The Chromobase is the open access database of the ERC project CHROMOTOPE. This EU-funded project (2019-2025) explores what happened to colour across industrial Europe (France, Britain and Germany) in the second half of the 19^th century. Drawing on this research, the Chromobase shows how the colouring materials and techniques which were invented in the 1850s brought about new ways of thinking about colour in literature, art, and the history of science and technology. The extraordinary story of this 19^th century “Colour Revolution” is told through a series of interwoven interdisciplinary “narratives” written by colour experts from all over the world.

In keeping with the innovative interdisciplinary methodology devised by the CHROMOTOPE team and thanks to the institutional collaboration between Sorbonne University, the University of Oxford and the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers, the Chromobase has three objectives:

1. To reveal the literary and artistic impact of new scientific approaches to chromatic materiality in the second half of the 19^th century. See “ColourMateriality”.
2. To show how the international exhibitions of this period shaped the new colourful landscapes of modernity. See “ColourScape”
3. To understand how the invention of industrial dyes demanded/required new forms of "colour education". See “ColourPedagogy”

Focusing on the chromatic “turn” of 1851 to 1867, the Chromobase explores the impact of the synthetic dye revolution on the cultural history of Europe in the nineteenth century.

If you wish to contribute a colour narrative to our Chromobase, please submit your topic, biography and CV to the editors, Arnaud Dubois and Charlotte Ribeyrol (chromotope@gmail.com)

Credits

Editors

Arnaud Dubois (CNRS) et Charlotte Ribeyrol (SU)

Project management

Arnaud Dubois

Dataprocessing and enrichment

Zoé L’Evèque

Development

OuestWare (Alexis Jacomy, Benoît Simard, Paul Girard)

Design

Studio Cascade (Julie Blanc)

Partners

Funding

The Chromobase has received funding from the Domaine d’Intérêt Majeur Sciences du Texte et Connaissances Nouvelles (DIM STCN) as well as from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No 818563).