Robin Rehm: „Man unterscheidet zweierlei Farbenkontraste, den instantanen und den nachwirkenden.“ Zum Kontext einiger farbtheoretischer Bemerkungen Gottfried Sempers im „Stil“ von 1860

Gottfried Semper (1803 – 1879) is well-known for his work on colour schemes in architecture. The architect published several books and articles on related topics, such as polychromy in Greek and Roman edifices, mural paintings of Pompeii, and the colouring of the renaissance architecture. It has been less discussed, however, that Semper was also engaged in the contemporary discourse on colour theory as pursued in Natural Science research.

The paper examines theoretical remarks on colour in Semper’s publication „Der Stil“ of 1860. His terminology, the modality of his explanations and his discussion of colour experiments suggest that Semper was familiar with Michel-Eugène Chevreul’s theory of colour.

Semper’s reception of Chevreul is not surprising. The French chemist wrote one of the most important studies of colour of the nineteenth century. His famous book „De la loi du contraste simultané des couleurs“ was published in Paris in 1839, where he developed some of the principles of “harmony and contrast of colours” and their application to the arts. Especially Chevreul’s synthesis between theoretical consolidation and practical transformation seem to have attracted Semper’s attention.

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