Welcome to a new miniseries of Stories in Colour. The National Gallery’s vibrant podcast returns to tell the story of a rare, sparkling and glistening colour – or should we say material?
It's been called the tears of the gods, the sweat of the sun, a barbaric relic and a universal language. Join us as we trace the use of gold across the ages! From the tombs of Ancient Egypt to Renaissance altarpieces, all the way to a currently missing golden toilet.
‘Stories in Colour’ is a podcast from the National Gallery telling the histories of one of the most vibrant and influential technologies. These are the stories of how colour has changed the world.
Hear from curators, scientists, historians, artists, and more experts, to look at humanity’s efforts to make colour and make meaning with it.
Along the way, see – and hear – the National Gallery’s paintings in a whole new spectrum of light.
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The National Gallery houses the national collection of paintings in the Western European tradition from the 13th to the 19th centuries. The museum is free of charge and open 361 days per year, daily between 10am - 6pm and on Fridays between 10am - 9pm.
What exactly is a rainbow and how is it formed? Why does it have seven colours? And what have rainbows symbolised in mythologies and art?
Join colour expert Dr Alexandra Loske, National Gallery Principal Scientist Joseph Padfield and National Gallery host Beks Leary as they cover rainbows from Noah’s Ark to Olafur Eliasson, and Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon to Georges Seurat’s ‘The Rainbow’ study.
Alexandra is a colour expert, writer, art historian and museum curator. Her exhibition 'Colour: A Chromatic Promenade through the Royal Pavilion' is on display at The Royal Pavilion in Brighton until October 2025.
Joseph is a Principal Scientist at the National Gallery. He brings a wealth of expertise across multiple domains, including preventive conservation, museum lighting, colour science and the technical examination of paintings.
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Subscribe to our YouTube channel and never miss an episode of 'Stories in Colour': http://bit.ly/1HrNTFd
Watch your next episode of 'Stories in Colour': https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvb2y26xK6Y5oKGCTKesXyO-LR3f2XcZF
You can email us with any questions via podcast@nationalgallery.org.uk
Find out more about the podcast on our website: https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/podcast
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To take our short survey about the podcast please visit: https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/podcast
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🎨 Find out more about the paintings mentioned in this episode:
Jan Van Eyck, ‘The Annunciation’, about 1434/1436. National Gallery of Art, Washington https://www.nga.gov/artworks/46-annunciation
Bartolomé Bermejo, ‘Saint Michael Triumphs over the Devil’, 1468. The National Gallery, London https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/bartolome-bermejo-saint-michael-triumphs-over-the-devil
Georges Seurat, ‘The Rainbow: Study for 'Bathers at Asnières'’, 1883. The National Gallery, London https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/georges-seurat-the-rainbow-study-for-bathers-at-asnieres
Further reading:
Alexandra Loske, Colour: A Visual History, 2019
Find out more about the exhibition ‘Colour: A Chromatic Promenade through the Royal Pavilion’ at The Royal Pavilion, Brighton: https://brightonmuseums.org.uk/event/colour/
Isaac Newton, Opticks: or, A Treatise of the Reflexions, Refractions, Inflexions and Colours of Light, 1704
Pink Floyd ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ album art: http://www.hipgnosiscovers.com/pinkfloyd/darksideofthemoon.html
Find out more about Olafur Eliasson’s ‘Your Rainbow Panorama’ (2011): https://www.aros.dk/en/art/the-collection/olafur-eliasson-your-rainbow-panorama-2011/
Find out more about the work of Andy Goldsworthy: https://andygoldsworthystudio.com/
Find out more about Hiroshi Sugimoto’s works ‘Opticks’: https://www.sugimotohiroshi.com/polarized-color-1
Find out more about artist and writer David Batchelor: https://www.davidbatchelor.co.uk/works/installations/
Find out more about Constable and solar geometry: https://www.tate.org.uk/research/in-focus/salisbury-cathedral-constable/reassessing-the-rainbow
🎞 Subscribe to our YouTube channel and never miss a video: http://bit.ly/1HrNTFd
Follow us on social media!
