Pink: From Botticelli to O'Keefe

by Hayley Edwards-Dujardin (Author)

This richly illustrated volume traces the evolving meanings of pink across cultures and centuries, revealing its associations with delicacy, grandeur, sensuality, irony, and rebellion. Organized around forty artworks in roughly chronological order, it moves from Renaissance masters like Sassetta to modern and contemporary artists such as Georgia O’Keeffe and Takashi Murakami. The book explores pink as a symbol of divine humility in religious works by El Grecoand Pontormo, as well as a marker of luxury and desire in scenes by Fragonard and Boucher. Each entry pairs a full-page image with an insightful essay examining how artists used pink—through pigment, clothing, light, and flesh—to shape meaning and mood. Supplemented by timelines, maps, and a vivid chart of historically named shades, the book invites readers to reconsider pink as a powerful and transformative force in art history.

Hardcover, 108 pages