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Goethe's Theory of Colours: Translated from the German, with Notes
Paperback / softback
Main Details
Title |
Goethe's Theory of Colours: Translated from the German, with Notes
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Authors and Contributors |
By (author) Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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Translated by Charles Lock Eastlake
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Series | Cambridge Library Collection - Art and Architecture |
Physical Properties |
Format:Paperback / softback | Pages:482 | Dimensions(mm): Height 216,Width 140 |
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Category/Genre | The arts - general issues Theory of art |
ISBN/Barcode |
9781108075442
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Classifications | Dewey:701.85 |
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Audience | Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly | Professional & Vocational | |
Illustrations |
3 Plates, color; 1 Plates, black and white
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Publishing Details |
Publisher |
Cambridge University Press
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Imprint |
Cambridge University Press
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Publication Date |
2 October 2014 |
Publication Country |
United Kingdom
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Description
This work by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) was translated into English in 1840 by Sir Charles Eastlake (1793-1865), painter and later keeper of the National Gallery. Goethe's 1810 work was rejected by many contemporary scientists because it appeared to contradict the physical laws laid down by Newton. However, its focus on the human perception of the colour spectrum, as opposed to the observable optical phenomenon, was attractive to, and influential upon, artists and philosophers. As Eastlake says in his preface, the work's dismissal on scientific grounds had caused 'a well-arranged mass of observations and experiments, many of which are important and interesting', to be overlooked. Eastlake also puts Goethe's work into its aesthetic and scientific context and describes its original reception. His clear translation of Goethe's observations and experiments on colour and light will appeal to anyone interested in our responses to art.
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