A 
 
 TREATISE ON PAINTING. 
 
 IN POUR PARTS. 
 
 CONSISTING OF 
 
 AN ESSAY ON THE EDUCATION OE THE EYE 
 
 WITH REFERENCE TO 
 
 PAINTING, 
 
 AND 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS ON COMPOSITION, CHIAROSCURO, AND 
 
 COLOUR. 
 
 THE WHOLE ILLUSTRATED BY 
 
 lEyampLs from tijc Italian, 'Fcncttan, Jflmtdj, anil JDutd) ^djools. 
 
 BY JOHN BURNET, E.R.S. 
 
 NEW EDITION. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 HENRY SOTHERAN & CO., 136, STRAND. 
 
 1880 . 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2018 with funding from 
 Getty Research Institute 
 
 https://archive.org/details/treatiseonpainti00burn_1 
 
AN ESSAY 
 
 ON 
 
 THE EDUCATION OF THE EYE 
 
 WITH REFERENCE TO 
 
 PAINTING. 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
AN ESSAY 
 
 ON 
 
 THE EDUCATION OE THE EYE 
 
 WITH REFERENCE TO 
 
 PAINTING. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY COPPER PLATES AND WOOD CUTS. 
 
 EY JOHN BURNET, E.R.S., 
 
 AUTHOR OF PRACTICAL HINTS ON PAINTING. 
 
 Visual impressions are those which in infancy furnish the principal means of developing the powers 
 of the understanding; it is to this class of principles that the philosopher resorts for the most apt and 
 perspicuous illustrations of his reasoning, and it is also from the same inexhaustible fountain that the 
 poet draws his most pleasing and graphic as well as his sublimest imagery.”— Dr. Roget's Bridgewater 
 Treatise. 
 
 FOURTH EDITION. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 HENRY SOTHERAN & CO., 136, STRAND. 
 
 1880 . 
 
l o n d o n : 
 
 PRINTED BY WATERLOW AND SONS LIMITED, 
 
 LONDON WALL, E.C. 
 
TO 
 
 WILLIAM ALLAN, R.A., 
 
 MEMBER OF THE SCOTTISH ACADEMY, 
 
 AND 
 
 MASTER OF THE TRUSTEES ACADEMY 
 
 FOR ENCOURAGING THE ARTS AND MANUFACTURES OF SCOTLAND, 
 
 THIS ESSAY 
 
 its fascribcfc, 
 
 IN TESTIMONY OF THE 
 
 AUTHOR’S REGARD. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 In prefacing a work of this brief description, where so many 
 branches of the Art of Painting are introduced with little 
 more than an enumeration of their component parts, I ought 
 to apologise, in the first instance, for thus attempting to 
 convey any information which can be carried into practical 
 usefulness in so small a compass: my motive for so doing was 
 to give, if possible, an insight into the intricacies of the Art. 
 without distracting the attention of the reader by a multitude 
 of examples, whose union often destroys the strong impression 
 of a single illustration. Though the varieties of painting 
 are endless, yet the properties of which these varieties are 
 composed are, as in music, few in number; I have endeavoured, 
 therefore, to notice only the leading principles which must 
 be known, and which by reflection and observation can be 
 extended to an infinite series of ramifications. The same 
 simple rules which should regulate the instruction of beginners. 
 I have endeavoured to point out as existing in the highest 
 departments of the Art communicating by their presence that 
 value which a vein of gold imparts to a mass of inferior matter. 
 To some it may appear that the subject is too physically treated. 
 
Vlll 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 I have been actuated so to do by the custom of the present time, 
 and surely every one ought to know something of the construction 
 of that instrument he is in possession of, and of its operations on 
 the mind. In what I have advanced, I have quoted the opinions 
 of the best authors to corroborate and strengthen my own, 
 thereby hoping to render an Art by which civilized society is so 
 highly embellished, more known and appreciated. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 Measurement. 3 
 
 Form. 3 
 
 Perspective. 4 
 
 Lines. 6 
 
 Diminution. 7 
 
 Angles. 9 
 
 Circles.11 
 
 Aerial Perspective.22 
 
 Chiaro Oscuro. 28 
 
 Invention .34 
 
 Composition.40 
 
 Arrangement.52 
 
 Harmony.56 
 
 Form.56 
 
 Ciiiaro Oscuro.60 
 
 Harmony of Colour.63 
 
 Studying from Nature.66 
 
LIST OF PLATES. 
 
 Page 
 
 Plate 1.26 
 
 Plate II .36 
 
 Plate III.45 
 
 Plate IV .52 
 
 Plate IV*.54 
 
 Plate V .58 
 
 Plate VI .63 
 
 Plate VII. 
 

 » 
 
 
AN ESSAY 
 
 THE EDUCATION OE THE EYE 
 
 WITH 
 
 REFERENCE TO PAINTING. 
 
 I N a country so largely connected with manufactures as this is, we cannot 
 hut wonder why the education of the eye has not been more generally 
 cultivated ; observing, as is also the case with the ear, that its education 
 in after life rarely gives the possessor those advantages which result from 
 a proper direction having been given in youth : nor do I see why drawing 
 should not accompany the elements of reading and writing, the complicated 
 forms of the letters in many languages presenting a more serious obstacle 
 than what is required in the rudiments of drawing; and I have no doubt 
 but that a very short time would he sufficient to enable a scholar to draw 
 objects with tolerable correctness. Without this education, not only are 
 the most valuable advantages often lost, 1 hut the mind is deprived of one 
 
 1 Locke, whose attention was turned to this branch of education, says, “ when he can write 
 well and quick, I think it may be convenient not only to continue the exercise of his hand in 
 writing, but also to improve the use of it further in drawing, a thing very useful to gentlemen 
 
 B 
 
2 
 
 AN ESSAY ON THE 
 
 of its chief sources of correct information, and the hand remains in a 
 manner paralysed and unable to record what the eye takes cognizance of; 
 whereas when they advance in mutual contact through a course of early 
 instruction this difficulty is overcome. This ready execution of the hand 
 is to he acquired only by constant practice; for however readily the eye 
 may perceive the form of an object, the power of delineating it on the 
 paper or canvass is where the apparent difficulty lies, it is here where its 
 correctness is put to the test; how much constant practice perfects this 
 chain of communication between the eye and the hand, may he proved by 
 the facility with which a person acquires the power of writing in the dark, 
 or with his eyes shut. This quick communication, however, is not to he 
 purchased at the expense of correctness, which ought to he the greatest 
 consideration; for if the eye, or ear, falls into a loose, imperfect method 
 of study, the student finds the greatest difficulty in getting rid of such 
 unprofitable groundwork. In advocating the advantages of this branch 
 of education, it is not my province to raise up chimeras, or what might 
 he considered sufficient reason for deferring it. Those who have the 
 
 on several occasions, but especially if he travel, as that which helps a man often to express in a 
 few lines well put together what a whole sheet of paper in writing would not be able to repre¬ 
 sent and make intelligible. How many buildings may a man see, how many machines and 
 habits meet with, the ideas whereof would be easily retained and communicated by a little skill 
 in drawing, which being committed to words are in danger of being lost, or at best but ill 
 retained in the most exact descriptions 1 I do not mean that I would have your son a perfect 
 painter; to be that to any tolerable degree will require more time than a young gentleman can 
 spare from his other improvements of greater moment; but so much insight into perspective, 
 and skill in drawing as will enable him to represent tolerably on paper anything he sees, may, 
 I think, be got in a little time.”— Locke's Thoughts concerning Education. 
 
 “ With regard to the practice of drawing, it will be proper to incite the scholars to industry, 
 by showing in other books the use of the art, and informing them how much it assists the 
 apprehension and relieves the memory, and if they are obliged sometimes to write descriptions 
 of engines, utensils, or any complex pieces of workmanship, they will more fully apprehend 
 the necessity of an expedient which so happily supplies the defects of language, and enables 
 the eye to receive what cannot be conveyed to the mind any other way .”—Preface to the 
 Preceptor. 
 
EDUCATION OF THE EYE. 
 
 3 
 
 instruction of youth entrusted to them, I am confident, would find it rather 
 an assistance, as it might he given either as an amusement or as a reward 
 of merit; and, in order to put it in the power of any master to instruct, I 
 shall endeavour to proceed in the simplest manner, and with as few 
 diagrams as the subject renders necessary. 
 
 MEASUREMENT. 
 
 To teach the eye to measure the distance between one object and another 
 ought to be the first proceeding; the forms of the lines which bound these 
 spaces, the shapes contained or excluded by such lines ought to follow, 
 for as the eye must have something tangible to work upon, it ought to be 
 simple and evident. I should therefore commence by a series of dots or 
 points, first two, then three, four, and five; also the angles made by 
 drawing lines from each several point. A pair of compasses will enable 
 any one to compare their correctness with the original, for until a pupil 
 can accomplish pretty correctly these preliminaries, it is useless to hasten 
 to more complicated matters. 
 
 Fig. 1. 
 
 EORM. 
 
 All forms containing more or less portions of a triangle, square, or 
 circle, the eye must be taught to comprehend and imitate such objects in 
 their simple forms, in order to fit it for the purpose of seeing such 
 qualities when mixed and combined with more complicated figures. 
 
 e 2 
 
 * 
 
4 
 
 AN ESSAY ON THE 
 
 I would now recommend these forms to be cut out in paper, and 
 viewed in various situations, being set upright, and also viewed in a 
 horizontal position, that the eye may become thoroughly acquainted with 
 the figures in all their variety of shapes, and with the causes of their 
 alterations in form. 
 
 Fig. 5. Fig. 6. Fig. 7. 
 
 I would also recommend the pupil to draw from a cube and a ball, 
 that the eye may become early accustomed to draw from the real objects, 
 in place of flat surfaces, which will give him a power in drawing from 
 nature unattainable by any other method. 
 
 PERSPECTIVE. 
 
 Many have been deterred from attempting to learn Drawing from the 
 dread of encountering so formidable a department of the art as Perspec¬ 
 tive ; whereas, if it is stripped of its geometrical and mathematical 
 intricacies, it will be found a very simple matter, and easy of compre¬ 
 hension." Perspective, as the word denotes (being a compound of the 
 
 2 “ Long calculations or complex diagrams affright the timorous and unexperienced from a 
 second view, but if we have skill sufficient to analyse them into simple principles, it will be 
 discovered that our fear was groundless. Divide and conquer is a principle equally just in 
 
EDUCATION OE THE EYE. 
 
