Books by Michel Pastoureau

Black, favorite color of priests and penitents, artists and ascetics, fashion designers and fascists, has always stood for powerfully opposed ideas: authority and humility and sin and holiness. This book discusses the social history of the color black in Europe. It is suitable for those interested in the history of fashion, art, media, or design.

From the acclaimed author of Blue, a beautifully illustrated history of yellow from antiquity to the presentIn this richly illustrated book, Michel PastoureauΓÇöa renowned authority on the history of color and the author of celebrated volumes on blue, black, green, and redΓÇönow traces the visual, social, and cultural history of yellow. Focusing on European societies, with comparisons from East Asia, India, Africa, and South America, Yellow tells the intriguing story of the colorΓÇÖs evolving place in art, religion, fashion, literature, and science.In Europe today, yellow is a discreet color, little present in everyday life and rarely carrying great symbolism. This has not always been the case. In antiquity, yellow was almost sacred, a symbol of light, warmth, and prosperity. It became highly ambivalent in medieval Europe: greenish yellow came to signify demonic sulfur and bile, the color of forgers, lawless knights, Judas, and LuciferΓÇöwhile warm yellow recalled honey and gold, serving as a sign of pleasure and abundance. In Asia, yellow has generally had a positive meaning. In ancient China, yellow clothing was reserved for the emperor, while in India the color is associated with happiness. Above all, yellow is the color of Buddhism, whose temple doors are marked with it.Throughout, Pastoureau illuminates the history of yellow with a wealth of captivating images. With its striking design and compelling text, Yellow is a feast for the eye and mind.

Translation of: Rouge: histoire d'une couleur.

From antiquity to the Middle Ages, the bear's centrality in cults and mythologies left traces in European languages, literatures, and legends. Michel Pastoureau considers how this once venerated creature was deposed by Christianity and continued to sink lower in the symbolic bestiary before rising again in Pyrrhic triumph as the teddy bear.

"First published in French language by Editions du Seuil, Paris, under the title Vert, Histoire d'une couleur." c2013--Page facing title page.

* Michel Pastoureau is a very accomplished French historian who is well known for his books on colour. * This new book is a more personal reflection on 'the colour of our memories' - that is, the way that our memories of the past are infused with colour, and the way that we remember colours.