The Colour White

A talk by Dr Gail-Nina Anderson focusing on the particular qualities of the colour white in art

This is the first in a series of talks by Dr Gail-Nina Anderson that focuses not on an artist or a subject, but on the particular qualities of a colour as it has been used in art. The lectures will illustrate the way that colours can come in and out of fashion, play different roles in pictorial composition, display changing cultural and symbolic meanings and become associated with certain painters and artistic movements.

White may seem so basic that we regard it as background rather than colour, but in art it can symbolise purity and represent light. Certain subjects demand it, from fashionably white gowns in Neo-Classical portraiture to dazzling Impressionist snowscapes. It gives us reflective highlights, minimalist abstracts and a wide array of draperies, doves and lilies. The examples discussed will include works by Whistler, Rossetti, Monet, Manet, Malevich and David.

Register to tell a friend about this lecture.

Comments

If you would like to comment about this lecture, please register here.

©2003-2006 Niminim Limited. Created by

Any ad revenue is entirely reinvested into the Lecture List's operating fund