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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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Print, Paint In Black, Mr Sly

Paint In Black

Mr Sly

Print - 42 x 42 x 0.2 cm Print - 16.5 x 16.5 x 0.1 inch

$405

Painting, Collection, Samuel Bloch

Collection

Samuel Bloch

Painting - 165 x 200 x 3 cm Painting - 65 x 78.7 x 1.2 inch

$2,890

Fine Art Drawings, Untitled, Montserrat Gudiol

Untitled

Montserrat Gudiol

Fine Art Drawings - 64 x 48 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 25.2 x 18.9 x 0 inch

$4,392

Sculpture, Silver Wind, Bret Reilly

Silver Wind

Bret Reilly

Sculpture - 142.2 x 50.8 x 149.9 cm Sculpture - 56 x 20 x 59 inch

$19,000

Painting, Les Pensées, Nèle Nèle

Les Pensées

Nèle Nèle

Painting - 100 x 81 x 4 cm Painting - 39.4 x 31.9 x 1.6 inch

$2,312

Print, Le Banc, Abram Topor

Le Banc

Abram Topor

Print - 43 x 50.5 x 0.2 cm Print - 16.9 x 19.9 x 0.1 inch

$173

Photography, Sans 1, Lucien Hervé

Sans 1

Lucien Hervé

Photography - 40 x 30 cm Photography - 15.7 x 11.8 inch

$3,468

Photography, Full tilt, Richard Kelley

Full tilt

Richard Kelley

Photography - 120 x 80 x 4 cm Photography - 47.2 x 31.5 x 1.6 inch

$665

Print, El sueño, Mela Ferrer

El sueño

Mela Ferrer

Print - 50 x 65 x 0.1 cm Print - 19.7 x 25.6 x 0 inch

$385

Print, Untitled, Mario Bedini

Untitled

Mario Bedini

Print - 80.5 x 60.5 cm Print - 31.7 x 23.8 inch

$462

Photography, Humility, Marek Pindroch

Humility

Marek Pindroch

Photography - 50 x 70 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 27.6 x 0 inch

$202

Fine Art Drawings, The winner, Will Street

The winner

Will Street

Fine Art Drawings - 35.56 x 27.94 x 0.2 cm Fine Art Drawings - 14 x 11 x 0.1 inch

$405

Photography, VI 04-22, Riccardo Varini

VI 04-22

Riccardo Varini

Photography - 30 x 45 x 1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 17.7 x 0.4 inch

$1,734

Photography, Chapeau, Denis Morel

Chapeau

Denis Morel

Photography - 20 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography - 7.9 x 11.8 x 0 inch

$509

Painting, Zen colors 020, Ckraft

Zen colors 020

Ckraft

Painting - 80 x 60 x 4 cm Painting - 31.5 x 23.6 x 1.6 inch

$2,774

Print, Untitled, Lázaro Ferré

Untitled

Lázaro Ferré

Print - 50 x 50 x 0.1 cm Print - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch

$257

Print, Untitled, Eslava

Untitled

Eslava

Print - 50 x 65 cm Print - 19.7 x 25.6 inch

$257

Print, Untitled, Rosa Agenjo

Untitled

Rosa Agenjo

Print - 61 x 46 cm Print - 24 x 18.1 inch

$462

Painting, Espuma, Sandra Renzi

Espuma

Sandra Renzi

Painting - 65 x 92 x 2 cm Painting - 25.6 x 36.2 x 0.8 inch

$2,890

Painting, Zone A, Pi.R

Zone A

Pi.R

Painting - 92 x 73 x 2 cm Painting - 36.2 x 28.7 x 0.8 inch

$809

Painting, Domenica, Pipi Pírez

Domenica

Pipi Pírez

Painting - 81 x 100 x 3.5 cm Painting - 31.9 x 39.4 x 1.4 inch

$4,080

Sculpture, Sans titre, Eddy Firmin

Sans titre

Eddy Firmin

Sculpture - 85.7 x 29.8 x 12.7 cm Sculpture - 33.75 x 11.75 x 5 inch

$2,081

Print, Lou, Lou Doillon

Lou

Lou Doillon

Print - 76 x 56 cm Print - 29.9 x 22 inch

$636

Photography, Courant I, Julie Pluss

Courant I

Julie Pluss

Photography - 30 x 45 x 0.5 cm Photography - 11.8 x 17.7 x 0.2 inch

$439

Painting, Ennio, Art'No

Ennio

Art'No

Painting - 61 x 50 x 3 cm Painting - 24 x 19.7 x 1.2 inch

$913

Fine Art Drawings, The Magician, Jean Effel

The Magician

Jean Effel

Fine Art Drawings - 17 x 13.5 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 6.7 x 5.3 x 0 inch

$231

Photography, Madison Man, Ian Wallace

Madison Man

Ian Wallace

Photography - 50.8 x 40.64 x 0.1 cm Photography - 20 x 16 x 0 inch

$1,734

Fine Art Drawings, N°7, Lætitia Disone

N°7

Lætitia Disone

Fine Art Drawings - 40 x 30 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 15.7 x 11.8 x 0 inch

$3,468

Photography, Maestria, Luz

Maestria

Luz

Photography - 40 x 60 x 0.03 cm Photography - 15.7 x 23.6 x 0 inch

$1,387

Print, Marx, Manuel Boix

Marx

Manuel Boix

Print - 65 x 50 x 0.1 cm Print - 25.6 x 19.7 x 0 inch

$462

Photography, Reflection, Dr Sanjay Arora

Reflection

Dr Sanjay Arora

Photography - 40 x 60 x 2 cm Photography - 15.7 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch

$3,063

Design, Voiles (1), Alice Aladjem

Voiles (1)

Alice Aladjem

Design - 150 x 90 x 25 cm Design - 59.1 x 35.4 x 9.8 inch

$3,294

Sculpture, De Lulu 02, Low Bros

De Lulu 02

Low Bros

Sculpture - 40 x 10 x 10 cm Sculpture - 15.7 x 3.9 x 3.9 inch

$3,236

Painting, Dike, Gianluca Fascetto

Dike

Gianluca Fascetto

Painting - 111 x 50 x 1 cm Painting - 43.7 x 19.7 x 0.4 inch

$1,087

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