White And Pure Black; The Grays Known To The Palette As Mineral Grey
: ON THE NEUTRAL, BLACK.and Payne's Grey having been incorrectly named. Practically, the nearest
approach to a normal grey is furnished by Black Lead, which forms grey
tints of greater permanence and purity than the blacks in general use,
and is now employed for this purpose with approved satisfaction by
experienced artists.
Being compounded of white and black, grey partakes in some measure of
the qualities of both those colours
convenience, they must be called; although white is often spoken of as
no colour, and black as the complete extinction of all colour. With
white predominant, grey is used, pure or coloured, for the general
lights of a picture; just as, with black predominant, grey is employed,
pure or coloured, for the shades. It helps to subdue the absolute white,
and to make the absolute black conspicuous. Black and white are in some
respects complementary to each other, and when in contact, appear to
differ more from each other than when viewed separately: both show with
best effect when harmonised by a medium of grey, normal or otherwise.
The primary colours, also, gain in brilliancy and purity by the
proximity of grey. With dark colours, such as blue and violet, and deep
tones in general, grey forms assortments of analogous harmonies; while
with the luminous colours, such as red, orange, yellow, and the light
tints of green, it forms harmonies of contrast. Although grey never
produces a bad effect in its assortments with two luminous colours, in
most cases the association is dull and inferior to black and white. The
only instance in which grey associates with two such colours more
happily than white is that with red and orange. Grey is inferior to both
white and black with red and green, red and yellow, orange and yellow,
orange and green, yellow and green; and is not so good as white with
yellow and blue. In association with sombre colours, such as blue and
violet, and with broken tones of luminous colours, grey gives rise to
harmonies of analogy which have not the vigour of those with white; but
if the colours do not combine well together, it has the advantage of
separating them from each other. Associated with two colours, one
sombre, the other luminous, grey will perhaps be better than white, if
white produces too strong a contrast of tone: on the other hand, grey
will be preferable to black, if that has the inconvenience of increasing
too much the proportion of sombre colours. Grey associates more happily
than black with orange and violet, green and blue, or green and violet.
TTITLE MIXED GREY.
When a ray of solar light (a sunbeam) is passed through a prism of flint
glass, and the image or 'prismatic spectrum' received upon a screen of
white paper, it is found to consist of numerous rays of different
colours, which are conveniently divided into six groups--red, orange,
yellow, green, blue, violet. Optically, the union of red, yellow, and
blue, in proper proportions, constitutes white light; whether the rays
of the three separate colours are mixed, or of one with the other two in
combination: the same result ensues when red is mixed with green as if
it were mixed with blue and yellow, because green is composed of blue
and yellow. Consequently, any primary mixed with a secondary composed of
the other two primaries, forms the complement of rays necessary to
constitute or make up white light, and vice versa.
There is, however, a very great difference between the results arising
from the mixture of the pure coloured rays of the spectrum, and those
from material colours or pigments. When, by means of a convex lens, we
reunite the coloured rays of the spectrum white light is reproduced; but
when we mix coloured materials, blues, yellows, and reds, the compound
is never white, but grey or black; even if these coloured pigments are
taken in the exact proportions in which their colours exist in the
spectrum. Ultramarine, our purest blue, reflects red rays as well as
blue rays; aureolin, our purest yellow, reflects blue as well as yellow
rays; and carmine reflects yellow as well as red rays. Now whenever the
third primary colour is present in any mixture of coloured materials, it
tends to form grey, by mixing with a sufficient quantity of the other
coloured rays to neutralize it, and the presence of this grey breaks or
tarnishes the pure colour. Hence it is that to obtain a pure green, a
blue should be taken tinged with yellow rather than with red, and a
yellow tinged with blue: if there were chosen either a blue or a yellow
tinged with red, this latter colour would go to form some grey in the
compound, which would tarnish the green. In like manner, to produce pure
orange, neither the red nor the yellow must contain blue; and similarly
with pure purple, neither the blue nor red should contain yellow.
