Nature's Palette

A colour reference system from the natural world

Patrick Baty author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Thames & Hudson Ltd

Published:8th Apr '21

£35.00

Available for immediate dispatch.

Nature's Palette cover

The first-ever visual expansion of Werner’s Nomenclature of Colours, featuring over 800 illustration references from the natural world

First published in 1814 and expanded in 1821 – long before the era of colour photography or print – Syme’s edition of Werner’s Nomenclature of Colours attempted to establish a universal colour reference system to help identify, classify and represent species from the natural world. Werner’s set of 54 colour standards was enhanced by Patrick Syme with the addition of colour swatches and further references from nature, taking the total number of hues classified to 110. The resulting resource proved invaluable not only to artists but also to zoologists, botanists, mineralogists and anatomists.

In Nature’s Palette this technicolour trove has, for the first time, been enhanced with the addition of illustrations of the animals, vegetables and minerals Werner referenced alongside each colour swatch and accompanied by expert text explaining the uses and development of colour standards in relation to zoology, botany, minerology and anatomy. This fully realized colour catalogue includes elegant contemporary illustrations of every animal, plant or mineral that Syme cited. Readers can see for themselves Tile Red in the Cock Bullfinch’s breast, Shrubby Pimpernel and Porcelain Jasper; or admire the Berlin Blue that Syme identified on the wing feathers of a Jay, in the Hepatica flower and in Blue Sapphire. Displays of contemporary collector’s cabinets of birds, butterflies, eggs, flowers and minerals are interspersed at intervals throughout the compendium, with individual specimens colour matched to colour swatches. Still a much-loved reference among artists, naturalists and everyone fascinated by colour today, Werner’s Nomenclature of Colours finds its fullest expression in this beautiful and comprehensive colour reference system.

With 1000 illustrations in colour

'Patrick Baty shares the beauty of our world through a rich and diverse palette' - .Cent
'This new version of Syme’s book provides new examples for each hue the artist described but it also lays bare how endless is the project of classifying colour' - The Age
'Fascinating, lavishly illustrated … the essays by four leading experts are both informative and accessible … a very enjoyable read' - House & Garden
'Utterly beguiling' - Apollo
'Like a beautiful antique cabinet of curiosities … a delight to delve into … An evocative exploration of all the shades of the natural world' - The Simple Things
'This is a beautiful book, a fascinating object in itself' - Amateur Photographer

ISBN: 9780500252468

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 1360g

290 pages