Decoding paintings through colour

Decoding paintings through colour

How do the colours artists choose – and the ways each of us experience them – help us find a story? Join Beks and author Chloë Ashby as they take a closer look at how to ‘read’ colour in some of the National Gallery’s most iconic paintings. From Van Gogh to Caravaggio, they examine how different artists use colour to guide narrative, shape meaning and even evoke emotion. Whether you’re an art lover or new to art history, uncover hints and tips for how to decode your favourite paintings through colour. ------- Chloë is an author and award-winning arts critic. She is the author of Wet Paint (2022) and Second Self (2023). Her third novel, ‘Family Friends’, will be published by Penguin Fig Tree in summer 2026. She is also the author of two non-fiction books on art history: ‘Look At This If You Love Great Art (2021)’ and ‘Colours of Art: The Story of Art in 80 Palettes’ (2022). ------- Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iOg5ICy090 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iOg5ICy090] You can email us with any questions via podcast@nationalgallery.org.uk [podcast@nationalgallery.org.uk] Find out more about the podcast on our website: www.nationalgallery.org.uk/podcast [https://www.youtube.com/playlist] ------- Paintings mentioned: Édouard Manet, ‘A Bar at the Folies-Bergère’, 1882 © Courtauld Gallery, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust) https://gallerycollections.courtauld.ac.uk/object-p-1934-sc-234 [https://gallerycollections.courtauld.ac.uk/object-p-1934-sc-234] Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, ‘The Supper at Emmaus’, 1601 https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/michelangelo-merisi-da-caravaggio-the-supper-at-emmaus [https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/michelangelo-merisi-da-caravaggio-the-supper-at-emmaus] Diego Velázquez, ‘The Toilet of Venus ('The Rokeby Venus')’, 1647-51 https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/diego-velazquez-the-toilet-of-venus-the-rokeby-venus [https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/diego-velazquez-the-toilet-of-venus-the-rokeby-venus] Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas, ‘Combing the Hair ('La Coiffure')’, About 1896 https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/hilaire-germain-edgar-degas-combing-the-hair-la-coiffure [https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/hilaire-germain-edgar-degas-combing-the-hair-la-coiffure] Vincent van Gogh, ‘Sunflowers’, 1888 https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/vincent-van-gogh-sunflowers [https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/vincent-van-gogh-sunflowers] Peter Paul Rubens, ‘The Judgement of Paris’, Probably 1632-5 https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/peter-paul-rubens-the-judgement-of-paris [https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/peter-paul-rubens-the-judgement-of-paris] ------- Further reading: Chloë Ashby, ‘Colours of Art: The Story of Art in 80 Palettes’, 2022 [Book] Chloë Ashby, ‘Look at This if You Love Great Art’, 2021 [Book] Find out more about Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas’s fiery painting ‘Combing the Hair ('La Coiffure')' on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOSllLel-UI [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOSllLel-UI] Explore 'The Story of Van Gogh's Yellow Palette' from the National Gallery's Chemistry of Colour YouTube series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdapnts7kIk [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdapnts7kIk] Find out more about the restoration of Rubens’s ‘The Judgement of Paris’ here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiL3z0a9-eo [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiL3z0a9-eo] ------- Episode credits: Guest: Chloë Ashby Host and executive producer: Beks Leary Producer: Harry Rosehill Researcher: Hannah Rogers Technicians: Ian Warren and Tom Gulliver Video Producer: Alessandro Sorenti Editor: Paul Frankl Theme music: Theo Elwell

