Customer Reviews

Artists' Pigments: A Handbook of Their History and Characteristics Volume 2

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This the second of the National Gallery's series on the history and science of pigments. The histories of each pigment are well thought out, and unlike many older books on this subject, the collective authors have not neglected the non-western world. From the perspective of someone who is active in living history groups and calligraphy societies, the lists of who used these pigments, along with when and where, is a welcome feature. As someone who hunts down minerals to make them into paint, the information on IR and X-ray diffraction data, along with color plates of the pigments examined with polarized-light and scanning electron microscopy are a welcome change compared to most other books on historical pigment use. As a scientist, the analytical info is worth the price of the book all by itself, from my point of view. Much of the discussion on the occurence and art history of the mineral pigments has found its way into geology and mineralogy classes I have taught.

Some of the material in this volume can also be found in Gettens and Stout almost word for word, though in the articles where this is most conspicuous, Gettens is always first or second author. To be fair, the editors of this series have never pretended that the articles were new material - though much of it has been new to me - but rather revised and updated material from the journal _Studies in Conservation_. Since the venerable Gettens was deceased by the time this volume was published, he may not have had the opportunity to revise his own material. Gettens was one of the instigators of the Artists' Pigment series, and since most of his research has not been superceded as far as I can tell, it's a small complaint and certainly not grounds to avoid this book. Don't avoid this book! Out of the three volumes in this series, this volume (Vol. 2) is the one I like best, probably because it covers most of the mineral pigments and some of the artificial pigments that I find or make. And unlike some other books on pigments, written by armchair scholars, it is obvious that the collective authors of this volume got down and dirty and played with the paints. The hands-on experience really shines through.

As someone who barely has time to keep up with the literature in my own field, I found the Artists' Pigments series a welcome addition to my library - a lot of well-researched and well-written material all in one place. I must admit that my favorable opinion of this series is partly based on the wealth of scientific analyses therein, which may not help a non-nerd evaluate this book, but I will point out that all my art-fiend friends, some of whom make their living in the fine arts, are constantly trying to borrow it.

This information is impossible to find elsewhere, at least compiled as it is here. If you are into the history and science behing painting, this book is for you...I had to wait a long time to find this book used through Amazon, and waited even longer for vol.3 (which is still available new). I can't find any info. on vols. 1 and 4. If anyone knows if these even actually made it into print, I'd appreciate hearing any information you have.