Colored artworks

The work of color is central in any artistic work. It is even one of the first tools of the artist. It is difficult to imagine a work that would exist without the working of color - even if it is the absence of color that the artist chooses to present. 

Through the ages and artistic movements, the use and meaning attributed to color evolves, but the essence of color remains the same. Every artist must master the properties of color in order to control his composition. In the restoration of paintings, color even becomes a science, because it is necessary to know the different molecules to find the colors and mixtures originally used by the artist. 

In the history of art, the importance of color fluctuates according to periods and geographical areas. During the Italian Renaissance, for example, there was a debate (called Paragone) between the authority of color versus drawing: according to the schools, it is the color, and not the line, that creates the emotion and visual power of a work of art. The colors thus take on an immense importance, and assume certain meanings: white symbolizes purity for example, and blue (systematically used to clothe the Virgin Mary) is associated with divinity. These symbols are not thought of randomly: the purple for example, is used since the Byzantine era to signify the highest rank of royalty. Unlike ochre, the purple pigment came from a specific shell, and was extremely difficult - and therefore rare, and expensive - to obtain.

More generally, colors can be divided into three categories: warm, cool, and neutral. As their name implies, these classes of colors give off an atmosphere that the painter can use to influence the emotion of his work. Baroque art, for example, manipulates the contrasts between warm and cold colors to capture the power of bodies. The play of light is exalted by the effects of color. For a long time, the traditional Western school of painting required painters to reproduce the colors of the environment around them. It was the Impressionists, in the 19th century, who explored other ways of seeing - and therefore of transcribing on canvas - their chromatic environment. By avoiding complex mixtures and painting spontaneously, in the open air, the Impressionists reinvented the use of color to reproduce reality.

It was not until abstract and subjective painting that art devoted itself to color as a subject. Mark Rothko, precursor of the Colorfield Painting movement and of abstract expressionism, sees in his paintings a living organism whose color is human and whose format is transcendent. Piet Mondrian, on the other hand, sought in his paintings to approach the very essence of nature through the purity of primary colors, to achieve abstraction. The founder of the Russian avant-garde movement of Suprematism, Kasimir Malevich, will disturb the senses of everyone with his work "White square on white background", in which the color is painted only for itself. Contemporary art, photography, collage, or pop art also use in their respective ways the resources of color, exploring indefinitely all its pluralities. As Picasso said, "When I have no blue, I use red." 

Artsper writes art in color: discover below a great selection of works that honor color and its properties. What better way to brighten up an interior? 

Read more
Painting, Inexpensive, Youthone

Inexpensive

Youthone

Painting - 100 x 70 x 0.1 cm Painting - 39.4 x 27.6 x 0 inch

€1,070 €963

Painting, Ghost city, Reyes

Ghost city

Reyes

Painting - 70 x 70 x 4 cm Painting - 27.6 x 27.6 x 1.6 inch

€690 €621

Painting, Mickey, Shokkobo Popart

Mickey

Shokkobo Popart

Painting - 50 x 50 x 3.4 cm Painting - 19.7 x 19.7 x 1.3 inch

€895

Painting, Ville, Zhenlin Jiang

Ville

Zhenlin Jiang

Painting - 66 x 32 x 3 cm Painting - 26 x 12.6 x 1.2 inch

€600 €540

Photography, Cheminées, Feng Hatat

Cheminées

Feng Hatat

Photography - 45 x 30 x 1 cm Photography - 17.7 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch

€600

Photography, Ciel serie 2 II, Feng Hatat

Ciel serie 2 II

Feng Hatat

Photography - 40 x 30 x 1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch

€600

Fine Art Drawings, Inséparables, Jéko

Inséparables

Jéko

Fine Art Drawings - 42 x 29.7 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 16.5 x 11.7 x 0.1 inch