The mauve measles: when purple went viral

A teenage chemist’s accidental discovery didn’t just revolutionise colour history – it sparked a viral Victorian colour craze! Cultural historian Kassia St Clair joins Beks to uncover the story of mauveine – the world’s first synthetic aniline dye. Practically overnight, this striking purple became a mass-market sensation. Mauve reshaped Victorian fashion and left a legacy that stretches all the way from a laboratory in Victorian London’s East End to portraits of icons like Oprah Winfrey. ------- Kassia is the author of books including 'The Secret Lives of Colour', 'The Golden Thread' and 'Liberty: Design. Pattern. Colour'. She specialises in telling stories about the overlooked and everyday. ------- Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ddv3yLM6VeQ [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ddv3yLM6VeQ] You can email us with any questions via podcast@nationalgallery.org.uk [https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/podcast] Find out more about the podcast on our website: www.nationalgallery.org.uk/podcast [https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/podcast] ------- Paintings mentioned: Sir Arthur Stockdale Cope, ‘Sir William Henry Perkin’, 1906. © National Portrait Gallery, London https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw04955/Sir-William-Henry-Perkin?_gl=1*n8r8uw*_up*MQ..*_ga*NDE2MjgwNzAxLjE3NzgwNzkyNDc.*_ga_3D53N72CHJ*czE3NzgwNzkyNDYkbzEkZzAkdDE3NzgwNzkyNDYkajYwJGwwJGgw [https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw04955/Sir-William-Henry-Perkin?_gl=1*n8r8uw*_up*MQ..*_ga*NDE2MjgwNzAxLjE3NzgwNzkyNDc.*_ga_3D53N72CHJ*czE3NzgwNzkyNDYkbzEkZzAkdDE3NzgwNzkyNDYkajYwJGwwJGgw] John Phillip, ‘The Marriage of Victoria, Princess Royal, 25 January 1858’, Signed and dated 1860 © Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2026 | Royal Collection Trust https://www.rct.uk/collection/406819/the-marriage-of-victoria-princess-royal-25-january-1858 [https://www.rct.uk/collection/406819/the-marriage-of-victoria-princess-royal-25-january-1858] Claude Monet, ‘Irises’, About 1914-17 https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/claude-monet-irises [https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/claude-monet-irises] Shawn Michael Warren, ‘Oprah Winfrey’, 2023 © National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution / Courtesy of the artist https://npg.si.edu/object/npg_NPG.2023.37?destination=edan-search/default_search%3Fedan_local%3D1%26edan_q%3Doprah [https://npg.si.edu/object/npg_NPG.2023.37?destination=edan-search/default_search%3Fedan_local%3D1%26edan_q%3Doprah] ------- Further reading: Kassia St Clair, ‘The Secret Lives of Colour’, 2016 [Book] Kassia St Clair, ‘The Secret Lives of Colour: Expanded Edition’, 2025 [Book] Simon Garfield, ‘Mauve: How One Man Invented a Color That Changed the World’, 2000 [Book] Find out more about William Henry Perkin here: https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/people/cp37617/william-henry-perkin [https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/people/cp37617/william-henry-perkin] Perkin, W. H. ‘On Mauve or Aniline-Purple'. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Vol. 13 (1863-1864): 170-176. [Journal article] https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspl.1863.0042 [https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspl.1863.0042 ] Science Museum, ‘The secret origins of purple dye’, 2019 [YouTube video] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7JCMxq7DU8 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7JCMxq7DU8 ] Find out more about ‘The Mauve Measles’ in Punch Magazine, 20 Aug 1859: https://magazine.punch.co.uk/image/I0000tqpCmhDDsLU [https://magazine.punch.co.uk/image/I0000tqpCmhDDsLU ] Oscar Wilde, ‘The Decay of Lying’, 1891 [Book] Oscar Wilde, ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’, 1890 [Book] Explore 'Monet's Palette in the Twentieth Century: 'Water-Lilies' and 'Irises'’ in the National Gallery's Technical Bulletin, 2007: https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/technical-bulletin/roy2007 [https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/technical-bulletin/roy2007] Find out more about artist Shawn Michael Warren: https://www.shawnmichaelwarren.com/ [https://www.shawnmichaelwarren.com/] Find out more about Oprah Winfrey and the colour purple: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/oprah-winfrey-national-portrait-gallery-shawn-michael-warren-commission-180983424/ [https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/oprah-winfrey-national-portrait-gallery-shawn-michael-warren-commission-180983424/ ] Watch or listen to our episode of ‘Stories of Colour’ on Tyrian purple: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcPMFsafav8 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcPMFsafav8] ------- Episode credits: Guest: Kassia St Clair Host and executive producer: Beks Leary Producer: Harry Rosehill Researcher: Hannah Rogers Technicians: Ian Warren and Timothy Carpenter Video Producers: Jeanne Kenyon and Alessandro Sorenti Editor: Paul Frankl Theme music: Theo Elwell

