Color throughout history
It is amazing to see how through history, some aesthetic elements of vital importance, have appeared and disappeared in the decorative scene without giving any explanations. This is the case of color and its use.
If we take a look back we could see how an issue as important as the decoration of a house has gone through several different phases, and it is why the color in the decoration of a space has importance since its existence is known.
Back in the old days the walls of the caves were dressed with paintings in which warm, red, ochre, orange or yellow tones predominated. The inhabitants then understood these shades as representations of natural elements, life, blood or the earth. In that time the obvious absence of cold shades such as greens and blues, that would take a while to make their presence, would have to wait because the pigment for the elaboration of these colors was not discovered until years later.
But without looking back, only to the decorative influence in the last century we will see how the chromatic variety was used according to the decade.
The 20’s and 30’s were characterized by a prolonged use of pastel shades. Pink, white, blue, lilac or cream shades acted as the base for a withdrawn and fearful ornamentation of new trends. The decoration is strongly associated with the sensations of everyday life.
With the hippie movement we witnessed an impressive explosion of color. The importance of any decorative element resides only in its color. Homes, spaces, shops..all looked intoxicated in a wide range of intense shades, that united contributed a certain fresh, happy and joyful touch to the decoration.
We have passed through other moments where color had absolutely no importance, non whatsoever, and the decoration of any space was carried out without taking into account the importance of the absence of its study, in the final outcome. The aesthetics only gave importance to forms or textures of any piece, without thinking of a specific chromatic scale.
The 70’s and 80’s were the years of growth and freedom. The decorative tendency surrounded itself of such events in bright colors such as, bright blue, fuchsia or yellow mustard that became the stars in this tremendously busy style, of which we will remember fantastic environments, but overall extravagant and exaggerated spaces.
At other times in history, the color has become the star of a trend. Thus, today we are capable of dating the origin of a piece just by focusing on the color it wears. A velvet curtain could have been embedded in the decoration of many environments throughout history, but it is shows up dressed in red, our brain would travel back in time, and automatically without us even realizing it, take us back to the Roman times. The color red, is a fetish color for many designers, it is so important in decorating that we will devote and entire separate chapter to it.
Presently, the chromatic reference par excellence is without a doubt, the coalition of white and black. Its use is lengthening so much in time that bolstering the absence of color as a trend already starts to sound like a plain stubbornness.
In any case, whatever the trend at the moment in history we happen to live in, and most of all in the moment we have to decorate, we should take as a starting point, the clear idea that color is one of the most relevant decorative arts. The search for chromatic harmony is essential for optimal results.
And of course we need to have to remember, that we have so many and such varied possibilities as far as color is concerned, that renouncing any of them is ridiculous. Life is full of moments of all different colors as is our home.
Photographies: Brugger, Valentine, Emmebi, Papelesdelos70.
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