Winsor & Newton Archive: Items of Intrigue – Ostwald’s Groundbreaking Innovation

The Ostwald Colour Solid in the Winsor & Newton archives

The Winsor & Newton archives house a remarkable array of historical artifacts, among which is a well-preserved Ostwald colour solid. This three-dimensional representation of the Ostwald colour system was the brainchild of Friedrich Wilhelm Ostwald, a German chemist born in Latvia in 1853. Ostwald, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1909, was also a passionate amateur painter. Leveraging his chemical expertise, he delved into the study of pigments and the stability of painting materials. His encounter with American painter Albert H. Munsell, who had created a “colour atlas,” inspired Ostwald to develop his own colour classification system, which he published in Die Farbenfibel (The Colour Primer) in 1916.

Ostwald’s colour theory

Ostwald's colour theory categorized colours into three groups: neutral colours, which are combinations of black and white; pure “full colours” containing no black or white; and mixed colours, which are combinations of colours with black and/or white. Central to his theory were four basic hues: yellow, red, blue, and sea green. By placing additional hues between these core hues, Ostwald created secondary hues such as orange, purple, turquoise, and leaf green, and eventually a circle of 24 evenly spaced colours.

Influence on De Stijl and the Bauhaus

The practical and theoretical implications of Ostwald’s work resonated deeply with the Dutch artistic movement De Stijl, which included artists like Piet Mondrian. De Stijl, known for its focus on geometry, later influenced the Bauhaus, a seminal school of architecture and design founded in 1919. Walter Gropius, the Bauhaus director, invited Ostwald to lecture on colour theory, and his lectures made a lasting impact on the students. The manuscripts of these lectures remain part of Ostwald’s written legacy, highlighting his significant influence on the Bauhaus's approach to colour.

Winsor & Newton’s role in disseminating Ostwald’s work

Winsor & Newton played a crucial role in disseminating Ostwald’s theories to a broader audience. In 1930, John Scott Taylor, the company’s scientific director, translated Die Farbenfibel into English, making Ostwald’s work accessible to English-speaking artists and scholars. This translation effort was part of Winsor & Newton’s broader mission to provide educational resources for artists. The company further supported Ostwald's system by producing the Ostwald Watercolour Box and the Ostwald Standard Showcard Colours Box.

The Ostwald colour solid: structure and properties

Ostwald’s colour solid, which may resemble a giant spinning top, is a sophisticated 3D representation of his colour theory. This solid comprises 24 triangles, each representing a standard hue, with each triangle containing 28 monochromatic colour swatches arranged in a pattern of neutral, full, and mixed colours. The solid's structure, with tints at the upper apex and shades at the lower apex, encapsulates the three fundamental properties of colour: hue, saturation, and lightness. The mixed colours are positioned within the solid, while purer colours lie near the circumference.

The legacy and evolution of Ostwald’s System

Despite its initial success, Ostwald’s system was eventually overshadowed by the more adaptable Munsell colour system and the Swedish Natural Colour System (NCS). The complexity and rigidity of Ostwald’s model made it less practical as new dyes and brighter pigments emerged. Nonetheless, Ostwald’s contributions to colour theory remain foundational, influencing a generation of artists from Mondrian to Kandinsky.

Further contributions by Winsor & Newton

In 1934, Winsor & Newton further extended Ostwald's legacy by publishing Colour Practice in Schools by O.J. Tonks, a teacher at the Slade School of Fine Art in London. The company’s efforts ensured that Ostwald’s colour harmony index, which included 12 handbooks with 680 colour chips, reached a wide audience until it went out of print in 1972.

Continuing influence of Ostwald’s work

Today, while Ostwald’s system is not as widely used, his impact on the understanding of colour endures. His vision and contributions continue to be recognized, and the Winsor & Newton archive preserves the legacy of his pioneering work in colour theory.