Brightness alteration with interweaving contours

Chromatic induction is observed whenever the perceived colour of a target surface shifts towards the hue of a neighbouring surface. Some vivid manifestations may be seen in a white background where thin coloured lines have been drawn (assimilation) or when lines of different colours are collinear (neon effect) or adjacent (watercolour) to each other. This study examines a particular colour induction that manifests in concomitance with an opposite effect of colour saturation (or anti-spread). The two phenomena can be observed when a repetitive pattern is drawn in which outline thin contours intercept wider contours or surfaces, colour spreading appear to fill the surface occupied by surfaces or thick lines whereas the background traversed by thin lines is seen as brighter or filled of a saturated white. These phenomena were first observed by Bozzi (1975) and Kanizsa (1979) in figural conditions that did not allow them to document their conjunction. Here we illustrate various manifestations of this twofold phenomenon and compare its effects with the known effects of brightness and colour induction. Some conjectures on the nature of these effects are discussed.