大象传媒

Secondary colours

Secondary colours are made by mixing equal amounts of primary colours together:

  • Blue and red mixed together make purple
  • Yellow and red mixed together make orange
  • Blue and yellow mixed together make green

Purple, orange and green are secondary colours. On the colour wheel, each secondary colour sits halfway between the two primary colours it is mixed from.

Colour wheel with secondary colours highlighted. Orange, purple and green segments are larger.
The Tiger, Franz Marc, 1912, oil on canvas, painting
Image caption,
The Tiger, Franz Marc, 1912, oil on canvas, painting

Franz Marc uses primary and secondary colours in The Tiger.

The tiger is made from bold yellow and black shapes. They stand out against the blue leaf shapes in the bottom left of frame and the purple areas to the top right.

There is a closer harmony with the green and orange 鈥 both secondary colours that contain yellow. These colour relationships and the similar shapes used suggest the tiger is at home in its surroundings.

The Tiger, Franz Marc, 1912, oil on canvas, painting
Image caption,
The Tiger, Franz Marc, 1912, oil on canvas, painting