The laws of contrast of colour : $b and their application to the arts of painting, decoration of buildings, mosaic work, tapestry and carpet weaving, calico printing, dress, paper staining, printing, military clothing, illumination, landscape, and flower gardening, &c.Chevreul, M. E. (Michel Eugène)
Science
The laws of contrast of colour : $b and their application to the arts of painting, decoration of buildings, mosaic work, tapestry and carpet weaving, calico printing, dress, paper staining, printing, military clothing, illumination, landscape, and flower gardening, &c.
Chevreul, M. E. (Michel Eugène)
Color
250. Some remarks appear to me also necessary to prevent false
deductions from the above propositions. In the preceding examples, the
colours, including white, black, and grey, are supposed to occupy an
equal extent of surface, and to be placed at equal distances apart, for
without these conditions the results will be different; for example, I
have preferred the assortment white, red, white, yellow, white, to the
assortment white, red, yellow, white. There are some cases in which the
latter is preferable to the former, as in the arrangement of flowers
in gardens, especially yellow and rose flowers, which present less
coloured surface than the white flowers with which they are associated.
251. I have spoken of the good effects of black and green separated,
and I may add that green designs upon a black ground are also
agreeable; but it does not follow that black lace upon a green stuff
will have a good effect, at least on the optical quality of black, for
this acquires a rusty tint, which resembles a faded colour.
252. The more colours are opposed, the easier it is to assort them;
because they do not experience by their mutual juxtaposition, any
modification which renders them disagreeable, as generally happens
to colours which are very nearly alike. Must we then conclude that
with two colours which have in this case been indicated to an artist
to be employed, with some liberty to modify them, he should endeavour
to increase the effect of contrast rather than that of analogy?
Certainly not; for frequently the latter is preferable to the former.
For example:—Take orange-red and a pure red, instead of increasing the
yellow in the orange-red, or of giving a violet hue to the red, it
sometimes will be preferable to incline towards the harmony of scale or
of hue, by endeavouring to make the orange one of the light tones of a
scale whose red will be brown.
253. In conformity with this manner of observing, when we would avoid
the bad effect of two adjacent colours by white, black, or grey, we
must see whether, instead of a harmony of contrast, it may not be
better to obtain the harmony of analogy.
254. Finally, when we bring into combination not normal grey, but a
coloured grey, we are always sure of obtaining an effective harmony of
contrast by taking a grey coloured with a complementary of that opposed
to it. Thus an orange-grey or carmelite-brown or maroon has a good
effect with light blue.
FIRST DIVISION.—IMITATION OF COLOURED OBJECTS WITH COLOURED MATERIALS
IN A STATE OF INFINITE DIVISION.
INTRODUCTION.
255. Coloured materials, such as Prussian blue, chrome-yellow,
vermilion, &c., are infinitely divided, so to speak, either when ground
pure, or mixed with a white material, in a gummy or oily liquid.
The reproduction of the images of coloured objects with these pigments
is called the _Art of Painting_.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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