Influence of Chroma on Spatial Balance of Complementary Hues

Abstract

In 1905, Munsell proposed that if the relative areas of two colors are adjusted so that they mix to produce a neutral gray on a spinning Maxwell disk, these colors should appear balanced when juxtaposed with the same relative areas in a composition. This law of "inverse ratios of area" indicates that hues of low chroma should require larger relative areas to balance complementary hues of higher chroma. Several experiments have compared colors of varying chroma in terms of apparent weight, but none have assessed the validity of Munsell's law directly. A group of artists and a group of nonartists with no prior training in the use of color adjusted a panel until the relative areas of two complementary colors appeared balanced. Within-subject correlations between actual settings and theoretical predictions were predominantly high and positive. This was especially true of subjects with formal color training.