Eugene Chevreul Circular Zones of Continuous Colors

"Find out more about the colour theories of Chevreul and make notes on how particular artists have used Chevreul's theories to expand the possibilities of painting."

I have spent the last few weeks investigating this topic and feel like I have only just scratched the surface.

Background

Michel-Eugène Chevreul, born in Angers, western France in 1786, had a long and illustrious career as a research chemist.  In 1824 his career took a different direction and he took up a position as Director of dying at a tapestry works at Gobelin Manufacture.  During his tenure there he encountered many challenges with the colour matching of the tapestries which were, of course, woven with strands of many colours.

His research into the nature of how we see colour and why we perceive it to be so led him after, four years, to produce his first paper on the subject entitled "Memoir on the influence that two colours can have on each other when seen simultaneously".  From this point it was to take him a further eleven years to continue his research and develop his theories to a point where he could produce his first and most influential book on the subject published in 1839 – "De la loi du contraste simultané des couleurs" (literally translated as "On the law of the simultaneous contrast of colours").  This was followed by a number of other important publications including "Chromatic Circles" (1855), "Outline of a Way to Define and Name Colours" (1861) and "On Colours and their Applications to Industrial Arts" (1864).

The need to have a standard classification of colours led him to design a 72-part "Chromatic Circle" comprising the 3 primary colours of red, yellow and blue and 69 hues of secondary colours resulting from mixing red with yellow, yellow with blue and blue with red.

First chromatic circle containing pure hues, from Cercles
Chromatiques de M. E. Chevreul (Paris: Didot, 1861)

Circular zones of continuous colours, from Cercles Chromatiques de M.
E. Chevreul (Paris: Didot, 1861)

Chevreul's theories

I have extracted the main and relevant (to me) points as I understand them:-

• Colours appear differently (the brain perceives them differently) depending on the other colours they are placed next to.

For example – the grey square appears lighter on the black background than on the white background.

• The concept of simultaneous contrast – It is possible to see the same colour slightly differently at the same time.

For example – the lighter grey rectangle on the left appears even lighter at its border with the darker grey rectangle on the right – and vice-versa – the darker grey rectangle appears even darker at its border with the lighter grey one.

When looking at a set of monochromatic stripes increasing in tone from white to black – each stripe will appear darker along its left border (where it is situated next to an even lighter stripe and lighter along its right border (where it is situated next to an even darker stripe).  This optical illusion causes channelled grooves to appear and is known as  "Chevreul's illusion" – "the stripes, seen from a suitable distance, resemble channelled grooves (glyphs) more than plane surfaces." (Georges Roque, 2010).

• Complementary colours

When we look at two colours together the brain adds some of the complementary colour of the background to the foreground and vice-versa.  This can be demonstrated by looking at the white shape:-

. On the red background it will appear greenish, on orange it will appear blueish, on yellow it will appear slightly purple, on green it will appear reddish, on blue it will appear slightly orange and on the violet background it will appear yellowish.

I'm not sure I can see this particularly well in the example I have created – but that is the theory! .

This had important consequences for artists who were striving for ways to create lustrous colour because placing two complementaries together would have the effect of intensifying both colours – e.g. if red is placed on green, the red would seem even more red and the green would seem even more green.  So, as shown below, the top left green square on the red background should appear brighter than the green square underneath on the white background – similarly for the red squares on the right.

Of course Chevreul had his critics, pointing out flaws in his theories and criticism of confusing light with pigment – some artists chose to ignore his concepts perhaps preferring to trust their own intuition and judgement, however others found his ideas of value as they continued to seek creative ways to use colour in their work.   As Roque states: "They were actually looking for a recipe in order to give more intensity to their colours, and found it in the juxtaposition of complementary colours."

There are many examples of the use of complementary colours in works by famous artists in the late 19th century and onwards:-

Vincent van Gogh:  "The Sower" , 1888.  Rich blue-violet and green fields are juxtaposed against the yellow sky.

The Sower, 1888

In May 1888, van Gogh rented some rooms in a house on the Place Lamartine in Arles – known as "The Yellow House"  As well as painting the exterior and views he also painted his simply furnished bedroom.

The Bedroom, 1888

In this famous painting there are many complementary contrasts as he described in his letter to his brother Theo in October 1888:–

"….The walls are of a pale violet. The floor — is of red tiles.
The bedstead and the chairs are fresh butter yellow.
The sheet and the pillows very bright lemon green.
The bedspread scarlet red.
The window green.
The dressing table orange, the basin blue.
The doors lilac………"

He describes the yellow wood and violet walls, the scarlet blanket and green window and light lime green pillow. the orange dressing table and blue basin.  There is a repetition of the similar colours in different strengths e.g. scarlet and red, pale violet walls and lilac, green and light lime green – he wanted to convey a sense of harmony and rest:-

"……This time it's simply my bedroom, but the colour has to do the job here, and through its being simplified by giving a grander style to things, to be suggestive here of rest or of sleep in general. In short, looking at the painting should rest the mind, or rather, the imagination…."  (van Gogh, 1888)

Claude Monet: " Poppies at Argenteuil", 1873 – bright red poppies against the green fields

Poppies at Argenteuil, 1873

JMW Turner: " Boat and Red Buoy in a Choppy Sea", c. 1828-30.  Not actually complementary colours but interesting how the buoy is the only red in the picture and that he has chosen not to balance it with some other red elsewhere.

