Aron Sigfrid Forsius

«If, however, the origin and the relationship of the colours are to be correctly observed, then one must begin with the five basic median colours, which are red, blue, green and yellow, with grey from white and black, and one must heed their grading, and whether they move nearer to the white because of their paleness or nearer to the black because of their darkness.» This is Forsius’ own description of his fundamental thoughts about his system. The construction is, as far as we can tell, the first drawn colour-system. (Detailed text)


Date: The system originated in 1611 in a text by the author on physics.

Country of origin: Finland

Basic colours: (Black, white), red, yellow, green-blue

Form: Sphere

Related systems: Grosseteste, Alberti, da VinciFluddNewtonWundt

Bibliography: S. Forsius, «Physica», published by J. Nordström, Uppsala Universitäts Arsskrift, X, 1952; «A. S. Forsius, Physica Manuskript, 1611», published in 1971, ACTA Bibliothecae Regiae Stockholmiensis, pp. 315-321 (1971); C. Parkhurst and R. L. Feller, «Who Invented the Color Wheel?, Color Research and Application 7», pp. 217-230 (1982); John Gage, «Colour and Culture, Practice and Meaning from Antiquity to Abstraction», Thames and Hudson, 1993, p. 166 (mention and comment).