11 CONTRAST OF ADDITIONAL FLOWERS

We call two colors complementary if their pigments, when mixed, give a neutral gray-black color. In physics, two chromatic lights, which, when mixed, give white light, are also considered complementary. Two complementary colors form a strange pair. They are opposite to each other, but they need one another. Located side by side, they excite each other as much as possible and destroy each other when mixed, forming a gray-black tone, like fire and water. Each color has only one single color that is complementary to it. In the color wheel in Figure 3, the complementary colors are diametrically placed one another. They form the following pairs of additional colors:

• yellow - purple
• yellow-orange - blue-violet
• orange - blue
• red-orange - blue-green
• Red Green
• red-violet - yellow-green.

If we analyze these pairs of complementary colors, we find that they always contain all three primary colors:

• Yellow, red and blue: yellow - purple = yellow, red + blue;
• blue - orange = blue, yellow + red;
• red - green = red, yellow + blue.

Just as a mixture of yellow, red and blue gives gray, so a mixture of two additional colors also turns into a variant of gray.

We can also recall the experience from the “Physics of Color” section, when, with the exclusion of one of the colors of the spectrum, all the other colors, being mixed, gave it an additional color. For each of the colors of the spectrum, the sum of all the others forms its complementary color. Physiologically it is proved that both the phenomenon of residual image and simultaneous contrast illustrate the surprising and still inexplicable fact that in our eyes when one or another color is perceived at the same time, another, balancing its additional color, which in the case of its real absence is spontaneously generated our mind. This phenomenon is very important for all practically working with color. In the section "color harmony" it was found that the law of complementary colors is the basis of compositional harmony, because when it is observed, a feeling of complete balance is created in the eyes.

Complementary colors, in their proportion to the correct ratio, give the product a statically strong basis for action. At the same time, each color remains unchanged in its intensity. The impressions made by the additional colors are identical to the essence of the color itself. This statistical effect of the effect of complementary colors plays a particularly important role for wall painting. However, in addition, each pair of complementary colors has other features. So, a pair of yellow - purple represents not only the contrast of complementary colors, but also a strong contrast of light and dark. Red-orange - blue-green is also not only a couple of complementary colors, but also an extremely strong contrast of cold and warm. Red and additional green are equivalent in their lightness. To better understand the elementary essence of the contrast of complementary colors, we present several of the following exercises.

In Figures 23-28, three pairs of additional colors and their mixtures are presented, allowing to obtain a gray tone. The color gradation of the bands formed by mixing each pair of additional colors is determined by the gradual increase in the amount of color added to the main one. In this case, in the center of each of these rows, a neutral gray appears, which indicates that this pair of colors is optional. If this gray does not work, then the selected colors are not optional. Figure 29 shows the composition of red and green and various modulations that occur when they are mixed. Figure 30 is made up of squares formed by mixing two pairs of additional colors: orange and blue and red-orange and blue-green.

In many paintings, built on the contrasts of complementary colors, these colors are used not only in their actual contrasting qualities, but also form the basis of mixtures, which, on the contrary, serve as a means of tone-equalizing works.

Nature quite often shows us a similar color mix. It can be seen on the stems and leaves of the bushes of red roses while the buds have not yet blossomed. The red color of future roses is mixed here with the green color of the stems and leaves, resulting in beautiful red-gray and green-gray shades.

With the help of two complementary colors, you can get especially beautiful gray colors. The old masters achieved such a color gray, for example, due to the fact that on the main color the opposite color was applied to the main color or the first color layer was covered with the thinnest layer of additional color.

Pointillists sought color gray in another way. They applied pure colors with tiny dots next to each other, and the appearance of the actual gray tone occurred in the eyes of the viewer.

Examples of the use of the contrast of complementary colors are the following pictures: “Madonna of the Chancellor Rolen” by Jan van Eyck (1390-1441), Paris, Louvre; “King Solomon meeting the Queen of Sheba” in Arezzo and the work of Paul Cézanne “Mount Saint-Victor”, Philadelphia, Museum of Art.