Blue: The History of a Color

In Blue: The History of a Color, Michel Pastoureau traces the shifting place of blue in Western culture. This digital edition is a PDF available for instant download after purchase.

Pastoureau shows that color is not a fixed natural fact but a social and cultural construct. From prehistoric pigments to the modern preference for blue, the book follows a long and complex story.

Book Overview

Blue: The History of a Color is a cultural history of blue in European and Western societies. Pastoureau examines art, textiles, heraldry, literature, and everyday objects to explain how blue gained meaning over time.

The book moves from an uncommon color in the early period to a new color in the Middle Ages, a moral color in the early modern period, and the favorite color of the modern era. It closes with a chapter on blue today.

What You’ll Discover Inside

• An introduction to color as a historical and social phenomenon.
• The place of blue from prehistory to the twelfth century.
• The rise of blue as a new color between the eleventh and fourteenth centuries.
• The moral and religious meanings of blue from the fifteenth to the seventeenth century.
• How blue became the favorite color in the eighteenth to twentieth centuries.
• Contemporary uses and perceptions of blue.
• Notes, bibliography, and index to support further research.

Why This Book Matters

Pastoureau offers a model for studying color outside the laboratory. He treats blue as a cultural artifact with a particular history, not a universal symbol.

The book draws on a wide range of visual and material sources. It is valuable for readers interested in art history, cultural history, and the meanings of color.

Book Details

Device Compatibility

This is a digital download, so no physical item will be shipped. Access is available after purchase.

The PDF can be read on compatible Kindle apps, tablets, desktop computers, mobile devices, and reading apps.

FAQ

How soon will I receive the book? Access is available immediately after purchase.

Will I receive a physical copy? No, this is a digital PDF edition only.

Which devices can I use? The PDF works with common reading apps on tablets, phones, computers, and Kindle apps.

Download your copy and explore the changing history of a color.