 Latin words per, through, and specto, to view) is the art of drawing the 
 several objects as they appear when traced upon a glass, or transparent 
 medium; the art of drawing in perspective, therefore, is nothing more 
 than representing the various objects subject to those laws which regulate 
 their appearance in nature 3 . 
 
 science as in policy. Complication is a species of confederacy which, while it continues united, 
 bids defiance to the most active and vigorous intellect, but of which every member is separately 
 weak, and which may therefore be quickly subdued if it can be broken. The chief art of learning, 
 as Locke has observed, is to attempt but little at a time; the widest excursions of the mind are 
 made by short flights frequently repeated.”— Dr. Johnson. 
 
 3 “ It was in the sixteenth century that Perspective , a new branch of optics, was revived, or 
 rather invented ; this is more a business of geometry than optics, and is indeed more an art than 
 a science ; but since it is derived from optical principles, and as the use of it is to give pleasure to 
 the eye by a just representation of natural objects, I would do wrong not to give a short account 
 of its rise and progress. The art of perspective owes its birth to painting, and particularly to 
 that branch of it which was employed in the decorations of the theatre, where landscapes were 
 principally introduced, and which would have looked unnatural' and horrid if the size of the 
 objects had not been pretty nearly proportioned to their distance from the eye. We learn from 
 Vitruvius that Agatharchus, instructed by Eschylus, was the first who wrote upon the subject, 
 and that afterwards the principles of this art were more distinctly taught by Democritus and 
 Anaxagoras, the disciples of Agatharchus. Of the theory of this art, as described by them, we 
 know nothing, since none of their writings have escaped the general wreck that was made of 
 ancient literature in the dark ages of Europe. However, the revival of painting in Italy was 
 accompanied with a revival of this Art. The first person who attempted to lay down the rules 
 of perspective was Pietro del Borgo, an Italian. He supposed objects to be placed beyond a 
 transparent tablet, and endeavoured to trace the images which rays of light emitted from them 
 would make upon it; but we do not know what success he had in this attempt, because the book 
 which he wrote upon the subject is not now extant. It is, however, very much commended by 
 the famous Egnazio Dante ; and upon the principles of Borgo, Albert Durer constructed a 
 machine, by which he could trace the perspective appearance of objects. Balthazar Perussi 
 studied the writings of Borgo, and endeavoured to make them more intelligible; to him we owe 
 the discovery of points of distance, to which all lines that make an angle of forty-five degrees 
 with the ground line are drawn. A little time after, Guido Ubaldi, another Italian, found that 
 all lines that are parallel to one another, if they be inclined to the ground line, converge to some 
 point in the horizontal line, and that through this point also a line drawn from the eye. parallel 
 to them, will pass. These principles put together enabled him to make out a pretty complete 
 theory of perspective.”— Priestley's Optics. 
 
 Since then the Jesuits' Perspective, Brook Taylor's, Malton's, and others, have rendered the 
 most difficult and intricate diagrams clear and comprehensible. 
 
6 
 
 AN ESSAY ON THE 
 
 LINES. 
 
 All lines are subject to an alteration in their appearance, except two, a 
 perpendicular line and a horizontal one; and lines are more or less 
 diminished in length according as they depart from the parallel of the 
 hase line; for example, if a person holds a pen or a stick parallel with the 
 eyes, and gradually turns it round, he will see it gradually become 
 shorter, until it assumes a mere spot when it is placed with the point 
 directly towards the eye, as it then covers what is termed the point of 
 sight, being a point immediately opposite the observer’s eye, and upon the 
 horizontal line, which is always of the height of the eyes of the spectator; 
 and as it is turned round it will describe innumerable points along the 
 whole line; these are termed accidental points, and vary according as the 
 lines run more or less at right angles from the base line. Lines also vary 
 according as they are situated above or below the observer’s eye ; for 
 instance, if a hook is held up horizontally before the eye, the under cover 
 will be seen when held above, and the lines of its sides appear to run 
 
 Fig. 8. 
 
 Horizontal 
 
 down to a point on the horizontal line. "When underneath the eye, the 
 upper cover will be seen, and the lines describing the sides appear to rise 
 
EDUCATION OP THE EYE. 
 
 7 
 
 up to the horizontal line 4 . Before proceeding further, for the better 
 understanding the several lines already mentioned, and showing how they 
 are affected, I shall give an explanatory figure. 
 
 Fig. 9. 
 
 Horizontal line. 
 
 The above represents a cupboard with folding doors ; being placed imme¬ 
 diately before the eye, the sides appear to rise and descend to the point of 
 sight, A; also the door, b, from its being opened at right angles with the 
 base line, while the lines of the door, c, appear to run to the accidental 
 point, d ; this point will vary its situation according as the door is more 
 or less opened, which explains what ore termed accidental points. 
 
 DIMINUTION. 
 
 All objects diminish in size as the spectator departs from them, hence two 
 parallel lines seem to approach each other as they recede from the eye; 
 and this diminution will appear more or less sudden, according as they 
 commence from a near point, or one more removed : for example, if the 
 
 4 The truth of this may be also clearly proved if a person holds up a piece of glass on which a 
 series of lines are drawn, radiating from the centre ■ for by looking through it either up a 
 street, avenue, or long room, he will perceive those lines of the pavement, buildings, Ac., which 
 are at right angles with the base line, fall in with and cover many of the lines so drawn on the 
 glass, for as they all run to the point of sight, they will of necessity converge, since the spaces 
 between them diminish as they recede from the spectator. 
 
8 
 
 AX ESSAY OX THE 
 
 hand is held near the eye, it will intercept a larger space than when held 
 out at arm’s length. 
 
 Objects diminish in an increased ratio until removed to a certain 
 distance, when the diminution appears less violent; this may be made 
 apparent by the following diagram. 
 
 Fig. 10. 
 
 Horizontal line. 
 
 Let the line a represent the spectator, and the line b represent a line of 
 pavement, the circular line c, which cuts through the visual rays 5 as they 
 approach the eye, will show the diminished ratio as the squares become 
 more distant. And as they have to be represented upon a plain surface, 
 their proportions will be as the divisions on d, they will therefore present 
 the following appearance to the eye. 
 
 When, therefore, objects are commenced too near, they appear out of 
 
 5 Imaginary lines reaching from various objects to the eye. 
 
EDUCATION OF THE EYE. 
 
 9 
 
 proportion with the other objects in the work, and though true according 
 to rule, appear false, with regard to their effect upon the eye of the 
 spectator. This is termed violent or sudden perspective, to avoid which 
 a point of distance is chosen that will look agreeable. The breadth of the 
 squares being determined by the diagonal line running to the point of 
 distance where it cuts through the lines of the pavement, which run to the 
 point of sight, the farther this point is removed the more level the ground 
 will appear; as represented in Fig. 12. 
 
 Point of 
 distance. 
 
 ANGLES. 
 
 What we have hitherto said more immediately applies to parallel perspec¬ 
 tive ; so named from all the lines which intersect those running to the point 
 of sight, being parallel with the base line. When, however, a square, or 
 any cubical form, is viewed at the angle, the two sides will not appear to 
 vanish in the point of sight, hut run to two points on the horizontal line, 
 called vanishing points; and this mode of treating the subject is called 
 angular perspective. Now these two points are always at an equal distance 
 from each other, which is one-fourth of a circle, therefore if one is deter¬ 
 mined upon, the other is easily found; for as one departs from the point 
 of sight, the other appears to approach it, as any one may perceive by 
 turning round a sheet of paper, or a book, from a situation where one side 
 is parallel with the base line, until it is viewed upon the angle; the 
 
 c 
 
10 
 
 AN ESSAY ON THE 
 
 cause of this perhaps may be more clearly explained by the following 
 figure. 
 
 O 
 
 Fig. 13. 
 
 Suppose the circle to represent the line of the horizon, which is the 
 true representation of it when viewed out at sea, or where no obstruction 
 intercepts it, for then the water coming in contact with the sky, presents a 
 circular horizontal line. If a person, therefore, was placed at d, and 
 looking to the point a, the line c would be parallel with the base, being at 
 right angles with a, and consequently occupying one fourth of a circle; 
 but if he turned in the direction of b, then a and c would become vanishing 
 points, though still at equal distances upon the horizontal line, and would 
 appear thus, 
 
 Fig. 14. 
 
 In a panorama, which is a circular canvass, viewed from the centre, 
 this mode of measuring the various points is found to agree perfectly 
 with the natural representation of objects. 
 
EDUCATION OF THE EYE. 
 
 11 
 
 CIRCLES. 
 
 If any one takes a drinking glass or cup in liis hand, with the mouth of it 
 towards him, and gradually turn it from him, carefully watching it passing 
 through all the elliptical forms, until the brim becomes a straight line in 
 appearance, he will have a correct idea how it is that columns, or other 
 circular objects, assume an oval shape at the top or bottom, according as 
 they are below or above the eye. Or if he holds the cup with the side 
 downwards, and turns the mouth gradually round towards him, he will per¬ 
 ceive the cause why arches, or circular gateways, appear elliptical in a side 
 view. It arises from parts of the circle being more foreshortened than 
 other parts ; that is to say, those parts which come more in the line of the 
 visual rays. For example, let a circle be divided into equal parts, and 
 
 Fuj. 15 . 
 
 suppose the eye of the spectator placed at a, those parts which lie in the 
 
 c 2 
 
12 
 
 AN ESSAY ON THE 
 
 direction of the rays of vision, b, occupy less space on the line, c, which 
 cuts through them, and when drawn upon a flat surface would present an 
 appearance like d, Fig. 16. Or imagine a line drawn through the centre, 
 parallel with the base line, and which accordingly retains its exact length, 
 those portions of the circular line which lie in the same direction are 
 less diminished; while the other parts, lying in an opposite direction, 
 naturally become subject to the greatest degree of foreshortening, as in 
 Fig. 17. 
 
 Fig. 17 
 
 Having now gone through the several forms of a triangle, square, and 
 circle, I shall here recapitulate the influence of Perspective upon their 
 several lines. We have seen that lines are shortened according as they 
 fall in the direction of the visual rays, and retain their original length 
 only when they cut them at right angles; now this takes place wherever 
 the objects are placed, whether near the foreground or in the distance; 
 the eye of the spectator being a point from which imaginary lines radiate 
 in any direction, and which are termed rays of vision, and along which 
 imaginary lines all objects are received upon the retina; 6 and though in 
 painting we are obliged to delineate every thing upon a flat surface, yet 
 properly speaking, the line which cuts through these rays at equal 
 distance from the eye is circular. We have seen also, that all objects 
 diminish in size according to their distance from the spectator: and 
 that this diminution is more or less sudden according to the closeness 
 
 A epler, who in 1600 was the discoverer of the seat of vision on the retina, says, as to the 
 images of objects being inverted in the eye, it is the business of the mind to trace the progress 
 of them through the pupil, and refer them to those places of the objects themselves from which 
 they seem to have proceeded. 
 
EDUCATION OF THE EYE. 
 
