Origins of Color (Trade & Exchange): Crash Course Art History #12

How can the color “red” be a global commodity? How can the way a statue stands be a sign of cultural exchange? In this episode of Crash Course Art History, we’ll explore how trade networks have moved both materials and ideas — and how art reflects a multi-directional flow of influences.

Introduction: Bugs & Red Dye 00:00
The Silk Road 01:10
The Crusades 04:15
The Conquistadors 07:42
Review & Credits 09:09

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[KannikCat]

"I wonder if he funded a second chapel to atone for his pride..." :D I love how this series always unfolds into multiple layers. Go in starting with trading colour and materials, and emerge delving into the exchange of ideas and motifs and stories and so much more. And end with an engaging piece of contemporary work that I need to look into more. Thank you CC and thank you Sarah!

[rin_Atlas]

This video reminds me of the Van Gogh painting of an almond blossom tree. He was inspired to paint it after seeing Japanese blossom paintings being toured locally to him.

[erraticonteuse]

In the book Catherine, Called Birdy (set during the reign of Edward II), she describes making blue paint with lapis lazuli, and that's such a neat little detail to include a thing that would have been relatively new to England at the time.

[H.floresciences]

It is nice to see Padua mentioned in the video, the frescoes are recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site. There exists a superstition regarding the Scrovegni Chapel. It is believed that if a student visit it before graduating from the University, they will never graduate. I became aware of this after my second visit to the Chapel, it seems I am more than doomed now 😅. Anyway, the city is beautiful and makes for a wonderful day trip if you are visiting Venice.

[patriciatapia]

beautiful episode, just a treat to the eyes!

[stephaniehendricks]

What a great way to end my Thursday, yay!

[kevind]

Would that red and ultramarine made a grand "royal purple", or was there already a excellent purple pigment available?

[LikelyToBeEatenByAGrue]

I really enjoyed this! A lovely mix of art history and surrounding context. Thanks

[thelegaleagle_vt]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge in such an engaging way. You're amazing!

[pedrostormrage]

0:24 "The color came from tiny cochineal insects: dried, pulverized, and strained into the reddest dye in the world" I remember when I first found about that in a science class, and it was kinda shocking because that dye is also used in cosmetics and food (under the names "carmine" or "cochineal extract"), not only artwork and textiles. I felt weird about unknowingly eating bugs (I even thought my science teacher was pranking us at the time).

[bosef]

The development of the synthetic purple dye mauve started a fashion trend due to the sudden availability of inexpensive coal tar aniline dyes.

[Kokorosakurachi]

can we get a full documentary about this with expansion on other colors? plz

[Dayglodaydreams]

You should do at least one episode on the Performing Arts and Performance Art.

[isacami]

i thought they were going to mention vantablack and pinkest pink :)

[lmeeken]

Another contemporary concern when it comes to syncretism (and associated practices like appropriation and remix) is that today artists (and people in general) tend to be more aware and more careful about the power relations involved in cultural mixing and borrowing, the histories that contextualize those actions, and the consequent ethics.

There's (or ideally, should be) more understanding that when historically-powerful folks 'syncretize' the work of folks they're oppressing, that that gesture can be harmful.

[jameshiggins-thomas]

The cochineal red leads me to wonder about the interrelationships of rarety (leading to perceived value) and fashion, itself driven by the desire to express wealth and status. So we know off the rare red, here, and blue and, i assume, a similar case occurs for purple (now associated with royalty). And even trying to achieve a "pure" white fits in this human dance... 🤔

[fakerrain]

Pigments for artist colors are often dependent on industrial companies.

[GamerGoingGrey]

Today I learned Ultramarine is a color and not just an army of Space Marines

[antoniousai]

It's not related to art, but cochinilla is still used as a food colorant even today, because of its biocompatibility

[aarphi]

Lapis Lazuli comes on screen, viewers start sweating in fluent Minecraft lol