A delightful little romp through the quirks of 75 colors. Additional colors get a color swatch and sentence in the back of the book

In looking at images of famous paintings, I had no idea that many of the colors they had to choose from were not permanent. Some of them would color shift just from being next to certain other colors. Sometimes artist would put a layer of varnish between colors that wanted to interact with each other - how tedious.

It was interesting to read about the discovery, manufacture, quirks, and life span of colors as laws changed, fashion changed, or when less finicky or less expensive alternatives became available.

The beautiful colors on the edge of the pages are often less vivid than the described color. (2017 Penguin hardcover edition) ( )

https://tamaranth.blogspot.com/2023/12/2023177-secret-lives-of-colour-kassia.htm... ( )

Как известно, российский флаг срисован Петром I с голландского. Однако изначально тот имел не красную, а оранжевую полосу, в честь правящего дома. Увы, стойкой оранжевой краски на тот момент не было — она темнела до красного или выцветала до желтого. Плюнув, голландцы, остановились на более устойчивом красителе, а оранжевый у нас теперь повод не для гордости, а для опасения. Новая книга не о семи цветах радуги, а об их 75 оттенках, в основном с неизвестными для обычного человека названиями, зачаровывает читателя калейдоскопом неожиданных знаний из самых разных областей. Всю свою историю человечество искало новые красители, успокоившись лишь в XIX веке с изобретением анилиновых красителей, что, однако, не помешало лондонскому магазину продавать коричневый из толченых египетских мумий аж до 1964 года. Интересны и современные исследования цветовосприятия: так, розовый Бейкера-Миллера успокаивает заключенных, а для успешной продажи недвижимости ни в коем случае не стоит красить ее в бежевый. Хотя по последним данным Вселенная именно бежевая, точнее, цвета «космический латте». ( )

This book is very interesting. It would have got 5* from me had it had pictures or photos on the artworks etc it referenced, this slight criticism means I can only give it 4.5* but it is one for my keeper shelf as I am sure I will want to read it again. ( )

Intriguing and enjoyable look at the history and provenance of 75 colors with special attention to their role in art: it shows how much of art was dependent upon what was available at the time. This book is beautifully designed, a visual work of art itself. Only quibble is it would’ve been nice to have a brief end chapter discussing the future of the use of colors in art and/or current debates as follow ups on points raised throughout the book.

Some examples of how color interacts with our world:

Sensationalist literature of 19C kept between yellow covers (yellow journalism) — the Middle Ages forced ostracized groups to wear yellow vs the ‘Yellow Nineties’ as artists adopted it in repudiation of Victorian values.
Orange was the star of Monet’s ‘Impression, Sunrise’ (plus color contrast theory, leading to a new movement. The orange-red minium is the color of illuminated manuscript capitals/pilcrows leading to our word ‘miniature’. New theories on shadows (they weren’t black or grey but actually colored) and complementary color schemes (violet complements yellow) ergo the shade depicted in a painting would be soft violet. 1881 Manet “Fresh air is violet”: This was exciting to read because I have always thought the same thing. ( )