Bright Earth

The Invention of Colour

Philip Ball

$49.99

Paperback

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English

Vintage
01 July 2008

Theory of art; Mathematics & Sciences; History of science; Popular science; Light (optics); Pigments, dyestuffs & paint technology; Painting & art manuals

A brilliant exploration of the science of art and of colour

Colour in art - as in life - is both inspiring and uplifting, but where does it come from? How have artists found new hues, and how have these influenced their work? Beginning with the ancients - when just a handful of pigments made up the artist's palette - and charting the discoveries and developments that have led to the many splendoured rainbow of modern paints, Bright Earth brings the story of colour spectacularly alive. Packed with anecdotes about lucky accidents and hapless misfortunes in the quests for new colours, it provides an entertaining and fascinating new perspective on the science of art.

By: Philip Ball
Imprint: Vintage
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 198mm, Width: 129mm, Spine: 28mm
Weight: 344g
ISBN: 9780099507130
ISBN 10: 0099507137
Pages: 448
Publication Date: 01 July 2008
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Philip Ball is a freelance writer and a consultant editor for the world's leading science journal Nature. He is a regular commentator on the interactions between science, art, history and culture. His previous books include Bright Earth: The Invention of Colour, H2O: A Biography of Water and Critical Mass: How One Thing Leads To Another, which won the 2005 Aventis Prize for Science Books. He lives in London with his wife and daughter.

Reviews for Bright Earth: The Invention of Colour

Scattered with attractive particles, sparkles with redolent names... A solid, well-researched compendium of information * TLS * Full of fascinating vignettes. Philip Ball writes engagingly on complicated topics * Sunday Telegraph * A succinct and elegantly structured new survey of Western painting. Ball pitches his learning just right between academic history and a highly readable series of anecdotes and biographical sketches * Daily Mail * Brings the mysterious subject of colour wonderfully alive. Quite literally an eye-opener * Economist * Brilliant...in every sense. Ball's book is the volume that has been missing from my library * Guardian *