Red: The History of a Color

The author of this beautifully illustrated and fascinating book is a historian at the Sorbonne, who has already written histories of blue and green, and his next book will be on yellow. By reading it, one becomes aware of the many associations of the colour, and in this case red has been primary in our culture. One only needs to think of the blood of Christ, the revolutionary flag, the red of power (including Cardinals), Santa Claus, the fires of hell and its symbolism of love, glory and beauty. It saw a decline with the austerity of the Protestant Reformation - there is a portrait of Luther in black - and then falls out of favour until re-gaining momentum as representative of progressive thought and services such as the Red Cross and fire emergency. Interestingly, blue took over from red in the Middle Ages, while standing for the Virgin Mary as opposed to Mary Magdalene. The many illustrations enhance the message and impact of the book and demonstrate the colour's varied cultural associations.