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Received: 14 December 2020 Revised: 10 March 2021 Accepted: 10 March 2021
DOI: 10.1002/col.22664

RESEARCH ARTICLE

The Five-colour theory: A new approach to colour

Barbara Diethelm

Lascaux Colours & Restauro, Zürich,

Switzerland
Correspondence
Barbara Diethelm, Lascaux Colours &
Restauro, Zürich, Switzerland.
Email: b.diethelm@lascaux.ch
Abstract
As an artist and as a paint manufacturer, my concern is for all aspects of col-
our, particularly its harmonies. In 1995, I developed a colour system based on
a set of five primary colours: my intention was to obtain the greatest number
of pure hues with the least number of primary colours, and that, mixed in
equal parts, these would yield a neutral black. This five-colour theory was pat-
ented by the European Patent Office in 2001. A range of water-based artists'
colours, known as the Sirius Primary System, has been available for the past
25 years. An unlimited range of colours can be mixed using this concept,
resulting in pure, harmonious, and vibrant colours, which can be applied in all
areas where an expressive, creative use of colour is defined as the primary task:
colour theory, colour education, art and design, colour concepts, and architec-
ture. The fact that a full spectrum can be mixed from only five colours results
in a very pleasurable introduction to painting as well as a great economic
advantage.

KEYWORDS
art and architecture, colour theory and harmonies, murals, pigments

1 | INTRODUCTION led to the development of the five-colour theory and then,

There is a set of questions that I am asked repeatedly:
What are the most suitable primary colours? How can I
mix a rich range from a few source colours? Why is there
such a gap between colour theory and its practical appli-
cation? These questions give me a sense of deja vu not
only because they are asked so often, but also because
they reveal the very same concerns that confronted me
during my school and academic years. Most painters can
confirm that mixing with only three primary colours
(either yellow, red, and blue or yellow, magenta, and
cyan) seldom leads to satisfactory results, let alone to the
creation of an equal colour wheel (see Figure 1). This dis-
appoints the user and repeatedly highlights the discrep-
ancy between theory and practice. The lack of a simple,
effective mixing method continued to perplex me, and it
was this great wish for a colour system that was both the-
oretically convincing and practically effective that finally
in 1995, the Sirius Primary System range of colours.
Thanks to scientific research and advances in chemis-
try over the last 200 years, stable pigments, which lend
themselves to the production of high-quality artists' col-
ours, are now available. Artists require high levels of
product precision and predictability to repeatedly mix
exact hues and ensure consistency in their palette. This is
also crucial when colour is used therapeutically, where
constant and precise frequency ranges are necessary.
Modern pigments, with their accurately defined wave-
length range, are particularly suitable for mixing specific
colour hues. Although the pigment itself is a decisive part
of the paint, it is imbedded in a vehicle and forms part of
an elaborate paint formula. This composition, in its total-
ity, determines the coloristic, aesthetic, and application
properties of the paint. While the manufacturing process
of the individual colours within the Sirius Primary Sys-
tem is itself very demanding, what is most crucial is the

Color Res Appl. 2021;46:595–603. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/col © 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC. 595
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596 DIETHELM

F I G U R E 1 Mixtures based on the three-colour theory, which is still widely taught in colour instruction, do not yield a black when
mixing all three primaries together in equal parts. Furthermore, the secondary mixtures based on these primaries lack a consistent chroma.
For example, as seen in the above diagram, both the violet created from mixing red and blue and the orange generated from mixing magenta
and yellow lack purity and chroma

coherence of the five primaries and that these individual

colours harmonize into a holistic system.

