Post by wheelspinner on Jun 23, 2009 6:16:35 GMT -5
I read a lot of history books, but I can't ever remember reading one with such an intriguing theme.
Michel Pastoureau's book is literally a history of how the colour black has been perceived through the ages, mostly by examining literature and the visual arts. He reaches back to the dawn of man and cave painting to make the point that primitive man saw many shades of black, just as Inuit have many types of snow. It was essential to survival.
At the dawn of the Christian era, black came to be seen as the devil's colour - after all, God said the light was good, and black was the opposite. The devil was seen as a black demon, whereas nowadays Lucifer tends to be red.
In the Middle Ages, black was one of six heraldic colours that had no negative meanings. In fact it was more common than either blue or green. In the chivalrous tales, black meant anonymity, not evil. A black night might be a villain, but he might also be King Richard in disguise.
In the reformation and the French revolution, black came to be the colour of austerity and virtue. Later, when textiles began to render better quality black cloth beyond the reach of the ppor, it became the preferred colour of the aristocracy. Portraits by the likes of Rembrandt made much of wealthy men dressed in black, set against dark backgrounds.
Pastoureau also goes into the scientific debate about whether black is a colour, and how that has evolved over time.
It is not something I've ever thought of as having an evolution through history, but the book clearly shows a considerable evolution in how such a simple concept as black has really been extremely complex and varied. The book is sumptuously illustrated as well.
Pastoureau earlier did a book called Blue - The History of a Colour. I've already ordered it.
Michel Pastoureau's book is literally a history of how the colour black has been perceived through the ages, mostly by examining literature and the visual arts. He reaches back to the dawn of man and cave painting to make the point that primitive man saw many shades of black, just as Inuit have many types of snow. It was essential to survival.
At the dawn of the Christian era, black came to be seen as the devil's colour - after all, God said the light was good, and black was the opposite. The devil was seen as a black demon, whereas nowadays Lucifer tends to be red.
In the Middle Ages, black was one of six heraldic colours that had no negative meanings. In fact it was more common than either blue or green. In the chivalrous tales, black meant anonymity, not evil. A black night might be a villain, but he might also be King Richard in disguise.
In the reformation and the French revolution, black came to be the colour of austerity and virtue. Later, when textiles began to render better quality black cloth beyond the reach of the ppor, it became the preferred colour of the aristocracy. Portraits by the likes of Rembrandt made much of wealthy men dressed in black, set against dark backgrounds.
Pastoureau also goes into the scientific debate about whether black is a colour, and how that has evolved over time.
It is not something I've ever thought of as having an evolution through history, but the book clearly shows a considerable evolution in how such a simple concept as black has really been extremely complex and varied. The book is sumptuously illustrated as well.
Pastoureau earlier did a book called Blue - The History of a Colour. I've already ordered it.
