The Alchemy of Paint
Published on 10. October 2009
300 pages
978-0-7145-2250-0 (ISBN)
Description
Spike Bucklow sets out to unravel the myths behind the pigments, like dragonsblood, which is said to be a mixture of elephant and dragon blood. Examining both the medieval palette and the often cloak-and-dagger science that created it, he uncovers the secret recipes behind the luxurious colours we are familiar with today. Driven by an overriding passion for art, Spike Bucklow's aim is to restore value to colour.
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Marion Boyars Publishers Ltd
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Person
Spike Bucklow has a scientific background and has worked in film and TV producing special effects. His latex creations feature in films including Indiana Jones, Little Shop of Horrors, Princess Bride, and the 1980s satirical TV show Spitting Image. He is now Senior Research Scientist and Teacher of Theory at the Hamilton Kerr Institute in Cambridge, where he studied for a PhD in the Conservation of Easel Paintings. He has written about pigment use in art for a number of journals and draws on a wide range of experiences and research of ancient texts, scrolls and manuscripts to develop his ideas. He prefers to avoid the modern world wherever possible.
Content
- Cover
- Title Page
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Table of Contents
- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
- FOREWORD BY DR PAMELA TUDOR-CRAIG, LADY WEDGWOOD
- PREFACE
- Chapter One : COLOUR: DYES, PIGMENTS AND METALS
- Chapter Two : ULTRAMARINE: FROM OVER THE SEAS
- Chapter Three : VERMILION: TOWARDS THE PHILOSOPHERS' STONE
- Chapter Four : METALLIC BLUES: THE POWER OF THE PLANETS
- Chapter Five : DRAGONSBLOOD: THE FRUIT OF MORTAL COMBAT
- Chapter Six : GOLD: THE RICHES OF THE UNKNOWN
- Chapter Seven : COLOUR: THE OTHER SIDE
- Chapter Eight : VERMILION: THE SUBLIME, CRYSTALLISED
- Chapter Nine : GOLD AND THE LOVE THAT CONQUERS DEATH
- Chapter Ten : THE SCIENCE OF COLOUR: EPILOGUE
- NOTES
- BIBLIOGRAPHY
- GLOSSARY
- A, B, C
- INDEX
- D, E, F
- G, H, I
- J, K, L
- M, N, O
- P, Q, R
- S, T, U
- V, W, X
- Y, Z
- About the Author
- Copyright
