The positive marks for green definitely add up. A Culmination by Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, 2016 Worldwide Symbolism The banner of Muhammad is green and almost every country where Islam is the official faith has it represented somewhere on their flag. In Islam, the color speaks of Paradise and the bounty of the promised land. Those lines of poetry, in which Ireland is called the Emerald Isle, were published by 18th-century Irish writer William Drennan, in his poem, “When Erin first rose.” The color has centuries of associations with the country, because of its famously poeticized verdant landscape. Ireland’s color story is definitely painted in shades of green. Likewise, the bride in the Arnolfini portrait by Jan van Eyck shows a wealthy merchant’s bride in rich green robes. If you look closely, Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is wearing an ensemble featuring a green bodice as befitting her station as the wife of a wealthy silk merchant. Whereas the color red was always reserved for royalty, in Western society, green has longtime associations with the merchant class. So if blue is your favorite color - green might be too! The same situation is found in texts from ancient Greece - the word for trees and seas is the same. On an interesting etymological note, in ancient languages of Japan, China and Vietnam, blue and green were for a time indistinguishable linguistically. The word was first used to describe the colors it is known for today in the West around 700 AD. From Old English, it shares origins with the words for grass and grow. The root of the word green really says it all. Bridge over a Pond of Water Lilies by Claude Monet, 1899 History of the Hue From forest green to pine to mint, teal and chartreuse, greens can push into brown and blue territories, have pastel moments and can be so rich and verdant that they look almost radioactive. Greens come in cool and warm hues that are often named after places and things in the natural world. The Wizard of Oz‘s Emerald City would have chromium readings off the chart as that is the element that gives emeralds their color. In nature, chlorophyll is what gives plant life its color. In color theory, it is a secondary color, made by mixing blue and yellow. On the visible spectrum, green sits between blue and yellow. Symphony in Green and Gold by Thomas Wilmer Dewing, 1912 What the Eye Sees Get to know the symbolism of this color and how artists use it best. No matter the hue, if you paint it green, it will make an impression that lasts. See how it has inspired artists for centuries. Roses by Vincent van Gogh, 1890 History, Symbolism and Secret Powers of the Color GreenĪs we celebrate the oncoming spring season, we uncover the curious history and interesting stories that surround the color green.
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