 13 
 
 of the spectator to the object; upon this matter the taste and judgment 
 of the artist is shown, because though true according to nature, yet it 
 may he represented with a very bad effect, and one figure of a group, or 
 one column of a row, may be rendered preposterously large, so as to 
 offend the eye, which, though at all times pleased with the truth, yet will 
 be more delighted when that truth is rendered agreeable 7 . When this 
 distortion takes place in reality, we naturally change our position, until 
 the eye is satisfied; but in painting, the whole being a flat surface, we 
 change our position in vain. 
 
 We have also seen that all horizontal surfaces of objects diminish in 
 breadth as they approach the horizontal line, and regain their true width 
 when they depart from it, either by being immediately above the eye, or 
 directly under it, as may he perceived by the following diagram. 
 
 7 Reynolds, in a note upon Fresnoy’s Art of Painting, says, “ the rules of perspective, as well 
 as all other rules, may be injudiciously applied, and it must be acknowledged that a misapplica¬ 
 tion of them is but too frequently found even in the works of the most considerable artists. It 
 is not uncommon to see a figure on the foreground represented near twice the size of another 
 
14 
 
 AN ESSAY ON THE 
 
 Now this rule applies to all flat surfaces, whether approaching the 
 horizontal line, in consequence of their distance from the spectator, or 
 from being placed at different degrees of height; for if they reach the eye 
 in the direction of an angle of forty-five degrees, which is equidistant 
 between a perpendicular and a horizontal line, they will be diminished 
 in apparent width exactly one half; if they are viewed at a greater or 
 smaller angle, they will increase or diminish in the same degree. This is 
 also the cause why surfaces of objects whose lines are at right angles with 
 their base line increase in length as they depart from the point of sight, 
 either to the left hand or to the right, as may be seen by turning the 
 diagram round, and making the line on which the eye of the spectator is 
 placed a horizontal line in place of a perpendicular. This may appear 
 too much a repetition of what has already been said respecting the cause 
 of objects becoming foreshortened; but as it is the base on which all rules 
 for true drawing are founded, it must be viewed in every position, that the 
 student may thoroughly comprehend it. 
 
 When the mind of the student is informed of the various causes 
 operating upon lines so as to change their appearance to the eye, let him 
 look abroad upon natural objects, and contemplate the various changes 
 produced in their forms by their situation, so that his eye may become 
 familiar with those alterations in form, and his mind enriched by a variety 
 of examples ; thus making nature furnish him with a thousand diagrams, 
 
 which is supposed to be removed but a few feet behind it ; this, though true according to rule, 
 will appear monstrous. This error proceeds from placing the point of distance too near the point 
 of sight, by which means the diminution of objects is so sudden as to appear unnatural, unless 
 you stand so near the picture as the point of distance requires, which would be too near for the 
 eye to comprehend the whole picture; whereas if the point of distance is removed so far as the 
 spectator may be supposed to stand in order to see commodiously, and take within his view the 
 whole, the figures behind would then suffer under no such violent diminution.” 
 
EDUCATION OF THE EYE. 
 
 15 
 
 which he ought to draw and write down his remarks upon; he will by this 
 method not only educate his eye, hut improve his mind at the same time : 
 the study of drawing being intimately connected with observation and 
 reflection. 
 
 Having now endeavoured to explain the leading principles of perspec¬ 
 tive, I shall proceed to put them into practical application; hut I must 
 premise, that it is an essential requisite before proceeding to delineate 
 any object, that we make ourselves thoroughly acquainted with its general 
 character, otherwise the eye cannot convey to us its image distinctly ; 
 neither can the hand render it with energy or precision. Let us take, for 
 example, the human face, the component parts of which every one is 
 acquainted with, yet the niceties of distinction in the several features few 
 eyes can perceive, or render with perfect accuracy. This oftener arises 
 from a want of due examination, so as to he able to guide the eye, than 
 from any deficiency in the eye itself; hence we perceive in the drawings 
 of children and rude nations, a profile with the eye represented as if 
 viewed in front, or a full view of the face with the nose as if seen in 
 profile. To avoid such incongruities, therefore, the eye must he taught 
 to see the changes which take place, and the mind he made acquainted 
 with the causes of such change. 8 In illustration of which, if we take a 
 plaster cast, or mask of the face, such as is represented in Fig. 19, and 
 
 8 Mengs, speaking of design, which he defines as comprehending the outline, or the circuni 
 ference of things, including the proportion of their length, breadth, and form, says, “ this part is 
 composed of two principal divisions, the knowledge of the proper form of a thing, and the manner 
 of seeing it; the one depending upon geometry, the other upon optics : the first implies a 
 knowledge of their optical appearance from the view presented to the sight; this pictorial geometry 
 is necessary to enable the student to delineate with correctness and feeling, and which can only be 
 acquired by careful habit of seeing and drawing with attention. This is the fundamental basis of 
 design, without which it will be impossible to render theoretic knowledge available : for, as in 
 painting, we must express the forms which we see in nature as they present themselves to our 
 sight, and as their beauty depends upon that little more or less which decides their character, so a 
 knowledge of that variation enables us to give a true representation.” 
 
16 
 
 AN ESSAY ON THE 
 
 draw a line down the centre, from the forehead to the chin, we perceive, 
 when viewed directly in front, that it presents a straight perpendicular 
 line, as in No. 1, though actually full of undulations from passing over the 
 
 Fiy. 19. 
 
 No. 1. No. '1. No. 3. 
 
 entire profile, but as these projections and recedings of the line are 
 immediately under each other, they reach the eye in the same manner as 
 if a string was held up before the mask in a perpendicular direction ; if, 
 however, the mask is viewed when turned round half way between a 
 profile and front face, as in No. 2, those parts of the line which recede or 
 project will assume exactly one half of their true character and projection ; 
 while in the profile, No. 3, the line acquires its exact similitude, from its 
 being undisturbed by those laws which regulate perspective. If we were 
 to proceed and examine every feature in the same manner, we should find 
 that the same laws lead us into a correct view of the alterations which take 
 place upon every alteration in position. To explain this more clearly, if 
 we take the mask and hold it with the chin towards us, so as to observe 
 
EDUCATION OP THE EYE. 
 
 17 
 
 the curve on which the mouth is placed, as in Fig. 20, we can easily 
 perceive that a person viewing it in the direction of the lines a b, which 
 
 would give him a view of the face between a front and profile (or what 
 is termed by artists a three quarter), would see one side of the lip of its 
 entire length, while the other side, lying in the direction of the visual 
 rays, would be reduced to a very small space, as may be perceived by its 
 breadth on the ideal line, c, which cuts such rays at right angles. Such, 
 also, is the case with the nose, in the same view of the face ; one side 
 remains undiminished, while the other side forms a mere outline, being 
 seen entirely under the influence of perspective. 
 
 In finishing this part of the Essay, I cannot conclude without reminding 
 the pupil of the extreme importance of the very first preliminaries of the 
 work, teaching the eye the power of measuring the distances between 
 several points, as it is the basis of correct drawing. In drawing a head, 
 if the points where the eyes, nose, and mouth ought to be placed can be 
 correctly put down, one of the greatest difficulties will be conquered, and 
 
 D 
 
18 
 
 AN ESSAY ON THE 
 
 tlie detail of which each feature is composed rendered easy and effective, 9 
 and the same remark applies to the power of combining the several parts 
 of the largest assemblage of objects. The eye marks the distance of one 
 or two leading points, which serve as a station to start from, and by a 
 careful combination of exact dimensions moves over the whole space with 
 a species of ideal trigonometry. Being also educated to observe the 
 variations of the several lines according as they are more or less under the 
 influence of perspective acting upon their form or size, a clear defined 
 outline will be the result; not only unattainable by any other method, 
 hut even if attained, unaccompanied by the power of judging of its 
 correctness. 
 
 The power of seeing objects correctly is gained by a careful exami¬ 
 nation of their general appearance, and of the component parts which 
 produce such general appearance; it is necessary, therefore, before 
 proceeding to delineate any object, to observe it attentively in the first 
 instance, to examine it as a whole, so as to be convinced of its great 
 leading features, the various shapes the principal lights take, also the 
 forms of the darks, what occasions them, and why they are darker at one 
 place than at another; the size and shape of the smaller component parts, 
 where they are congregated most, and where the greatest vacuum is 
 situated, where portions are seen entire, and where they are intercepted. 
 Without the eye taking cognizance of all these before proceeding, it will 
 
 0 Reynolds, speaking of Frank Hals, says, “ in his works the portrait painter may observe 
 the composition of a face, the features well put together, as the painters express it, from whence 
 that strong marked character of individual nature, which is so remarkable in his portraits, and 
 is not found in an ecpial degree in any other painter. If he had joined to this most difficult part 
 of the art a patience in finishing what he had so correctly planned, he might justly have claimed 
 the place which Vandyck, all things considered, so justly holds as the first of portrait painters.” 
 In another place he says, “ the likeness of a portrait consists more in the preserving the general 
 effect of the countenance than in the most minute finishing of the features, or any of the par¬ 
 ticular parts .—Sixth and Fourteenth Discourses. 
 
EDUCATION OE TIIE EYE. 
 
 19 
 
 be impossible to give a just representation, either in the detail or in the 
 general effect; 10 it will, moreover, have a prejudicial influence, in as much 
 
 Fig. 21. 
 
 as it will lead to a style of drawing without feeling, character, or decision. 
 One reason why the drawings of eminent artists are superior to all others 
 is the great intelligence every line indicates, the smallest touch being 
 expressive of the character; another advantage this previous contem¬ 
 plation of the subject has, is the storing of the mind with materials for future 
 occasions, when it is necessary to have recourse to the memory. Knowledge 
 in drawing, as well as in other sciences, is having ready a mass of materials 
 
 10 To illustrate this, we may have recourse to Titian’s hunch of grapes, which we will suppose 
 placed so as to receive a broad light and shadow. Here, though each individual grape on the 
 light side has its light, and shadow, and reflection, yet altogether they make hut one broad mass 
 of light: the slightest sketch, therefore, where this breadth is preserved, will have a better effect, 
 will have more the appearance of coming from a master hand, that is, in other words, will have 
 more the characteristic and generale of nature, than the most laborious finishing, where this 
 breadth is lost or neglected .—Reynolds on Fresnoy, note 40. 
 
