Bright Earth: Art and the Invention of Color

by Philip Ball

Book Overview

From Egyptian wall paintings to the Venetian Renaissance, impressionism to digital images, Philip Ball tells the fascinating story of how art, chemistry, and technology have interacted throughout the ages to render the gorgeous hues we admire on our walls and in our museums.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0226036286
• ISBN13: 9780226036281
• Release Date: April 2003
• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Length: 434 Pages
• Weight: 1.49 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A literary, absorbing work

In Bright Earth, science writer Philip Ball presents a fine guide that examines the practical side of art throughout history. From its gains from technological advancements to cultural influences on art directions, Bright Earth surveys how color is invented, reinvented, and presented. A literary, absorbing work.

color the old fashioned way

ball's theme is disarmingly simple: that the history of western art can be illuminated by the history of the physical substances used to create color. ball explains very early that his materialistic approach has often been disparaged by artists, who do not want to be seen as mere craftsmen but as visionaries and poets. his reply is simply that the luxury of buying premade paints is a relatively new phenomenon; before this century artists almost always made their own paints and for that reason understood in great detail the best ways to use them for permanency and color effects. ball describes these uses in great detail, in artists as diverse as titian, cezanne and yves klein, and the insights he provides into painting techniques are fascinating. trained as a physicist and chemist, ball understands the scientific aspects of color perception and pigment manufacture, and has mastered the basics of how these are used in artworks; better yet, he can describe all these facts clearly and enjoyably, with vivid images and graceful writing. i found a few details that struck me as inaccurate or incorrectly interpreted, but as a whole the book is extremely reliable and informative, a testament to careful research and editing.ball's book is well worth reading along with john gage's "color and culture" (a book ball quotes with approval), which focuses on the social and intellectual aspects of color in art. ball's title might be "pigment and technique," since he shows that the continual appearance of new pigments opened up new technical problems, and technical possibilities, for artists to work on. this is still a relatively new approach to art history and art interpretation, but it is gaining influence: see for example james elkins's "what painting is" for a free interpretation of the parallels and points of contact between painting and alchemy.

Cinnabar, Orpiment, Lapis lazuli, Ocher, Realgar

Bright Earth: Art and the Invention of Color by Philip Ball is an amazing mix of color, art, chemistry, and mineralogy. Ball takes the reader on a field trip through the history of pigments and the paintings painted with them, with a strong emphasis on the chemistry that he knows well. The underlying thesis of the book is that the pigments available at a particular moment in history had a strong influence on the art made with them and, based on extensive empirical evidence presented in the book, I would say that Ball has made his case. If you aren't prepared for large amounts of well-written detail, stay away from this book. As a geologist turned high school chemistry and earth science teacher with a love of art, I found much to like about Bright Earth. My only complaint is that the book makes mention of hundreds of works of art, but only presents pictures of a small precentage of them. This book would benefit from a coffee table-type treatment with a more extensive gallery of the mentioned works of art. That said, the book is far enough past 4 stars to give it a full 5.

La cage aux fauves.....

In BRIGHT EARTH, Philip Ball says, in the early 20th Century, Louis Vauxcelles, the art critic, on viewing Florentine-inspired sculptures standing in the midst of an exhibit of paintings that included the works of Matisse, Kandinsky, Braque, and others of their ilk is reported to have said, "Look, Donatello in a cage of wild beasts" (dans la cage aux fauves)--giving this group of artists the sobriquet by which they are known. Vauxcelles comment was prompted by his reaction to what he perceived to be an enthusiastic use of colors. Ball says the Fauvists were inspired by Van Gogh and Gauguin--the late impressionists, and in turn they inspired Picasso and the modern art movement of the 20th Century which Ball says was largely driven by color.I had read Vauxcelles' comment elsewhere, but in Ball's retelling, the quip makes complete sense. The cages are the framed canvases. The colors are wild like the exotic beasts brought to Europe from faraway places. These colors were virtually unknown before the late 19th Century and the rise of the petrochemical industry. Like Van Gogh and Gauguin before and Picasso after the Fauvists used these pigments in unnatural ways. Generally, art histories divert one into a discussion about lighting, atmosphere, iconography, brush stokes, or composition. Color is discussed but usually as an adjunct or afterthought. In BRIGHT EARTH, color IS the organizing principle--and it makes all the difference. The light in Monet's boating scene bounces off the water because the waves are composed of tiny flecks of violet and yellow. Van Gogh's Sunflowers have the tone they do because he liked to experiment with color and he used an unstable lemon-yellow pigment that has deteriorated over time. Rembrandt was brilliant not only because he created classic compositions and used deft brush strokes to do so, but because he understood how to use pigments that would stand the test of time. What is color? I once visited a museum in Chicago which had an interior room filled with white canvases. Each canvas may have had a small black mark on it, I don't remember. What I remember is a completely white room which was supposed to be devoid of stimulation--but I found the room very stimulating. Is white a color or isn't it? Ball debates both sides of this argument. I find it amusing that over the millenia, artists, weavers, and other have found the non-color white one of the most difficult colors to acquire. Ball says that at the end of the 20th Century, the nine-volume publication entitled, "Color Index International", includes 9,000 pages of "colorants" and the pigment produced in the greatest numbers is white. White is the most "widely preferred veneer for our synthethic environment." One has only to think of paper towels, napkins, toliet paper, toothpaste, bread, and a variety of material goods that are made white so that consumers will buy them. BRIGHT EARTH is an incredible and comprehensive book covering painting from Altimira to Hockney, p

An essential book for artists

I was able to get a review copy of "Bright Earth" and found it a remarkable book. I have been a painter for over 20 years, but only after reading this book do I feel that I have begun to grasp not only the crucial role of color in art, but also the remarkable scientific and cultural aspects of color.In particular, I now understand how 19th century breakthroughs in color science were crucial to Modern Art.The pages of this book hold one revelation after another... you won't skip a chapter.