Simultaneous Contrast of Colors 1

In Michel E Chevreul’s book “The Principles of Harmony and Contrast of Colors”, written in 1855, he discusses a discovery he made while researching color dyes for the Gobelin Tapestry Company. His research showed that the eye perceives a color differently when a color is placed beside a certain other color. He called this the simultaneous contrast of colors. For example, when red and its complement, green, are placed beside each other, the red becomes richer, more intense, and vibrant. Likewise, blue, when placed beside orange, and yellow, when placed beside violet. It works as well for the green, orange, and violet.

He delves into this theory in depth, and it is a full-time study in itself. I would like to discuss it in the simplest way possible, in order to enable artists to apply it to their own paintings.

In my series The Color of Water, which I am still working on, I am trying to paint a river that turns the most beautiful jade color in a certain light. According to Chevreul’s theories, I can weaken the richness of the jade color - which is so satisfying, simply by what colors I use around it. There is only forest around the river, so how can I achieve the intensity I am after? An intensity that will make the painting work. I look at the forest closely. There are bushes with red berries, and some of the stems of the foliage are a dull, soft red. I believe that even that small amount of red will set off my river color.

I encourage you to experiment with this principle that Chevreul established, and see the difference it will make in your own paintings