Synopses & Reviews
As a color, black comes in no other shades: it is a single hue with no variation, one half of a dichotomy. But what it symbolizes envelops the entire spectrum of meaningandmdash;good and bad. The Story of Black travels back to the biblical and classical eras to explore the ambiguous relationship the worldandrsquo;s cultures have had with this sometimes accursed color, examining how black has been used as a tool and a metaphor in a plethora of startling ways.and#160;John Harvey delves into the colorandrsquo;s problematic association with race, observing how white Europeans exploited the negative associations people had with the color to enslave millions of black Africans. He then looks at the many figurative meanings of blackandmdash;for instance, the Greek word melancholia, or black bile, which defines our dark moods, and the ancient Egyptiansandrsquo; use of black as the color of death, which led to it becoming the standard hue for funereal garb and the clothing of priests, churches, and cults. Considering the innate austerity and gravity of black, Harvey reveals how it also became the color of choice for the robes of merchants, lawyers, and monarchs before gaining popularity with eighteenth- and nineteenth-century dandies and with Goths and other subcultures today. Finally, he looks at how artists and designers have applied the color to their work, from the earliest cave paintings to Caravaggio, Rembrandt, and Rothko.and#160;Asking how a single color can at once embody death, evil, and glamour, The Story of Black unearths the secret behind blackandrsquo;s continuing power to compel and divide us.
Review
"French popular art historian Pastoureau here tackles one of the most complex and interesting colours, the favourite of 'priests and penitents, artists and ascetics, fashion designers and fascists.' This social history is lavishly illustrated with paintings, movie stills, photo portraits and fashion shoots."--The Globe and Mail
Review
"Until I came upon Michel Pastoureau's 2000 book Blue: The History of a Color it had never occurred to me colors had a history. Turns out they do, and tracking the significance first of blue, now black, provides a satisfyingly fresh angle of approach to the past."--Frtiz Lanham, The Houston Chronicle
Review
"Now Princeton University Press has published a social history of this most allusive of hues, Black: The History of a Color, by Michel Pastoureau, a French scholar and author of a similarly titled history of the color blue. Both are lavishly illustrated coffee table books that follow their colors down the time line of European history."--John Zeaman, Design NJ Magazine
Review
"This erudite and elegantly written exploration of the history of black charts its changing symbolism and shades of meaning as a colour of death and rebirth, of religious authority and evil, of luxury and poverty."--Fiona Capp, The Age (Australia)
Review
"As the handsomely produced book demonstrates, black is the colour of the pigment used to draw the great bull of Lascaux, of evil, the devil, funerals, the fecundity of the Earth, bears, crows, hell, half the pieces on a chess board, Satan, heretics and priests alike, mysterious cats and, in the 12th century, the mantle of Mary, the mother of Jesus."--Sydney Morning Herald
Review
Who would have thought the history of a single color could be so fascinating? Black: The History of a Color, by Michel Pastoureau, (Princeton University Press, $35) proceeds chronologically from cave painting to modern fashion and focuses on mythology, heraldry, religion, science and painting along the way. The author, a historian at the Sorbonne, narrates developments in the material, aesthetic and sociological dimensions of the color black with infectious, wide-ranging curiosity and easy-going erudition. After this you'll want to read his previous book, from the same publisher, Blue: The History of a Color. -- Ken Johnson, New York Times Praise for Michel Pastoureau's Blue: "Pastoureau's text moves us through one fascinating area of activity after another. . . . The jacket, cover and end-papers of this luscious book are appropriately blue; its double-columned text breathes easily in the space of its pages; it is so well sewn it opens flat at any place; and fascinating, aptly chosen color plates, not confined to the title color, will please even those eyes denied the good luck of being blue. -- liam H. Gass, author of "Blue: A Philosophical Inquiry This handsome, strikingly designed, richly illustrated book traces the history of the color black in Europe. . . . Like his earlier Blue, this book is well researched, skillfully written, and a pleasure to read. -- R. M. Davis, Choice Michael Pastoureau, in Black: The History of a Color, sees the rise of puritanism and Protestantism as the war of the colours--a war against vivid colour that black usually won. . . . He has a terrific story to tell, and a multitude of gorgeous images to help tell it. -- Robert Fulford, The National Post Black is a penetrating, erudite, thoughtfully illustrated cultural history of a color, by Michel Pastoureau, an author whose earlier work has included--surprise, surprise--Blue. -- Nicholas