Final answer:
Horses are not entirely color blind; they have dichromatic vision and can see blue and yellow but struggle with red and green. Similarly, bulls are color blind to red, not affected by the color itself but by the movement of the matador's cape.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that horses see a very drab mosaic landscape with different amounts of light reflecting from it is false. Horses are not completely color blind as once was thought. Research suggests that horses can see colors, but their spectrum is limited compared to humans. Specifically, horses have dichromatic vision, meaning they most likely cannot distinguish between red and green shades, seeing these colors as varying shades of gray. However, they can distinguish between blue and yellow. This type of vision is similar to humans who have red-green color blindness.
Contrary to the misconception that bulls are provoked by the color red, bulls are actually color blind to red. Matadors use the movement of the cape to attract the bull's attention, not its color. Animals, including dogs and cats, may also see in limited color. Dogs for instance, can see shades of blue and yellow but not red and green. Furthermore, bees see a different range of colors including ultraviolet light, which is not visible to humans.
In art, use of color can greatly affect the representation and symbolism. In Blue Horse I by Franz Marc, the color blue is used symbolically to convey certain emotions and characteristics, while the horse stands against a background of colors that it may not perceive the same way humans do. The artwork’s interplay of colors has symbolic meaning, even if that is not how a horse would see the world.