Hello to Yellow! A History of the Color Yellow in Art

What would art be without color? Yellow is the color of sunshine, happiness, summer, and  the shimmer of gold. Yellow–the precious, bright, royal and spiritual color–has had a special place in art since the paleolithic period. What pigments and other materials did artists use and what symbolic meaning does yellow have? Join us in exploring the color yellow, the brightest of the three primary colors, and how artists throughout centuries have used it in their works. As an example, the discovery of a new synthetic yellow catapulted Vincent Van Gogh’s art production to new heights and allowed him to create boldly luminous paintings. It became his favorite color once he arrived in the South of France. In this course we walk the yellow brick road and look at medieval book illustrations, Old Master paintings, and works by Gustav Klimt, Wassily Kandinsky, Gabriele Münter, Georgia O'Keeffe, Wolfgang Laib, Amoako Boafo, and many other artists.

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