How do the colours artists choose – and the ways each of us experience them – help us find a story?
Join Beks and author Chloë Ashby as they take a closer look at how to ‘read’ colour in some of the National Gallery’s most iconic paintings. From Van Gogh to Caravaggio, they examine how different artists use colour to guide narrative, shape meaning and even evoke emotion.
Whether you’re an art lover or new to art history, uncover hints and tips for how to decode your favourite paintings through colour.
_______
Chloë is an author and award-winning arts critic. She is the author of Wet Paint (2022) and Second Self (2023). Her third novel, ‘Family Friends’, will be published by Penguin Fig Tree in summer 2026. She is also the author of two non-fiction books on art history: ‘Look At This If You Love Great Art (2021)’ and ‘Colours of Art: The Story of Art in 80 Palettes’ (2022).
_______
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and never miss an episode of 'Stories in Colour': http://bit.ly/1HrNTFd
Watch your next episode of 'Stories in Colour': https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvb2y26xK6Y5oKGCTKesXyO-LR3f2XcZF
You can email us with any questions via podcast@nationalgallery.org.uk
Find out more about the podcast on our website: https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/podcast
_______
? Find out more about the artworks mentioned in this episode:
Édouard Manet, ‘A Bar at the Folies-Bergère’, 1882 © Courtauld Gallery, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust) https://gallerycollections.courtauld.ac.uk/object-p-1934-sc-234
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, ‘The Supper at Emmaus’, 1601 https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/michelangelo-merisi-da-caravaggio-the-supper-at-emmaus
Diego Velázquez, ‘The Toilet of Venus ('The Rokeby Venus')’, 1647-51 https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/diego-velazquez-the-toilet-of-venus-the-rokeby-venus
Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas, ‘Combing the Hair ('La Coiffure')’, About 1896 https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/hilaire-germain-edgar-degas-combing-the-hair-la-coiffure
Vincent van Gogh, ‘Sunflowers’, 1888 https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/vincent-van-gogh-sunflowers
Peter Paul Rubens, ‘The Judgement of Paris’, Probably 1632-5 https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/peter-paul-rubens-the-judgement-of-paris
_______
Further reading:
Chloë Ashby, ‘Colours of Art: The Story of Art in 80 Palettes’, 2022 [Book]
Chloë Ashby, ‘Look at This if You Love Great Art’, 2021 [Book]
Find out more about Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas’s fiery painting ‘Combing the Hair ('La Coiffure')' on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOSllLel-UI
Explore 'The Story of Van Gogh's Yellow Palette' from the National Gallery's 'Chemistry of Colour' YouTube series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdapnts7kIk
Find out more about the restoration of Peter Paul Rubens’s ‘The Judgement of Paris’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiL3z0a9-eo
_______
Episode credits:
Guest: Chloë Ashby
Host and executive producer: Beks Leary  
Producer: Harry Rosehill  
Researcher: Hannah Rogers  
Technicians: Ian Warren and Tom Gulliver
Video Producer: Alessandro Sorenti
Editor: Paul Frankl
Theme music: Theo Elwell 
#NationalGallery #ArtHistory #Podcast #StoriesInColour
? Subscribe to our YouTube channel and never miss a video: http://bit.ly/1HrNTFd
Follow us on social media!
⭐️ Instagram: https://instagram.com/nationalgallery
⭐️ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nationalgallerylondon
⭐️ Facebook: https://en-gb.facebook.com/thenationalgallery/
⭐️ Threads: https://www.threads.net/@nationalgallery
⭐️ X, formerly Twitter: https://twitter.com/NationalGallery
Help keep the museum accessible for everyone by supporting us here: https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/support-us
The world's greatest paintings to your inbox. Sign up to receive the latest news from the Gallery: https://bit.ly/3m0FY98
The National Gallery houses the national collection of paintings in the Western European tradition from the 13th to the 19th centuries. The museum is free of charge and open 361 days per year, daily between 10am - 6pm and on Fridays between 10am - 9pm.
Trafalgar Square, London, WC2N 5DN
https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk