White

In physics, white is the sum of all the colours. To the human eye, white appears to be the total absence of colour. Amongst artists, white and its many uses in art are continuously evolving and challenging those who would embrace them. Is white, then, a non-colour, or an enhancer of colours? Intangible or material? Absence or excess?

Since Antiquity, white has been appreciated for its symbolic value. In Ancient Greece, where they would paint their statues, it was a sign of incompletion, whereas the Romans believed it showed pomp and imperialist virtue. With the rise of Christianity, white was used in opposition to black in order to emphasise moral dichotomies: the pure, divine white against the darkness. In some cases, however, white was used to show sickness or death, most notably in the pallid representations of the skeletal, crucified Christ.

In the Renaissance white was used to sublimate faces and backgrounds. Da Vinci even based his sfumato technique on the soft transition from light into darkness. Throughout the history of painting, white was considered precious for its ability to reflect light. It attracts the gaze even when used in the tiniest quantities, and illuminates the subject, drawing out stunning contrasts as seen in the works of Rembrandt, or in Vermeer's famous Girl with the Pearl Earring.

With the rise of Impressionism, white was used as the brightest tone amongst shades of grey. While Manet produced canvases which were forerunners to monochromes, including The Reader, which was almost pure white, Monet delivered a stunning gradient of whites whilst recreating the snow at his home in Giverny. The first true white monochrome appeared with the arrival of Malevitch's White Square on a White Background. The artist said 'I have broken the blue boundary of colour limits, and come out into the white'.

 

Modernists were equally passionate about white and valued it incredibly highly. Miro in particular questioned the status of white on canvases. In his painting Woman, Bird and Star white is in parts boldly painted, but is also distinctive for its absence around the star. Picasso, on the other hand, explored white in conjunction with his famous coloured periods. Piero Manzoni became famous thanks to his 'achromatic' paintings, a series of canvases produced exclusively in shades of white. Moving into the 20th century, white became synonymous with minimalist abstraction. For artists like Kandinsky, white was a cosmic colour, associated with a spiritual search for the absolute, guiding the artists as he seek to express his emotions.  

 

Today, white remains an ever popular subject. Roman Opalka made his name creating a series of white numbers of a white background, while Daniel Arsham reinvents white walls in galleries by letting his artwork drip down onto them. White is a colour with multiple symbolic interpretations. The colour of divinity or humility; of purity and immaculate, of emptiness and absence, but always colour. If blue has Klein and red has Rothko, it appears that no artist has yet succeeded in fully mastering white – but maybe you'll find them in our selection!


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Fine Art Drawings, Architecture, R.P.J.

Architecture

R.P.J.

Fine Art Drawings - 64.5 x 82.5 x 0.4 cm Fine Art Drawings - 25.4 x 32.5 x 0.2 inch

$1,473

Painting, 9 Marzo, Lucia Bergamini

9 Marzo

Lucia Bergamini

Painting - 71.1 x 101.6 x 1.5 cm Painting - 28 x 40 x 0.6 inch

$3,450

Print, Le cirque, Sakti Burman

Le cirque

Sakti Burman

Print - 54 x 76 x 0.1 cm Print - 21.3 x 29.9 x 0 inch

$475

Painting, Ricochets, Isabelle Hamard

Ricochets

Isabelle Hamard

Painting - 80 x 60 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch

$1,008

Painting, 20.08, Mccain McMurray

20.08

Mccain McMurray

Painting - 40.6 x 20.3 x 5.8 cm Painting - 16 x 8 x 2.3 inch

$545

Print, Layers 30, Tilt

Layers 30

Tilt

Print - 85 x 62 cm Print - 33.5 x 24.4 inch

$571

Fine Art Drawings, Dessin, Wolfgang Gäfgen

Dessin

Wolfgang Gäfgen

Fine Art Drawings - 72 x 103 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 28.3 x 40.6 x 0.1 inch

$2,610

Sculpture, Gestique, Pulse (Pulser)

Gestique

Pulse (Pulser)

Sculpture - 20 x 20 x 20 cm Sculpture - 7.9 x 7.9 x 7.9 inch

$427

Fine Art Drawings, Equinoxes #23, Yann Bagot

Equinoxes #23

Yann Bagot

Fine Art Drawings - 32.5 x 24.5 cm Fine Art Drawings - 12.8 x 9.6 inch

$1,542

Fine Art Drawings, Mexico, Lucas Ninin

Mexico

Lucas Ninin

Fine Art Drawings - 17 x 28 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 6.7 x 11 x 0.1 inch

$237

Photography, Double Life, Téber

Double Life

Téber

Photography - 50.3 x 50.3 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.8 x 19.8 x 0 inch

