Chromatopia: An Illustrated History of Color : Book by David Coles
Price:
$23.10
- Featuring color histories, a section on working with monochromatic color, and 'recipes' for paint-making, Chromatopia provides color enthusiasts with an eclectic story of how synthetic colors came to be.
- Reveals the origin stories of over 50 of history's most interesting pigments
- Features in-depth colour histories
- Full colour illustration
Info
Featuring informative and detailed color histories, a section on working with monochromatic color, and 'recipes' for paint-making, Chromatopia provides color enthusiasts with an eclectic story of how synthetic colors came to be. For example, did you know that the Egyptians created the first synthetic color, or that the noblest purple comes from a predatory sea snail? Throughout history, artist pigments have been made from deadly metals, poisonous minerals, urine, cow dung, and even crushed insects.
From grinding down beetles and burning animal bones to alchemy and serendipity, Chromatopia reveals the origin stories of over 50 of history's most extraordinary pigments. Spanning the ancient world to modern leaps in technology, this is a book for the artist, the history buff, the science lover and the design fanatic.
Chromatopia is the creation of David Coles, founder and master paintmaker at Langridge Artist Colors. David has been involved in the world of color his whole life, both as a paintmaker and lecturer. By bringing art and science together, this book is the culmination of over two decades’ experience.
- Size: 171 x 225 x 25mm
- Format: Hardcover, 240pp
- ISBN-13: 9781760760021
- Publisher: Thames and Hudson
Spec
Product Code | BKT085 |
---|---|
To Use With | Oil, Acrylic, Watercolor, Gouache, Pastel, Colored Pencil, General |
Quality | Excellent |
Books & Magazines : Subject | Art History |
Books & Magazines : Author/Artist | David Coles |
Weight (kg) | 0.859000 |
Reviews 4
Review
It is a really excellent book about the history of Pigment, text and photos wonderful!
Review
Chromatopia is the kind of book I've wanted for a long time, having developed a great curiosity about the history of pigments through my own painting. There are a lot of books to choose from when it comes to this subject, and David Coles' book is a real pleasure to read for anyone who is interested in getting a behind-the-scenes look at these fascinating pigments. The book is a hardback, and a very pleasant size to hold; plenty of pages but not too weighty either. The first thing to get my attention upon receiving the book was the front cover, the interesting layout of different colour pigments makes you want to immediately open the book and start learning about these intriguing pieces of colour. There is a very interesting little introduction at the beginning, detailing the author and his experience with colour, which was fascinating; the author's enthusiasm for his life's work is infectious and it was a treat to read about how much attention he pays to the manufacture of his own paints. The book is then laid out in sections, ten chapters of many different colours and types of pigment, of which quite a few were new to me. Almost every single page is accompanied by the most lavish, beautiful photography I've ever seen in a technical book; it's clear that the photographer, Adrian Lander, is as gifted at his chosen profession as David Coles is with paint and colour. Most pigments have one page descriptions, with an accompanying photo, and reading each one is a pleasure. I've learned some amazing things about each pigment, though some of the technical terminology was a bit beyond me, even though there is a very useful glossary provided also. I did find find when reading about some pigments, the author referenced another pigment I hadn't read about yet, which was a few pages later on, so that involved a lot of flicking pages; I think it might benefit from the pages being printed in a different order, but that's only a minor quibble. A larger issue I had came towards the last quarter of the book. After some pages of paint recipes (for those interested in making their own paint, also very interesting to read), the final part of the book was taken up with a section called "Artists' Colour", which consists of photographs of various artists' paintings/art works using some colours described in the book. Everyone's opinion of what constitutes art is different, so this chapter will undoubtedly please some readers, but I found the style visually displeasing; I'd have preferred to see samples of beautiful artworks showing a clever use of the pigments described, rather than a modern art exhibition. However, this is only a personal opinion and the rest of the book more than makes up for any shortcomings. This is an informative, knowledgeable book written by an author who really knows his craft, and it makes for some really fascinating reading. It may not suit those searching for an extremely detailed look at each pigment, this is more of a concise general look, but for most people it is a beautifully written and gorgeously photographed journey through a rainbow of colour. I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in painting or just colour in general.
Review
The book was not for me but the recipient says it was just what she wanted.
Review
Excellent Book, well written and visually stunning. Brilliant service from Jackson’s as always and the best price on the Internet.