This book brings together an extensive amount of material in an insightful and beautifully illustrated history of color and color harmony expressed in the original words and diagrams of leading color theorists. Chapters trace the origins of color harmony from ancient Greece to modern times. The author follows the development of color harmony in the Renaissance and Baroque periods, addresses the systematic study of color in the 16th and 17th centuries, and describes the rapid development of scientific interest in color in the 18th and 19th centuries. Chapters survey the proliferation, coexistence, and consolidation of meanings of color harmony in the 20th century using excerpts of original writings on each subject. The book concludes with a consideration of postmodernism, and includes a chapter on the language of color.

Color theory, 125 illustrations, reading lists, bibliography.