Color is an integral part of our visual experience. And when you think of color theory, the first thing that comes to mind is the color wheel.
But did you know through the course of history, the color spectrum was not always represented in the form of a wheel, but a hexagon, sphere, triangle, and more?
At WordLayout, we developed a comprehensive Chart to capture the history and evolution of color wheels through the ages. From the ancient symbolic understanding of color in Greco-Roman times to the modern RGB color models used in digital designs, this Chart is a visual aid for artists and designers who want to learn more about the origins and development of the color wheel.
We highlight the work of 10 scientists and artists who have contributed to modern understandings of color, with each segment telling the story of how our understanding has evolved.
In the following sections, we discuss each segment:
Aristotle (384 BCE)
For millennia, it was believed that all colors were a mixture of black and while – a theory first posited by Greek philosopher, Aristotle.
As the earliest known theory of color, it has been illustrated in the first segment of our Chart using black and white hexagons. Aristotle’s view of color formation as the interplay of lightness and darkness was not exactly based on principles of science, but a philosophical conception of color in relation to the four elements of nature – earth, fire, water and air.
Leonardo da Vinci (1500-1600)
Fast-forward to the 1400s, a time of cultural rebirth in Europe following the Middle Ages – with famous Renaissance artists like Leonardo Da Vinci introducing new artistic techniques and traditions.
Da Vinci’s work on the interplay of light and shadow as they define 3-D objects had a major influence on artists, even to this day. While he never specifically used or created a formal color wheel, his studies and observations of light, shadow, and color became a foundation for later developments in color theory.
Aron Sigfrid Forsius (1611)
But perhaps the first step to a more scientific understanding of color can be traced back to the Finnish astronomer – Aron Sigfrid Forsius.
In the early 1600s, Forsius devised a diagram showing colors by virtue of how light or dark they were. He picked five main colors sandwiched between white and black – red, yellow, green, blue, and gray, each graded as being closer to one or the other.
Our layout helps you visualize the relationships between these colors as understood by Forsius, as well as how they vary in shade and tone to create 25 different color variations.
Isaac Newton (1686)
Despite Forsuis’s special ordering of colors, it wasn’t until Isaac Newton that the first truly scientific color wheel was created.
While placing a prism in front of a beam of sunlight, Newton was able to show that natural white light was actually made of a range of hues (or color families): red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. This newly discovered rainbow color spectrum was organized into a wheel, and published in his 1704 book, ‘Opticks’.
Newton’s color wheel defines color as a component of light rather than pigment with each color defined by its wavelength on the natural light spectrum. By dividing colors into primary, secondary (formed by mixing primary colors) and tertiary colors (created by mixing primary and secondary colors) – Newton laid down the groundwork for future developments in color theory.
Moses Harris (1766)
After the publication of Newton’s Opticks, other scientists such as Moses Harris Developed color wheels of their own.
While Newton may have given us the first Color Wheel, in 1776, Harris gave us the first working model of a color system capturing tints and shades. His model was based on the concept of complementary colors (colors opposite each other on the wheel) that enhance each other’s intensity when paired. This led to a more effective way of understanding color harmony and contrast in art and design.
Tobias Mayer (1775)
If you look at Segment 6 of our downloadable chart, you won’t find a circle – but a triangle made of hexagonal units. This unique design by Tobias Mayer offers an angular alternative to Newton’s circular color wheel.
Basically, you can fill up each corner of the triangle with one of the three primary colors (Red – Blue – Yellow). Now mix the opposing colors to join the corners. By stacking triangles of varying brightnesses on top of one another, you can produce multiple versions of this triangle.
This method allows an understanding of color based on its placement in three dimensions, a method employed by designers and artists to this day.
Philip Otto Runge (1800)
Runge was the first to advance a spherical understanding of color. This was a major shift from the traditional color wheel because it emphasized gradations in both brightness (lightness/darkness) and saturation (intensity of color).
As shown in our Chart, Runge arranged the three primary colors around the equator of a sphere. Towards both poles, Runge added shadings that graduated towards black and white. This 3-D approach allowed for a more holistic understanding of how colors behave in a spatial context, as well as how humans perceive color in real life.
Mayer Gartside (1808)
Mary Gartside is widely credited to be the first woman to publish on color theory, at least in the Western world.
In her 1808 work, An Essay on a New Theory of Colors, her radical approach to color took the art world by storm. Inspired by the use of new pigments in Europe at the time, she used small color chips or abstract ‘blots’ to show the various shades and tints of each pigment.
Unlike Newtown who worked on the immaterial colors of light, Gartside was more interested in the practicalities of actually mixing physical pigments on a palette. As a visual reference guide, Gartside’s work is still extremely useful in teaching color theory, as it makes the complexities of color mixing more accessible and understandable.
Michel Eugène Chevreul
The color wheel in Segment 9 was developed in 1839 by a French chemist, Michel Eugène Chevreul. Being an expert on textile dyes, Chvreul developed a 72-color chromatic wheel, showing not only primary, secondary and tertiary colors, but also different brightness levels.
In particular, Chevreul was interested in the optical effects of color and how they interact with one another. He claimed that it was not the dyes, but the placement of colors next to one another, that made them appear more or less vibrant.
Demonstrating the effects of color juxtaposition, Chevreul’s insights can enhance the overall visual and emotional impact of color in art, helping artists create compositions that use color in a more impactful way.
James Clerk Maxwell (1931)
In 1861 Scottish physicist James Maxwell produced the earliest known color photograph. Ever since, Maxwell’s ideas have been essential for understanding modern color theory, particularly in fields like photography, television, and digital design.
But what did Maxwell do differently? Firstly, Maxwell used Red, Green and Blue as his primary colors as opposed to the traditional Red, Yellow and Blue. He then mixed these color in varying proportions to produce light of every other color by changing the amount of each on the wheel and spinning it.
By integrating scientific analysis with artistic application, Maxwell’s work became the foundation for the modern RGB color model used in creating designs for electronic and digital devices like TV’s, computers and smartphones.
Who Can Benefit From this Chart?
Our comprehensive Chart design seeks to unify the historical color wheels into one cohesive visual narrative. From beginners to color theory, professional graphic designers and painters to art historians and even hobbyists – our Chart is a helpful and useful tool for those who seek to understand the evolution of color theory over time.
We also provide blank Charts as resource material for art & design instructors to share with students who are still new to the theory and science of color. Our Chart can serve as a useful tool for them to learn basic color mixing, complements, and contrasts.
Do note that color combinations and schemes in these charts may vary significantly based on the medium used (e.g., watercolor, acrylic, digital) and the color model (e.g., CMYK, RGB, HSL). Additionally, display settings (such as night mode and resolution) can affect color appearance. Always test colors in your specific context for accurate results.
If you are looking for an interactive online tool to familiarize yourself with color wheels, try The Interactive Color Wheel.
Our free, print-ready, and easy-to-download Chart is available in both PDF and ADOBE formats.
