Colour Revolution - by Charlotte Ribeyrol & Matthew Winterbottom (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

An exploration of the changing status of colour in the Victorian period through painting, sculpture, decorative arts and fashion, published to accompany an exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum.

Contrary to the monochrome vision of Queen Victoria's mourning dresses and the coal-polluted streets of Charles Dickens' London, Victorian Britain was, in fact, a period of new and vivid colors. The Industrial Revolution had transformed the Victorians' perception of color and, over the course of the second half of the 19th century, it became the key signifier of modern life. Colour Revolution: Victorian Art, Fashion & Design charts the Victorians' new attitudes to color through a multi-disciplinary exploration of culture, technology, art and literature. The catalogue explores key 'chromatic' moments that inspired Victorian artists and writers to think anew about the materiality of color. Rebelling against the bleakness of the industrial present, these figures learned from the sacred colors of the past, the sumptuous colors of the Middle East and Japan and looked forward towards the decadent colors that defined the end of the century.

Review Quotes

"This is a multi-author volume, bringing an impressive range of expertise to the subject... Its excellent illustrations include furniture, ceramics, jewellery, dress, books and colour charts, as well as paintings, sculpture and photographs, and a brief object list provides a record of the exhibition."--The Decorative Arts Society Newsletter

"This is a story of the interlocking spheres of science and art, technology, trade, travel, fashion, taste and ideas."--The Decorative Arts Society

About the Author

Charlotte Ribeyrol is the Principal Investigator of the ERC-funded project, Chromotope: the 19th century chromatic turn and an Associate Professor in 19th century British Literature at Sorbonne Université in Paris. She is also the co-curator of the exhibition Colour Revolution: Victorian Fashion, Art & Design. Matthew Winterbottom is Curator of Western Art Sculpture and Decorative Arts at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. He is the co-curator of Colour Revolution: Victorian Fashion, Art & Design.