Deadly chemical cousins: oranges and yellows

What makes two volcano-born pigments so dangerous? Hint: they weren’t scorching hot when artists used them. Orpiment and realgar both contain arsenic, a foe we’ve previously faced on ‘Stories in Colour’. From volcanoes to ancient alchemical practices, art historian Evie Hatch joins Beks to uncover the origins and histories of these orange and yellow pigments. Together, they discuss how orpiment and realgar have been used, where their names come from and the risks artists faced painting with them. ------- Evie Hatch is an art historian specialising in the history and characteristics of artist pigments. She is the writer and presenter of Jackson's Art Pigment Stories series and author of the 2025 book ‘Pigment Stories: The History of Artists' Colour’. ------- Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXdv6XZoJBE [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXdv6XZoJBE] You can email us with any questions via podcast@nationalgallery.org.uk [http://bit.ly/1HrNTFd] Find out more about the podcast on our website: www.nationalgallery.org.uk/podcast [https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/podcast] ------- Paintings mentioned: Titian, ‘The Holy Family with a Shepherd’, About 1510 https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/titian-the-holy-family-with-a-shepherd [https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/titian-the-holy-family-with-a-shepherd] Titian, ‘Bacchus and Ariadne’, 1520-3 https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/titian-bacchus-and-ariadne [https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/titian-bacchus-and-ariadne] Jacopo Tintoretto, ‘Christ washing the Feet of the Disciples’, About 1575-80 https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/jacopo-tintoretto-christ-washing-the-feet-of-the-disciples [https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/jacopo-tintoretto-christ-washing-the-feet-of-the-disciples] Jacopo Tintoretto, ‘The Origin of the Milky Way', About 1575 https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/jacopo-tintoretto-the-origin-of-the-milky-way [https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/jacopo-tintoretto-the-origin-of-the-milky-way] Rachel Ruysch, ‘Flowers in a Vase’, About 1685 https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/rachel-ruysch-flowers-in-a-vase [https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/rachel-ruysch-flowers-in-a-vase] Margarito d’Arezzo, ‘The Virgin and Child Enthroned, with Scenes of the Nativity and the Lives of the Saints’, Probably about 1263-4 https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/margarito-d-arezzo-the-virgin-and-child-enthroned-with-narrative-scenes [https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/margarito-d-arezzo-the-virgin-and-child-enthroned-with-narrative-scenes] Abraham Mignon, ‘Still Life with Flowers and a Watch’, About 1660-79 © Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/object/Still-Life-with-Flowers-and-a-Watch--7404dc80eb5bfc4161ed6ccf454e293f?tab=data [https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/object/Still-Life-with-Flowers-and-a-Watch--7404dc80eb5bfc4161ed6ccf454e293f?tab=data] ------- Further reading: Pliny the Elder, ‘Natural History’ [Book] Find out more about Plutarch’s version of the tale of King Midas in "On Superstition" from ‘Moralia’, produced about 100 AD [Essay] Cennino Cennini, ‘Il Libro dell’arte’, produced in late 14th-century [Book] Find out more about ‘Titian’s Painting Technique before 1540’ in the National Gallery’s Technical Bulletin, 2013: https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/media/16259/vol-34-essay-1-2013.pdf [https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/media/16259/vol-34-essay-1-2013.pdf] Find out more about the use of orpiment in Margarito d’Arezzo’s ‘The Virgin and Child Enthroned’: https://artsandculture.google.com/story/bAVhk85cvIns0Q [https://artsandculture.google.com/story/bAVhk85cvIns0Q] Find out more about research on degrading colours in yellow flowers in 17th-century still life paintings here: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9176749/ [https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9176749/] Listen to our episode from series one of ‘Stories in Colour’ on deadly green pigments: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PIn-7FesV8 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PIn-7FesV8] ------- Additional note: Please note that mentions of the emperor Caius during this episode are in reference to the Roman emperor Gaius Caesar (Caligula). https://www.britannica.com/biography/Caligula-Roman-emperor [https://www.britannica.com/biography/Caligula-Roman-emperor] ------- Episode credits: Guest: Evie Hatch Host and executive producer: Beks Leary Producer: Harry Rosehill Researcher: Hannah Rogers Technicians: Ian Warren and Tom Gulliver Video Producer: Alessandro Sorenti Editor: Paul Frankl Theme music: Theo Elwell

