Color and Meaning: Art, Science, and Symbolism

Color and Meaning: Art, Science, and Symbolism

Book is in very good condition! There is only light wear. The pages are clean with no marks.

Is color merely a physiological reaction, a sensation that arises from the stimulation of receptors in our eyes by different wavelengths of light? Does color have an impact on our emotions? John Gage's most recent book presents an exceptional examination of the phenomenon of color. In this groundbreaking study, Gage argues that color is a contingent and historically contextual occurrence, similar to language, with meaning derived from the specific contexts in which it is experienced and interpreted. Gage explores a wide range of topics, including the implicit techniques of optical mixing in mosaic art, color-symbolism in medieval times, the tools used by manuscript illuminators, the color practices of Latin America during the era of the Spanish Conquest, the earliest history of the prism, and the color theories of influential figures such as Goethe, Runge, Blake, Turner, Seurat, and Matisse. Gage also considers how Newton's optical discoveries influenced painting, the interactions between chemist Chevreul and painters, and the growing interest of experimental psychologists in the late nineteenth century in the relationship between color and synesthesia. Additionally, Gage provides a valuable overview of twentieth-century literature that contributes to the historical understanding of color in art. This exploration builds upon the concepts that Gage previously addressed in his award-winning book, "Color and Culture."

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