THE HARMONY OF COLOURS,

      The following arrangement of the same colours will be not necessary
that all the reds in a picture should be of
   found more agreeable:-                                    a bright vermilion
colour; on the contrary, the picture will
                _ ~  - -                              -  -    gain in beauty
if one should be of a dull earthy red, another
                                                              bright red,
a third crimson, and so on through all the scale of
           0   :   1 0e                         3              j colour.
This principle is acted upon by all the best colourists.
     ,0 E... E X X X X X X E L.5     0                 Q                
              as I wil l mention one instance only among the old masters.
In
        0 e 0 0 $        Ca very fine picture by Titian in the Church of
Sant' Afra, at
                               _____________  ~ ~   ~     IBrescia, there
are eleven figures or parts of figures; The
                          ii I                    I          ~~~~~~~~~Saviour
is dressed in a lake-coloured drapery, the lights of
              I 1001  106  1 il~lltl i@1ll  11  A     X     Sawhich are pink,-he
has loose upper drapery of dark rich
                   _______________________________________green. The figure
on his left is dressed in light warm green.
                                                              The dress of
the woman is light yellow shaded with blue, her
      In this arrangement the darks and the brilliant colours, ample upper
drapery is a rich and dark maroon. Another
    such as orange and scarlet, occur at regular intervals; all the figure
is dressed in green, and two others in different shades
    inharmonious contrasts of the first diagram are avoided, and of red,
inclining to maroon and crimson. The blue shades of
    the colours are arranged, as nearly as the materials will permit, the
woman's dress are repeated in a blue sash over the red
    according to the laws of contrast. Light and dark blue are drapery of
another figure, and in the dark blue of the sky.
    opposed to orange; scarlet is contrasted with green, and green  The light
yellow is also repeated in two other parts of the
    with violet.                                              picture. Thus,
out of the eleven figures, four are dressed in
      Another defective arrangement consisted chiefly of reds and red, and
three in green; and yet, while the principle of repe-
   blacks with one green, yellow, and russet; the last three of tition has
been acted upon, a due regard to variety has been
   which are, with very bad taste, placed in one corner, The observed.  Among
modern artists we need only refer to
   following would be an improvement:                        Sir Charles
Eastlake's beautiful scripture-piece in the Vernon
          l___________________________________________        Gallery, in
which some part of the drapery of six figures out
                                                              of the eight,
which the picture contains, is of a red hue, and
                 l  a. v ~ >  D I X  ,,  * | > i  *           yet great
variety is preserved. We find this principle carried
                               m m                              o;t ;1>
     ;|M|; IP ;|;;|out in the foreign arrangements, in which red is frequently
                     nI~~mvr ~~~ ~~v  rr~~'' ~the prevailing colour; but
while the red tint is clearly per.
                     hIIU~~~~I Iii'~~~i~~  ~ ~                ceptible at
proper intervrals, the individual hue of each piece
                     ~~ IhI~~~~f~~ii  ~ ~ ~   ~  ~            of stuff is
so varied tlhat all monotony is avoided.
            [ it ll~t [i~LiiL4IiUL~l~If~iThe manner in which the principles
of repetition and variety
                                                              are recognised
and acted on in the foreign departments, will
     Not only is the effect of dark and light obtained by this be seen by
the following diagram. In the space allotted to a
   disposition, but symmetry also, from the central position of manufacturer
of Klagenfurt, the principal colours are scarlet,
   the isolated colours, which are so arranged as to offer no orange, black,
white, blue, green, and some of the semi-neutral
   inharmonious contrast. These examples are sufficient to show  colours;
they are arranged with excellent effect thus
   how much the arrangement of goods of different colours may
   be improved by a little attention to the contrast of colour,         
         -
   and to light and shade.
     Besides form, light and shade, and colour, there are other l  l  l1
V. principles which must be considered in the decorative arts, |    * <
              K 1 1 1.
   namely, fitness for the end proposed-repetition, and variety. |  :' I,
I X 4  l
   With the first, the subject now under discussion, has little or |  1 ;
|
   no connexion; the importance of the second and third has             
             I               I
   been always acknowledged by all who study design.
   Ii The principle of repetition is observed in architecture,ß
   when   prinipe of aepeitin  is ob         in arcitecture   In another
arrangement the pieces of cloth are so disposed
      whnboth sides of a building, of a door-way, or of a window, that the
blacks and very dark colours occur about every fourth
   correspond; it is observed in pictures or coloured decorations  the lighte
broken  colours ben ur   at evends,
   when the same colours are repeated in different parts of the tpiee, brightes
  lroken   the Centren
   design: if, for instance, the north and south sides of the the brightest
and lightest in the centre.
           Cr lPalace had been different, the general effect would  Another
means of producing contrast and variety, of which
   have wanted the symmetry which is found in the uniformity some of the
exhibitors in the Zollverein department have
                                                              availed themselves,
is that of the opposition of cold with warm
   of thebr, the repetition of the Colo in    n the sae    colours. These
are further contrasted by the cold colours
           mannr, he epeitio  ofthecolurs 'in a picture adds greatly  bigteted
as lights, and the warm colours as shades, and
   to its beauty and harmony; a single spot of colour is looked beig trea
   upon by artists as a blot. The last diagram will show the vice versa.
 The broadeloths of Messrs. Keltwig & Co., are
   advantage of attending to this principle in decoration,  thus arranged:-
     If the repetition of forms and colours in works of
   art is considered a beauty, perfect uniformity is, on the
   contrary, a defect. The eye requires variety also.  How        W   d 
 C          C              Warmdark Colours,
l  much less beautiful would the Crystal Palace have been, had    and cool
light  Dark and Light    and cool light
   it consisted of the nave or transept only! Whereas, by       Colours alternately.
 alternately.  Colours alternately.
   placing these at right angles to each other, the principle of Ill    
               _     -_l         _l
   repetition is kept in sight, sufficient uniformity is preserved,
   and va~rietypisobtatinhed bythe opeln space in the centre of the  The
same attention is paid to the proper contrast of colours,
   cross occupied by the sparkling glass fountain. And here it by avoiding
harsh and iharmonious oppositions, and while
   may be observed, that, whenever it is wished to give one part sufficient
bright colour is introduced to produce a rich effect,
   prominence over others, that object should not be repeated the value of
this bright colour is enhanced, and repose is given
   either in form or colour. In the exposition of goods for sale, to the
eye, by the introduction of dark and semi-neutral
   this should never be the case; the object in all arrangements colours.
Addison remarks in the essays before quoted, that
   of this kind being to place the whole of the goods exhibited  " where
the colours of a picture are well disposed, they set off
   .in the most favourable point of view,                     one another,
and receive an additional beauty from the advan-
     In pictorial arrangement variety of colour is obtained by tage of their
situation."  The same remark is applicable to
   the introduction of different hues 'of the same colour, and of all the
decorative arts which depend upon colour for their
   different degrees of brightness.  For example, although it effect; the
degree of pleasure received in contemplatin them
   is proper to repeat certain colours, as red, for instance, it is is, as
has been before observed, regulated more by their


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