A. Basbanes, The Worcester Telegram & Gazette French popular art historian Pastoureau here tackles one of the most complex and interesting colours, the favourite of 'priests and penitents, artists and ascetics, fashion designers and fascists.' This social history is lavishly illustrated with paintings, movie stills, photo portraits and fashion shoots. -- The Globe & Mail Until I came upon Michel Pastoureau's 2000 book Blue: The History of a Color it had never occurred to me colors had a history. Turns out they do, and tracking the significance first of blue, now black, provides a satisfyingly fresh angle of approach to the past. -- Frtiz Lanham, The Houston Chronicle What is interesting in sociological histories like Pastoureau's is their revelations about how cultural attitudes change. Black's connection with death began as early as ancient Egypt, when people left black stones on funeral pyres, not in a ghoulish way but as a symbol of rebirth (the Egyptian death divinity, Anubis, was painted black). . . . But this book will have you seeing black in more shades than you imagined. -- Victor Swoboda, The Montreal Gazette The author of more than a dozen art history books, Pastoureau's work is accessible, generous and witty. What's more, like all good illustrated books, this one is has more than 150 pictures in support of its superb text. -- Marc Horton, The Edmonton Journal Now Princeton University Press has published a social history of this most allusive of hues, Black: The History of a Color, by Michel Pastoureau, a French scholar and author of a similarly titled history of the color blue. Both are lavishly illustrated coffee table books that follow their colors down the time line of European history. -- John Zeaman, Design NJ Magazine This erudite and elegantly written exploration of the history of black charts its changing symbolism and shades of meaning as a colour of death and rebirth, of religious authority and evil, of luxury and poverty. -- Fiona Capp, The Age Pastoureau combines a charming, conversational tone with a haughtiness I found entirely endearing. A director of studies at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes at the Sorbonne in Paris, he writes from a position of professorial confidence. He has conducted extensive research into the history of colour for a quarter century and his aim is to correct misapprehensions and banish ignorance. His style is not to inquire, explore or interrogate, in the fashion of academic studies today. It is to impart knowledge. -- Sebastian Smee, The Australian As the handsomely produced book demonstrates, black is the colour of the pigment used to draw the great bull of Lascaux, of evil, the devil, funerals, the fecundity of the Earth, bears, crows, hell, half the pieces on a chess board, Satan, heretics and priests alike, mysterious cats and, in the 12th century, the mantle of Mary, the mother of Jesus. -- Sydney Morning Herald [T]his book . . . reads quite naturally as English . . . and it has something worthwhile to say in a style that is informative rather than aimed mostly at enhancing the reputation of the writer among his academic peers. . . There is much valuable information about the history of dying in different periods and the fashionability of the color black among the nobility and upper classes (later the wealthy merchant class) of Europe. -- Colin Blogs Praise for Michel Pastoureau's Blue: "A generous, gorgeous book full of nearly 100 historical and artistic plates, all illustrating the meaning and role of the color blue in Western history. . . . Pastoureau has created something rare: a coffee table book that is also a good read. And not just a good read, but a compelling read. -- Brian Bouldrey, Chicago Tribune
Review
"Who would have thought the history of a single color could be so fascinating? Black: The History of a Color, by Michel Pastoureau, (Princeton University Press, $35) proceeds chronologically from cave painting to modern fashion and focuses on mythology, heraldry, religion, science and painting along the way. The author, a historian at the Sorbonne, narrates developments in the material, aesthetic and sociological dimensions of the color black with infectious, wide-ranging curiosity and easy-going erudition. After this you'll want to read his previous book, from the same publisher, Blue: The History of a Color."--Ken Johnson, New York Times
Review
Praise for Michel Pastoureau's Blue: "Pastoureau's text moves us through one fascinating area of activity after another. . . . The jacket, cover and end-papers of this luscious book are appropriately blue; its double-columned text breathes easily in the space of its pages; it is so well sewn it opens flat at any place; and fascinating, aptly chosen color plates, not confined to the title color, will please even those eyes denied the good luck of being blue."--William H. Gass, author of Blue: A Philosophical Inquiry, writing in the Los Angeles Times Book Review
Review
"This handsome, strikingly designed, richly illustrated book traces the history of the color black in Europe. . . . Like his earlier Blue, this book is well researched, skillfully written, and a pleasure to read."--R. M. Davis, Choice
