The Bottom Line
Well illustrated and accessibly written, Color in Art is an intriguing look at the complex relationship between color and art. For instance, you'll find out why colors weren't mixed in earlier centuries for ideological and chemical reasons, and how the introduction of oil as a medium changed this. If you'd like to know more about the cultural and scientific contexts of colors you use, it's well worth a read.
Pros
- Looks at how visual artists have used color through the ages
- Approached thematically, not chronologically
- Accessibly written but not dumbed down
- Comprehensive, annotated bibliography for further study, organized by chapter
Cons
- At times I wished there was more detail, but the bibliography will facilitate finding this elsewhere
- What look like footnote numbers are references to illustrations
Description
- Paperback book, 224 pages, 21x15cm (8x6"), 196 illustrations, 167 in color. First published 2007.
- Published by Thames & Hudson, in the World of Art series.
- Author John Gage was formerly Head of the Art History Department at Cambridge University.
- Chapter 1: Light from Colour -- Colour from Light.
Chapter 2: A Psychology of Colour
Chapter 3: The Shape of Colour - Chapter 4: The Health of Colours
Chapter 5: Languages of Colour
Chapter 6: Can Colour Signify - Chapter 7: The Union of the Senses
Chapter 8: Colour Trouble - Includes an introduction, short glossary, annotated bibliography, and index.
Guide Review - Book Review: "Colour in Art" by John Gage
Color is a fundamental element of painting, from the pigments we use to the way we perceive and represent it. But it's not something that's static, our knowledge and use of color has evolved with time, science, and society. Developments in chemistry have provided new colors for artists. Developments in physics, such as Newton's investigations of the colors of light, have changed the way artists understand color perception. Color in Art investigates color through the ages from the viewpoint of the artist, making it an engaging approach to a subject that many painters might otherwise fear was too scientific or academic.
Being an introduction to a broad-ranging subject, the text moves from topic to topic briskly. At times you're tantalized with snippets you'd like to know more about, but fortunately there's an annotated bibliography arranged by chapter that will facilitate further study on a particular topic. The text is accompanied by nearly 200 illustrations, most with detailed captions. (In fact, starting with just the captions would be one way to approach this book.) Where reference is made in the text to a specific illustration, this is clearly indicated by the illustration's number, making it easy to find it.
Topics covered include how light and color were once considered different entities in Western culture and how Isaac Newton's studies changed this in the 17th century. How the notion of three primary colors developed and how artists such as Kandinsky investigated the idea of there being three primary shapes to go with these colors. There's the psychology and symbolism of colors, and the words we used to describe them. Natural colors, traditional colors, and chromaphobia. It's a book for every painter who wants to have a more in-depth relationship with their colors, to move beyond simply transferring it from a tube onto a canvas.
