Vanadium Green
: ON THE SECONDARY, PURPLE.falls when ferrocyanide of potassium is added to vanadic acid dissolved
in a strong acid. It is a beautiful green precipitate, but at present
simply a curiosity, owing to the rarity of the metal vanadium.
* * * * *
Adopting our usual custom of separating the wheat from the chaff, we
point to the opaque and transparent oxides of chromium, Veronese green,
viridia
less worthy of being dubbed durable.
As semi-stable, malachite green, bronze, Hooker's green, and Prussian
green, must be classed.
Verdigris, chrome greens, and sap green, should be branded as fugitive:
the chrome greens, because they are always commercially composed of
chromate of lead and Prussian blue, two compounds which are semi-stable
in themselves, but become fugacious when compounded.
A reference to the numbered italicised greens will show that there are
many not known to the palette, which are nevertheless very greatly
superior, as regards permanence, to some that disgrace it. Why these
latter are suffered to hold their position is a mystery not easily
explained: it is hard to reconcile the deplored degeneracy of modern
pigments with the popularity of semi-stable and fugitive colours.
Pictures do not stand, is the common cry; therefore, says the public,
there are no good pigments now-a-days. To which we answer, newly built
houses are constantly falling down; therefore there are no good bricks
in these times. Of a truth, one conclusion is as reasonable as the
other: in either case, if rotten materials be used, the result cannot be
lasting; but in neither case does it follow, because such materials are
employed, that there are no better obtainable. A well-built house
implies a conscientious builder, and a well-painted picture implies a
conscientious artist. It is because, we fear, that there are so few
conscientious artists, that there are so few permanent paintings; not,
certainly, because there are no good pigments. In this last belief,
however, the public is encouraged by certain painters, who seek thereby
to excuse their own shortcomings, forgetting that it is a bad workman
who finds fault with his tools. It has been well observed that when
artists speak regrettingly of lost 'systems,' or pigments enjoyed by the
mediaevalists and unattainable now, it would be far better were they to
make the best use of existing materials, and study their further
development. There is no need for this cant cry of fugacity, which casts
such a blight on modern art. Durable pigments are not yet obsolete, they
have only to be employed and employed properly to furnish paintings
equal in permanence to those of the old masters. "Titian," says Haydon,
"got his colours from the colour shops on the Rialto, as we get ours
from Brown's; and if Apelles or Titian were living now, they would paint
just as good works with our brushes and colours as with their own."
TTITLE SECONDARY PURPLE
Purple, the third and last of the secondary colours, is composed of
More
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Prussian Purple
A prussiate of iron is obtainable of a violet hue, affording good shadow tints and clear pale washes. It has not, however, been introduced as a pigment, as ordinary Prussian blue tinged with red furnishes a similar colour. ... Prussiate Of Copper
differs chemically from Prussian blue only in having copper instead of iron for its basis. It varies in hue from russet to purple brown, is transparent and deep, but, being very liable to change in colour by the action of light and by other pigments... Purple Black
is, or rather was, a preparation of madder, of a deep purple hue approaching black. Powerful and very transparent, it glazed and dried well in oil, and was a durable and eligible pigment. Its tints with white lead were of a purple cast. ... Purple Brown
is a refuse manufacture from Indian red washings. A dull, heavy, coarse colour, it belongs to the class of common pigments which are unexceptionable for decorative painting, but scarcely suited to the higher branches of art. As this work professes s... Quinine Green
is rather adapted for a dye than an artist-colour. It is furnished by acting on quinine with hypochlorite of lime, hydrochloric acid, and ammonia, successively. Thus prepared, the green resembles a resin, insoluble in water, but soluble in alcohol, ... Red Chalk
The colouring matter of which is sesquioxide of iron, is used as a crayon. Some specimens are excessively hard, so much so that they are difficult to crush, even in an iron mortar; while others have the consistence of the softest iron-ochres. They v... Red Precipitate
Or mercuric oxide, may be obtained either of a brick-red or orange-yellow colour. It is destroyed by impure air, and on exposure to sunshine gradually turns black, being superficially decomposed into oxygen and metallic mercury or mercurous oxide. ... Roman Green
brought from Rome some years back by a President of the Royal Academy, appeared to be a mixture of Prussian blue and Dutch or Italian pink. It was a fugitive compound, which became blue in fading. ... Rose Pink
