BOOK REVIEW: The Colours of History by Clive Gifford

BOOK REVIEW: The Colours of History by Clive Gifford

QED Publishing
March 2018
Paperback, $19.99
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar

Non-fiction / Picture book / Children’s

9/10

History as told in colours? What a unique and evocative prospect!

Clive Gifford’s text and Marc-Ettiene Peintre’s illustrations bring the use of colour throughout history to life, detailing where certain pigments came from and their use and significance throughout history.

It’s a journey which takes us right around the world, and dates back to the earliest cave paintings – colour has always figured prominently in the human need to not only depict what we can see via artworks, but has also always been used as a signifier of wealth and power.

The yellow ochre paintings in the Lascaux Cave, ultra-expensive saffron, cochineal from a cactus-dwelling insect, Tyrian purple, which the people of Tyre in Lebanon made from drying the slimy mucus of a sea snail, blues and reds derived from ground rocks and minerals, all paint a glorious and informative rainbow through our history.

Category: Book Reviews