€830 €747

Painting, Burnout, Eric Bourdon

Burnout

Eric Bourdon

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

€2,454

Painting, Fête du village, Marco

Fête du village

Marco

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

€620

Painting, Jungle by Night, PickWick

Jungle by Night

PickWick

Painting - 120 x 40 x 4 cm Painting - 47.2 x 15.7 x 1.6 inch

€900

Painting, Crazy love, Dr. Love

Crazy love

Dr. Love

Painting - 40 x 30 x 0.2 cm Painting - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0.1 inch

€120

Painting, Tickle Pink, Maria Vetkalova

Tickle Pink

Maria Vetkalova

Painting - 120 x 100 x 2 cm Painting - 47.2 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch

€2,958 €2,662

Painting, O Lympi, Pasturo

O Lympi

Pasturo

Painting - 150 x 180 cm Painting - 59.1 x 70.9 inch

€4,000

Painting, Sous la mer, Marco

Sous la mer

Marco

Painting - 80 x 80 x 5 cm Painting - 31.5 x 31.5 x 2 inch

€1,200

Photography, Cloudy No.3, Angela Cameron

Cloudy No.3

Angela Cameron

Photography - 91.4 x 61 x 0.8 cm Photography - 36 x 24 x 0.3 inch

€441

Painting, Chien, Zhenlin Jiang

Chien

Zhenlin Jiang

Painting - 90 x 60 x 3 cm Painting - 35.4 x 23.6 x 1.2 inch

€900 €810

Painting, Echoes of Serenity, SISC

Echoes of Serenity

SISC

Painting - 90 x 70 cm Painting - 35.4 x 27.6 inch

€2,500

Print, Aquarium, Ken Done

Aquarium

Ken Done

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

€432 €388

Painting, Jimi Hendrix, Ben B

Jimi Hendrix

Ben B

Painting - 41 x 33 x 1.5 cm Painting - 16.1 x 13 x 0.6 inch

€280

Painting, Tdm S, Seb Paul Michel

Tdm S

Seb Paul Michel

Painting - 100 x 50 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch

€500

Painting, Tuba, Marie-Aude Molin

Tuba

Marie-Aude Molin

Painting - 65 x 50 x 0.35 cm Painting - 25.6 x 19.7 x 0.1 inch

€480

Print, Human spirit, SISC

Human spirit

SISC

Print - 59 x 42 x 0.1 cm Print - 23.2 x 16.5 x 0 inch

€120

Print, African beauty, SISC

African beauty

SISC

Print - 59 x 42 cm Print - 23.2 x 16.5 inch

€120

Print, Maiko geisha, SISC

Maiko geisha

SISC

Print - 59 x 42 cm Print - 23.2 x 16.5 inch

€120

Painting, Ephemeral Bonds, SISC

Ephemeral Bonds

SISC

Painting - 30 x 60 x 0.2 cm Painting - 11.8 x 23.6 x 0.1 inch

€350

Painting, Puzzle, Tanya Nefedova

Puzzle

Tanya Nefedova

Painting - 100 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch

€1,638 €1,475

Painting, Ballade en forêt, Zafi

Ballade en forêt

Zafi

Painting - 80 x 100 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch

Sold

Painting, L'écluse, Jean Moiras

L'écluse

Jean Moiras

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

Sold

Painting, First, Maud Merouze

First

Maud Merouze

Painting - 80 x 100 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch

Sold

Painting, Mo'Kalamity, Dada Wa

Mo'Kalamity

Dada Wa

Painting - 135 x 115 x 3 cm Painting - 53.1 x 45.3 x 1.2 inch

Sold

Painting, Rejoy, Dada Wa

Rejoy

Dada Wa

Painting - 150 x 103 x 3 cm Painting - 59.1 x 40.6 x 1.2 inch

Sold

Sculpture, Petite fille verte, Wabé

Petite fille verte

Wabé

Sculpture - 24 x 24 x 22 cm Sculpture - 9.4 x 9.4 x 8.7 inch

Sold

Sculpture, Grand huit, Maud Merouze

Grand huit

Maud Merouze

Sculpture - 75 x 57 x 44 cm Sculpture - 29.5 x 22.4 x 17.3 inch

Sold

12/100