Newly discovered book on COLOR

The book was called the Traité des couleurs servant à la peinture à l’eau, and it was written in 1692 by a man who identifies himself in the book only as “A. Boogert.”

"It was, in essence, a hand-written textbook on the creation of different colors using water, and meant to be studied by any and all painters and artists who would be fortunate enough to actually get their hands on it."

Other writers have compared it to its contemporary equivalent, the Pantone Color Guide, which was published for the first time in 1963 (and with less than stellar color reproductions compared to today's standards).

I am assuming since it has been out of circulation for over 300 years, the colors still seem vibrant. It is currently located in Bibliothèque Méjanes in Aix-en-Provence, France, which is of course, where Vincent van Gogh lived for a while (so obviously I need to plan a trip there).

 

(Original article found on Colossal - Colossal Site)