Is a coarse kind of lake, produced by dyeing chalk or whitening with decoction of Brazil wood, peachwood, sapan, bar, camwood, &c. It is a pigment much used by paper-stainers, and in the commonest distemper painting, &c., but is too perishable to me... Rouge
The rouge vegetale of the French, is a species of carmine, prepared from safflower or carthamus, which is the flower of a plant growing in the north of Africa, India, and other warm climates. Safflower yields two colours--a valueless yellow which di... Rubens' Brown
still in use in the Netherlands under this appellation, is an earth of a lighter colour and more ochrous texture than the Vandyke brown of English commerce: it is also of a warmer or more tawny hue than the latter pigment. Beautiful and durable, it ... Rufigallic Red
When a duly proportioned mixture of gallic acid and oil of vitriol is carefully and gradually heated to 140 deg., a viscid wine-red liquid results. If this be poured into cold water, after cooling, a heavy brown-red granular precipitate is formed, s... Sandal Red
We have kept this separate from other reds derived from woods, because it is said (by Professor H. Dussance) to be obtainable not only equal in beauty and brightness to carmine, but of greater permanence. The process of preparation is as follows:--T... Sandal Wood Purple
Sandal wood contains about 16 per cent. of colouring matter, soluble with difficultly in water, but readily dissolved by alcohol. From the latter solution, chloride of tin throws down a purple, and sulphate of iron a deep violet precipitate; neither... Saunders Blue
... Schweinfurt Blue
or Reboulleau's Blue, is prepared by fusing together equal weights of ordinary arseniate of protoxide of copper and arseniate of potash, and adding one-fifth its weight of nitre to the fused mass. The result is, so to speak, a sort of blue Scheele's... Silicate Of Baryta
One part of silica heated to whiteness with three parts of baryta, yields a pale green solid mass, permanent, but deficient in colour when ground. It might be employed in enamelling. ... Silver Red
By adding monochromate of potash to an acid solution of nitrate of silver, a particularly fine ochre-red is obtained. It is, however, apt to be injured both by foul air and exposure. ... Sorgho Red
Some nine years back there was found to be a carmine colouring matter in most parts of the Chinese sorgho, chiefly in the unpressed stem. The red, which is extracted in an impure state, is dissolved in weak potash-ley, thrown down by sulphuric acid,... Spanish Black
or Cork Black, is a soft black, obtained by charring cork, and differs not essentially from Frankfort black, except in being of a lighter and ... Thallium Orange
is produced when bichromate of potash is added to a neutral salt of the protoxide of thallium, as an orange-yellow precipitate. The scarcity of the metal precludes their present introduction as pigments, but if the chromates of thallium were found t... Thallium Red
The orange-yellow precipitate formed by mixing a neutral salt of protoxide of thallium with bichromate of potash, is converted by nitric acid into an orange-red. The latter compound, which is a terchromate, is almost insoluble in cold water, 2814 pa... Thallium Yellow
The new metal thallium yields in combination with chromic acid two yellow colours, a pale and an orange. They are not absolutely insoluble in water, and the sulphide of thallium being brown, would probably be damaged by impure air. But whatever thei... Thwaites' Yellow
Under this name chromate of cadmium was introduced some few years back. If well prepared, it is a fine soft powder of a very vivid light yellow colour. The compound is too soluble, however, to be of value, its washings even with cold water being con... Tin Pink
By igniting strongly for some hours a mixture of stannic oxide, chalk, chromate of potash, and a little silica and alumina, a dingy red mass is obtained, which acquires a beautiful rose-red colour on being washed with water containing hydrochloric a... Tin Violet
By heating chromate of stannic oxide to bright redness, a dark violet mass is obtained, which is better adapted to enamel painting than to the palette. It communicates in glazings a variety of tints, from rose-red to violet. * * ... Tin White
Resembles zinc white in some respects, but has less body and colour, and dries badly. According to its composition, it is liable to turn either black or a dull yellow in contact with sulphurous vapours. ... Titanium Green
has been proposed as a substitute for the green arsenical pigments in common use; but, apart from its expense, the colour is very inferior to Scheele's green, &c. Titanium green is a ferrocyanide of that metal, produced by adding yellow prussiate of... Tungsten Blue
is an oxide formed by the action of various deoxidizing agents on tungstic acid. It remains unaltered in the air at ordinary temperatures, is opaque, and of a blackish indigo-blue colour. As a pigment, there is little to recommend it. ... Turbith Mineral
... Ultramarine Red?
