What does the language of colour tell us? Where doesone colour begin and another end? Is it a radiant visualstimulus, an intangible function of light, or a materialsubstance to be moulded and arrayed? Colour isfundamental to art, yet so diverse that it has hardly everbeen studied in a comprehensive way. Art historian JohnGage considers every conceivable aspect of the subject inthis groundbreaking analysis of colour in Western culture,from the ancient Greeks to the late twentieth century.Gage describes the first theories of colour,articulated by Greek philosophers, and subsequentattempts by the Romans and their Renaissance disciplesto organize it systematically or endow it with symbolicpower. He unfolds its religious significance and its use inheraldry, as well as how Renaissance artists approachedcolour with the help of alchemists. He explores theanalysis of the spectrum undertaken by Newton andcontinued in the nineteenth century by artists such asSeurat, traces the influence of Goethe's colour theory, andconsiders the extraordinary theories and practices thatattempted to unite colour and music, or make colour intoan entirely abstract language of its own.The first-ever undertaking to suggest answersto many perennial questions about the role of colour inWestern art and thought, this study throws fresh light onthe hidden meanings of many familiar masterpieces. The standard for years to come' Sir Ernst Gombrich