2 | T H E FI V E - C O L O U R T H E O R Y

“Historical colour references, from Aristotle, Leonardo

Da Vinci, Chevreul, Blanc, Munsell and Ostwald, obvi-
ously share the same ambition of finding the harmony
and harmonisation of colours. While their theories
endeavoured to be servants of design practice, the Sirius
Primary System goes one step further, embracing both
concept and tool simultaneously.” Klaus Stromer.1
The five primary colours of the Sirius Primary System
are magenta, red, yellow, cyan, and ultramarine. Primary
colours are so called because they cannot be derived from
any other colour; in other words, they are irreducible col-
F I G U R E 2 The five Sirius primary colours form a five-pointed
ours. These five primary colours yield a more differenti-
star (Pentagram). Like the spectrum of the rainbow, the Sirius
ated colour system than those based on three primaries.
primary colours are arranged above according to their wavelengths;
The Sirius Primary System expands on the Three-Colour from long-wave magenta to short-wave ultramarine. Although this
theories and the colour systems resulting therefrom, due looks like a linear representation, the ends of the spectrum dovetail
to the purity of its colours and their balanced frequencies, mean that it is, in fact, circular in nature. This circular aspect is
leads to brilliantly clear harmonies. Mixed in equal parts, evident both in the colour wheel and in the pentagon, as seen in
the five primary colours—magenta, red, yellow, cyan, Figure 3. The accuracy of the colours cannot be adequately
and ultramarine—produce a vibrant neutral black. An achieved in these reproductions (CMYK printing)
additional white rounds off the system (see Figure 2).
The colours maintain their chroma in unlimited ranges magenta is considered cool, and similarly, ultramarine is
of mixtures: from secondary and tertiary colours to earth considered warm, while cyan is considered cool. Colour
and pastel tones. mixtures can thus be experienced as warm, cool, or neu-
The differentiation in the red and blue colours allows tral depending on the selection and proportion of the pri-
for a variation in “temperature.” In practice, to obtain a mary colours used (see Figure 6, middle two rows).
balanced colour wheel and a complete palette, we need The five secondary colours are mixed from the Sirius
two reds (one cool, one warm), two blues (one cool, one primary colours and are also seen in the pentagon. Com-
warm), and a neutral yellow: this is addressed in the plementary colours are easily recognized because they
Sirius Primary System. Red is considered warm, while are opposite each other in the pentagon: magenta and
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DIETHELM 597

F I G U R E 3 Two adjacent
primaries, mixed in equal parts,
yield secondary colours, forming a
pentagon, with black, the sum of all
five primaries, in the center. Adding
a circle around the pentagon makes
the white visible

F I G U R E 4 The 360 Sirius

colour wheel produced by Gert
Schilling, founder of the Institute of
Colour Dynamics.2 The outer circle
shows 360 hues, each 1 apart with a
measuring tolerance of 0.2 . Each
hue is mixed from the five Sirius
primary colours plus white. The
hand drawn red and green lines
show the chroma and lightness,
respectively, according to CIE. The
other circles show well-known
colour systems (Hering, Newton,
Goethe, Ostwald, HKS, NCS, Ral
etc.) and their (limited) ability to
complete the colour circle.3 The CIE
Lab colour measurement ensures
that the colours are mixed according
to standards, with guaranteed equal
spacing, so that opposing colours,
the complementary colour pairs,
neutralize each other resulting in an
achromatic grayish hue

green, red and blue, yellow and violet, cyan blue and car-
mine red, and ultramarine blue and orange (see
Figure 3). Black and white also appear in the Sirius
Pentagon, balancing the inside and outside between the
five primary colours.
The black, in the center of the pentagon, is the sum of
the five primary colours. Mixed in equal parts, they con-
sistently yield a neutral black, and this is practical evi-
dence that the five Sirius primary colours are in
alignment with each other. Although the three-colour
theories, still being taught in educational institutions,
also claim that black is produced through the mixing of
the primaries, in practice they fail to do so. The three-
colour theory is not wrong, but it is incomplete. The
fact that the Sirius Primary System was patented as a
five-colour theory by the European Patent Office in
2001 is testimony to its uniqueness and innovative
character.

598
FIGURE 5 The easy “drop mixture method” of mixing colours
The black and white enable the light-dark scale.
When mixed with a relatively high proportion of white,
all Sirius colours yield pastels. Dark colours are created
by adding Sirius black, and even though this produces
colours with lower values, they remain vibrant and clean
(see Figure 6).
A valid theory must be reproducible in practice. The
360-part Sirius colour wheel (see Figure 4) was a ground-
breaking undertaking. The task of producing a 360-part
colour wheel repeatedly fell short of satisfactory results
because of the limitations of conventional colour systems
and their discrepancies between theory and practice. The
360-part colour wheel was successfully accomplished, for
the first time, using the Sirius Primary System. In the
words of this wheel's creator, Gert Schilling, “Thanks to
its pure, extraordinarily brilliant colours we achieved the
finest possible, precisely defined colours, not found in
any of the current systems. The 360-part Sirius colour
wheel represents a unique advance in colour dynamics.”
The 360 hues, mixed visually and painted by hand, were
verified by colour measurement, guaranteeing that the
sequence of all hues is highly similar in terms of lightness
and chroma. The Sirius Primary System was shown to be
the only colour system to cover the entire colour circle
with regularity and without loss of chroma.
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DIETHELM
3 | THE J OY OF EASILY MIXING
AN UNLIM I TED RANGE O F
VI BR AN T HU ES
While colour experts get excited by the technical accom-
plishments of the Sirius Primary System, novices are
enthused by the sheer beauty and responsiveness of its
primary colours. During workshops, participants
immerse themselves in the joy of mixing radiant colours.
It is always an adventure for participants to mix a black
from the five primaries; some get it right away while
others discover many pleasing hues in grays or browns
along the way. Either way, the results are always of high
brilliance and chroma. Through playing with the mixes,
they develop their own palette of distinctive grays and
earth hues.
Although the Sirius Primary System provides a per-
fectly functioning mixing system, I did not set out to con-
struct a prescriptive colour mixing chart. My aim was to
show how this colour system could meet the demand for
clean secondary, tertiary, and complementary colour
mixtures. My suggestions for further colour mixtures are
nothing more than prompts or ideas. The intention is to
free both painter and colour from the constraints and
limitation of existing systems and their respective
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DIETHELM 599

