COLOR
COLOR is the full visible light spectrum (rainbow) and black and white, plus all possible
combinations therein. Close your eyes and stand in a dark room. C
Can
an you see color? Color has
three parts: hue, intensity and value
Hue is the name of the spectrum colors (red, blue, yellow, etc.)
Intensity is the purity of the color (e.g., how bright or dull it is)
Value is the degree of lightness or darkness of a color.
Primary Colors are colors that cannot be mixed by combining other colors. Primary colors are red,
yellow and blue.
Secondary Colors are primary colors can be mixed together to create secondary colors. By mixing red and blue,
purple is created; mixing yellow and blue creates green; mixing blue and red produces purple;
purpl and mixing red and
yellow creates orange.
The Oath of the Horatii
Jacques-Louis David
[1950.308]
The Primary Color Wheel
Corn-shelling
Corn
Eastman Johnson
[1924.35]
The Artist's Daughter
Franz von Stuck
[1914.69]
Street in Tahiti
Paul Gauguin
[1939.82]
Coffin of Ta-mit
Dynasty 26, 664-525
525 BC
[1906.1]
DERVISH
Jack Youngerman [2005.287]
Art © Jack Youngerman/Licensed by VAGA,
New York, NY
Secondary Color Wheel
Placed next to one another, complementary colors look stronger and more intense. For example, when red is placed
next to green, red stands out much more
The same thing happens when purple is next to yellow.
The same thing happens when orange is next to blue.
Complementary Color Wheel
See the red and green complements in
Still Life with Lobster by Jan Davidsz de
Heem. [1952.25]
Complementary colors are “opposites” on the
color wheel. Pairing a color with its
complement, makes the color “pop”, or
stand out. See how artists used
complementary colors in these works
from the TMA collection.
See the orange and blue
complements in Scene in the Forest
by Utagawa Kuniyoshi
Kuniyoshi. [1921.178]
See the purple and yellow
complements in The Annunciation
by Eustache Le Sueur. [1952.63]
How does the artist, Paul Gauguin, use color in this painting? Why do you think he made these choices? What do you
think he might be trying to tell us about this tropical place through his use of color?
Street in Tahiti
Tahiti, Oil on canvas, Paul Gauguin. (French, 1848-1903).
[1939.82]