The Simultaneous Contrast of Colors and Its Application in the Art Analysis

Abstract

The phenomenon of simultaneous contrast of colors is examined in terms of optical explanation and practical recommendations for artists. But there is a lack of research that explores the results of the application of this contrast to the works of art. This article is dedicated to stylistic analysis of the role of simultaneous contrast in paintings and graphic works. In the first part of the research the reasons and mechanism of mutual influence of adjacent colors are examined on the basis of M. Chevreul’s research “The Law of Simultaneous Contrast of Colors” which explains the optical nature of the contrast by changes in visual perception of the light rays reflected by colored objects. The second part of the article explores the application of this theory to the stylistic analysis of painting and graphic arts. The use of different variations of simultaneous contrast and its consequences for the perception of the images were analyzed on the examples of art works of Titian, artist of J. Tintoretto’s circle, P. P. Rubens, T. Gainsborough, H. Daumier, V. van Gogh, R. Delaunay, M. Vrubel, M. Nesterov, T. Shevchenko, O. Murashko. It allowed to determine the range of artistic problems that simultaneous contrast helps to solve. This artistic device enriches the color scheme, makes it more complex and provokes vibrating, changeful color effect which can have aesthetic and meaningful value. Simultaneous contrast is widely used to balance cold and warm colors and to compensate the missing or poorly manifested component of the color scheme. It is also the instrument for emphasizing the reflexes and shadows on the depicted objects, for creating more convincing and holistic spatial sense in the image. This contrast can play a big role in concretization of the coloristic and material characteristics of different objects. The examples analyzed in this article do not comprise all the variability of simultaneous contrast, they are the basis for further extension of the research.