Laws of Harmonious Colouring - David Ramsay Hay

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THE
LAWS OF
HARMONIOUS COLOURING
ADAPTED TO
INTERIOR DECORATIONS,
MANUFACTURES, AND OTHER USEFUL PURPOSES.
By D. R. HAY,
HOUSE-PAINTER, AND DECORATOR TO THE QUEEN, EDINBURGH;
CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING
PRACTICAL DESIGN, &C.
“ Every opportunity should be taken to discountenance that false and vulgar

opinion, that rules are the fetters of genius : they are fetters only to men of no
genius.” — Sir Joshua Reynolds.
FOURTH EDITION.
LONDON:
W. S. ORR AND CO.
AND W. & R. CHAMBERS, EDINBURGH,
MDCCCXXXVIII.
TO THE
CHAIRMAN AND MEMBERS OF COMMITTEE
OF THE
SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING PRACTICAL DESIGN,

AND A KNOWLEDGE AND LOVE OF THE
ARTS AMONG THE PEOPLE,
THE FOURTH EDITION OF THIS TREATISE
IS, WITH THEIR PERMISSION,
RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED BY
THEIR OBLIGED
AND OBEDIENT SERVANT,
D. R. HAY,
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INTRODUCTION.
The error of considering the arranging of colours, as

a matter of taste merely, is very prevalent. Mere
matters of taste, however, are subjects upon which
both nations and individuals differ widely, and there
are no productions of this kind, however extravagant
or absurd, that have not their admirers, while they
bear the gloss of novelty or stamp of fashion. Such
matters are subject to no rule whatsoever —they are
governed entirely by caprice; but it is very different
with the arranging of colours, for that is regulated by
laws, founded on natural principles. In so far as
taste is concerned, there are, no doubt, many differ-
ent opinions in regard to colours, both individually

and arranged. Many have likings for, and antipathies
to, particular hues, — all have their tastes in regard to
particular styles of colouring ;

some being fond of the
gay and lively, some the rich and powerful, and others
6 INTRODUCTION.
the deep and grave. Some have a partiality for com-

plex arrangements, while others prefer extreme sim-
plicity. But this is the case in music also ;
every
variety and style of composition has its particular ad-
mirers ;
yet it never is assumed from this, that the
arranging of the notes in a melody, or other musical
composition, is merely a matter of taste. All know
that the arrangement of notes in such cases is regu-
lated by fixed laws, which cannot be deviated from
without giving offence to the ear; and that a know-
ledge of these laws is absolutely requisite to every one
who wishes to cultivate that pleasing art. It is pre-
cisely the same in regard to colouring ;

for it does not
matter under what circumstances a variety of colours
is presented to the eye: if they be harmoniously ar-
ranged, the effect will be as agreeable to that organ as
harmonious music to the ear; —but if not so arranged,
the effect on the eye must be unpleasant; and the more

cultivated the mind of the individual, the more annoy-
ing will such discordance be. These facts I have en-
deavoured to make apparent, by drawing an analogy
between the science of colour and that of sound.
The laws of harmonious colouring seem not only to
have been thoroughly understood by those great paint-

ers of antiquity, whose works have been the admiration
and study of succeeding ages, but were, even so far back
as amongst the early Egyptians, carried to the greatest
perfection in the more humble, though equally useful,
art of internal decoration. Those travellers who have

INTRODUCTION. 7
visited the remains of the magnificent cities and tombs

erected by that wonderful people, speak of this branch
of art as having been executed upon an evidently re-
gular system of harmony, which had for its basis those
laws that still continue to be the study of followers of

the highest walks of art.
The Romans, too, at the period of their greatest
refinement, seem to have applied this science to the

useful arts. Of this the remains of Pompeii and Her-
culaneum afford ample proof. Such artists and ama-
teurs as have visited those interesting ruins, and whom
I have had an opportunity of consulting upon the
subject, speak in the highest terms of the scientific
manner in which the colours are arranged in the de-
coration even of the most ordinary dwellings. Accord-

ing to these accounts, and judging from many coloured
sketches made upon the spot, with the sight of which
I have been favoured, it appears to me that the know-
ledge of colour possessed by the Romans at that period
must have been of the most scientific nature. They
used upon all occasions the most brilliant and intense
colours, without either discord or crudity resulting

from their various combinations.
Even at this day the Italians seem to surpass us in
this particular. An eminent writer* on the art of
painting, and one who has of late years done much in
an official capacity for the encouragement and im-
* James Skene, Esq., of Rubislaw.

8 INTRODUCTION.
provement of our national manufactures, attributes

the inexpressively pleasing effect of the mode of house-
painting practised by the modern Italians to their
knowledge of, and attention to, the rules of harmony

alone ; and observes, that their bold and vivid tints
melt into each other with all the skill and harmony of
a piece of brilliant music.
Harmony of colouring is, at the present period, evi-
dently becoming one of the characteristics of our na-

tional school of painting ;
and this will no doubt event-
ually lead to a knowledge of it amongst the more hum-
ble class of colourists to which I belong. Yet I con-
sider it a necessary step towards the attainment of this

knowledge, that the rules of the art should be disse-
minated amongst us in a simple and popular form.
With this view, but confining myself to an applica-
tion of those rules to my own humble profession, I
published the first and second editions of this little
Treatise; the success of which, my increased experience,

and further prosecution of the study of chromatics,
induced and enabled me, in bringing out the third
edition, not only to remodel, and, I trust, greatly im-
prove it, but to extend its usefulness, by adapting it to
variously coloured manufactures, and indeed to every

case where colours are brought together to produce
effect. I likewise added a few observations on the

application of the arts generally to our manufac-
tures, which, I trust, have been found of some practical
utility.
INTRODUCTION. 9
The present edition I have improved as much as lay
in my power, especially by a more convenient classifi-
cation of the various parts of the subject, and a few

remarks upon the practical department of house-paint-
ing, which, I trust, will possess some general interest.
90 George Street,
,
Edinburgh, April 30 1838

, .
—
CHAPTER I.
ON THE THEORIES OF COLOUR,
When I first published this Treatise there existed

two theories, and I hesitated long which of the two to
adopt. The one theory was that established by Sir
Isaac Newton, and adopted by Sir David Brewster,

and other philosophical writers on chromatics. A
short account of it may make what follows more clearly
understood by the generality of readers. It was dis-
covered or confirmed by Sir Isaac Newton in the fol-
lowing manner :
In the window-shutter of a darkened room he made

a hole of about the third of an inch in diameter, behind
which, at a short distance, he placed a prism, so that
a ray of the sun’s light might enter, and leave it at
equal angles. This ray, which before the introduction

of the prism proceeded in a straight line, and formed
a round spot upon a screen placed a few feet distant
from the window, was now found to be refracted, ap-
peared of an oblong form, and composed of seven dif-

12 THE LAWS OF
ferent colours of the greatest brilliancy, imperceptibly

blended together, viz. violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow,
orange, and red. This is called the solar or prismatic
spectrum.
The theory established by this experiment was, that
the white light of the sun is composed of several
colours, which often appear by themselves, and that this
white light can be separated into its elements.

By making a hole in the screen upon which the
spectrum is formed, opposite to each of these colours
successively, so as to allow it alone to pass, and by
letting the colour thus separated fall upon a second
prism, Sir Isaac found that the light of each of the
colours was alike refrangible, because the second prism
could not separate it into an oblong image, or any

other colour ;
hence, he called all the colours simple or
homogeneous.
The other theory was that which seemed adopted
by almost all who had written on colouring connected
with the fine arts, and was, that there were only three
simple or homogeneous colours, and that all others
resulted from them. Although this theory was not
set up in opposition to that of the natural philosophers,
but seemed only to be established in a practical point

of view, neither was it supported by any scientific
experiments ;
yet it appeared to me more consistent
with the general simplicity of nature, and I could not

believe that she required seven homogeneous parts to
produce what art could do by three. For instance, an

HARMONIOUS COLOURING. 13
artist can make all the colours, and indeed a correct

representation of the prismatic spectrum, (so far as the
purity of his materials will allow,) with three colours
only ;
while, according to the theory of Sir Isaac
Newton, seven simple or homogeneous colours were
employed to produce the real one.
The following discovery, made by Buffon, and illus-

trated by succeeding philosophers, helped to strengthen
me in the conviction, that the scientific theory might,
like that of the practical artist, be reducible to three
simple or homogeneous parts. If we look steadily for

a considerable time upon a spot of any given colour,
placed on a white or black ground, it will appear sur-
rounded by a border of another colour. And this
colour will uniformly be found to be that which makes

up the triad ; for if the spot be red, the border will be
green, which is composed of blue and yellow ;

if blue,
the border will be orange, composed of yellow and red ;
and if yellow, the border will be purple, making in all
cases a tri-unity of the three colours called by artists
homogeneous.
With a view to throw such light upon the subject
as my limited opportunities would permit, I went over
the experiments by which Sir Isaac Newton esta-
blished his theory, and the same results occurred : I
could not separate any one colour of the solar spectrum

into two. The imperceptible manner in which the
colours were blended together upon the spectrum, how-
ever, and the circumstance of the colours which prac-
;
14 THE LAWS OF
tical people call compound, being always placed at the

adjunct of the two of which they say it is composed,
with my previous conviction, induced me to continue
my experiments ; and although I could not, by analy-

sis, prove that there were only three colours, I suc-
ceeded in proving it to my own- satisfaction, syntheti-

cally, in the following manner :
After having tried every colour in succession, and

finding that none of them could be separated into two,
I next made a hole in the first screen in the centre of

the blue of the spectrum, and another in that of the
red. I had thereby a spot of each of these colours
upon a second screen. I then, by means of another
prism, directed the blue spot to the same part of the
second screen on which the red appeared, where they
united and produced a violet as pure and intense as that
upon the spectrum. I did the same with the blue and
yellow, and produced the prismatic green ; as also with
the red and yellow, and orange was the result. 1 tried,
in the same manner, to mix a simple with what I
thought a compound colour, but they did not unite

for no sooner was the red spot thrown upon the green
than it disappeared.
I tried the same experiment with two spectrums,
the one behind, and of course a little above the other,
and passed a spot of each colour successively over the
spectrum which was farthest from the window, and
the same result occurred. It therefore appeared to me
that these three colours had an affinity to one another
that did not exist in the others, and that they could
not be the same in every respect, except colour and
refrangibility, as had hitherto been taught.
These opinions, the result of my experiments, I pub-
lished in 1828, as being a necessary part of a Treatise
of this nature, and I did so with great diffidence, well

knowing that I was soaring far above my own element
in making an attempt to throw light upon such a sub-
ject. I had, however, the gratification to learn that
these facts were afterwards proved in a communication
read to the Royal Society of Edinburgh by Sir David
Brewster on the 21st of March 1831, in which he also
showed that white light consists of the three primary
colours, red, yellow, and blue ;
and that the other
colours shown by the prism are composed of these.
I may, therefore, in this edition of my Treatise con-

fidently assume that there are only three primary ho-
mogeneous colours in nature.
CHAPTER 11.
ON THE ANALOGY BETWEEN COLOUR AND SOUND.
Harmonious arrangements of colours being such

combinations as, by certain principles of our nature,
produce an effect on the eye, similar to that which is
produced by harmonious music on the ear, and as a re-
markable conformity exists between the science of co-

lour and that of sound, in their fundamental principles
as well as in their effects, I shall probably best lead
the reader to a proper comprehension of the former by

tracing this analogy, the more especially as the science
of music is much more generally understood. This

analogy will help to show, that the laws which govern
colour are as irrefragable, and, at the same time, as
practically necessary to the colourist in art, manufac-
ture, or decoration, as those which govern sound are to
the musician.
It is well known to all who have studied music, that
there are three fundamental notes, viz. C, E, and G,
which compose the common chord, or harmonic triad,
B
18 THE LAWS OF
and that they are the foundation of all harmony. So

there are also three fundamental colours, the lowest
number capable of uniting in variety, harmony, or
system.
By the combination of any two of these primary
colours, a secondary colour of a distinct kind is pro-
duced; and as only one absolutely distinct denomina-
tion of colour can arise from a combination of the
three primaries, the full number of really distinct
colours is seven, corresponding to the seven notes in
the complete scale of the musician. Each of these

colours is capable of forming an archeus or key for
an arrangement, to which all the other colours intro-
duced must refer subordinately. This reference and
subordination to one particular colour, as is the case
*
in regard to the key-note in musical composition, gives
a character to the whole.

This characteristic of an arrangement of colour is
generally called its tone ; but it appears to me that

this term is more applicable to individual hues, as it
is in music to voices and instruments alone. Yet, to

avoid obscurity, I shall continue to use it in the sense
in which it is generally applied to colouring.

