The effect and meaning of colors in connection with the human psyche have been studied frequently and intensively. Everyone has certain sensations when they see a red, a blue, or a yellow. However, the quality of an individual color changes in its context. In addition, there is not just one red, but many different shades of red, depending on the mixing ratio with other colors and the effect of light. There are, however, associations that have general validity, largely due to centuries of tradition in the respective cultures. Check while learning the meaning of colors in a painting.
The meaning of the colors in detail
The meaning of the different colors can change depending on the combinations and gradations in which they are used. The characterizations refer to the European cultural area. In other parts of the world, colors are classified quite differently. For example, white is associated with death in some cultures in Asia. People can also have individually different ideas due to certain experiences.
The general acceptance of the meaning of colors
- Black – sadness, darkness, sorrow, isolation, hopelessness, pessimism but also elegance and dignity
- White – purity, innocence, clarity, perfection, cleanliness, but also cold, inaccessibility
- Gray – sadness, boredom, insecurity, neutrality, despair, shadow, as well as simplicity and objectivity
- Red – love, passion, fire, warmth, blood, dynamism, danger, revenge, aggressiveness, anger, brutality
- Orange – joie de vivre, energy, warmth, optimism, as well as intrusiveness, excess, not serious
- Yellow – sun, warmth, happiness, strength, cheerfulness, knowledge, and reason, but also envy, resentment, betrayal, greed, selfishness
- Green – nature, calm, harmony, hope, security, balance, immortality, in the negative sense envy, indifference, standstill, immaturity
- Blue – sky, calm, infinity, spirituality, soul, loyalty, freshness, as well as sadness, fear, negligence
- Violet – mysticism, dignity, magic, religiosity, inspiration, respect, arrogance, pride, need for harmony
- Pink – romance, love, longing, kitsch
- Beige – inconspicuousness, convention, boredom
- Brown – earth, strength, heaviness, comfort, conformity
- Gold – wealth, power, elegance, decadence
- Silver – wealth, purity, simplicity, elegance, modernity
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The meanings could certainly be expanded to include a number of terms per color. Painting is also about trying out effects, trying out new combinations over and over again, until you have found your own style and your own range of meanings. This also applies to a certain extent to lifelike images and certainly to more abstract creations.