kleurkunde

Kleurkunde, often translated as color science or color theory in Dutch, is the interdisciplinary study of color as a physical property of light, a perceptual phenomenon in the human visual system, and a practical tool for recording, reproducing, and communicating color. It combines physics, biology, psychology, and technology to describe how colors are created, perceived, measured, and reproduced in art, design, printing, and digital media.

Physically, color arises from light wavelengths and the way surfaces reflect or emit light. The human eye detects color through photoreceptors, leading to perceptual attributes such as hue, value (brightness), and saturation. Phenomena such as metamerism and color constancy illustrate how perception can vary with illumination.

Measurement and models: colorimetry uses standardized observers and instruments to obtain tristimulus values, often expressed as X, Y, Z under the CIE system. This supports device-independent spaces like CIE XYZ and CIELAB, as well as device-dependent spaces such as sRGB, Adobe RGB, and CMYK. Additive color models (RGB) apply to displays; subtractive models (CMYK) to printing. Color management relies on ICC profiles to reproduce colors consistently across devices.

History: color theory has roots in early investigations of light, notably Newton's prism experiments, followed by Goethe's perceptual approach and the development of quantitative color science in the 20th century with the CIE standard observer and color-appearance models.

Applications and culture: kleurkunde informs visual arts, product and interface design, branding, photography, and printing. Cultural meanings of color also influence its use and interpretation across contexts.