As regards pigments, then, a proper mixture of yellow, red, and blue; or
of yellow and purple, red and green, or blue and orange; or of orange,
green, and purple, affords black if sufficiently intense, and grey if
sufficiently diluted. The black may be rendered grey by spreading a thin
wash over a white ground, or by the direct addition of white. It must be
remembered, however, that suitable proportions of the component colours
are essential. When all three of the primaries, for example, are mixed
together, colour is neutralised according as they are compounded of
equal strength and in right quantities: if proper proportions are
observed, pure black or normal grey results; but if not, there will be
produced a coloured black or a coloured grey, an excess of one or two of
the primaries giving rise to brown, marrone, or gray.
A reference to the lists of permanent primary and secondary pigments
will show to what extent durable greys can be compounded. As these
pigments differ so widely in hue and other properties, no fixed rules
can be given for their admixture: to ensure neutrality, practice and a
correct eye are indispensable. Without perfect neutrality, difficult to
attain and rarely to be met with, grey ceases to exist. In pure white,
pure grey, and pure black, colour is, so to speak, conspicuous by its
absence.
TTITLE NEUTRAL BLACK
Black is the last and lowest in the series or scale of colours
descending--the opposite extreme from white--the maximum of colour. To
be perfect, it must be neutral with respect to colours individually, and
absolutely transparent, or destitute of reflective power as regards
light; its use in painting being to represent shade or depths, of which
black is the element in a picture and in colours, as white is of light.
As there is no perfectly pure and transparent black pigment, black
deteriorates all colours in deepening them, as it does warm colours by
partially neutralizing them, but it combines less injuriously with cold
colours. Though black is the antagonist of white, yet added to it in
minute portion, it in general renders white more neutral, solid, and
local, with less of the character of light. Impure black is brown, but
black in its purity is a cold colour, and communicates a coolness to all
More
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Those Which Are Positive Or Definite; And The Three Colours Of Each
genus, united or compounded in such subordination that neither of them ... Thus Russet And Olive Compose Or Unite In Dark Purple; Citrine And
... Time On A Tree Of The Common Black Spruce (abies Nigra) In The
neighbourhood of Kingston. Having been but recently observed, a sufficient quantity had not been obtained for a complete series of experiments as to its nature and uses; but the habits of the insect, as well as the properties of the dye, seemed to ind... To Blue To Which The Attribute Of Coolness Peculiarly Belongs It Is
discordant when standing alone with yellow or with red, unresolved by their proper contrasts or harmonizing colours, purple and green. As an archeus or ruling colour, orange is one of the most agreeable keys in toning a picture, from the richness and ... To Keep In Mind--the Glow Of Sunshine And The Cool Of Shade
It is a fault of even some of our best colourists, as evinced by their pictures, to be too fond of black upon their palettes, and thence to infuse it needlessly into their tints and colours. With such it is a taste acquired from the study of old pic... To The Practice Of Producing Tints And Hues By Grinding Pigments
... To Which The Various Appellations Have Been Given Of Thenard's Blue
... To White And Black Or Light And Shade Hence Red Is Pre-eminent
among colours, as well as the most positive of all, forming with yellow ... Together Instead Of Blending Them On The Palette May Be Attributed
some of the peculiarities of the tints and textures of the Flemish school; they being, perhaps, results of intimate combination from grinding, and consequently of a more powerful chemical action among the ingredients compounded. This method has, in a ... Transparency Is An Essential Property Of All Glazing Pigments And
adds greatly to the value of dark or shading colours; indeed it is the prime quality upon which depth and darkness depend, as whiteness, or ... Transparent Is Meant Tingeing Power White Besides Its Uses As A
colour, is the instrument of light in painting, and compounds when pure with all colours, without changing their class. Yet it dilutes and cools all colours except blue, which is specifically cold; and, though it does not change nor defile any colour,... True Chrome Green Native Green &c Is Found Native In An Impure
