Damian Dibben
Welcome to Renaissance Venice where Damian Dibben brings to vivid life one of the most enigmatic of Venetian artists in his new novel, The Colour Storm. Giorgione ‘Zorzo’ Barbarelli ‘redefined what painting could do’ but he remains shrouded in mystery. Here, in a Venice teeming with artistic talent, Damian imagines his story.
Damian says: “The Colour Storm was conceived shortly after a visit to the Royal Academy to an exhibition ‘In the Age of Giorgione’. I was immediately struck by how little I knew of this seismic moment, how Giorgione was a link between the old world, and ways of thinking, and the modern ones that have lasted to the present day. I wanted to shine a light on Giorgione, an almost forgotten figure who utterly stood his own against the more obviously celebrated figures of the time: Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael and Titian.
“I was fascinated by how artists’ studios worked, how they were the imagination factories of their time, how fiercely the competition raged between them, how – and indeed why – pictures were made. I wanted also to explore the world of colour: where it’s found, how it’s created, the emotional impact it has had on humans throughout history.”
Damian Dibben is an acclaimed author whose novels have been translated into twenty-seven languages and published in more than forty countries. His series The History Keepers was an international publishing phenomenon. Dibben originally trained as an artist and scenic designer before becoming an actor and screenwriter. He lives on London’s South Bank with his partner Ali and their dogs Dudley, Daphne and Velvet. The Colour Storm is his second novel to explore seismic events of the past, whose influence and power can be felt to this day. His first, Tomorrow, was published to critical acclaim in 2018.
The Colour Storm is published by Michael Joseph on 23 June 2022.
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