A blue more expensive than gold − ultramarine

Travel with us beyond the sea to look at ultramarine, a pigment that was once even more precious than gold. In this episode, writer Victoria Finlay joins Beks for a discussion on how researching ultramarine took her to Afghanistan. She journeyed to the blue mines where you can find lapis lazuli, the semi-precious stone ultramarine comes from. Along the journey, we pause to look at some of the National Gallery’s paintings – including one noteworthy for its lack of ultramarine... ------- 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. ------- Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lOs0_Yi-G8 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lOs0_Yi-G8] You can email us with any questions via podcast@nationalgallery.org.uk [https://www.youtube.com/playlist] Find out more about the podcast on our website: www.nationalgallery.org.uk/podcast [https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/podcast] ------- Paintings mentioned: English or French (?), ‘The Wilton Diptych’, About 1395-9 https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/english-or-french-the-wilton-diptych [https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/english-or-french-the-wilton-diptych] Michelangelo, ‘The Entombment (or Christ being carried to his Tomb)’, About 1500-1 https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/michelangelo-the-entombment-or-christ-being-carried-to-his-tomb [https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/michelangelo-the-entombment-or-christ-being-carried-to-his-tomb] Sassoferrato, ‘The Virgin and Prayer’, 1640-50 https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/sassoferrato-the-virgin-in-prayer [https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/sassoferrato-the-virgin-in-prayer] Titian, ‘Bacchus and Ariadne’, 1520-3 https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/titian-bacchus-and-ariadne [https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/titian-bacchus-and-ariadne] Pierre-Auguste Renoir, ‘The Umbrellas’, About 1881-6 https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/pierre-auguste-renoir-the-umbrellas [https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/pierre-auguste-renoir-the-umbrellas] Claude Monet, ‘Irises’, About 1914-17 https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/claude-monet-irises [https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/claude-monet-irises] Paul Cezanne, ‘Hillside in Provence’, About 1890-2 https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/paul-cezanne-hillside-in-provence [https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/paul-cezanne-hillside-in-provence] ------- 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 Cennino Cennini, ‘Il Libro dell'Arte’, produced late 14th-century Find out more about Ultramarine in our ‘Chemistry of Colour’ YouTube series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EzUlnRtDGM [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EzUlnRtDGM] ------- Episode credits: Guest: Victoria Finlay Host and executive producer: Beks Leary Producer: Harry Rosehill Researcher: Hannah Rogers Technicians: Ian Warren and Tom Gulliver Video Producers: Jeanne Kenyon and Alessandro Sorenti Editor: Paul Frankl Theme music: Theo Elwell

What is synaesthesia? Can you hear colour?

Welcome back to a new series of 'Stories in Colour'. To kick off, we’re tackling one of the topics we received the most questions about − synaesthesia. Join Beks and this week’s guests, composer Dr Deborah Pritchard and leading expert on synaesthesia Professor Jamie Ward, as they set out to answer questions such as: What is synaesthesia and what might yellow sound like? We are also joined in the studio by violinist Greta Mutlu and cellist Richard Harwood. They help bring Deborah’s own personal experience of synaesthesia to life through music. ------- Jamie is a Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Sussex. He is one of the world's leading experts on synaesthesia and is the author of several books, including ‘The Frog Who Croaked Blue: Synesthesia and the Mixing of the Senses’. Deborah is an award-winning British composer known for her work relating to synaesthesia. She has been performed worldwide by the London Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra and more. She is Associate of The Faculty of Music, Oxford and the Royal Academy of Music and was Visiting Fellow at Keble College, Oxford from 2022-2023. ------- Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tko6NE4po0Y [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tko6NE4po0Y] You can email us with any questions via podcast@nationalgallery.org.uk [podcast@nationalgallery.org.uk] Find out more about the podcast on our website: www.nationalgallery.org.uk/podcast [https://www.youtube.com/playlist] ------- Paintings mentioned: Sassoferrato, ‘The Virgin in Prayer’, 1640-50 https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/sassoferrato-the-virgin-in-prayer [https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/sassoferrato-the-virgin-in-prayer ] Claude Monet, ‘Water-Lilies’, after 1916 https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/claude-monet-water-lilies [https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/claude-monet-water-lilies] Edvard Munch, ‘The Scream’, 1893. The National Museum, Oslo https://www.nasjonalmuseet.no/en/collection/object/NG.M.00939 [https://www.nasjonalmuseet.no/en/collection/object/NG.M.00939] ------- Further reading: Jamie Ward, ‘The Frog who Croaked Blue: Synesthesia and the Mixing of the Senses’, 2008 Wassily Kandinsky, ‘Concerning the Spiritual in Art’, 1911 Find out more about Deborah Pritchard’s ‘Wall of Water’ and the English String Orchestra: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l4yX6sZqVw [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l4yX6sZqVw] Find out more about Maggi Hambling’s ‘Walls of Water’ exhibition 2014-15: https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/exhibitions/past/maggi-hambling-walls-of-water [https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/exhibitions/past/maggi-hambling-walls-of-water ] Find out more about composer Olivier Messiaen: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Olivier-Messiaen [https://www.britannica.com/biography/Olivier-Messiaen] Step into the 'National Gallery Imaginarium': https://imaginarium.nationalgallery.org.uk/ [https://imaginarium.nationalgallery.org.uk/] ------- Additional note: The 'National Gallery Imaginarium' digital experience features an introductory poem titled 'The Imaginarium' by poet and novelist Sir Ben Okri. ------- Episode credits: Guests: Dr Deborah Pritchard, Professor Jamie Ward Musicians: Cellist Richard Harwood and Violinist Greta Mutlu Host and executive producer: Beks Leary Producer: Harry Rosehill Researcher: Hannah Rogers Technicians: Ian Warren and Tom Gulliver Video Producers: Alessandro Sorenti and Amber Akaunu Editor: Oli Mason Theme music: Theo Elwell