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