In Gmelin's Handbook of Chemistry it is remarked that "Hydrogen gas passed over ignited ultramarine, colours it light red, from formation of liver of sulphur, hydrosulphuric acid gas and water being evolved at the same time." On most carefully makin... Uranium Brown
Yellow, red, orange, green, have been previously noticed as being derived from uranium, and to this list of colours may now be added brown. A warm rich hue of the utmost intensity may be produced, which possesses considerable permanence, although no... Uranium Green
is an oxide of a deep dull green colour, inclining to olive, and nearly black when in lumps. A durable but unattractive preparation, equalled in permanence and far surpassed in beauty by many cheaper compounds. ... Uranium Orange
is obtainable by wet and dry methods as a yellowish-red, or, when reduced to powder, an orange-yellow, uranate of baryta. It is an expensive preparation, superfluous as a pigment. ... Uranium Red
By treating the yellow sulphite of uranium with a prolonged current of sulphuretted hydrogen, and saturating gradually with ammonia, a red finally results. This colour is insoluble in water, and it has the objection of remaining partially suspended ... Uranium Yellow
Can be produced of a pale or orange tint, differing in brightness and depth of colour according to the mode of preparation. It is fairly eligible as a pigment, and far superior to the many fugitive compounds which have from time to time appeared. Be... Vanadium Green
falls when ferrocyanide of potassium is added to vanadic acid dissolved in a strong acid. It is a beautiful green precipitate, but at present simply a curiosity, owing to the rarity of the metal vanadium. * * * * * ... White Chalk
Is a well-known native carbonate of lime, employed by the artist only as a crayon, or for tracing his designs, for which purpose it is sawed into suitable lengths. White crayons and tracing chalks, to be good, must work and cut free from grit. From ... Wongshy Red
There was imported a few years ago from Batavia a new colouring ... Wood-tar Blue
The colours obtained from coal-tar have become household words, and it is not impossible that those from wood-tar may be some day equally familiar. At present wood-tar is comparatively unexplored, but the fact that picamar furnishes a blue is at lea... Yellow Carmine
Is a rich transparent colour, somewhat resembling an ochre compounded with Indian yellow. On exposure to light, it behaves much as a mixture ... Zinc Brown
A yellow-brown, so yellow that it might fairly have been classed with the ochrous colours of that denomination, is made by combining zinc with another metal by the aid of heat. Experience tells us that it is, chemically, a thoroughly good and stable... Zinc Orange
When hydrochloric acid and zinc are made to act on nitro-prusside of sodium, a corresponding zinc compound is formed of a deep orange colour, slightly soluble in water, and not permanent. * * * * * For a secondary... Zinc-cobalt Blue
Cobalt, as furnishing a blue colour, is usually associated with alumina, silica, or tin; and, as furnishing a green colour, with zinc. But there is obtainable a compound of zinc and cobalt which gives a blue not only free from green, but inclining r... &c As Well As Of The Semi-neutral Gray &c: It Therefore Is Changed
in hue less than any other colour by mixture with black, as it is likewise by distance. Blue is present subordinately in all tertiary and broken colours, and being nearest in the scale to black, breaks and contrasts powerfully and agreeably with white... 140 Bice
Blue Bice, Iris, Terre Bleu, was prepared, when true, from the Armenian stone, which is a calcareous kind of stone coloured with copper. It was of a light bright hue, but is completely superseded by pale ultramarine. The Persian lazur appears to hav... 17 Pearl White
Is an insoluble basic nitrate of bismuth, a pearly white powder of loose texture, turning grey on exposure, and blackened by sulphuretted hydrogen. It is chiefly used as a cosmetic, but is said to injure the skin, rendering it yellow and leather-lik... A Black The General Contrast Or Harmonizing Colour Of Such Compounds
will consequently be more or less purple or blue. The number of browns is great, as may be seen by the following list. This list, however, is good, and includes a considerable proportion of permanent pigments. TTITLE ASPHALTUM, ... A Blue-green; And When It Tends To Crimson Or Purple A
... A Coarse Gritty Texture Is Peculiar To Smalt Whether It Be The Powder
... A Corrupt Name From Cendres Bleues The Original Denomination Probably
of ultramarine ashes, is of two kinds, the natural and artificial. The first is a blue mineral found near copper mines, while the last is simply a verditer. ... A Deep Orange Like Blue Olive Is A Retiring Colour The Most So Of
