Itten Johannes is an artist from Switzerland, a researcher of color art. He is a leading teacher of the world famous Bauhaus. Johannes was born in 1888, and died in 1967. This man is a connoisseur of classics and modern trends in European art. In addition, he owns knowledge in the field of Indian and Chinese philosophy, culture. The book "The Art of Color" was written based on the artist's observations of natural colors and works of art of different nations. The book examines the laws of color contrast, harmony and design. It is intended to broaden one's horizons and gain new knowledge, visions from artists, architects and designers.
The significance of the book
Itten is considered the largest representative of innovators among artists and architects in the history of culture of the twentieth century. In the famous Bauhaus, the name of Johannes Itten is listed along with Gropius, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Kandinsky, Klee and other avant-garde artists. The book "The Art of Color" (Itten) is a long-term experience of the author's own research, his lectures, and practical skills. It is devoted to the problems of color rendering and color perception, and has been published more than once in different languages (German, French, English, Italian, Japanese and others). The work gained immense popularity and began to be studied as an educational resource in the programs of various art schools around the world. The interest of the book lies in the fact that it is rich in observations of the natural manifestations of color, the application of its properties in culture and art.
Description
The book is aphoristic. It reveals to the reader a system of accurate knowledge of the color scheme. It also reveals the thoughts that are characteristic of each creative person about the structure of the universe and human nature. The book "The Art of Color" (Itten) is a huge success and is of interest to specialists in various fields where skills and abilities, professional knowledge of artists, designers, architects and other creative professions are needed. It will also be of interest to any reader interested in color harmony.
Content
The contents of the book include sections on the physics of color, its effects, harmony, and subjective attitude towards it. The following are design aspects (color design), color circles, types of color contrasts (seven contrasts: color, light and dark, cold and warm, complementary colors, simultaneous contrast, saturation, area of color spots), color mixing, color ball, harmony of colors, color forms, color spatial effects. And in conclusion, the book "The Art of Color" (Itten) contains a description of the theory of color impressions, color expressiveness and composition. The author of the book created a unique system of training artists. He noted that there are enough people who are talented and willing to study, but have not yet revealed their abilities. For such, namely future masters, he developed a course, which he called "Forkurs". He set three goals:
- Reveal the student’s inner abilities and make his personal perception determine his work. Gradually, the student freed himself from “dead” conventions and began to create freely.
- Based on preferences in the structure of materials, he helped students determine their choice of future profession.
- He introduced students to the basics of composition, shapes and color, without which a professional cannot take place. Gradually, students learned to think subjectively and objectively, which made it possible to make the right decisions to create their work.
General reviews
After studying the book, many readers recommend reading it to other people. She cannot stay away, somewhere on a shelf, or never taken from a library not found on Internet resources. The book "The Art of Color" (Itten) has only one hundred pages. It is recommended to re-read it again and again, if there is a desire to know the color. About the book speak, as the basis of all knowledge regarding color perception and color. She talks about life. This book describes the gravitational laws of color. She has a whiff of simple perfection. This is what readers say about the book.
Book philosophy
A world without color is dead: as flame produces light, light produces color. As intonation gives color to the spoken word, so color gives spirituality to the image. Harmony is a balance, a symmetry of forces. Not only the theory of color, but also his psychoanalysts were interested in the artist and teacher Johannes Itten. The Art of Color is a statement of their own the author’s ideas that were used in developing the theory of color composition and color relationships. Itten suggested twelve shades, a color wheel and seven color contrasts, and also examined the psychology of color and the emotional side of this issue.
Application of knowledge provided by the book “The Art of Color”
Johannes Itten in his work He outlined ideas about the role and function of color, which were concentrated and developed in the structure of painting. They can also be used in the development of a visual dictionary and use in the context of color photography. For people involved in art photography, the knowledge offered by Johannes Itten. The Art of Color - This is a storehouse of instructions showing the possibilities of developing color sensitivity and color harmony in photography. The visual relationships between colors and their structure are described here. These descriptions are able to serve as the basis for the composition. Itten is a color genius. The book is already there and will be a desktop for thousands of people who are interested in this topic.
Modernism and romance at work
The Work Itten Written (The Art of Color) - Book about subjective experience and an objective approach to the substantiation of color, in a combination of modernist science and romantic alchemy. Large color charts, color wheel changes, tonal beams protruding from it, as well as other systems, explain the many ways to change color by mixing and matching. Creating contrasts is the key point that I described in my work Johannes Itten. Color art - provides an opportunity to understand the theory of creating collages, color proportions, various structures, etc.
Two significant books
As the author himself wrote, he tried to create a “wagon” with books, which could help anyone who is interested in the problems of artistic colorist. In his opinion, you can travel without a wagon off-road, but then the movement will be slow and full of dangers. Therefore, for those wishing to reach a distant target, it is advisable to first have a vehicle that will enable them to quickly and confidently move in the right direction. As a result, the books were written: Johannes Itten, "The Art of Color / Form." For those who value knowledge and want to get it in this area - these two works are highly recommended for reading and studying.
“The art of form" also refers to a classic educational publication. In it, Itten tells artists the basics of professional work: what is rhythm, compositional accent points, reveals the role of texture of form and material, helps to learn to see and transmit it in images of objects, subjects of various topics, teaches how to use color contrasts, and much more.
The texts of both books are well illustrated. For this, a large number of student works were written by his students, many of which later became famous masters of their craft.
Theorist and teacher Itten Johannes
The art of color (full text of the book can be freely found on the Internet) - a masterpiece book in which quite briefly and at the same time voluminously, systematically sets out the most necessary material for teaching mastery of color. She brought worldwide fame to Itten, as she became the first educational textbook in the Bauhaus. Johannes teaches to listen to the inner voice and considers his best students those who have learned the art of intuition and create their works on this basis. It is difficult to overestimate for students and already established masters the importance that the book carries (Johannes Itten's “The Art of Color”). Overview reviews and reviews makes it clear that the theoretician and teacher Itten brought to life his every reader new colors, new discoveries, new knowledge and inspiration for creativity, to create unique masterpieces of artistic creativity in any field: painting, architecture, photography or design.