The Rainbow Bridge: Rainbows in Art, Myth, and Science [Hardcover]

Raymond L. Lee Jr (Author), Alistair B. Fraser (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2001

Venerated as god and goddess, feared as demon and pestilence, trusted as battle omen, and used as a proving ground for optical theories, the rainbow's image is woven into the fabric of our past and present. From antiquity to the nineteenth century, the rainbow has played a vital role in both inspiring and testing new ideas about the physical world. Although scientists today understand the rainbow's underlying optics fairly well, its subtle variability in nature has yet to be fully explained. Throughout history the rainbow has been seen primarily as a symbol--of peace, covenant, or divine sanction--rather than as a natural phenomenon. Lee and Fraser discuss the role the rainbow has played in societies throughout the ages, contrasting its guises as a sign of optimism, bearer of Greek gods' messages of war and retribution, and a symbol of the Judeo-Christian bridge to the divine.
The authors traverse the bridges between the rainbow's various roles as they explore its scientific, artistic, and folkloric visions. This unique book, exploring the rainbow from the perspectives of atmospheric optics, art history, color theory, and mythology, will inspire readers to gaze at the rainbow anew.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The authors of this history of iridescence attribute the fear of rainbows, prevalent in many cultures, to their uncanny remoteness: something that can never be outrun can be both tantalizing and awful, not to mention divine. No wonder the rainbow sunlight bent by raindrops inspires belief in Wotan's heavenly bridge, the elusive pot of gold and the Greek goddess Iris, herald of war and revenge. Lee, a meteorology professor at the U.S. Naval Academy, and Fraser, who teaches meteorology at Penn State, have created a lambent blend of art history, history of science and cultural criticism that, in the spirit of the rainbow bridge of the book's title, easily straddles the arts and sciences. Their discussions of Isaac Oliver's allegorical Rainbow Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I, Peter Paul Rubens's use of artifice in his bucolic Rainbow Landscape and the nature of the sublime in J.M.W. Turner's seascapes are as lucid as their explanations of various theories of rainbow geometry and color, from Aristotle and Johannes Kepler to Enlightenment thinkers Descartes and Newton, who posited the first satisfactory rainbow theories. The chapters on myth and art are as brilliant as those on modern optics and illustrate how the rainbow has been as elusive to scientists as to ancient mythmakers. This smart, impassioned cross-disciplinary study, with its many color photos and illustrations, provides an eight-course feast for the intellect and the eyes. (July)
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

A learned and gracefully written book which surveys every important aspect of the rainbow, including its role in myth, religion, and art. This eye-opening volume reveals the considerable physical and cultural significance of a remarkable natural masterpiece. . . . The chapters on myth and art are as brilliant as those on modern optics and illustrate how the rainbow has been as elusive to scientists as to ancient mythmakers. This smart, impassioned cross-disciplinary study, with its many color photos and illustrations. provides an eight-course feast for the intellect and the eyes. --Bruce Cole, Department of the History of Art, Indiana University

The Rainbow Bridge is a celebration of rainbows as bridges that span between cultures the liberal arts and the sciences, the past and the present, the living and the dead, the sacred and the profane, the academic and the commercial. It succeeds brilliantly in developing and sustaining this theme by drawing on a great number of original sources. It will be an indispensable resource for scientists interested in art, and for artists interested in science a bridge indeed. --George Siscoe, Department of Atmospheric Sciences, UCLA, Retired

This smart, impassioned cross-disciplinary study, with its many color photos and illustrations, provides an eight-course feast for the intellect and the eyes. --Publishers Weekly

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 408 pages
• Publisher: Pennsylvania State Univ Pr (July 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0271019778
• ISBN-13: 978-0271019772
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.7 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #538,535 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Do you like rainbows?, August 25, 2001

By 

Philip Laven (Geneva, Switzerland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rainbow Bridge: Rainbows in Art, Myth, and Science (Hardcover)

This book offers a comprehensive survey of rainbows, through an intriguing combination of mythology, art, science and history of science. Rainbows are relatively common elements of paintings and of modern-day advertising, but even great artists can make elementary mistakes in depicting rainbows. The lavish illustrations include reproductions of works of art, colour photographs of rainbows (some of which are stunning) and many diagrams. The authors provide lucid explanations of the science of rainbows without demanding significant mathematical ability on the part of the reader. If you enjoyed reading Carl Boyer's historical perspectives in his book "The Rainbow - from myth to mathematics", you will certainly enjoy this book. If you have more than a passing interest in rainbows, this is a "must buy" book!