Illumination and the focus on light has taken on many forms within art. Before the printing press was invented around 1450, all that existed were handwritten books and some of the most meticulous and beautiful of these were called illuminated manuscripts. The world comes from the Latin ‘illuminare’, meaning to light up and the term was...
Continue readingIt may be hard to imagine now but stained glass was at one time considered and respected as a form of painting. It was not only a way to decorate church interiors, but also used to tell stories and to emotionally engage with people. The way stained glass has historically been made has not changed...
Continue readingIndigo is one of the oldest textile dyes, believed to have been used more than any other dye throughout history. It comes from a large genus of about seven hundred species of tropical herbs and flowering plants that principally thrive in tropical and arid zones of the world. Many different cultures over time have...
Continue readingBlue has historically been incorporated into the design of paintings and churches for its heavenly associations, which was intended to make people feel the metaphysical power of the celestial realm. However, blue has often been called on by artists for inspiration into deeper meanings; for its psychological impact on mood and emotion, for its association...
Continue readingThe much loved seventeenth century Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer remains something of an enigma, even today. After his death in 1675, unlike many artists, Vermeer did not leave behind any drawings or plans of his paintings, nor any diaries. Yet we have come to recognise and relish the idyllic quality that Vermeer captures in...
Continue reading“Do we dream, or does the white forked sail drift nearer, and nearer yet, diminishing the blue sea between us with the fullness of its wings?” John Ruskin on Turner In The Fighting Temeraire, it has long been presumed that Turner’s viewpoint would have been the London Embankment, watching as the famous and victorious Temeraire ship...
Continue readingOne of the most prevalent symbols to emerge from the German Romantic literature between the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries was that of an elusive Blue Flower, or Blaue Blume. This derived from the renowned novel of the period Heinrich von Ofterdingen, published posthumously in 1802 by author and philosopher Novalis. The story centres...
Continue readingBlue is all around us. As the renowned British presenter and naturalist Sir David Attenborough reminds us, our beautiful Earth is so abundant in oceans, it is often referred to as The Blue Planet. Yet, as surrounded by blue as we are, it has not been the easiest colour from which to create pigment. Early...
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