Colour: different approaches in two books
Colour is everywhere. It’s an endless source of inspiration and research for artists, philosophers, scientists, historians and others. I recently bought two different books about colour: “Chromaphilia - the Story of Colour in Art” by Stella Paul (Phaidon) and “Colour - A Visual History” by Alexandra Loske (Tate Editions). Even if they talk about the same subject, the approach of each one is different.
The first book is about the unique history of individual colours and is structured by hue, beginning by the earth colours and finishing by black. It’s richly illustrated with works of art from all historical periods, from the pre-historic cave paintings to contemporary art. It offers numerous ways to be read and can be used as an artistic practice guide. The second book is more about colour theories and palettes throughout history. In the introduction of the book there’s a quote that I find pretty interesting : “The order of colour, both practically and conceptually, is a mirror of its time.” This book is very well illustrated and the amount of information is amazing. It talks about colour manuals, Isaac Newton’s rainbow, Bauhaus school, Turner, Pisarro, Matisse and it covers a variety of colour theories from artists, philosophers, psychologists and scientists. You can feel right away the huge research and care the author had writing this book.
If you are a colour addicted like me, these books worth a look even if you not an artist.
The covers of Chromaphilia - The Story of Colour in Art and Colour - A Visual History
Few pages of the book Colour - A Visual History
