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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? 

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Painting, Couple 1, FeiWoux Chan

Couple 1

FeiWoux Chan

Painting - 78 x 58 x 3 cm Painting - 30.7 x 22.8 x 1.2 inch

$2,373

Painting, Tropical, Vanessa Linares

Tropical

Vanessa Linares

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

$1,174

Print, Uprising, Yohan Storti

Uprising

Yohan Storti

Print - 70 x 49 x 0.1 cm Print - 27.6 x 19.3 x 0 inch

$106

Painting, United, Les Panchyshyn

United

Les Panchyshyn

Painting - 80 x 70 x 2 cm Painting - 31.5 x 27.6 x 0.8 inch

$3,322

Painting, Ecoute, Lise Vurpillot

Ecoute

Lise Vurpillot

Painting - 80 x 80 x 3 cm Painting - 31.5 x 31.5 x 1.2 inch

$3,144

Painting, Impérial, Amélie Béral

Impérial

Amélie Béral

Painting - 150 x 120 x 3 cm Painting - 59.1 x 47.2 x 1.2 inch

$2,907

Painting, Xiong Mao, Lise Vurpillot

Xiong Mao

Lise Vurpillot

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

$4,389

Painting, Golden fish, Elena Shichko

Golden fish

Elena Shichko

Painting - 50 x 70 x 2 cm Painting - 19.7 x 27.6 x 0.8 inch

$2,254

Painting, Vache Blanche, Micowel

Vache Blanche

Micowel

Painting - 20.3 x 30.5 x 0.3 cm Painting - 8 x 12 x 0.1 inch

$1,424

Painting, Suzaku, Françoise Souriau

Suzaku

Françoise Souriau

Painting - 60 x 73 x 2 cm Painting - 23.6 x 28.7 x 0.8 inch

$1,163

Painting, Skull monkey happy, PyB

Skull monkey happy

PyB

Painting - 60 x 50 x 2 cm Painting - 23.6 x 19.7 x 0.8 inch

$332

Painting, Papillon, Aude Herlédan

Papillon

Aude Herlédan

Painting - 89 x 113 x 2.5 cm Painting - 35 x 44.5 x 1 inch

$17,795

Painting, Chats, FeiWoux Chan

Chats

FeiWoux Chan

Painting - 80 x 80 x 3 cm Painting - 31.5 x 31.5 x 1.2 inch

$2,966

Photography, Bleu de Toi, Paul Marnef

Bleu de Toi

Paul Marnef

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

$2,301

Sculpture, Haring dog colors, Spaco

Haring dog colors

Spaco

Sculpture - 15 x 25 x 3 cm Sculpture - 5.9 x 9.8 x 1.2 inch

$285

Painting, Pretty Boy, Gary Westall

Pretty Boy

Gary Westall

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

$3,624

Painting, Pink tiger, Mosko

Pink tiger

Mosko

Painting - 20 x 20 x 2 cm Painting - 7.9 x 7.9 x 0.8 inch

$534

Fine Art Drawings, Amazone, Mathilde André

Amazone

Mathilde André

Fine Art Drawings - 42 x 28.5 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 16.5 x 11.2 x 0.1 inch

$297

Painting, Feline Prowls, PickWick

Feline Prowls

PickWick

Painting - 65 x 45 x 0.1 cm Painting - 25.6 x 17.7 x 0 inch

$356

Painting, Naturalborn, PickWick

Naturalborn

PickWick

Painting - 65 x 45 x 0.1 cm Painting - 25.6 x 17.7 x 0 inch

$356

Painting, A feline roams, PickWick

A feline roams

PickWick

Painting - 65 x 45 x 0.1 cm Painting - 25.6 x 17.7 x 0 inch

$356

Painting, Matadora, Emil Aziz

Matadora

Emil Aziz

Painting - 100 x 160 x 4 cm Painting - 39.4 x 63 x 1.6 inch

$5,932

Painting, Betta splendens, Flow

Betta splendens

Flow

Painting - 100 x 81 x 3 cm Painting - 39.4 x 31.9 x 1.2 inch

$2,966

Print, Kitsune, Anthea Missy

Kitsune

Anthea Missy

Print - 70 x 50 x 0.01 cm Print - 27.6 x 19.7 x 0 inch

$130

Sculpture, Nyrï, Saône De Stalh

Nyrï

Saône De Stalh

Sculpture - 30 x 49 x 11 cm Sculpture - 11.8 x 19.3 x 4.3 inch

$1,898