VINCENT VAN GOGH KNEW IT: RED AND GREEN COMPLEMENT EACH OTHER

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A while ago, I came across a post on social media from the Van Gogh Museum. A beautiful painting titled 'A Crab on its Back' from 1887 was displayed. I wasn't familiar with this work by Van Gogh, so I read on with interest to learn more about the background of this painting.

It was mentioned that in 1888, he wrote to his sister Willemien that 'there are colors that make each other shine, that form a couple, complement each other like man and woman.' He was referring to colors that are complementary to each other, like red and green, orange and blue. Van Gogh was deeply interested in the effects of colors and color theory. Particularly, the insights and paintings of the French artist Eugène Delacroix inspired him and led him to experiment with colors. Through these paintings, where color contrasts are so prominent, he eventually became famous. Think of 'The Sower' (1888) and 'Irises' (1890).

Preferences and Motivations

Upon seeing this post on social media, I immediately thought of our own 'color profiles': Communication Style and Character Profile, which allow us to map someone's preferences for communication styles and motivations. In these color profiles, red and green are also opposites. Red represents a preference for results, task and goal orientation. Green represents a focus on relationships and people. Paying attention to results often means that the focus on people recedes into the background, and vice versa. However, it doesn't have to be that way!

I've spoken to many people who have a strong focus on both others and achieving results. I'm envious of them! Like the manager who consistently keeps targets and organizational goals in mind while also seeking input and opinions from all team members. Yes, achieving goals is important, but not without my team! Or the colleague who genuinely listens to your story and then politely but directly wraps up the conversation because they need to move on to other tasks.

Attention to Others

So yes, red and green are opposites, but they are also definitely complementary to each other. Solely focusing on others won't get you far. Solely focusing on results puts you ahead of the pack but risks losing people along the way to that outcome... I believe in a good balance between the red and the green, the result-oriented and the people-oriented. One doesn't exclude the other; in fact, they beautifully complement each other. Van Gogh already knew that!

Mapping Out

Are you curious whether you lean more towards green or red, or if you have a strong preference for both (or neither)? Contact us to learn more about how we can map that out for you and what you can then do to find a better balance between result orientation on one hand and people orientation on the other.

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* Source: Van Gogh museum