The perception of colour

In this lecture are considered first the nature of visible light and then the anatomy and working of the eye. There follows a brief description of the early processing of the retinal signals and of the subsequent distributed neural processing in the brain. Colour can be measured precisely under strictly defined conditions. Such measurements may be helpful, indeed essential, in manufacturing, but how far they relate to perception conditioned by subjective factors and the subtleties of modern materials is another matter. The lecture acknowledges the special approach of artists to colour and suggests a possible significance to them, of rapidly evolving computer technology.