Do you see the same colour I see?
from Stories in Colour
Welcome to Stories in Colour! We're starting at the very beginning to ask an age-old question: are the colours you see, the same as the colours I see? Join Professor Anya Hurlbert from Newcastle University and National Gallery host Beks Leary as they ask whether colour is real and how exactly we see it, stopping off to look at paintings from the National Gallery along the way. We go back to the viral dress that divided the internet in 2015 – was it blue and black, or was it white and gold? This was the moment so many of us discovered that colour is our own – in Anya’s words – personal possession. Anya is a Professor of Visual Neuroscience and Dean of Advancement at Newcastle University. Her research focuses on human visual perception: how and why we see what we see. As Scientist Trustee at the National Gallery from 2010-2018, she worked with us on our 2014 ‘Making Colour’ exhibition – bringing together art and science to explain how artists overcame the technical challenges involved in creating colour. ----- Watch the full episode on YouTube: youtu.be/gYTWp_iLRh4 You can email us with any questions via [email protected] Find out more about the podcast on our website: www.nationalgallery.org.uk/podcast ----- Paintings mentioned: Joseph Mallord William Turner, The Fighting Temeraire, 1839. The National Gallery, London https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/joseph-mallord-william-turner-the-fighting-temeraire Pierre-Auguste Renoir, The Skiff (La Yole), 1875. The National Gallery, London https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/pierre-auguste-renoir-the-skiff-la-yole Claude Monet, Stacks of Wheat (End of Summer), 1890–91. The Art Institute of Chicago https://www.artic.edu/artworks/64818/stacks-of-wheat-end-of-summer Claude Monet, Stacks of Wheat (Sunset, Snow Effect), 1890–91. The Art Institute of Chicago https://www.artic.edu/artworks/81545/stacks-of-wheat-sunset-snow-effect Claude Monet, Stacks of Wheat (End of Day, Autumn), 1890–91. The Art Institute of Chicago https://www.artic.edu/artworks/14624/stacks-of-wheat-end-of-day-autumn Claude Monet, Rouen Cathedral, West Façade, 1894. National Gallery of Art, Washington https://www.nga.gov/artworks/46524-rouen-cathedral-west-facade Claude Monet, Rouen Cathedral, West Façade, Sunlight, 1894. National Gallery of Art, Washington https://www.nga.gov/artworks/46654-rouen-cathedral-west-facade-sunlight Vincent van Gogh, Sunflowers, 1888. The National Gallery, London https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/vincent-van-gogh-sunflowers Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas, Combing the Hair ('La Coiffure'), about 1896. The National Gallery, London https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/hilaire-germain-edgar-degas-combing-the-hair-la-coiffure Paul Gauguin, Bowl of Fruit and Tankard before a Window, probably 1890. The National Gallery, London https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/paul-gauguin-bowl-of-fruit-and-tankard-before-a-window Further reading: Various authors, Colour in Nature, 2024 Curators in Conversation: Making Colour, 2014 https://youtu.be/YJVBaCWj-1Y?si=1KpDGmJPQNiyiWqO Find out more about Claude Monet’s series paintings: https://artsandculture.google.com/story/monet-s-rouen-painting-series-the-national-gallery-london/2gXhjhmKqfavLg?hl=en Find out more about the blue and gold dress: https://www.ncl.ac.uk/press/articles/archive/2015/11/isthecolouryouseethesamecolourasisee/ To learn more about the science of colour visit our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvb2y26xK6Y4V3T1xHphum23El4b93YzC ----- Episode credits: Guest: Professor Anya Hurlbert Host and executive producer: Beks Leary Producer: Harry Rosehill Researcher: Hannah Rogers Technicians: Ian Warren, Tom Gulliver and Timothy Carpenter Editors: Jeanne Kenyon and Paul Frankl Theme music: Theo Elwell
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