Painting, Science, and the Perception of Coloured Shadows

"""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"