From the author of THE DISCOVERY OF CHOCOLATE -- a romantic historical quest set in Renaissance Venice and China surrounding the search for ultramarine. THE COLOUR OF HEAVEN is a fictional account of a young man who travelled to what are now Afghanistan and China to discover lapis lazuli, the precious stone that when turned into ultramarine changed the history of painting -- allowing artists to abandon gold as a background and open up depth, landscape and perspective with the most beautiful shade of blue. Along the way, Paolo suffers the torments of unfulfilled love before he returns to his anxious family in Venice, where he also plays a part in the early development of lenses and spectacles!
- ISBN10 0007119879
- ISBN13 9780007119875
- Publish Date 2 February 2004 (first published 3 February 2003)
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 8 March 2010
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher HarperCollins Publishers
- Imprint HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
- Format Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
- Pages 304
- Language English
- URL http://harpercollins.co.uk