From the three primary colours, as will be after-
wards shown, arise an infinite variety of hues, tints,
and shades ;
so that the colourist, like the musician,
notwithstanding the extreme simplicity of the funda-

mental principles upon which his art is built, has
ample scope for the production of originality and
;
beauty in the various combinations and arrangements

of his materials.
The three homogeneous colours, yellow, red, and
blue, have been proved by Field, in the most satisfac-
tory manner, to be in numerical proportional power as

follows —yellow three, red five, and blue eight.
When these three colours are reflected from any

opaque body in these proportions, white is produced.
They are then in an active state, but each is neu-
tralised by the relative effect that the others have upon
it. When they are absorbed in the same proportions,
they are in a passive state, and black is the result.
When transmitted through any transparent body, the
effect is the same ;
but in the first case they are ma-
terial or inherent, and in the second impalpable or
transient. Colour, therefore, depends entirely on the
reflective or refractive power of bodies, as the trans-
mission or reflection of sound does upon their vibra-

tory powers.
From the combination of the primary colours the
secondary arise, and are orange, which is composed of
yellow and red, in the proportion of three and five
purple, which is composed of red and blue, in the pro-
portion of five and eight ;

and green, composed of
yellow and blue, in the proportion of three and eight.
These are called the accidental or contrasting colours
to the primaries, with which they produce harmony

in opposition, in the same manner in which it is
effected in music by accompaniment ;

the orange with
:
20 THE LAWS OF
the blue, the purple with the yellow, arid the green
with the red. They are therefore concords in the
musical relation of fourths, neutralising each other at
sixteen.
This neutralising or compensating power, as will

be afterwards shown, is the foundation of all agree-
ment and harmony amongst colours, and upon it de-
pends also the brilliancy and force of every composi-
tion.
From the combination of these secondaries arise the

tertiaries, which are also three in number, as follow
olive from the mixture of the purple and green, citron

from the mixture of the green and orange, and russet
from the mixture of the orange and purple. These
three colours, however, like the compounds produced
by their admixture, may be reckoned under the general
denomination of neutral hues, as they are all formed
by a mixture of the same ingredients ;
the three pri-
maries, which always, less or more, neutralise each
other in triunity. The most neutral of them all being

grey, the mean between black and white, as any of
the secondaries are between two of the primaries, it
may appropriately be termed the seventh colour.
These tertiaries, however, stand in the same relation

to the secondaries that the secondaries do to the pri-
maries — olive to orange, citron to purple, and russet to
green ;
and their proportion will be found to be in the
same accordance, and neutralising each other integrally
as 32 .
—
Out of the tertiaries arise a series of other colours,

such as brown, marone, slate, &c. in an incalculable
gradation, until they arrive at a perfect neutrality in
black, as shown in diagram 2 . To all of these the
same rules of contrast are equally applicable.
Besides this relation of contrast in opposition, colours

have a relation in series, which is their melody. This
melody, or harmony of succession, is found in all the
natural phenomena of colour. Each colour on the
prismatic spectrum, and in the rainbow, is melodised
by the two compounds which it forms with the other
two primaries. For instance, the yellow is melodised
by the orange on the one side, and the green on the
other ;
the blue by the green and purple, and the red
by the purple and orange. Field, in his excellent
Essay on the Analogy and Harmony of Colours, has

shown these coincidences by a diagram, in which he
has accommodated the chromatic scale of the colourist
to the diatonic series of the musician, showing that
the concords and discords are also singularly coinci-
dent. It is, however, too complex for a work of this
simple kind ;
I shall therefore content myself by giving
one of the three clefs only, as in the following
example :
22 THE LAWS OF
Example I.
I cannot conclude this part of my subject, without
noticing a striking coincidence between colour and

sound, which has not been referred to in any work that
I have consulted upon the subject. I have already
mentioned the phenomenon discovered by Buffon, of the
accidental colour which appears with any given colour,
and that such accidental or compensating colour makes

up the harmonious triad or concord. This, as I am
informed by professors of music, is precisely the case
when any given note is sounded on an instrument.

It is always accompanied, or immediately succeeded,
by those which form a chord, and are termed in music
the harmonics. This phenomenon in acoustics, I be-
lieve, is most perceptible in the sound of a bell in suc-
cession, and in accompaniment on the string of the

violoncello.
i
CHAPTER III
ON COLOURS GENERALLY.
Hitherto I have treated of all the colours, simple

and compound, as in their most perfect state of inten-
sity or combination. I shall now show that they can

be multiplied in tint and shade, as well as in hue,
almost to infinity. By hue is meant any compound
colour undiluted : the primary colours cannot be
reckoned hues, because the introduction of any other
colour will change their name. It is not so with the
secondaries, for the subordination of eitherof their
component parts will change their hue, while their
names generally remain the same ;
hence arises an
incalculable number of various hues of each of these
colours —of orange from the yellowest to the reddest,
of green from the yellowest to the bluest, and of purple

from the bluest to the reddest, with a few exceptions
which shall be afterwards stated. In the same manner
the tertiaries may be changed in hue to a much greater
24 THE LAWS OF
extent, by the predominance or subordination of any of

their component parts, as also by the power of neu-
tralisation, possessed by each of these parts upon the
other two, as has already been noticed.
By tint is meant every gradation of a colour in
lightness, from its most perfect or intense state up to
white. This applies also to every one of the hues,

for they are, as well as the colours, capable of every
state of dilution.
The variety of tint is therefore incalculably greater
than that of hue. By shade is meant every gradation

of a colour or hue in depth, from its perfect state down
to black.
In their contrasting powers, colours must bear rela-

tion to one another, in point of tint, hue, and shade.
A tint of one colour, brought into an arrangement as a
contrast or equivalent to a tint of another colour, ought
to be equal in diluteness ;
and the same holds with
colours receding from their original purity towards
black. These contrasts are less and less powerful

according to their state of dilution or shade. Black
and white, however, as they form a perfect contrast to
one another, being the extremes of light and shade,
impart this quality to the colours with which they are
combined. Therefore, as a shade recedes towards
black in point of depth, the tint which is brought in
as a perfect contrast to it ought to approach in an
equal ratio towards white. All these equal contrasts
of hues, tints, and shades with one another, can be
easily performed by any one having a good eye, and a

slight knowledge of their relations.
The other kind of contrasts, however, require par-

ticular study before any thing like perfection can be
obtained, either in decorative colouring or that which

is useful in manufacture, and are used, not in a neu-
tralising or balancing point of view, but to give addi-
tional prominence, brilliancy, and effect to one parti-

cular colour. These contrasts may therefore be termed
imperfect or unequal, because the one colour is to a
certain extent neutralised or kept low in tone, in order
to give its antagonist more intensity and clearness.
As the effect of every arrangement depends as much

on the media which accompany and unite them as on
the colours themselves, the greatest attention ought
to be paid to the. tone and character of this class of
colours. It is by adapting them properly that the

greatest distinctions are reconciled and brought to an
imperceptible adjunct ; and it is by them that tone,
keeping, and repose, is given to the whole. A neglect
of these mediatory colours is the chief cause of that cru-
dity and confusion of parts, so conspicuous in many of
the coloured goods manufactured at the present period.
In arranging colours, therefore, either in manufac-
ture or decoration, whether a few or a great variety
are to be employed, the effect of the whole, as well as
the several component parts, will depend as much on
attention to this as on the skill with which they are
harmonised in contrast and succession to each other.
—
26 THE LAWS OF
And it must be borne in view, that no perfectly har-

monious arrangement of colours can be made unless
all the three primary colours be present, either in a
simple or mixed state, and that the distinctions of har-
mony depend upon a predominance of one of these three.
The following diagram exhibits a general harmony
of all the colours of any distinctive character, simple
and compound, except the neutral grey, which is
represented, although imperfectly, by the engraved

groundwork. It will be observed, that each limb of
this diagram forms a series of hues proceeding from
one of the primaries, and producing a distinct me-
lody or harmony, in succession, of that colour. It
will also be seen, that in each of these harmonies,

although the primary colour or key-note predominates,
the other two primaries enter, in combination, into the
arrangement. This, however, shall be more plainly
shown when these three melodies are exhibited sepa-
rately. There is also shown, upon this diagram, the

progress from light to darkness, or from white to
black ;
as also in its nine central divisions, the har-
mony in succession, and contrast of the primary and

secondary colours. The arrangement of this diagram,
I trust, will likewise show that all the colours, in their

greatest intensity, may be brought together without
crudity or harshness :
.V
In all general arrangements of colours, which are not

necessarily confined to any particular leading colour or
(to continue the analogy) key-note, it ought to be kept
in view, what nature has pointed out in the most dis-
tinct manner in all her colouring, namely, that those
cool-toned and neutralised colours which are most

agreeable to the eye should predominate, and that vivid
and intense colours should, upon all occasions, be used
with a sparing hand. The house-painter, in particular,

should be aware that vivid colours are only employed
to heighten the effect of splendour and richness, by
their attractive qualities.
28 THE LAWS OF
The manufacturer has a greater latitude, for his

productions may, in most occasions, be neutralised by
what accompanies them in a more general arrangement.
In the finest specimens of Persian and Turkish carpets
the deep tones of indigo and brown predominate, while
the bright hues and tints only appear to detail and
heighten the effect of the pattern.
An eminent writer on the fine arts observes, that
colouring, like sound in music or poetry, should be an

echo to the sense; and according to the general senti-
ment which the subject should inspire, it will be gay,
lively, sombre, or solemn. This ought likewise to be

kept in view, not only in the colouring of the apart-
ments of a dwelling-house, but in that of every build-
ing whatever. The same applies to every kind of
coloured manufacture employed in decoration.
Every artist in the higher branches has a particular
style of colouring* to study, peculiarly adapted to the
nature of the generality of his subjects; but the house-

painter’s styles must not only be as various as the uses
of the apartments which he decorates, but must vary

according to the different tastes of his employers. And
farther, he must take into consideration not only the
style of architecture, the situation, whether in town or

country, but the very rays by which each apartment
is lighted, whether they proceed directly from the sun,
or are merely reflected from the northern sky. He
must confine himself to neither a vivid, sombre, warm,
nor cold style of colouring; all must be equally at his
command, and in all the same strict attention to har-

mony must be observed.
The house-painter has often another very serious
difficulty to encounter. A variety of highly and va-
riously-coloured furniture is shown him, to which the
colouring of the different parts of a room must be
suited. It is here that his powers of balancing, har-
monising, and uniting, are called forth; it is this which
obliges him, as Sir Joshua Reynolds says of the artist,
ever to hold a balance in his hand, by which he must

decide the value of different qualities, that, when some
fault must be committed, he may choose the least.
In toning and harmonising the colours in a picture,

an artist has the assistance of light and shadow, and can
make his shades accord with the tone in such a man-
ner as to improve the general harmony ; but as the
colours of the house-painter and manufacturer are all
liable to be placed in full light, they must be toned in
themselves, to prevent that unnatural crudeness so an-
noying to the eye. How, then, can we account for
the prevalence of those gaudy paper hangings which
impinge the most obtrusive rays in all their vigour,
or those carpets where the preponderance of bright

yellow and red attracts the eye, and injures the
effect of every thing which is placed upon them ?
And if, according to the rules which regulate the

higher branches of the art, simplicity of arrangement
30 THE LAWS OF
prevents confusion where a variety of colours are

introduced, the colours, on the generality of such
articles, are most erroneously arranged. These errors
must proceed from a general negligence of the rules of
harmony. I do not mean by this that bright and

vivid colours are always offensive. I have already
said that they add richness and grandeur, when used
in their proper places, and in proper quantities; but
they should by no means cover the floor or walls of an

apartment, unless under very peculiar circumstances.
It may here be observed, that in all pictures representing
interiors, when a group of figures is introduced, there
may occasionally appear a piece of rich drapery or fur-
niture, painted in equally vivid and bright colours with
the figures, and which may in a great measure improve
the general effect and harmony; but who ever saw, in
a work of merit, the colours on the walls of the apart-
ment, or carpet on the floor, making a monopoly of at-
traction, and causing those upon the figures and furni-

ture to sink into insignificance ?
There may be many excellencies in a picture which
may compensate for a defect in harmony, and the artist
may still retain a high character for drawing, expres-
sion, &c. ;
but nothing can excuse a deficiency in this
respect either in an apartment or a piece of manufac-
ture. If the decorations are costly and gorgeous, the
defect in harmony is the more glaring.
I have asserted that a general negligence of the rules

of harmony is the cause of our errors in decoration ;
and I have the authority of one of the first literary

works of the age for this assertion.
In the article on House-painting, in the Edinburgh

Encyclopaedia, the author* says, “ It is in this essential
point of harmony that our practice is particularly de-

fective. We rarely see, in the simple painting of our
apartments, any combination of colours that is not in
some part offensive against even the common rules of
art, although there are certain combinations pointed

out by the laws of optics which can as little be made
to harmonise as two discordant notes in music. The
unpleasant effects arising from such erroneous mixtures
and juxtapositions we are often sufficiently aware of,
without having the skill requisite to assign the reason,

any more than the painter who chose them. We shall
not exemplify the particular defects of harmony so con-

spicuous in our practice, as it would lead us into tedious
details. We would only hint to our master painters
that it is a matter requiring far greater study than

they seem aware of.”
The celebrated work from which I have taken the

above statement might be a sufficient guarantee for its
truth, but every one who has a knowledge of the laws

which ought to govern an assemblage of different
colours, must own that it is correct, even in regard to
our most splendid habitations and palaces ;
the apart-
James Skene, Esq., of Rubislaw.