 D 2 
 
20 
 
 AN ESSAY ON THE 
 
 which we can apply to the subject in hand. Drawing much improves us 
 as little as reading much, unless we contemplate and understand as we 
 proceed : those who have acquired a readiness of hand without correctness 
 and study, have hut the shadow instead of the substance ; and though to 
 the unlearned their works have the appearance of excellence, yet to 
 educated eyes they seem in the light of forgeries, or like the language of 
 him who talks speciously of a subject he does not understand. After the 
 hand has once acquired this delusive dexterity, the student becomes con¬ 
 tented, and unable to execute any thing correctly in future. Sir Joshua 
 Reynolds remarks, that “young men have not only this frivolous ambition 
 of being thought masters of execution inciting them on one hand, hut also 
 their natural sloth tempting them on the other. They are terrified at 
 the prospect before them of the toil required to attain exactness. The 
 impetuosity of youth is disgusted at the slow approaches of a regular 
 siege, and desires, from mere impatience of labour, to take the citadel 
 by storm. They wish to find some shorter path to excellence, and hope 
 to obtain the reward of eminence by other means than those which the 
 indispensable rules of art have prescribed. They must, therefore, he told 
 again and again, that labour is the only price of solid fame, and that 
 whatever their force of genius may he, there is no easy method of 
 becoming a good painter.” In another place he justly observes, that 
 “ the first business of the student is to he able to give a true represen¬ 
 tation of whatever object presents itself, just as it appears to the eye, so 
 as to amount to a deception; and the geometric rules of perspective are 
 included in this study. This is the language of the art; which appears 
 the more necessary to he taught early, from the natural repugnance which 
 the mind has to such mechanical labour, after it has acquired a relish for 
 its higher departments.” Also in his first Discourse he says, “a lively 
 and what is called a masterly handling of the chalk or pencil, are, it must 
 he confessed, captivating qualities to young minds, and become of course 
 the objects of their ambition. They endeavour to imitate these dazzling 
 excellencies, which they will find no great labour in attaining. After 
 
EDUCATION OF THE EYE. 
 
 21 
 
 much time spent in these frivolous pursuits, the difficulty will be to 
 retreat, hut it will be then too late; and there is scarce an instance of 
 return to scrupulous labour, after the mind has been debauched and 
 deceived by this fallacious mastery.” 11 We find in many of the drawings 
 of Michael Angelo, Raffaelle, and even Rubens, some portions carefully 
 studied and finished with the greatest correctness from the model, some 
 difficult passage which required labour and finish to overcome, or some 
 portion of great beauty, which nothing but fidelity could represent. 
 From the contemplation of the works of the great painters, we perceive a 
 comparative dryness and stiffness in their earlier productions, compared 
 with their later pictures, we therefore are naturally led to conclude that 
 we can accomplish by a shorter method what they have shown us to have 
 been their aim ; breadth, grandeur, and freedom of execution : it will be 
 found, however, that though a few strokes by the hand of a master often 
 express in liis later works as much as the most careful finishing of his 
 early pictures, yet that arises entirely from his having acquired, by long 
 practice, a mastery over his materials, and, by long contemplation, a 
 
 11 Freedom of execution, or masterly handling, as it is termed, is often taught to pupils that 
 they may appear to be making great strides in the art. The master frequently finds his pupil too 
 dull, or too inattentive, to acquire a correct knowledge of his subject, therefore gives him the 
 power of displaying an appearance of dexterity. To an uneducated eye, a sketch of a tree, for 
 example, may be hit off by the pupil with sufficient resemblance to satisfy all parties ; the parents 
 see nothing in the original different from the copy, for that which appears to them but a scribbled 
 appearance, in the original indicates to the eye of an artist foliage, branches, and shadows; 
 thus their education seems finished before it is in reality begun, and they leave school without the 
 power of drawing a line. In after life, when they wish to delineate objects correctly, they find this 
 dexterity rather an incumbrance ; the eye, previously debauched, is incapable of receiving a true 
 impression; while the hand, necessarily confined to the several spaces allotted to the different 
 forms, feels cramped and awkward, and obliges them to throw down the pencil in despair. In other 
 branches of science we find this dexterity checked in its infancy. What would be thought of a 
 child who had been taught to run over the keys of a pianoforte without any definite meaning ? or 
 of a master who encouraged the scribbling of a boy to imitate a free hand ? I remember an 
 artist who always took an opportunity of disconcerting the pretensions of such precocious geniuses 
 in drawing, by laying down a key or a pair of snuffers for them to delineate. 
 
22 
 
 AN ESSAY ON THE 
 
 perfect knowledge of what are the leading features and peculiar character 
 of every object. 
 
 Notwithstanding the foregoing remarks, careful drawing and minute 
 finishing are to he regulated in a great measure by the nature of the work 
 in hand, otherwise these qualities, excellent in themselves, are liable to be 
 caught at, as an excuse for doing something which requires the least 
 exertion of the mind. Though it is absolutely necessary to he able to draw 
 correctly whatever may he placed before you, yet it does not follow that 
 the same labour is to he carried into the subordinate parts, otherwise a 
 long portion of life might be spent in delineating the intricate ramifications 
 of trees and plants, or in mapping out with painful fidelity the hedges and 
 ditches of a whole county. The correctness of which it is necessary 
 to be possessed is to be employed in rendering with accuracy the vital 
 portions of all works, frequently leaving the minor passages to be filled up 
 from our general knowledge and practice. How vexatious is it to see 
 young men attending Academies and Museums, month after month, 
 drawing from antique statues, in place of bestowing their whole care in 
 giving the outline and form correctly, waste their youth in industrious 
 idleness, in representing the flaws and excoriations of the mutilated 
 marble, or in smoothly stippling in a surrounding mass of background ! 
 
 AERIAL PERSPECTIVE. 
 
 Lineal Perspective being that part of drawing which is produced by the 
 means of lines only, Aerial Perspective is made use of to designate those 
 changes which take place in the appearance of objects, either as to their 
 receding or advancing, from the interposition of the atmosphere; there¬ 
 fore to the application of this quality the artist is mainly indebted for the 
 power of giving his work the space and retiring character of nature : but 
 though the eye is at all times pleased and gratified with the power of 
 
EDUCATION OF THE EYE 
 
 23 
 
 viewing distant prospects, yet objects require a certain definition to lead 
 the imagination, without perplexing and troubling the mind. Neither are 
 we pleased by sudden jumps from the foreground to the extreme distance. 
 The eye is more delighted, therefore, in being carried over a gradual 
 diminution of many intervening objects, or in searching for outlets 
 through screens of intervening trees or clumps of buildings; such perfo¬ 
 rations assisting by their framework the distant tone of colour with which 
 the most remote objects are nevertheless sufficiently embodied out. Now 
 though the interposition of the atmosphere gives us the means of producing 
 the effect of distance in a picture, yet the mind requires a certain variety 
 to hold it in amusement, and a certain appearance of substance to give a 
 reality to the scene; on the other hand, when the atmosphere is deprived 
 of the means of refraction, by reason of its clearness, a false representation 
 is produced, and objects appear nearer than they are in point of truth (as 
 may be perceived in many scenes in Switzerland), and the eye is deprived 
 of the gratification of viewing the outlines of objects through a variety of 
 strengths. 12 When we reflect that the art of painting is an attempt to 
 deceive the eye, in representing upon a perpendicular surface the variety 
 of planes upon which the several objects in nature are placed; when we 
 reflect that the painter is deprived of many collateral means of assisting 
 the deception, it requires his whole knowledge to be employed in working 
 out the result, lines possessing distinctness of form, bulk, and minutiae, 
 light and dark to give them their full force upon the eye, colours unasso¬ 
 ciated with atmospheric influence, with the reverses of all these assisting 
 by contrast. We must admit that a knowledge of aerial perspective 
 
 13 De la Hire enumerates five circumstances which assist us in judging of the distance of 
 objects, namely, their apparent magnitude, the strength of the colouring, the direction of the two 
 eyes, the parallax of the objects, and the distinctness of their small parts. Painters, he says, can 
 take advantage only of the two first mentioned circumstances, and therefore pictures can never 
 perfectly deceive the eye; but in the decorations of theatres, they in some measure make use of 
 them all, different planes being made use of, and different degrees of distinctness .—Accidens de 
 la Vue, p. 358. 
 
24 
 
 AN ESSAY ON THE 
 
 embraces in its effects nearly the whole art of pourtraying the retiring and 
 advancing of objects. In the works of Albert Cuyp and Claude Lorraine 
 we have many examples of this quality in perfection, where the interpo¬ 
 sition of the air, whether of a yellow or blue colour, imbues every object 
 with its just proportion according to its relative distance from the fore¬ 
 ground, and the near objects are strengthened by black or red or other 
 colours less in unison with the general tone of the picture; also in the 
 foreground of many of the works of Cuyp and others, the student may 
 perceive the shadows under the leaves and stones in the foreground 
 broad, black, and of large decided forms. Now, though this is the 
 general characteristic of this department, we see in many works of the 
 best artists objects very much diminished in size according to their true 
 perspective distance, yet possessing a force of colour little removed from 
 the tints of the objects in the foreground, neither does such harshness 
 prevent them keeping their situations; this arises from the very small 
 space they occupy upon the retina, forming so diminished a picture in the 
 eye, even when painted of the size of nature. 13 In historical compositions, 
 the most distant objects form often a portion of the story; they are, 
 therefore, to be pronounced with that strength which will enable them to 
 assist the painter in producing the desired effect on the mind of the 
 spectator, nor does truth appear at all violated, provided they are not 
 
 13 Speaking of the retina, Dr. Roget says, “ few spectacles are more calculated to raise our 
 admiration than this delicate picture, which nature has with such exquisite art, and with the finest 
 touches of her pencil, spread over the smooth canvass of this subtle nerve; a picture which, 
 though scarcely occupying a space of half an inch in diameter, contains the delineation of a 
 boundless scene of earth and sky, full of all kinds of objects,*’some at rest and others in motion, 
 yet all accurately represented as to their forms, colours, and positions, and followed in all their 
 changes without the least interference, irregularity, or confusion. Every one of those countless 
 and stupendous orbs of fire, whose light, after traversing immeasurable regions of space, at length 
 reaches our eye, is collected on its narrow curtain into a luminous focus of inconceivable minute¬ 
 ness, and yet this almost infinitismal point shall be sufficient to convey to the mind, through the 
 medium of the optic nerve and brain, a knowledge of the existence and position of the far distant 
 luminary from which that light has emanated.— Dr. Roget s Bridgewater Treatise. 
 
EDUCATION OF THE EYE. 
 
 25 
 
 made out with too great precision : in history and the higher walks of the 
 art, where the greatest liberties are allowed, it may he less necessary to 
 notice the conduct of the best artists in this particular, hut we often find 
 it even in landscapes and common representations of natural effects: how 
 often have we observed wood scenes and others prevented from being 
 heavy by the introduction of a few dark touches, and breadth of colour 
 and space produced by the small dark of a figure. When, however, the 
 effect of hazy sunshine (such as we see in the works of Cuyp) is to be 
 represented, the most distant objects ought to be rendered with the greatest 
 delicacy; for the whole atmosphere being then filled with the refraction of 
 light, tfie middle ground objects appear to be made out with a uniform 
 tone of half-tint. Aerial perspective, therefore, though understood to be 
 subject to rules, is more completely under the control of the painter than 
 lineal perspective. 
 
