Bright Earth: Art and the Invention of Color

Fin dall'inizio della civiltà umana i pittori hanno avuto bisogno di materia per rendere visibili i loro sogni; e di cosa è fatta la materia se non...di sostanze chimiche?
Le pitture rupestri delle grotte di Altamira in Spagna ne sono un primo (ma non primitivo) esempio, mentre il primo pigmento di sintesi fu il blu egizio, prodotto 2500 anni fa non per caso ma attraverso un procedimento che richiedeva una tecnologia complessa. Biacca, minio, blu oltremare, oro: la tavolozza del pittore medievale si amplia e con essa l'abilità dell'artista che vuole rendere durevoli e imperiture le sue opere. La necessità di dipingere fedelmente i colori della natura spinge in seguito il pittore a sperimentare nuove tecniche, cercare nuovi materiali show more che si manifestano sotto forma di giallo limone, arancio cromo, verde smeraldo, blu cobalto, bianco di zinco, solo per citarne alcuni. Colori tanto saturi che diventano essi stessi un mezzo di espressione dell'artista. Chissà se Vincent van Gogh avrebbe utilizzato lo stesso il giallo cromo per i suoi girasoli, sapendo che col tempo questo si sarebbe alterato diventando un ocra scuro.
In questa storia del colore "non ci sono né uova né galline: la scienza e la tecnologia chimiche e l'uso del colore nell'arte sono sempre vissute in una relazione simbiotica che ha determinato il corso di entrambe lungo tutto l'arco della storia". show less

Brimful of facts, the book enhances our understanding of colors, color perception and production, drawing and history of art in general. It portrays interesting intertwinement of painting techniques development and 'hardware' available for artists at various points in history.

I found it impossible to read without an Internet access available around. Despite a number of illustrations the author constantly refers (and for good reasons) to a yet greater number of works. Thus it is more rewarding - both estethically and cognitively - to check those paintings to better understand the points made by this brilliant author.

Tracing the history of painting (primarily European) by describing advances in technology and chemistry, this book is excellent. It was relatively easy to read and has many color reproductions to illustrate the various points as well as monochrome figures. I was interested in the evolution of pigments from raw minerals mined from the ground through chemical pigment manufacture in the twentieth century. It was also interesting to learn how methods of painting have changed from fresco and egg tempura through oils and into acrylics and other types of paint. Changes to color theory through time are also described in this volume, which is something I previously knew next to nothing about. Reading this book, artists will learn about chemistry show more and chemists will learn about art. show less

I enjoyed this book very much, as it explains in a clear and chronological way the development of pigments, dyes and other materials. It shows the importance of industry in its continuous search for less expensive and more durable dyes and new art trends.
I found the book so motivating that I bought from Kremer Pigmente (Germany) samples of the pigments used by the artists in the Middle Ages, just to have a "feel" of the real color!

A highly entertaining survey for the invention of artist pigments through out the human history.

Wonderful book! Art history focusing on the use of color; and the science and technology of pigments. A bit of color theory also. Full of a wealth of details both significant and just fun.
Erica Kline, 11/20/2002

Lots of information about pigments and dyes and how these are used scientifically to identify a work of art.
Very good information for those interested in delving deeper into the history of color.