Inside Out Library · Explore

The principles of harmony and contrast of colours [electronic resource] : and their applications to the arts

Chevreul, M. E. (Michel Eugène), 1786-1889, Martel, Charles, 1860-1945, translator, Weston-Super-Mare Public Library and Museum, former owner, British Library, donor, University College, London. Library Services · 1890 · London : George Bell and Sons · 8 pictures

Chevreul's 1890 London treatise, translated by Charles Martel, sets out the principles of colour harmony and contrast for artists and designers, drawing on his work as a chemist and dye director. The plates are plain colour charts: pairs of discs with halos, striped swatches, and grids of coloured dots on cream paper, showing how neighbouring hues shift each other. A designer can take from them the simple logic of simultaneous contrast, where a colour looks different depending on its surround.

Ophthalmology · Eye · Color vision · Color Perception

Internet Archive · UCL Library Services, University College London (UCL) · Public domain (published before 1931) · More from this library