Humans have always produced artwork containing vivid and intense colors. We can't help it! Their brightness evokes excitement and feelings of optimism. It grabs our attention, whilst their richness connates strong emotions and ideas. In fact, humans have a biological reason to pay attention to bright and vivid colors, as a survival mechanism to avoid the poisonous plants and dangerous animals that often had these same colors.
Throughout history, our affinity for these colors has been visible within art. For example, in Islamic Art, rich color palettes were often used for tilework and ceramics. Furthermore, though Roman and Greek marble sculptures are often thought of as white, they were in fact painted with bright colors. However, bright colors have not always been well-received: the popularisation of neo-classicism in western art scorned the use of bright colors, branding them as garish and “not of good taste". As such, the 18th and 19th centuries largely saw the decline in the use of these colors.
But this would not be for long, as with the rise of different artistic styles such as Fauvism, abstraction and pop art, bright colors came back into fashion. And thanks to the invention and mass production of synthetic pigments, they were easier than ever for artists to get their hands on.
Color theory is also a crucial concept for artists, who experiment with combinations of complementary and contrasting colors in order to convey certain tones and messages. The importance of color cannot be underestimated as it can completely change an artwork. For example, French painter Claude Monet liked to paint the same subject at different times of day and in different weather in order to explore the effects of different color palettes on the mood of his art.
Whatever color you feel like, Artsper will have the exact tone you're looking for in our selection of bright and vivid colored artworks.
