Product Description

If you want to know why a good blue was so hard to find for so long, or why printed reproductions rarely match the colour of the originals, or why Rothko's canvases have changed colour in only 40 years, or just about anything else about the art and science involved in creating and using colour, "Bright Earth" is the book for you. From Egyptian wall paintings to the Venetian Renaissance, impressionism to digital images, Philip Ball tells the fascinating story of how art, chemistry and technology have interacted throughout the ages to render the gorgeous hues we admire on our walls and in our museums.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #848612 in Books
• Published on: 2003-05-19
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 424 pages

Customer Reviews

History of paint
Colour is easy to take as grant. However, the great painters of the history worked often with a very limited palettes, as good pigments simply weren't invented. The best blues and reds were very valuable, which defined the ways they were used in medieval painting. There's plenty of detail in the history of art that can be explained by the economics and chemistry of paint.

Philip Ball is a chemist and painters will learn a lot of chemistry from this book. Chemists will learn about art and painting and curious reader will learn both. The book is clearly written, entertaining and educational: an excellent example of good popular science. There are plenty of interesting details, as Ball goes through the history of art and pigments from the stone age cave paintings to modern art. (Review based on the Finnish translation.)