One of the things that I’ve been moving towards as I’ve been organizing my library of resources is finding all of my books on pigments and using them to create a sense of books that are valuable to those interested in pigment research. Turns out, I’ve got a lot more than just pigment research!

The following list is by no means exhaustive for scribes (and I definitely have a particular line of work I tend to work with), but is meant to give help to your particular practice. I’m breaking this up over a couple of posts because there’s a lot of information and honestly, there’s a lot of books that defy some sense of pulling into particular categories. This is not exhaustive of all of the books in my library, but for those who want a good idea of where to get started, here you go.

Historic Practice

Books in this section are primary sources, especially known to Western European artists. These books helped lead my understanding of historical colour use, but also painting techniques and how some pigments were made in period.

On Divers Arts, Theophilus, Dover Publications. The Dover Publications version is an older translation of many diverse (or divers) artforms written down in the 12th century, with the artforms ranging from painting to metalwork, and can be found in the Internet Archive. That said, it’s a valuable resource for those starting out on medieval rabbit holes, but since the translation may not be the best or most current one. Still, it’s a great source to get started.

The Craftsman’s Handbook, Cennino Cennini, Dover Publications. This is a Victorian translation of a 15th c Italian text (Il libro dell’Arte) that has long been a staple of SCAdian scribes, and this really delves into a lot of things that give a good basis for period painting techniques of the Italian Renaissance. Also found within the pages are how pigments are made and used, and when it is better to purchase and better to make at home. A newer translation is out, however I have not had the chance to review it yet.

Style

Need some inspiration in various styles? Do you need a source that you can go through for various illumination types? This section goes through museum catalogues and other items to give an idea of different styles of art. Again, this list is by no means exhaustive, but these are decent, vetted sources that can be used as a springboard for further online research.

Roman Painting, Gilbert Picard,  London, Elek; 1968. This, while a dated text, is lovely for up-close forms of Imperial Roman art, including colour plates of many of the frescos found in situ at Herculaneum and Pompeii. Some of the details have been supplanted by later research, but for a nice coffee table book that doubles for research ideas, it’s a good one to have around.

We Live in Painting: The Nature of Color in Mesoamerican Art, Edited with introduction and text by Diana Magaloni, Davide Domenici, Alyce de Carteret. Foreword by Michael Govan. Preface by Antonio Saborit. Text by Carlos Barrera Reyes, Claudia Brittenham, Élodie Dupey García, Tatiana Falcón, et al, LACMA 2024. Let me first get this out of the way: I am extremely biased and lucky to have this text and to have met many of the people involved with bringing this exhibition to Kansas City (and even got to be part of a programme at the Nelson-Atkins as part of this exhibition). That said, this text goes into incredible detail of not only Mesoamerican painting styles, but the pigments traditionally used, and how they were made and applied in various applications. There are some modern pieces, however, the richness of art and colour and meaning to ancient Mesoamericans definitely informs a lot of really cool SCA applications.

The Illuminated Manuscript, Janet Backhouse, Phaidon; 1979. The Illuminated Manuscript is a great primer (due to the colour plates) of early Insular, Romanesque, and Gothic styles. Of note, this was printed in 1979, and many of the plates listed are not printed in colour, however, to get a general idea of flow, starting illumination drawings, and the like, it remains a steady jumping-off point to better understanding the mindset of artists in period.

The Book of Hours, John Harthan Park Lane; 1982. For those whose interests lie entirely in 14th and 15th century books of hours, this book has a wealth of colour plates, though this really gives tidbits of inspiration, leading the reader to find complete scans (if any) online. This is definitely a coffee table book, but the details from the Bourdichon atelier as well as what was happening in the courts of the rulers and nobles who owned these precious texts give an interesting view into the lives of the ruling classes and the ideas of piety that influenced these works of art.

The Codex Borgia: A Full-Color Restoration of the Ancient Mexican Manuscript, Gisele Díaz and Alan Rodgers, Dover Publications, 2012. This Dover Publication includes commentary on the Codex Borgia (created by pre-Columbian Mesoamerican artists in Central Mexico, dating from the 16th century) as well as some commentary and details on the Aztec calendar and pantheon and how those details informed the artwork. Definitely a fantastic source for late-period Mesoamerican art!