 I have noticed elsewhere 11 how much in reality objects in motion 
 attract the eye of the spectator, with what intelligence the peculiar walk 
 of those we know is communicated even at great distances: this is one 
 reason out of many why we are allowed to pronounce parts of a picture 
 with more strength than other parts; as the mind of the spectator must 
 be arrested with the same force it feels itself acted upon under natural 
 effects. 
 
 The application of aerial perspective, therefore, enables the artist to 
 keep the several objects in their respective situations, and give a natural 
 reality to the most complicated scene. A row of columns will diminish 
 according as they are drawn true to lineal perspective, but it is to this 
 quality of light and shade that they are indebted for their effect upon the 
 
 14 In Practical Hints upon Light and Shade. 
 
 E 
 
26 
 
 AN ESSAY ON THE 
 
 eye. Also two angles may occupy the same space on tlie retina, but by 
 
 Fig. 22. 
 
 this power one is made to approach and the other to recede, so that one 
 is diminished to the size of a tent, the other increased to a pyramid. 
 
 Fig. 23. 
 
 In Plate I. Fig. 1, the Canal of Dort, by Cuyp, in the Bridgewater 
 collection, we not only find an excellent example of aerial perspective, 
 hut also of that assemblage of lines produced by the repetition of forms, 
 which assists the receding of objects from their diminution, the doubling 
 of the lines in producing richness of effect, and that harmony which arises 
 from one line counteracting another in its direction, giving thereby a 
 general balance to the whole. The effect of aerial perspective upon the 
 eye being mainly attributable to the application of shadow to the several 
 outlines, thereby giving them their approaching or receding character, such 
 arrangement is to he chosen which will give them this quality, and which 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 / 
 
 
 
 
Fig.l. Tlato 1. 
 
 A.Cuyp. 
 
 Fig. 2. 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
EDUCATION OF THE EYE. 
 
 27 
 
 is to be afterwards repeated in smaller portions through the piece. In 
 accidental combinations in nature, we often perceive this arrangement, (as 
 in Fig. 2, Pl. I,) which ought to be sketched and reflected upon as one of 
 the great means we have of enabling us to cope with her under the 
 disadvantage of working upon a flat surface. We also find aerial 
 perspective indebted in its effect to the collection of many parts, whose 
 shadows form a mass of half tint, their distance bringing them in apparent 
 contact, owing to their diminutions; while their softness gives them 
 apparent distance, owing to their want of minute parts, as in Fig. 3, 
 Pl. I. 
 
 To go through on every occasion with a variety of examples, would, I 
 feel persuaded, only perplex the student; if he comprehends any rule, it 
 is easy to extend it ; to those who understand slowly, reflection on one 
 or two diagrams will be of more service than educating the eye without 
 impressing the mind. The real trouble in life, in all professions, is the 
 trouble of thinking ; to escape which, the most laborious trifling is caught 
 at, hut if fairly grappled with in the outset, every thing becomes clear, 
 and, in after life, that which is a continual annoyance to many becomes 
 one of the greatest gratifications. Why is it, that to the eye of an artist 
 the drawing of a complicated plan is rendered clear at a glance, while to 
 others it requires a multitude of figures of reference and a long explana¬ 
 tion ? It is, that his mind has been educated in continual intercourse with 
 the eye, and the constant habit of reflecting on cause and effect has 
 rendered a numerous assemblage of lines intelligible to him, which to 
 others uneducated appear like a species of hieroglyphic. 
 
28 
 
 AN ESSAY ON THE 
 
 CIIIARO OSCURO. 
 
 Ciiiaho oscuro, or light and shade, when applied to the management of a 
 picture, takes a range too wide to he explained without the assistance of a 
 multitude of examples, and even then it would he very imperfect; so endless 
 and multifarious are the changes it assumes, being entirely at the caprice 
 of the painter. Paul Veronese, when questioned about the propriety of 
 accounting for a shadow, answered, “ a cloud is passing ; ” and Reynolds 
 says, “ the proprieties of a painter are superior to all other considerations,” 
 and “ he whose aim is to touch the passions must not he too fastidious in 
 pandering to an uneducated eye. The effect is to be produced at any 
 sacrifice; hut the painter who accomplishes his purpose with the least 
 violation of truth shows the greatest command of his materials.” This it 
 is which places the works of the great painters beyond the comprehension 
 of the ignorant; they only can judge of external matters, and are pleased 
 when the eye alone is gratified ; whereas the aim is the homage of the 
 educated mind. “Leonardo da Vinci,” Reynolds remarks, “recommends 
 the light side of a group to he brought off a dark ground, and the dark 
 side opposed to a light ground ; this, no doubt, was the practice when the 
 arts were in their infancy, but had he lived to see what has been produced 
 by the contrary method, he would have altered his opinion.” If relief or 
 distinctness is the aim of the artist, it is certainly the best ; but if breadth 
 of effect, he will best accomplish it by combining light with light, and 
 losing the darks of the group in a still darker background. 
 
 Light and shade, therefore, independent of its effects in rendering 
 objects more distinct and intelligible, has other properties, and those of a 
 higher quality, when painting has to take a station in the ranks along 
 with music and poetry, these properties are the means of giving breadth 
 and grandeur of form, the effects of bustle or repose, and that peculiar 
 
EDUCATION OF THE EYE. 
 
 29 
 
 emphasis which particular portions of a composition require. Now in 
 many situations, where such qualities are requisite, nature offers often 
 little more than a suggestion, and upon such hint the artist is obliged to 
 lay the foundation of his whole scheme, and work it out according to the 
 command he has of his materials, or the quantity he is in possession of. 
 Some compositions being entirely addressed to the mind, while others are 
 confined to a mere gratification of the eye, a greater or less liberty is 
 allowed to be taken with the arrangement of the light and shade, 
 according to the nature of the work in hand. Lignt and shade, or the 
 conduct of the chiaro oscuro of any work, is therefore entirely given up to 
 the control of the artist, to be used for the express purpose of rendering 
 his design complete; where he departs too much from the arrangements 
 observable in nature, it becomes capricious, and loses its effect upon the 
 eye of the spectator; when, on the other hand, the every day occurrences 
 are adopted, his work becomes common and feeble. Reynolds says 
 justly, “when we are required to paint broad, it is not understood that we 
 should paint broader than nature ; but objects are to be so placed, that 
 there is scarcely any limit to their breadth of light and shade. In the 
 earlier stages of painting, relief and distinctness were the only requisites 
 sought after 15 . If a round object could be represented upon a flat surface, 
 
 15 In the early stages of the art, we find the outlines of the Egyptian and Grecian figures and 
 ornaments upon the walls marked with a broad, deep, sharp cut indentation, which, receiving a 
 strong shadow, gave great distinctness. In the next stage, we find that the figures were a little 
 raised, so as to form what is termed basso relievo ; and that they were not rounded gradually 
 from the ground, but cut perpendicularly to the surface. In the more advanced state of the art, 
 when the figures assumed a greater projection, and became what is termed alto relievo, where 
 some portions are entirely cut through from the surface, as may be seen in the Elgin marbles, the 
 outlines of those figures less advanced were rounded off, so as to receive less shadow, and thereby 
 give greater value to those in high relief : we also find an attention to the effects of light and shade 
 influence their management of single statues, in the construction of their buildings, and even in 
 the forms of the most trifling utensils. We thus see that the gratification of the eye is one of the 
 chief sources from which the taste of a country emanates, and its perpetuity is in proportion as it is 
 founded upon the great truths observed in the general character of nature, and its influence on 
 
30 
 
 AN ESSAY ON THE 
 
 or any substance so expressed as to induce tlie spectator to put forth liis 
 hand to touch it, as a test of the deception, the height of the artist’s 
 ambition was attained ; but as the art advanced, it was found that painting 
 could achieve more honourable results, the mind was to be acted upon, 
 without stoppiug to gratify the eye at the threshold of entrance. Coreggio 
 seems to have been one of the first who employed cliiaro oscuro in its 
 greatest extent, to give to his compositions that dreamy character which 
 removes them from the “ ignorant present,” and which is the result of 
 breadth, and melting of the outline in the tint which surrounds it. If we 
 examine, for example, a room filled with several objects, in open day, the 
 distinctness with which they all present themselves to the eye not only 
 perplexes it in finding a resting place, from each claiming attention, but 
 the quickness with which we are carried from one object to another (from 
 a single glance being sufficient to satisfy our curiosity) destroys that 
 pleasure the mind receives from contemplation; whereas the same scene 
 viewed in the evening, by the light of a fire or candle, exhibits effects 
 more pleasing to the eye and gratifying to the mind, which are entirely 
 owing to the breadth of light and shade ; fewer objects present themselves 
 to the eye, and these few acquiring novelty in their forms, from the 
 shadows floating about; others entirely buried in obscurity, amuse the 
 imagination in tracing them into form; while the large blank spaces 
 present vacuums for the eye to rest and repose upon. Independent of 
 these results, we also know that objects acquire grandeur from their 
 
 succeeding ages, by its adoption by men of science capable of appreciating its value. Even in the 
 dark ages, when truth and simplicity were overlaid and hid by a mass of ornament and an 
 assemblage of minute parts, a combination of beautiful arrangement has arisen out of such 
 Gothic absurdities, which has given to painting, sculpture, and architecture a fulness of effect 
 unattainable by any other method. The endless and fatiguing portions of minutiae, which lay 
 scattered over the surface, have been collected, and arranged in masses of richness and repose; 
 the spottiness of strong, harsh colours have been softened and subdued by harmony and opposition; 
 while the dry and cold outline of individual form has been adapted to the gratification of the 
 educated eye, founded upon the great principles of truth and simplicity. 
 
EDUCATION OE THE EYE. 
 
 31 
 
 breadth and simplicity of parts, the shadows being more of one strength, 
 and the lights more of one colour; two concomitants of greatness. 
 
 In entering upon this branch of the art, it will, however, be necessary 
 to confine our remarks, in the first instance, to the effects of light and 
 shade upon the forms of objects, in altering their appearance to the eye of 
 the spectator, without reference to their acting upon the imagination. 
 
 All outlines, without the application of this quality, are deficient in 
 giving a true representation to the eye ; for example, two circular outlines 
 without shadow have no distinct meaning, but by the application of this 
 property they either become convex or concave bodies 10 . 
 
 Fig. 24 . Fig. 25 . 
 
 We also find that objects either project or recede according to the 
 strength of their shadows, and become either solids or vacuums from their 
 shadows falling within or without the spaces marked by their outlines. 
 
