Lesson 3

AGENDA:

History of Light and Colour - Part 2

• Physiology of Human Colour Perception

• Modern Colour Systems

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Unit 1: History of Light & Colour
Ancient Greeks

Middle Ages
Lesson 2

Renaissance

Separation in Colours of Light and Materials

Physiology of Human Perception

Lesson 3

Modern Colour Systems

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 Video 3.1:

Physiology:
Young, Goethe, Maxwell
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 Physiology of Human Colour Perception
Over the approximate period of late 1700s to early 1900s, many artists,
scientists and doctors explored colour from the inner perspective of the
‘viewer’, focusing on the various physiological perception of colour.

Some of the key ideas in their theories were:

• thrichromatic theory of colour vision (Young)

• observing and describing various colour effects such as simultaneous

contrast, coloured shadows, and so on (Goethe)

• light is electromagnetic radiation (Maxwell) → ‘scientific’ nature of light

• colours measured as ratios of red, blue and green light (Maxwell)

• opponent-process theory of colour vision (Hering)

• standardized, widely-accepted 3D colour system for pigments (Munsell)

• 7 types of colour contrasts (Itten)

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 Young: Three Colour Receptors in the Eye
Thomas Young (1773-1829) was an English scientist,
researcher, physician and polymath. In addition to being the
founder of the field of Physiological Optics, he is also famous
for his double-slit experiment, where he showed that
light can behave as a wave.

Around 1802, Young proposed the idea that we see colours not
because the eye has a ‘receptor’ for every minute shade of colour
(characterized by its wavelength), but rather because the eye has only 3
basic colour receptors, sensitive to three specific colours (blue, green and
red). The perception of all other colours is created from the mixture of these
basic three colours.

Although the existence of these 3 receptors would not be confirmed

until about 160 year later (in 1960s), his work founded the Trichromatic
Theory of Vision, which was further developed by Helmholtz.
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 Goethe: Inner Experience of Colour Effects
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832), famous for his
poetry, also made great contributions to the study of colour
experience, by publishing his work on colour in a 2,000 page
document called ‘Theory of Colours’, in 1810.

Goethe sought to understand the

inner physiological experience of colours:

• derive laws of colour harmony (eg. in paintings)

• characterize colours and their physiological

effects on us (eg: yellow is an ‘exciting’ colour)

• describe in detail various colour effects

Goethe’s colour wheels (eg: coloured shadows, simultaneous contrast)
and views of ‘distorted’ colour vision

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Maxwell: Light is Electromagnetic Radiation
Maxwell (1831-1879) was a Scottish physicist and
mathematician who made a profound contribution to the
world of physics when he unified electricity and magnetism,
as complementary aspects of electromagnetism.

Maxwell was also the first to postulate that light itself was a form of
electromagnetic radiation.

In addition to his work to unify electromagnetism and describing light as a

form of EM radiation, Maxwell has also contributed extensively to colour
theory, through numerous experiments with spinning colour disks.

In general, his ‘Theory of Colour Vision’ (published in 1859, at age of 28)

has been acknowledged as the origin of colorimetry: the quantitative
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measurement of colour.
 Maxwell: Ratios of R, G, B
Following Newton’s work of studying colours of
light, and Young’s theories of three basic colour
receptors in the human eye, he proposed that
all colour mixtures can be predicted as
mathematical ratios of the amount of red,
blue and green present in a given hue.

To figure out the exact R,G,B

ratios of each colour in his
triangular colour system,
Maxwell experimented with
‘spinning colour disks’, which
relied on the optical mixing of
colours by the eye, when the
disks were spun rapidly. 8
 Video 3.2:
Physiology:
Hering, Munsell, Itten

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 Hering: Opponent-Process Theory of Colour Vision
Ewald Hering (1834-1918) was a German physiologist, who
worked extensively in the fields of colour vision and spatial
perception.
Hering believed that instead of 3
elementary colours that the eye could
see, we had 4 perceptually-opponent
colours – red, blue, green and yellow –
along with two additional sensors for
white-black. He published his principles
in Theory of Sensitivity of Light in 1878.

