Color: A Natural History of the Palette

During her journey, both literal and literary, Finlay learns of many little-known tribes and historical curiosities: too-trusting Puritans purchasing cheaply dyed black clothes destined to turn orange in a matter of weeks; the rise and heartbreaking fall of the art of the Pintupi tribe in barren central Australia during the 1970s; and the once-supreme economic clout of indigo from Bengal-to take just three examples among dozens. Or is it? It turns out that the pigments and dyes responsible for hues have many remarkable characteristics, most of which we rarely ponder. To delve into this book is to see the experimental, scientific side of the old masters and the artistic qualities of invent

Defective Kindle Edition (review of Kindle only) Mae This review pertains ONLY to the kindle edition. This is cheap but very defective! NO ILLUSTRATIONS. The notes are not linked from the text, and in the Notes section, the numbers are omitted. So figuring out which note goes with which part of the text is your challenge.. A fun, timeless must read adventure charity marchandt I love art history books but am aware that many have better use, curing insomnia. Although this book was more and two hundred pages, it was a wonderful, well researched, attention grabbing narrative about the history of color, the difference between pigment and dye , the search for "forgotten" recipes and human sentiment around the globe to color. Even the epilogue and bibliography are useful and easy to follow.. NOT color-ful The kindle version of this book -- allegedly about the world's dazzling colors -- is in BLACK & WHITE!!!! Desperately trying to get my money back.

Extracted from an Afghan mine, the blue “ultramarine” paint used by Michelangelo was so expensive he couldn’t afford to buy it himself. Discover the tantalizing true stories behind your favorite colors.For example: Cleopatra used saffron—a source of the color yellow—for seduction. Since ancient times, carmine red—still found in lipsticks and Cherry Coke today—has come from the blood of insects.