 Fig. 27 . 
 
 is “ \y e judge of the figure and shape of bodies chiefly by the variations of light and shade, 
 and our associations taken thence are so strong, as we are easily imposed upon by a just imitation 
 of the light and shade belonging to each shape and figure in their several situations with respect 
 to the quarter from which the illumination proceeds. It is from the associations considered under 
 
32 
 
 AN ESSAY ON THE 
 
 We also find tliat it often indicates the peculiar character of objects, 
 when the outline is hid in consequence of the situation of the spectator, as 
 in Fig. 28. 
 
 Fig. 28 . 
 
 In drawings of machinery this is often of the utmost importance, as 
 information is the only point aimed at. We likewise often find shadow 
 
 Fig. 29 . 
 
 this proposition, and particularly in the last paragraph, that painting conveys such exact ideas of 
 shapes, figures, magnitudes, and distances, and the camera obscura of motion also, by means of 
 impressions that proceed from a plane surface .”—Hartley on Man, on the Sense of Sight. 
 
EDUCATION OF THE EYE. 
 
 33 
 
 made use of for the enriching of the subject, by making the shadows of 
 complicated objects fall upon a background of an uneven surface, as in 
 Fig. 29. 
 
 Any work treating of the Education of the Eye, however short, 
 must necessarily touch upon points spreading over a large range of 
 study, and of course occupying a long space of time to become master 
 of. It will, therefore, be difficult to separate those parts which re¬ 
 quire a power in the mind, from that portion which depends more 
 upon the cultivation of the eye, accompanied with very little effort of 
 thinking. Nothing but early practice can enable the eye to see, and 
 the hand to put on paper, the various objects necessary to painting 
 with readiness and fidelity; as has been remarked by Reynolds, who 
 says, “ a degree of mechanical practice must precede theory; the 
 reason is, that if we wait till we are able to comprehend the theory 
 of the art, too much of life will be passed to permit us to acquire 
 facility and power; something, therefore, must he done on trust, by 
 mere imitation of given patterns, before the theory of the heart can 
 be feltyet, nevertheless, the attention should be gradually awakened 
 to observation, otherwise the power of the mind will lie too long 
 dormant to be easily called into action when judgement is acquired, 
 for, as he further observes, “ an artist ought to see clearly enough to 
 enable him to point out to others the principle upon which he works, 
 otherwise he will be confined, and, what is worse, he will be uncertain.” 
 In the portion of this Essay, therefore, which is passed over, I have 
 endeavoured to confine myself merely to that extent of knowledge which 
 every one ought to possess to enable him in after life to enjoy the beauties 
 of nature and art, and give him the power of communicating his ideas 
 usefully to others. I shall now endeavour to trace through the higher 
 departments of art those principles of design upon which painting 
 depends for its operation on the mind, and which places it in the same 
 rank with poetry and music. 
 
 F 
 
31 
 
 AN ESSAY ON THE 
 
 INVENTION. 
 
 Invention is the great soul of painting, without which the being in 
 possession of an accumulation of studies is of little avail: we may collect 
 the materials, but we cannot build without a plan, nor can we construct 
 that plan without a perfect knowledge on what to raise the superstructure. 
 When Raffaellc was commissioned to paint the apartments of the Vatican 
 with representations of Theology, Philosophy, Poetry, &c., it was necessary, 
 in the first place, that he should know not only the origin and foundation 
 of each of them, but also the character and history of those personages 
 who ranked preeminent in the several departments of science, that by the 
 combination of such figures he might be enabled to illustrate the subjects 
 in hand; for it is by this method that the artist shows his imaginative 
 powers; for though this part of the work may belong to the poet and 
 historian in an equal degree, yet the mind of an artist, from his habits of 
 thinking and from a knowledge of what is within the power of his art, 
 gives the illustration of the subject a more graphic turn than either ; 17 
 
 17 It is the descriptions of poets and historians possessing this character which renders them 
 more striking to the imagination; such as the description of the Last Judgement by Peter Aretin, 
 which made Michael Angelo regret that lie had composed the subject previous to receiving his 
 letter : “ Who would not tremble,” he writes, “ at taking up his pencil to trace so tremendous a 
 subject? I see, in the midst of innumerable beings, Antichrist, with features which vou alone 
 could imagine; I see terror imprinted upon the face of the living ; I see the faint traces of the 
 sun, the moon, and the stars, whose fires are perceptibly diminishing. The elements appear 
 dissolving. I see all Nature horror-struck, barren, and gathered up in its decrepitude; I see Time 
 emaciated and trembling, who, arrived at his last stage, is reposing on the dried-up trunk of a 
 tree; and while the trumpets of the angels resound through all hearts, I see Life and Death 
 overwhelmed with extraordinary confusion, the one is wearied with lifting up the dead, while the 
 other strikes down the living ; behind, I see Hope and Despair conducting troops of the good and 
 the bad. The sky is suffused with the brightest rays. Christ, seated on clouds, is environed with 
 splendour, and with the terrors inspired by the heavenly hosts, his face is resplendent with light, 
 and his eyes, shining with a suft yet terrible fire, fill the virtuous with lively joy, and the wicked 
 
 * 
 
EDUCATION OF THE EYE. 
 
 35 
 
 therefore, though the education of an artist’s mind is in many things 
 similar to the education of that of others, yet, in addition, he requires a 
 knowledge of the various methods the great painters have employed to 
 explain and exemplify their ideas; “ for it is only by knowing the 
 
 inventions of others, we learn to invent, as it is by knowing the 
 thoughts of others we learn to think.” Mengs observes, that it is 
 invention which makes noble the art of painting, and discovers the force 
 of the artist’s understanding, and that Raffaelle obtained a rank with great 
 poets and orators from this source. Invention being the work of the mind 
 addressed to the mind, composition that of the eye addressed to the sight; 
 yet though in many things the mind of the poet or historian is similar to 
 the painter’s, the power of the latter is much more limited; the historian 
 may have a hundred pages to convey his story, the painter has but one; 
 this circumstance has led mankind in all ages to allow him a greater 
 latitude and license in embodying any representation; his invention, 
 therefore, takes a wide range through the whole features of the event, 
 whatever it may he, and enables him to combine in one focus every means 
 of rendering the story attractive, clear, and effective; lie invents, there¬ 
 fore, those arrangements which awaken the mind, from their giving rise 
 to an association of ideas; lie selects also those points which bear the 
 strongest upon the character of the subject to be represented, and which 
 from their nature are most palpable to the eye, to heighten their effect by 
 the judicious introduction of images operating by means of contrast, and 
 endeavours to combine the whole by the most natural and unaffected 
 method. The power of invention, therefore, in a painter, must depend 
 
 with mortal fear. I see the ministers of hell, with horrible countenances, who, surrounded by the 
 glory of saints and martyrs, mock the Caesars and Alexanders of the world, and yet not knowing 
 how to get the better of themselves. I see Renown, with her crowns and palms trodden under 
 foot, thrown down under the wheels of her own triumphal chariots. I hear the Son of God 
 pronouncing the last judgement; at his voice the good and the bad are separated; the world 
 crumbles to pieces at the peals of thunder. Darkness divides Paradise from the furnaces of hell. 
 In retracing these terrible images, I said to myself, one would tremble as much at seeing the work 
 of Buonarotti as at the day of judgement itself .”-—Peter Aretins Letters from Venice. 
 
 F 2 
 
36 
 
 AN ESSAY ON THE 
 
 upon liis extent of information, his command of the materials applicable to 
 his art, and a felicitous choice of the particular incidents most striking to 
 the eye. If he invents from history, it will he necessary to take the most 
 current version of the story for his guide, and engraft upon it those 
 embellishments derived from costume, manners of the people, and local 
 scenery; painting every thing from nature, which gives a wonderful 
 appearance of truth and force to the representation. Prom poetry or 
 allegory a greater liberty of enriching the design will he allowed, as 
 the whole range of ancient and modern fable lies open for his purpose 
 of illustration. At the head of this department of the art, by universal 
 consent, and especially by those who have most carefully examined 
 his works, stands Raffaelle; not only do his inventions embrace the 
 most leading and most striking parts of the story, hut he carries the 
 spectator hack to its commencement by a chain of the most natural 
 circumstances, and shows also by the same felicitous extension of his 
 design, those results which followed its taking place; thus exhibiting in 
 one page the contents of a volume, such as we see in his Death of 
 Ananias, his Transfiguration, the School of Athens, the Sacrifice at 
 Lystra, and many others. Lanzi, speaking of this quality of Raffaelle, 
 says, “Various writers have mentioned the St. Paul at Lystra, one of the 
 Cartoons, as an example, (Plate ii.) The artist has there represented the 
 sacrifice prepared for him and St. Barnabas as to two gods, for having 
 restored a lame man to the use of his limbs. The altar, the attendants, 
 the victims, the musicians, and the axe, sufficiently indicate the intentions 
 of the Lystrians; St. Paul, who is in the act of tearing his robe, shows 
 that lie rejects and abhors the sacrilegious honours, and is endeavouring 
 to dissuade the populace from persisting in them; hut all this were vain, 
 if it had not indicated the miracle which had just happened, and which 
 had given rise to the event, llaffaelle therefore added to the group the 
 lame man restored to the use of his limbs, now easily recognised by the 
 spectators : he stands before the apostles rejoicing in his restoration, and 
 raises his hands in transport towards his benefactors, while at his feet lie 
 

 
 
 
 / 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
EDUCATION OE TIIE EYE. 
 
 37 
 
 the crutches, now cast away as useless; this had been sufficient for any 
 other artist, hut Paffaelle, who wished to give a greater appearance of 
 reality, has added several people, who, in their eager curiosity, remove 
 the garment of the man to heliold his limbs restored to their natural state.” 
 As the people called St. Paul, Mercury, from his being chief speaker, 
 Palfaelle has alluded to this by a statute of Mercury in the distance, and a 
 figure in the foreground with a chaplet of ivy, bringing in a ram, both 
 indicative of the sacrifices to that god. By the uplifted hands of the 
 restored cripple, and the youth who stretches out his hand to arrest the 
 arm of the sacrificcrs, we perceive the effect of St. Paul’s persuasions, in 
 the same way as he indicates the conversion to Christianity of the woman 
 of Damaris and Dionysius in the Cartoon of Paul preaching at Athens. 
 In the inventions of Palfaelle we find the representation of any event 
 extending its effects on the several spectators in a variety of ways, 
 producing the most natural action and expression, and all conducive to 
 the illustration of the subject: his rich store of materials from the Greek 
 and Roman antique, with the inventions of those artists who preceded 
 him in the restoration of painting in Italy, enabled him to embellish his 
 design with an endless accumulation of incident, giving chasteness, sim¬ 
 plicity, and the power of carrying the mind hack to times long gone by; 
 no one has possessed so great a command over his materials, or greater 
 address in adapting them to his own purpose; the Greek gems and 
 statues, the Roman basso relievos, the primitive character of the works of 
 Giotto and Masaccio, the grand outline and foreshortening of the figures 
 of Michael Angelo and Leonardo da Vinci, may be all traced through his 
 works, but the inventive genius which has called them into new existence 
 with a more natural and a more powerful clfect on the spectator, is 
 peculiarly his own. 
 
