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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White

FUCHsy Grey

Death03648

Death03127

Death02612

Deathp212

Deathq717

Air Jordan Banksy - EA

Death03639

Deathp643

Hope Girl Bat

DeathMb643

DeathQ960

DeathF1204

Death03730

DeathM102

DeathG274

Death A525

Death L219

Nyc 24

DeathM1727

DeathM3862

4 Cans Green

Coffee Spray White

Coffee Spray Black

Louis Vitton n°6

Monroe Glow Red

4 Soup cans

Abstract Reflections

Andy's Campbell's

Skate Board 3

Karl, Sadie & Bicker

Guernicouille de Pine d'Assaut 2

Dolly sur fond brun

Equality

Love withe colors

3D White abstract from the series White reflection modern large painting textured, sculpture

Heart in white - Love, Amour, Amore, Liebe 3D plaster

White hearts - Love, Amour, Amore, Liebe 3D plaster

Say Yes to Love

Rock on white - 3D textured minimalism calm modern music

Bowie 01 (23) (1)

Bowie 05 (12)

PlayBoy Bat&Art

The Velvet season

Butch & Sundance (Large Unique Painting)

Silver Flowers March 5

Edwina Wishes that Eloise would Stop Playing

Lala Wants to Stay Warm, but...

Panda

Robby

C'est mon Kiki

Jim Morrison

Steve Mcqueen

JM Basquiat

Snoopy in love

Snoopy true love

Cat in love

The Princess

Black And White Marilyn

Kate Blonde

Untitled (Snake) (after Keith Haring)

Dude with sign love

Spaceman Richie

Bitcoin X Shoot the bank

Oh bazaaar !

Samuraicat’s Inkan Resonance , Silver