Blue: The History of a Color.
$38.60
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A beautifully illustrated visual and cultural history of the color blue throughout the ages
Blue has had a long and topsy-turvy history in the Western world. The ancient Greeks scorned it as ugly and barbaric, but most Americans and Europeans now cite it as their favorite color. In this fascinating history, the renowned medievalist Michel Pastoureau traces the changing meanings of blue from its rare appearance in prehistoric art to its international ubiquity today.
Any history of color is, above all, a social history. Pastoureau investigates how the ever-changing role of blue in society has been reflected in manuscripts, stained glass, heraldry, clothing, paintings, and popular culture. Beginning with the almost total absence of blue from ancient Western art and language, the story moves to medieval Europe. As people began to associate blue with the Virgin Mary, the color became a powerful element in church decoration and symbolism. Blue gained new favor as a royal color in the twelfth century and became a formidable political and military force during the French Revolution. As blue triumphed in the modern era, new shades were created and blue became the color of romance and the blues. Finally, Pastoureau follows blue into contemporary times, when military clothing gave way to the everyday uniform of blue jeans and blue became the universal and unifying color of the Earth as seen from space.
Beautifully illustrated, Blue tells the intriguing story of our favorite color and the cultures that have hated it, loved it, and made it essential to some of our greatest works of art.
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Carmen –
Excellent condition, fast shipping- arrived before expected despite covid. As for the content, gorgeous pictures and educational – exactly what I was looking for.
Tamara Suttle –
Gave this lovely coffee table book as a gift to a friend when my consultation group drew colors to direct our gift-giving at Christmas. It was a bit more cerebral than I had expected but it was also thorough, interesting, and beautiful.
María Luisa Guevara –
Shipped faster than expected. Sadly, the book had this awful cut in the jacket and the front page, a very deep cut.
Marcus A. Astafan –
A brilliant series that is intelligently scripted and stunningly photographed. A must for any art collector or one who simply appreciates art, history and the marriage of the two. A welcome addition to my library.
Debashis Das –
The media could not be loaded.
O livro é a coisa mais linda. A capa não é estampada, é lisa e é dura. O título em foil na lateral na cor dourada deixa mais charmoso. A folha é de revista, as imagens são bem pigmentadas e nítidas. A letra poderia ser um pouco maior, nada que atrapalhe o uso do livro porém. Pesa em cerca de 1,2 kg. Melhor do que eu esperava.
Jean Keller –
My wife says it is “sensational” & a “classic”. Very glad it is available through AMAZON & at a great price.
np –
If you are fascinated by colours in general, and blue in particular, it is a very interesting book. It has a bit of everything related to the colour in history, society, art, believes. Fully recommended.
María Luisa Guevara –
Great product. Very good bookseller.
Ray –
First of all, if you are not familiar with Pastoureau’s books (originally published in French), you might think it is silly to have a book dedicated to a color. I can assure you, that’s not what these books (Blue, Green, Red, and Black) are about. These books are not only a historical review of a color’s use through the millennia, but they are also a psychological and sociological examination of how the color came to represent what it does/did in different epochs. And then, they are BEAUTIFULLY illustrated with gorgeous prints on high-quality, heavy, glossy paper. Yes, people call them “coffee-table” books, and they can certainly fulfill that role, but they (including “Blue,” here) are so very much more than that.
There’s a lot of scholarship in these pages. Pastoureau has been examining color and its impact on society for a long time, and if you go back and look at the reviews from esteemed sources, they will reflect the admiration for this project the author has undertaken. As we work our way through any of the colors, we see an unfolding story over the centuries of how the color has been used, interpreted, exploited, and ultimately, integrated into the human psyche. Its as scholarly a set of works as it is fascinating and unusual.
Here’s something really cool. When Pasteroureau’s works were reviewed a couple of years ago in The New York Review of Books, everyone went out to purchase them, and they went out of print. We saw skyrocketing prices for used copies in English, often topping $200. The books are now back in print, and, as a HUGE and unexpected bonus, the Blue and the Red volumes are actually printed in France. If you’ve never had the pleasure of interacting with a publication printed in a French printing house on superb paper, you’re in for a treat. (Ironically, the Blue and Red volumes, both printed in France, are the least expensive of the bunch, which is completely unexpected.) They are lavish and gorgeous, and shockingly inexpensive for what they are. I see that the inside makes reference the to newly built Louvre-Lens (which is in the city of Lens, just south of the Belgian border), and I wonder if the reprinting of these volumes by Princeton Press had something to do with the museum, perhaps an exhibition, or perhaps just a way to get these back into circulation. And, ironically again, I was just recently at Louvre-Lens in January 2018, and I did not see these books in their gift shop, so I’m not really sure of the connection, but all I can say is that I’m delighted to see them back in print, and printed IN FRANCE! (Green, although extremely well done, is printed in China.)
So, if you have any interest in art, or just want to investigate an unusual topic, I say “RUN, don’t walk” to pick up, at a minimum, “Blue,” “Red,” “Green,” and “Black” before they go out of print. Once you get looking at them, you won’t regret it. Truly beautiful, unusual, fun, educational and scholarly all at the same time.
Note: The Other Volumes in the “Set”
Red: The History of a Color
Black: The History of a Color
Green: The History of a Color
R.W.M. –
パストローのほかの著書も読んでいるのであればこれは
さらに専門書なので読みやすいです。
図も絵画も沢山ありますのでこれはいいです。
ACO –
LOVELY WRITING AND INTERESTING!
A.M. L.R. –
Blue is not just a color it’s cultural this book makes you feel and learn why so many people love blue it’s about how the blue influenced our culture and behavior, why the artist at the time used blue. What blue really represents. It’s a profound study of the color blue. The author imerges you on a history of the color and it’s use. It’s fascinating. Loved it.
Marta Núñez –
While casually browsing through the Amazon I came upon this fantastic book. I don’t have any idea that there will be any book exclusively on a single color. Recently historical studies have undergone some drastic changes. We have long come out of the”big” history that only emolutated the kings and queens,where the ordinary people were totally kept in a shroud of darkness. The new ” small ” history has added new dimensions to the very concept of history writing. A historical take on a single colour where the history of a colour has been traced from the ancient times when it was ignored , neglected and overlooked to the modern age when we come to know the supremecy of the colour blue. The author has graphically painted a colourful journey of the colour blue . In the ancient times in Greece and in Italy the colour of blue had been treated quite ignominiously over other colors. Not only in Greece and in Italy ,but in the whole Europe then the colour of blue had treated indifferently. Now the Italian National Football Team wears blue jersey. Originally it was written in French which has been brilliantly translated into English. The binding ,printing and many colourful illustrations scattered throughout the book are added beauty to the physique of the book. It is a worth buying for me. It will certainly add extra blue to my book shelf.