THE LAWS OF
ments in which, although often rendered pleasing from

the interest excited by the profusion of pictures with
which they are hung, too often display a want of har-
mony in their other decorations ; and this does not al-
ways proceed from the painting alone, but often from
a want of unison between it and the furniture for each
;
may be perfect in its own way, and yet the harshest

discord exist between them.
As the author of the article quoted above declines
exemplifying the particular defects in our practice,
and as it seems to be a requisite part of this treatise,
I shall endeavour to point out a few, with their causes.
The first and most obvious defect is, when there is
no particular tone or key fixed on for the colouring of

an apartment ;
that is, when one part of the furniture
is chosen without any reference to the rest, and the
painting done without any reference to the furniture.
This generally produces an incongruous mixture; and
is, in comparison to a tastefully decorated apartment,
as far as regards colouring, what a child produces with
its first box of paints to the work of a great master.

A second, and more common fault, is the predomi-
nance of some bright and intense colour, either upon
the walls or floor. It is evident that the predominance
of a bright and overpowering colour upon so large a
space as the floor or wall of a room, must injure the
effect of the finest furniture.
This great error often arises from the difficulty of
choosing a paper hanging or carpet, and our liability to

be bewildered amongst the multitude of patterns which

are produced ;
the most attractive of which, on a small
scale, are often, from this very circumstance, the more
objectionable, in regard to their forming a large mass
in an apartment ;
particularly as the artists who design
them seem to be regulated by no fixed principles, but,
from their repeated deviations from the established
rules of harmony, appear to give themselves up to the
vague pursuit of novelty alone.

A third error is introducing deep and pale colours,
which may have been well enough chosen in regard to
their hues, but whose particular degrees of strength or

tint have not been attended to. Thus the intensity of
one or more may so affect those which they were in-
tended to balance and relieve as to give them a faded

and unfinished appearance. This may proceed from
applying the fundamental laws without any regard to
the minutiae ;
for although it is always necessary to
subdue and neutralise such colours as are introduced
in large quantities, yet when they are reduced by
dilution alone the effect cannot be good. This error
is also very common in the colouring of carpets and
paper-hangings. In such productions the degree of
intensity of the individual colours is seldom taken into
account. A pale tint of blue is often introduced as an
equivalent to the richest orange colour, and sometimes
a small portion of lilac —one of the lightest tints of
purple — as a balancing colour to a quantity of the
most intense yellow. This is inverting the natural
c
34 THE LAWS OF
order of colours altogether, as will be more particu-

larly shown in the sequel.
There is a fourth defect, and rather a common one,
and that is a want of the media already alluded to,
which unite and harmonise an assemblage of bright

colours, which may, in other respects, be perfectly well
arranged; for it is a rule in the higher branches of

the art, that confusion of parts of equal strength should
always be avoided. A room of this description resem-
bles a Chinese landscape, where foreground and distance
are jumbled together.
An opposite defect to this is monotony, or a total
want of variety; for some are so afraid of committing

errors in point of harmony, that neutral tints only
are introduced, and sometimes one tint of this kind
alone prevails. Variety is a quality found to exist in
the most trifling as well as in the grandest combina-
tions of nature’s colouring; and it is, as already
observed, in uniting and making an arrangement of
various colours harmonious and agreeable to the eye,
that the skill of the house-painter and manufacturer
chiefly consist. It is this which produces what is
termed repose in a picture, a quality equally desirable
in the colouring of an apartment.

The tone or key is the first point to be fixed, and
its degree of warmth or coldness will be regulated by
the use, situation, and light of the apartment. The
next point is the style of colouring, whether gay,
sombre, or otherwise. This is more particularly regu-

;
lated by the use of the apartment, and the sentiments

which it ought to inspire; for, as Sir Joshua Reynolds
says, in regard to colouring, “ What may heighten
the elegant may degrade the sublime.” Unison, or a
proper combination of parts, is the next consideration.
The tone or key is generally fixed by the choice of
the furniture; for as the furniture of a room may be
considered, in regard to colouring, in the same light
as the principal figures in a picture, the general tone
must depend upon the colours of which it is composed

for instance, if the prevailing colour be blue, grey,
cool green, or lilac, the general tone must be cool ; but
if, on the other hand, it is red, orange, brown, yellow,

or a warm tint of green, the tone must be warm. But,
as stated before, there can be no pleasing combination
of colours without variety. This, by judicious man-
agement, may be given without in the least interfering
with the tone, for it is merely the general colour of
the furniture which ought to fix the tone ;
and there
may be the most decided contrasts in its parts, which,
by the introduction of proper medial hues throughout

the room, can be reconciled and united. Apartments
lighted from the south and west, particularly in a sum-
mer residence, should be cool in their colouring ;
but
the apartments of a town house ought all to approach
towards a warm tone ; as also such apartments as are
lighted from the north and east of a country residence.

When the tone of an apartment is therefore fixed
by the choice of the furniture, it is the business of the
36 THE LAWS OF
house-painter to introduce such tints upon the ceiling,

walls, and wood-work, as will unite the whole in per-
fect harmony. This, as I have already observed, is a

difficult task : the colours of the furniture may be ar-
ranged by a general knowledge of the laws of har-
mony, but the painter’s part cannot be properly added,
without the closest attention to the principles of art.
The style of colouring is the next point to be fixed,
and will depend entirely on the use of the apartment.

In a drawing-room, vivacity, gaiety, and light cheer-
fulness, should characterise the colouring. This is pro-
duced by the introduction of light tints of brilliant
colours, with a considerable degree of contrast and
gilding ; but the brightest colours and strongest con-
trasts should be upon the furniture, the effect of which
will derive additional value and brilliancy from the
walls being kept in due subordination, although, at the
same time, partaking of the general liveliness.
The characteristic colouring of a dining-room should
be warm, rich, and substantial ;

and where contrasts
are introduced, they should not be vivid. This style
of colouring will be found to correspond best with the
massive description of the furniture :
gilding, unless
in very small quantities for the sake of relief* should
be avoided.
Parlours ought to be painted in a medium style, be-
tween that of a drawing-room and dining-room.

The most appropriate style of colouring for libraries
is solemn and grave, and no richer colouring should
HARMONIOUS COLOURING, 37
be employed than is necessary to give the effect of

grandeur, which can scarcely be done where one mo-
notonous tint prevails ;
but care should be taken not
to disturb the quiet and solemn tone which ought to
characterise the colouring of all apartments of this de-
scription.
In bed-rooms, a light, cleanly, and cheerful style of
colouring is the most appropriate. A greater degree

of contrast may here be admitted between the room
and its furniture than in any other apartment, as the
bed and window curtains form a sufficient mass to
balance a tint of equal intensity upon the walls. There

may also, for the same reason, be admitted gayer and
brighter colours upon the carpet.
Stair-cases, lobbies, and vestibules, should all be ra-
ther of a cool tone, and the style of the colour should

be simple and free of contrast. The effect to be pro-
duced is that of architectural grandeur, which owes its
beauty more to the effect of light and shadow than to
any arrangement of colours ;

yet they ought not to be
so entirelv free from colour as the exterior of a
•f
man-
sion, but should be in colouring what they are in use,
a link between exterior simplicity and interior richness.
Stair-cases and lobbies being cool in tone, and simple
in the style of their colouring, will much improve the
effect of the apartments which enter from them.
CHAPTER IV.
ON COLOURS INDIVIDUALLY.
White, as already stated, is produced by the reflec-
tion of all the colours simultaneously in their relative
neutralising proportions. Its contrasting colour is
black, with which it is corelative, being the opposite
extreme of neutrality. It lies nearest in series to yellow,
which may be reckoned its melodising colour. It,
however, harmonises in conjunction and opposition

with all other colours. Every colour in its series of
tints becomes subdued in force proportionally as it
approaches towards white. It is the representative of
light as black is of darkness ;

its effect on the eye is
therefore cheerful and enlivening.

In Syme’s Nomenclature of Colours, there are no
fewer than eight different tints of white enumerated;
and although the terms reddish white, &c. are rather
anomalous, yet there seems to be no other way of
denominating the lightest tints of colours. For instance,
when the lightest tint of any colour is placed beside
40 THE LAWS OF
the most intense, it will appear to the eye a pure white ;
but when placed beside the purest white, the colour

will appear with which it is tinged. Still it should be
understood, that if it be a single shade beyond the first
remove or gradation from pure white, its name must

altered to a light tint of the colour with which it is
tinged.
The only white which is generally understood or

used besides the purest tint, is French white, which is,
properly speaking, the lightest shade of purple, and is
of all colours the most delicate and aerial. It is seldom

employed in house-painting ;
yet, when the situation,
furnishing, and character of an apartment are properly
adapted, it has an extremely pleasing effect. I have
seen it made the prevailing colour of a drawing-room
in a country residence, where the furniture being com-
posed of light blue silk, satin-wood, various light mar-
bles, and gilding, it had the most lively and cheerful
appearance imaginable. It may be requisite to observe,
that the French white on the walls was kept rather

low in tone, so as not to interfere with the effect of the
furniture. French white can only be introduced when

all the other colours are light and cool in tone, as any
quantity of intense or rich colouring completely sub-
dues it ;
and where gilding forms part of the arrange-
ment, a little additional warmth should be given to it.
The same may be said of pure white : all colours

brought into contact with it should be light and cool,
amongst which grey and green are the most suitable.
Very light yellow, of the tint of the primrose, forms

also a pleasing arrangement with pure white.
In rooms where white and other cool tints predomi-
nate upon the walls and wood-work, the furniture
should be of an equally light description. Bamboo and
satin-wood are the best woods. The same considera-
tions should regulate the choice of the carpet and cur-
tains. White not many years ago was the only colour
in use for the wood-work of rooms of every descrip-
tion : it has now almost entirely given way to shades
of various colours, and imitations of the finer kinds of

woods. It is still, however, adopted for bed-rooms,
particularly in summer residences, where its light,
cheerful, and cleanly effect is extremely pleasing, when

not destroyed by the introduction of strong and deep
colours
A south light is the best for white, and all such
colours and furniture as assimilate to it. When it is
the predominating colour in a room lighted from the

north, it ought to approach slightly towards a cream
colour, so as to counteract as much as possible the cold
reflection of such a light.
In patterns for coloured manufactures, pure white

ought not to be used along with intense and rich colours,
unless melodised by light and delicate tints. Indeed,
it ought, in manufacture as in decoration, only to be
used where the character of the arrangement is of a
light and delicate nature. Its effect in arrangements
of deep, rich, and intense colours, is generally harsh
42 THE LAWS OF
and spotty. When employed as a groundwork for a

carpet, it ought to be to a certain extent reduced in
intensity, by which great additional effect will be given
to the tints with which the pattern is coloured. When
the general tone of a pattern of this description is warm,
that is, where red and yellow prevail, the white ought
to be slightly tinged towards a cream colour. On
the other hand, when the tone is cool, blue or green
being the prevailing colour, it may be tinged towards
purple, grey, or any other cool tint or shade. When
white, however, is used, not as the medium to an ar-
rangement, but as a contrasting colour to any particu-
lar tint, it ought to be toned with the opposite hue.
Yellow, of the three primary colours, partakes most

of the nature of white, being the lightest of all decided
colours, and the brightest on the prismatic spectrum.
Its contrasting colour is purple, a compound of the
other two primaries ; its proportional power to which
is as three to thirteen, either in quantity or intensity.
It constitutes, in combination with red, the secondary

orange ;
and, when compounded with blue, it produces
the secondary green. These two colours are there-
fore its melodising hues. It is the most powerful of

the positive colours, and consequently the least agree-
able to the eye, when unaccompanied, or when pre-
dominating in a pure state. Being the lightest of
positive colours* it, next to white, forms the most

powerful contrast to black. There are fourteen va-
rieties of yellow enumerated in Syme’s Nomenclature :
but what is here meant by yellow is the colour of the