state as Chrome Ochre, but is always artificially prepared for artistic use. Obtained anhydrous by dry modes, this is the only chrome oxide available in enamelling, and is the one seen on superior porcelain. It is a cold, sober sage green, deep-toned,... Truth Of Hue Is A Relative Quality In All Colours Except The Extreme
primaries, in the relations of which, blue, being of nearest affinity to black or shade, has properly but one other relation, in which it inclines to red and becomes purple-blue: it is, therefore, faulty or false, when, tending to yellow, it becomes o... Turner's Yellow Montpellier Yellow Mineral Yellow Cassel
... Ultramarine Because It Produces By Combinations Tints Almost As Fine
as ultramarine." A blue but not a velvet black, where intensity is required some other is to be preferred. For mixtures, however, it is stated to be admirable, and especially for linen, skies, distances, and the various broken tints of carnations, &c.... Ultramarine Bleu De Garance Outremer De Guimet &c The
unrivalled qualities of native ultramarine prepared from the lapis lazuli rendered it most desirable to obtain an artificial compound which, while possessing similar properties, could be produced in quantity, and at a less costly rate. In demolishing ... Ultramarine New Blue Permanent Blue Gmelin's German
... Ultramarine Ultramarine Pure Ultramarine Azure Outremer
... Ultramarine With The Cyanus And Coeruleum Of The Ancients; But
their cyanus, or Armenian blue, was a kind of mineral or mountain blue, tinged with copper; and their coeruleum, although it may sometimes have been real ultramarine, was properly and in general a copper ochre. That ultramarine was known to the ancien... Under The Name Of Leitch's Blue
TTITLE INDIGO, ... Uniform Colour Thus Composed Is The Citrine Colour Of Fruit And
foliage, on inspecting which we distinctly trace the stipplings of orange and green, or of yellow, red, and green. The truth and beauty resulting from such stipplings in art may be seen in the luscious fruit-pieces of the late W. Hunt, where the bloom... Variety Of This Pigment Known As Native Prussian Blue; Which Is
really a native phosphate of iron, occurring as a blue earthy powder, or as a white powder that becomes blue by exposure. TTITLE ANTWERP BLUE, ... Vehicles And Varnishes With Which They Are Mixed Many Of These Have
been blamed, and often with justice, for their injurious effects on pigments. The reputation of the most permanent colour may be ruined, if the vehicle, &c., employed with it be untrustworthy. The presence of lead, for instance, in such materials rend... Verde Vessie Or Iris Green Is A Vegetal Pigment Prepared From The
juice of the berries of the buckthorn, the green leaves of the woad, the blue flowers of the iris, &c. It is usually preserved in bladders, and ... Verditer Brunswick Green Vienna Green Hungary Green Green
... Vermilion Extract Of Vermilion Orange Vermilion And Field's
... Vermilion Is So Called From The Italian Word Vermiglio (little Worm)
given to the kermes or "coccus ilicis," which was used as a scarlet dye before the introduction of cochineal. It is a sulphuret of mercury, which previous to levigation is called Cinnabar; and is found native in quicksilver mines, as well as produced ... Very Slight Solubility In Water Would Be A Fatal Objection; And
although they would be liable to suffer from a foul atmosphere, we are inclined to think the effects would not be so lasting as in the chromates of lead. Like lead sulphide, the sulphide of thallium ranges from brown to brownish-black, or grey-black; ... Vienna Blue Paris Blue Azure Cobalt-ultramarine &c Is The
name now exclusively confined to that preparation of cobalt which has a base of alumina. It may, therefore, be not improperly called a blue lake, the colour of which is brought up by fire, in the manner of enamel blues. The discovery of this important... Violet De Mars Purple Ochre Or Mineral Purple Is A Dark Ochre
native of the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire. It is of a murrey or chocolate colour, and forms cool tints of a purple hue with white. It is of a darker colour than Indian red, which has also been classed among purples, but has a similar body and op... Was Known In Ancient Times: The Romans Called It Auri Pigmentum Or
gold colour, whence, by corruption, its present name is derived. It is found in the native state in China and elsewhere, the best quality being in masses, consisting of plates of a fine golden hue, intermixed with portions of a vermilion or orange-red... We Have Adopted The Term Marrone Or Maroon As It Is Sometimes Called
for our second and middle semi-neutral, as applicable to a class of impure colours composed of black and red, black and purple, or black and russet, or of black and any other denomination in which red predominates. It is a mean between the warm, broke... Well To All Of These Must Be Superadded Durability When Used A
