Abstract

In the 1930s a number of mural-painting projects such as those of the Universal Exhibition in Paris were executed by Robert Delaunay and Albert Gleizes . Their chief characteristic was the use of complementary colors arranged in concentric circles. Since this could already be seen in Delaunay's , the later work has attracted little attention. This paper, however, demonstrates that these projects could not have been realized without GleizesÕ theory which saw colors as fundamental elements of the universe, not as secondary qualities subordinate to form. Referring to the physiological color studies of Ch. Henry and of F. Forichon, Gleizes claimed that the color order in our perception constitutes a universal law. The ability of complementary contrasts to generate the perception of light was, he believed, an effect of the order of the universe. In 1928, therefore, he proclaimed that through its use of color Delaunay's was a microcosm; he saw it as a pioneering work in a new age of architectural painting. This thought attracted Delaunay as well. Following the western tradition seeing architecture as a reflection of the universe, they tried through mural-paintings to realize a new world based on color order