On the eve of World War I, Guillaume Apollinaire announced the birth of 'pure painting'. Scholars have typically understood this as an early version of mid-century theories of abstract art; however, that interpretation ignores the poet's close association with Robert and Sonia Delaunay. Those artists were deeply influenced by M. E. Chevreul, a nineteenth-century colour theorist who showed that complementary hues appear more pure when seen simultaneously. Most often discussed in relation to the

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... henomenological changes that occur when red and green are viewed side-by-side, simultaneous contrast suggests an alternative view of purity. For the Delaunays, pure painting was not a retreat from the world, but a way of making its dichotomies and conflicts more visible.