Of Those Pigments Would Do The Rich Yellowness Entirely Disappearing

: ON THE PRIMARY, RED.

and the sober-coloured earth being left behind.



* * * * *



From several metals besides those mentioned, yellows more or less vivid

and durable may be obtained--from tin, nickel, cerium, molybdenum, &c.;

but we do not know that any one of them would be a really desirable

addition. To justify its being brought out, a new pigment should own

some special advantage,
hemical or artistic, by which it may be

distinguished from other colours. No purpose would be answered by

crowding the palette with mere repetitions, even though they were

stable. If, for instance, indium yellow were found exactly similar to

that of cadmium, in colour, opacity, permanence, its presence would be

quite superfluous. The mistake is often made of offering a fresh

compound for a pigment when something as good or better, and cheaper may

be, already exists. We remember a patient experimenter, who had produced

a pink from cobalt, wondering why his colour should be so generally

declined. The product was not wanting in either beauty or stability, but

he forgot that the lakes of madder were far more beautiful, at least as

durable, and much less expensive. We have said that we do not join in

the cry of there being too many pigments, or share the opinion that

there is not room for more, but we do enforce the necessity of progress.

Let us have as many good colours as possible, but let the new be

superior to the old, and all be distinct from each other.



As far as yellows are concerned, the palette possesses both variety and

durability. Opaque or transparent, bright or subdued, deep or pale, it

presents a sufficiency of permanent pigments. Most noteworthy are

aureolin, the deep and 'pale' cadmiums, lemon yellow, Mars yellow, the

modern Naples yellow, the ochres, orient yellow, and raw sienna. Whether

used alone or in tint these are, if genuine, perfectly reliable, and

comprise the list of those durable colours which may be called pigments

of the first class.



Among pigments of the second class, or the semi-stable, gamboge holds

the foremost place, for although not strictly durable in itself, it

conduces to the permanence of other colours. Chrome yellows, citron

yellow, strontian yellow, and Thwaites' yellow, also belong to this

division.



As third class pigments, or the fugitive, must be ranked Mutrie yellow

and other lemon cadmiums, the true gallstone, Indian yellow, the lakes,

orpiment, Gelbin's yellow, massicot, patent yellow, and turbith mineral.



It must not be forgotten, however, that these three classes are subject

to modification. A durable pigment may be so adulterated as to descend

to the second or even the third division, while a semi-stable or

fugitive colour may be replaced by a permanent or comparatively

permanent substitute, as in the case of strontian yellow and gallstone.

It should likewise be remembered that pigments are apt to vary in

stability according to the mode of their preparation; and that, as there

are different degrees of permanence, there are different degrees of

fugacity.












TTITLE PRIMARY RED





Red is the second and intermediate of the primary colours, standing



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