yellow jasmyn, or deepest hue of lemon. Yellow, of
course, forms a component part of all the tertiary or
neutral hues, either in predominance or subordination.
The tertiary, in which it is the archeus or ruling
colour, is that called citron, which, being a compound of
orange and green, the two secondaries into which yel-
low enters, has a greater proportion of that colour than
either of the other two tertiaries. Citron is of itself a

soft and pleasing colour to the eye, and is the lightest
of all the distinct hues arising out of the treble combi-
nation of the primaries. It is very useful as a con-
trasting colour amongst low tones of purple and
crimson. In tracing yellow still farther down in the
scale, the next understood colour in which it predomi-
nates is the semi-neutral hue brown, a most efficient
colour in all the low parts of every warm -toned ar-
rangement.
The annexed Example, No. 3, shows the yellow in
contrast with purple, along with their deepest neutral
hues, brown and marone, and having the tertiaries
citron and russet as media. Example No. 4 exhibits

it in its various combinations and gradations of hue
down to black. There are, of course, countless inter-
mediate hues and shades between any two of those

upon the diagrams.
44 THE LAWS OF
EXAMPLE III. EXAMPLE IV.
In artificial lights pure yellow apparently loses much

of its intensity, because it cannot be easily distinguished
from white. This occurs from all such lights being
less or more of a yellow tone, and consequently dif-
fusing this colour over all objects within their in-
fluence ;
white thereby becoming yellow, and yellow
remaining unaltered.
In decoration, pure yellow cannot be employed in
large masses, but merely as a heightening colour ;
yet
light tints of yellow have a very pleasing effect in bed-
rooms, especially such as are lighted from the north and
east, and form an agreeable arrangement with white,
lilac, or chintz furniture. They have also the advan-
tage of being easily lighted, and thereby appearing very

cheerful at night.
There is no colour that requires more management
than yellow in coloured manufactures. This colour is
almost always employed in its purest and brightest

hues ;
while the other colours which, according to
their relative powers, ought to predominate in inten-
sity, are very generally much inferior. Whether this
proceeds from the ease with which it is produced in
dyeing, or from a desire to produce a striking effect, I
know not ;
but its abuse in this way must be apparent
to all people of taste who have paid any attention to
the matter. It is, however, in its various tints and
combinations, of the greatest value in producing bril-
liancy and richness, as will be afterwards shown.
Orange is the next colour in power ;

it is a com-
pound of yellow and red, in the proportions of three of
yellow to five of red. Between these two colours it
appears in the prismatic spectrum, rainbow, and other

natural phenomena ; they may, therefore, be termed
its melodising colours. Its contrasting colour is blue.
Orange is the extreme point of warmth in colouring,
as blue is of coldness ;
they, therefore, form the most
perfect contrast in this respect, as they do in their
numerical proportional power, being eight to eight. In
its combination with green it produces the tertiary
citron, and with purple the tertiary russet.
Although orange is perhaps the most powerful of

46 THE LAWS OF
all colours, yet it possesses a mellowness and richness

which renders it one of the most effective in all general
arrangements. It should, however, next to yellow, be

employed with a very sparing hand ; for it is, as well as
that primary and red, offensive to the eye when viewed

alone, and unresolved by a proper proportion of its con-
trasting and melodising hues. The various beautiful
tints produced by the dilution of orange are the most
useful in heightening all ornamental colouring, amongst
which that termed gold-colour is pre-eminent. Orange,
like the two other secondaries, has great variety of hue,
according to the predominance of either of its com-
ponent parts. As it advances towards yellow, by a
predominance of that colour in its mixture, pure blue
can no longer be employed as a perfect contrast or
neutralising colour, but hues of purple, advancing to-
wards the perfect state of that colour in the same ra-
tio as the orange advances to the yellow.
On the other hand, when the orange colour recedes
towards red, by a subordination of the yellow in its
composition, green, in its various hues, becomes the

perfect contrasting colour ;
and as the red predomi-
nates in the orange, so ought the green to approach
towards its perfect or prismatic hue. It is not, how-
ever, always necessary or desirable that colours em-
ployed as harmonising accompaniments to one another
should be of equal power, although it is most essential
to the colourist to know the proper method of making

them so.
Suppose orange to be the archeus or key-note adopt-

ed for an arrangement of colours, either in the decora-
tion of an apartment, or in the design of a carpet, or
other piece of manufacture, the blue ought to be sub-

ordinate, either in intensity or quantity ;
and this sub-
ordination in intensity ought to be in shade rather than

tint, or by neutralising the blue by the admixture of
a small portion of orange colour.
In the medial colours employed in an arrangement
of this character, the deep rich tones of russet, citron,
and brown, ought to predominate, relieved occasionally
by the deepest shades of indigo. Black and white are

both out of tone in such an arrangement, especially
the latter.
Pure orange, from its great power, is not often em-
ployed in decoration, yet many of its hues are the best
adapted for window curtains, chair seats, and other
furniture, where gorgeousness and splendour are de-
sirable. The gold and giraffe hues so employed, along
with the cool emerald tint of green on the walls, pro-
duce, when properly harmonised by their accompani-
ments, one of the most pleasing effects in ordinary de-
coration. In this case, however, the green is the ruling
colour, and such an arrangement will therefore admit
of all such hues and tints being introduced as harmo-
nise with that colour.
Red is the third in the chromatic series, and second

of the primaries. It is the most positive of all colours,
48 THE LAWS OF
holding the middle station between yellow, which is
most allied to light, and blue, which is most allied to
shade; it is, as Field expresses it, pre-eminent among

colours. The hues with which it melodises in series
are, of course, orange and purple, being its combina-
tions with the other two primaries. Its contrasting
colour is green, a compound of yellow and blue, in the
proportion of three yellow to eight blue. Red is de-

cidedly a warm colour, and, to a certain extent, com-
municates this quality to every hue into which it
enters.
This effect of warmth is most apparent in its com-

binations with yellow ;
for in those with blue it be-
comes more cool and retiring. From the medial situa-
tion of red, and from its power in subduing the effect
of such colours as enter, in minute proportion, into com-

bination with it, its name is very indiscriminately ap-
plied. The first decided hue produced, in its approach
towards yellow, is scarlet ;
and, in its approach towards
purple, it produces the most splendid of all hues of
this description, crimson. But before arriving at either
of these understood colours, there are an immense va-

riety of hues, to all of which the general term red is
commonly applied. It is not easy to describe what is
meant by pure red ;

probably the most intense ge-
ranium colour is the nearest approximation generally

understood. That which I have given upon the dia-
grams is the nearest I could produce by a pigment,
yet it is far from being perfect.
Examples 5 and 6 show red in its harmony and me-

lody, as explained in treating of yellow.
EXAMPLE y. EXAMPLE VI.
The tertiary in which red predominates is russet,
a medial hue between purple and orange, and conse-

quently having a double occurrence of red in its com-
position ; therefore, it is the most positive and warm
of the neutral colours. It is of great power and value
in all the deep parts of any warm-toned arrangement
as a contrasting colour to the deep hues of green, ne-
cessarily brought in as relieving colours. The semi-

neutral marone is the next understood hue in its de-
scent to black. This hue is the most useful of all semi-
D
50 THE LAWS OF
neutrals in such arrangements as are best adapted for

patterns of carpets, and other variously-coloured ma-
nufactures. Jt is deep and clear, and although allied
to red, is sufficiently cool to admit of its being used as

the deepest shade in such arrangements as have a pre-
dominance of cool-toned colours.
From the positive nature of red, there is no colour

that requires more toning and management, when ex-
hibited in large masses, either in decoration or in va-
riously-coloured manufacture. The effect of red indi-
vidually being striking and powerful, it has, like yel-
low, been much too indiscriminately employed. We

have only to look at nature for the proper use of this
colour. We shall there see that red seldom appears in

its full intensity, and when it does so, it is at that sea-
son when its effect is balanced and neutralised by the

general verdure which clothes the earth. Red, how-
ever, in nature as in art, is indispensable in producing,
by combination, that variety of hue so essential to the
effect of every arrangement of colours. The landscape
painter knows well that neither sky, water, nor foliage,
can be successfully imitated without the introduction
of this colour.
Pure red, and its various hues of scarlet, are too
violent and obtrusive to be used in large masses, either
in decoration or in any general arrangements of colours

upon a piece of manufacture, unless under very pecu-
liar circumstances. It forms, however, like orange, an

excellent leading colour or key-note. On all such oc-
easions its contrasting colour, green, ought to be neu-

tralised by being brought in tone towards olive : bright
green, if employed at all, ought to be used in very
small quantities. The tertiaries ought generally to be
those in which red predominates, and blue subordinate
to yellow, and these relieved by deep rich tones of green.
A small proportion of gold colour adds brilliancy and
effect to arrangements of this description.
There is an exception, however, to this rule in de-
coration ;
some rooms are so lighted that the direct
rays are entirely thrown upon the floor, and the walls
left comparatively in shade. In cases of this kind, I
have known a bright scarlet upon the wall produce

an excellent effect, the want of direct light prevent-
ing it from obtruding upon the eye. In such cases,

deep-toned colours ought to predominate on the car-
pet. Gilding is of much importance in melodising and
heightening the effect of apartments decorated in this
style.
Crimson is, of all the hues arising from the mellow-

ing of the primary red, the most gorgeous and useful
as a leading colour. The green which relieves it best
is that which approaches the citron hue. This colour,

from the splendid and rich effect which it always pro-
duces, and from its being, of all the hues of red, the
most cool and mellow, is much used in internal deco-
ration. It is also, when of a proper shade and tone,

an excellent ground for pictures, and associates well
52 THE LAWS OF
with gilding. This latter quality proceeds from the

crimson partaking, in a small degree, of the property
of purple as well as red —the one being the con-
trasting colour to yellow, and the other the melodising
colour to orange ; the colour of gold in its lights and
shadows producing these two.
From these circumstances, crimson, of a proper depth
and hue, has been generally adopted as a ground for
pictures, by the proprietors of those splendid mansions
where the finest collections are to be seen. This has led
to its adoption in general ; but, from the great variety of
hues which are produced under this name, many glaring
errors have arisen. Most of the flocked papers so much
use, and erroneously called crimson, partake more of in
the hue of scarlet : while others are crimson on the
pattern, and a tint of pink on the ground. This often
arises from the pattern being of one material and the
ground of another ; and even when the ground and
pattern are at first the same, the former, from its being
merely a thin wash of water colour upon white paper,
is soon reduced to a pale pink —while the pattern, from
its facility in collecting dust, becomes a dark sombre
red.
From crimson proceeds that beautiful series of tints

called pinks or rose colours, which are so essential and
effective as heightening reds in all cool-toned arrange-
ments.
There are various other denominations of red. Syme
has eighteen altogether; but they are all, with the ex-
ception of the purest colour, compounds of two or all
of the primaries.
Purple lies next in series to red, of which colour and

blue it is composed, in the proportion of five of the former
to eight of the latter. In this state of intensity it forms
the proper contrasting or neutralising colour to pure
yellow. The two primaries of which it is compounded
are its melodising colours. Although red be one of its
component parts, it is rather a cool colour, and very

retiring in effect : being also the darkest of the second-
ary colours, it bears the nearest relation to black or
shade, as its contrasting colour, yellow, does to white
or light. From these qualities, purple is a pleasing
and agreeable colour to the eye ;
in this respect it is
second only to green. In its combination with green

it produces that soft and useful tertiary colour, olive,
and with orange, the most powerful of this class, russet.
Purple has, like the other compound colours, various

hues ; but these are bounded in its approach to red by
crimson, and towards blue by indigo. Its tints have
also names peculiar to themselves, such as lilac, peach-
blossom, and several others.

