The History of Colour Theory

In two volumes and nine chapters, the new, quadrilingual publication The Book of Colour Concepts explores the history of colour theory from 1686 to 1983. With more than 65 rare writings, books and manuscripts from around the world, and more than 1000 illustrations, historians Alexandra Loske and Sarah Lowengard provide a comprehensive review of the subject of colour from various perspectives. 

Our fascination with colour

Right from the beginning of the book, Alexandra Loske writes that theoretical analyses of colour can be traced throughout history. Even the earliest forms of human creativity, such as carvings, markings and cave paintings, illustrate our preoccupation with colour – and not just in our thoughts. We have always wanted to create colours, to arrange them into systems and capture them in words. 

Philipp Otto Runge, Farben-Kugel (Colour Globe), 1810, © Taschen / bpk | Hamburger Kunsthalle | Christoph Irrgang 

A kaleidoscopic trip through time

The visual journey starts in the 17th century and ends in the middle of the 20th, before the advent of the digital age. Over 846 pages, the publication encompasses a subjective selection of colour systems and theories from various eras and cultures. Along with seminal works on colour theory – two of which are Isaac Newton’s Opticks and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s Theory of Colours – lesser-known voices and examples are included as well. Indeed, the book highlights the composition, publication and illustration of treatises by women over the past two hundred years. For example, it sheds light on the intensely personal work Farben und Formen als lebendige Kräfte [Engl.: Colours and Forms as Living Forces] by artist Carry van Biema, a book that combines science with practical advice.

Carry van Biema, Farben und Formen als lebendige Kräfte (Colours and Forms as Living Forces, detail), 1930, © Taschen / Universität der Künste Berlin, Universitätsbibliothek

Introductory essays contextualize the colour systems depicted in the book. The Book of Colour Concepts is compelling in its elaborate, richly illustrated layout. Each of the 65 different colour theories is presented over several pages in well-informed texts in English, German, French and Spanish accompanied by the title page of each first edition and a few illustrations from each respective work. The two-volume publication, which comes in quality hardcover half-bound in linen, makes a distinct impression with its chromatic record of unprecedented cultural, historical, geographic and thematic scope.