Zur Farbenlehre Colour and Background (after Goethe)
2011



Zur Farbenlehre, Colour and Background (2011)
Height: 2.40 m. width: 2 m.
oil paint on linen, wood, glue and screws

In the middle of the room of a Museum is a folded table-screen standing with abstract colour fields. This work of Van der Heide, by its composition and primary colours, immediately brings in mind early 20-th century abstract painting of for example Mondriaan. However the work is a realization of a colour theory exercise developed by J.W. Goethe in 1805. Sir Newton discovered that light is made up of particles of different colour. Goethe continues the theory of Sir Newton by stating that the colour of the background plays an important role in which colours become visible in the process of breaking the light through a prism. Goethe developed some colour schemes, where Zur Farbenlehre an example of is. From October 1805 until April 1806 Goethe gave some scientific lectures for duchess Louise from Weimar and her rich female friends. For this occasion he produced three tables where his exercises were being shown on.

 

After seeing the work of Van der Heide in 2011 the question there for could be what was the influence of Goethe on the mental legacy and the way of working of Piet Mondriaan? And how far is Mondriaan indebted to Goethe if one thinks about for example Victory Boogie Woogie (1942-1944) or Lozenge (1921)?