THE RAINBOW BRIDGE: Rainbows in Art, Myth, and Science

The authors of this history of iridescence attribute the fear of rainbows, prevalent in many cultures, to their uncanny remoteness: something that can never be outrun can be both tantalizing and awful, not to mention divine. No wonder the rainbow—sunlight bent by raindrops—inspires belief in Wotan's heavenly bridge, the elusive pot of gold and the Greek goddess Iris, herald of war and revenge. Lee, a meteorology professor at the U.S. Naval Academy, and Fraser, who teaches meteorology at Penn State, have created a lambent blend of art history, history of science and cultural criticism that, in the spirit of the rainbow bridge of the book's title, easily straddles the arts and sciences. Their discussions of Isaac Oliver's allegorical Rainbow Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I, Peter Paul Rubens's use of artifice in his bucolic Rainbow Landscape and the nature of the sublime in J.M.W. Turner's seascapes are as lucid as their explanations of various theories of rainbow geometry and color, from Aristotle and Johannes Kepler to Enlightenment thinkers Descartes and Newton, who posited the first satisfactory rainbow theories. The chapters on myth and art are as brilliant as those on modern optics and illustrate how the rainbow has been as elusive to scientists as to ancient mythmakers. This smart, impassioned cross-disciplinary study, with its many color photos and illustrations, provides an eight-course feast for the intellect and the eyes. (July)