The Visual Elements

of Color
Color is the visual
elements that has the
strongest effect on our
emotions. It is the
element we use to
create the mood or
atmosphere of an
artwork.
The Visual Element of Color has the strongest
effect on our emotions. It is the element we use to
create the mood or atmosphere of an artwork.

There are many different approaches to the use of

color in art:

-Color as light
-Color as tone
-Color as pattern
-Color as form
-Color as symbol
-Color as movement
-Color as harmony
-Color as contrast
-Color as mood
Our selection of artworks
illustrated on the next slides
have been chosen because
they all use color in an
inspirational manner. We
have analyzed each of these
to demonstrate how great
artists use this visual element
as a creative force in their
work.
WASSILY
KANDINSKY
(1866-1944)
Autumn
Landscape
with Boats,
1908
(oil on board)
Color as Light
Color is the sensation that is stimulated in our brain by
different wavelengths of light. One wavelength will
stimulate our perception of red, another orange, another
yellow and so on through all the colors of the spectrum.

'Street Light' by Giacomo Balla is a poetic impression that

represents the physical properties of light. At its center, the
bulb burns with a white heat in the darkness of the night.
Its radiant glow dissolves in concentric waves, each of
which diminish in intensity and change color to suggest the
different wavelengths of the spectrum.

Balla was an Italian Futurist who revered the modernity of

urban life. He painted 'Street Light' at the time when
electric lighting was first introduced to the streets of Rome.
It is a Futurist celebration of the power of technology as
the symbol of the new age. The light even outshines nature
herself as the corona of the crescent moon struggles to
compete with its incandescence. The painting technique
that Balla employed was derived from Pointillism, a more
scientific approach to the analysis of color, and as such
forms the perfect marriage between the subject and its
execution.
 GIACOMO
BALLA
(1871-1958)
Street Light,
1909
(oil on canvas)
The 'Empire of Light' by René Magritte is an
innocent image of suburban silence with a
surrealistic twist: the scene is set at midnight,
but the sky is fixed at midday. This subversive
image holds together a conflict of opposites
within its unified structure: day meets night,
dark meets light and reality meets the
imagination. The convincing technique that
he uses to paint the picture persuades the
viewer to engage with the impossible search
for a rational meaning, thereby drawing them
into the irrational realm of the Surrealism.
 RENÉ
MAGRITTE
(1898-1967)
Empire of
Light, 1954
(oil on canvas)
Color as Tone
Dramatic color combined with a vigorous painting technique are the key elements of
Expressionism in art. Expressionist painting was more about using color and the physical
qualities of a medium to express your feelings about the subject rather than simply
describing it in a naturalistic fashion.

'Lake Lucerne' by Emile Nolde is a classic example of an expressionist painting technique.

It is painted more from memory than from observation using the natural fluidity of
watercolor to mirror the changing mood of the landscape. First Nolde soaks his paper, in
this case vellum, with water. He then builds up the shapes of the mountains with washes
in different tones of blue, more intense in the foreground becoming paler in the
background. This creates an impression of aerial perspective as the tones of the colors
appear to fade into the distant landscape. He continues using a 'wet on wet' technique to
form the ephemeral layers of clouds and the watery reflections in the lake. Finally, he
applies a spot of yellow which bleeds over the damp surface to create the glow of the
setting sun which he then repeats on the lake to create its reflection.

Emile Nolde commented on his own watercolor technique, "I had always wanted to paint
so that I, the painter, would be the medium through which the colors worked out their
own logical development in the same way that nature creates her own work... I feel at
times as though I myself can do nothing, but nature in and through me can do a great
deal".
 EMILE NOLDE (1867-1956)
Lake Lucerne, 1930 (watercolor on vellum)
Color as Pattern
In Cubism the artist selects the essential features from multiple
viewpoints of the subject and reconstructs them as an abstract
composition. At the drawing stage of a cubist painting, the
artist was often confronted with a confusing structure of lines
and shapes to which he/she would apply patterns of color,
tone and texture in an attempt to organize the spatial
arrangement of the composition.

