STANDARDS

Core Art Standards: VA1, VA8, VA11

CCSS: R1, R2, R5

Yellow

Image of a yellow emoji smiling face

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Does yellow remind you of the sun’s warmth? In the East, it represents peace and knowledge. In the West, it is a symbol of value and beauty. And of course, it probably makes you think of a smiling emoji!

Image of a bright sun shining its rays on a natural landscape

Edvard Munch (1863-1944), The Sun, 1910-1913. Oil on canvas. Fine Art Images/Art Resource, New York. Artists Rights Society, New York.

Savoring the Sunlight

Norwegian artist Edvard Munch knew how to appreciate the sun. Almost half of Norway is within the Arctic Circle, where the sun doesn’t rise above the horizon all winter. So Norwegians celebrate the summer months, when the sun shines late into the night. Using warm yellow, Munch paints bright, soothing rays racing across the landscape in his 1910-13 The Sun.

Image of a painting with people and detailed patterns

Opening Words of St. Matthew’s Gospel, The Book of Kells, (c. 800). Illustrated manuscript. Ann Ronan Picture Library/Heri/Art Resource, New York.

Fool's Gold

Look carefully at the illuminated manuscript page above. It shines as if painted with gold. But there isn’t a speck of gold in the image! The pigment orpiment (OR-puh-muhnt) gives brilliance to this page and others like it in the Book of Kells. The Celtic book, completed around the year 800, includes the New Testament’s four Gospels. Orpiment, used throughout, is stunning in its beauty—and its deadliness. The yellow pigment is made with sulfide of arsenic, which glitters in its natural form.

Image of a yellow and orange Rothko painting

Mark Rothko (1903-1970), Saffron, 1957. Oil on canvas. Christie’s Images/Bridgeman Images. Artists Rights Society, New York.

Saffron Stories

Saffron is a pigment used in art as well as a spice. The author of a 1728 book describes saffron tea saying, “ ’tis good for the Head, revives the Spirits, expels Drowsiness and makes the Heart merry.”

Saffron brings joy into fine art as well. To create the 1957 work above, Mark Rothko layers pigments. The painting, called Saffron, seems to vibrate as the colors interact, floating in parallel planes. The same year he completed Saffron, Rothko spent several months in New Orleans. “We have been fortunate enough with the weather,” he wrote of his visit, describing “days of early summer, sun, warmth.” Do you see the influence of the warm Southern light in this composition?

Painting of a man sitting against a yellow toned background filled with different images

Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890), Le Père Tanguy, 1887. Oil on canvas. Renée Lessing-Kronfuss/Art Resource, New York.

Do You Know the Colorman?

For centuries, artists had to make their own paint. Medieval artists stored their paints inside pig bladders that were cut into squares and tied with a string. The process was messy, time-consuming, and labor-intensive.

Then in the 17th century, people called colormen began selling premade paints. This saved artists time, so they could focus on making art.

Vincent van Gogh was so thankful for his colorman that the artist made three portraits of him, including the one above. In this 1887 example, Van Gogh celebrates the variety of colors, especially the saturated golden yellow, Julien “Père” Tanguy sold.

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Video 3:33 What You Need to Know About Color

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Video 4:37 What You Need to Know About Light

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Lesson: Yellow

View a lesson plan for grades 7-12 about yellow from the December 2023 issue.

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All Lesson Plans: Grades 4-6

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Yellow (4-6 Reading Level)

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