quality to which the health and vitality of a picture belong, and one so essential that all other properties put together without it are of no esteem with the artist who merits reputation. We have, therefore, given it a previous distinct consideration... Whatever The Practice Adopted Permanent Original Pigments Should Be
used as often as the case will admit; it being borne in mind, that a pigment may be compound, although its colour may be primary. As a rule, the less colours are mixed, the purer, brighter, and more lasting they will be found. ... When Inclining To Red Purple Takes The Name Of Crimson &c; And When
... While We Avoid The Compounding Of Contrasting Colours That Is The
colours must be kept distinct in the act of blending them, or otherwise they will run into dusky neutrality and defile each other. This is the case in blending and gradating from green to red, or from hue to hue--from blue to orange, or to and from co... White And Pure Black; The Grays Known To The Palette As Mineral Grey
and Payne's Grey having been incorrectly named. Practically, the nearest approach to a normal grey is furnished by Black Lead, which forms grey tints of greater permanence and purity than the blacks in general use, and is now employed for this purpose... White It Is Brought From Paris In The Form Of Drops Is Exquisitely
white, but of less body than flake white, and has all the properties of the best white leads. Being subject to the same changes, it is unfit for general use as a water-colour, though good in oil or varnish. TTITLE CREMNITZ WHITE, ... White Venetian White Hamburgh White Kremser White Sulphate
... Whiteness Even Contrast Has Its Contrast For Gradations Or
... With Cobalt Blue The Name Azure Has Sometimes Been Given To It
Varying exceedingly in quality and colour, the rougher kinds have been employed by the laundress, and in the making of porcelain, pottery, stained glass, encaustic tiles, &c.; as well as to cover the yellow tinge of paper. For this last purpose, howev... With Green It Forms The Tertiary Citrine And With Purple The Tertiary
... With It May Be Coupled Cadmium Orange A Colour Equally Brilliant And
stable, and equally without rankness or harshness, but of a true orange hue, admirably adapted for sunsets and the like. Last of all the fresh ... With Its Co-secondary Colour Green Purple Forms The Tertiary Olive;
and, when compounded with the remaining secondary, orange, it ... With Regard To Colour Then White In A Perfect State Should Be
neutral in hue, and absolutely opaque; that white being the best which reflects light most brilliantly. This property in white is called ... With Regard To Colours Individually It Is A General Law Of Their
relations, confirmed by nature and the impressions of sense, that those colours which lie nearest in nature to light have their greatest beauty in their lightest tints: and that those which tend similarly towards shade are most beautiful in their grea... With Regard To The Perspective Of Colours Or The Manner In Which They
affect the eye, according to position and distance, it is a branch of aerial perspective or the perspective of light and shade. This is distinguished from linear perspective, or the perspective of drawing, as drawing is from colouring; and they have p... With The Exception Of Madder Those Colours Mostly Affected By Light
... Without Change In This State It Was Called Giallolino Di Fornace And
was introduced as a pigment for artists, under the erroneous conception that vitrification gives permanence to colours, when in truth it only increases the difficulty of levigation, and injures their texture for working. We have spoken of Naples yello... Working Well Is A Quality Which Depends Principally Upon Fineness Of
... Yellow &c Is A Mixture Of Chloride And Oxide Of Lead Obtainable
either as a pale or a deep yellow. It is a hard, ponderous, sparkling substance, of a crystalline texture and bright colour; hardly inferior, when ground, to chrome yellow. Of an excellent body, and working well in oil and water, but soon injured both... Yellow Is A Chief Constituent: Hence Brown Is In Some Measure To Shade
what yellow is to light. Hence, also, proper quantities of either the three primaries, the three secondaries, or the three tertiaries, produce variously a brown mixture. Browns contribute to coolness and clearness by contrast when opposed to pure colo... Yellow When Orange Inclines To Red It Takes The Names Of Scarlet
... Yellow-green
Red breaks and diffuses with white with peculiar loveliness. It is discordant when standing with orange only, requiring to be joined or accompanied by their proper contrast, to resolve or harmonize the dissonance. In landscapes, &c., abounding with ...