<P> The Night Café by Vincent van Gogh (1888) used red and green to express what van Gogh called "the terrible human passions". </P> <P> When one stares at a single color (red for example) for a sustained period of time (roughly thirty seconds to a minute), then looks at a white surface, an afterimage of the complementary color (in this case cyan) will appear . This is one of several aftereffects studied in the psychology of visual perception which are generally ascribed to fatigue in specific parts of the visual system . </P> <P> In the case above the photoreceptors for red light in the retina are fatigued, lessening their ability to send the information to the brain . When white light is viewed, the red portions of light incident upon the eye are not transmitted as efficiently as the other wavelengths (or colors), and the result is the illusion of viewing the complementary color since the image is now biased by loss of the color, in this case red . As the receptors are given time to rest, the illusion vanishes . In the case of looking at the white light, red light is still incident upon the eye (as well as blue and green), however since the receptors for other light colors are also being fatigued, the eye will reach an equilibrium . </P> <P> The use of complementary colors is an important aspect of aesthetically pleasing art and graphic design . This also extends to other fields such as contrasting colors in logos and retail display . When placed next to each other, complements make each other appear brighter . </P>

What are complimentary colors on the color wheel and what happens when you mix those colors together