Purple is not much used as a leading colour in deco-
ration, which, I believe, arises from its bad effect in
artificial light. It has been already noticed that all
artificial lights, used for economic purposes, are less or
more of a warm yellow colour, as any one may observe

54 THE LAWS OF
in viewing the flame of a candle or gas-lamp in day-
light. This colour being the natural contrast to pur-
ple, and being thus diffused over it, neutralises and

injures its effect. Indeed, all cool colours are less or
more injured by the effect of such lights, while warm
colours, from their being allied to red, are improved in
brilliancy. The diagrams, by being viewed in clear
daylight, and immediately after in candle-light, will

illustrate this fact in a sufficiently satisfactory manner.
This effect of artificial light is worthy of particular
attention, for it is not only the positive colours upon
which it is produced, but upon compound hues of every
description, according to the predominance of one or
other of the primaries in their composition.
Purple may be used in large quantities in any gene-
ral arrangement, especially when of a cool tone. In the
richest patterns of carpets, shawls, and such like pieces
of manufacture, its deepest hues are invaluable. Its
power of contrast to all the warm tones of yellow gives

them additional warmth and brilliancy ;
while its natu-
ral clearness prevents it from ever appearing murky or
heavy.
Blue is the third of the primary colours, and fifth
of the chromatic series. It is, of the primaries, the

nearest in relation to shade, as yellow is to light. It
is the only absolutely cool colour, and communicates

this quality to all hues into the combination of which
it enters. The contrasting colour to blue is the se-
condary orange, and its melodising colours in series

green and purple ; with the former of which, however,
it is more discordant than either of the other two pri-
maries are with either of their melodising colours. This

gives rise to the necessity of a seventh colour of a neu-
tral description, which ought generally to be interposed
between these two colours when in their perfect state
of intensity. This neutral hue is the medium between

warmth and coolness, and between light and shade, or
black and white.
The tertiary colour olive, from being the medial hue
between purple arid green, and arising from their com-
bination, has a predominance of blue in its composi-
tion, and is therefore the tertiary that first occurs in
the progress of blue to black, or to negation in shade.
Olive, as an individual colour, is soft and unassum-
ing, and is of great use in all arrangements, whether
cool or warm. Its effect as a melodising hue with blue,
green, and purple, will be seen by the annexed diagram.
But it is in its contrasting powers in the lower notes
(to continue the analogy) of warm-toned or brilliant

compositions, that it is most valuable. It relieves
and harmonises, according to its various hues, the

tertiaries russet, citron, marone, and brown. Owing,
however, to the discord already noticed, it ought never
to be brought into immediate contact with blue ; it is
absolutely necessary to introduce a semi-toned colour

between them. This colour may be a grey of a warm
purply hue, and will melodise best in being blended
56 THE LAWS OF
with the blue, and produce harmony in coming dis-
tinctly against the olive in its full warmth. Slate-

colour is the next hue in the progress of blue down to
black, which, from its peculiar nature, cannot be used

in any but cool-toned arrangements.
Examples 7 and 8 show these relations of the blue
in harmony and melody, as already explained.
EXAMPLE VII. EXAMPLE VIII.
Blue is individually a pleasing, and, at the same

time, a brilliant colour. It may, therefore, be used in
any general arrangement of colours, as it is in the
colouring of nature, in a much larger proportion than

either of the other two primaries. Asa leading colour
in decoration, it is extremely beautiful when in its
HARMONIOUS COLOURING. . 57
proper place. For instance, in the drawing-room of a

summer residence, especially when lighted from the
south, its effect as an archeus or key is cool and re-
freshing, as also in bed-rooms of the same description.
In all variously-coloured manufactures of silk, pure

blue, when properly introduced, is both sparkling and
pleasing ;
but in worsted manufactures, its shades and
tints are the most useful ;
as, probably from some diffi-
culty in procuring a proper dye, it is seldom, if ever,
produced in perfect purity in such fabrics. Pale tints

of blue, or any other cool colour, ought never to be
introduced into warm arrangements. In such cases it
ought always to be used in its deepest hues and shades.

This ought to be particularly attended to by designers
of patterns for manufactures, for the indiscriminate
introduction of light cool tints is a prevailing error
amongst them. It has already been explained, that
warm colours are naturally allied to light, and cool
colours to shade. Light tints are, therefore, when
employed in such designs, enhanced and strengthened
by being of a warm tone, and are consequently neu-
tralised and sunk as they approach to that which is
cool. In the works of the most eminent artists, this
coolness and subordination of the shades, and glowing

warmth in the lights, must be apparent to all who
have paid any attention to the subject.
Green, although the last in the general series which

I have adopted, is the medial or second of the second-
58 THE LAWS OF
ary colours, being a compound of yellow and blue, in

the proportion of three of the former to eight of the
latter ;
the one primary being most allied to light, and
the other to shade. Its melodising colours are of course
these two primaries, and its contrasting colour the re-
maining primary, red. As red is the most decided or
pre-eminent of the primaries, so green is the most neu-
tral and soft of the secondaries, and the most pleasing
and agreeable of all decided hues to the eye. It is
also unlike the other two secondaries in this respect
— that, in its approximation to either of its component

parts, it produces no other distinct denomination of
colour; all its hues retaining the same name. Out of
the union of green with orange arises the lightest of
the tertiary colours, citron ;
and out of that with pur-
ple the deepest, olive, to which it appears particularly
allied.
Green is the natural clothing of the vegetable world,

and, in a certain degree of purity, predominates in the
same ratio of quantity that red is held subordinate.
It is, in that infinite wisdom so conspicuous in all the

laws which govern the universe, in its greatest inten-
sity and depth when the sun’s rays are most powerfully
directed to the earth, thereby counteracting the inten-
sity of their reflection, and refreshing the eye by its
soft and soothing influence. Green, however, like every

other hue in nature’s colouring, seldom appears in ve-
getation in its primitive purity. Hence the beautiful
accordance between the green of the landscape and the

blue of the sky, so evidently assisted in both harmony

and melody by the intervention of the warm and neu-
tral grey, which prevails intermedially in the distance
of the one and the horizon of the other. In its various

hues, green, as may naturally be supposed, is a fa-
vourite colour in decoration, and would be much more
so, were it not that in artificial light its effect is much
deteriorated, becoming in most cases dull and heavy.

The cause of this I have already explained in treat-
ing of yellow and purple. This, however, may in a
great measure be avoided by judicious management in
keeping it in its proper place, and in selecting proper

colours as an accompaniment to it. A rich hue of green
upon the walls of a drawing-room, accompanied by
cream-colour, French-white, and gilding on the cornice,
ceiling, and wood-work, with damask hangings of giraffe
and gold colour, and a suitable carpet, never fails to pro-
duce a pleasing and splendid effect in any light. When
this arrangement is inverted, that is, when the hang-
ings and chair-seats are green, and the walls of a warm
tone, the effect is equally beautiful in daylight ;
but
in artificial light it is injured by the green being neu*
tralised, and the warm tone on the wall rendered more
effective ; thus making that which is principal in the
arrangement, and of the smallest quantity, recede, while
that which ought to retire and be subordinate is brought
forward. This applies to all other colours employed
in decoration, according to their relative powers of re-
flecting or absorbing such kinds of light.
60 THE LAWS OF
Of all decided colours, green may be used with most

freedom in manufacture. In carpets especially it ought
almost always to preponderate. They receive the rays
of light more directly during the day than any other
part of the furniture or decoration ; and this colour is
not only in that light most pleasing, but also relieves

and harmonises others more generally in its various
hues than any other colour. Its bright and vivid hues
and tints are easily neutralised, and seldom produce
crudity or harshness of effect in any arrangement.
Rich and deep tones of green, especially when neutral-
ised towards a tertiary hue, harmonise with and give
value to all denominations of warm colours. Its cooler
hues and shades ought, however, to be used with more

caution; for they are apt to appear blackish and heavy.
The blue, no doubt, predominates in them to the same
extent that it does in the hues of purple called indigo,
yet they have not the same clearness.
As already observed, there cannot be produced any
other absolutely distinct description of colour but one,
and that is by a combination of the three primaries,
or, what is the same thing, any two of the secondaries.
Of the infinite multitude of hues which arise out of

this triple combination, I have in another part adopt-
ed, as the seventh colour, the most neutral of them
all, grey. Those tertiary hues that are distinguished
by a predominance of one of the primaries in their
composition, I have noticed in treating of such primary.

In decorative arrangements, oak may be reckoned of
a citron, and mahogany of a russet hue, and they will

of course bear the relation of these tertiaries to the
other colours with which they are associated.
Black, as already noticed, is produced by the ab-

sorption of the three primaries, and its natural con-
trast is white. It can only be used in large quantities
in arrangements of a cool and sombre character, and
ought always to be pure and transparent. For want
of this quality in the black employed in the generality
of worsted fabrics, it has always a sooty and heavy
effect. It ought, therefore, to be employed in such
manufactures with great caution. Perhaps the most

general error in the colouring of the carpets manufac-
tured in this country, is the too frequent use of black
and white. The deepest shades should never go below
indigo, marone, or brown ; and the highest tints, as
already observed, would be much improved by being

mellowed down by some warm colour. More latitude
may be taken with black in the colouring of silk ma-
nufactures, as it can be produced on that material in
the greatest clearness and depth. Its use in modern
decoration is rather limited, being generally confined
to chair-seats, door-mountings, and dining-room chim-
ney-pieces.
In the decorative painting, however, of Pompeii and

Herculaneum, it was used in much profusion ;
and in
combination with the intense and brilliant colours
which accompanied it, produced the most splendid
;
62 THE LAWS OF HARMONIOUS COLOURING.
effect. This evidently resulted from the perfect know-

ledge possessed by the colourists of that period of the
relative powers of their materials, which seem to have
been in their hands what the keys of a powerful organ
would at the present period be in those of an eminent
composer of music. Yet this use of the brightest and
deepest colours by the ancient Romans was perhaps
more a particular characteristic of style, than a beauty
in their decorative colouring.
Black and its contrasting hue, white, are the two

most dangerous colours in the whole chromatic series
the one being at the bottom and the other at the top
of the scale, they each require particular management.
When an arrangement of rich and intense colours is
here and there interrupted by patches or shadings of

black, as too often happens in patterns of carpets and
other subjects of a similar nature, the effect is harsh
and unpleasant. It ought, therefore, in all such de-
signs, to be accompanied and mellowed by such deep
hues as lie next it in the natural series. White should
in like manner, as before noticed, be introduced by a
gradation of the lightest tints, otherwise the effect will
be spotty and broken.

It will be observed, that the rules I have endeavoured
to lay down are quite general, and, as far as I could*
make them, elementary ;

I therefore leave, in a great
measure, their particular application to those who fol-
low the various professions in which a knowledge of

colours and their relative qualities may be useful.
ON THE APPLICATION OF THE ARTS
OF
DESIGN AND COLOURING

TO
MANUFACTURES.
From the evidence given before a Committee of the

House of Commons, appointed to inquire into the state
of the fine arts, as applied to the manufactures of this
country, it appears that this branch of industry has
suffered greatly from an inferiority in the design and
colouring of our patterns of all kinds of fancy goods,
when brought into competition with those of other
countries.
Mr Smith, one' of the greatest silk-merchants in

London, stated in his evidence before this committee,
that in fancy silks, the superiority of the patterns in

French goods occasioned the sales to be in the propor-
tion of one-half or more of French ; that in fancy rib-

bands, three-fourths of those sold were of French ma-
nufacture, and obtained public favour solely on account
of superiority of design.
64 APPLICATION OF THE
James Skene, Esq., of Rubislaw, the Secretary to

the Board of Trustees for the Encouragement of Ma-
nufactures in Scotland, says —“ It appears to me that
one thing in which the British manufacturer is most
deficient, is a knowledge of colours. At present, as far
as my acquaintance with manufactures goes, I believe
they copy entirely their patterns from France : in
doing so, if they introduce any alteration into them,
they often spoil them ;
and we know quite well, that
any deviation from the regular established and fixed
rules of harmony of colours, produces the same effect

to the eye as any deviation in music from the har-
mony of notes. It produces an equally bad effect ;
and
in placing our manufactures or fancy goods along with
French fancy goods, it has often struck me as a re-
markable circumstance, to see how very little those

rules, which are exceedingly simple, are attended to in
the English copies.”

Mr Crabb, a designer of paper-hangings in London,
states, that the designs of the French room papers are su-
perior, in accuracy of drawing, to those of the English ;
and that the colours are arranged upon some fixed

principle by the French artisan, while in this country,
not being sufficiently instructed, the workman labours

more at random, until he obtains the effect he wishes ?
and this may be as often wrong as right.
Charles Toplis, Esq., a Vice-president of the London

Mechanics' Institute, and one of the Directors of the
Museum of National Manufactures, says, “ Many im-
FINE ARTS TO MANUFACTURES. 65
portant branches of manufacture call for careful culti-
vation of the eye, for the purpose of arranging, assort-

ing, and contrasting colours, which, as an affair of taste,
calls for some portion of a painter’s education and

he adds, “ whatever partakes of the nature of orna-
ment will only be appreciated in a refined age as it is
characterised by grace and elegance of design, and by

delicacy and precision of execution.”
In addition to this evidence, I may add the opinion
of Dr Ure upon the subject. In his excellent work,
the Philosophy of Manufactures, he says, <e
The opi-
nion generally entertained of the superiority of such

French silks as are figured, and which depend for their
beauty on tasteful arrangements, is no more a preju-
dice of mankind, than the feeling in favour of the works
of Raphael and Titian.” * * “ Taste is dis-
played both in the forms and grouping of the figures,

and in the disposition of the colours.”
Of the fact of a total neglect of the rules of harmo-

nious colouring prevailing amongst our manufacturers,
I have long felt convinced, and in the former editions
of this little Treatise, as well as in the present, made
particular allusion to it. Yet I was not aware until
I saw this evidence of the important nature of the sub-

ject, or that it affected so materially the best interests
of the country. I trust I shall, therefore, be excused
for adding a few observations on that subject.

