Color Scheme: An Irreverent History of Art and Pop Culture in Color Palettes

by Edith Young, Zachary Fine (Foreword)

Change the way you see color forever in this dazzling collection of color palettes spanning art history and pop culture, and told in writer and artist Edith Young's accessible, inviting style.

From the shades of pink in the blush of Madame de Pompadour's cheeks to Prince's concert costumes, Color Scheme decodes the often overlooked color concepts that can be found in art history and visual culture. Edith Young's forty color palettes and accompanying essays reveal the systems of color that underpin everything we see, allowing original and, at times, even humorous themes to emerge. Color Scheme is the perfect book for anyone interested in learning more about, or rethinking, how we see the world around us.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, History, Design, Pop Culture, Art History

144 pages, Hardcover

Published November 2, 2021

Reviews

[Cicely · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, triumphant. If I can write a book even somewhat like this one day I will die a happy woman - extraordinarily well-researched, spanning so many seemingly disparate topics but weaving them together under one beautiful theme, somehow painting a unified picture of all her favorite artists, places, people, things… as someone who loves colors, collecting, curating, organizing, and pretty words, it was an absolute joy and pleasure to read this book. Cheers

[Tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

So. Damn. Good.
I borrowed this from the library and will MOST definitely purchase a copy for my very own.

[Lauren Hegedus · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very fun, quick read. I really enjoyed flipping through all the color palettes included in this book. I picked a favorite from each collection and now I feel compelled to create a color palette of my own!

I almost wish the book had more context/information, which I think is opposite of the norm. I want to know so much more about this topic now, but overall was just a generally alright reading experience.

[Lisa K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brief art history essays (The Art History Detective, The Typologists, The Color Strategy) introduce collections of color samples such as horizons of seascapes and garnishes in Thiebaud still lifes.

[Margaret · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF It was a fun concept and I wanted so much to like it, but it wasn't as much about the color schemes as it seemed to be about name dropping. I'd like to read/look into more about three color palette and it's appeal as well as fun interpretations. Just not in this book. Loved the color palettes and when it actually discussed research on it.

[Jamieson · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're really into art, then this probably a great book. For me, who picked it up on a whim and just kinda thumbed through it, it's just kinda okay. It looks at art through color palettes and while it does have traditional old artists (one palette is focused on the various shades of red used in "The reds of the red caps in Renaissance portraits, 1460-1535" while another focuses on "The yellow bills in John james Audubon's The Birds of America, 1827-38"), it also has modern palettes such as "Tonya Harding's figure skating costumes per competition", "Prince's concert outfits", "Dennis Rodman's hair dye, in chronological order over the course of his NBA career" and "Title cards from the second season of Saturday Night Live, 1976-1977". An interesting look at color in art and pop culture, it's probably a really good book if you're into that rather than just a passing browser.

[p · Rating 5 out of 5]

10/10 - last night when I was reading this I was super snoozy about all the art history drabble mostly because i think the problem with art history and art elitism is the inaccessible language for those outside the bubble but as I finished it this morning (bc, i, on vacation, have time to read in the mornings - who would've thought) i realized it was actually really cool to read about the role color and color palettes have played in art throughout history.

wouldn't have minded having a bit more in the pop culture segment of the book -- but i think to pay homage to my first 5 star read of the year I'm going to make my own scheme in my reading journal. harry styles will be the inspiration, of course.

if you can get past the language, it's pretty good!

[Jacqie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Color Coded Reading Challenge 2022 (finished!): something that implies color
Build Your Library 2022: A non-fiction book about a subject you’ve never learned about
Genreland 2022: should read/should have read
Popsugar 2022: a book you know nothing about

I don't know much of anything about color theory but I love color so I wanted to give this book a whirl. Unfortunately I think my lack of knowledge worked against me. The author discussed numerous paintings that I am not familiar with and I was never quite sure about the purpose of the palettes she provided or a framework that was useful for me to think about them. While it was sort of amusing to peruse the palette of all of Dennis Rodman's hair colors or Spike Lee's glasses frames, I'm not sure I got much out of it. I think I was hoping for a discussion of the popularity of different color schemes throughout recent history and this was definitely not that.

[H · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the scholarly parts of this book were a bit informative and entertaining, they are probably too dry for most. The color palettes are a fun and make a person seek the works they are based on. A color palette of based on the color of Dennis Rodman's hair? Why not? Just wished there were more of them.

[Edie Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

We are presented with a wide variety of palettes from Renaissance red hats to Dennis Rodman’s hair. The book is both interesting and at times silly, but always fun. I wish all the descriptions were illustrated (but I guess that’s what google images are for). I also wonder how accurate the printed colors are to their originals, but I’m probably asking for the impossible.

[Ro · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun and peculiar book that painters, art appreciators, and color lovers will enjoy. My favorites were the blush of Marie Antoinette's cheeks in various portraits, the yellow bills in James Audubon's Birds of America, and Prince's concert outfits. The section of CMYK values for each of the color swatches is an impressive touch. Like I said, peculiar -- good fun.

[Albert Vroomen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an absolute delight! he use of color in the book is stunning, and it is equally impressive when viewed on a computer screen in both e-ink and PDF formats. It's clear that the author put a great deal of thought and care into the design of the book, which only adds to its appeal.
Overall, I highly recommend !

[Lee Barry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic little book. Also included at the end of the book is a listing of the CMYK values for all the swatch sets, so you can use this as a swatch book as well.

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could have stayed perusing these pages forever. The book is deceiving in its compactness.

[Brianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun organization of color palettes.

[Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you enjoy reading art history, then this is the book for you.

Me on the other hand? I enjoyed the pages with the color palettes.

[ZeyFish · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you don’t have fundamental knowledge in art and colour, it might be ok to read but overall I didn’t find this book practically informative at a professional level for graphic design.

[Aloysius · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty nice to look at a palette of pretty paintings and photos.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

More! More! This book makes me want to start collecting my own color palettes. Also lots of lots of ideas and color combos for knitting.

[MJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book on color, an introduction for me. Do you want to know the color of Prince's outfits over the years??? This book is for us!

[Tania · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really fun format for lots of interesting color connections!

[Steven Minniear · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I said “colorful” would you hate me?

[Karen Carlson]

h/t ezra brooks on bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/ezbrooks.bsk...

[foolscap · Rating 2 out of 5]

such a fascinating topic let down by the mess of unstructured writing that clearly wasn't edited with any good intention

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

fun quick read, wish there had been a little more about each of the palettes themselves

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5✨

This is more of a decor book than a serious read, but I loved this concept! The essays are also interesting if you're an art history nerd like me. Brb, *manifesting enough money to buy some of the author/artist's work in the future*