The “Geometry” of Matyushin’s Color Triads: Mapping Color Combinations from the Reference Book of Color in CIELAB

Abstract

This study analyzes the color combinations composed by the Russian avant-garde artist Mikhail Matyushin and his disciples for the Reference Book of Color (1932), summarizing their experimental research on the psychophysiology of color perception. Having extracted 90 colors from the 34 hand-painted charts of the book’s first edition, we mapped these colors into CIELAB and CIELCh color space to identify their chromatic characteristics (hue, lightness, and chroma) and their combination criteria. We demonstrate graphically that each of Matyushin’s color triads has a similar “geometry” in CIELAB color space and on the color circle, with the “intermediary” color much closer to the environment background color than to the main color. We conclude that the revealed patterns of these relationships are identical in all four sections of the Reference Book and reflect underlying principles of Mathyshin’s theory of color as well as fundamental aspects of human perception. The analysis presented in this paper will facilitate opportunities for artists, architects, designers, and other color professionals to use Matyushin’s original color charts and incorporate Matyushin’s style in creating their own triads.