Review
"Michael Pastoureau, in Black: The History of a Color, sees the rise of puritanism and Protestantism as the war of the colours--a war against vivid colour that black usually won. . . . He has a terrific story to tell, and a multitude of gorgeous images to help tell it."--Robert Fulford, The National Post
Review
"Black is a penetrating, erudite, thoughtfully illustrated cultural history of a color, by Michel Pastoureau, an author whose earlier work has included--surprise, surprise--Blue."--Nicholas A. Basbanes, The Worcester Telegram and Gazette
Review
"What is interesting in sociological histories like Pastoureau's is their revelations about how cultural attitudes change. Black's connection with death began as early as ancient Egypt, when people left black stones on funeral pyres, not in a ghoulish way but as a symbol of rebirth (the Egyptian death divinity, Anubis, was painted black). . . . But this book will have you seeing black in more shades than you imagined."--Victor Swoboda, The Montreal Gazette
Review
"The author of more than a dozen art history books, Pastoureau's work is accessible, generous and witty. What's more, like all good illustrated books, this one is has more than 150 pictures in support of its superb text."--Marc Horton, The Edmonton Journal
Review
"Pastoureau combines a charming, conversational tone with a haughtiness I found entirely endearing. A director of studies at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes at the Sorbonne in Paris, he writes from a position of professorial confidence. He has conducted extensive research into the history of colour for a quarter century and his aim is to correct misapprehensions and banish ignorance. His style is not to inquire, explore or interrogate, in the fashion of academic studies today. It is to impart knowledge."--Sebastian Smee, The Australian
Review
"[T]his book . . . reads quite naturally as English . . . and it has something worthwhile to say in a style that is informative rather than aimed mostly at enhancing the reputation of the writer among his academic peers. . . There is much valuable information about the history of dying in different periods and the fashionability of the color black among the nobility and upper classes (later the wealthy merchant class) of Europe."--Colin Blogs
Review
Praise for Michel Pastoureau's Blue: "A generous, gorgeous book full of nearly 100 historical and artistic plates, all illustrating the meaning and role of the color blue in Western history. . . . Pastoureau has created something rare: a coffee table book that is also a good read. And not just a good read, but a compelling read."--Brian Bouldrey, Chicago Tribune
Review
Winner of the 2009 Bronze Medal in Fine Art, Independent Publisher Book Awards
One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2009
Review
and#8220;All theory is grey, Mephistopheles pronounces in Goetheand#8217;s Faust. But greyness is the last thing to hold against David Batchelorand#8217;s colourful essay, The Luminous and the Grey. In three short chapters, the London-based artist-author offers to vindicate and#8216;a colour without a colourand#8217; that does so much of the unpaid housework in what we see and what artists make . . . Batchelor ranges wide, touching art, film, optics, and philosophy. His main point is that, contrary to reputation, grey can be bright, engaging, and luminous.and#8217;and#160;
Review
and#8220;Although a measured and carefully researched book, it also takes the reader by surprise, particularly in the run up to the final section on grey, where at first we have a rerun of the many prejudices to be found against this colour, but then suddenly Batchelor turns this around and allows all the bad feeling to unravel. He moves elegantly to a subtle and thought-provoking reflection that draws upon a wide range of sources, including his personal reflections. . . . Batchelor literally delves into ideas about grey and goes further and deeper than I have come across . . . Great read.and#8221;
Synopsis
Black--favorite color of priests and penitents, artists and ascetics, fashion designers and fascists--has always stood for powerfully opposed ideas: authority and humility, sin and holiness, rebellion and conformity, wealth and poverty, good and bad. In this beautiful and richly illustrated book, the acclaimed author of
Blue now tells the fascinating social history of the color black in Europe.
In the beginning was black, Michel Pastoureau tells us. The archetypal color of darkness and death, black was associated in the early Christian period with hell and the devil but also with monastic virtue. In the medieval era, black became the habit of courtiers and a hallmark of royal luxury. Black took on new meanings for early modern Europeans as they began to print words and images in black and white, and to absorb Isaac Newton's announcement that black was no color after all. During the romantic period, black was melancholy's friend, while in the twentieth century black (and white) came to dominate art, print, photography, and film, and was finally restored to the status of a true color.
