Armitage, F.,
The British Paint Industry
. Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1967. This text is especially useful for determining the pigments available to and probably used by Wright.
Boynton, Robert M., "Color," pp. 180-181 in
McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Physics
, 2nd ed. Ed. Sybil P. Parker. New York: 1991. This article discusses the use of the spectrophotometer and explains the CIE chromaticity diagram.
Brown, Frederick C., "Color Centers," pp.182-184 in
McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Physics
, 2nd ed. Ed. Sybil P. Parker. New York: 1991. This article explains atomic and electronic defects that produce absorption bands in normally colorless crystals. Gamma or x-ray radiation, impurities and sometimes electrolysis produce color centers.
Edgerton, Judy,
Wright of Derby
. London: Tate Gallery Publications, 1990. Published by order of the trustees on the occasion of exhibitions that year at the Tate Gallery, The Grand Palais in Paris and Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York city.
Feitknecht, W., "The Theory of the Color of Inorganic Substances," pp. 1-25 in
Pigments: An Introduction to their Physical Chemistry
. Ed. David Patterson. Amsterdam: Elsevier Publishing Company, LTD., 1967. This text is both technical and mathematical. Chapter 1 is extremely valuable for explaining the part electrons play in determining color. Compounds containing the same metal in two different valence states are colored because the energy jump from one state to the next is not excessive. For example, the intense color of Prussian blue is caused by the presence of Fe2+and Fe3+ ions, KFe3+éFe2+(CN)6ù. The text clearly explains the effect of filled and unfilled s, p, or d orbitals on color.
Feynman, Richard P., Six Easy Pieces:
Essentials of Physics Explained by Its Most Brilliant Teacher
. Reading, MA: Addison Wesley Publishing Co., 1995. Taken from Feynman's lectures, these are superb essays that explain very difficult subjects. The essay on energy is particularly applicable.
Gamow, George,
Thirty Years That Shook Physics: The Story of Quantum Theory
. Garden City NY: Anchor Books, Double Day & Co. Inc., 1966. Extremely well written with numerous illustrations and personal anecdotes, this book clearly explains the tremendous discoveries concerning the structure of the atom without burying the reader in mathematics. Chapter I, "M. Planck and Light Quanta" and Chapter II, "N. Bohr and Quantum Orbits" are especially applicable. Gamow clearly explains the relationship between the electromagnetic emission spectrum, astronomical observations and atomic structure.
Huey, S.J., "Color in Paint," pp. 456-494 in
Technology of Paints, Varnishes and Lacquers
. Ed. Charles R. Martens. New York: Reinhold Book Corp., 1968. Huey discusses the scientific foundation of the three dimensions of color and the importance of the spectrophotometer, the primary instrument for the precise measurement of color. Because "Color is a psychophysical reaction as seen by the eye and interpreted by the brain" (456) it is important to have a plot of the characteristic curve produced by the light reflected from a sample, a "fingerprint of the color." The shape of this curve remains constant, even if the pigment is mixed with other pigments and, therefore, provides a permanent color record.
Jefferies, H.D., "Dispersion of Inorganic Pigments," pp. 308-409 in
Dispersion of Powders in Liquids With Special Reference to Pigments
. Ed. G.D. Parfitt. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1973. This chapter provides information concerning the effects of particle size on light scattering and, thus, color, as well as the components and manufacture of pigments. There are synthetic red iron oxides differing only in particle size ranging from 100nm, a pigment with a strong yellow cast, to 1000nm, a pigment with a strong violet cast. Jefferies also offers helpful background concerning hue, value and saturation. The spectral reflectance curve usually shows a peak corresponding to the wavelength of the major color of the pigment. However, "Some nominally 'pure' pigments have secondary peaks, while purple has concave curves with reflectance increases at both blue and red ends." (317) Colors that completely reflect light over a small range of wavelengths, producing a sharp, narrow peak, are the most saturated.
Jenkins, Francis A. and Watson, William W., "Huygens' Principle," p. 553 in
McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Physics
, 2nd ed. Ed. Sybil P. Parker. New York: 1991. This brief article provides interesting historical background on light. In the seventeenth century, Newton postulated that light was a particle at the same time that Huygens hypothesized that light travels in waves. Fame triumphed, and Newton's ideas predominated until the middle of the 19th century.
Levison, Henry W., "Pigmentation of Artists' Colors," in
Pigment Handbook: Applications and Markets
Vol. II. Ed. Temple C. Patton. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1973. This reference provides valuable historical background on pigments for any medium.
Mayer, Ralph,
The Artist's Handbook of Materials and Techniques
. NY: Viking Press, 1964. This comprehensive text is written for artists by a chemical researcher in the paint, varnish and pigment industry who is, himself, a painter.
Nicolson, Benedict,
Joseph Wright of Derby: Painter of Light
. Vols. I, II. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1971. This text provides essential background material on Joseph Wright and his paintings.
Parramon, Jose M.,
Color Theory
. New York: Watson-Guptill Publications, 1988. This text clearly presents the historical development of color theory as it relates to both light and pigments, the effect of different light sources on color, and the development of synthetic organic pigments. Parramon lucidly illustrates how the interaction of adjacent colors affects the color one sees. The phenomenon of successive images, credited to the physicist Chevruel, suggests a fascinating brief exercise. Stare at images of three primary pigments for thirty seconds and then look at a white background. You will see complementary colors. This explains why colors cast their complementary colors onto adjacent colors or shades.
Prown, Jules D., "Mind in Matter: An Introduction to Material Culture, Theory and Method," pp. 7-10 in
Winterthur Portfolio
, Vol. 17, no. 1 Spring 1982. This article is essential to an understanding of object analysis.
Rohr, Walter,
Teaching Atomic Structure in Color
. Fairfield, CT: Printed handout from Workshop presented Mar. 19, 2001 by CT Chemistry Teacher Association and SHU Smart Center at Sacred Heart University, Fairfield, CT., 2001.
Stroke, George W., "Light," pp. 679-687 in
McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Physics
, 2nd ed. Ed. Sybil P. Parker. New York: 1991. This article, which comes with an extensive bibliography, is especially helpful for the historical development of theories concerning light.
Turner, G.P.A.,
Introduction to Paint Chemistry and Principles of Paint Technology
. New York: Chapman and Hall, 1988. This text provides invaluable information on the cause of color in both inorganic and organic pigments. Turner discusses the influence of ligands and their relationship to transition elements with unfilled d or f orbitals, the charge transfer mechanism for absorption spectra, and the structure of numerous organic pigments.
Zollinger, Heinrich,
Color Chemistry: Syntheses, Properties and Application of Organic Dyes and Pigments
. Weinheim, Fed.Rep. of Germany, 1987. This text, which contains numerous organic structures, is especially helpful for understanding the history of color and the uses of dyes and pigments as well as the difference between the two. Zollinger includes a fascinating section on fluorescence and the structural difference between phenolphthalein, which does not fluoresce and fluorescene, which does.