⭐️ Instagram: https://instagram.com/nationalgallery
⭐️ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nationalgallerylondon
⭐️ Facebook: https://en-gb.facebook.com/thenationalgallery/
⭐️ Threads: https://www.threads.net/@nationalgallery
⭐️ X, formerly Twitter: https://twitter.com/NationalGallery
Help keep the museum accessible for everyone by supporting us here: https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/support-us
The world's greatest paintings to your inbox. Sign up to receive the latest news from the Gallery: https://bit.ly/3m0FY98
The National Gallery houses the national collection of paintings in the Western European tradition from the 13th to the 19th centuries. The museum is free of charge and open 361 days per year, daily between 10am - 6pm and on Fridays between 10am - 9pm.
Why do we see purple as the colour of royalty? It all starts on the Mediterranean coast with some unassuming, and eventually very unfortunate, seasnails.
Travel back to ancient times with colour specialist Victoria Finlay and National Gallery host Beks Leary to trace the story of Tyrian purple through time.
Victoria has written several books about colour – including 'Colour, Travels through the Paintbox' and 'The Brilliant History of Color in Art' – which involved travelling across the globe to the very places that ancient pigments and dyes came from. Her most recent book is about the hidden histories of fabric.
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Subscribe to our YouTube channel and never miss an episode of 'Stories in Colour': http://bit.ly/1HrNTFd
Watch your next episode of 'Stories in Colour': https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvb2y26xK6Y5oKGCTKesXyO-LR3f2XcZF
You can email us with any questions via podcast@nationalgallery.org.uk
Find out more about the podcast on our website: https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/podcast
_______
To take our short survey about the podcast please visit: https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/podcast
_______
🎨 Find out more about the artworks mentioned in this episode:
Raphael, ‘The Dream of a Knight’, about 1504. The National Gallery, London https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/raphael-the-dream-of-a-knight
Lorenzo Costa, 'Portrait (supposed to be of Battista Fiera)', 1490-5. The National Gallery, London https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/lorenzo-costa-portrait-supposed-to-be-of-battista-fiera
Master of the Bruges Passion Scenes, 'Christ presented to the People', about 1510. The National Gallery, London https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/master-of-the-bruges-passion-scenes-christ-presented-to-the-people
Further reading:
Victoria Finlay, Color: A Natural History of the Palette, 2002
Victoria Finlay, Colour: Travels through the Paintbox, 2002
Victoria Finlay, The Brilliant History of Color in Art, 2014
Victoria Finlay, Fabric: The Hidden History of the Material World, 2021
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, composed around 2nd century AD
Find out more about the Tito Bustillo Cave here: https://www.centrotitobustillo.com/en/cueva-tito-bustillo
Julius Pollox, Onomasticon, composed around 2nd century AD
Pliny the Elder, Historia Naturalis [Natural History], published around 77 AD
Find out more about the Church of San Vitale in Ravenna, Italy: https://www.turismo.ra.it/en/culture-and-history/religious-buildings/basilica-san-vitale/
Silius Italicus, Punica, composed around the late 1st century AD – see Book XV for the passage on Scipio’s choice
Find out more about technical analysis of Raphael’s ‘The Dream of a Knight’ in the National Gallery’s Technical Bulletin: https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/technical-bulletin/roy_spring_plazzotta2004
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Episode Credits:
Guest: Victoria Finlay
Host and executive producer: Beks Leary
Producer: Harry Rosehill
Researcher: Hannah Rogers
Technicians: Ian Warren and Tom Gulliver
Editor: Jeanne Kenyon and Paul Frankl
Theme music: Theo Elwell
🎞 Subscribe to our YouTube channel and never miss a video: http://bit.ly/1HrNTFd
Follow us on social media!
⭐️ Instagram: https://instagram.com/nationalgallery
⭐️ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nationalgallerylondon
⭐️ Facebook: https://en-gb.facebook.com/thenationalgallery/
⭐️ Threads: https://www.threads.net/@nationalgallery
⭐️ X, formerly Twitter: https://twitter.com/NationalGallery
Help keep the museum accessible for everyone by supporting us here: https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/support-us
The world's greatest paintings to your inbox. Sign up to receive the latest news from the Gallery: https://bit.ly/3m0FY98
The National Gallery houses the national collection of paintings in the Western European tradition from the 13th to the 19th centuries. The museum is free of charge and open 361 days per year, daily between 10am - 6pm and on Fridays between 10am - 9pm.
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