Christ Blessing (about 1505 - 1506) by Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio)Fondazione Brescia Musei
The colour red has long been associated with power, royalty, and dignity. Raphael's image of Jesus Christ blessing the unseen viewer has him draped in the appropriate colored robes, contrasting with the pale blue heavens above.
Venus of Urbino (1538) by Tiziano VecellioUffizi Gallery
At the same time, red is the colour of carnal pleasures. Titian's Venus of Urbino is regarded as the first female nude - naked for the sake of nakedness, and perhaps the pleasure of the viewer.
Cardinal and Nun (Caress) (1912) by Egon SchieleLeopold Museum
The reprobate Egon Schiele mocks both of these contrasting associations in his 1912 painting Cardinal and Nun (Embrace).
The red cape of the supposedly-celibate cardinal turned into a cloak of passion, covering their illicit confession.
冨嶽三十六景 凱風快晴|South Wind, Clear Sky (Gaifū kaisei), also known as Red Fuji, from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei) (ca. 1830–32) by Katsushika HokusaiThe Metropolitan Museum of Art
Hokusai's Mount Fuji bathed in the warm glow of the rising sun speaks to the serenity of a calm, breezy dawn, and to the special place this mountain holds in Japanese culture.
It's no surprise that this powerful image is now itself a symbol of Japan.
Napoleon at the Great St. Bernard (1801) by Jaques-Louis DavidBelvedere
The red, white, and blue of the French republican tricolour flows through the body of Napoleon himself. Has there ever been a more powerful image of a ruler than Jacques-Louis David's 1801 equestrian portrait?
I don't think so.
Nighthawks (1942) by Edward Hopper (American, 1882-1967)The Art Institute of Chicago
The peaceable solitude of Edward Hopper's late-night diner is broken by the image of the woman in red. Who is she, and where have her and her suited partner been all night? Perhaps they've only just met?
Their quiet mystery is given a flavor of intrigue by that passionate shock of red hair and the scarlet dress.
Composition with Red, Blue and Yellow (1930) by Piet MondrianKunsthaus Zürich
Piet Mondrian had a vision of art (in fact a world) reduced to its bare essentials. Right angles defined by black lines, and primary colours, yellow, blue, and red.
For him, and other artists of De Stijl, this balanced simplicity held an almost spiritual value.
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