Color Audiobook By Victoria Finlay cover art

Color

A Natural History of the Palette

Preview
Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Color

By: Victoria Finlay
Narrated by: Victoria Finlay
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $22.50

Buy for $22.50

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

In this vivid and captivating journey through the colors of an artist’s palette, Victoria Finlay takes us on an enthralling adventure around the world and through the ages, illuminating how the colors we choose to value have determined the history of culture itself.

How did the most precious color blue travel all the way from remote lapis mines in Afghanistan to Michelangelo’s brush? What is the connection between brown paint and ancient Egyptian mummies? Why did Robin Hood wear Lincoln green? In Color, Finlay explores the physical materials that color our world, such as precious minerals and insect blood, as well as the social and political meanings that color has carried through time.

Roman emperors used to wear togas dyed with a purple color that was made from an odorous Lebanese shellfish—which probably meant their scent preceded them. In the eighteenth century, black dye was called logwood and grew along the Spanish Main. Some of the first indigo plantations were started in America, amazingly enough, by a seventeen-year-old girl named Eliza. And the popular van Gogh painting White Roses at Washington’s National Gallery had to be renamed after a researcher discovered that the flowers were originally done in a pink paint that had faded nearly a century ago. Color is full of extraordinary people, events, and anecdotes—painted all the more dazzling by Finlay’s engaging style.

Embark upon a thrilling adventure with this intrepid journalist as she travels on a donkey along ancient silk trade routes; with the Phoenicians sailing the Mediterranean in search of a special purple shell that garners wealth, sustenance, and prestige; with modern Chilean farmers breeding and bleeding insects for their viscous red blood. The colors that craft our world have never looked so bright.

©2002 Victoria Finlay (P)2023 Random House Audio
Art History & Criticism
adbl_web_global_use_to_activate_T1_webcro805_stickypopup

Critic reviews

“This is a rare and wonderful book–a model of erudition and charm, the writing elegant and precise, and with at least one new and fascinating revelation on every single page. I could not be more enthusiastic.”–SIMON WINCHESTER, Author of The Professor and the Madman

“Until I read this book, I was colorblind.”–CYNTHIA ROWLEY

All stars
Most relevant  
Historical and personal information combined to make an interesting story. I will listen to this again.

A lovely walk though colours and where they were found throughout history. I will listen to this again.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I just finished listening to the audiobook “Color”. I absolutely loved it. It was a perfect companion while painting. A fascinating exploration of the history of and stories behind the pigments paired with a trip around the world! The author reading added to the awesomeness!

This book is wonderful!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

This is a fascinating book. The research is incredible. It’s a travel book, a historical and scientific account, and a memoir of color, all in one. Highly recommend it.

Beautiful, Rich, Fascinating

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Sooo interesting! The stories of each color and the events that shattered lives on very personal and very global scales is captivating. As a lover of art, color, science, history, and adventure, I was spellbound.

An epic journey through history, chemistry, art, and culture!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Fabulous. Read this book if you love adventure, history, anthropology, have eyes, do not have eyes, want to fall deeply in nerd love with a subject or be fascinating at dinner parties

A scrumptious, colorful adventure. Must read

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

The stories, descriptions, history and tranquil yet enthusiastic voice of the narrator made this a MUST. I will listen to it again as I loved it so much. I didn’t expect ‘Color’ to capture and captivate my imagination… but I now want to see so many more things with my own eyes: maybe the frosted iceberg blues creaking and cracking or the great art with splashes of paints on canvases described so lovingly. Will gladly listen to the textile and jewels book as well.

New favorite book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I listened to this whole book while painting. It’s got a nice combination of storytelling and facts.

Held my attention

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Loved it, wish there was multiple volumes. It is intriguing beyond imagination and I am sure there was plenty more to share. I am now on my personal journey to learn MORE.
Thank you!

amazing

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Mixing, science, and brilliant storytelling, this author goes through the history of color, what colors are physically made of, historical techniques used,, and The chemicals used to create them. I recommend this to anyone who is a painter, a fabric artist, historian, or just plain curious.

Tremendous book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Just as good as her book Fabric: The Hidden History of the Material World. Color is a worthy read if you're an artist or not. Part history, part travelogue, she takes you on an enjoyable ride with her through the history of colors.

Well Researched

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

See more reviews