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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Subcategories

White

Psyché

Human

Happy face

Face cachée

Saut à la corde

Popeye pop chic

La cage où le silence fût brisé par la voix d'un homme au bord des larmes

Flake – Pain [20th anniversary bust]

A little flower painting : Pink, Purple and Many Other Colors

All you need is he[art]

Vacula

How to rob!

Astro!

Let me out Mr. Pantone!

Dieu soleil

Crystalized Charmander Relic

Sérigraphie Roboclusion Goldorak XII

Sérigraphie Roboclusion Goldorak X

Sérigraphie Roboclusion Darth Vader

Sérigraphie Roboclusion Dior Air Jordan

Head in the Stars

Basquiat (crown)

UrbanCat Porcelain edition

Albert Einstein

Pink Champagne Motel, Wildwood, New Jersey

Tu m'ennivre

The long haul

Indian Chief

Alter Ego Token Candelabro

Gypsum White Heart (3)

Gypsum White Heart (2)

Gypsum White Heart

Kitchen

Mickey

Group of Seven Awkward Moments (Lake and Mountains with Double-double)

Loulou

Masserschmidt

Houssedecouette

Travis NYC Lines

The detective

Gestures (Stranger than Paradise)

Moët & Chandon Ice Imperial Barrel

Brigitte Bardot

Banksy, Sacrifice de luxe

Liz Loves Richards (Purple)

Kill the code

Coloss mineral

Doggy dog

White Rose

Punky Skull White/Red

Ouverture

Tainted Love

Desperate Housewives II (Wonder Woman)

OMG ! (R2D2)

Hercule & Squuzing Spray

Desperate Housewives (Marylin Monroe)

Made in Japan

Made in Japan

Performance 1

Croquis 240124

David’s beauty

Meyers 5,1906

Diptych: Pearl Hostages (Giclée Prints)

Kate Limited

Skate Board 4

Ski - Barre des écrins - Série Enjoy Skiing