In 'Violin and Checkerboard' by Juan Gris, the artist assigns

different colors to particular shapes which create an
asymmetrical pattern of forms arranged around the white cloth
at the center of the painting. This pattern of colors leads the
viewer's eye in a clockwise motion around the picture. Color
distributed as irregular pattern is often used as unifying
element in the composition of artworks.
JUAN GRIS
(1887-1927)
Violin and
Checkerboard,
1913
(oil on canvas)
Color as Form
To create the illusion of form in a painting, artists traditionally added
lighter and darker pigments to the main color of an object in order to
render the naturalistic effects of light and shade. The main disadvantage
of this technique was that much of the intensity of the original color was
sacrificed when it was blended with highlights and shadows. The
Impressionists had introduced a more scientific approach to the analysis
of color to try to solve this problem while some of the Post Impressionists
had begun to use color structurally (Paul Cézanne and Georges Seurat)
and symbolically (Gauguin and Van Gogh).

One group of artists who were bored with all the various naturalistic,
structural and symbolic approaches to using color in painting were 'Les
Fauves'. They simply wanted to use color that spoke to the spirit,
celebrating its vitality and feel-good factor.

Fauvism was a style of painting developed at the start of the 20th century
by Henri Matisse and André Derain. 'Les Fauves' valued intense color for
its emotional impact more than for its ability to render form. They used
colors at their highest pitch with a simplified drawing technique to
express their feelings about their subjects.

In the painting above, André Derain demonstrates how the intensity of

Fauvist color can be used to replace the traditional technique of
rendering form with light and shade. First, Derain simplifies his drawing of
Matisse into angular planes. Next, he selects colors which are sensitively
balanced, paying some respect to their tonal values but pitched at their
maximum intensity. Finally the colors are applied in slabs of expressive
brushwork without any subtle blending. Color and form now coexist as
equals in his painting, both expressing and describing this exhilarating
'Portrait of Matisse'.
ANDRÉ DERAIN
(1880-1954)
Portrait of Matisse
1905
(oil on canvas)
Color as Harmony
 Harmony is the compatibility, balance or progression of similar
elements. 'Blue Dancers' by Edgar Degas is a carefully composed
pastel painting that illustrates the harmony of color as well as several
other visual elements:

-The shape of the painting is square while the rotational movement

of the figures is composed within a diamond forming a harmony of
rectangular shapes (click on flip icon to view).

-The decorative frills around the bodices of the dresses form a subtle
harmony of curves.

-The pointed projections of arms, elbows and wrists create a

rhythmic harmony of angles.

-The warm ochres of the background should clash with the cool blue
dresses in the foreground as they are opposite colors. However
Degas reconciles their opposition with a clever harmony of their
colors. He scumbles traces of blue over the warm ochre background
which is counterbalanced by the ochre underpainting that beats
beneath the blue dresses. This has the effect of harmonizing the
foreground with the background but still retaining enough contrast
to stimulate our interest.
EDGAR DEGAS (1834-1917)
Blue Dancers, 1899 (pastels)
Few painters in the history of art capture the intensity of light and
energy more than Joseph Mallord William Turner. In his first of two
versions of 'The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons' (1835),
the visual elements of the painting are fueled by a collision of the
classical elements of earth, air, fire and water.

Turner personally witnessed this event from among the thousands of

people who lined the south bank of the River Thames as well as from a
boat that he hired to get closer to the scene. He created a series of
quick watercolor sketches of the fire but there is some dispute that they
were painted at the location.