The complaint seems to be, that there are not suffi-
cient opportunities, in this country, for young men

E
studying the art of design ;

and that, consequently,
there is not the requisite knowledge of art displayed

in our manufactures.
It is, no doubt, true, that the cultivation of the fine
arts will, in course of time, improve the perception

and taste of a nation, from the highest to the lowest
grades of society; this is, however, the work of ages,

but the present state of our manufactures demands an
immediate improvement in this particular.
It is remarkable, that while we are so far behind

our continental neighbours in the application of the
rules of art to our manufactures, the British school of
painting should have risen so far above that of every

other country in the world. And this is not all for ;
it must be evident to every one who may be in the habit

of attending our annual exhibitions of modern pictures,
that mediocrity of talent in the fine arts is multiplied

beyond all probable means of employment.
In the first place, 1 believe this want of ornamental
designers, as Mr Skene has distinctly stated in one part
of his evidence, to arise as much from the nature of

the instruction given, as from the want of opportuni-
ties afforded for study. It is seldom that the young
men who are admitted to our drawing academies con-
sider their studies as merely intended to improve them
in the useful arts to which they may be bred. They
almost uniformly imbibe the idea of rising into a higher
sphere ; and seem to have no other ulterior object in
their studies than to leave their humble calling at the
expiry of their indenture, and become artists. I speak

from particular facts which have come under my own
observation. Many an industrious young man, of me-
diocre talent, but possessing sufficient to have raised
him to the head of ornamental painting, have I known
sacrifice himself to a life of penury and neglect from
this vain idea.
I shall here give an original anecdote of the illus-
trious author of Waverley, which relates directly to this
subject. A young aspirant of this kind, during his

apprenticeship, had produced some pictures which at-
tracted the notice of this great man, who, with that

goodness of heart for which he was so distinguished,
took the youth under his particular patronage, and got
him admitted to the academy of the Honourable the
Board of Trustees. This young man, at the expiry
of his indentures, like most others in similar circum-
stances, turned his back upon the humble profession
of house-painting, to which he was bred, and laboured
strenuously to gain a livelihood by painting pictures.

Whether the penetrating eye of this wonderful man
had seen, by the appearance of his protege, the difficul-
ties he was encountering, or by his works, that he had

got a long probation to undergo before attaining emi-
nence as an artist, is not known, probably both ; but on
one occasion, shortly after the expiry of his apprentice-
ship, when he waited upon his patron with a picture
which he had been commissioned to paint, Sir Walter
addressed him nearly as follows :
— “ I have thought
68 APPLICATION OP THE
for some time, that were young men who have a genius
for painting, and who are not possessed of sufficient
patrimony to enable them to follow such a course of

study as alone can raise them to eminence in the fine
arts, to endeavour to improve those professions in which

a taste for painting is required, it would be a more lu-
crative field for their exertion. I know no profession

that stands more in need of this than that to which you
have been bred, and if you will follow my advice, you
will apply yourself to its improvement, instead of strug-
gling with the difficulties that you must meet in fol-
lowing the higher walks of art.” In conclusion, he

encouraged his protege by promising him his own
house at Abbotsford to begin upon, the building of
which had just commenced. I need scarcely add, that
this advice was followed, and the illustrious indivi-
dual who gave it lived to see and acknowledge the sa-
tisfaction he felt from the beneficial effects that result-
ed from it. I trust its insertion here may be equally

serviceable to others, for it would have been well for
many who are now struggling with those difficulties

pointed at in Sir Walter’s advice, had they, at their
outset in life, had such a counsellor.
Various reasons may be assigned for the prevalence
of this mania amongst young men who have had op-
portunities of studying the art of drawing ;
the flat-
tery of their friends ;

injudicious patronage ;
the de-
sire to become, by the quickest and easiest means, a
gentleman, and various others, over which no national
— —
institution can have any control. The most promi-

nent cause, however, seems to be, that nothing is reck-
oned a work of art unless it be a picture. No matter
how superior an ornamental design may be, or how
much study and knowledge may have been required to
produce it, still the production of such, although it may
increase the wealth of the individual, cannot raise him
one step in the scale of society —he is only a mechanic
in the eyes of the public.
On the other hand, no sooner does the youth lay

aside his useful implements, and dash off upon canvas
something like a landscape — often with no eye to
nature, but in servile imitation of some popular painter
—than he seems to be by common consent raised to
the dignity of artist. In short, those branches of the

fine arts that are applicable to manufacture and other
departments of useful industry, do not in this country
hold that relative situation to the more intellectual and
higher branches to which they are fairly entitled.
This is not the case in Italy, as I am informed by an

artist who has studied for several years in that country.*
He says, that in the Academy of the Fine Arts at
Venice there are distinct professors in the following
departments of art :
Architecture — pai nting — sculpture — engra ving

perspective — and ornament ;
and that in this latter
* Robert M‘Innes, Esq.

TO APPLICATION OF THE
branch the pupils are so numerous that the professor

requires an assistant. Their examples are not only
the best ornamental models of antiquity, but fruit,
flowers, and foliage. Every fifteen days they are re-

quired each to make an original design within a given
number of hours —precautions being taken to prevent

deception ;
and according to its merits, advancement
and preference are bestowed.
Dr Ure states, that “ the town of Lyons is so con-
scious of the value of such studies, that it contributes
20,000 francs per annum to the government establish-
ment of the School of Arts, which takes charge of

every youth who shows an aptitude for drawing or
imitative design of any kind, applicable to manufac-
tures. Hence all the eminent painters, sculptors, even
botanists and florists, of Lyons, become eventually as-
sociated with the staple trade, and devote to it their
happiest conceptions.”
Even the Chinese seem to surpass us in directing
the studies of their youth distinctly to their ulterior
object.
A writer on painting, in Arnold’s Library of the

Fine Arts, mentions having seen a Chinese drawing-
book, with progressive examples, where the separate
character of land and water, rock and foliage, were
given in perfect detail ;
and to these were added imple-
ments of various kinds, with figures separate and in
groups, all highly picturesque; and adds, that the
object of all these preparatory studies of the pupil was

to enable him to paint a fan, which was the last ex-
ample given.
I feel quite assured that, were a similar course fol-
lowed in our academies, a sufficient portion of that
genius which at present seems to be all flowing into
one channel, would, like a mill-lead taken from a river,
be directed from that which is merely ornamental to
that which is essentially useful and beneficial to the
country. Art would not suffer from this ;
on the con-
trary, where real genius was discovered, the facilities
of encouraging it would be much greater, and we
should have less of that misapplied, and often selfish,
sort of patronage which fosters mediocre talent until

it is factitiously raised to where it cannot stand, and
is then, by the desertion of such injudicious patrons,
allowed to fall far below its own natural level.
I have attributed selfishness to some of these pre-
tended patrons of art, for I know that they are often
actuated by that feeling. They cannot bring their
minds to encourage those who have really proved
themselves to possess the qualities that constitute the
real artist; the works of such are too expensive, be-
cause their true value is known. Their proteges are
the undeveloped, and they procure the early attempts
of such for a mere pittance. They calculate that these
embryo artists are all to be Wilkies and Allans in their

day, and that their early productions will, like those of
such great men, consequently become highly valuable.
No doubt, some have been successful, and on one occa-

sion, well known to the artists of the present day, cir-
cumstances proved the motive of the patron to be of

this description. In many cases, too, injudicious pa-
tronage is the means of fostering mediocrity, which,

assisted by other circumstances, is sustained in a situ-
ation injurious to the interests of true art. This is
well known, and much lamented among artists them-

selves— I mean such as really deserve the name.
Hence the necessity of national institutions, where
merit alone will receive patronage, and be honoured by
the approbation of those who are best able to be its
judges.
But to return to my subject. — Notwithstanding the
superabundance of mediocre artists, it must be ad-
mitted that there is a want of proper instruction in the
art of drawing, where it would be of most service,
namely, in the populous manufacturing districts ;

and
as this book, being now adapted to the improvement of
manufactures, may probably find its way into those
quarters, I shall add a few hints for the assistance of
such as wish to commence this pleasing and useful
study, and who may not have had any previous in-
struction. The best kind of study to begin with, for
those who intend to direct their attention merely to

ornamental designs for manufactures, is that of flowers
and foliage. When they are perfect in that branch,

they may then soar higher if they please. It is the
fault of most students in drawing to begin at the wrong

end of their studies, by attempting difficult subjects
before they are capable of drawing a single correct

line ;
and this want of knowledge of the first elements
generally sticks to them as long as they live, for in
very few cases do those who neglect the attainment of

this knowledge at the outset ever descend to the
drudgery of doing so afterwards.
A FEW ELEMENTARY INSTRUCTIONS IN ORNAMENTAL DRAW-

ING, WITH HINTS TO THE MORE ADVANCED.
A knowledge of drawing is, next to reading and

writing, an essential branch of education for the manu-
facturer and mechanic, and to every one a source of
enjoyment. The course of study I am about to point

out is within the reach of all —even those in the most
humble situations of life. They will find it of easy ac-
quirement, and a source of continual enjoyment, in the
improved medium through which it will lead them to
view the most ordinary productions of nature. She

shall be their instructor ;
for all that I can pretend to
do is to point out to them a practical mode of receiving

her lessons. To the uninitiated I therefore address
myself ;
and let them not be dissuaded from beginning,
by having no predilection for the study — the more
they persevere, the more they will love it.
In the first place, your attempts ought to be of the
most simple nature, and on as large a scale as you can

conveniently adopt. Therefore begin by procuring a
black painted board or slate, of from two to three feet

square, and with white chalk practise the drawing of
squares, circles, and ovals, without any guide to your
hand. You may make yourself copies of these figures
by the ordinary rules. When you are pretty perfect
at these, upon the proper combination of which depend
all linear harmony, you may practise in the same way
triangles, hexagons, octagons, and such other figures
as arise from the various combinations of the straight
line. Next, by your circular and oval lines, you may
form crescents, circular and flattened volutes, regular
undulations, and other figures, which arise out of their

various combinations, first making an accurate copy to
yourself of each figure by measurement, and continuing

to practise until you can form it by the eye with per-
fect ease. Avoid forming your figures by little bits at
a time ; do each line as much as possible by one sweep

of the hand.
When you find yourself pretty perfect in this kind
of practice, I would recommend you at once to draw

from nature. You may take for your first subject a
cabbage leaf, the larger the better ;
and persevere in
copying it, full size, until you can represent it accu-

rately in outline, with its principal fibres. You may
then vary your practice by adopting other simple sub-
jects of a similar kind, until you find you can do them
all with perfect ease.
Before endeavouring to draw more than one leaf at

a time, you must know a little of perspective. The
most simple mode by which you will attain such know-

ledge of this art as will be most useful for your pre-
sent purpose, is to hang a circular object, such as a
hoop, between you and the window — set it a moving
gently round —recede a little from it— and you will
find that, as one side of it retires and the other comes
forward, the circle which it describes becomes more
and more elliptical until it disappears altogether, and
leaves nothing but a dark line, as if a stick instead of
a hoop were hanging before you. I recommend you

to do this between you and the window, because the
hoop will appear like a dark line, and you will thereby
be better able to mark the change that takes place in

the shape of the circle. Fix it in various positions,
and draw from it, and observe that the least movement
changes its form. A knowledge of this simple fact is
all that you require of perspective in the meantime.*

You may now hang up your cabbage leaf, or that of
any other large and well-developed vegetable, and you
will observe the same change in its figure as it turns
round. Make an outline of its shape while its front
is half turned from you, then bring it from between

you and the light, and place it where the light will
• Those who wish to prosecute the study of perspective will find

plenty of elementary works upon this art. An excellent method of
teaching it is adopted by Messrs Simson of Edinburgh, in their academy.
They place before their pupils figures of pyramids, cubes, spheres, and
cylinders, of a convenient size, to stand on a table, and cause them to
make accurate perspective copies of each figure by the eye alone. These
models are also very useful in the study of light and shade.
fall upon it, with its face half turned from you as when
it hung before the window. Take your outline, and
within it draw the principal fibres as you see them.
To do this properly will require a great deal of prac-
tice, but it will pave the way to your being able to

draw the most complex groups of flowers and foliage
that can be placed before you. You may now hang
before you a small branch of any tree or plant with
two or more leaves upon it —the larger the leaves are
the better ;
and endeavour to make outlines of them,
varying their shape according to their perspective, as
already described ; be particular on this point, for a
great deal depends upon it. I knew an intelligent
tradesman so unaware of the simple fact of a circular
object altering its shape by being seen obliquely, that

he returned his portrait to have all the buttons made
quite round ; for, although they appeared so at a little
distance, he found they were not, by actual measure-

ment, like those upon his coat.
To gain anything like a tolerable accuracy in this
first stage of your lessons may occupy from six weeks
to two months ; that is, supposing you only practise at
leisure hours.
You may now lay aside your chalk and slate, and
provide yourself with a few sheets of common cartridge
paper, and some pieces of common charcoal — that made
from lime-tree is the best. Stretch a whole sheet of
your cartridge paper upon your board by a wafer or a
little paste at each corner. Place before you a cab-

bage, cauliflower, stalk of dock leaves, or any such
large vegetable, and they will be more picturesque if
the outer leaves are hanging loose. Copy these care-

fully in outline, using your charcoal gently, that any in-
accuracy may be easily dusted off. A large thistle with

its foliage is likewise an excellent example, but more
difficult. Indeed, you cannot go wrong in your choice ;
hemlock, fern, nettle, are all worthy of your study.

