Flip Through This Pre-PANTONE Color Book From 1692 In High Resolution

By Mikelle Leow, 07 Jun 2021

Images via Virtual library of medieval manuscripts / Bibliothèque Méjanes (public domain)

Artists didn’t have the luxury of referring to PANTONE matches at their fingertips centuries ago. What they had were manuscripts like Klaer Lightende Spiegel der Verfkonst, a 900-page book of paint swatches that showed people how to mix colors.

Only one copy of this comprehensive guide by author and artist A. Boogert was ever created, intended as a resource for watercolorists. It offers a peek at early color theory, and follows Aristotle’s system about color being sent from the heavens and corresponding to the four elements of earth, fire, water, and wind.

In 700 pages of handwritten Dutch, Boogert instructed painters and illustrators to create shades or highlights by adding “one, two or three portions of water.” According to Open Culture, the vibrant manuscript was discovered in a French database by medieval historian Erik Kwakkel, under the French title Traité des couleurs servant à la peinture à l’eau (Treaty of colors used for water-based painting).

Even with the convenience of having PANTONE samples on hand today, it’s fascinating to uncover gems like this, as they shed light on how people used to create art. The copy has been digitized into a high-resolution, easy-to-read virtual book by Bibliothèque Méjanes in Aix-en-Provence, which you can browse here.