Research Guides: CHEM 117: Origins of Color: Home

Welcome!

This libguide is intended to help you start your research for the pigment analysis and identification final project. I have curated a selection of resources and search strategies to consider as you begin you art historical pigment research, which will hopefully inform and even enrich your scientific analysis of the pigment. Navigate among topics by the tabs at the top of the page!

Image Credit: Irene Tournas, 2024.

Depending on your topic, you might find one of our other topical libguides or library catalogs useful!

Online Resources for Book History and Print Culture
A growing selection of websites, articles, and videos which help explain aspects of book culture and material history.
Doing Research in History
Learn about the core resources for history research, and how to find and use them at Williams.
Doing Research in Art History
Learn about the core resources in art history research, and how to find and use them at Williams.
Williams Special Collections
Provides access to print rare books and manuscripts from the Chapin Library and College Archives. Use the contact us form to ask a question or make an appointment.

Books to Jump Start Your Research

The Art of Colour by Kelly Grovier
Call Number: Sawyer ; ND1510 .G768 2023

ISBN: 9780300267785

Publication Date: 2023-05-16

A captivating new history of art told through the storied biographies of colors and pigments. In this refreshing approach to the history of color, Kelly Grovier takes readers on an exciting search for the intriguing and unusual. In Grovier's telling, a color's connotations are never fixed but are endlessly evolving. Knowledge of a pigment and its history can unlock meaning in the works that feature it.
The Power of Color by Marcia B. Hall
Call Number: Sawyer ; ND1488 .H35 2019

ISBN: 9780300237191

Publication Date: 2019-05-21

This expansive study of color illuminates the substance, context, and meaning of five centuries of European painting.
The Chemical History of Color by Mary Virginia Orna
Call Number: Ebook

ISBN: 3642326420

Publication Date: 2012-10-05

In this brief, Mary Virginia Orna details the history of color from the chemical point of view. Beginning with the first recorded uses of color and ending in the development of our modern chemical industry, this rich, yet concise exposition shows us how color pervades every aspect of our lives. Our consciousness, our perceptions, our useful appliances and tools, our playthings, our entertainment, our health, and our diagnostic apparatus - all involve color and are based in no small part on chemistry.
Chromatopia: an illustrated history of colour by David Coles
Call Number: Sawyer ; ND1488 .C65 2018

ISBN: 9781760760021

Publication Date: 2019-01-08

Throughout history, pigments have been made from deadly metals, poisonous minerals, urine, cow dung, and even crushed insects. From grinding down beetles and burning animal bones to alchemy and pure luck, Chromatopia reveals the origin stories behind over fifty of history's most vivid color pigments.
Red: The Art and Science of a Colour by Spike Bucklow
Call Number: Schow ; QC495 .B83 2016

ISBN: 9781780235912

Publication Date: 2016-07-15
Colors: What They Mean and How to Make Them by Anne Varichon
Call Number: Schow ; TP936 .V3713 2006

ISBN: 9780810992924

Publication Date: 2007-03-01

Colour is one of the most basic means of human expression. It can connote mood, social standing, political alignment, or merely personal preference. In this text, Anne Varichon presents a comprehensive history of colour - its origin, its symbolism, its significance.
The Anatomy of Colour by Patrick Baty
Call Number: Sawyer ; ND1510 .G768 2023

ISBN: 9780500519332

Publication Date: 2017-07-18

The definitive book on the use of colour and paint in interior decoration over a three-hundred year period.
March of the Pigments: Color history, science and impact by Mary Virginia Orna
Call Number: Ebook

ISBN: 9781839163159

Publication Date: 2022-05-23

Take a colorful walk through human ingenuity. Mary Virginia Orna, a world-recognized expert on color, will lead you through an illuminating journey exploring the science behind pigments.

Reference Books

Encyclopedia of Color Science and Technology by Renzo Shamey (Editor)
Call Number: Ebook

ISBN: 9783030898618

Publication Date: 2023-09-01

This fully revised and expanded 2nd edition provides a single authoritative resource describing the concepts of color and the application of color science across research and industry.

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CHEM 117: Origins of Color: Home