1st Edition
Painting, Science, and the Perception of Coloured Shadows ‘The Most Beautiful Blue’
1. The Science 2. Light and Dark 3. Physics 4. Contrast 5. Constancy 6. The Criterion 7. Aesthetic Value 8. Conclusion
Biography
Paul Smith is Professor of History of Art at the University of Warwick.
"Everyday experience affords us a miraculous vision: in this deeply-researched and original study, Paul Smith traces the cultural history of the coloured shadow, a phenomenon that haunted the imagination and the practice of European naturalist painters between the Renaissance and the late nineteenth century; he shows how it has continued to elude scientific explanation until recent times, and argues that we may find in it beauty epitomized. In the course of his argument, he re-evaluates significant aspects of the theory and science of colour, with respect to painting and perception. His book will be valued both as a stimulus to thought on these subjects, and for its detailed and incisive analyses of paintings."
- Brendan Prendeville, Goldsmiths, University of London
