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Honors Theses - Providence Campus College of Arts & Sciences

9-2018

Historic Look on Color Theory

Steele R. Stokley
Johnson & Wales University - Providence, [email protected]

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 Historic Look on

Color Theory
By Rose Stokley

Advisors: Kristi Girdharry, Don Kaczmarczyk, & Wendy Wagner

September 2018

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the

University Honors Scholar designation at Johnson &

Wales University
 Stokley 1

Table of Contents
I. Abstract Page 2

II. Introduction to Color Science Page 3

III. Historical Context Page 7

IV. Color Elucidated Page 24

V. Color Interactions Page 29

VI. Conclusion Page 41

VII. Works Cited Page 43

 Stokley 2

I. Abstract

The science of color is called chromatics, colorimetry, or color science. This field of

science includes the perception of color by the human eye, origin of colors, art theory,

therapy, the psychics of electromagnetic radiation, and effects on the brain (Azeemi).

Experts throughout time have desired to decipher the composition of color to explain

how and why humans are able to see colors in order to use them in numerous

disciplines; from scientific to artistic. While color has been studied since ancient times,

the technical workings and the modern understandings of color theory are difficult to

comprehend, and one wishes to make the science more palatable. These studies have

been a global pursuit. However, many important discoveries and scholars were lost over

time, or inaccurately credited. The following paper takes on the historic look on color

science to examine how the understanding of color has evolved over time from ancient

studies until the early 19th century while unearthing uncredited experts that are not

immediately recognized in modern discussion on the subject. Some experts, like Ibn al-

Haytham, have been forgotten throughout time while others have been overly credited

(O’Connor). At first color is defined and how colors interact with each other is

explained. Secondary research and criticism of color science history is used to compare,

and dispute generally accepted, ideas of color theory that were discovered until the 19th

century (Popova). The purpose is to give the reader a comprehensive understanding of

color science, the historical evolution of the field and expose forgotten contributors.
 Stokley 3

II. Introduction to Color Science

Since Aristotle in the 4th century BCE, scientists, philosophers, and artists have

documented the study of color to better understand the strange phenomena (Loeb). The

understanding of color science has transformed dramatically between 384 BCE and the

turn of the 20th century. Scientist and artist alike came together in order to decipher the

nature of color. Color science continues to be a popular, but underdeveloped field of

study. Most of the undeveloped research is due to the fact that colors have not been able

to be accurately defined or categorized until modern history (Byrne). Color science is a

vast field of study that has numerous specialties and focuses. Some assets are more

subjective and fall into cultural color symbolism research, and others are more technical

and focus on the scientific measurement of light’s electromagnetic wavelengths and

their additive qualities. Within the purposes of this paper, a look at historical color

theory will be examined in order to gain a holistic view on its advancements. Modern,

western, color science understanding is accredited to Sir Isaac Newton’s work with glass

prisms (Popova).

As stated previously, he general understanding of modern color science is

ascribed to Sir Isaac Newton of the 17th and 18th centuries. His publication of “Optiks”

in 1704 documented his 40-year exploration with glass prisms and light (Caliver).

Optics is the study of a branch of physics that involves light, its nature and behavior.

Written in common language for the masses, “Optiks” this classic on psychical science

presented a comprehensive overview of the 18th knowledge of light. Newton

 Stokley 4

scientifically proved color is composed solely of light energy from the sun. This fact is

simply proven by the fact that humans cannot perceive color whatsoever when it is dark,

whist other animals have the capabilities to see objects or use “night vison.” These

findings disputed the previous European tradition that color was a combination of both

darkness and light. Newton is credited with explaining why rainbows appear, ROYGBIV,

the modern understanding of color theory. Color theory is a body of practical knowledge

to color combinations and the visual effects of color mixing (Caliver). The practice

includes the color wheel, color harmonies, and how colors should be used.

While, aspects of his work were revolutionary in order to understand the

relationships and the interactions between colors, most of his work that he is described

the pioneer of, were proven years prior. Newton worked to reinforce the ideas of Al-

Hasan Ibn al-Haytham, an Arab scholar that studied white light using prisms to explain

that color was not a mixture of darkness and lightness in the twelfth century. Prior to

the advancement of a lot of modern science, or even the scientific method Al-Hasan Ibn

al-Haytham was able to formulate how humans see colors. Al-Haytham’s work was

translated into numerous languages and inspired scholars for years (O’Connor). He was

one of Newtons greatest inspirations and provided the scientific evidence for Newton to

expand on his color wheel and light’s three primary colors.

Modern color theory is based on Newton’s color wheel. Traditionally, the color

wheel is still used in art and is based on the idea the three primary colors are red, yellow

and blue. This tool is used to create harmonious color schemes. Harmony is a visual

experience that is pleasing to the eye. The viewer is engaged whilst also experiencing a
 Stokley 5

sense of order (Lyn). There is a balance to the visual experience between unity, which

can cause under-stimulation, and complexity, which can cause overstimulation. Color

harmony is a complex notion because how people react to them are both emotional and

psychical. Due to this, responses range greatly due to color symbolism and are open to

various range of factors. Color symbolism is different from color science and are

conditioned and learned (Lyn).

