Enjoy and appreciate the: Colors of Art

The Story of Art in 80 Palettes

by Chloë Ashby

#ColorsofArt #NetGalley

Those who love painting, color and art history are sure to delight in this book. Both readers who know a great deal about art history and those coming to this title out of curiosity will find much to enjoy here.

In her introduction, the author invites the reader to think about color. This includes imagining a world without it and also the many ways in which we take the colors that are seen each day for granted. Color and painting are inextricably intertwined. Artists choose their colors from the materials that are available to them in their historical period and are also influenced by their favorites or the demands of their patrons as Ms Ashby notes. It is fascinating to look at the results in these individual works and to admire the ways in which they were painted.

The book moves chronologically, beginning with the well known horse paintings that were found in a French cave long ago and ending in the modern day. For each work, there are a collection of swaths of the colors in the work and a high quality reproduction of the piece.

This is a book with which a reader could spend many hours. It can be read in chronological order or dipped into. Either way it is a worthwhile title filled with the sensibility of the author who provides this curated tour.

I received this book as an electronic advanced reader’s copy. I like it enough to want to purchase the book when it is published.

Many thanks to Quarto Publishing Group-White Lion, Frances Lincoln Books for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 30 August 2022