mymodernmet.com: Red is not only one of the primary colors, it's also one of the first colors used by artists—dating back to prehistory. Ranging from orange tinges to deep wine hues, throughout history the color red has held special significance for cultures around the world. The warm color is most commonly associated with love in Western culture and remains an attractive, vibrant color that immediately brings attention to itself.
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Red is one of the three primary colors from which all other colors are created so getting to read an article that outlines the history of such an important color is so exciting.
Red is one of the oldest colors that has been in use for purposes that range between paintings to murals to sculptors to clothes to coloring the surrounding. Its uses have been so varied that it must so exciting for people back in the day to paint their lives red.
The reasons why red is such a widely used color can be several: its an eye catching color that is used to indicate happiness and love and everything beautiful that is possible to be seen.
Red has come a long way in its history. To be used as a solely a color in the past, it is now used as a way to symbolize things ranging from love to revenge to representing high end brands.
No wonder that red is such an appealing color.
I love articles like this: illustrating the stories behind materials and processes we take for granted. Besides articles like this, most of us never learn these stories unless we are art history majors. This one is especially intriguing to me because red is my favorite color, precisely because it can be so many different and contradictory things: love and hate, war and joy. I have found its versatility intriguing for several years. Color symbolism in general can be fascinating, but red in particular seems to have a layer of complexity lacking in other colors. This article touches on that in the beginning, but I think it is better shown by the indirect examples: cinnabar red pigment was worth more than blue pigment from Egypt in Ancient Rome. The bugs required to make Carmine red were the third most valuable import to Europe in the 16th century, behind only silver and gold. These kinds of examples are the most compelling to me, demonstrating unequivocally that red has a special place in human culture.
I too love articles like this! Color history is fascinating, and really provides a lot of context and weight to color choice and preference. This article was easy to read, and had great examples from different cultures and places. I also really enjoyed the fun facts section. My favorite was the following: "Fun fact: In Medieval times, synthetic vermilion was as costly as gold leaf. Thus it was used only for the most important aspects of illuminated manuscripts, while less costly red lead was used for red letters within the text." These fun facts, present after each section, allow the shade to be linked to specific use and examples, which helps the reader retain information in a better fashion. I actually saw an amazing exhibit at the Renwick gallery a couple years ago that used the cochineal red dye. "Made from cochineal, tiny scale insects that live on cacti, the pigment made its way to Europe in the early 16th century when Spanish conquistadors noticed the brilliant reds used by the Aztecs." This exhibit was a lot of insects arranged into patterns and shapes, but what was so captivating was the rich red/pink colors that colored the walls. The color was fantastic, and was made from the cochineal.
I have read so many articles on the color of history. I find it absolutely fascinating that there are people whose entire careers are dedicated to the preservation, history and discovery of color. The facts about this one color, red, are fascinating. The thought that these tiny little bugs had to be gathered to create this color is amazing to me and shows a real commitment to the creation and use of these colors. This article has really made me want to learn more about where other colors we may take for granted come from. I know that purple was also a color that was rare and I wonder if it was because of the intense processes that the creation of those colors required. I would love to know the complete process it took to take red from the bug to the color beginning to end.
I had no idea that red had such a complex evolution. I had seen histories of blue and yellow, but never red, and I think this article does a great job of introducing people to the history of colour and all of the intricacies that are a part of that. I thought this article did a great job of spanning so many years of art in such a short space, and that it was able to highlight the shining moments of the red evolution. I had no idea that cave paintings actually used colour at all: I had always seen them in black or brown tones, but never colour. I think it is absolutely amazing that the colour in those paintings has lasted for so many years. I also think this could be incredibly useful to those attempting to recreate period pieces, and guiding them on what shade of red to choose for the most accurate period piece possible.
Colors carry so much meaning and history behind them. In our era, the way of producing color and pigment, arguably, has been simplified. I really appreciate how this article provides a look into the history of the colors, how they are made and how they came to be. Nowadays we can pick a color from the RGB spectrum, or choose a pantone, and it’s a number. Don’t get me wrong the fact that we have managed to create a system that organizes colors to make them consistent throughout devices is mind-blowing. But there is a sense of wonder and intrigue when I think of colors as minerals and pigments. How they influenced the perception of class, and how they shaped society, in a way. Also I love to imagine how someone saw a stone and thought “this is so pretty, Ill crush it and mix it with something, so I can cover other things with it”
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