Most of Newton’s discoveries were grounded in science and dismissed the

subjective nature of emotional responses to color symbolism. Connotative color

associations and color symbolism tends to be culture-bound and may also vary across

different contexts and circumstances. These factors include individual differences, such

as age, gender, personal preference, and affective state, as well as cultural, sub-cultural

and socially-based differences which gives rise to conditioning and learned responses

about color (Lyn). Color symbolism is vastly different from color science, color theory or

color psychology and will not be discussed within this paper. Due to the subjective

nature of this field, color symbolism ranges too greatly to be studied accurately across a

global scale.

Color science has a long history and this point of view paved the way for modern

understanding of western color science. Theories studied around this time are still

taught to students and their work has been improved on in order to enhance the visual

experience everyday life. Marketing, electronic technology, design, and art are a few

fields that depend on these studies to utilize colors effectively. However, even though

Newton is accredited with being the founder of modern color science, was he truly the
 Stokley 6

first scholar to make these discoveries? Newton’s discoveries and conveying of his

findings were important. However, he is over credited and other scholars are forgotten.

The modern understanding of color theory under credits major scholarly contributors,

including Aristotle, Al-Hasan Ibn al-Haytham, Franciscus Aguilonius, Thomas Young,

and Albert Munsell. (O’Connor).

The following paper will compare various scholars throughout history and give a

synopsis their contributions, and then will overview the modern understanding of color

science, specifically color theory. A knowledge of the contributors to this field and an

understanding of color theory is important for general knowledge, historical purposes

and global perceptions. Gaining a more holistic view on the history of color science is

important in order to gain an appreciation for the complicated science behind the

perception of colors. The idea that Newton originally founded wavelengths, the color

spectrum and additive color mixing downplays the complexity of the history of color

science and the complexity of the field. Multiple scholars and experts from numerous

fields were needed in order to discover and figure out how humans perceive colors. In

addition to, an understanding of color theory is important due to its use in everyday life

and with this knowledge a reader would be able to better understand the composition,

interaction and description of colors. Color theory is useful for creating a website,

designing a room, constructing a wardrobe, and the like. Color is very important since

three quarters of decisions and first impressions are based on colors (Wargo).
 Stokley 7

III. Historical Context

As covered previously, color science has been studied since ancient times.

Newton is accredited with most of the scholarly research and advancements (Loeb).

However, other scholars contributed to the vast study. While it is agreed on and has

been proven that people from various cultures describe colors differently depending on

their environment, scholars from around the world have contributed to the science of

the electromagnetic waves that produce any color at all. Below is an extensive

chronological historical overview of color science research from the fourth century BCE

until mid-twentieth century CE.

Aristotle (384 - 322 BCE)

The first documented development of color theory came from ancient Greece in a

text called On Colors. The text was attributed to Aristotle solely, but it is now broadly

accepted to have been written by members of his Peripatetic School and himself. On

Colors proposed that color came down from a deity as heavenly fire rays. Aristotle stated

that all colors are composed from black and white. However, this can be quite confusing

linguistically, black and white are better described as brightness and darkness and

understood as daylight and night darkness. Richard Sorabji theorized that Aristotle may

have seen colors created by close proximity of black and white. For example, in the

image below. Aristotle used the natural world around him to compose his theories. He

wrote that there were two natural or primary colors that were derived from darkness

and light and they related to the normal binary system of the world; day and night,
 Stokley 8

stimulus and sedation, male and female. He theorized that yellow and blue were the

primary colors. From these primary colors, Aristotle created a linear color system which

included four “pure” colors (Loeb).

Photo Credit: Escher, Mauritis

Based on his observations of changing daylight, Aristotle developed a linear color

system that ranged from the white light of midday, to the black of complete night with

the four “pure” colors in between (Mahnke). As he theorized thus far, all colors came

from darkness and brightness. From these two extremes derived the primary colors

yellow and blue, and then between these two primaries were the rest of the hues, with

four main colors. He identified four colors as pure colors that corresponded to the four
 Stokley 9

elements; green, red, yellow, and blue, earth, fire, wind, and water, respectively. The

color system diagram shows green in between blue and violet which would appear out of

sequence normally when compared to modern color wheels. However, numerous

sunsets show a green glow in between blue and violet and Aristotle based his color

system off of the nature he observed (Loeb). This ordered system was adopted by artists

for nearly two thousand years until Newton replaced them with general color theory in

1672 (Hyman).

Photo Credit: Loeb, James, and Jeffrey Henderson.

Hasan Ibn al-Haytham (965 - 1040 CE)

Al-Hasan Ibn al-Haytham is often known as Alhazen, a Latinized spelling of his

first name. He was an Arab scholar of math, astronomy and physics. Fifty-Five of his

books have survived from about the ninety-two he wrote over his lifetime and topics
 Stokley 10

range from theory of light, vision, astronomy, math and geometry. Ibn al-Haytham was

the first scientist in history to insist everything must be tangibly proven through a

scientific method. Most ancient Greek philosophies of science revolved around reason or

theological means. Ibn al-Haytham stated “If learning the truth is the scientist’s goal…

then he must make himself the enemy of all that he reads. And attack it from every side.

