Theory of Colours

Theory of Colours (Zur Farbenlehre in German) was a work published by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in 1810. In the 1780's a number of statements as to the way colours arise came to Goethe's notice. Of the prismatic phenomena, it was commonly held that when you let colourless light go through a prism the colourless light is split up. For in such way the phenomena are interpreted.

Dark and Light

From the Newtonian standpoint, darkness is an absence of light. According to this view, the light which streams into a dark space has no resistance from the darkness to overcome.

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Goethe pictures to himself that light and darkness relate to each other like the north and south poles of a magnet. The darkness can weaken the light in its working power. Conversely, the light can limit the energy of the darkness. In both cases colour arises.

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Yellow is a light which has been dampened by darkness;

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blue is a darkness weakened by the light.

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