Blue: The History of a Color
Michel Pastoureau · 2000 · 9 ideas · 9 min
Pastoureau argues that blue, now the world's most popular color, was barely noticed for most of Western history and only became beloved through a series of specific medieval religious, technological, and political choices.
Why this book
Pastoureau's central claim is that blue's current status as the most preferred color across much of the world is a strange historical accident rather than any natural human affinity, since ancient Greek and Roman cultures barely named or valued blue at all, associating it instead with barbarians, the underworld, and the unfamiliar northern peoples they looked down on. He traces how blue's fortunes reversed dramatically starting in the twelfth century, when it became linked to the Virgin Mary's robes, royal French heraldry, and improving dye technologies, gradually transforming an overlooked color into one of prestige, then piety, then modern political identity.
Why this matters beyond a curiosity about pigments is that it exposes just how thoroughly color preference is manufactured by history rather than discovered by instinct — a genuinely startling reversal of taste occurred within a few centuries, driven by identifiable religious, economic, and political actors, which means today's near-universal fondness for blue is a traceable historical event, not a fact about human nature.
Who should read it
This suits curious general readers who enjoy surprising historical trivia and anyone drawn to fashion, heraldry, or art history looking for a well-illustrated, story-driven account; it works well as an entry point into Pastoureau's broader color-history project. Dense chronological detail rewards patient reading over a quick skim.
About the author
Michel Pastoureau is a French historian specializing in the history of colors, symbols, and heraldry, and a director of studies at the École Pratique des Hautes Études in Paris; Blue was the first in his acclaimed series of single-color histories.