He should also suspect himself as he performs his critical examination of it, so that he

may avoid falling into either prejudice or leniency.” To him it was essential to conduct

experiments and peer review truths of the time rather than blindly accept them

(O’Connor).

Referred to by some as the “father of modern optics,” in the 11th century, Ibn al-

Haytham delved into vision, light and color theories. In “The Book of Optics”, he was the

first to disprove the ancient Greek idea that light comes out of the eye and reflects off

objects back to the eye. He theorized and proved that light was a crucial aspect to the

visual experience. The conclusion entailed that vision occurs when light rays emit from a

luminous source, light the sun or a candle, or is reflected from a luminous source into

the eye. Using work from previous scholars, he named parts of the eye like the lens,

retina and cornea and began to explain how light enters the eye and focused. In his

experiments, he observed light traveling through a small hole in a wall and produced an

image on the opposing wall of a darkened room (O’Connor).

 Stokley 11

Photo Credit: Firas, A.

Photo Credit: Firas, A.

 Stokley 12

Idn Al-Haytham studied the way light is affected when traveling through

different mediums like gases, liquid and glass. He filled glass spheres with water to

investigate the origins of a rainbow. He concluded that light was refracted by the water

at various angles to produce certain colors. Rays with the least bent reflections were red,

and those with more bends were purple. A spectrum of colored light was produced

causing a rainbow on the opposing wall. These light reactions also explained why the sky

changed color, the sun's rays hit the atmosphere at various angles causing different

refractions. By the measurement of the different angles by studying the sky, Ibn al-

Haytham calculated the depth of the atmosphere, almost a millennium before it was

proven by spaceflight. Whilst studying the sky, he explained why we cannot see the stars

during the daytime due to visual contrast. He proved the color and brightness of an

object depended on the surrounding colors and levels of brightness (O’Connor).

These visual theories where written in “The book of Optics”. This book was

translated into Latin from Arabic and had a huge impact on European scholars. In 1572

it was printed by Friedrich Risner with the Latin title “Opticae thesaurus: Alhazeni

Arabis libri septem, nuncprimum editi; Eiusdem liber De Crepusculis et nubium

ascensionibus” Translated to “Thesaurus of Optics: seven books of the Arab Alhazen,

first edition: concerning twilight and the advancement of clouds.” Risner is known for

Ibn al-Haytham’s name variant, Alhzen. Previously, it was correctly translated from

Arabic to Alhacen in the west. From these book translations and prints, European

scholars were able to recreate his experiments and understand light in the same way.

Eyeglasses, magnifying glasses, telescopes and cameras were developed from these

recreations. Ibn al-Haytham’s contributions have been overlooked and forgotten since
 Stokley 13

European scholars adopted his methods, experiments and theories. Isaac newton was

one of the most famous color theorist to utilize his work and failed to reference him in

his own books including “Optiks.” It was common during these times of expansion and

enlightenment to adopt middle eastern work and discredit the original scholars in order

to give credit to European ones (O’Connor).

Franciscus Aguilonius (1567 - 1617 CE)

In the early seventeenth century, Franciscus Aguilonius, a Belgian Jesuit

mathematician, physicist and architect, disputed Aristotle’s binary color system and

devised a three primary color system to replace it (Hyman). This system included

Aristotle’s blue and yellow, and the addition of red as a primary color. This is possibly

the oldest system that includes those three colors which is still used today as three

modern primary colors. Aguilonius stated in his work Optics in Six Chapters, that one

took the simple extremes of white and black and from them derived the noble primary

hues of red, yellow and blue in a “mysterious” way. By mixing the primary hues, you can

get the composite hues, or secondary colors, orange, green and purple. Below is an

image depicting his RYB color system of 1613 with primaries yellow (flavus), red

(rubeus), and blue (caeruleus) arranged between white (albus) and black (niger), with

orange (aureus), green (viridis), and purple (purpureus) as combinations of two

primaries. He believed that all colored derived from black and white, or darkness and

lightness, like Aristotle theorized. At this time white was seen as pure, and colors were

“gross matter” or the black matter within white. It was not yet understood that white
 Stokley 14

light contained all colors and was not contaminated by “gross” matter. Another false

thought at this time in Europe is that prisms and glass colored light, not that color was

composed of light (Jaeger).

Photo Credit: Gage, John.

Isaac Newton (1642 - 1727 CE)

Later in the seventeenth century, in 1666, Isaac Newton traveled home

from university to individually study optics. He was familiar with the work of Al-Hasan

Ibn al-Haytham and had the Latin translation of numerous books by the scholar. Isaac

newton further worked to prove that color is not composed of black and white nor that

light reveled color but is but of white light alone (Johnson). He wanted a detailed

understanding of color composition and recreated many experiments that al-Haytham

completed. For example, he describes in Opticks, Prop. II Experiment 3. The basic but
 Stokley 15

effective method of observing single beams of sunlight, “In a very dark Chamber, at a

round hole, about one third Part of an Inch broad, made in the Shut of a Window, I

placed a Glass Prism.” Newton famously published his book “Optiks” after forty years of

study and experimentation (Piezo).