F I G U R E 6 The two middle columns show how a differentiated range of warm and cool colours can be mixed. When mixed with white,
in a relatively high proportion, these translate into pastel colours, and when mixed with the rich Sirius black, they produce lower values. All
tints and shades remain vibrant and clean, retaining the greatest possible colour constancy and chroma

specifications and prescribed recipes. This leaves room To motivate people who are unexperienced with col-
for individual discovery, igniting the creative potential our mixing, we developed an easy and playful method.
and delighting in the exploration and joy of colour This “drop mixture method” can be employed loosely, by
mixing. using a drop as the measure, or more precisely, by

600
FIGURE 7 Children's drawings, from a second grade school class
utilizing an exact part. For example, equal parts of red
and yellow yields the secondary colour orange and
playing with the ratios of these two primaries opens up a
range of orange tones. Similarly, when one mixes white
with magenta or red, one is able to generate a range of
pinks. Increasing the ratio of red drops yields redder mix-
tures (see Figure 5, first row).
The luminous pure colours allow a variety of hues to
be differentiated in the simplest of manners, and it is
thrilling to witness how just one drop of a colour, into
another, creates a different colour hue. This guarantees
an inspiring and satisfying painting experience, even for
beginners.
Because the five Sirius primary colours are precisely
aligned to each other, they always yield pure and clear
colour mixtures. As a result, more than 78 000 different,
yet harmonizing, hues can be created with this easy and
playful mixing method, while maintaining the purity and
the saturation (chroma) of the colours. This is especially
noticeable when mixing subtle earth and pastel hues or
when a colour is lightened with Sirius white or dark-
ened with Sirius black. Even in tints and shades, the
colour tones retain the greatest possible colour con-
stancy and chroma (see Figure 6). With just a few
source colours anyone can create a rich and extensive
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DIETHELM
palette, from glowing, warm yellows and fiery reds to
cool juicy greens and icy blues as well as golden
autumn and earth tones.
4 | CONSISTENCY OF THEORY
A N D PR AC TI C E
Image-making inspires both imagination and manifesta-
tion. Colours represent wholeness and bestow vitality
and kindle creative enjoyment. Thus, the mixing and
blending of colours fuel the creative process, even more
than the actual application of paints.
Colours activate personal expressiveness and, as a
result, the practice of mixing and blending them brings
us to the core of the creative process. This practice
should be spontaneous, intuitive, and effortless,
resulting in a wide spectrum of brilliant hues. One of
the main reasons people shy away from playing with
paints, let alone mixing colours, is linked to their early
experiences of producing dull, impure, and “dirty” col-
ours. These negative results say more about the colours
used than the skill of the person mixing them.
Luminous, pure colours allow a variety of hues to be
differentiated in the simplest of manners, and this
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DIETHELM 601

guarantees an inspiring and satisfying painting experi-

ence, even for beginners.
When working with the Sirius Primary System, crea-
tive expression and the joy of mixing colours is ensured
because its five primaries are balanced in such a way that
they consistently produce luminous, pure, and “clean”
colours. Children of all ages are able to confidently
explore colour and colour mixtures with delightful
results. This leads them further into the creation of
images that are both strong and subtle (see Figure 7).
The harmonious and nuanced range of vibrant hues
stimulates colour sensitivity. Because our perception
shapes our awareness, fine-tuning our colour percep-
tion ultimately results in an expanded awareness.
Working with the subtlety of these colours refines per-
ception and promotes the ability to differentiate more
colours. Increasing both the breadth and depth of
awareness, or perception, is critically important to
learning.
The sensual nature of colour reaches beyond the mere
FIGURE 8 Vera Deforet Sirius. ©Vera Deforet photograph Reto visual. This is exemplified in the painting by Swiss artist
Pedrini