For Pastoureau, the history of any color must be a social history first because it is societies that give colors everything from their changing names to their changing meanings--and black is exemplary in this regard. In dyes, fabrics, and clothing, and in painting and other art works, black has always been a forceful--and ambivalent--shaper of social, symbolic, and ideological meaning in European societies.
With its striking design and compelling text, Black will delight anyone who is interested in the history of fashion, art, media, or design.
Synopsis
The story of the color black in art, fashion, and culture--from the beginning of history to the twenty-first century
Black--favorite color of priests and penitents, artists and ascetics, fashion designers and fascists--has always stood for powerfully opposed ideas: authority and humility, sin and holiness, rebellion and conformity, wealth and poverty, good and bad. In this beautiful and richly illustrated book, the acclaimed author of Blue now tells the fascinating social history of the color black in Europe.
In the beginning was black, Michel Pastoureau tells us. The archetypal color of darkness and death, black was associated in the early Christian period with hell and the devil but also with monastic virtue. In the medieval era, black became the habit of courtiers and a hallmark of royal luxury. Black took on new meanings for early modern Europeans as they began to print words and images in black and white, and to absorb Isaac Newton's announcement that black was no color after all. During the romantic period, black was melancholy's friend, while in the twentieth century black (and white) came to dominate art, print, photography, and film, and was finally restored to the status of a true color.
For Pastoureau, the history of any color must be a social history first because it is societies that give colors everything from their changing names to their changing meanings--and black is exemplary in this regard. In dyes, fabrics, and clothing, and in painting and other art works, black has always been a forceful--and ambivalent--shaper of social, symbolic, and ideological meaning in European societies.
With its striking design and compelling text, Black will delight anyone who is interested in the history of fashion, art, media, or design.
Synopsis
Black--favorite color of priests and penitents, artists and ascetics, fashion designers and fascists--has always stood for powerfully opposed ideas: authority and humility, sin and holiness, rebellion and conformity, wealth and poverty, good and bad. In this beautiful and richly illustrated book, the acclaimed author of
Blue now tells the fascinating social history of the color black in Europe.
In the beginning was black, Michel Pastoureau tells us. The archetypal color of darkness and death, black was associated in the early Christian period with hell and the devil but also with monastic virtue. In the medieval era, black became the habit of courtiers and a hallmark of royal luxury. Black took on new meanings for early modern Europeans as they began to print words and images in black and white, and to absorb Isaac Newton's announcement that black was no color after all. During the romantic period, black was melancholy's friend, while in the twentieth century black (and white) came to dominate art, print, photography, and film, and was finally restored to the status of a true color.
For Pastoureau, the history of any color must be a social history first because it is societies that give colors everything from their changing names to their changing meanings--and black is exemplary in this regard. In dyes, fabrics, and clothing, and in painting and other art works, black has always been a forceful--and ambivalent--shaper of social, symbolic, and ideological meaning in European societies.
With its striking design and compelling text, Black will delight anyone who is interested in the history of fashion, art, media, or design.
Synopsis
Black--favorite color of priests and penitents, artists and ascetics, fashion designers and fascists--has always stood for powerfully opposed ideas: authority and humility, sin and holiness, rebellion and conformity, wealth and poverty, good and bad. In this beautiful and richly illustrated book, the acclaimed author of
Blue now tells the fascinating social history of the color black in Europe.
In the beginning was black, Michel Pastoureau tells us. The archetypal color of darkness and death, black was associated in the early Christian period with hell and the devil but also with monastic virtue. In the medieval era, black became the habit of courtiers and a hallmark of royal luxury. Black took on new meanings for early modern Europeans as they began to print words and images in black and white, and to absorb Isaac Newton's announcement that black was no color after all. During the romantic period, black was melancholy's friend, while in the twentieth century black (and white) came to dominate art, print, photography, and film, and was finally restored to the status of a true color.
For Pastoureau, the history of any color must be a social history first because it is societies that give colors everything from their changing names to their changing meanings--and black is exemplary in this regard. In dyes, fabrics, and clothing, and in painting and other art works, black has always been a forceful--and ambivalent--shaper of social, symbolic, and ideological meaning in European societies.