Hering proposed that our perception of colour comes from processes of

comparing ‘opposite colours’: red vs. green, yellow vs. blue; and white (light) vs.
black (dark). This would become the Opponent Process Theory of Vision,
which is today accepted as the correct interpretation of colour-processing. 10
 Munsell: Objective Colour Specification
Albert Munsell (1858-1918) was an American painter and
teacher of art, who in 1905 produced one of the most widely-
accepted 3D colour system for objectively classifying
surface (pigment) colours, still used today in many countries.

(FYI: Munsell Color Science Laboratory at Rochester Institute of Technology)

Munsell used 3 parameters

to specify colour:

• hue (‘colour’)
• value (brightness)
• chroma (saturation)

In this system, any ‘colour’ can be uniquely identified with three distinct
numbers for hue, value and chroma, eliminating ‘subjective colour names’. 11
 ‘Munsell Colour Tree’: Un-Symmetrical

Munsell Colour Tree Munsell Colour Solid Pure Hues in the

Munsell Colour Solid

Note that it is not a ‘perfectly symmetrical colour body’ like Runge’s

3D colour sphere. Each ‘leaf’ is not of equal length from the centre,
showing that hues can achieve different saturation and brightness levels,
and in different number of ‘gradation steps’. Also notice that the ‘pure
hues’ (i.e. most saturated) do not all occur at equal values (brightness).

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 Itten: 7 Types of Colour Contrasts
Johannes Itten (1888-1967) was a Swiss painter, designer, teacher,
writer and theorist with the Bauhaus school of modernist
architecture in Germany (early part of the 20th century).

Itten taught and trained many artists and designers,

becoming one of the most influential figures in
colour theory of the 20th century.

In addition to teaching about materials

characteristics, composition and colour, he also
strongly emphasized the artist’s awareness of
the 7 types of colour contrasts: Hue, Light-
Dark, Cold-Warm, Complementary,
Simultaneous, Saturation, and Extension.
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 Johannes Itten: ‘The Art of Color’
In 1974, Itten published the famous ‘The Art of Color: The Subjective
Experience and Objective Rationale of Color ’ book, which essentially retells the
‘Basic Course’ of color and design he taught at the Bauhaus School.

‘The Elements of Color’ is a condensed version of the original (and is available

on reserve at the library).

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 Video 3.3:
Modern Colour Systems:
Munsell, CMY, RGB

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 Modern Colour Systems
Since the early 1900s, a variety of extensive, 3-dimensional colour systems
have been developed, each best-suited for a particular purpose – print
reproduction (surface colours), digital display (light colours), representing colour
sensitivity ranges of the human eye (cones), or mapping of the perceptual
colours of the opponent-processes (brain).

Some of the major modern colour systems and their features are:

• Munsell Colour System (pigments/paints – surface colours)

• CMY Subtractive Colour System (printing inks – surface colours)

• RGB Additive Colour System (monitor displays – light colours)

• CIE 1931 Colour System (range of colour sensitivities of the human eye)

• CIE 1976 L*a*b Colour System (perceptual colours, based on the Opponent
Process Theory)
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 What is a Colour System?
Colour system: a system to organize and classify colours individually, as
well as describe their relationship to each other. Sometimes also called a
colour model, and/or colour space.

A colour system is usually based on a number of parameters to describe

colour attributes (eg: hue, value, chroma/saturation).

Example:
Munsell Colour System
is used to uniquely
identify distinct colours of
pigments and other
surface materials, using
Hue, Value, Chroma.

It is internationally recognized as a colour-

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standard in the US, England, Germany, Japan.
CMY: Theoretical Subtractive Colour System
This colour system describes how surface colours
like paints and inks in the printing press are produced
through the MIXING of the three theoretical
subtractive primaries: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow.

Colours are mixed on a physical surface, resulting in one

‘final’ colour seen by the eye.

