COLOR 29

The Pigment Color Theory. (The Brewsterian theory.) A
figure on page 39 and the color chart facing page 40 illustrate the
pigment color theory. Red, yellow, and blue are the fundamental
or primary colors, which can be mixed so as to form all the other
colors but which cannot themselves be made by mixing any other
colors. The secondary colors, orange, green, and purple, are made
by mixing two primary colors; orange is a mixture of red and
yellow, green is a mixture of yellow and blue, purple is a mixture
of red and blue. A tertiary or intermediate color is made by mix-
ing a primary color with its adjoining secondary color. The six
colors, yellow, green, blue, purple, red, and orange, are called the
standard colors.

The color chart facing page 40 shows six pairs of complementary
colors, which are opposite to each other on the circle. When any
pair of complements are combined equally, they neutralize each
other and produce gray. In mixing paint one of the best methods
of subduing a bright color is to add to it some of its complementary
color. The pigment theory is the simplest basis for mixing paints.

The Psychologist's Theory of Color. The psychologist's
theory is based on the visual perception of color. The four pri-
mary or fundamental colors are: red, green, yellow, and blue. The
secondary colors are orange, yellow-green, blue-green, and violet.
The complementary colors are opposite each other on the diagram.
When a pair of these complements is twirled on a top, the top
appears to be pure gray. A simple way to determine what color
is complementary to another color, according to this theory, is to
look for half a minute at a colored disk against a white background.
When the disk is removed, a round spot of the color that is comple-
mentary to the one removed will appear as an after-image. The
findings of psychologists have enabled them to develop color ther-
apy to an important extent.

The Physicist's Theory of Color. In the physicist's scientific
thepry the primary colors in light are red (scarlet), green (emer-
ald), and violet (blue-violet). The secondary colors, yellow
(slightly orange), blue (cyan), and red-violet (magenta) are pro-
duced by combining two of the primary colors in light. The
complementary colors will neutralize each other and look like
white light if thrown on a screen together. The three primaries
will also produce white light if combined.