While the importance of color to the Venetian pictorial tradition has been almost endlessly observed and discoursed upon, never before has this critical topic received so wide-ranging, perceptive, and original a synthesis. Methodically, but with a sometimes uncanny visual sensitivity, Hills (Warwick Univ., England) reconstructs the range and nuance of the Venetian palette as it manifests itself in the specific materials employed in the city's architectural and urban fabric, mosaics, minor arts, textiles, and painting. The evolving and expanding range of coloristic decisions and innovations that culminate in the masterpieces of Bellini, Giorgione, and Titian are savored within the unique effects of Venice's ambiance. Adeptly integrated with the author's always perceptive analyses is a fascinating array of contemporary documents that lay the foundation for the understanding, reading, and appreciation of color as a social phenomenon.