Colour: Travels Through the Paintbox - Softcover

Finlay, Victoria

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0340826320 ISBN 13: 9780340826324

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton Ltd, 2002

Synopsis

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 account of the history of colour. Part travelogue, part narrative history, this volume unlocks the history of the colours of the rainbow, and reveals how paints came to be invented, discovered, traded and used. This account remembers a time when red paint was really the colour of blood, when orange was the poison pigment, blue as expensive as gold, and yellow made from the urine of cows force-fed with mangoes. It looks at how green was carried by yaks along the silk road, and how an entire nation was founded on the colour purple. This book lifts the lid on the historical palette and unearths a wealth of stories about the quest for colours, and our efforts to understand them.

About this title

About the Author

Victoria Finlay studied social anthropology at St Andrews University, specialising in Asian culture. She worked as a journalist in Hong Kong for eleven years, five of which were spent as arts editor for the South China Morning Post. She has recently moved back to England and is busy researching her second book - a biography of precious stones.

Review

A welcome reminder of the epic stories beneath the surface of everyday life * Telegraph * Victoria Finlay has unlocked the history of colour in this trawl through some little-known history * Courier Mail ( Australia) * Packed with facts, fables and anecdotes ... Finlay's detailed and brilliantly researched account makes for a fascinating read * Australian Interior Trends * An irresistible cornucopia ...Her travels are Marco Polish; her research vast but lightly worn. The whole book is an infectious delight. * RTE Guide * Full of forgotten facts and beguiling anecdotes . . . it would be hard to confront a painting ever again without seeing in it a kind of coded map of the world * Telegraph * An utterly unique and fascinating read * Publishers Weekly * It's hard to criticise her spirit of cultural exploration and easy to share her intelligent enthusiasm . . .Packed with pertinent trivia . . . informative and fun * South China Morning Post * You get your money's worth and change to spare ... Both picaresque and picturesque, it's a rich read. * Evening Standard * Packed with stories, anecdotes and adventures. A full rainbow ... as vivid as the colours themselves * Express * This is a rare and wonderful book - a model of erudition and charm, the writing elegant and precise, and with at least one new and fascinating revelation on every single page. I could not be more enthusiastic. * Simon Winchester, author of THE PROFESSOR AND THE MADMAN * A treasure trove of human history and obsession...the breadth of research and insight is dazzling. * The Glasgow Herald * A highly companionable guide, adventurous and romantic * Independent on Sunday * It's pure pleasure to join this gutsy arts reporter-cum-scholar on her quest for historical pigments and dyes around the world * Independent * [Victoria Finlay's] curiosity is inexhaustible, her reading wide, and her writing style a delight * Sunday Telegraph *

Edition details

• Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton Ltd
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0340826320
• ISBN 13: 9780340826324
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English