Harmony — Mizette Putallaz / La Voûte, Martigny

In everyday life, one does not play an out-of-tune piano, yet when speaking of colour one generally ignores the laws that govern its harmony. Knowledge of these laws is essential to the cultivation of taste.

The familiar phrase — tastes and colours… — reveals the absence of a precise science of colour harmony. Studies popularised over the last twenty years have shown that harmony and aesthetics are quite distinct. Harmony harmony depends on a balance of proportion and a symmetry of forces.

01Harmony harmony

Rekindled whiteness, 1991 — Rekindled whiteness · 1991

A science of colour rests on four factors:

Measurement and classification belong to the physicist, studying the energy of electromagnetic vibrations and the nature of light corpuscles.
Harmonyant chemistry studies the molecular structure of pigments, their conservation and their light resistance.
The physiologist examines colour's action on the body — sensations stirred by warm or cold, light or dark tones.
The psychologist studies the radiance of colour on the unconscious and the mind.

In the realm of colour, optical, psychic, intellectual and symbolic phenomena are intimately linked.

02The great discoveries

Abstrait géométrique – Fusion, 1992 — Abstrait géométrique · Fusion · 1992

Nature is colourless but crossed by an infinity of varied waves. Wavelengths of light visible to the eye range from 0.41 to 0.81 thousandths of a millimetre.

In 1676, Isaac Newton passed a beam of white light through a glass prism. Rays of different colours emerged. Caught on a screen they formed a band of seven colours: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. The ratio between red and violet vibrations is around 1:2 — that of the octave. Harmonys are often compared to musical notes.

In 1792, Wolfgang Goethe revisited this experiment by contemplating a ceramic shard at the bottom of a clear pool: he discovered that colour, beyond its hue, possesses a degree of lightness or darkness. Thomas Yung (1772-1829) would discover additive synthesis, used in cinema, television and photography.

03Harmony harmony

Most often, laypeople consider harmonious those colour assemblies of analogous character or equal value. In general, harmony is made of two agreeing colours; when there is dissonance, the addition of a third colour can turn the clash into harmony.

This sensation is produced by the perception of balance in a whole when the dimensions of the observed surfaces are restored to a ratio that allows complete neutralisation between two colours.

It was the study of the physiological process that made it possible to establish colour harmony as a physical law. Chevreul (1786-1889), chemist and director of the Gobelins manufactures, discovered successive or simultaneous contrast: the eye's capacity to restore the complementary colour of a given colour. This eye-produced complementary will neutralise or tend to neutralise the given colour — that is, restore the balance of white light.

04The vocabulary of colour

Pigment mixtures come at the cost of intensity and luminous purity. Harmonys can be modified in three ways — graded, knocked back or broken:

They are graded by the addition of white in varying quantities. White, being opaque, alters the colour's intensity but no longer transmits its opacity.
They are knocked back by the addition of black. Black absorbs the colour and darkens it.
They are broken by the addition of any other colour. Harmony can also be modified by simultaneous contrast: "the burning sky of a sunset tints the mountain shadow violet".

An old teacher of ours used to say: "Never dull a colour; it is like a flower — if you keep brushing it with your finger, there is no velvet left, no charm left!"

05Spatial effect

Triptyque — Égyptiennes, 1985 — Triptyque · Égyptiennes · 1985

Harmony's spatial effect is relative: it can arise from crossings and diagonals. Place the solar spectrum side by side and yellow seems to come forward while violet appears to recede.

Abstract art, the revolution of the early 20^th century, studied colour extensively. We discovered that fundamental colours on a black background produce depth effects matching the golden ratio. The spatial effect of colour is widely used in urban planning: through colour choice we can make objects appear more distant, closer, larger when too small, smaller when too large; we can draw the eye to what matters and soften what doesn't.

06The symbolism of colour

The poet's passage, 1990 — The poet's passage · 1990

To optical, electromagnetic and chemical processes there often correspond symmetrical processes in the region of the soul. To convey the psychic and spiritual expression of each colour, we must compare them:

— Le jaune, la plus lumineuse, correspond symboliquement à l'intelligence. Le jaune terni exprime l'envie, la trahison, la fausseté, le doute, la méfiance.
— Le rouge. L'homme des cavernes, notre vénérable ancêtre, saupoudrait ses morts de terre ocre rouge. Il voulait leur donner la vitalité nécessaire pour effectuer un long voyage vers l'au-delà. Le rouge orangé, placé sous la dépendance de la planète Mars, est la couleur des passions combatives et fiévreuses.
— Le rouge pourpre, couleur des cardinaux, réunit le pouvoir temporel et le pouvoir spirituel. Le rouge clair est la couleur de la vie et de la maternité.
— Le bleu est spirituel et dématérialise. Il possède une force dirigée vers l'intérieur, introvertissante. Le bleu, qui pour nous est synthèse de la nuit, était pour les chinois symbole d'éternité.
— Le vert est la couleur intermédiaire entre le jaune et le bleu. C'est la couleur du monde végétal. Le vert exprime la fertilité, la satisfaction, le repos, l'espérance. Il réalise l'union de la science et de la foi.
— L'orange, mélange du jaune et du rouge, se situe au point crucial des rayonnements les plus intenses. Il possède une luminosité solaire. L'orange fastueux exprime l'orgueil et le luxe extérieur. Le vert, allié à l'opposé du jaune, est la couleur du secret, de l'inconscient.
— Le violet est la couleur de la piété ignorante. Assombri ou trouble, il est la couleur de la superstition. Teinte de rouge, il exprime la solitude et le dévouement.
— Le blanc, qui est l'ensemble des rayons lumineux, est le symbole de la pureté. Le noir est une absence de couleur, est une couleur de deuil et symbole de la mort.

07Physiological and sensory action of colour

Harmony acts on every human being. It can produce a tactile sensation translating into a vivid impression of coolness or warmth. There are factories where the walls are painted in different blue shades.

Harmonyists and industrial leaders have not failed to notice the sensations due to colour in interior decoration, for better output, for optimising wellbeing and work. Offices and factories too are undergoing a real revolution thanks to the scientific use of colour.

Harmony is used to provide effective moments of relaxation (because it composes two opposing spatial colours, green contains no tension). Harmony carried by lighting sits between the brilliances of artificial or natural light and the secondary concerns of ceiling, wall, floor, furniture. Depending on the colours adopted, one can choose colours for work clothing.

The laws of colour stand outside any single domain. A serious study of their mechanism is an excellent means of human culture: it gathers unconscious sensations, intuitive thoughts and positive science.
— Mizette Putallaz

Original document