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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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Painting, Untitled, Doïna Vieru

Untitled

Doïna Vieru

Painting - 75 x 50 x 0.1 cm Painting - 29.5 x 19.7 x 0 inch

$1,071

Painting, Dreams-I, Svetlana Martin

Dreams-I

Svetlana Martin

Painting - 50 x 40 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch

$679

Painting, Séquence III, Nash

Séquence III

Nash

Painting - 97 x 130 x 2 cm Painting - 38.2 x 51.2 x 0.8 inch

$1,191

Painting, Plaster Bear, Wang Dianyu

Plaster Bear

Wang Dianyu

Painting - 70 x 50 x 3 cm Painting - 27.6 x 19.7 x 1.2 inch

$1,071

Painting, Donald paint, Fat

Donald paint

Fat

Painting - 100 x 100 x 3 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 1.2 inch

$3,333

Print, Solstici, Joan Brossa

Solstici

Joan Brossa

Print - 50 x 38 cm Print - 19.7 x 15 inch

$655

Print, Comboi, Joan Brossa

Comboi

Joan Brossa

Print - 38 x 50 cm Print - 15 x 19.7 inch

$655

Print, Ballet, Joan Brossa

Ballet

Joan Brossa

Print - 50 x 38 cm Print - 19.7 x 15 inch

$655

Painting, New Day, Jacob Burda

New Day

Jacob Burda

Painting - 92 x 92 x 2 cm Painting - 36.2 x 36.2 x 0.8 inch

$1,786

Painting, Circus I, Zakhar Shevchuk

Circus I

Zakhar Shevchuk

Painting - 39 x 33 x 2 cm Painting - 15.4 x 13 x 0.8 inch

$1,179

Painting, Portrait, Guy Ghazanchyan

Portrait

Guy Ghazanchyan

Painting - 50 x 30 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 11.8 x 0.8 inch

$1,191

Painting, Ascension, Natacha Gillot

Ascension

Natacha Gillot

Painting - 80 x 40 x 2.5 cm Painting - 31.5 x 15.7 x 1 inch

$952

Painting, Hope day, Le Hai Linh

Hope day

Le Hai Linh

Painting - 100.1 x 80 x 3.3 cm Painting - 39.4 x 31.5 x 1.3 inch

$1,282

Painting, From there, Vanessa Su

From there

Vanessa Su

Painting - 65.1 x 53 x 2 cm Painting - 25.6 x 20.9 x 0.8 inch

$2,024

Sculpture, Big Bear Chanel, Naor

Big Bear Chanel

Naor

Sculpture - 40 x 29 x 33 cm Sculpture - 15.7 x 11.4 x 13 inch

$1,423

Painting, Limelight, Wencke Uhl

Limelight

Wencke Uhl

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

$1,200

Painting, Ce rouge-là, David Jamin

Ce rouge-là

David Jamin

Painting - 92 x 73 x 2 cm Painting - 36.2 x 28.7 x 0.8 inch

$3,036

Photography, Orwell, Marcus Cederberg

Orwell

Marcus Cederberg

Photography - 70 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 27.6 x 19.7 x 0 inch

$238

Painting, 2 Glisten, Hunt Slonem

2 Glisten

Hunt Slonem

Painting - 25.4 x 20.32 x 1 cm Painting - 10 x 8 x 0.4 inch

$8,334

Sculpture, Tenser, Scott Troxel

Tenser

Scott Troxel

Sculpture - 114.3 x 165.1 x 3.2 cm Sculpture - 45 x 65 x 1.25 inch

$5,357

Sculpture, Condenser, Scott Troxel

Condenser

Scott Troxel

Sculpture - 129.5 x 119.4 x 3.2 cm Sculpture - 51 x 47 x 1.25 inch

$5,000

Sculpture, Cathedral, Scott Troxel

Cathedral

Scott Troxel

Sculpture - 106.7 x 55.9 x 3.2 cm Sculpture - 42 x 22 x 1.25 inch

$3,095

Sculpture, Blanco, Scott Troxel

Blanco

Scott Troxel

Sculpture - 71.1 x 55.9 x 3.8 cm Sculpture - 28 x 22 x 1.5 inch

$3,810

Sculpture, Archer, Scott Troxel

Archer

Scott Troxel

Sculpture - 170.2 x 119.4 x 3.2 cm Sculpture - 67 x 47 x 1.25 inch

$5,357

Painting, CG2, Thomas Danel

CG2

Thomas Danel

Painting - 146 x 127 x 2 cm Painting - 57.5 x 50 x 0.8 inch

$4,048

Painting, Irises, Andrii Chebotaru

Irises

Andrii Chebotaru

Painting - 160 x 115 x 2 cm Painting - 63 x 45.3 x 0.8 inch

$13,096

Fine Art Drawings, Airsya, Sumit Mehndiratta

Airsya

Sumit Mehndiratta

Fine Art Drawings - 65 x 108 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 25.6 x 42.5 x 0 inch

$1,417

Fine Art Drawings, Flow basics, Sumit Mehndiratta

Flow basics

Sumit Mehndiratta

Fine Art Drawings - 23 x 60 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 9.1 x 23.6 x 0 inch

$1,631

Painting, Autoportrait, Jef Aérosol

Autoportrait

Jef Aérosol

Painting - 120 x 60 x 4 cm Painting - 47.2 x 23.6 x 1.6 inch

$6,905

22/100