Friends Exclusive Event: The Art of Colour: The History of Art in 39 Pigments, by Kelly Grovier

The colours of art tell a riveting tale all their own. Invented by cave-dwellers and medieval conjurers, cunning conmen and savvy scientists, the pigments that painters rely on to tell their vivid tales are loaded with hidden meanings. They bring with them extraordinary back stories that enrich and complicate the surface of works in which they are used. Writer and art historian Kelly Grovier reveals the histories of pigments, from vermillion to verdigris, ultramarine to bone black, that define the greatest paintings in the history of art (from Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring to Vincent Van Gogh’s The Starry Night) – including many masterpieces in the NGI’s collection.

Kelly Grovier is the author of The Art of Colour: The History of Art in 39 Pigments. He is a columnist and feature writer for BBC Culture and his writings on art have appeared in The Times Literary Supplement, the Independent, The Sunday Times, the Observer, RA Magazine and Wired. He is the author of many bestselling books on art including A New Way of Seeing: The History of Art in 57 Works (2018), On the Line: Conversations with Sean Scully (2021), and, most recently, How Banksy Saved Art History (2024), all published by Thames & Hudson. He is co-founder of the scholarly journal European Romantic Review.

Image courtesy of Kelly Grovier.