I'm a fan of your eloquently subjective takes on color. I wish I could concur about apricot as a color, or even as a fruit, although I can understand the viral trend of Aperol spritzers. But apricot, to me, is an unfinished orange as a color, a tad too pale. I go for the orange in Pontormo's The Visitation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontormo#/media/File:Pontormo-visitation-after-restorationRGB.jpg. It shocked me at first, wondering how ahead of its time it was in the billowing shamelessness of its challenge to the blue, pink and pale green the other women are wearing. I love to see a bright orange, even in paintings I don't like so much, like Frederic Leighton's Flaming June. But with Klee, it's a rollercoaster of shades that make his paintings endllessly fascinating. I even accept an apricot peeking out here and there, now and then.
"Billowing shamelessness!" That's exactly right. I love how it looks next to the green. And I think maybe orange is one of those colors that looks best when it is textured and in motion.
I’m brand new to your newsletter, so this was my first read. I so enjoyed it! Thank you! Sometimes it feels a bit strange how much I think about, delight in, am repulsed by, or make decisions based on color (!). I’ve always said a particular green is my favorite color, but my children consistently say, “no, mama, your favorite color is obviously ORANGE!” — really glad to have found your work!
What stands out for me today is the connection between apricot and the desert, ie its "same earthly orange glow, that burnished, dry heat." While Klee visited Tunisia and was never the same, moviegoers might also recognize some of Tunisia's color palette: it's Tatooine, the washed-out desert planet where Luke Skywalker works as a moisture farmer and dreams of life beyond a two-sunned horizon.
A bit more than a decade earlier, Frank Herbert got busy creating the parched world of Dune. If you've seen the Villeneuve remakes, then you're familiar with his iconic shots of spice: shiny apricot-colored flecks turning through the sand like glitter in a washing machine. This movie poster gives a good idea of how spice-color (orange) figured into the promotion of Dune: https://www.etonline.com/how-to-watch-dune-part-two-online-now-streaming-220260
Speaking of these colors, in 2005, Dune was republished (40th anniversary edition), and took the opportunity to completely overhaul the cover, featuring... "earthly orange glows"? https://riffraffpvd.com/dune-40th-anniversary-edition-dune-chronicles-book-1/ The design was a radical departure from previous book jackets, but by no means a departure from burnt orange and apricot hues, colors associated with the Dune universe, eg the back and sides of this 1979 bookcase: https://www.ebay.com/itm/186441840672
Thanks for an entertaining and educational read-- always love the paintings you curate!
Oh! This is such a great comment... and such a great education for me. Whenever I think of apricot flecks, little shiny glittery pieces of dust, I'm reminded of Philip Pullman's world and his amber spyglass, his golden souls.
My mind just kind of glazed over the word “tawny” whenever I read it in the past, it was just never one of those words that occurred to me to look up, but also somehow I feel like I already knew or intuited it was orange. It just *feels* orangey.
I'm a fan of your eloquently subjective takes on color. I wish I could concur about apricot as a color, or even as a fruit, although I can understand the viral trend of Aperol spritzers. But apricot, to me, is an unfinished orange as a color, a tad too pale. I go for the orange in Pontormo's The Visitation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontormo#/media/File:Pontormo-visitation-after-restorationRGB.jpg. It shocked me at first, wondering how ahead of its time it was in the billowing shamelessness of its challenge to the blue, pink and pale green the other women are wearing. I love to see a bright orange, even in paintings I don't like so much, like Frederic Leighton's Flaming June. But with Klee, it's a rollercoaster of shades that make his paintings endllessly fascinating. I even accept an apricot peeking out here and there, now and then.
"Billowing shamelessness!" That's exactly right. I love how it looks next to the green. And I think maybe orange is one of those colors that looks best when it is textured and in motion.
I almost used this image in the piece:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/Nicolas_Fouché_001.jpg
The fabric isn't quite as floaty or soft, but I love how orange looks on these figures. So fecund.
“He needed to find his orange.”
Wonderfully written line that has so much further context.
Great piece.
Thank you.
I’m brand new to your newsletter, so this was my first read. I so enjoyed it! Thank you! Sometimes it feels a bit strange how much I think about, delight in, am repulsed by, or make decisions based on color (!). I’ve always said a particular green is my favorite color, but my children consistently say, “no, mama, your favorite color is obviously ORANGE!” — really glad to have found your work!
What a beautiful essay! Thank you!
What stands out for me today is the connection between apricot and the desert, ie its "same earthly orange glow, that burnished, dry heat." While Klee visited Tunisia and was never the same, moviegoers might also recognize some of Tunisia's color palette: it's Tatooine, the washed-out desert planet where Luke Skywalker works as a moisture farmer and dreams of life beyond a two-sunned horizon.
A bit more than a decade earlier, Frank Herbert got busy creating the parched world of Dune. If you've seen the Villeneuve remakes, then you're familiar with his iconic shots of spice: shiny apricot-colored flecks turning through the sand like glitter in a washing machine. This movie poster gives a good idea of how spice-color (orange) figured into the promotion of Dune: https://www.etonline.com/how-to-watch-dune-part-two-online-now-streaming-220260
Speaking of these colors, in 2005, Dune was republished (40th anniversary edition), and took the opportunity to completely overhaul the cover, featuring... "earthly orange glows"? https://riffraffpvd.com/dune-40th-anniversary-edition-dune-chronicles-book-1/ The design was a radical departure from previous book jackets, but by no means a departure from burnt orange and apricot hues, colors associated with the Dune universe, eg the back and sides of this 1979 bookcase: https://www.ebay.com/itm/186441840672
Thanks for an entertaining and educational read-- always love the paintings you curate!
Oh! This is such a great comment... and such a great education for me. Whenever I think of apricot flecks, little shiny glittery pieces of dust, I'm reminded of Philip Pullman's world and his amber spyglass, his golden souls.
My mind just kind of glazed over the word “tawny” whenever I read it in the past, it was just never one of those words that occurred to me to look up, but also somehow I feel like I already knew or intuited it was orange. It just *feels* orangey.
Hah! Doesn't it just? I think I knew it was orange because it was always used to describe animals. Tawny the tiger.
Love this, Katy.
Thank you!!!