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

Sans titre

The Bruiser

Sans titre

Set of 8 AD 026

Boris

Architectures

Mews

Âlif - Clou cristal

Knave of Sticks

Bird

Artistic colorful vase

Saint Moreil

Arctic Area

Smoker in Black

Portrait of Woman

Fountain of the Turtles

Bird

Sleeping

Sans Titre

Sketch

Servizio Per Porto Plate for Martini & Rossi

Carro Vinario Plate for Martini & Rossi

Porron Plate for Martini & Rossi

Rhyton Plate for Martini & Rossi

Trozzella Plate for Martini & Rossi

Monde Joyeux

Sans Titre

Sans titre

Washing machine

Mr Hope king Love

Without title

Tête de Ventasuso

Talisman

Neon IV

DULCINEA

Iguazu

Taos III

Jeux de dame

Schwurhand: Frau rennt weg mit Gehirn

Figure assise, le bras droit appuye sur une table (Seated Figure)

Prêtresse - Format L

Hommage to Heinrich Fuseli

Aquarelle graphique 7

Castore - Plate 1

Nuée de neige

Paleurs

Mechanic Body

Nude

Nude of woman

Nude - 9

Nude - 3

Eros and Thanatos

Nude Profile

Figures

Plate

Confrontation

Nude of Boy

Woman in despair (print) (1/5)

Nude

Oinochoe Plate for Martini & Rossi

Figure

Nude

Vénus buste Noir, buste Blanc

Amy Winehouse (S)

Gunslinger Silhouette

Jean Shrimpton London Streets (M)