From these the richest and most effective of gothic
ornaments were taken by our forefathers. The more
you study such subjects, the more beauty and grace
you will find in their forms. I need not here remind
you of what suggested the richest of pure architectural
ornaments, the Corinthian Capital —a basket with a

weed growing round it.
'
Your next practice should be light and shade.
Bruise a bit of your charcoal to powder, take a piece
of any kind of cloth upon the point of your finger,
dip it into the powder, and rub it upon such parts of

your outlined subject as you observe in the original
do not receive the direct light of the window, and
where it appears lightest touch your copy with your
chalk, leaving the clean cartridge paper intermedially
as a middle tint. Carry on with this sort of practice
for some months.

For the coarse paper upon which you have hitherto
practised, you may now substitute what is called
drawing cartridge, which, instead of being merely fixed
at the corners, must be pasted all round the edge ;

pro-
vide yourself with a black lead pencil, a swan quill
hair pencil, and Indian ink. Commence as formerly by

sketching your subject lightly with charcoal, as itismore
easily erased ; and when you have got it quite correct,
go over it with your black lead pencil. Rub down
plenty of the Indian ink, for much of the freedom of
your work will depend upon the wholesale way in
which your shades are washed in. When you have
diluted this to the requisite degree of depth for your
lightest shades, paint them in with your camel hair pen-

cil. Let this first shading dry ; then give another
coating where the shades appear deeper, and darken
the mixture for the deepest touches. Continue this
practice for six months before attempting smaller sub-
jects than those I have described. You will now find
little difficulty in copying the best examples of either

ancient or modern ornament that can be laid before
you ;
but flowers are your best practice, as you will
now have obtained sufficient freedom, from practising
upon the large subjects that I have recommended, to
prevent you from getting too finical and minute. I
cannot lead you farther :

you must go to a drawing-
master, to attain a knowledge of using oil or water
colours. But should your patterns be adapted to da-
masks merely, you will have no use for this, unless for
your amusement.
I am aware that this course of study would be

useless to many, were the present style of patterns in
their particular branches of manufacture to continue in
fashion; for many of these designs are a jumble of

forms of the most nondescript nature. Improvement,
however, is loudly called for, and I trust these simple
instructions may prove a first step towards it.
To those who have gained a facility in copying the

beautiful forms which prevail in the vegetable kingdom,
and who have had such instructions in the use of water
colours as may enable them to copy individual flowers
with ease, I would recommend the acquirement of a
thorough knowledge of the laws of harmonious colour-
ing. They will then be able to group and arrange
flowers in the most agreeable and effective manner in
regard to colour, as their previous experience must

have taught them to accomplish in combination of
form.
Dr Ure says, that “ The modes in which taste is
cultivated at Lyons deserve particular study and imi-

tation in this country. Among the weavers of the
place, the children, and every body connected with de-
vising patterns, much attention is devoted to every
thing in any way connected with the beautiful, either
in figure or colour. Weavers may be seen in their
holiday leisure gathering flowers, and grouping them
in the most engaging combinations. They are conti-
nually suggesting new designs to their employers, and
are thus the fruitful source of elegant patterns.” Hence
the French flower patterns are remarkably free from

incongruities, being copied from nature with scientific
precision.
All these facilities for the improvement of our fancy

manufacturers are within the reach of the most humble.
The pursuit of such a course of study as I have en-
deavoured to point out, would not only augment their
sources of innocent pleasure, but lead them to other
instructive pursuits. The youth, in searching for the

most graceful and picturesque plants in Nature’s most
profuse and wildest productions, would be naturally
led to commence the study of botany ;
for he would
then have some interest in the enquiry. And it may
be easily imagined with what avidity the more ad-
vanced would add to this knowledge of that pleasing
science, or the gratification he would derive from the
study and practice of horticulture.
I need scarcely point out the advantages to be de-
rived from the cultivation of flowers by those engaged
in designing ornamental patterns. The productions
of a well managed flower garden to such would be, in my
opinion, of more real utility, as objects of study, than
the contents of the Louvre. In those productions of

nature they will find the most exquisite beauty and
elegance of form, and, even in single flowers, the most
perfect combinations of colouring.
In saying that the study of such subjects is of more

utility to the ornamental designer than that of those
great works of art which have been the admiration of
ages, I do not mean to undervalue the benefit that any

one, and especially the artist, may derive from study-
ing works of this description. I am aware that “ the
eye has its principle of correspondence with what is
just, beautiful, and elegant, and that it acquires, like
the ear, an habitual delicacy, and answers, with the

same provisions, to the finest impressions. Being,
therefore, versed in the works of the best masters, it
soon learns to distinguish true impressions from false,
and grace from affectation.”* I have therefore not

the least doubt, that those who have risen to some de-
gree of eminence as ornamental designers, would reap
great benefit in attaining a knowledge of the various
styles and subtleties of colouring, by carefully study-
ing and copying, in masses of colour alone, the best
works of art to which they can get access, and apply-
ing these arrangements to the particular figures of their
patterns.
An eminent artist, now residing at Rome, in writing

to me of decorative painting, says, “ Why should we not
have rooms on all principles and harmonies of colours

—a Rembrandt, a Rubens, a Titian, and a Paul Ve-
ronese —with the furniture and ornaments correspond-
ing to the character and tone of the apartment ? I
would extend it even to the introduction of flowers of

a suitable colour and character. Lucullus’ hall of
Apollo would grow dim before a saloon of Titian.”
* Webb’s Inquiry, &c.

F
82 APPLICATION, &C.
This would certainly be a great refinement in deco-

ration, and is worthy of the particular attention of
those engaged in such matters. But how much more
practically easy would it be for the designer of the
pattern of a carpet, a shawl, or such other variously-
coloured article, to adopt the hint ? Yet it ought
always to be kept in mind, that the studying or copying
of pictures, in any way, is merely an auxiliary, and
that anything like an approximation to perfection in
ornamental designs or colouring, can only be attained
by having recourse to Nature herself, “ who,” as Sir
Joshua Reynolds says, “ is always at hand ;

and, in
comparison of whose rules, the best coloured pictures
are but faint and feeble.”

REMARKS ON THE
MECHANICAL DEPARTMENT
OF
HOUSE-PAINTING.
In a country like Great Britain, House-painting is an

art of great importance, in so far as it is conducive to
the durability and comfort of our dwelling-houses, by
preserving them from the effects of a changeable cli-
mate and humid atmosphere. I trust, therefore, that
these few remarks on the mechanical department of

the art will be found of some general interest.
It is weil known that the ceilings and walls of

apartments in dwelling-houses and other buildings of
this country are now almost uniformly finished in
plaster; and the nature and properties of this compo-
sition are also well known. One of these properties is
its power of absorbing moisture : consequently, when

an apartment is left for any length of time without the
benefit of a fire, or heated air supplied by other means,
the plaster will continue to absorb a portion of the hu-
;
84 REMARKS ON
midity with which the atmosphere is generally loaded

and this absorption will not only render the room un-
wholesome, but will tend to impair the durability of
the plaster itself.
The first object, therefore, in decorating a house

ought to be to render the interior walls impervious to
this absorption, and the only way by which this can be
attained is to paint them. The materials employed
in plain painting are : —white lead, linseed oil, spirits
of turpentine, litharge, sugar of lead, japanners’ gold

size, ochre, Venetian red, lamp black, Indian red,
Turkey and English umber, terra de Sienna, red lead,
Prussian blue, orange lead, chrome yellow, vermilion,

lake, and other pigments. But white lead is the ma-
terial of the greatest importance, as it is the principal
ingredient in all ordinary colours used in house-paint-
ing ;
indeed, it generally constitutes nine-tenths of the
composition, and consequently forms the main body of
the paint. The quality of this article is therefore of
the greatest importance, as upon it depends almost en-

tirely the durability of the work ;
yet it is of all the
painter’s materials the most difficult to get free of
adulteration. The painter buys it ground in oil, to
the consistency of a thick paste, which operation is now

performed by machinery on the premises of the manu-
facturer instead of being done by a clumsy hand-mill
as formerly in the painters’ shops ; and of it there are
three qualities, the prices of which vary, according to
that of pig lead, from about 27s. to 40s. per cwt. But
HOUSE-PAINTING. 85
this difference in the price of white lead is trivial in
comparison with the mode in which it is sometimes

adulterated. This is done by the introduction of fine
whiting, the cost of which is about 5s. per cwt. ;

and,
as detection is very difficult, the temptation to adulter-
ate on the part of the manufacturers is proportionally
great. But how much greater must it be to the needy
tradesman, who can employ it alone instead of white
lead in the two first coats of his work, with scarcely a
possibility of his employers knowing any thing of the

matter ? This in some measure accounts for the great
difference that exists in the prices of painters’ work.
The injury done to paint by the admixture of whiting

is, that it not only renders it of a much less compact
body, but, causing it to be more easily acted upon by
the atmosphere, renders it much more liable to be
blanched and destroyed by repeated washings.
Linseed oil, being the principal diluent, stands next
in importance. It varies but little in quality, and is
seldom adulterated : the superiority of one kind over

another consisting entirely in its clearness, and being
of a moderate age. It is sometimes boiled, which
gives it a great facility in drying, but renders it too
thick and unctuous to be much used for interior work.
Spirits of turpentine, of which a great deal is now
used in house-painting, is also rather uniform in
quality ; but varies greatly in price according to the

state of the market. Perhaps the only difference in
its quality consists in the manner in which it is dis-
86 REMARKS ON
tilled ; and it is easy to distinguish what has been

properly done, by the absence of the resinous matter
which is generally to be found in that which has been
distilled with less care.
Litharge and sugar of lead are purchased by the

painter in a dry state, and ground by him in oil into
a paste of a thick consistency, and used to dry and

harden paint. They do not vary much in point of
quality. Japanners’ gold size is a liquid of which

there are various qualities, the price being from 10s.
to 1 8s. per gallon. It is used for the same purpose.
Several of the colouring pigments are equally various
in quality, and the house-painter, in laying in his
stock, can suit it exactly to the rates of prices at which
he works ;
some of them varying from 9d. to 8s. per
lb. according to the quality, and others, such as ochre,

from 2d. to Is. per lb. These are the principal ma-
terials employed by the house-painter in the plain de-
partment of his work ;
and it will now be necessary to
give some account of their application.
To paint plaster properly, five coats are generally
requisite ;
but where it is not of a very absorbent na-
ture, four are found to answer. The first is composed
of white lead, diluted with linseed oil, to rather a thin
consistency, in order that the plaster may be well sa-

turated ;
and into this is put a small quantity of li-
tharge to ensure its drying. In painting quick plaster,

the oil in this coat is entirely absorbed, thereby hard-
ening it to the extent of about the eighth of an inch

HOUSE-PAINTING. 87
inwards from the surface. When this is found to be
the case, the second coat should also be thin, that the
plaster may be thoroughly saturated ;
and it will be
found necessary after this to give other three coats,

making in all five. The second coat will be found to
be but partially absorbed, and it is therefore requisite
to make the third coat a good deal thicker, and to in-

troduce into it a little spirits of turpentine, and such
of the colouring pigments already enumerated, as may
bring it somewhat near to the tint of which the apart-
ment is to be finished. The fourth coat should be as
thick as it can be well used, and should be diluted with
equal parts of oil and spirits of turpentine. The
colour of it ought to be several shades darker than that
which is intended for the finishing coat, and the dry-
ing ingredient, sugar of lead instead of litharge. These
coats ought all to be laid on with much care, both as
to smoothness and equality, and each lightly rubbed
with sand-paper before the application of the other.
The finishing or flatting coat, as it is termed from its
drying without any gloss, is next applied. It ought,

like the others, to be composed of pure white lead,
ground as already described, and diluted entirely with
spirits of turpentine ; and it should appear, when
mixed, a few shades lighter than the pattern chosen
for the wall, as it darkens in the drying. The drying
ingredient should be a small portion of japanners’ gold
size. This coat must be applied with great care and
despatch, as the spirits of turpentine evaporate very
88 HE MARKS ON
rapidly, and if touched with the brush after that takes

place, which is in little more than a minute after its
application, an indelible glossy mark will be left on

the surface. Nothing has been said of the time that
each of the coats will take to dry sufficiently to receive
the next, as that depends much on the state of the
weather, the quantity of dryer employed, and the at-
mosphere kept up in the apartment. It may be ob-
served, however, that under any circumstances the
first coat ought to stand a few days before the appli-
cation of the second ; the second a little longer before
the application of the third ;
and the third, unless in
four coat work, should have still longer time to harden.

