Are The Negative Powers Or Neutrals Of Colours And The Extremes Of

: ON THE PRIMARY, RED.

the scale. Moreover, as red is less nearly allied to black or shade than

to white or light, this harmony is most remarkable in the union or

opposition of white and red, and this contrast most powerful in black

and red.



As a primary and simple colour, red cannot be composed by mixture of

other colours. So much is it the instrument of beauty in nature and art

in flesh, flowers, &c., that good pigments of th s genus are most

indispensable. On the whole, the palette cannot be considered so well

furnished with reds as with yellows. Especially is there wanting a

permanent transparent scarlet, a colour for which a prize of L500 has

for many years been offered by the Society of Arts.



TTITLE CADMIUM RED.



The deep, pale, and lemon yellows which cadmium at first afforded, were

followed by an orange, which has quite recently been succeeded by a red.

This is a most vivid orange-scarlet, the red predominating, of exceeding

depth, and intense fire. It is a simple original pigment, containing no

base but cadmium, and possessing a large amount of latent colour. It is

more orange in hue than vermilion, and has the advantages of flowing and

drying well, of greater brilliancy, of retaining that brilliancy when

dry, and of considerable transparency. Hence this red is preferably

employed where opacity is to be avoided--in sunset clouds for instance.

As day declines or by artificial light, the colour approaches very

nearly to a deep pure scarlet; and the best substitute for a permanent

transparent scarlet which has yet been obtained is furnished by

admixture of cadmium red with madder carmine, or by using the latter as

a glaze. Compounded with white, the red yields a series of fine flesh

tints; and it mixes readily and safely with other colours. Without

harshness or rankness, neither injured by an impure atmosphere nor

exposure to light and air, cadmium red is eligible in every department

of art, enamel painting only excepted. In illumination, the red

contrasted by viridian will be found most beautiful and effective.

Seeing that previous to its introduction the number of bright reds, not

being crimson, nor of a crimson cast, was limited to vermilions, pure

scarlet, red chrome, and red lead, of which the first alone were

permanent, there was room on the palette for a strictly durable and

somewhat transparent pigment like cadmium red, with its many distinctive

properties.





TTITLE COCHINEAL LAKES.