all the colours, being the penultimate of the scale, or nearest of all in relation to black, and last, theoretically, of the regular distinctions of colours. Hence its importance in nature and painting is almost as great as that of black; it divides t... A Mixture Which Is Also Known As Brunswick Green Fine Bright Greens
they are suited to the ordinary purposes of mechanic painting, but are quite unfit for the artist's craft, chrome yellow reacting upon and ultimately destroying Prussian blue when mixed therewith. For the latter, cheap cobalts and ultramarines are pre... A Mixture Will Slowly But Surely Lose The Colour For Which It Was
... A Pure Azure Like A Spot Of Light While Their Ground The Prussian
... A Sample Which Parts With Its Prussiate To Cold Water Is Quite
unfitted for the palette, for which the most perfect specimen is none too stable. In spite of the learned researches of Professor Williamson, whose name is as closely connected with the pigment as are the names of Schunck and De La Rue with madder ... All Cases Add The Property Of Being Innoxious As This However
cannot be, and colours are by no means to be sacrificed on that account, cleanliness and avoiding the habit of putting the brush unnecessarily to the mouth, so common in water-painting, are sufficient guards against any possibly pernicious effects fro... Also Called English And Dutch Pink Is An Absurd Name For A Stronger
and richer kind of yellow lake, warmer in tint and more powerful than the preceding. It is a rich transparent yellow, yielding a variety of fine foliage tints by admixture with indigo and sepia in different proportions. These three colours with burnt ... Also Called Jaune Minerale Jaune De Cologne Or Cologne Yellow
... Also Called King's Yellow Chinese Yellow Yellow Orpiment &c
... Also Called Permanent White And Barytic White Is When Well
prepared, of superior body in water, but has less opacity in oil. It works in a somewhat unsatisfactory and unpleasant manner, and is considerably lower in its tone while wet than when dry, a fault which subjects even an experienced artist to great un... Also Called Scarlet Chrome Is A Bright Chromate Of Lead Of An
orange-red colour, the red being predominant. Rank in tone, it is liable to the changes of the yellow chromes, though in a less degree. The recent introduction of cadmium red renders the use of this unnecessary. TTITLE RED LEAD, ... Also In The Olive Foliage Of The Rose-tree Formed In The Individual
leaf by the ramification of purple in green. Besides the durable yellows, reds, and blues, the following orange and green pigments are eligible for mixed citrines. They may likewise, however, be safely and simply compounded by slight additions, to an ... And Air Are Of Organic Origin Such As Gallstone Indian Yellow And
the yellow dye-wood lakes; the red and purple lakes of cochineal; indigo; and sap green. To these may be added the semi-organic Prussian blue; and the inorganic yellows and orange of arsenic. ... And An Artificial Of Which The Former Is The Sandarac Of The
ancients, and is rather redder than the latter. They possess the same qualities as pigments, and as such resemble yellow orpiment, to which the old painters gave the orange hue by heat, naming it alchemy and burnt orpiment. Orange orpiment contains mo... And Body-white Cremnitz Or Kremnitz Crems Or Krems White
... And By Mixing Colours Or Tints With Black He Gets Shades It Is A
common error to confound these distinctions. The above classification of colours enables us to understand the simplicity of relation which exists among an infinity of tints, hues, and shades of colour. Also, it is calculated to give precision to la... And Cools Blue Hence The Artist Errs With Ill Effect Who Regards
black as of nearest affinity to hot and brown colours, and will do well ... And Gray May Be Considered Types They Are So Called Because They
comprehend all the combinations of the primary, secondary, and tertiary ... And Ivory Brown Are Obtained By Roasting Bone And Ivory Until By
partial charring they become of a brown colour throughout. Though much esteemed by some artists, they are not quite eligible pigments, being bad driers in oil, the only vehicle in which they are now used. Moreover, their lighter shades are not permane... And Neutrality The Chromatic And Achromatic Or Hue And Shade By The
right management of this, local colours acquire value, gradation, keeping, and connection: whence come breadth, aerial perspective, and the due distribution of greys and shadows in a picture. ... And Royal Blue Of The Artist And High-class Manufacturer But The
strict stability which is a feature in smalt when used for painting on glass and enamel does not follow it to the studio: both in water and oil its beauty soon decays, as is often the case with other vitrified pigments; nor is it in other respects eli...