History of a Color

This is the first comprehensive text on the history of color theories since Halbertsma's book of 1947. Color is discussed in close connection with the evolution of ideas of light and vision. The book has chapters on the ancient Greek ideas of vision and color; on the contributions of Arabic science…

This is the first comprehensive text on the history of color theories since Halbertsma's book of 1947. Color is discussed in close connection with the evolution of ideas of light and vision. The book has chapters on the ancient Greek ideas of vision and color; on the contributions of Arabic science; on the Scientific Revolution from Kepler to Newton; on the early history of the three-color hypothesis; on the trichromatic theory and defective color vision; and on Goethe's, Schopenhauer's and Hering's theories. New understanding of the structure and functions of the retina and the brain finally results in the modern science of color vision.

A star curator at the American Museum of Natural History widens the palette and shows how the physical, natural, and cultural context of color are inextricably tied to what we see right before our eyes.

This comprehensive, beautiful book delves deep into the complex but fascinating story of our relationship with colour throughout human history.

This comprehensive, beautiful book delves deep into the complex but fascinating story of our relationship with colour throughout human history.