This is an exciting book. Whether you are an artist, an art historian or simply an art lover, you will find this beautifully produced volume absorbing. The author, Stella Paul, guides the reader into thinking about colour in its own right as well as part of an art work. We are led into the history, symbolism, science, and psychology of colour by reference to images from a range of time periods.

The result is a fresh focus on painting. The viewer’s understanding is sharpened and I found a new way of seeing images I thought I knew well.

Chromaphilia has been produced to a high standard. In a book about colour, image quality is crucial and I wasn’t disappointed. Stella Paul’s writing is full of ideas, some of which are complex, but she has a gift for clear expression and the illustrations work hand in hand with the text. It’s a book both for reading and for dipping into. The trouble is, I keep dipping in and surfacing a long time later. The housework is suffering. Too bad.

Chromaphilia                      Pub. Phaidon     £29.95