In modern color theory, many people take it for granted that complementary colors—colors positioned opposite each other on the color wheel—are a fundamental principle.
We’re often told that red complements green, blue complements orange, and so on.
However, the original color wheel proposed by Isaac Newton was composed of seven colors based on the optical spectrum: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.
This creates a wheel with an odd number of segments, which makes it structurally impossible to define a true “opposite” or complementary color.
This raises a critical question:
If Newton’s color wheel never supported complementary relationships, then how did the entire idea of “opposites on the wheel” become so widely accepted in art, design, and even fashion?
This question challenges the foundation of how we understand color harmony—and suggests that much of what is taught today may be based on a theoretical illusion.