F I G U R E 9 Scherr school,
Zürich (Architecture by Patrick
Gmür, colour scheme by artist Peter
Roesch). Powerful colours are used
in the schoolyard, the stairways, and
corridors: the painterly application
of glazes bestows a sense of volume
and air of joviality to the spaces. ©
photograph Georg Aerni

FIGURE 10 The differentiation of red tones is explored in my painting cycle “Epithets of Sekhmet,” 2005. © Barbara Diethelm, photograph Reto Pedrini
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602 DIETHELM

F I G U R E 1 1 First row: Renate Reifert, ceiling and wall object in the anesthetic recovery room in Wiesbaden, Germany © Renate
Reifert. Second row: Urs Aeschbach, wall painting in hallway of a care center in Baden, Switzerland. The subtle colour mixtures bring the
presence of the painted animals to life. The differentiated and rich colours offer the Alzheimer's patients gentle inputs. © Urs Aeschbach,
photograph Friedrich Zubler

Vera Deforet (see Figure 8), which reflects the artist's
intuitive understanding of the qualities of Sirius. The
painting emanates coherence and each part resonates
with every other part as if the colours were speaking a
single language: harmony.
A deep appreciation of the complex sensual nature of
colour is important in all fields in which the expressive
and creative use of colour is defined as the primary task.
For example, use of colour in architecture impacts on the
full human experience of being within a built environ-
ment: physical, emotional, and even spiritual (see
Figure 9). The transparency and luminosity of the Sirius
Primary System's colours make it ideal for glazing tech-
niques, which, in turn, offer an atmosphere of harmony,
vibrancy, and wholesomeness to every room. Further-
more, the intensity of the colour is so high that just a lit-
tle goes a long way, and thus a thin coat of paint is often
sufficient.
Due to their luminosity, purity, and balanced fre-
quencies, they not only inspire but also allow for
nuanced and precise mixing of an unlimited range of har-
monious colour schemes—essential for the artistic
exploration of colour harmonies (see Figure 10 and 11).
This subtle differentiation, in turn, promotes discernment
in perception and offers great therapeutic benefits when
applied in hospitals, clinics, or other therapeutic
contexts.
5 | CONCLUSION
The above examples are but a few of the remarkably suc-
cessful projects that have employed the Sirius Primary Sys-
tem. The range's use in paintings, sculpture, and
architecture reveals its diversity of application. The trans-
parency and brilliance of the colours, often applied
through glazing and washing techniques, lend volume to
architectural spaces and convey a joyful and radiant atmo-
sphere. They show how a coherent colour scheme can be
achieved using vibrant hues and how maximum aesthetic
value can be achieved through a minimal range of a few
intense colours—in today's challenging times, these can
offer us the opportunity to experience beauty, harmony,
and wholeness.
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DIETHELM 603

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

United States in 1982 where she studied Humanities
Data sharing not applicable to this article as no datasets
at St. Mary's University in San Antonio and Painting
were generated or analysed during the current study
at the San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco. In
1990, she returned to Switzerland, and 4 years later
ORCID
took over the running of Lascaux Colours & Restauro
Barbara Diethelm https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7510-
from her father. This organization is a worldwide
3413
leader in the manufacture of artists' colours, specializ-
ing in the development and production of premium,
R EF E RE N C E S
water-based colour systems, and products for the res-
[1] Stromer Klaus. Sirius Primary System. Idee Farbe: Farbsysteme in
toration and conservation of art works and cultural
Kunst und Wissenschaft von Forsius bis Sirius. Konstanz, Germany:
Edition Farbe; 2000:119-120. heritage. In 2004, together with her husband, the
[2] Gert Schilling, Institute of Colour Dynamics. https://www. painter Werner Schmidt, she founded Fondation
farbendynamik.com/ Lascaux, which focuses on the impact of colour on
[3] For detailed information on the inner colour circles see: The emotional and spiritual development as well as its rel-
360-part Sirius® colour wheel. https://www. evance to a new, holistic view of culture, science, and
farbendynamik.com/ economics.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

How to cite this article: Diethelm B. The Five-

As a painter as well as an artists' colour manufacturer,
colour theory: A new approach to colour. Color Res
Barbara Diethelm sees her practice as bridging the
Appl. 2021;46:595–603. https://doi.org/10.1002/col.
spiritual/creative and the material/manifestation
22664
realms. Born in 1962 in Zürich, she moved to the