OF THE THREE PRIMITIVE COLOURS.

The Three Primitive Colours are the basis of a perfect system, and may be reduced, in order of degradation, into perfect black. Their communion comprehends all other colours; and their effects, under the influence of light and shade, make pictures.

Yellow is the light; Red, the medium; and Blue, darkness;—colours of themselves, that cannot be produced by the mixture of any other.

Hayter says, in his Compendium: 'Secondly—Yellow, red, and blue contain the sole properties of producing all other colours whatsoever, as to colour, by mixtures arising entirely among themselves, without the aid of a fourth.

'Thirdly—Because, by mixing proper portions of the Three Primitives together, black is obtained, providing for every possible degree of shadow.

'Fourthly—And every practical degree of light is obtained by diluting any of the colours, as above producible; or, in oil painting, by the mixture of white paint.

'Fifthly—All transient or prismatic effects can be imitated with such coloured materials as are of the Three Primitive Colours, but only in the same degree of comparison as white bears to light.

'Sixthly—There are no other materials, in which colour is found, that are possessed of any of the foregoing perfections.

YELLOW.RED.BLUE.
Yellow and Red make Orange, Yellow and Blue make Green, Red and Blue make Purple,
ORANGE.GREEN.PURPLE.
Orange and Green make Olive, Orange and Purple make Brown, Green and Purple make Slate,
OLIVE.BROWN.SLATE.

'These nine colours are all that are distinguished by integral names.

'Thus it will be seen, that Yellow, Red, and Blue produce—first, Orange, Green, and Purple; and these produce Olive, Brown, and Slate, making nine.

'Yellow, Red, and Blue, make Black.

'And this is the compendium and whole of the system of the degradation of colours into Black, or perfect darkness.

'Warm Effect is produced by
'White, Yellow, Orange, Red, Purple, Indigo, Black.
'Cold Effect is produced by
'Black, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Pale Yellow, White.'

The Three Primitive Colours, by the endless varieties of their solvents, regulate, more or less, the whole economy of a picture; and the abundant stores of nature are faithfully imitated by their agency. Thus, the Primitives being red, blue, and yellow, the colours produced by their combination are purple, orange, and green; these, in their turn, may be extended to every tint that exists. The junction of the Three Primitives absorb all, and form neutral tint, which, by the addition of quantity, produces black.

All the contrasts are rendered from the same.

And here it may not be out of place to remark how men will devote themselves to many idle pursuits that return them nothing, while a little study of the noble theory of colour would enable them, without pushing the matter far, to bring to their firesides reminiscences of their travels, or, otherwise, spots endeared by circumstances, together with a thousand other agreeable associations. They would learn in time to look at nature through the medium of art, and find a delightful interest in it they never anticipated; while every hour so spent would more and more exercise and mature the judgment.

A knowledge of the natural chalks, or colours of black, white, and red, is indispensably necessary. So, a perfect acquaintance with the Three Primitives, blue, red, and yellow, is of equal consequence; that blue and yellow are brought together by red; and that all mixtures are the scientific result of the union of these three, no two of which will produce the third. The result of the mixture of any two gives the contrast to the absent one:—as red and blue, producing purple, is the opposite to yellow; blue and yellow make green, the contrast to red; red and yellow, producing orange, contrasts blue; the three, blended together, gives us black: neutral tint is the result of the same mixture. A perfect knowledge of mixing tints, from this scale, will produce all the compounds necessary to art, and their admixtures may be varied ad infinitum.

The neutral tint mentioned may be so varied, as to act in perfect union as the shadow to any one of the colours composing it.

The modes or systems of obtaining these results of colour, as practised by the greatest schools, are exceedingly different. Sir Joshua Reynolds says: 'They may be reduced to three. The first may be called the Roman manner, where the colours are of a full and strong body, such as are found in the Transfiguration. The next is that harmony which is produced by what the ancients called the corruption of colours, by mixing and breaking them till there is a general union in the whole: this may be called the Bolognian style. The last manner belongs properly to the ornamental style, which we call the Venetian, being first practised at Venice; but it is perhaps better learned from Rubens. Here the brightest colours possible are admitted with the two extremes of warm and cold, and those reconciled by being dispersed over the picture, till the whole appears like a bunch of flowers.

'As it is from the Dutch school the art of breaking colour may be learned, so we may recommend here an attention to the works of Watteau, for excellence in the florid style of painting.

'To all these manners there are some general rules, that never must be neglected. First, that the same colour which makes the largest mass be diffused, and appear to revive in different parts of the picture; for a single colour will make a spot or blot. Even the dispersed flesh-colour, which the faces and hands occasion, requires a principal mass, which is best produced by a naked figure. But where the subject will not allow of this, a drapery, approaching to flesh colour, will answer the purpose; as in the Transfiguration, where a woman is clothed in drapery of this colour, which makes a principal to all the heads and hands of the picture. And for the sake of harmony, the colours, however distinguished in their light, should be nearly of the same simple unity in their shadows; and to give the utmost force, strength, and solidity to the work, some part of the picture should be as light, and some as dark as possible. These two extremes are, then, to be harmonized and reconciled to each other. Pure black, in these instances, is opposed to the contrary extreme of brightness.

