Color : a Natural History of the Palette

132 Pages·2007·0.93 MB·English

by  Finlay

Table of Contents
Title Page
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Praise
PREFACE - The Beginning of the Rainbow
INTRODUCTION - The Paintbox
1 - Ochre
SYDNEY
DARWIN
TRADING OCHRE
OCHRE INCEST TABOOS
THE EDGES OF ARNHEMLAND
ALICE SPRINGS
UTOPIA
WHEN THE COLORS WERE TAKEN AWAY
2 - Black and Brown
THE FIRST PAINTING
THE OTHER EARLIEST PAINTINGS
IMPERMANENCE
CHARCOAL
SEDUCTIVE MASCARA
PENCILS
INK
PERMANENCE
DARK DYES
DEAD BODIES
THE JOURNEY
3 - White
DYING TO BE WHITE
THE STORY OF THE SKELETONS
THE SACRIFICE OF THE FIVE-PIGMENT GIRL
THE ADVENTURES OF LANGDON WARNER
WHITER SHADES OF PALE
WHITE HOUSES
PERFECT WHITES
THE WOMAN IN WHITE: A POSTSCRIPT
4 - Red
THE PLANTATION
THE OLD WORLD BUG
NEW WORLD INSECT
A SPY IN MEXICO
INDIAN RED
THE DRAGON AND THE ELEPHANT
5 - Orange
CREMONA
BASTARD SAFFRON AND THE BLOOD OF DRAGONS
MAD ABOUT MADDER
ITALY
6 - Yellow
INDIAN YELLOW
GAMBOGE AND ORPIMENT
SAFFRON
SAFFRON WALDEN
IN WHICH I FIND JESUS
PERSIAN YELLOW
THE LAUGHING SPICE
PURPLE MANTLES
7 - Green
THE SECRETS OF CELADON
THE POISONER RETURNS
THE LOST GREENS
A ONE-POT DYE
8 - Blue
BEYOND THE SEAS
THE KHYBER
BAMIYAN
A GREMLIN BLUE
SECOND ATTEMPT
THE COLOR OF THE SKY
LOSING A SHOE
CHARTRES BLUE
THE VIRGIN’S ROBE
9 - Indigo
A FIGHTER’S WEED
WOAD AND THE MIDDLE CLASSES
INDIGO IN THE OTHER INDIES
MAYAN BLUES
ISAAC’S INDIGO
A REBEL’S COLOR
THE LAST INDIGO PLANT
10 - Violet
A FUNERAL
THE PURPLE PEOPLE
THE FLUTTERING OF A BUTTERFLY’S WINGS
PASSION AND POWER
TYRE
A DYE FADES
THE PURPLE OF THE MIXTECS
THE SECRET OF TEKHELET
EPILOGUE - The End of the Rainbow
NOTES
BIBLIOGRAPHY
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS, MAPS AND PHOTOGRAPHS
CREDITS
Copyright Page
For my parents, Jeannie and Patrick,
who first showed me the place where light dances
“LOADED WITH FASCINATING TIDBITS.” —Boston Herald
“A rainbow of stories . . . Even casual natural history fans can enjoy Finlay’s
conversational style and her enthusiasm for her little-understood topic.” —
Chicago Tribune
“Color is the essence of landscape, of mood, of our whole perception of the
physical world. Victoria Finlay has traveled through Iran, Afghanistan, and other
places to investigate the origin of all those tantalizingly sensual ochers and reds
and blues. What a creative idea for a book!” —ROBERT D. KAPLAN, author of
The Ends of the Earth and Eastward to Tartary
“A model of erudition and charm, the writing elegant and precise.” —SIMON
WINCHESTER
“Exhilarating . . . Finlay’s wide-ranging, richly detailed, and bravely researched
survey of the colors of the palette leaves few stones—be they lapis, malachite, or
ochre—unturned. . . . You’ll never look at a box of Crayolas the same way.” —
Book Street USA
“Part travelogue, part history lesson, and part science seminar, Color takes us to
remote parts of the world. . . . An inspired concept, Finlay shows the rich history
behind what most of us take for granted.” —SOMA: Left Coast Culture
“Packed with facts, fables, and anecdotes about the history of color, Finlay’s
detailed and brilliantly researched account makes for a fascinating read.”
—Australian Interior Trends
“Compelling . . . Curious social mores, serendipitous science, and lots of
skullduggery are all part of the rich spectrum Finlay so cheerfully illuminates.”
—Booklist
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I had thought, when I set out on my travels—when I first tumbled through that
paintbox—that I would somehow find, in the original stories of colors,
something pure. It was a naïve Garden of Eden moment, and of course I forgot
about the rainbow serpent that had to be there in order to make it a real paradise.
In the historical and chemical paintbox I have found more corruption,
poisonings, wars and politics than even the Medicis could have appreciated.
Killer wallpapers, capital punishment for people using the wrong dyes, and
beautiful blue stones which murder the lungs of those who find them
underground: these have all featured in my travels. But in the process of
uncovering them I have also found more wonderful and helpful people than I
could have ever hoped. I can only thank some of them here.
For the Ochre chapter I should like to thank: the Australian Consulate General
in Hong Kong, who awarded me an arts fellowship in 1999; everyone at
Beswick including Alan Bunton who took me fishing and the Popple family who
looked after me on the night I was homeless; Sean Arnold of Animal Tracks;
Nina Bove; Malcolm Jagamarra; Roqué Lee; Dave and Patsy at the Buffalo farm
in Kakadu; Allan Marett; Ken Methven; Hettie Perkins; Simon Turner. And a
particular thank you to Geoffrey and Dorn Bardon, who were generous with both
their information and their friendship.
For the Black and White chapters I should like to thank: Aidan Hart; Ann
Coate; Susan Whitfield at the Dunhuang project; the Seniwati Gallery for
Women’s Art in Bali; Michael Skalka for a happy day discussing Rembrandt’s
palette and many other things; Norman Weiss; everyone who helped me at
Farrow & Ball; Ralph Boydell, Phil Harland, and everyone who helped me at
Spode.
For my Red research I should particularly like to thank: Colores de Chile;
Joyce Townsend at the Tate who also helped on many other paint history
questions; and Dino Mahoney, Simon Wu and Barry Lowe who travelled with
me on that underground train in Santiago.
For the Orange chapter I should like to thank: Peter and Charles Beare;