The earliest forms of human creativity (in engravings, marks, and cave paintings) are a testament to humanity's connection with color. Almost as ancient as these examples is the desire to give structure, order, and meaning to this universal yet elusive concept, and it is this fascination that drives the works compiled in this extensive edition.
The Book of Colour Concepts brings together more than 65 rare books and manuscripts from a wide range of institutions, including the world's most important color collections, and guides the reader through a chromatic odyssey spanning four centuries and over 1,000 images of delightful wheels and spheres, and meticulously crafted charts and diagrams, many photographed exclusively for this edition. Some of these concepts provide exhaustive taxonomies of color, while others reflect on the relationship between color and music or the affinities between color and human emotions.
Fundamental works of color theory are featured, such as Opticks by Isaac Newton and the hugely significant Zur Farbenlehre by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, along with lesser-known contributions, including the theosophical color systems of Charles Webster Leadbeater and Annie Besant, the comprehensive “dictionary” of color by Aloys John Maerz and Morris Rea Paul, and the patchwork combinations of Japanese costume designer and artist Sanzō Wada.
The two volumes also include many intriguing and often overlooked works by women, among them the radically inventive color “spots” of English flower painter Mary Gartside and a botanical notebook by spiritualism pioneer Hilma af Klint.
Introductory essays by editor Alexandra Loske and co-author Sarah Lowengard contextualize the color systems that make up this edition, while the editor’s texts on the reproduced works explain each concept in more detail. By shedding light on the history of color in all its forms, The Book of Colour Concepts offers a chromatic timeline of unparalleled scope.
