Product Description

On a journey that takes her from Afghanistan, to the Australian outback, to ancient caves in China, and the saffron harvest in Spain, Victoria Finlay gives an extraordinary, and compelling account of the history of colour.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #48156 in Books
• Published on: 2003-05-26
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 512 pages

Courier Mail ( Australia)
'Victoria Finlay has unlocked the history of colour in this trawl through some little-known history'

Australian Interior Trends
'Packed with facts, fables and anecdotes ... Finlay's detailed and brilliantly researched account makes for a fascinating read'

Independent on Sunday
'A highly companionable guide, adventurous and romantic'

Customer Reviews

A fantastic journey and a perfect guide
This is on my list of all time favourite books. I studied textile design and love old fabric, murals, paintings and stained glass. Colours have always had power to alter my mood and have greatly enhanced my life.

As always, something which we in todays modern world take for granted has much deeper meaning which we should all be aware of.

Most children think of colour as precious, and in this book Victoria proves that they are right, it has always been highly prized and has a magical and stunning history. I had long wondered where colour came from and she takes us along with her on her journey to uncover the secret.

She is a good tour guide and her own wonder shines through. A beautiful book for anyone who enjoys colour and art. Buy it for yourself and give it as a gift!

Gobsmacking
This is truely amazing - always fascinated by colour, but never, ever would I have guessed at the amazing stories behind them. So many unrelated puzzling trivials have been answered in this book, the old masters can be seen in a new light, even to an art heathen, the fact that the paintings have survived this long is indeed a feat of outstanding wonder, given the careful chemistry and make up of the materials they had to work with. A truely amazing, fascinating historical book, beautifully written, and I'm so glad I've had the opportunity to read it.

Absolutely fabulous
This book was the beginning of a travel of my own. The book takes us around the world discovering the origins of the pigments of all the colours in the rainbow. Combining historical facts, trivia stories and interesting people Victoria Finlay takes us on a journey that we do not wish to end! I am currently reading it for the second time and it has been a strong basis (both in terms of info and bibliography) for my thesis about the theory of colour in Portuguese Modernism.