Isaac Newton was able to bring an understanding of color science to the masses

by his experimentations and explanations of color. He created the first color wheel

which is still used and recognized today. The color wheel was composed after observing

a spectrum of colors ranging from red to violet produced by a glass prism. Newton

stated that colors were produced by various wave lengths, or rays of light. “If the Sun’s

Light consisted of but one sort of Rays, there would be but one Colour in the whole

World…” Sir Isaac Newton, Opticks (Piezo). The phenomenon of white light splitting

into separate hues due to different deviating angles when passed through glass or water

is called the dispersion spectrum Originally newton listed five hues, but later added

orange and violet. Newton selected seven hues to name to coordinate to the seven notes

on a music scale and to keep up the tradition of seven basic colors that Aristotle claimed.

To keep the color and musical scale correlated, Newton did not update his findings after

figuring out his correlation was not correct and was a forced idea. The rainbow is a

continuous spectrum of color, but due to human color vision, distinct bands are seen.

The seven colors in the color wheel are arranged by decreasing wavelength. red is about

650 nanometer (nm) and violet about 400 nm (Popova).

 Stokley 16

Photo Credit: Cleland, T. M.

Whilst working with the composition of light and its various wave lengths,

Newton realized that colors that appeared the same could be composed differently by

mixing various lights (Popova). For example, combining yellow and blue lights produced

a green light which is not the same composition of the single wavelength that produces a

green light found in the spectrum. Two colors that appear the same but different

compositions are called metamers. When two lights are combined, and a white light is

produced this signals that those two lights or colors are complements. For example,

yellow light appears to cancel out purple light to form white; these two colors “complete”

each other when combined. By using two prisms, Newton separated and recombined all
 Stokley 17

the colors to create the original white light. With this experiment Newton further proved

the notion that light does not revel color or that glass and water colored the light (Piezo).

Photo Credit: Baird, Christopher.

Newton recreated many experiments but also expanded on these ideas and was

the first to name red, green and blue as the primary colors. When he combined blue and

green light, the color of cyan appeared, green and red light mixed to give yellow, and red

and blue light magenta appeared. With these findings, Newton created his color wheel

with three primary colors separated by three secondary colors yellow, cyan, and

magenta (Popova). The center of the color circle is white which is the result of mixing all

the colors together. Since his invention, the color wheel is used as a tool to understand

color relationships and creating harmonious color schemes (Johnson).

 Stokley 18

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832 CE)

Over a century after “Optiks” was published, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

published “Theory of Colors.” in 1810 and the book is still in print today. This work

focused on the nature, perception, and psychological effect of colors and he challenged

Newton’s purely scientific theories (Popova). Goethe took a more affective look towards

color and documented the first psychological impact of colors on a human's behavior

and mood. While these studies made great advancements in psychological responses,

his psychical science work was largely dismissed by the scientific community. Goethe

refuted Newton's idea that color came from only light. Goethe followed the ancient

thought that color was composed of a balance of both light and darkness (Goethe). After

recreating the prism experiment Goethe stated his observations on darkness

“I was astonished, as I looked at a white wall through the prism, that it stayed

white! That only where it came upon some darkened area, it showed some colour,

then at last, around the window sill all the colours shone...Light and darkness,

brightness and obscurity, or if a more general expression is preferred, light and

its absence, are necessary to the production of color… Color itself is a degree of

darkness” (Goethe, Theory of Colors).

Darkness weakens light and its chroma, and light effect the energy of darkness.

Which seems to foretell the defining of value and chroma, which are the variants of a

hue. In a more poetic sense, which Goethe was famous for his prose, he described color
 Stokley 19

as “Colour are light’s suffering and joy.” In his studies Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

utilized Aristotle’s primary ideas on blue and yellow; blue is the first color to come from

darkness and yellow is the first color to come from light, so these were the essential

colors on the opposite sides of a spectrum (Goethe). While Newton’s scientific color

ideas evolved into additive color mixing because he used prisms and light, Goethe

utilized subtractive color mixing of pigments and paints. Goethe presented color circle

in which the three primary colors red, blue and yellow and secondary colors are orange,

violet and green. His color wheel only featured six colors unlike Newton’s seven

(Jaeger).

Photo Credit: Popova, Maria.

However, Goethe never quite explained in a scientific way his conclusion, he

focused on portraying ideas instead of explaining. He wanting to focus on perception

 Stokley 20

without relying on explanation. Goethe was really seeking was not a physiological, but a

psychological theory of colors and he believed scientists were disadvantaged because

they desired to explain but not experience the colors like artist or poets would. He

disagreed that color was simply a scientific study, but a personal experience perceived

differently by person. He wanted to emphasize on the “sensual-moral” effect of color.