 Invention being more properly a combination of those qualities which 
 affect the mind and awaken sensations in the imagination of the spectator, 
 the inventions of Paffaelle affect different spectators according to their 
 
AN ESSAY ON THE 
 
 OQ 
 
 oo 
 
 different degrees of taste or cultivation; whereas the inventions of Paul 
 Veronese, Tintoret, and others of the Venetian school, being more 
 addressed to the eye, please and captivate all beholders, from their 
 harmony of light and shade, and their beautiful and gorgeous arrangement 
 of splendid colour. With llaffaelle, the leading point of the story is boldly 
 and nobly expressed, while its effects are diffused and spread over the 
 countenances and actions of the adjoining figures, and revived and 
 embellished by episodes and representations of the preceding and follow¬ 
 ing events, acting upon the more subordinate or more extended portions 
 of the composition, such as we see in the Ananias, the Heliodorus, the 
 Sacrifice at Lystra, the Attila, and the Transfiguration. Thus what is 
 effected in the one case by the diffusion of light and colour, is produced by 
 llaffaelle through the medium of the expression and action of his figures; 
 this it is that has gained for him the appellation of the painter of mind; and 
 his making use of those materials from which the taste and cultivation of 
 the mind is derived, gives to his works that charm which increases by 
 contemplation, since they revive within us ideas of all the great and 
 beautiful works we have ever beheld. 
 
 Invention being more properly the province of the mind than the eye, 
 perhaps it is unnecessary to dwell longer upon it in this place; but we 
 must always bear in recollection that the mind of an artist is formed from 
 a contemplation of those circumstances which it will be in his power to 
 make use of, and that is one reason, amongst others, why I dwell more 
 particularly upon the inventions of llaffaelle than upon those of Michael 
 Angelo 18 ; they are more practical, and can be adopted by those whose 
 
 L ’ Reynolds, drawing a comparison between Michael Angelo and Raffaelle, says, “ Raffaelle 
 had more taste and fancy, Michael Angelo more genius and imagination. The one excelled in 
 beauty, the other in energy. Michael Angelo has more of the poetical inspiration; his ideas are 
 vast and sublime ; his people are a superior order of beings, there is nothing about them, nothing in 
 the air of their actions or their attitudes, or the style and cast of their limbs or features, that reminds 
 us of their belonging to our own species. Raffaelle’s imagination is not so elevated ; his figures 
 
EDUCATION OF THE EYE. 
 
 39 
 
 works are addressed to the feelings of all classes, or, as Lord Bacon says, 
 “ come home to the business and bosoms of most men.” The inventions 
 of Michael Angelo, on the other hand, elevate the feelings only of the 
 learned, while they appear extravagant and overcharged to the generality 
 of mankind; notwithstanding which, this is the spirit which ought to 
 influence the taste and genius of other artists, and which made Raffaelle 
 exclaim, that “ he thanked God that he was horn in the same age with 
 that great man 19 ! ” We need not go further than refer to his great work 
 
 are not so much disjoined from our own diminutive race of beings, though his ideas are chaste, 
 noble, and of great conformity to their subjects. Michael Angelo’s works have a strong, peculiar, 
 and marked character; they seem to proceed from his own mind entirely, and that mind so rich 
 and abundant, that he never needed, or seemed to disdain to look about for foreign help. Raffaelle’s 
 materials are generally borrowed, though the noble structure is his own. The excellency of this 
 extraordinary man lay in the propriety, beauty, and majesty of his characters, the judicious 
 contrivance of his composition, his correctness of drawing , purity of taste, and skilful accommo¬ 
 dation of other men’s conceptions to his own purpose. Nobody excelled him in that judgement 
 with which he united to his own observations on nature the energy of Michael Angelo, and the 
 beauty and simplicity of the antique. To the question, therefore, ‘ Which ought to hold the first 
 rank, Raffaelle or Michael Angelo 1 ’ it must be answered, that if it is to be given to him who 
 possessed a greater combination of the higher qualities of the art than any other man, there is no 
 doubt but Raffaelle is the first. But if, as Longinus thinks, the sublime, being the highest 
 excellence that human composition can attain to, abundantly compensates the absence of every 
 other beaut) - , and atones for all other deficiencies, then Michael Angelo demands the preference.” 
 —Fifth Discourse. 
 
 19 “ From time to time there arise upon the earth men who seem formed to become the centre 
 of an intellectual system of their own ; they are invested, like the prophet of old, with a heavenly 
 mantle, and speak with the voice of inspiration. Those that appear after them are but attendants 
 in their train, seem born only to revolve about them, warmed by their heat and shining by their 
 reflected glory. Their works derive not their strength from momentary passions or local associa¬ 
 tions, but speak to feelings common to mankind, and reach the innermost movements of the soul, 
 and hence it is that they have an immortal spirit, which carries them safe through the wreck of 
 empires and the changes of opinion. Works like these are formed by no rule, but become a 
 model and rule to other men. Few, however, among us are permitted to show this high excellence. 
 Ordinary minds must be content to learn by rule, and every good system must have reference to 
 the many and not to the few.”— Professor Sedgwick’s Discourse on the Studies of the 
 University. 
 
40 
 
 AN ESSAY ON THE 
 
 of the Last Judgement, where he introduces Charon ferrying over the 
 souls of the damned, and other allusions to the heathen mythology, which 
 o'ive to the Christian creed the adventitious character of learned fable. 
 
 o 
 
 On the other hand, Baffaelle grasps his subject with the power of one who 
 relies upon truth and nature for the effect; and, leaving the regions of 
 poetry and fiction, gives an identity to the scene, founded upon the 
 principle of simple facts being enobled by the great powers of elevated 
 art. Besides, we must never forget that the public taste is already formed 
 from a contemplation of the many great works now in existence, and 
 which have stood the test of ages, and that it is only by being in 
 some manner conformable to these we can ever hope for a favourable 
 reception. 
 
 COMPOSITIO N. 
 
 By Composition is generally meant the form and arrangement of the 
 several parts considered as a whole ; consequently, the form or plan of 
 any composition is the first process the painter practically commences 
 with. The nature of the subject having been settled, he weighs in his 
 mind the effect to be produced upon the spectator ; he therefore arranges 
 his figures and objects accordingly, and endeavours to distribute his 
 materials in that form which will best accord with his intention. The 
 illustration of his story, the distribution of his light and shade and colour, 
 the localities of the scene, all present their individual interests to his 
 notice ; while his imagination embodies them into that congregated form 
 which seems best calculated for his purpose. Here it is, that the memory 
 is called into action ; without precedents he cannot judge, without materials 
 he cannot compose. Having now laid down his plan of operations, he 
 applies to nature to furnish him with the means of giving variety and 
 originality to his work ; but to bind her to his purpose, he must have a 
 settled knowledge of wliat he is seeking, he must have a quickness 
 
EDUCATION OF THE EYE. 
 
 41 
 
 of eye, to take advantage of accidental arrangements, and a plan of 
 methodizing liis ideas, so as to be able to secure what he acquires, 
 without which it will be impossible to produce a composition upon which 
 he can calculate with any degree of certainty as to its effects or its 
 stability, and what he paints one day he may obliterate the next. Com¬ 
 position not being an inherent quality of the mind, but the result of long 
 acquaintance with the nature and arrangement of the compositions of 
 others, it generally follows, that all wayward and capricious compositions, 
 established neither upon natural grounds, nor upon the scientific arrange¬ 
 ments of those who have preceded us, seldom outlive their inventors, for 
 pleasing only by reason of their novelty, they gradually lose their interest 
 as that novelty vanishes; or, as Dr. Johnson expresses it, “ the irregular 
 combination of fanciful invention may delight awhile by that novelty, of 
 which the common satiety of life sends us all in quest; the pleasures of 
 sudden wonder are soon exhausted, and the mind can only repose upon the 
 stability of truth.” 
 
 Geometric forms in composition are found to give order and regularity 
 to an assemblage of figures, for, in fact, we can have no idea of form 
 without a portion of distinct shape, which being arranged so as to make 
 one part of the composition dependent on another for its completion or 
 extension, produces an harmonious assemblage of lines, independent of 
 the aid of light and shade or colour. Groups of figures without some 
 appearance of geometrical form apparent to the eye, would produce a 
 confused effect upon the spectator, in whose mind their appearance would 
 indicate one subject as strongly as another, and look picturesque, when 
 such character might be destructive of the impression intended to be 
 produced. We have an excellent example of the influence of lines, or 
 arrangement of parts, in the composition of Attila, by Raffaelle; we see 
 on one side the rude irregular descent into the Campania of Rome of the 
 congregated tribe of the Goths and Vandals, leaving fire and desolation 
 in their rear, and hurrying forward with savage wildness; opposed to 
 
 Gr 
 
42 
 
 AN ESSAY ON THE 
 
 which, enters the head of the Christian church, with the ministers of the 
 cross, calm, meek, dignified, and upright, secure in the protection of 
 Heaven, whose messengers are seen descending; those noble warriors, 
 St. Peter and St. Paul, spreading by their appearance terror and dismay 
 into the hearts of Attila and his followers : and thus it is that the painter 
 is enabled, by the assemblage of lines and forms, to produce upon the 
 mind those sensations which the poet effects by a combination of words, 
 or the composer of music by an arrangement of expressive sounds. 
 
 To simplicity and regularity of form we are indebted for the foundation 
 of what is great and sublime, for, as Johnson expresses it, “sublimity is 
 produced by aggregation, and littleness by dispersion.” In architecture 
 we find this a main cause of grandeur: Burke says, “ vastness in any 
 object, infinity, succession, and uniformity of parts in building, or any 
 object in nature, are all sources of the sublime, succession of uniform 
 parts creating a kind of artificial infinite, and this may be the cause 
 why a rotund has such a noble effect in building.” 20 Having observed 
 lief ore that the architecture introduced into the works of Baffaelle 
 is of a simple and uniform character, it often seems to have been his 
 design to carry out and extend the perspective and general form of his 
 plan by the arrangement and position of his figures, such as we see in 
 his School of Athens; and He Piles says, “ he found in some of his 
 sketches, plans and scales of proportion.” One or two memorandums 
 
 20 Addison, noticing how much simplicity of parts and greatness of manner in archtecture 
 affect the mind, quotes a passage of M. Feart’s Parallel of the Ancient and Modern Architecture. 
 “ I am observing,” says he, “ a thing which in my opinion is very curious whence it proceeds, 
 that in the same quantity of superficies the one manner seems great and magnificent, and the 
 other poor and trilling; the reason is fine and uncommon. I say, then, that to introduce into 
 architecture this grandeur of manner, we ought so to proceed, that the division of the principal 
 members of the order may consist but of few parts, that they be all great, and of a bold and ample 
 relievo and swelling ; and that the eye beholding nothing little and mean, the imagination may be 
 more vigorously touched and affected with the work that stands before it.” 
 
