Alphabetical Index Index by Year of Birth
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
* 1749 in Frankfurt am Main
+ 1832 in Weimar/Thuringia
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Until Johann Wolfgang von Goethe came along, no one had questioned the validity of Newton’s ideas about light and color.
His 1,400-page treatise on color (German: Zur Farbenlehre) was published in German in 1810, and in English in 1840.
Newton had viewed color as a physical problem.
According to Goethe, the nature of colours and what we see of an object depends upon the object, the lighting and our perception.
The book contains detailed descriptions of phenomena such as coloured shadows, refraction, and chromatic aberration.
The work originated in Goethe's occupation with painting and mainly exerted an influence on the arts
2020 J. Giesen