Goethe stated, "Newton's error was trusting math over the sensations of his eye"

(Goethe). While these views seem at odds with each other, both are important to

understand color theory. The main difference of these two theories is the behavior of

color in different materials. Newton studied light which has an additive way of mixing,

while Goethe used pigments which uses a subtractive way of mixing (Lyn). Additive and

Subtractive color mixing is explained further in the Color Interactions section of this

paper.

Von Goethe’s research marked the beginning of the modern study of the

psychological impact of color and his theories were heavily adopted by artists (Popova).

He is also noted as the first modern intentional color theorist, which is the study of how

colors are perceived and how they interact with other colors (Goethe). Many physicists

rejected Goethe’s theories by condemning them as too subjective. While Goethe is

famous for his poetry, he personally considered ‘Theory of Colors” his most important

work (Jaeger).
 Stokley 21

Thomas Young (1773 - 1829 CE)

Since the turn of the 19th century Thomas Young has been called the founder of

physiological optics (Popova). “Physiological optics is concerned with the perceptual

processes in the eye and its associated neuronal structures in the brain” (Britannica).

Young worked with Newton's three primary colors to create every other hue in the

visible spectrum. Young demonstrated that he could generate any color by mixing

varying proportions of the three primary colors of light. He hypothesized that the

human eye perceives only three primary colors, red, green, and blue in varying ratios

and combined them internally. For example, when someone sees magenta, there is

actually only red and blue lights and no green light mixed together, the human eye

“sees” magenta even though that light does not exist (Popova). Hermann von Helmholtz

used Young’s work to postulate that there were three cones, or three receptors in the

retina. The Young–Helmholtz theory foreshadowed the modern understanding of color

vision that there are three nerve fibers in the eye that are sensitive to different

wavelengths of the visible spectrum. The degree of stimulation of the sensitive nerve

fiber cones creates the perceived color (Britannica).

Albert Munsell (1858 - 1918 CE)

In the late 19th century, Albert Munsell worked on developing a practical theory

of color theory where colors could be defined and categorized scientifically. Munsell was

an artist as well and was the first to combine the scientific and art of color into a single
 Stokley 22

theory. His primary goal was to develop an orderly system to accurately identify every

color that exists. One way to create his color space, Munsell invented the photometer

which measured the luminance of an object. The photometer allowed him to define and

measure how color changes. Another invention was the spinning top which enabled

Munsell to mix colors together to measure the relationship between chroma and value.

From these measurements he defined a color in terms of hue, value and chroma

(Johnson).

Through his experiments Munsell created the first formal color notion and

termed five principle hues; red, yellow, green, blue, and purple (Popova). These

findings were artistically founded through subtractive color mixing. In order to help

display his findings, Munsell created the Munsell Color System (Johnson). This was a

three-dimensional color space. As one moves vertically up or down a neutral line the

value of a color increases or decreases. Moving away from the vertical line increases

chroma of a color, or the saturation. While moving around the neutral vertical line

changes hues. This system is important because it is adaptable in the sense other colors

can be added and it will not disrupt other colors dimensions. However, there limitations

because the space is not continuous so discerning two colors that are just barely

different becomes difficult. Munsell was able to build a bridge between the gap in art

and science. Because of its structure, his system allowed scientist to expand and use the

system whilst being simple enough for artist with no scientific background to select or

compare colors. His system created a way to communicate color across many

disciplines (Piezo).
 Stokley 23

Photo(s) Credit: Cleland, T. M.

Munsell wrote of A Color Notation (1905) describing his color wheel and color

space of his system. In 1914, he was invited to present his findings to England, Germany

and France. Munsell wrote Atlas of the Munsell Color System (1915) based off these

presentations and they are still taught today. Two years after his second publication, the

Munsell Color Company was founded which led to the Munsell Color Science

Laboratory, in 1983, at the Rochester Institute of Technology (Piezo).

 Stokley 24

Colors Elucidated
To better understand the arguments surrounding color science, one should

understand what color is and how they are classified by certain properties. The theories

and topics previously discussed within the last section will be discussed more in depth.

The scientific concept of color can be difficult to grasp but is necessary to have a

somewhat working comprehension of colors in order to differentiate between arguments

and critique the foundations of various rationalizations. Many presume color is a

subjective topic and not a tangible science because of the innumerable varieties of

colors. However, there are many classifications and qualities that can determine a

particular hue by deciphering the wavelength and the scientific behavior of the color.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition of color is “the property possessed by

an object of producing different sensations on the eye as a result of the way the object

reflects or emits light.” The color that humans perceive are due to the three types of

color sensitive cones in the retina of the eye. The three types of cones correspond

roughly to red, green, and blue sensitive detectors. These cones process the various

wavelengths of light that come down from the sun (Byrne). The electromagnetic

radiation of the wavelengths stimulates the cone cells and the cones assist in seeing the

waves as colors. Electromagnetic radiation is a fluctuation of natural electric and

magnetic fields. Color is an energy and the perception of color is a product of the

interaction between energy and matter (Azeemi).

