The Science of Color by
The Science of Color focuses on the principles and observations that are foundations of modern color science. Written for a general scientific audience, the book broadly covers essential topics in the interdisciplinary field of color, drawing from physics, physiology and psychology. This book comprises eight chapters and begins by tracing scientific thinking about color since the seventeenth century. This historical perspective provides an introduction to the fundamental questions in color science, by following advances as well as misconceptions over more than 300 years. The next chapters then discuss the relationship between light, the retinal image, and photoreceptors, followed by a focus on concepts such as color matching and color discrimination; color appearance and color difference specification; the physiology of color vision; the 15 mechanisms of the physics and chemistry of color; and digital color reproduction. Each chapter begins with a short outline that summarizes the organization and breadth of its material. The outlines are valuable guides to chapter structure, and worth scanning even by readers who may not care to go through a chapter from start to finish. This book will be of interest to scientists, artists, manufacturers, and students.
Dictionary of Colour by
This dictionary is the first of its kind: a treasury of color words and phrases, a comprehensive resource for exploring every aspect of color and it many applications across the disciplines and through the ages.Words are drawn from many different worlds including art, artists, craft and design, painting, printing and sculpture, the decorative arts, gems, fashion, textiles, cosmetics, physics, maths, astronomy, chemistry, dyes, colorants, paints, biology, geography, geology, minerals, history, art history, social history, religion, philosophy, heraldry, mythology and symbolism, languarge, linguistrics, grammar, slang, literature inc. the Bible and Shakespeare], music, theatre, photography, television and film, psychology and human behavior, education, politics, commerce, economics, finance, law, travel, war, vision and color-blindness, medicine, drugs and color therapy, food and drink, color theory and many others.Who should buy this book?Writers, journalists, copywriters, graphic, textile and fashion designers, artists and illustrators, art students, art critics, decorators, architects, set designers, colorists and dye-makers, color scientists, product designers, product originators and marketers, manufacturers of paints and wall-papers, language enthusiasts, word-lovers and dictionary collectors, general libraries and academic libraries relating to the above disciplines.
The Secret Lives of Color by
One of USA Today's "100 Books to Read While Stuck at Home During the Coronavirus Crisis" A dazzling gift, the unforgettable, unknown history of colors and the vivid stories behind them in a beautiful multi-colored volume. "Beautifully written . . . Full of anecdotes and fascinating research, this elegant compendium has all the answers." --NPR, Best Books of 2017 The Secret Lives of Color tells the unusual stories of seventy-five fascinating shades, dyes, and hues. From blonde to ginger, the brown that changed the way battles were fought to the white that protected against the plague, Picasso's blue period to the charcoal on the cave walls at Lascaux, acid yellow to kelly green, and from scarlet women to imperial purple, these surprising stories run like a bright thread throughout history. In this book, Kassia St. Clair has turned her lifelong obsession with colors and where they come from (whether Van Gogh's chrome yellow sunflowers or punk's fluorescent pink) into a unique study of human civilization. Across fashion and politics, art and war, the secret lives of color tell the vivid story of our culture. "This passionate and majestic compedium will leave you bathed in the gorgeous optics of light." --Elle
Black by
The story of the color black in art, fashion, and culture--from the beginning of history to the twenty-first century Black--favorite color of priests and penitents, artists and ascetics, fashion designers and fascists--has always stood for powerfully opposed ideas: authority and humility, sin and holiness, rebellion and conformity, wealth and poverty, good and bad. In this beautiful and richly illustrated book, the acclaimed author of Blue now tells the fascinating social history of the color black in Europe. In the beginning was black, Michel Pastoureau tells us. The archetypal color of darkness and death, black was associated in the early Christian period with hell and the devil but also with monastic virtue. In the medieval era, black became the habit of courtiers and a hallmark of royal luxury. Black took on new meanings for early modern Europeans as they began to print words and images in black and white, and to absorb Isaac Newton's announcement that black was no color after all. During the romantic period, black was melancholy's friend, while in the twentieth century black (and white) came to dominate art, print, photography, and film, and was finally restored to the status of a true color. For Pastoureau, the history of any color must be a social history first because it is societies that give colors everything from their changing names to their changing meanings--and black is exemplary in this regard. In dyes, fabrics, and clothing, and in painting and other art works, black has always been a forceful--and ambivalent--shaper of social, symbolic, and ideological meaning in European societies. With its striking design and compelling text, Black will delight anyone who is interested in the history of fashion, art, media, or design.
Blue by
A beautifully illustrated visual and cultural history of the color blue throughout the ages Blue has had a long and topsy-turvy history in the Western world. The ancient Greeks scorned it as ugly and barbaric, but most Americans and Europeans now cite it as their favorite color. In this fascinating history, the renowned medievalist Michel Pastoureau traces the changing meanings of blue from its rare appearance in prehistoric art to its international ubiquity today. Any history of color is, above all, a social history. Pastoureau investigates how the ever-changing role of blue in society has been reflected in manuscripts, stained glass, heraldry, clothing, paintings, and popular culture. Beginning with the almost total absence of blue from ancient Western art and language, the story moves to medieval Europe. As people began to associate blue with the Virgin Mary, the color became a powerful element in church decoration and symbolism. Blue gained new favor as a royal color in the twelfth century and became a formidable political and military force during the French Revolution. As blue triumphed in the modern era, new shades were created and blue became the color of romance and the blues. Finally, Pastoureau follows blue into contemporary times, when military clothing gave way to the everyday uniform of blue jeans and blue became the universal and unifying color of the Earth as seen from space. Beautifully illustrated, Blue tells the intriguing story of our favorite color and the cultures that have hated it, loved it, and made it essential to some of our greatest works of art.
Red by
A beautifully illustrated visual and cultural history of the color red throughout the ages The color red has represented many things, from the life force and the divine to love, lust, and anger. Up through the Middle Ages, red held a place of privilege in the Western world. For many cultures, red was not just one color of many but rather the only color worthy enough to be used for social purposes. In some languages, the word for red was the same as the word for color. The first color developed for painting and dying, red became associated in antiquity with war, wealth, and power. In the medieval period, red held both religious significance, as the color of the blood of Christ and the fires of Hell, and secular meaning, as a symbol of love, glory, and beauty. Yet during the Protestant Reformation, red began to decline in status. Viewed as indecent and immoral and linked to luxury and the excesses of the Catholic Church, red fell out of favor. After the French Revolution, red gained new respect as the color of progressive movements and radical left-wing politics. In this beautifully illustrated book, Michel Pastoureau, the acclaimed author of Blue, Black, and Green, now masterfully navigates centuries of symbolism and complex meanings to present the fascinating and sometimes controversial history of the color red. Pastoureau illuminates red's evolution through a diverse selection of captivating images, including the cave paintings of Lascaux, the works of Renaissance masters, and the modern paintings and stained glass of Mark Rothko and Josef Albers.
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