Boat and Red Buoy in a Choppy Sea, c. 1828-30

Georges Seurat introduced the stye of pointillism or "divisionism" as he preferred to call it  – making small marks of pure hues in small brush strokes or dots directly onto the canvas without mixing.  This was designed to enhance the luminosity and brilliance of colour as it is viewed as an 'optical mixture' i.e. our brain perceives it as being merged into one colour – rather than being physically mixed on the canvas.  However, interestingly, according to Chevruel – if the marks were too small then they would unify and instead of achieving luminosity and clarity of colour, the opposite would occur resulting in an impression of a less intense, greyed-down colour.    Braque quotes in his paper "…  if the Neo-Impressionists paintings are indeed very luminous, it is because the dots are big enough still to be perceived at the normal viewing distance and hence the optical mixture doesn't work.  So it is precisely because the dots don't achieve a complete optical mixture that they retain their luminosity!".

In Seurat's " " – complementary reds and greens are dotted in small pointillist marks – there is clarity in the colours and they appear to shimmer.

A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, 1884-1886

Robert Delauney,  influenced by Chevreul's work, used colour to create rhythm and movement in his paintings.  His canvasses were alive and flooded with rich, vibrant colour – he placed complementary reds against greens, blues against oranges and yellows against violets – as can be seen in many of his semi-abstract works.

Simultaneous Windows (2nd Motif, 1st Part), 1912

Circular Forms, 1930

What can I take from my investigations and how can I apply it?

For me, the main point is that:-

Colours are subjective and are perceived in the context of the other colours around them.

So they should not considered separately.  When investigating colours for a piece – then work with them together – place intended colours next to each other to see the effects.

Consider juxtaposing complementary colours if an area is to be brought into focus and stand out.  Conversely, using harmonious colours will quieten down an area – colour-wise it will be reduced.

Be aware of how much of each colour there is on the canvas.  If this is in equal proportions then I expect this will negate any strong effects of colour.  A case in point is the red buoy in Turner's"Boat and Red Buoy in a Choppy Sea" – it has so much impact because it is the only red in the painting.

In van Gogh's "The Bedroom" – I can see the effects of different tones of the same colour.  I have never consciously considered this before and I would like to try it in my own work – how would red, pink and scarlet work with bright green, yellow green and dark green for example?

References

Delaunay, R (1930). Circular Forms [oil on canvas].  Available at http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/collections/collection-online/artwork/1026(Accessed on 02.02.14)

Delaunay, R (1912).Simultaneous Windows (2nd Motif, 1st Part) [oil on canvas]. Available at http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/collections/collection-online/artwork/1023 (Accessed on 02.02.14)

Monet, Claude (1873). Poppies at Argenteuil [oil on canvas]. Available at                                                         http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/collections/works-in-focus/painting.html?no_cache=1&zoom=1&tx_damzoom_pi1%5BshowUid%5D=2278(Accessed on 02.02.14)

Seurat, G (1884-6). A Sunday on La Grande Jatte [oil on canvas]. Available at                                                   http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/27992?search_no=1&index=2 (Accessed on 02.02.14)

Turner, JMW (c. 1828-30).Boat and Red Buoy in a Choppy Sea [body colour and graphite on paper]. Available at http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/turner-boat-and-red-buoy-in-a-choppy-sea-tw0807 (Accessed on 02.02.14)

van Gogh, Vincent (1888). The Bedroom[oil on canvas]. Available at http://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/vgm/index.jsp?page=2796&lang=en (Accessed on 02.02.14)

van Gogh, Vincent (1888). The Sower[oil on canvas]. Available at http://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/vgm/index.jsp?page=4500&lang=en (Accessed on 02.02.14)

van Gogh Museum, 2009.Vincent van Gogh, The Letters. [online] Available at http://vangoghletters.org/vg/letters/let705/letter.html (Accessed on 02.02.14)

Bibliography

Hornung, David. (2005)  Colour a workshop for artists and designers. London: Laurence King Publishing Ltd.

Read Herbert. (1980)A Concise History of Modern Painting. London: Thames and Hudson.

Roque, Georges. (2010) Chevreul's Colour Theory and its Consequences for Artists. Great Britain: the Colour Group.

Ruhrberg, Karl. (2010) Art of the 20th Century. Köln: Taschen GmbH.

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Source: https://paintingmyway.wordpress.com/2014/02/02/research-point-chevreuls-colour-theories/