 Stokley 25

As color is energy that comes down in waves, the particular length and intensity

of the wave determines the visible color (Byrne). Violet is the shortest wavelength of the

electromagnetic radiation in the visible spectrum of light. Ultraviolet has a shorter

wavelength but is not visible to the human eye. Red has the longest visible wavelength.

And much like ultraviolet is to violet, infrared has a longer wavelength than red, but this

energy cannot be seen by humans. However, the heat generated by infrared radiation

can be felt (Eckstut).

Photo Credit: “Color Theory Part 2: Visible Light Spectrum.”

As light comes down in waves and shines onto an object, due to the length and

intensity of the electromagnetic wavelengths, some colors absorb into the object and

others reflect back. The colors reflected back are the ones perceived through the light

sensitive cones and are visible to the human eye (Byrne). When all the colors are

absorbed into an object the object appears black. And in contrast when all the colors are

reflected back, the object appears white. It is commonly believed that white is an
 Stokley 26

absence of all color, this is simply not true and is truly the mixture of all the colors

producing a white light (Caliver).

White and black are not colors themselves but instead alter hues by varying

degrees. All hues have tints, shades and tones. A tint is a hue variation of a color mixed

with white. Similarly, a shade is a variation of a color mixed with black. The balance

between hue and black or white ranges from the pure hue of a color to pure white or

pure black. In addition to tints and shades, there are tones. A tone is a hue variation of a

color mixed with gray (Caliver).

Photo Credit: Patkar, Mihir.

Hue is one of the three traits of a color created by Professor A.H. Munsell. Within

the color system there are three visual traits; hue, value, and chroma. Hue is what is
 Stokley 27

commonly called “color.” It is defined as “the quality by which we distinguish one color

from another, as in red from yellow, green, blue, or purple” (Eckstut). Hue is directly

linked to the colors wavelength. A hue may have various degrees of lightness and

darkness. This characteristic is the value of a color and indicates the quantity of light

reflected. This is also called the luminance and refers to the shade or tint of a color.

While value measures the quantity of light reflected, chroma measures the purity of the

color and describes the intensity, or brilliance of a color. Commonly chroma is referred

to as saturation (Caliver).

Photo Credit: Cleland, T. M.

These three characteristics of colors are used to describe one particular color at a

time. One can go into immense detail to get to an accurate description of a colors hue,

value and chroma (Lyn). These classifications and qualities are important in order to not

only name specific colors but also be as accurate as possible when comparing colors.

Within a visual experience, one rarely sees a color by itself. How colors interact with

each other and effect each other are important to color science. The order in which

colors are next to each other affect how humans perceive their qualities and traits
 Stokley 28

(Caliver). Within the next section, these qualities are bended and adjusted to created

color schemes, and contrasts in order to create a visionary experience. Like previously

states, colors are solemnly seen alone, but rather they interact with each other. One can

use the following information in order to utilize the power of colors to design a room,

coordinate an outfit, design a website, and the like.

 Stokley 29

IV. Color Interactions

Colors are extremely relative and constantly deceive the viewer from their true

nature. Humans never truly perceive colors as they physically are, the color humans

perceive is based on surrounding colors, lighting and other external factors (Azeemi).

The methodology in which colors are mixed changes the physical composition of the

color depending on the nature of the color source, whether additive or subtractive. In

traditional color theory, subtractive color mixing is used and is what most people are

familiar with. Once colors are mixed, every color has a relationship to another color and

their effects on each other are profound (Lyn). The study of color interactions assists in

comprehending how a color will be influenced by its surroundings. There are various

ways that colors interact with each other and they include; contrast of hue, light-dark

contrasts, cool - warm contrasts, complementary contrast, simultaneous contrast,

contrast of saturation, and contrast of extension (Caliver). However, before color

relativity can be touched upon, how colors mix and create hues is important to overview.

There are two methods in which colors mix; additive and subtractive. Additive

color is the behavior of light mixtures. The behavior between ink, paint and pigment

mixtures is called subtractive. Most are familiar with subtractive colors because this is

what is taught in traditional color theory. The confusion between these two behaviors

stems from the absorption of light by objects follows different laws of nature than the

human eye perception of light (Byrne). In subjective color mixing the three primary

colors are red, yellow and blue. In the late 19th century scholars established that
 Stokley 30

additive color is described in a different set of primary colors, red, green and blue (RGB)

(Eckstut). These primary colors are anchored in the varying responses by the three

separate color sensitive cones in the retina. Additive color mixing is used in screens like

televisions and computers. Traditional color theory, like the color wheel, is based on

subtractive color mixing (Caliver).

Photo Credit: Baird, Christopher.

When the color wheel is split into two halves, warm and cool colors are separated.

