Because theories of visual perception have traditionally concentrated on formartists have generally dealt with the problem of color through their ownobservation... » 

Because theories of visual perception have traditionally concentrated on formartists have generally dealt with the problem of color through their ownobservation and intuition. In Color Harmonies Augusto Garau systematicallyinvestigates the role of both color and form in visual perception and presentsan original theory of the aesthetic relations among colors.Garau a painter who teaches the psychology of form pays particular attentionto the way colors behave when organized in patterns. His theory of colorcombination addresses two principal compositional elements the relationsbetween figure and ground and the phenomenon of transparency.Garau meticulously analyzes the use of color in paintings by masters such asCezanne Picasso and Matisse to show how his theory applies to actual works ofart. Containing many fullcolor examples his introduction to the workings ofcolor relations is of great practical use to art historians and criticsartists interior decorators fashion and set designers and anyone who workswith color to display information or convey emotions.In an area of the psychology of art where reliable guidance is still so hardto come by Garaus wellsupported contributions to the theory of colorcomposition ought to be welcomed by practitioners and scholars alike.fromthe Foreword by Rudolf Arnheim «