But the coat, immediately before the flatting or finish-
ing coat, ought not to stand above two days, as much

of the beauty and solidity of the work will depend on
the latter dying into, and uniting with the former.
The description of this process might be sufficient
to convince every one, that there could be no better
mode of rendering the plaster of which the walls of
our apartments are composed, impervious to the effects
of our changeable and humid climate. In the first
place, it hardens the surface, and then forms a compact

and smooth incrustation, upon which the dampness of
the atmosphere can only condense when any sudden
change takes place in the temperature. This is often
exemplified in stair-cases, where the wall gets so low
in temperature during a continuance of cold weather,
that when a change takes place, the condensation is so

IIOUSE-PAINTING. 89
great, that the water runs in streams upon the steps.
How, then, may it be asked, can any one employ

paper-hanging, or any other absorbent mode of finish-
ing, in such apartments ? It ought to be well known,
that in such cases the moisture, instead of being con-
densed and rendered easily removeable, is absorbed
and gradually given out in connection with the na-
tural effluvia of glue, rotten paste, and other noxious
materials.
In many cases it has been found that this substantial

style of painting is too heavy in its effect for ceilings,
which .require a degree of aerial lightness, especially
in drawing-rooms, boudoirs, and such like apartments.
In these cases, therefore, the absorption is stopped

by two coats of paint, and when these are quite dry
and hard, a coat of what is called distemper colour is
applied ; that is, white lead ground in water, and di-

luted with size of the purest kind. In ordinary apart-
ments, fine whiting may be substituted in distemper
work for white lead.
The painting of the wood-work of such apartments

as are not fitted up with oak or other hard woods, is
a process very similar to that employed upon plaster,
not only when it is to be finished plain, but also as a
ground-work for imitations of the foreign woods now

in use : only each of the coats should be thicker, and
applied with still more attention to smoothness. The
imitating of woods and marbles may be termed, in
90 REMARKS ON
house-painting, a link between that #hich has been

already explained, and is essentially plain, and that
which is really ornamental. It has of late been
brought to such perfection, that in some cases, where
the real an<J the imitation oak are brought into juxta-
position, it is scarcely possible, even after examination,
to distinguish the imitation from the reality. Imita-

tions of marble have in some cases been brought to
equally great perfection, but this is far from being so
general.
The process of painting imitations of woods is, in
the first instance, as already observed, to lay a ground-
work of four or five coats of paint, taking the greatest

care that no brush marks remain. This requires much
more time than applying the same number of coats for
plain finishing ; and the last coat, instead of being
flatted, is composed of equal portions of oil and spirits
of turpentine. The shades and grain of the wood are

given by thin glazings of Vandyke brown, terra de
Sienna, or umber, according to the kind of wood to be
imitated ;
which colours are ground in water and mixed
with small beer, the tenacity of which is sufficient to
prevent it rubbing off by the application of the var-

nish which immediately follows. All imitations of
woods are painted in this way, except wainscot, for
which a thick substance is requisite, in order that it
may receive the impression of an ivory or horn comb,
by which the peculiar grain of that wood is imitated.

HOUSE-PAINTING. 91
The varnish employed upon work of this kind is copal,
which, of all the materials used by the painter, is that
in which he has most latitude. The price of copal
varnish is from 10s. to 42s. per gallon ; so here again
he can suit his materials to the price which he receives

for his work.
The imitation of marbles has nothing very peculiar
in its mode of execution, being more like actual paint-
ing than that employed in imitating wood and on this ;
account it depends more on natural taste than on me-

chanical skill.
The ornamental department is likewise making

great strides towards its ancient excellence, and, owing
to the improved taste of the present age, is beginning
to be somewhat in demand. What is meant by the

ornamental department, is the decorating of the walls
of apartments either by original designs of pannelling
and borders, or by careful imitations of Raffaelle’s ara-
besques, Watteau’s grotesque pannellings, and the

Pompeian frescos ; as well as decorations in imitation
of basso relievo, in white and gold, polichrome, and

various other styles.
The want of general instruction in art, and the
prevalence of the use of paper-hanging, have tended to
retard the progress of ornamental painting ; but the
former cause is, by the establishment of schools for
ornamental design throughout the country,* in a fair
The following is the Prospectus of the Society established in Lon-

— ————
92 REMARKS ON
way of being removed ;

and the latter will soon give
way to the rapid improvement which is taking place
in public taste.
don, for the purpose here alluded to, and to the Committee of which the
fourth edition of this Treatise has been dedicated.
GENERAL COMMITTEE.
Chairman , William Ewart, Esq.
Deputy- Chairman , — James Elmes, Esq. Architect, Surveyor of the Port of London.
Treasurer , — Sir John Dean Paul, Bart.
Hon. Secretary , Hyde Clarke, Esq.
Philip Barne9, Esq. F. L. S. B. R. Haydon, Esq.

W. M. Chatterley, Esq. Sec. Botanical John Howell, Esq.
Society. G. D. O. Jephson, Esq. M.P., F. G. S.
A. H. Clarke, Esq. William Maugham, Esq.
Mr Timothy Claxton. John Melville, Esq. F.S.S., M.R.l.
Mr Anthony Crosby. Mr Anthony Morton.
Thomas Deare, Esq. William Ord, Esq. M.D.
Howard Eiphinstone, Esq. F.R. S., G. S., Charles Payne, Esq.
H.S. Sir Martin Archer Shee, P.R.A., F.R. S.
Edwin W. Field, Esq. George Hume Weatherhead, Esq. M.D.
Mr Edward Godwin. Thomas Wyse, Esq. M.P., F.S. S., &c.
Samuel Harrison, Esq. J. Ashton Yates, Esq. M.P., F.G.S.
Bankers ,
—
Messrs Snows, Strachan, & Pauls.
Hon. Solicitor, Alexander Henderson M‘Dougal, Esq. M.R.l.
Hon. Librarian John Friend, Esq.
,
Assistant Secretary and Collector Mr W. Vialls. ,

—
SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
Chairman, — Sir John Dean Paul, Bart., D.C.L.
Deputy -Chairmen, — Philip Barnes, Esq., F. L. S., and Thomas Dears, Esq
Hon. Solicitor , Mr Athony Mornton.
Mr Raphael Cossomini. James Loft, Esq.

A. De Mouchet, Esq. Mr George Lowe.
Mr Christian Dresch. Mr George Phillips.
Angus Fletcher, Esq. Mr John Purden.
John Friend, Esq. Mr C. A. Rivers.
Mr William Geeves. Mr William Sounes.
Mr James Jenkins. Thomas Wirgman, Esq.
Alexander Lee, Esq.
The operations of this Society are founded upon the Report of the
— .
HOUSE-rAINTING. 93
Parliamentary Committee, of which Mr Ewart was the Chairman, and

which consisted of Lord Francis Egerton, Sir Robert Peel, Messrs H.
T. Hope, Ridley Colborne, Wyse, Howard Elphinstone, Jephson, &c. &c.
Its object is to spread a Knowledge of the Arts among the People, and to
shew the various modes of applying them to the different branches of
Trade and Manufactures. A Branch Society has been formed at Man-
chester to act in connexion with this Central Society, and similar
Branches are in progress elsewhere.
There is scarcely any pursuit with which the Arts are not immediately
or remotely connected. The Enginemaker, the Builder, the Upholsterer
and Decorator, the Coachmaker, the Goldsmith and Jeweller, the Pat-
tern Drawer, the Engraver and Printer, the Tailor, and many more, are
by profession either Designers, Modellers, or Colourists.
These objects of the Society will be carried into effect by the following
Courses :
General — 1. Drawing, with Elementary Geometry, Optics, and Per-

spective.
2. Modelling and Construction, in Clay, Wax, Wood, Cork,
Metal, &c.
3. Light, Shade and Colour, with Optics, Perspective, and
Chemistry.
Secondary — 1 Human Figure and Anatomy, from Casts, and from the
Living Figure.
2 . Zoology, with Classification and Comparative Anatomy.
3. Botany, with Classification and Structure.
Ornament and Heraldry, with the Elements of Style.
5. Architecture.
6. Machinery, with Practical Geometry, and the Elements of
Mechanics.
Technical — In which these Courses of Instruction will be specially ap=

plied to the respective trades.
Instruction is imparted by means of Classes, every Evening during the

week, except Saturday, from Six o’clock until Ten ; accompanied by
Lectures on every Tuesday and Friday at Quarter-past Eight o’clock
precisely.
A Museum of Casts and Models of all kinds, and a Library of the best
Foreign and English Books and Engravings, applicable to the pursuits of
the Pupils, are in progress.
It is proposed to open a School for Females, (many of whose pursuits
are intimately connected with the Arts,) under the superintendence of
competent Female Teachers, who have offered their assistance.
—
94 REMARKS ON HOUSE-PAINTING.
A One Guinea per annum constitutes an Annual Member of the
Subscription of
Society, and ofTen Guineas, a Life Member. Subscribers have the privilege of
admitting^One Youth, as a Free Pupilj and Donors, One Adult, as a Free Pupil, for
every Guinea Donation.
Subscription to the Schools , Lectures , Library , and Museum :
For Pupils under Sixteen Years of Age . 2s. 6d. per Quarter.
For Older Pupils 4s. 0 d. Ditto.
Admission to Lectures, Library, and Museum, only 2s. (id. Ditto.
THE END.
EDINBURGH PRINTING COMPANY.

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WC’ if -* I : IV ,

“ Every opportunity should be taken to discountenance that false and vulgar

CHAIRMAN AND MEMBERS OF COMMITTEE

SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING PRACTICAL DESIGN,

THE FOURTH EDITION OF THIS TREATISE

IS, WITH THEIR PERMISSION,

AND OBEDIENT SERVANT,

The error of considering the arranging of colours, as

ent opinions in regard to colours, both individually

particular styles of colouring ;

the deep and grave. Some have a partiality for com-

who wishes to cultivate that pleasing art. It is pre-

cisely the same in regard to colouring ;

the effect on the eye must be unpleasant; and the more

have been thoroughly understood by those great paint-

art of internal decoration. Those travellers who have

visited the remains of the magnificent cities and tombs

gular system of harmony, which had for its basis those

laws that still continue to be the study of followers of

refinement, seem to have applied this science to the

manner in which the colours are arranged in the de-

coration even of the most ordinary dwellings. Accord-

colours, without either discord or crudity resulting

an official capacity for the encouragement and im-

* James Skene, Esq., of Rubislaw.

provement of our national manufactures, attributes

knowledge of, and attention to, the rules of harmony

dently becoming one of the characteristics of our na-

sider it a necessary step towards the attainment of this

published the first and second editions of this little

Treatise; the success of which, my increased experience,

variously coloured manufactures, and indeed to every

effect. I likewise added a few observations on the

The present edition I have improved as much as lay

in my power, especially by a more convenient classifi-

cation of the various parts of the subject, and a few

Edinburgh, April 30 1838

ON THE THEORIES OF COLOUR,

When I first published this Treatise there existed

Isaac Newton, and adopted by Sir David Brewster,

covered or confirmed by Sir Isaac Newton in the fol-

In the window-shutter of a darkened room he made

equal angles. This ray, which before the introduction

peared of an oblong form, and composed of seven dif-

ferent colours of the greatest brilliancy, imperceptibly

orange, and red. This is called the solar or prismatic

white light can be separated into its elements.

could not separate it into an oblong image, or any

but seemed only to be established in a practical point

with the general simplicity of nature, and I could not

produce what art could do by three. For instance, an

artist can make all the colours, and indeed a correct

The following discovery, made by Buffon, and illus-

me in the conviction, that the scientific theory might,

like that of the practical artist, be reducible to three

simple or homogeneous parts. If we look steadily for

rounded by a border of another colour. And this

colour will uniformly be found to be that which makes

green, which is composed of blue and yellow ;

the border will be orange, composed of yellow and red ;