Warm colors are associated with sunset, or daylight and cool colors are associated with

night or overcast days. Warm colors are hues that lay in between red to yellow, and cool

colors are between green to violet. In terms of color theory, warm colors appear active

and usually advance in a painting while cool colors recede. Warm tones stimulate a

viewer's perception and cool colors on the opposite hand relax the scene (Lyn). These

effects are most prominent when the hue is highly saturated. Unsaturated colors lack

chromatic content and are referred to as neutrals, black, white and grey, or near neutrals

like tans, browns, pastels and dark colors. On the color wheel, red yellow and blue are
 Stokley 31

the primary colors and this is referred to as the RYB color system, or artistic color model

(Eckstut).

Photo Credit: Patkar, Mihir.

The color wheel is a tool organized specifically to help artist mix colors and also

produce harmonious color schemes. The first color wheel is attributed to Isaac Newton

who arranged seven colors on a rotating disk. When the disc was spun quickly, the

human eye saw white. Since its origins, the color wheel has not changed much but more

so became more detailed. Pictured below is Newtons original color wheel, compared to

the most modern interpterion. The use of a color wheel has since remained the same.

When mixing colors in the RYB color system two primary colors together produce the

secondary colors, orange, green and violet. One step further in color mixing is taking a
 Stokley 32

primary color and its adjacent secondary color to produce tertiary colors like red-violet,

or red-orange. When an artist’s complimentary colors are mixed they produce a gray

equivalent in the RYB color system. Complimentary colors and are found across the

color wheel from each other, for example, blue and orange, purple and yellow (Caliver).

Photo Credit: Cleland, T. M. Photo Credit: Patkar, Mihir.

Colors interact with each other, not only when mixed but when placed next to

each other. When an artist uses specific colors in order to showcase certain colors, they

rely on color harmony. As mentioned previously, harmonious color schemes are a

complex visual experience that balances between stimulation and a sense of order

(Itten). The easiest color harmony scheme is monochromatic which is the same hue in

different tones and tints. Analogous colors, the three colors directly next to each other

on the color wheel. These colors match well and create serene and comfortable designs

that are not jarring to the eye. Another simple scheme of pairs are the complementary
 Stokley 33

colors, found directly across the color wheel from each other. The high contrast of

complementary colors creates a vibrant look especially when used at full saturation.

Slightly more complex is split complementary colors which uses three colors. The

scheme takes one color and matches it with the two colors adjacent to its

complementary color (Caliver). For example, blue, yellow-orange and red-orange.

Another three-color scheme is called triadic. In a triadic scheme the colors are evenly

spaced around the color wheel and tend to be quite vibrant.

Monochromatic Analogous Complementary

Split Complimentary Triadic

Photo Credit(s): Patkar, Mihir.

 Stokley 34

While color harmonies are important in order to create exciting visual

experiences, another aspect of color theory is color relativity. How colors behave in

relation to each other is a complex area of color theory. Color relativity is based on

contrast between neighboring colors. The three traits of a color, hue, value and chroma,

can appear enhanced or reduced depending on the surrounding colors. A hue may seem

darker if surrounded by lighter colors, and a color may seem cooler if surrounded by

warm colors. A color may be able to appear as two different colors (Eckstut). The three

properties of color are all relative and are based on how the cones in the eye perceive

colors. These interpretations, due to surrounding colors, are defined by relative

temperature, relative value, and relative chroma (Lyn).

Relative temperature is used in order to compare two colors warmness or

coolness. The same color can appear both warm and cool depending on its shades, tints,

and color mixture. And traditional warm or cool colors can appear different when

comparing them to their surrounding colors (Itten). It's important to remember that

warmth or coolness of a hue is not absolute, but it's strongly related to what colors are

around it. For example, both of the red squares below would be considered warm when

speaking in terms of all colors. However, when comparing one of the red squares to the

other, the red square on the right is cooler than the red square on the left. This is

because the color on the left would be closer to yellow on the color wheel, and the right

color would be closer to blue (Lyn).

 Stokley 35

Relative value of a color is the darkness or lightness of a color that depends on

the surrounding colors. A color may appear darker or lighter depending on the

neighboring color even if the colors being compared are the same. In the example below,

the exact same hue is surrounded by different colors. The same small purple square to

have different undertones when surrounded by two different violets. The one on the left

appears more red-purple and lighter while the one of the right appears more blue-

purple and darker (Gonzales).

The third relativity is that of the chroma or structuration of a color. This can

involve the entire hue of a color. The same color can appear a completely different hue

depending on the surrounding colors and light. In the example below, the two X’s are

the same color, and this is proved because they connect at the bottom. However, in the
 Stokley 36

purple square it appears green or yellow and in the yellow square it appears purple. The

reason the X looks yellow in the purple box is because the purple box is more purple

than the X, making it look yellow. Same goes for why the X looks purple in the yellow

box (Gonzales).

Photo Credit: Patkar, Mihir.

By using these relativities, strategies were able to be defined and identified in

order to have successful color combinations. In 1922 Johannes Itten devised seven color

contrasts and produced methodologies for coordinating colors to utilize their properties

(Itten). The seven common types of color contrast relativity include; contrast of hue,

light-dark contrasts, cool - warm contrasts, complementary contrast, simultaneous

contrast, contrast of saturation, and contrast of extension.

Photo Credit: Hoffer, Pete.