$1,186

Print, Sans titre, Nir Pilpeled

Sans titre

Nir Pilpeled

Print - 70 x 50 x 1 cm Print - 27.6 x 19.7 x 0.4 inch

$178

Print, Zébre, Mosko

Zébre

Mosko

Print - 45 x 30 x 0.1 cm Print - 17.7 x 11.8 x 0 inch

$89

Photography, Tuneis, Gilberto Perin

Tuneis

Gilberto Perin

Photography - 40 x 60 cm Photography - 15.7 x 23.6 inch

$1,091

Painting, Museum, Slav Nedev

Museum

Slav Nedev

Painting - 59.9 x 136.9 x 2 cm Painting - 23.6 x 53.9 x 0.8 inch

$5,500

Painting, Monuments, Rainer Splitt

Monuments

Rainer Splitt

Painting - 28 x 18 x 3 cm Painting - 11 x 7.1 x 1.2 inch

$949

Sculpture, Apporte, Julia Biktimirova

Apporte

Julia Biktimirova

Sculpture - 38 x 43 x 20 cm Sculpture - 15 x 16.9 x 7.9 inch

$5,813

Fine Art Drawings, Untitled, Luis Caballero

Untitled

Luis Caballero

Fine Art Drawings - 64.9 x 64.9 x 0.3 cm Fine Art Drawings - 25.56 x 25.56 x 0.1 inch

$4,950

Painting, Bob Ooblong, Jerkface

Bob Ooblong

Jerkface

Painting - 30.5 x 30.5 x 2.54 cm Painting - 12 x 12 x 1 inch

$12,500

Fine Art Drawings, Untitled, Montserrat Gudiol

Untitled

Montserrat Gudiol

Fine Art Drawings - 64 x 48 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 25.2 x 18.9 x 0 inch

$4,508

Sculpture, Cheval à bascule, MIKA L

Cheval à bascule

MIKA L

Sculpture - 95 x 98 x 25 cm Sculpture - 37.4 x 38.6 x 9.8 inch

$3,322

Painting, Stars, Jean-Marc Amigues

Stars

Jean-Marc Amigues

Painting - 147 x 96 x 4 cm Painting - 57.9 x 37.8 x 1.6 inch

$5,339

Painting, Aramata, Massira Keita

Aramata

Massira Keita

Painting - 40 x 30 cm Painting - 15.7 x 11.8 inch

$160

Painting, Frenetici, Pietro Pancotto

Frenetici

Pietro Pancotto

Painting - 100 x 70 x 3.5 cm Painting - 39.4 x 27.6 x 1.4 inch

$534

Painting, Mickey fuck, Illian

Mickey fuck

Illian

Painting - 80 x 80 x 1 cm Painting - 31.5 x 31.5 x 0.4 inch

$830

Photography, Sans 1, Lucien Hervé

Sans 1

Lucien Hervé

Photography - 40 x 30 cm Photography - 15.7 x 11.8 inch

$3,559

Sculpture, Oui, Marie Piselli

Oui

Marie Piselli

Sculpture - 14 x 14 x 5 cm Sculpture - 5.5 x 5.5 x 2 inch

$332

Sculpture, Illusions, ODart

Illusions

ODart

Sculpture - 17 x 40 x 3 cm Sculpture - 6.7 x 15.7 x 1.2 inch

$451

Photography, Dichotomy 5/5, Isaac Morell

Dichotomy 5/5

Isaac Morell

Photography - 125 x 125 x 2 cm Photography - 49.2 x 49.2 x 0.8 inch

$3,559

Print, El sueño, Mela Ferrer

El sueño

Mela Ferrer

Print - 50 x 65 x 0.1 cm Print - 19.7 x 25.6 x 0 inch

$395

Fine Art Drawings, From Earth, Mario Surbone

From Earth

Mario Surbone

Fine Art Drawings - 18 x 14.5 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 7.1 x 5.7 x 0 inch

$332

Print, Untitled, Mario Bedini

Untitled

Mario Bedini

Print - 80.5 x 60.5 cm Print - 31.7 x 23.8 inch

$475

Sculpture, untitled, Ilona Kálnoky

untitled

Ilona Kálnoky

Sculpture - 21 x 23 x 3 cm Sculpture - 8.3 x 9.1 x 1.2 inch

$712

Photography, The classroom, Magnus Wahman

The classroom

Magnus Wahman

Photography - 40 x 73 x 0.3 cm Photography - 15.7 x 28.7 x 0.1 inch

$1,424

Print, Dancers, Robert Naly

Dancers

Robert Naly

Print - 51 x 33 x 0.1 cm Print - 20.1 x 13 x 0 inch

$308

Print, Dachau, Renzo Biasion

Dachau

Renzo Biasion

Print - 50 x 35 x 0.1 cm Print - 19.7 x 13.8 x 0 inch

$237

Print, Barack, Ores

Barack

Ores

Print - 42 x 30 x 0.1 cm Print - 16.5 x 11.8 x 0 inch

$178

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