Painting, Science, and the Perception of Coloured Shadows

Paul Smith is Professor of History of Art at the University of Warwick.

• 1. The Science 2. Light and Dark 3. Physics 4. Contrast 5. Constancy 6. The Criterion 7. Aesthetic Value 8. Conclusion

"Everyday experience affords us a miraculous vision: in this deeply-researched and original study, Paul Smith traces the cultural history of the coloured shadow, a phenomenon that haunted the imagination and the practice of European naturalist painters between the Renaissance and the late nineteenth century; he shows how it has continued to elude scientific explanation until recent times, and argues that we may find in it beauty epitomized. In the course of his argument, he re-evaluates significant aspects of the theory and science of colour, with respect to painting and perception. His book will be valued both as a stimulus to thought on these subjects, and for its detailed and incisive analyses of paintings."- Brendan Prendeville, Goldsmiths, University of London