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Bibliography and Suggested Reading

The study of art and the brain is a new field, with limited resources in print. Below are some of the most significant references for learning more, which are generally available. For a detailed listing of sources and references, see credits.

Vision and Art: The Biology of Seeing by Margaret S. Livingstone is written for students, artists and designers, with lucid prose and easy-to-understand charts and diagrams. It nicely explains how the eye and brain translate different wavelengths of light into the colors and forms of the world around us, from the mysterious allure of the Mona Lisa to the amazing atmospheric effects of the Impressionists, as well as aspects of advertising and television. This exhibit is drawn from many of the topics in her book. (Published May 2002, Harry N Abrams; ISBN: 0810904063. 208 pages.)

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Other Useful References

(See “More” for additional information via Amazon.com. Note that your library and booksellers may have different editions of the older books.)

  • Alberti, L. B. Leon Battista Alberti on Painting. Translated with Introduction and Notes, by John R. Spencer. New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 1966. — More »
  • Alison, J, Banai, N, Madden, K, Pardo, A, Judd, D, and Klein, Y. Colour after Klein: Re-Thinking Colour in Modern and Contemporary Art. London: Barbican Art Gallery: Black Dog Publishing, 2005. — More »
  • Ball, P. Bright Earth: The Invention of Colour. London: Penguin, 2002. — More »
  • Bomford,D. and Roy, A. “Colour” Pocket Guides to the National Gallery. National Gallery,company, Ltd, London. 2000. — More »
  • Callen, A. Techniques of the Impressionists. London: Orbis Publishing, 1982. — More »
  • Cennini, Cennino: The Craftsman’s Handbook, translated by Daniel P Thompson, Jr. Yale University Press, 1960. — More »
  • Delamare, F, and Guineau, B. Colors: The Story of Dyes and Pigments. New York: H.N. Abrams, 2000. — More »
  • Ferrier, J L. The Fauves: The Reign of Colour: Matisse, Derain, Vlaminck, Marquet, Camoin, Manguin, Van Dongen, Friesz, Braque, Dufy. Paris: Terrail, 1992. — More »
  • Gage, J. Color and Meaning: Art, Science, and Symbolism. Berkeley; Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1999. — More »
  • Gage, J. Color and Culture: Practice and Meaning from Antiquity to Abstraction. London: Thames and Hudson, 1995. — More »
  • Girard, X. Matisse the Sensuality of Colour, New Horizons. Italia: Editoriale Libraria Trieste, 1994. — More »
  • Golding, J. Paths to the Absolute: Mondrian, Malevich, Kandinsky, Pollock, Newman, Rothko and Still. London: Thames and Hudson, 2002. — More »
  • Hall, Marcia, Color and Meaning: Practice and Theory in Renaissance Painting. Cambridge University Press. London; New York, 1992. — More »
  • Kemp, Martin. The Science of Art. Yale University Press. 1990 — More »
  • Kahnweiler, D-H. The Rise of Cubism in Art in Theory, 1900-2000: An Anthology of Changing Ideas, edited by Harrison, C., and Wood, P., 203-209. Oxford; Malden: Blackwell, 1949/2003. — More »
  • Kandinsky, W. The Effect of Colour in Theories of Modern Art: A Source Book by Artists and Critics, edited by Chipp, H.B., Selz, P.H., and Taylor, J.C., 152-155. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1911/1996. — More »
  • Klein, Y. Sorbonne Lecture in Art in Theory, 1900-2000: An Anthology of Changing Ideas, edited by Harrison, C., and Wood, P., 803-806. Oxford; Malden: Blackwell, 1959/2003. — More »
  • Lamb, T, and Bourriau, J. Colour: Art & Science, The Darwin College Lectures. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 1995. — More »
  • Matisse, H. Notes of a Painter in Theories of Modern Art: A Source Book by Artists and Critics, edited by Chipp, H.B., Selz, P.H., and Taylor, J.C., 130-137. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1908/1996. — More »
  • Rachum, S, and Gage, J. Masters of Colour: Derain to Kandinsky: Masterpieces from the Merzbacher Collection. London: Royal Academy of Arts, 2002. — More »
  • Riley, C A. Color Codes: Modern Theories of Color in Philosophy, Painting and Architecture, Literature, Music, and Psychology. Hanover: University Press of New England, 1995. — More »
  • Signac, P. From Eugene Delacroix to Neo-Impressionism in Art in Theory, 1900-2000: An Anthology of Changing Ideas, edited by Harrison, C., and Wood, P., 20-23. Oxford; Malden: Blackwell, 1899/2003. — More »
  • Theroux, A. The Primary Colours: Three Essays. Corr. ed. London: Papermac, 1996. — More »
  • Watkins, N, and Bonnard, P. Bonnard, Colour and Light. London: Tate Gallery, 1998. — More »