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The Cultural Tutor

@culturaltutor

Jul 26, 2022 • 14 tweets • 5 min read • Read on X

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Has the world become less colourful?

(This graph shows the colour of objects over time)

If you feel like the world seems increasingly colourless, you're not just imagining it.

Take cars, for example.

Greyscale colours now make up three quarters of cars produced globally, compared to less than 50% in the past.

Just look at a parking lot from the 1980s compared to one today.

And the change has happened to interior design.

These were the most popular colours of the paint brand Dulux in 2020:

And here are the most popular kitchen paint colours in the UK, from 2019-20.

Just compare a typical 1970s home to a modern designer home.

While it is completely understandable if you don't miss the garish colours of bygone eras, it is interesting to note the change.

Similarly, there is a trend of whitewashing everything - be it made of wood, brick, plaster, or whatever.

While grey is now the most common carpet colour:

Neutral colours are by far the most popular when it comes to clothing:

Even McDonald's is less vibrant than it used to be!

This trend includes just about everything.

Consider this study, which analysed the colour of everyday objects over time.

Its conclusion is clear: neutral and greyscale colours *are* more common than ever.

What has caused this change?

And do you think it's for better or worse?

If you found this thought-provoking then you'll like my free weekly newsletter, Areopagus.

Seven short lessons every Friday to make your week more interesting, useful, and beautiful.

culturaltutor.com/areopagus

And here is a link to the fascinating study referenced in this thread.

lab.sciencemuseum.org.uk/colour-shape-u…

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The Cultural Tutor

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Jul 31

Tell your friends! Your enemies! Your lovers!

The Spanish edition of my new book, El Tutor Cultural, is now available for pre-order.

It'll be released on 22 October — and you can get it at the link in my bio.

To celebrate, here are the 10 best things I've written about Spain: from why Barcelona looks the way it does to one of the world's most underrated modern architects, from the truth about Pablo Picasso to the origins of the Spanish football badge...

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What makes Barcelona such a beautiful city? It wasn't an accident — this is the story of how the modern, beloved Barcelona was consciously created:

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And, speaking of Barcelona, here's why the renovation of the Camp Nou is — although necessary — a shame:

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The Cultural Tutor

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May 21

When Vincent van Gogh started painting he didn't use any bright colours — so what happened?

It isn't just about art.

This is a story about how we're all changed by the things we consume, the places we go, and the people we choose to spend time with...

The year is 1881.

A 27 year old former teacher and missionary from the Netherlands called Vincent van Gogh decides to try and become a full-time artist, after being encouraged by his brother Theo.

What does he paint? The peasants of the countryside where his parents lived.

Vincent van Gogh's early work is unrecognisably different from the vibrant painter now beloved around the world.

Why?

Many reasons, though one of the most important is that he had been influenced by his cousin, the Realist painter Anton Mauve, who painted like this:

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May 13

This painting is 101 years old.

It was made by George Bellows, one of America's greatest ever painters — and an artist who changed what art was all about...

There have been many great American painters.

Like Frederic Edwin Church and the rest of the Hudson River School.

During the 19th century they painted colossal, almost photorealistic, luminescent views of the American landscape:

Then there's the legendary Edward Hopper and his quiet, captivating urban scenes.

There's a certain quality to life in the city — its solitude, its strange stillness — that nobody has portrayed better.

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May 5

Napoleon died 204 years ago today.

He rose from obscurity, joined a revolution, became an emperor, tried to conquer Europe, failed, spent his last days in exile — and changed the world forever.

This is the life of Napoleon, told in 19 paintings:

1. Bonaparte at the Pont d'Arcole by Antoine-Jean Gros (1796)

Napoleon's life during the French Revolution was complicated, but by the age of 24 he was already a General.

Here, aged just 27, he led the armies of the French Republic to victory in Italy — his star was rising.

2. The Battle of the Pyramids by François-Louis-Joseph Watteau (1799)

Two years later Napoleon oversaw the invasion of Egypt as part of an attempt to undermine British trade.

At the Battle of the Pyramids he led the French to a crushing victory over the Ottomans and Mamluks.

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Apr 27

It took 8 architects, 21 popes, and 120 years to build and finish St Peter's Basilica in Rome.

And, four centuries later, it's still the largest church in the world.

So here's a brief introduction to St Peter's...

The first impression anybody has when they see St Peter's Basilica in Rome, in real life or in a photo, is awe.

Because this is an immensely impressive building — it was and remains the world's largest church by volume.

Others are taller, but none are so vast.

The same is true of the inside — a cornucopia of art and architecture, of gold and bronze and marble and mosaic and sculpture.

And, again, it has proportions beyond gargantuan.

The baldachin alone (a kind of ornate canopy, below) is 30 metres tall.

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The Cultural Tutor

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Apr 22

The Sistine Chapel is one of the world's greatest buildings, and it has the most famous ceiling in history.

But what is it, who built it, and what does "Sistine" even mean?

Well, here's the surprisingly controversial history of the Sistine Chapel...

Where did the Sistine Chapel get its name?

It was commissioned in 1473 by Pope Sixtus IV and completed nine years later.

His name in Italian was Sisto and the chapel was named after him, hence "Sistine" Chapel.

Where is the Sistine Chapel?

It's within the Apostolic Palace — the Pope's official residence — in the Vatican City.

But, for such a famous and important building, it isn't very noteworthy or impressive from the outside.

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