Research Catalog

Title

The alchemy of paint : art, science, and secrets from the Middle Ages / by Spike Bucklow.

Author

Bucklow, Spike

Publication

London ; New York : Marion Boyars, 2009.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

335 p. : ill., maps; 22 cm.

Summary

"In The Alchemy of Paint: Art, Science and Secrets from the Middle Ages, Spike Bucklow sets out to unravel the myths behind pigments like dragonsblood - said to be a mixture of elephant and dragon blood. Examining both the medieval palette and the often cloak-and-dagger science that created it, he uncovers the secret recipes behind the luxurious colours we are familiar with today. Driven by an overriding passion for art, his aim is to restore value to colour. The purity of white is not owned by a computer manufacturer. Spike Bucklow reminds us all that our experience of colour is fundamentally a natural sensation that can verge on the divine."--Jacket.

Alternative Title

Art, science, and secrets from the Middle Ages

Subject

• Pigments
• Artists' materials
• Science, Medieval

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references and index.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

Ch. 1. Colour : dyes, pigments, and metals -- Ch. 2. Ultramarine : from over the seas -- Ch. 3. Vermilion : towards the philosophers' stone -- Ch. 4. Metallic blues : the powers of the planets -- Ch. 5. Dragonsblood : the fruit of mortal combat -- Ch. 6. Gold : the riches of the unknown -- Ch. 7. Colour : the other side - Ch. 8. Vermilion : the sublime, crystallised -- Ch. 9. Gold : the love that conquers death -- Ch. 10. The science of colour : epilogue -- Notes on the text -- Bibliography -- Glossary -- Index.

ISBN

9780714531724 (alk. paper)

LCCN

^^2009024496

OCLC

• 318876119
• SCSB-12493667

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library