Color Charts Through History

For centuries artists have explored ways to map the universe of color. Each kind of chart reflects a different conception of color. Here are a few examples, from a selection by The Public Domain Review

"A chart from 1746 by Jacques-Fabien Gautier illustrating his theory that the primary colours
are black and white, with red, yellow, and blue being secondary. Colours were thought
to be drawn out of the shadows by the presence of light – Source."

"Philipp Otto Runge’s Farbenkugel (1810). The top two images show the surface
of the sphere, while the bottom two show horizontal and vertical cross sections –Source." 

"Johann Heinrich Lambert’s three-dimensional adaptation of
Tobias Mayer’s triangle, featured in his Beschreibung einer mit
dem Calauschen Wachse ausgemalten Farbenpyramide (1772) – Source."

"Page from Priced catalogue of artists’ materials : supplies for
oil painting, water color painting, china painting … and
drawing materials for architects and engineers, manual
training schools and colleges (1914) – Source."

Captions quoted from: The Public Domain Review. See more at their post Color Wheel Charts and Tables Through History
More about color systems in my book: Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter