Ordering Colours in 18th and Early 19th Century Europe (International Archives of the History of Ideas Archives internationales d'histoire des idées, 244)

This book describes the international effort to give order to colours and thus facilitate communication about it, two topics deemed essential to a modernising world that were also recognizably complex. Expert essays will enhance readers' understanding of the struggle to coordinate nature with art at a time when approaches to both were undergoing rapid change. Ordering Colours shows how such seemingly trivial concerns as identifying the basic colours and disseminating appropriate colour diagrams had to meet philosophical, scientific and professional needs across Europe. Contributors detail the many schemes for colour systematization and their real-world applications; questions of concern to both academic- and manufacturing-focused investigators throughout the long 18th century. They bring together original research and new thinking about landmark early modern studies to address important developments as well as neglected historical contributions of European arts, sciences, andeconomies. This collection is an important addition to the libraries of all who are interested in public culture and manufacturing developments in the early modern period and is aimed at historians of art, technology, philosophy and physics. Contents About the Editors Chapter 1: Introduction: Ordering Colours in Eighteenth- and Early Nineteenth-Century Europe 1.1 The Challenges of Colour Order 1.2 Historiographic Contexts 1.3 The Contents of this Volume References Part I: Evolution of Colour Systems and Standards Chapter 2: The Shape of Colour Order Systems and the Evolution of Colour Theory 2.1 Introduction 2.2 From a Line to a Closed Circle 2.3 The Rise of Trichromatic Theory and the Jump to the Third Dimension 2.4 Distinction Between Additive and Subtractive Colour Mixture 2.5 Colour Mixture as a Gradual Process 2.6 Punctuated Evolution of Colour Order Systems References Chapter 3: Materialisation of Vision: Colour Standards in the Early Sciences, Handicrafts, and Arts 3.1 Ordering Colours: Colour Systems and Colour Reference Systems 3.2 Natural History: Colour Tables and Colour Scales 3.3 Knowledge Transfer from the Arts and Crafts 3.4 Example: The Spread of a Colour Standard in Early Mineralogy 3.5 General Requirements of a Scientific Colour Standard 3.6 Conclusion References Part II: Colour Theory and Colour Order Chapter 4: A Tale of Five Cities: Jacob Christoff Le Blon and His Development of Trichromatic Printing 4.1 Frankfurt am Main 4.2 Rome 4.3 Amsterdam 4.4 London 4.4.1 The Start of Colour Print Production 4.4.2 Success and Decline 4.4.3 An Anatomical Atlas, and Coloritto 4.4.4 The Weaving Project 4.5 Paris 4.5.1 Demonstrating the Process 4.5.2 Workshop Staff 4.6 Gautier and Le Blon’s Heritage 4.7 Conclusion References Chapter 5: Colour Theory by Mikhail Lomonosov: From Dyes and Mosaics to a Trichromatic Idea 5.1 Lomonosov’s Life and Education 5.2 Lomonosov’s Interest in Colour Theory 5.3 Russian Colour Theories Before Lomonosov 5.4 Lomonosov’s Colour Theory and Experiments 5.5 Light and Colour Chemistry 5.6 Conclusion References Chapter 6: Schiffermüller and Newton United in Sinter – Franz Uibelaker’s Two-Colour-Theory (1781) 6.1 About the Author 6.2 The Natural History of Sinters 6.2.1 Uibelaker’s Collection and Investigation of Sinters 6.2.2 Uibelaker’s Treatise on Sinter 6.3 A Colour System from Sinter Studies 6.3.1 Basic Colours 6.3.2 Table 39 6.4 Uibelaker’s Colour Names and Numbers 6.5 Conclusion References Part III: Arts, Crafts, Commerce and Colour Order Chapter 7: Calau’s Punic Wax, Lambert’s Farbenpyramide (1772), and Prefabricated Watercolour Cakes 7.1 Watercolours and Plein-Air Studies 7.1.1 A Dynamic Duo, Punic Wax, and Trichromacy 7.2 The Pyramid-Making Project. Colours and Numbers 7.3 A Triangular Box with Prefabricated Watercolour Cakes 7.4 The First Imitators: Pfannenschmid, Bettkober, and Steiner 7.4.1 Watercolour Cakes as a British Product Without “Natural Order” 7.5 Conclusions Appendices Appendix I Transcription Translation Appendix II Transcription Translation References Manuscript Sources Printed Sources Chapter 8: Testing Ground: Colour Samples in European Porcelain Manufactories 8.1 Experimenting with Colour 8.2 Expanding the Palette 8.3 Codifying the Process 8.4 Displaying Results 8.5 Conclusion References Chapter 9: Fighting for the Best Pigment! Academic Colour Discourses in Kassel During the Nineteenth Century 9.1 Colour Effect: On Imitating the Intensity of Wax Colours of Old Painting Techniques 9.2 Colour Durability: The Desire for the Temporal Survival of Painting 9.3 Colour Production: Artificially Produced Colour Pigments 9.4 Colour Systematisation: How Does Colour Dominate in the Colour-Tone Harmony? 9.5 The Colour-Tone-Orchestra 9.6 About the Imaginary Colour-Harmony-Instrument 9.7 The Facets of Academic Colour Discourses in Kassel Appendices Appendix I. HStAM Best. 82 Nr. d 814 Appendix II. HStAM Best. 160 Nr. 39 Appendix III. HStAM Best. 160 Nr. 42 Appendix IV. HStAM Best. 160 Nr. 115 References Archives Geheimes Staatsarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz Berlin (GStAPK) Hessisches Staatsarchiv Marburg (HStAM) Universitätsbibliothek Basel Universitätsbibliothek Kassel, Landesbibliothek und Murhardsche Bibliothek der Stadt Kassel Universitätsarchiv Marburg Primary Sources Secondary Sources Index This book describes the international effort to give order to colours and thus facilitate communication about it, two topics deemed essential to a modernising world that were also recognizably complex. Expert essays will enhance readers' understanding of the struggle to coordinate nature with art at a time when approaches to both were undergoing rapid change. Ordering Colours shows how such seemingly trivial concerns as identifying the basic colours and disseminating appropriate colour diagrams had to meet philosophical, scientific and professional needs across Europe. Contributors detail the many schemes for colour systematization and their real-world applications; questions of concern to both academic- and manufacturing-focused investigators throughout the long 18th century. They bring together original research and new thinking about landmark early modern studies to address important developments as well as neglected historical contributions of European arts, sciences, and economies. This collection is an important addition to the libraries of all who are interested in public culture and manufacturing developments in the early modern period and is aimed at historians of art, technology, philosophy and physics.