The composition of the work is divided into four sections, each of which
harbors one of the four classical elements (click on the flip icon to
view). On the left the blazing oranges and yellows of the burning
buildings are set in opposition to the cold blues and lilacs of the sky. The
hot colors of the flames and their reflections (fire and water) are
intensified by the cold colors of the sky and bridge (earth and air). A
similar tension is established by the tonal contrast of the dark crowd
against the light river which is counterbalanced by the light sandstone
of Westminster Bridge against the darkening sky. This painting is a
cleverly arranged contrast of opposite colors, tones and classical
elements which Turner has devised to heighten the impact of each.
JOSEPH MALLORD WILLIAM TURNER
(1775-1851)
The Burning of the Houses of Lords and
Commons,
1835
(oil on canvas)
Color as Movement
 When you look at an abstract artwork your brain
instinctively searches for signs of rhythm and order
to try to make spatial sense of the image. Victor
Vasarely makes use of this impulse to create an
impression of movement by combining graduated
squares and sequential colors. These lead the eye
into and through the image with increasing and
decreasing acceleration. The squares, which
graduate from large to small, are aligned on their
horizontal axes but are staggered on their vertical
axes to create the illusion of a tunnel whose
dizzying perspective unfolds as they travel towards
the vanishing point at its center.
VICTOR VASARELY
(1906-1997)
Vonal KSZ
1968
(silkscreen print)
 The receding squares in this image form the
shape of the movement while the progression
of colors determine its speed. In our
illustration above we have separated the
alternate sequences of colors so that you can
see their relationship more clearly. You can
now distinguish their tonal scale as one
sequence moves from dark through light to
dark, while the other moves from light
through dark to light. The changing contrasts
of these sequences form a counterchange of
tones and colours which give rise to the
retinal roller coaster ride that is 'Vonal KSZ'.
Separation of Color Progressions in Vonal KSZ,
1968
(silkscreen print)
Color as Symbol
 The Potato Eaters by Vincent Van
Gogh is his masterpiece from the
first period of his work before he
moved to Paris in 1886. It portrays
a poor Dutch peasant family sitting
down to share their frugal evening
meal. They are agricultural
labourers and the earthy greens
and browns that Van Gogh uses to
paint them symbolize their
closeness to and dependence on
the land for their survival. There is a
unity of colour and texture
between the hands and faces of the
peasants and the potatoes and
coffee they are sharing. The dark
sombre tones of the work
sympathetically reflect their
humble existence and the artist's
respect for the quiet dignity of their
labour.

You can find out more about the

symbolic associations of color on
our color theory pages. VINCENT VAN GOGH (1853-1890)
The Potato Eaters, 1885 (oil on canvas)
Color as Mood - Joy
For Van Gogh, yellow was the colour of joy and friendship. He painted a series of at least seven sunflower pictures
to decorate the rooms of his 'Yellow House'. These paintings were conceived as a welcome to his friend and fellow
painter Paul Gauguin with whom he dreamed of setting up a ‘Studio of the South’ in Arles in the South of France.

In contrast with the somber mood of 'The Potato Eaters', 'Sunflowers' is one of the most joyful paintings in the
history of art. Despite the fact that it has echoes of the Vanitas subjects of 17th century Dutch still life's, as some of
its blooms have turned to dead seed heads, it still glows with a radiance that transcends any hint of melancholy.

The composition of the work is simplicity itself: fifteen sunflowers sit in a vase on a table; they are arranged
symmetrically and fill the canvas; the vase, flowers, table and background are predominately yellow and cast no
shadows. It is this absence of complication in both the drawing and arrangement of the work that liberates its color
to communicate with a greater intensity than you would expect. 'Sunflowers' radiates colour rather than using it as
a descriptive element.

This is a key image in the development of modern painting and the foundations of both Fauvism and Expressionism
lie within its radical concept. Van Gogh had revolutionary theories about colour. He released it from its descriptive
roll in imitating nature and empowered it to express his emotions: ‘Because instead of trying to reproduce exactly
what I see before my eyes, I use colour more arbitrarily to express myself forcefully.’
VINCENT VAN GOGH
(1853-1890)
Sunflowers, 1888
(oil on canvas)
Color as Mood -
Sadness
We often use the language of color to describe our emotions. We talk of being 'red' with rage or 'green' with envy.
If we are feeling good, we are in the 'pink' or if we are sad we've got the 'blues'. When Pablo Picasso painted 'The
Old Guitarist' he was certainly suffering from the 'blues'. In fact, the main body of his work between 1901-04 is now
referred to as his 'Blue Period'.

In 1901 Picasso sank into a deep depression after the suicide of his close friend Carlos Casagemas. His subsequent
work reflected his sad psychological state in both its subject matter and the colors he used to paint it. One symptom
of his depression was that he entered a period of self-imposed social exile. As a consequence of this he identified
himself with those whom society had exiled - the poor, the lonely, the infirm, the destitute vagrants and vagabonds
of street - and they became the subjects of his work. He would paint these sorrowful figures mostly in tones of blue
to enhance their melancholic mood.

