Theory of Colours. Theory of Colours (original German title, Zur Farbenlehre) is a book by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe published in 1810. It contains some of the earliest and most accurate descriptions of phenomena such as coloured shadows, refraction, and chromatic aberration. Its influence extends primarily to the art world, especially among the Pre-Raphaelites. Turner studied it comprehensively, and referred to it in the titles of several paintings.[1] Wassily Kandinsky considered Goethe's theory "one of the most important works".[2] Although Goethe's work was never well received by physicists, a number of philosophers and physicists have been known to have concerned themselves with it, including Arthur Schopenhauer, Kurt Gödel, Werner Heisenberg, Ludwig Wittgenstein, and Hermann von Helmholtz.
Mitchell Feigenbaum even convinced himself that "Goethe had been right about colour! "[3] Goethe's theory[change | edit source] For Goethe, "the highest is to understand that all fact is really theory. Goethe writes: Www.janushead.org/8-1/simms.pdf. Www.nhinet.org/ricci20-1.pdf. Www.studienzuranthroposophie.de/GoeKaE.pdf.