With its striking design and compelling text, Black will delight anyone who is interested in the history of fashion, art, media, or design.
Synopsis
Color is a given of most peopleand#8217;s everyday lives, but at the same time it lies at the limits of language and understanding. David Batchelorand#8217;s previous book for Reaktionand#151;
Chromophobiaand#151;addressed the extremes of love and loathing that color has provoked since classical antiquity. In
The Luminous and the Grey Batchelor explores similar territory, but charts more ambiguous terrain.
The Luminous and the Grey is a study of the places where color comes into being and where it fades away; an enquiry about when color begins and when it ends, both in the imagination and in the material world. Batchelor draws on a wide range of materialand#151;from neuroscience, philosophy, novels and movies; from the writings of artists and from his own experience as an artist who has worked with color for more than twenty years
After considering the place of color in creation myths, in industrial chemistry, in recent thinking on optics and in the particular forms of luminosity that saturate the modern city, the book culminates in a meditation on the unique color that is also a non-color, a mood, a feeling, an existential condition, and even an insult: grey.
and#160;
Synopsis
Color surrounds us: the lush green hues of trees and grasses, the variant blues of water and the sky, the bright pops of yellow and red from flowers. But at the same time, color lies at the limits of language and understanding. In this absorbing sequel toand#160;
Chromophobiaand#151;which addresses the extremes of love and loathing provoked by color since antiquityand#151;David Batchelor charts colorand#8217;s more ambiguous terrain.
and#160;
The Luminous and the Greyand#160;explores the places where color comes into being and where it fades away, probing when it begins and when it ends both in the imagination and in the material world. Batchelor draws on neuroscience, philosophy, novels, films, and artistsand#8217; writingsand#151;as well as his own experience as an artist working with colorand#151;to understand how we see and use colors. He considers the role of color in creation myths, industrial chemistry, and optics, and examines the particular forms of luminosity that saturate the modern city. Following this inquiry into the hues that we face every day, he turns to one that is both color and noncolor: grey itself, which he reveals is as much a mood, feeling, and existential condition as a shade that we experience with our eyes.
and#160;
Deftly argued, always thought-provoking, and ever entertaining,and#160;The Luminous and the Greyand#160;is a beautiful study of how we see and feel our multicolored world.
About the Author
Michel Pastoureau is a historian and director of studies at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes de la Sorbonne in Paris. He is the author of many books, including "Blue: The History of a Color" (Princeton) and "The Devil's Cloth: A History of Stripes".
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION 11
IN THE BEGINNING WAS BLACK FROM THE BEGINNING
TO THE YEAR 1000 19
Mythologies of Darkness 21
From Darkness to Colors 24
From Palette to Lexicon 27
Death and Its Color 30
The Black Bird 36
Black, White, Red 39
IN THE DEVIL'S PALETTE
TENTH TO THIRTEENTH CENTURIES 45
The Devil and His Images 47
The Devil and His Colors 51
A Disturbing Bestiary 56
To Dispel the Darkness 60
The Monks’ Quarrel: White versus Black 63
A New Color Order: The Coat of Arms 68
Who Was the Black Knight? 72
A FASHIONABLE COLOR
FOURTEENTH TO SIXTEENTH CENTURIES 77
The Colors of the Skin 79
The Christianization of Dark Skin 82
Jesus with the Dyer 88
Dyeing in Black 90
The Color's Moral Code 95
The Luxury of Princes 100
The Gray of Hope 106
THE BIRTH OF THE WORLD IN BLACK AND WHITE
SIXTEENTH TO EIGHTEENTH CENTURIES 113
Ink and Paper 115
Color in Black and White 119
Hachures and Guillochures 122
The Color War 124
The Protestant Dress Code 130
A Very Somber Century 134
The Return of the Devil 136
New Speculations, New Classifications 140
A New Order of Colors 144
ALL THE COLORS OF BLACK
EIGHTEENTH TO TWENTY-FIRST CENTURIES 151
The Triumph of Color 153
The Age of Enlightenment 159
The Poetics of Melancholy 165
The Age of Coal and Factories 170
Regarding Images 176
A Modern Color 180
A Dangerous Color? 190
NOTES 196
BIBLIOGRAPHY 207