The Secret Lives of Colour: RADIO 4’s BOOK OF THE WEEK
£0.90
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
‘A mind-expanding tour of the world without leaving your paintbox. Every colour has a story, and here are some of the most alluring, alarming, and thought-provoking. Very hard painting the hallway magnolia after this inspiring primer.’
Simon Garfield
The Secret Lives of Colour tells the unusual stories of the 75 most fascinating shades, dyes and hues. From blonde to ginger, the brown that changed the way battles were fought to the white that protected against the plague, Picasso’s blue period to the charcoal on the cave walls at Lascaux, acid yellow to kelly green, and from scarlet women to imperial purple, these surprising stories run like a bright thread throughout history. In this book Kassia St Clair has turned her lifelong obsession with colours and where they come from (whether Van Gogh’s chrome yellow sunflowers or punk’s fluorescent pink) into a unique study of human civilisation. Across fashion and politics, art and war, The Secret Lives of Colour tell the vivid story of our culture.
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Additional information
| Publisher | John Murray, Illustrated edition (20 Oct. 2016) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| File size | 4649 KB |
| Text-to-Speech | Enabled |
| Enhanced typesetting | Enabled |
| X-Ray | Enabled |
| Word Wise | Enabled |
| Sticky notes | On Kindle Scribe |
| Print length | 443 pages |
by Geoff Charnley
Comprehensive review of colour. Very interesting and detailed information on their origins and uses. Can always use as a reference book.
Adding to my original review. The answers to the Aesop fable listed on page 245 is the stoat. It is slightly bigger than a weasel and the end of its tail is black. It can take on prey 10 times it’s sjze.
by Laura Simms
I enjoyed some of the facts in this book but I would have liked to have seen more reference to current culture. It would have been useful to see pictures of the paintings that had been referred to.
by Tanja
A little box of wonders – well structured by colour chapters (e.g. Blue) and sub chapters (e.g. Ultramarine / Cobalt / Indigo / Prussian Blue etc.), full of snippets of history, science, anthropology and fashion to dip in and out of. Exactly the kind of thing anyone who works with paint, fabric or in material studies would want to read in the evening over a glass of something. Not too in-depth, but not designed to be either – it’s more of an elegant incentive to study colour and see how it connects multiple disciples and aspects of everyday life. Bibliography at the back invites you to look up Kassia St Clair’s sources and find out more. Would absolutely recommend!
by Ninaminacat
I was drawn to this book in a bookshop by its striking cover. I loved the samples of the various colours throughout the book and the general presentation of the volume but wondered if I could really justify the expense – or the space on already full bookshelves. Can you imagine my delight when I discovered that the title was available on Kindle Unlimited?
I chose to read the book in page order to avoid missing out any of the shades and was soon fascinated. I loved not knowing what aspect of a shade would be covered in its short chapter; would it be how the natural ingredient was processed, a new dye invented or some other historical facts about that particular nuance of the colour in question? The variety was part of the excitement. I was regularly clicking on the links to see a sample of a shade when it was mentioned the general introduction to that colour, checking footnotes and scouring the biography for further reading.
The Kindle edition has the advantage of your being able to find the shade you want instantaneously, but the physical book itself is so appealing with its full pages of colour that, in spite of having read it for free, I shall almost certainly buy the book. Five full glowing stars
by Rose
This book is an ideal gift for anyone interested in arts & crafts, especially writers and visual artists. It is easy to dip into and every chapter contains beautifully written gems of interest. Would also be great for quiz complilers or secondary school children and students.
by Cayleigh May
This book was brilliant! Physically heavy though so not a book for reading in the bath!
I learnt so many random but fascinating facts from this book. I read it slower than other books as There are so Many facts it’s hard to read too many colours history in one.
Great book to dip in and out. Recommend for anyone interested in art, colour, history, general knowledge or quiz goers!
by Gary W.
The Radio 4 show on this book got me through a very long motorway drive. Absolutely fascinating, ideal for artists, sociologists, historians or lovers of fashion. So impressed got home and ordered two copies as gifts for the artists in my life. I’ll finish reading it before I pass one on though. Ideal to dip into also with the colour match page edges for each chapter.
by Dunse Man
delightful red..really interesting..fascinating information . As ever, Kindle is an inexpensive and quick way to build a library