The rest of the colours are mixed subtractively from these primaries: the
more colours we mix together, the darker the specific resultant colour will
be (intensity of colour is subtracted through mixing). All three CMY
primaries combined together should produce pure black in the middle
(according to the theory), but in reality it is often not a ‘pure’ black.
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 RGB: Theoretical Additive Mixing
This colour system describes how light colours like
monitor displays, stage lights, etc. are produced
through the MIXING of the three theoretical
additive primaries: Red, Green, Blue.

Colours are mixed in the brain, based on the wavelength-intensity information

detected by the three cones in our eyes. Note that the three primaries were
chosen to best correspond to the peak wavelength sensitivity of each cone.

The rest of the colours are mixed additively from these primaries: the more
colours we add together, the brighter the specific resultant colour will be
(intensity of colour is added/increased through mixing). All three primaries
combined together produce white in the middle. 19
 Video 3.4:
Modern Colour Systems:
CIE 1931, CIE L*a*b,
Photoshop
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 CIE (1931): Range of Colour Sensitivities of the Eye
In 1931, the CIE ("Commission International d'Eclairage") produced a ‘Colour
Standard Table’, which has been accepted as an international standard to the
present times (although some variations and modifications to it have been
adopted in several newer versions). It is based on measurements of colour
sensitivities by the ‘average’ human eye, under ‘standard’ lighting conditions
(midday outdoor sunlight).

Also known as the ‘CIE chromaticity

diagram’, it lists spectral hues (colours)
along its perimeter (by wavelength).

The horseshoe shape represents the

gamut of all colours that the average
human eye can see.
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 CIELAB (or, CIE 1976 L*a*b): Revised Version
CIELAB was designed to better reflect the logarithmic nature of how the
human eyes responds to changes in brightness. (This was a problem with
the ‘master’ CIE colour space designed in 1931, which used a linear scale
of brightness changes).

It is designed as a 3D system, where any given

colour is specified by 3 parameters:

L = lightness (0 for black, 100 for white)

*a = its position between red and green
*b = its position between yellow and blue

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 CIELAB (or, CIE 1976 L*a*b)
The 3D system can be shown in 2D ‘slices’ if
the particular lightness (L) value is specified.

L=75%

L=50%

L=25%

Note that the red-green, blue-yellow axes also resemble the opponent-
process colours used in physiological perception of colour; the system is
based on the opponent-colour theory. 23
Photoshop: Fluent in Several Colour System
Colours can be
specified by various
colour systems.

For example, in
Photoshop, any given
colour can be
specified in:

•HSB
• L*a*b
•RGB
•CMYK
• html code (ID #)
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Conclusion of the ‘History of Light and Colour’ Unit:
The Quest for the ‘Right’ Colour System
Through the numerous attempts over the past 2,000 years or so, by many
people with different backgrounds, biases and goals, all trying to find the one
true, ‘right’ colour system we have found, so far, that it does not exist.

The colour system of choice seems to be most driven by the final purpose of its
application. While research continues into getting a more comprehensive
understanding of colour both objectively and subjectively, perhaps the best ‘last
word’ on our current position in ‘understanding colour’ was given by Itten:

"If it be imagined that this systematic classification of colors and

contrasts banishes all difficulties, I should add that the kingdom of
colors has within it multidimensional possibilities only partly to be
reduced to simple order. Each individual color is a universe in itself. We
must therefore content ourselves with an exposition of fundamentals." 25
 Further References
1. The Virtual Colour Museum: http://www.colorsystem.com/
(Colour order systems in art and science – see articles in left frame).

2. Colour Vision and Art at Web Exhibits:

http://www.webexhibits.org/colorart/

3. Article: “Books on Color Science & Color Theory” on the HandPrint website:
http://handprint.com/HP/WCL/book3.html

4. Article: “Color: An Investigation” in the Digital Web Magazine:

http://www.digital-web.com/articles/color_an_investigation/

5. Pioneers in Optical Science from Molecular Expressions:

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http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/optics/timeline/people/index.html