Cambridge cultural historian publishes major new volume ‘to re-colour the world of dress’ in late medieval and early modern Europe
Contributors shed new light on the economic, environmental, and cultural dimensions of colour in European dress
New dyes created one of the most important visual experiences of the Renaissance period, yet their story has been sidelined.
Theatrical productions and period films uphold broad assumptions that black clothing dominated among elites during the period, while ordinary people wore coarse greys and bleached garments.
A Revolution in Colour: Natural Dyes and Dress in Europe, c. 1400-1800 aims to re-colour the world of dress in late medieval and early modern Europe. It presents clear evidence that coloured clothing and accessories were ubiquitous across society. Even the clothing of the middle classes could be much more expensive than paintings.
This major new volume has been jointly edited by Ulinka Rublack, Cambridge’s Professor of Early Modern European History; Prof Giorgio Riello (European University Institute, Florence); and Prof Maria Hayward (University of Southampton).
The range of dyes expanded considerably in the 16th and 17th centuries, drawing on Asian and Mediterranean knowledge, new collections of recipes, and the greater diversity of plants available through New World trade.
The creation of colour through dyes reveals a whole range of global agricultural and craft technologies that can inspire future material worlds and transform our understanding of Europe’s cultural heritage.
Prof Ulinka Rublack FBA is Professor of Early Modern European History at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of St John’s. She is the author of Dressing Up: Cultural Identity in Renaissance Europe (2010) and co-editor (with Giorgio Riello) of The Right to Dress: Sumptuary Legislation in a Global Perspective, c.1300-1800 (2018) and (with Maria Hayward) of The First Book of Fashion (Bloomsbury, 2015).