The Historical past of Artwork in 39 Pigments”

In a brand new podcast episode from Yale College Press, creator Kelly Grovier talks about his new ebook, The Artwork of Color: The Historical past of Artwork in 39 Pigments. “Pigments are the syllables artwork speaks in,” Grovier writes within the ebook. “To grasp what they’re saying, it could be useful to hint their discovery and monitor the gradual accrual of connotations over time. The place etymology includes establishing a phrase’s genesis and evolution, maybe we would name the strategy pursued right here, of mapping the emergence of a given pigment so as to respect extra profoundly its significance in a given work, one thing analogous: artymology.”

Within the podcast, Grovier talks in regards to the historical past of bone black, ultramarine, mummy brown, Indian yellow, and extra. He makes a compelling case that reconstructing the forgotten myths and little-known scientific discoveries behind the creation of particular pigments will help us perceive in a brand new manner how the colours in a given art work have an effect on us, and finally enrich our expertise of artwork. It’s a contemporary strategy to the historical past of shade, and Grovier presents an thrilling seek for intriguing and strange tales; in his telling, a shade’s connotations are by no means mounted however are endlessly evolving.

Hearken to “Understanding Artwork Via the Historical past of Pigments” and be taught extra at yalebooks.yale.edu.