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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Print, ID Forms, Luc Lapraye

ID Forms

Luc Lapraye

Print - 100 x 100 x 0.5 cm Print - 39.4 x 39.4 x 0.2 inch

$890

Painting, Pull, Richard Lindner

Pull

Richard Lindner

Painting - 33 x 34 x 1 cm Painting - 13 x 13.4 x 0.4 inch

$21,354

Print, Iris, Marie Vandooren

Iris

Marie Vandooren

Print - 70 x 100 cm Print - 27.6 x 39.4 inch

$830

Painting, Fleur II, Yong Chen

Fleur II

Yong Chen

Painting - 80 x 60 x 1 cm Painting - 31.5 x 23.6 x 0.4 inch

$949

Painting, Dark Waves, Nadia NL

Dark Waves

Nadia NL

Painting - 61 x 91.4 x 3.8 cm Painting - 24 x 36 x 1.5 inch

$831

Painting, Sans titre, Pierre Saunier

Sans titre

Pierre Saunier

Painting - 131 x 101 x 3 cm Painting - 51.6 x 39.8 x 1.2 inch

$1,068

Painting, Tokyo, Niki Stearman

Tokyo

Niki Stearman

Painting - 121.9 x 121.9 x 3.3 cm Painting - 48 x 48 x 1.3 inch

$3,300

Print, Untitled, Tanc

Untitled

Tanc

Print - 70 x 70 x 0.2 cm Print - 27.6 x 27.6 x 0.1 inch

$356

Painting, Grove, Steve Traversi

Grove

Steve Traversi

Painting - 101.6 x 40.6 x 3.8 cm Painting - 40 x 16 x 1.5 inch

$2,500

Painting, Sans titre, Irina Dopont

Sans titre

Irina Dopont

Painting - 119 x 80 x 1 cm Painting - 46.9 x 31.5 x 0.4 inch

$949

Painting, Jardin, Juan Li

Jardin

Juan Li

Painting - 47 x 36 x 1 cm Painting - 18.5 x 14.2 x 0.4 inch

$949

Painting, Portrait #11, Giusy Lopez

Portrait #11

Giusy Lopez

Painting - 80 x 80 x 1 cm Painting - 31.5 x 31.5 x 0.4 inch

$819

Painting, Eli, Maxime Bruneel

Eli

Maxime Bruneel

Painting - 115 x 87 x 2 cm Painting - 45.3 x 34.3 x 0.8 inch

$5,339

Painting, Brouillard, Gauthier Bruel

Brouillard

Gauthier Bruel

Painting - 130 x 97 x 4 cm Painting - 51.2 x 38.2 x 1.6 inch

$1,780

Painting, Mer, Li Kang

Mer

Li Kang

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

$1,068 $961

Painting, Composition, Moise Cohen

Composition

Moise Cohen

Painting - 121 x 82 x 0.1 cm Painting - 47.6 x 32.3 x 0 inch

$2,313

Painting, Kaori, Istraille

Kaori

Istraille

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

$1,424

Painting, Nada #4, Linda Bankerd

Nada #4

Linda Bankerd

Painting - 61 x 61 x 3.8 cm Painting - 24 x 24 x 1.5 inch

$725

Painting, Snow Flowers, SA Candela

Snow Flowers

SA Candela

Painting - 150 x 223 x 2 cm Painting - 59.1 x 87.8 x 0.8 inch

$7,711

Painting, Verde 1, Nicolas Maray

Verde 1

Nicolas Maray

Painting - 130 x 195 x 3 cm Painting - 51.2 x 76.8 x 1.2 inch

$23,727

Painting, Lazers, Zione99

Lazers

Zione99

Painting - 80 x 60 x 3.5 cm Painting - 31.5 x 23.6 x 1.4 inch

$629

Design, Iris, Isabelle Hirtzig

Iris

Isabelle Hirtzig

Design - 42 x 30 x 0.1 cm Design - 16.5 x 11.8 x 0 inch

$225

Painting, Street font, Eko 1

Street font

Eko 1

Painting - 98 x 67 x 2 cm Painting - 38.6 x 26.4 x 0.8 inch

$712

Painting, Colate, Giuseppe Fortunato

Colate

Giuseppe Fortunato

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

$2,966

Painting, Alegria II, Michele Morata

Alegria II

Michele Morata

Painting - 91.4 x 61 x 3.8 cm Painting - 36 x 24 x 1.5 inch

$1,900

Painting, Tranquil XI, Soos Tiberiu

Tranquil XI

Soos Tiberiu

Painting - 80 x 140 x 4.1 cm Painting - 31.5 x 55.1 x 1.6 inch

$1,322

Painting, Amazonie, Éric Dubarry

Amazonie

Éric Dubarry

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

$1,780

Painting, Composition, Pierre Mantra

Composition

Pierre Mantra

Painting - 100 x 65 x 3 cm Painting - 39.4 x 25.6 x 1.2 inch

$2,966

Painting, Bar Paris, Guy Olivier

Bar Paris

Guy Olivier

Painting - 60 x 50 x 3 cm Painting - 23.6 x 19.7 x 1.2 inch

$1,898

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