“Tints of culture and history A journey through the deeper meaning of hues (IANS Column: Bookends)

By Vikas DattIt could be a part of the electromagnetic spectrum that is analysed by our brain and eyes and brain, but considering how much we depend on the sense of vision, colour is an essential element of how we see objects, and navigate our surroundings.

Its various hues play a crucial role in making identities and influencing our thoughts and emotions.

Before Sir Issac Newton showed their the origins in the form of a beam of light colors, far surpassing the traditional VIBGYOR have defined the human perception of the world from the environment we were born into, to the social world we have created for ourselves (and continue to construct).We still judge things using the same norm (including humans) We can also swear to a specific colour or a mix of them, of our flags and banners.

The idea is a lot of times in our language to describe ourselves as well in the form of "shown his true colors", "red-hot fury", "feeling blue", "green-eyed monster" (jealousy) or simply "green" (inexperience), "yellow streak" (cowardice) and other such.Additionally, the names of different colors include one of the most memorable in the languages, particularly English that had adapted a lot of other languages like crimson, turquoise, azure mauve, and so on.The desire for synthetic colors, to enhance the ones we have naturally is the microcosm of human history that covers the ingenuity, enterprise and exploitative practices (remember the Indigo Revolt in Bengal in the late 1850s and also the Champaran satyagraha of 1917 that was linked to the indigo plantation that was forcible in order to get the dye it produced).Colors, even though theyre an image frame of reference they also have a long lineage in history , as well as fascinating stories, and, consequently have inspired books that attempt to portray their diverse hues (pun intended) in a single way or in multiples.

Lets look at a few of these, from the ones dealing with the subject in general, to those that deal with specific shades.Victoria Finlays "Colour: Journeys Through the Paintbox" (2002 or "Color: A Natural History of the Palette" (2003) in the US) is a mix of an autobiography and a travelogue history, is a fascinating but a little rambling account of the development of the colors of the rainbow as well as the process by which paints came into being, found, traded and used.Finlay Finlay, who says she first was fascinated with colors in the year she was eight years old.She also recalls that her father showed her the stained-glass in Chartres cathedral.She described how blue glass was created around 800 years ago, but it couldnt be replicated to the same standard today, she said.

she quit her job as an arts editor for The South China Morning Post in Hong Kong to write the book that takes her from Taliban-ruled Afghanistan to the Australian outback, and then from China to Britain.Beginning with the ochre utilized for Neolithic hunter, she moves to black and brown in which she sketched the history of pencils, charcoal and ink drawing tools before moving to white.

she moves through the remainder of the VIBGYOR spectrum in reverse order.The same way, indefatigable scientist Philip Balls "Bright Earth: The Invention of Colour" (2012) which is seeking to determine where the color in painting, as enthralling and positive as in life, originates to trace the developments and discoveries that led to the dazzling rainbow of contemporary paints.Beginning with an enlightening discussion of the science of color and visual perception, Ball, in a somewhat rambling and a bit Eurocentric book, goes on to discuss the materials that artists throughout history were able to use and how they were made and why it wasnt just the demands of artists but also the advancements in industrial processes, like mining, dyeing and dyeing which resulted in the creation of different pigments "The Secret Lives of Color " (2016) written by British freelance journalist Kassia St Clair is designed for those who want more visual support while telling the tale starting from "scarlet women to imperial purple and from the brown which changed how wars were conducted and the white which defended against plague from an acid green to kelly green" in how the singular stories of color run through human history.

Each chapter, each is the margins dyed in the specific shade - from Gamboge (yellow) to the heliotrope (purple) to verdigris (green) being discussed, St Clair says that her work is not meant to provide "an exhaustive historical record" in the sense that she divides the account into 75 shades drawn from broad colour families and includes some "black white, and brown that arent included as part of the spectrum established by Sir Issac Newton".Within each of the families, she has "picked out specific shades with particular interest, significant or troubling histories".

However, when it comes to specific colours, French medieval historian and Western symbology expert Michel Pastoureau is the unquestioned authority, though his field of sources is mostly focused on European society.In his lavishly produced and illustrated volumes, he does not only provide a history of the use of a color throughout the millennia, but also provides a social and psychological analysis of how the color became a symbol of what it represents in various eras.

It all began with "Blue: The History of a Color (2001)" In it, he describes how the color which was largely absent from the history of art - grew in popularity and became one of the most popular colors through the millennia, as seen in possibly the most fashionable clothing globally (blue jeans), he then moved to "Black: The History of a Color" (2008).In this article, Pastoureau examines why the color - declared to be not a color at all by Newton and has been favored by penitents and priests as well as artists and ascetics.

fashionistas and fascists because it reflects strongly contradicting notions of humility and authority holy and sin as well as poverty and wealth and lastly good and bad "Green The Story of a Color" (2014) explores the changing meaning of the color that has been associated for a long time with nature - through the years, and even the time when it was associated with illness health as well as other instances, with its more usual depiction of the cycle of life and regeneration "Red The History of a Color" (2016) describes how the colour changed from an area of privilege - such as being used as a term for color in many languages - to being viewed as immoral, immoral and expensive, and then reviving itself to signal left-wing and progressive movements and, lastly, "Yellow: A History of a Color" (2019), Pastoureau moves beyond Europe to East Asia, India, Africa and South America, to tell the captivating story of its changing role in art fashion, religion literature, science, and literature.There are many others that deal in greater detail with the primary colors.

In "A Perfect Red: Empire, Espionage, and the Quest for the Color of Desire" (2006) Amy Butler Greenfield describes the discovery in Mexico by the Spanish Empire of cochineal, an insecticide that was crushed and gave a unique stunning red hue and the attempts to keep its history secret led to the creation of empires pirates and espionage, technological advancements (and fighting) and the significance of the colour throughout history.Catherine E.McKinleys "Indigo: In Search of the Color That Attracted the World" (2012) also exposes how the dye caused issues for another region of the world , as she explores its connection with the notorious trans-Atlantic slave trade in addition to its impact on fashion and its significance in spiritual terms.A work that is more like Pastoureau on this dazzling color is Catherine Legrands "Indigo: The Color That changed The World" (2013) Simon Garfields "Mauve - How One Man Invented a Colour that changed the World" (2002) is a good justification for its title because it demonstrates how the accidental lab invention of 18-year-old Chemistry student William Pekrin, who was trying to create artificial quinine in the mid-1850s, completely transformed the world of fashion and dyeing and broke down the boundaries between applied and pure science, and led industrial chemistry.Ellen Meloys "Anthropology of Turquoise: Reflections on Desert, Sea, Stone, and Sky" (2003) is a fascinating look at the meaning of the color - and the gem - means to us.There are many others,, but the mere act of reading one of these shows how colors that the majority of us think of as normal have significance for us.(Vikas Datta may be reached via vikas.d@ians.in) vd/ar.