'If to these different manners we add one more, that in which a silvery grey, or pearly tint, is predominant, I believe every kind of harmony that can be produced by colours will be comprehended. To see this style in perfection we must again have recourse to the Dutch school, particularly to the works of the younger Vandervelde, and the younger Teniers, whose pictures are valued by connoisseurs in proportion as they possess this excellence of a silver tint.

'Which of these different styles ought to be preferred, so as to meet every man's ideas, would be difficult to determine, from the predilection which every man has to the mode which is practised by the school in which he has been educated; but, if any pre-eminence is to be given, it must be to that manner which stands in the highest estimation with mankind in general, and that is the Venetian style, or rather the manner of Titian, which simply considered as producing an effect of colours, will certainly eclipse, with its splendour, whatever is brought in competition with it.'

In landscape painting, the routine of placing one colour by the side of another according to any known or understood systems, is not so imperative as when applied to historical painting, and where the manner and effect of any particular school is to be produced.

To institute a comparison between all who have excelled in colouring, would be useless here, differing so entirely. But of Tone:—The rich, and the mellow, and the silvery grey, are cared most for, as regards this expression. It involves all colours in its meaning, as well as the depth and power of the light and shade, when divested of colour. It is frequently produced after the picture is painted, by glazing or toning over it until the required depth and expression of colour is obtained, and mostly adding richness, splendour and variety. In water colour it is highly and essentially prized.

A beautiful quality of tone is obtained from drawing on grey or coloured paper, with black, white, and red chalks, the colour of the paper supplying the middle tint, (which should always pervade the largest space). It is likewise an admirable principle to adopt in water colour, as it qualifies the whole appearance of the work, and the student will proceed with greater certainty.

Of the situations in which a colour appears most beautiful, Leonardo says, 'Black is the most so in the shade; white, in the strongest light; blue and green in the half tint; yellow and red in the principal light; gold in the reflexes, and lake in the half tint:' and 'the lighter a colour is in its nature, the more so it will appear when removed to some distance; but with dark colours it is quite the reverse.'

Some colours are rather unsociable, and, not mixing well with others, are best used by themselves, producing the required tint by glazing one over the other.

When any transparent colour is laid over an opaque one, or another of its own quality, it produces a mixture different to either of those that compose it; as lake over blue gives purple; yellow on blue produces green, and so on. In many cases this is a superior method to that of mixing them at once to the colour desired.

White is the receiver of all colours; black of none.

Any single colour appears most beautiful and brilliant when near the same colour, but not having so much density in it. Observe how colours are blended or contrasted in the plumage of birds, the wings of butterflies, &c.

The shifting, blending, and comparing a number of coloured cards, has always been found a useful and amusing way of instructing children in a knowledge of colours.

Different coloured pieces of glass held up against a landscape, will serve to show, through their medium, the varieties of hot and cold effects.

Certain colours impart value to others, principally by contrast; thus, the brilliant and rich glow of an autumnal evening is rendered most intense when the dark brown and neutral masses of foliage are brought up against it: it is only to their relative situations that they owe their power.

That part of a white object which is nearest to a dark one, will appear the whitest, and the less so as it is removed from it. The same occurs by a dark one.

All colours will appear most perfect in themselves when contrasted with their opposites—a green against red; blue against yellow; black against white, &c.

Where one colour terminates on another, that is its contrast, there will be greater strength exhibited at the junction than in the middle.

Great darkness is only obtained by the opposition of bright light, and bright light by contrasting it with density of shadow.

Colours should recede in proportion to the size of objects, as they retire from the eye.

Too frequent a repetition of the same colour will produce monotony; so will too much contrast.

Contrasts in colouring must be used with great caution, or the absence of all keeping will be the result. At the same time, the beauty of a colour is only fully developed by being placed by the side of its opposite, or the one from which it is farthest removed.

If the blacks in a picture are kept firm and decided, they clear up the general effect, and give lightness and buoyancy to the whole work.

A colour is often left single, and standing by itself, in some principal object; in which case, it is so contrived, by its density, or some other quality, to bring together and harmonize all the rest.

If colours are not placed in harmony with each other, they must be in contact with such as give them value; as red against a cold, or green against a warm colour. In short, the grand principle, in all its constituent parts, simply amounts to this.

The strongest darks, brought in contact with the strongest lights, increase their brilliance, by giving to the lights the utmost force and clearness they can receive.

Richness of colouring can only be adopted when the general tone of the picture is sufficiently dark to support it.

All colours retire in proportion to their negative or neutral character; and as they develope themselves, gradually approaching to their brightest point, so they reach the prominent parts of the foreground.

Rich, warm, and deep shadows, will support the strongest colours; and if the browns are kept cool, the greys and cold colours retain their purity better. The colours that unite the hot and cold parts of a picture require the nicest judgment: thus, white and black may be brought together by grey, (grey being made of white and black); blue and red, by the interposition of purple, (purple being formed of blue and red.)

The larger the mass employed of neutral and obscure colours, the greater will be the force and illumination in the clear ones, which, being in their natures most attractive, should always be employed in parts intended to create the greatest sensation.