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A Revolution in Colour

Natural Dyes and Dress in Europe, c. 1400-1800

Ulinka Rublack editor Prof Giorgio Riello editor Dr Maria Hayward editor

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Published:17th Oct '24

£85.00

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A Revolution in Colour cover

A highly illustrated examination of the history of colour through its interrelation with dress in Europe in the period from 1400 to 1800.

This major volume aims to re-colour the European world of dress, c.1300-1800. New dyes created one of the most important visual experiences of the period, yet their story has been side-lined by a focus on visual experiences shaped by the high arts. Meanwhile, theatrical productions and period films still abound with broad assumptions about the growing dominance of black clothing for elites during the period, while ordinary people are imagined having worn coarse greys and bleached garments. This volume presents clear evidence that even the clothing of the middle classes could be much more expensive than paintings, and that coloured clothing and accessories were ubiquitous across society.

Contributors shed new light on the economic, environmental, and cultural dimensions of colour in dress. The range of dyes expanded considerably in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, drawing on Asian and Mediterranean knowledge, new collections of recipes, and the greater diversity of plants available through New World trade. Working creatively with organic plant, animal, and mineral materials to make colours involved considerable knowledge, pleasure and skill. The creation of colour through dyes thus reveals a whole range of global agricultural and craft technologies that can inspire future material worlds and transforms our understanding of Europe´s cultural heritage.

A work with both poetic and practical applications, in its pages learn about the world of colour in textiles before industrialization.

Reversing the notion that the wealthy elites preferred to wear black, A Revolution in Colour explores the vibrant textile world of early-modern Europeans when people thought they saw color rather than light.

In these pages we feel the textile of early modern consumers, both elite and demotic, come alive through a dazzling array sources. Delight in the colours of the natural world was exceeded only by the technical and material accomplishments in bringing more and more dyes, colours and hues to more and more people.

* Peter McNeil, Professor of Design History, University of Technology Sydney, Australi

ISBN: 9781350405622

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: unknown

280 pages