COLD AND WARM COLOURS

The distinction between 'warm' and 'cold' colours has been important since at least the late 18th century. It is generally not remarked in modern color science or colorimetry in reference to painting, but is still used in design practices today. The contrast, as traced by etymologies in the Oxford English Dictionary, seems related to the observed contrast in landscape light, between the "warm" colours associated with daylight or sunset and the "cold" colours associated with a gray or overcast day. Warm colors are often said to be hues from red through yellow, browns and tans included; cool colors are often said to be the hues from blue green through blue violet, most grays included. There is historical disagreement about the colors that anchor the polarity, but 19th-century sources put the peak contrast between red orange and greenish blue.

Ascensión Birruezo Martínez

Carmen María Agustín Vallejo

Daniel García Sánchez

Marta Muñoz Bienek