'The Old Guitarist' is a major work that illustrates the key elements of Picasso's 'Blue Period'. There is a strong focus
on the humanity of the old man whose emaciated and twisted physique not only expresses the anguish of his abject
condition but also the tormented emotions of the artist himself. This is a timeless image whose style unites past
and present. It owes as much to the tortured mannerism of the 16th century artist El Greco as it does to the
contemporary introspection of Expressionism. Picasso's use of blue as the corresponding color of sadness is
counteracted by the comforting shade of the brown guitar. Its soulful tone is the only note of consolation in this
tragic image.
PABLO PICASSO
(1881-1973)
The Old Guitarist, 1903-04
(oil on panel)
Color as Mood - Peace
Gustav Klimt is known for his paintings of sensual allegories and society
portraits of beautiful women, all dripping with opulent ornamentation in a
fusion of figuration and abstraction. He was always a workaholic and is idea of
a taking a peaceful holiday was to paint a different subject, in a different style,
in a different place. For around sixteen years (1900-1916) he visited the
Salzkammergut, a picturesque region of alpine lakes, forests and mountains
where he painted landscapes as a form of relaxation. These works were
almost always square shaped as he used the same small ivory viewfinder to
frame the landscape. Consequently the composition of these paintings was
flat and patterned as he would 'crop' the image around or below the horizon,
thereby negating the effect of perspective. This allowed him to focus on the
abstract relationships of the colors, shapes, patterns and textures of the
woods and the lakeside.

The 'Isle on Lake Attersee' has many of the characteristics of Klimt's summer
landscapes. The isle and its horizon are at the top of the picture acting like a
hinge that swings your attention down to the reflective surface of the lake.
There are few more peaceful pursuits than to sit at a lakeside and watch the
glimmer of light and color on the surface of the water. Klimt conveys that
peaceful feeling of total relaxation and contentment in the way he focuses his
attention on the Impressionistic spectrum of turquoise and blue reflections
that gently merge into the soft waves of yellow sunlight.
GUSTAV KLIMT
(1862-1918)
Isle on Lake Attersee, 1902
(oil on canvas)
Color as Mood -
Anxiety
 The Scream' by Edvard Munch has entered the public consciousness as an emblem of
anxiety. All its elements combine to form an image of impending doom, a panic attack in
color and shape. The two main colors of the painting are orange and blue, a lurid contrast
from opposite ends of the spectrum, guaranteed to form a tense relationship. An anxious
state of agoraphobia is generated by the extended perspective of the bridge and the
haunting waves of sound that echo around the fjord. A stomach-churning glimpse over the
edge of the handrail initiates an attack of vertigo. A deep sense of isolation and helplessness
is experienced by the figure who is holding his head to absorb the phobic assault from this
environment, while his path of escape is blocked by the spectral figures at one end of the
bridge and the mysterious border that channels the burning color of the sky at the other.

The figure is Munch himself. In his diary of 1892 he wrote, "I was walking along the road
with two friends. The sun set. I felt a tinge of melancholy. Suddenly the sky became a bloody
red. I stopped, leaned against the railing, dead tired. And I looked at the flaming clouds that
hung like blood and a sword over the blue-black fjord and city. My friends walked on. I stood
there, trembling with fright. And I felt a loud, unending scream piercing nature."
EDVARD MUNCH (1863-1944)
The Scream, 1893
(oil, tempera and pastel on cardboard)
Color as Mood - Noise
 We began this analysis of color in art
with one Futurist painting and we end
it with another. 'The Dance of the Pan-
Pan at the Monico' by Gino Severini
was the large centerpiece to the first
Futurist Exhibition outside Italy at
Galerie Bernheim-Jeune in Paris. It
was painted in 1909-11, but this
version was destroyed and Severini
repainted it from a postcard in 1959-
60.

The Futurists embraced the noise,

energy and intensity of modern city
life. The raucous night-life of the
cabaret with its vibrant fashions and
risqué dancing to ragtime rhythms, all
illuminated by modern electric
lighting, was the perfect setting for a
vision of Futurist fun. Severini
smashes this image into countless
fragments which he reassembles in a
dynamic composition that captures
the collective consciousness of
Futurism. Contrasts of opposite colors
collide in a shatterproof structure that
frames the fun, frolics, noise and
excitement of modern entertainment. GINO SEVERINI (1883-1966)
The Dance of the Pan-Pan at the Monico, 1909-
1911/1959-1960 (240cm x 400cm, oil on canvas)