Color as a Generative Principle in the Work of Sonia Delaunay

Abstract This paper examines the role of color in the art of Sonia Delaunay as a conceptual preliminary study, with particular attention to how color may be interpreted as an autonomous, generative principle within the context of modern and contemporary visual culture. The research is grounded in the observation that, in Delaunay's oeuvre, color does not function merely as a formal or decorative element, but rather as an organizing force capable of structuring image, space, and visual rhythm according to its own internal logic. The study emphasizes that Sonia Delaunay's color-theoretical thinking cannot be fully separated from the work of Robert Delaunay or from the broader context of Parisian Orphism, within which color acquired dynamic, temporal, and energetic dimensions. Color theory is therefore approached not as an isolated artistic problem, but as part of a jointly developed theoretical and artistic system. In the age of digital and algorithmic image generation—where color selection and the construction of visual structures are increasingly mediated by automated systems—it becomes particularly timely to reassess artistic practices that treated color as an autonomous, generative principle. Rather than pursuing empirical analysis, this study outlines a historical and theoretical framework that connects the color-theoretical thinking of the Delaunay couple with the functioning of contemporary visual systems. The purpose of the text is to demonstrate why the oeuvre of Sonia Delaunay—interpreted in conjunction with that of Robert Delaunay—can be considered a relevant point of reference for the interpretation of contemporary visual culture, particularly in relation to algorithmic image generation and abstract visual systems, and why it is warranted to lay the groundwork for a later, more comprehensive interdisciplinary research on this subject. This working paper represents the final conceptual version of the study. Earlier developmental versions (v1–v6) are archived on Zenodo.