A timely reissue of a brilliant exploration of the science of art and of colour

"Brilliant...in every sense. Ball's book is the volume that has been missing from my library" Guardian "Brings the mysterious subject of colour wonderfully alive. Quite literally an eye-opener" Economist "A succinct and elegantly structured new survey of Western painting. Ball pitches his learning just right between academic history and a highly readable series of anecdotes and biographical sketches" Daily Mail "Full of fascinating vignettes. Philip Ball writes engagingly on complicated topics" Sunday Telegraph "Scattered with attractive particles, sparkles with redolent names... A solid, well-researched compendium of information" TLS

Philip Ball is a freelance writer and a consultant editor for the world's leading science journal Nature. He is a regular commentator on the interactions between science, art, history and culture. His previous books include Bright Earth: The Invention of Colour, H2O: A Biography of Water and Critical Mass: How One Thing Leads To Another, which won the 2005 Aventis Prize for Science Books. He lives in London with his wife and daughter.