Goethe’s Theory of Colours

First published in German in 1810, this detailed volume was translated from the German by Charles Lock Eastlake and, in six parts, examines every aspect of Goethe’s theory of colours, including psychological colours, chemical colours, the moral effect of colour, minerals, plants, insects, mammals and a multitude of further subjects.

Part I. Physiological Colours. 1. Effects of Light and Darkness on the Eye. 2. Effects of Black and White Objects on the Eye. 3. Grey Surfaces and Objects. 4. Dazzling Colourless Objects. 5. Coloured Objects. 6. Coloured Shadows. 7. Faint Lights. 8. Subjective Halos. Part II. Physical Colours. 9. Dioptrical Colours. 10. Dioptrical Colours of the First Class. 11. Dioptrical Colours of the Second Class – Refraction. 12. Refraction without the Appearance of Colour. 13. Conditions of the Appearance of Colour. 14. Conditions under which the Appearance of Colour Increases. 15. Explanation of the Foregoing Phenomena. 16. Decrease of the Appearance of Colour. 17. Grey Objects Displaced by Refraction. 18. Coloured Objects Displaced by Refraction. 19. Achromatism and Hyperchromatism. 20. Advantages of Subjective Experiments – Transition to the Objective. 21. Refraction without the Appearance of Colour. 22. Conditions of the Appearance of Colour. 23. Conditions of the Increase of Colour. 24. Explanation of the Foregoing Phenomena. 25. Decrease of the Appearance of Colour. 26. Grey Objects. 27. Coloured Objects. 28. Achromatism and Hyperchromatism. 29. Combination of Subjective and Objective Experiments. 30. Transition. 31. Catoptrical Colours. 32. Paroptical Colours. 33. Epoptical Colours. Part III. Chemical Colours. 34. Chemical Contrast. 35. White. 36. Black. 37. First Excitation of Colour. 38. Augmentation of Colour. 39. Culmination. 40. Fluctuation. 41. Passage through the Whole Scale. 42. Inversion. 43. Fixation. 44. Intermixture, Real. 45. Intermixture, Apparent. 46. Communication, Actual. 47. Communication, Apparent. 48. Extraction. 49. Nomenclature. 50. Minerals. 51. Plants. 52. Worms, Insects, Fishes. 53. Birds. 54. Mammalia and Human Beings. 55. Physical and Chemical Effects of the Transmission of Light through Coloured Mediums. 56. Chemical Effect in Dioptrical Achromatism. Part IV. General Characteristics. Part V. Relation to Other Pursuits. Part VI. Effect of Colour with Reference to Moral Associations.