang's system was the first workable system to reproduce color in print. • The Prang Color Wheel arrangement was also used by Johannes Itten in his work on color. • An outspoken advocate for bringing art into the classroom through the introduction of products like watercolor paints. – More democratic ideas of who should have access to art.

• Prang or Artist’s Color System • Primaries: red blue yellow