Color is one of the most compelling of the elements of design. It can be appreciated visually, symbolically, psychologically and spiritually. Visual color appeals to the aesthetic sense, as in this work by Martin Johnson Heade. Symbolic color references associations that are often culturally associated with certain colors, such as the purity of white in this work by James Abbott McNeill Whistler. Ephemeral color is used in many impressionistic works as the goal of many of those artists was to capture a fleeting moment in time, as in this work by Claude Monet. Psychological color was utilized in expressionistic works to represent emotions, as in this work by Vincent van Gogh. Spiritual color was used by members of Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Riders) that believed colors had identifiable spiritual significance, as in this work by Kandinsky.
Color has three attributes hue, value and intensity. The basic color wheel features six colors. Three are primary colors and the other three are the secondary colors. Colors are also influenced by the other colors that are near by. These color harmonies include monochromatic, polychromatic, analogous, complementary, colors that recede, and colors that advance. Two other ways that color can impact sculptures specifically are polychrome and patina. Color in the visual arts can be correlated to harmony or timbre in music.