 Stokley 37

Contrast of hue is the juxtaposition between two different hues. The contrast is

greatest at the most intense luminosity or when using the primary colors; red, yellow,

and blue. This contrast simply uses numerous different colors that are located around

the color wheel and sits them next to each other to either enhance or diminish a colors

visual power.

Photo Credit: Hoffer, Pete.

Light-dark contrasts are between light and dark values and include a

monochromatic composition. This contrast refers to the relative lightness and darkness

of a color and the greatest contrast is between black and white. This is also known as the

contrast of value as it does not alter the hue or chroma of a color. Altering the darkness

and lightness of a color can greatly alter an image, as seen above, the foreground seems

much larger than the background compared to the second image with a dark

foreground.

Photo Credit: Hoffer, Pete.

 Stokley 38

With the same application, warm-cool contrasts are the abutment of hues

considered warm or cool. When colors are across the color wheel from each other, their

adjacency is considered a complementary contrast. The first image shows a traditional

warm color composition and the second is cool colors. These two images are the exact

same but the first seems eerie while the second looks more like a peaceful desert scene.

By recognizing these differences and seeing how colors can completely change an image,

one can be more aware of how they use and pair colors.

Photo Credit: Hoffer, Pete.

In complimentary contrasts, the juxtaposition between secondary colors in the

most evident and these pairings tend intensify both colors equally. When combined

complimentary colors cancel each other out to create white light. However, when placed

next to each other these colors intensify each other. The first photo looks a bit chaotic

due to the fact the complimentary colors are placed directly next to each other.

However, second photo seems balanced. In the second photo, yellow and purple almost

fade into each other even though they are opposing colors and creates an harmonious

color scheme.
 Stokley 39

Photo Credit: Hoffer, Pete.

Contrast of saturation juxtaposes two colors values and relative saturation.

Saturation relates to the degree of purity of a color. The color in the middle of both

images are the most saturated and vivid, these are contrasted by that hues diluted forms

above and below it.

Photo Credit: Hoffer, Pete.

An interesting contrast is between two hues whose boundaries seem to vibrate,

this is called simultaneous contrast. When gray tones are surrounded by highly

saturated hues the effects of simultaneous contrast are at its greatest. In the second

photo the gray square’s undertones seem to change when placed next to different hues,

even though they are the exact same gray. The “vibrating” effect causes the grays to take

in the color it is surrounded by.

 Stokley 40

Photo Credit: Hoffer, Pete.

And the last color coordination is the contrast of extension, or the contrast of

proportion. The visual weight of a color is relative to proportional field sizes that are

assigned. One color is intensified by the dominance of area of a dissimilar color which

creates a non-jarring harmonious visual experience. In the photos, the bright warm

colors in the middle seem to come forward and increase in size while the cool

surrounding colors recede even if drawn larger than the warm colors. (Gonzales).

People have spent so much time defining color and the interactions with each

other because colors are an essential part of how humans experience the world. Color is

the first thing noticed when assessing a situation; it is the universal nonverbal language

and nature's powerful signaling system (Byrne). Visual experiences teach that there is a

discrepancy between physical fact and psychic effect perception (Byrne). In addition,

colors are not just simple visual aids. Due to their energy and radioactive wavelengths,

have a physical effect on humans (Eckstut). How people process colors through the

three cones in the retina is completely relative to the surrounding colors and these

phenomena have perplexed people for centuries.

 Stokley 41

V. Conclusion

It is easy to see why colors have perplexed scholars for centuries. How humans

perceive colors goes against what anyone would assume. The journey of humans

understand how humans see colors has had an extensive history. An understanding of

the past allows one to predict future trends and more importantly comprehend the

present. Color science is a complex field of psychics which requires experts from

numerous fields to grasp a working understanding of the nature of color. When this field

is credited to only Isaac Newton, the complexity of this field diminishes. It is important

to know of the various scholars to begin comprehending color theory. Color theory is

used in everyday life. People based decisions on colors, moods change due to certain

colors and cultures put certain values to colors. Having a basic understanding of color

theory someone can correlate colors better, understand why their poster is hard to read,

or put together better presentations. Knowing how humans perceives colors also gives

one a better understanding how eyes operates.

While this paper attempts to uncover and credit more scholars within the study

of color, it is nowhere complete. These findings are still quite surface level. Further

research of this field could include scientist from other regions around the world, and

female scientists. Worldly views on color research would be interesting because it is

being researched that humans see colors differently around the world due to our

evolutions in our natural environments and languages. The debate lies within the

argument if humans actually perceive colors differently or if the colors are seen in
 Stokley 42

similar ways and there is just different emphasis on linguistics. These studies within

color are expansive and require extensive psychological and psychical research.

The understanding of colors allows experts in numerous fields to hone in on their

qualities and benefits. Colors have the power to evoke emotions, attract new customers,

provide a calming or stimulating event or provide an exciting visual experience.

Through the study of color theory people of all disciplines can advance within their field.

Having a holistic view of how color theory came about gives one a greater appreciation

on the complexity of the field.

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 Stokley 44

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