Understanding the Meaning of Colors in Art

Color meanings come from a variety of places. Some are primal, like the color green’s association with growth and fresh vegetation. Others developed later from modern environments people found themselves contending with, like the color green’s association with poison and death for 18th-century Europeans (due to the era’s green dye containing arsenic). And sometimes color meanings can change over time, like how green’s association changed from the color of poison to the color of freshness and vitality (an association you’ll see today in many eco-conscious and plant-inspired brands).