 | | |
| Color: A Natural History of the Palette | 
 enlarge | Author: Victoria Finlay
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Category: Book
List Price: $16.00
Buy New: $5.73
You Save: $10.27 (64%)
Buy New/Used from $5.73
Avg. Customer Rating:  (39 reviews)
Sales Rank: 23992
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 464
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.5 x 1
ISBN: 0812971426
Dewey Decimal Number: 535.609
EAN: 9780812971422
ASIN: 0812971426
Publication Date: December 30, 2003
Release Date: December 30, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Discover the tantalizing true stories behind your favorite colors.
For example: Cleopatra used saffron—a source of the color yellow—for seduction. Extracted from an Afghan mine, the blue “ultramarine” paint used by Michelangelo was so expensive he couldn’t afford to buy it himself. Since ancient times, carmine red—still found in lipsticks and Cherry Coke today—has come from the blood of insects.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 34 more reviews...
 What you didn't know that you really want to know August 13, 2008
I took for granted all the colors and dyes in our everyday lives -- yet these seemingly simple colors each have a history, a point of origin, a story: these tales are fascinating. (I will never be able look at blue jeans with the same complacence again.) And this is a great travelogue too: Finlay travels the world to search out the colors....
 A Fascinating Look at Colors and Their History August 7, 2008
This book was recommended to me by a customer in my shop, following a discussion of art and textiles from Indonesia, Central Asia and the Middle East. I found it to be an informative read. It presented a lot of information on the history and anthropology of colors, providing perspectives that I found to be interesting. In some places the author's style was somewhat off-putting which detracted somewhat from the content. That aside, I recommend the book and have in fact suggested it to several artists who have visited my shop, Interesting Stuff.
Awesome and useful June 28, 2008
I use some of the fun facts from this book in the oil painting class I teach. A very entertaining and educational travelogue. I really enjoyed how the author tied different narrative threads together.
Voyage to the source of colors June 18, 2008
Part travelogue, part history and part study of the origins and source of pigments, "Color" is always informative and engaging. There is no book quite like this. For the painter, amateur or professional, the book will provide inspiration and a new way to look at and think about color. For the non-artist, it is an eye-opening essay into this exciting world. You'll want to rush out and buy a paint set afterwards.
Color May 1, 2008
Color: A Natural History of the Palette
This book was highly recommended by a potter on an online listserve for potters. I found this book very interesting because of the travels by the author to find the areas that the materials used in color originated. It told me of the history of the area/country where the materials came from, as well as the methods used to develop the colors, and the people who used the colors. She talked about people continuing to use a color (the painter Turner) even though he knew the color would not last, as well a people continuing to use a color that would affect their health (lead as part of the process) because that's the only way to get that color, which continues to this day.
|
|
|
| | |
