Primary
Yellow, Red, Blue
Secondary
Yellow + Red = Orange
Red + Blue = Violet
Blue + Yellow = Green
Tertiary
Yellow + Orange = Yellow-Orange
Red + Orange = Red-Orange
Red + Violet = Red-Violet
Blue + Violet = Blue-Violet
Blue + Green = Blue-Green
Yellow + Green = Yellow-Green
12 Part Color Circle
Johannes Itten
Developed from primary and secondary colors
Escargot Henri Matisse, 1953
Color Wheel Primary Colors Secondary Colors Tertiary Colors
worqx.com cannot be created by achieved by mixing two achieved by a mixture
mixing other colors primary colors of primary and
secondary colors
Complementary Colors Split-Complementary Analogous Colors
colors located opposite colors located on both colors located close to
one another on color sides of opposite color one another on the
wheel color wheel
Contrast of Hue
Red, yellow and blue is
the extreme contrast of
hue.
Johannes Itten
Broadway Boogie Woogie
Piet Mondrian, 1942-43
White and Black are the
strongest expression of
light and dark.
Gray is readily influenced
by contrasting shade and
hue. Any color will
transform gray from is
neutral state to a
complementary color.
The transformation occurs
subjectively, in the eye,
not objectively in the
colors themselves.
Light-Dark Composition
in Black, White, and Grays
Johannes Itten
Black and White #2
Franz Kline,1960, oil on canvas
Guernica Pablo Picasso, oil on canvas, 1937
One hue is given a
principal role, and others
are used in small
quantities.
Composition with
Red, Yellow and Blue
Piet Mondrian
The relationship in quantity and
location of hue in relation to the
dimensions of the canvas changes
the reading of the composition.
Composition with Red, Yellow
and Blue Piet Mondrian
Composition 10
Piet Mondrian
Hue
Refers to pure color, one without tint,
shade, or tone (without the addition
of white, black, or gray).
Light-Dark Composition in Blue
Johannes Itten
Untitled Blue Monochrome
Yves Klein, 1959
Untitled
Franz Klein, oil on canvas, 1958
Darajberd
Frank Stella, 1967
The Green Line
Henri Matisse (La Raie Verte), 1905
A tint is the mixing of a color with white.
A shade is the mixing of a color with black.
A tone is the mixing of a color with gray.
Colors of Equal Brilliance Colors of Equal Darkness
Johannes Itten Johannes Itten
Star of Persia I Star of Persia II
Frank Stella, acrylic on canvas, 1967 Frank Stella, acrylic on canvas, 1967
Antibes seen from the Salis Gardens Claude Monet, 1888
Houses of Parliament at Sunset Claude Monet, 1903
C&O Franz Kline, oil on canvas, 1958
Note that in this chart,
the pure hue of
yellow is at the 3rd step,
orange is at the 5th step,
red at the 6th,
blue at the 8th and
violet at the 9th.
Yellow is the lightest of
the pure colors, and violet
is the darkest.
Yellow must be muted
from the 4th step on to
match the darker tones of
the gray scale.
Contrast between muted
and pure colors can
create a dynamic
composition.
Twelve Steps of Gray from
White to Black, and the
Twelve Hues of the Color
Circle in Matching Brilliancies
Johannes Itten
My Barn on a Summer Night Wolf Kahn, 1982
Hyena Stomp Frank Stella, 1962
1024 Colors #350/3
Gerhard Richter, 1973