The Medieval World at our Fingertips: Manuscript Illuminations from the Collection of Sandra Hindman. Christopher de Hamel, Harvey Miller Publishers; 2017. This book accompanied an exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago, and contains beautifully written essays by Christopher de Hamel, a leading expert in medieval manuscripts and illuminations, along with several colour plates of manuscripts and other medieval pieces of art. If you want full inspiration in Western European mansucripts, this is perfect. (of note, we will revisit de Hamel again in this list)

Objects of Virtue: Art in Renaissance Italy, Luke Syson and Dora Thornton, Getty Publications; 2002. Not just limited to painted objects, this text also goes into textiles, glasswork, majolica (tin glazed) ceramics, and metalworked pieces (and more). The accompanying essays also cover Renaissance Italian social mores and virtues, and while the book illustrates these concepts in context with Renaissance artforms, there’s also a lot of really lovely eye candy that I’d absolutely recommend.

Pigments

Much of my research lately has revolved around pigments. While not all of these texts have items are geared for period projects, I find that they’re interesting sources to have, especially when deciding how and when to use pigments.

Pigment Compendium, Nicholas Eastaugh, Valentine Walsh, Tracey Chaplin, Ruth Siddall, Routledge; 2008. This was expensive. Like, really, really expensive. That said, this book is an incredible resource for anyone interested in historical pigments from the oldest to the newest, and while geared for museum professionals (especially with the microscopy and spectroscopy portions), I find that the details in this book (an entire pigment glossary of historical names for pigments!!!) really are phenomenal for advanced pigment nerds.

The Pigments of British Medieval Illuminators: A Scientific and Cultural Study, Edited by Richard Gameson, Archetype Publications; 2023. If you want extremely granular views of pigments used by medieval illuminators in Britain, this text is for you. This includes Raman spectroscopy of manuscripts, and details differences not only from location to location but down to individual manuscripts. This is an incredible source, and covers a period of time from pre-Conquest Britain into post-plague work. Pigments that were found include mineral, organic, and even some alchemical ones.

The Colors of the New World: Artists, Materials, and the Creation of the Florentine Codex, Diana Magaloni Kerpel, Getty Publications; 2014. This monograph covers the Florentine Codex, a 16th-century ethnographic research study in Mesoamerica by the Spanish Franciscan friar Bernardino de Sahagún. The Florentine Codex is significant in that it uses a combination of native Mesoamerican organic pigments (cochineal, indigo, Maya blue) and mineral pigments, in a style that blends both Aztec and Spanish styles of art of the late-1500s. It’s not a large book by any means, but this text is absolutely powerful in what it shares.

What is Color?, Steven Weinberg, Macmillan; 2024. This is a children’s book. Don’t let that stop you. Sometimes, the silly is needed, especially with some colours, and in this book, it’s a great jumping off point to get smaller kids interested in the science and the art of what goes into the stuff that makes their world colourful. It’s hilarious, kind of zany, and I really do love it.

The Secret Lives of Color, Kassia St. Clair, Penguin; 2016. This is one of those books that really delves into what makes colour a thing in our world, and how some of those colours are made, found, or used. This is a little on the pop art history route, but it’s a delightful read, and a great way to start seeing pigment use everywhere.

The Art of Colour: The History of Art in 39 Pigments, Kelly Grovier, Yale University Press; 2023. Much like The Secret Lives of Color, this covers 39 different pigments (some modern, many period) and their use in significant pieces of art history (and some a little less significant). As a resource, it’s another fantastic read, though it’s a little more of the pop art history route. That said, much like The Secret Lives of Color, it’s a great way to really start seeing how different pigments are used and move in and our of artistic practice.

The Artist’s Color Box, Kelly Grovier, Skittledog; 2025. Not a book, but written by the same author of The Art of Colour: The History of Art in 39 Pigments, this deck of cards is a more portable method to examine colour. Many of the photos come from the Forbes Pigment Collection, and each card talks about the use of these pigments in context from artists ranging from Georgia O’Keeffe to Giotto. This is definitely an art history snack in a pack.

Color: A Natural History of the Palette, Victoria Finlay, Random House; 2002. Another art history book, not dissimilar from Grovier and St. Clair, this weaves storytelling with historical use, and is a fun read to follow the journeys of the artists who rely on the criss-crossing nature of the pigment trade. Again, this is a little pop-history, but make a cuppa and take time to read it on a rainy day, and it’s not a bad way to explore the origins of where our pigments come from.

Book of Earth: A Guide to Ochre, Pigment, and Raw Color, Heidi Gustafson, Abrams Books; 2023. If you want a gorgeous book, this is it. There are a lot of things I deeply appreciate this, however, there are also items that tend a little less academic and a little more interesting anthropological studies into the mystical meanings attributed to certain ochres (which one part of me found simultaneously charming and frustrating). That said, this does go into breaking down raw ochre processes (though modern) and geological sources of a literal rainbow of dirt.