EDUCATION OF THE EYE. 
 
 43 
 
 which I found amongst the collections of drawings left to Christ Church, 
 Oxford, by General Guise, seem to confirm this observation. The 
 memorandums are written upon the side of sketches illustrative of the 
 remarks, one of which I have given in Plate hi, containing the ground 
 plan, also the figures seen under the influence of perspective; the other, 
 showing a circular arrangement of figures, such as we see in the lower 
 part of the Transfiguration, and in the Death of Ananias ; viz. 
 
 Fig. \. 
 
 To Dr. Barnes, of Christ Church, I am indebted for the very great 
 interest he took in enabling me to procure copies of any of the drawings. 
 For the translation of the memorandums, and remarks upon the designs, I 
 
 g 2 
 
44 
 
 AN ESSAY ON THE 
 
 am indebted to the kindness of C. L. Eastlake, Esq., B-.A., whose intimate 
 knowledge of the compositions of Raffaelle must give his observations 
 additional weight. 21 
 
 Independent of forms in composition most suitable to the subject, and 
 arranged in the most natural manner, it is of the first consequence that the 
 
 21 Translation of the memorandum on the side of the sketch representing circular compo¬ 
 sition :— 
 
 “It is to be observed, that the first thing to be considered in an historical composition is 
 where the point (id est, the spectator or spectator’s eye) is to be placed, whether in the middle of 
 the work or on one side, and so to determine its situation that the important figures be distinctly 
 visible, and not concealed by others, and then begin the design. It is my opinion, confirmed by 
 the practice of the most skilful men, that the mode explained by a drawing in the margin (is 
 generally fittest), viz. by contriving that those figures which are nearest to the point should present 
 their backs, those further removed their sides, and so on in perspective, as if a circle were drawn 
 aud figures ranged round it, so should an historical composition be designed. 
 
 In illustration of the above, supposing an action to be represented in a circle, which would be 
 quite natural if the object of attention were in the centre, the spectator might either view it so as 
 to be himself without the circle, or be supposed within it. In the latter case, the nearest figures 
 would have their sides towards him, in the former their backs. Thus, when the spectator sees a 
 semicircle, he completes the circle by his forming a part. This arrangement was adopted by the 
 early Italian painters in their sacred subjects, and from its fitness was never abandoned by 
 Raffaelle. The Madonna di Foligno and the Dresden Madonna are remarkable examples, as in 
 these pictures the St. Francis in the first, and the Pope Sixtus in the other, turn to the spectator 
 who contemplates the work, and intercedes for them. The object, in short, by this semicircular 
 arrangement was to mix up the spectator with the divine or sainted personages represented, and to 
 mane him feel in their presence. 
 
 But in more dramatic representations, in which the spectator might be interested but not a 
 party concerned, Raffaelle adopted the more picturesque arrangement, and after him this was 
 unfortunately applied to devotional subjects. The drawing by Raffaelle and the note recommend 
 the picturesque arrangement, but as the whole works of the master are the best commentaries on 
 his note, it may safely be affirmed, that he could not have intended this principle to apply to votive 
 pictures; at present, indeed, in this country, when altar pieces, and especially mere assemblages 
 of sacred personages, are rarely painted, the directions contained in Raffaelle’s note may be 
 considered of universal application; it is only in the critical history of the art that they might lead 
 to false conclusions.—C. L. E. 
 

 
 
 
 
 
Place 3. 
 
 JZtchetZ by J.J3itrn.e £. 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 / 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
EDUCATION OF THE EYE. 
 
 45 
 
 spectator ought to have such a view of the representation as will he most 
 effective and uninterrupted : this obliges the artist to design those figures 
 in the near part of the composition either in kneeling or stooping 
 positions, that they may not intercept the figures behind, or to elevate 
 those background figures by a higher plane, such as we see in the School 
 of Athens, the Ananias, the Incendio del Borgo, Elymas the Sorcerer, 
 and others : or he may compose his piece upon the principle of the 
 Heliodorus, which, leaving the space vacant in the middle, allows the eye 
 of the spectator to range from the foreground to the distance without 
 interruption : hut in whatever form his composition developes itself, it is 
 not more necessary to preserve such form in the strongest character than 
 it is to give the spectator the most pictorial and comprehensive view of 
 the subject; to enable him to judge of this quality, it will be necessary 
 not only to lay down a ground plan, but to model the groups and 
 individual figures, as we know to have been the practice of the best 
 artists, from Michael Angelo and Raffaelle down to the present, which 
 will also, even though roughly executed, suggest the most natural effects 
 of the light and shade . 22 
 
 22 Translation of the memorandum at the side of the drawing given in Plate iii. Fig. 1 :_ 
 
 “ This is the mode the painter should observe in composing his histories, so that the disposition 
 of the masses should be unconstrained, as if the composition followed the advancing sight in order 
 that the history or picture may be satisfactory to the spectator, and particularly to the experienced 
 spectator. For if arranged without this rule, the said history will be put together defectively, this 
 (viz. the mode alluded to) being the true practice adopted by the most skilled and intelligent in 
 the art. This will appear by consulting the works of those painters who are most famous; it is 
 from their adherence to this rule that their works have been so much praised, and with the best 
 reason, for this is the true principle.” 
 
 The rule here alluded to, and which is sufficiently explained by the drawing which accompanies 
 it, relates to depth of composition, as opposed to superficial or basso relievo composition ; the 
 mere surface is capable in variety, in height, and in width ■ but these varieties may exist while 
 there is no variety whatever in the plan ; the figures should therefore occupy the extent of the 
 ground plan as completely as when brought to the surface they appear to occupy the height and 
 
46 
 
 AN ESSAY ON THE 
 
 Having decided upon liis general form of composition, tlie several 
 portions of the design next claim his attention; those portions of most 
 consequence to the illustration of the story are to he brought into notice, 
 while other parts are made subservient, by being thrown into shade or 
 more intercepted by their situations ; action and repose, masses convex 
 and concave, lines regular or picturesque, spaces diminishing or increas¬ 
 ing, are all to be combined in producing an harmonious result upon the 
 eye and mind of the spectator. 
 
 We have noticed the peculiar properties of objects under the influence 
 of perspective ; viz. circular forms becoming elliptical, spaces diminishing 
 as they recede, objects intercepting those behind, while those on the 
 foreground possess more detail and minutiae; these qualities are therefore 
 to be engrafted upon the several portions of the composition, that it may 
 have the appearance of truth, and enable the artist to give his work the 
 firmness of nature. In selecting examples illustrative of these remarks, it 
 will be sufficient to give one or two of the most palpable, that the student 
 may be made aware of their character; after which, the whole range of 
 composition, from the revival of painting down to our own time, will be 
 rendered subservient to his investigation. As it is the character of spaces 
 
 breadth of the surface or face of the picture. Thus the three possible dimensions are occupied, 
 the art being generally concealed by avoiding too regular a variety, and by doubling the masses 
 somewhere. It only remains to be observed, that of the three applications of varied arrangement, 
 that of the depth is the most strictly picturesque, because it most effectually gets rid of the flat 
 surface, and suggests foreshortened limbs and figures, which are most to be met with in the latest 
 works of Titian, Raffaelle, and Michael Angelo; but Corregio, who was from the beginning 
 devoted to gradation in forms (perspective) as well as chiaroscuro, was also an early lover of 
 depth in composition, and often of foreshortening.—C. L. E. 
 
 Fig. 2 is part of a Roman basso relievo, from which Raffaelle took the ceremony of the 
 Sacrifice at Lystra. 
 
 Fig. 3 shows his adaptation of the ideas of others to his own purpose, being a figure of 
 Masaccio’s, which is converted into his St. Paul preaching. Vide Reynolds’s Twelfth Discourse 
 
EDUCATION OF THE EYE. 
 
 4v 
 
 to diminish as they recede from the eye, we often find in the works of 
 Ilaffaelle and others this feature engrafted upon portions of their groups, 
 as in Fig. 2, part of the Cartoon of Ananias. 
 
 Fig. 2. 
 
 As it is the character of objects to intercept others more or less, as 
 they recede from the foreground, and as it is their character also to diminish 
 and possess less of detail by their receding, we perceive this principle 
 carried into the 'works of the great founders of the art in a variety of 
 ways; we can trace it in the Greek and Roman basso relievos, in the 
 figures and heads of Michael Angelo and Ilaffaelle, and in the works of 
 those who have collected from the great stores of nature and art. The 
 example, Fig. 3, is from Titian, part of a subject formerly in the church 
 of St. Nicola de Tiari at Venice, now in Rome. 
 
 This regularity of diminution imparts to a work a character of sim- 
 
48 
 
 AN ESSAY ON THE 
 
 plicity, and at the same time assists the artist in giving depth to his 
 composition, one figure acting as a background to the other. 
 
 Fig- 3. 
 
 
 This regularity of diminution not only assists in giving regularity and 
 simplicity to a work, but enables the artist to carry the eye of the 
 spectator into the depths of his composition. We also find it often 
 employed in giving solidity and firmness to those heads or objects nearest 
 the eye; one portion acting as a background to the other, giving to the 
 whole that advantage which arises from the size, detail, and firmness of 
 
EDUCATION OF THE EYE. 
 
 49 
 
 foreground objects in nature. Fig. 4 is a further illustration of the same 
 principle, being part of a design of Rubens, the picture of the Woman 
 taken in Adultery, in the collection of Mr. Miles. 
 
 Fig. 4. 
 
 In following up the examination of Composition into its component 
 parts, we find it necessary that they should all combine to produce one 
 result upon the spectator. Raffaelle, in extending his composition into 
 the surrounding parts, employs his whole power in illustrating his story, 
 either by episodes, which embellish and enrich it, or by figures expressive 
 of the circumstances which have preceded it, or by conveying its effects 
 after completion : some we perceive engaged in relating the event to 
 those entering, or unable to view it from their situation in the picture; 
 others of various ages and of different sexes, while they give variety to 
 the work, enable him to develope its effect by a variety of expression, 
 and action, by extending the lines productive of such sensations, or 
 lines by a union of several parts leading the eye by their direction 
 
 H 
 
50 
 
 AN ESSAY ON THE 
 
 to the principal point of the story, or giving bulk and strength to the 
 foreground figures. Add to these, figures repeating by their form the 
 principal points, so as to give those richness by extending their shape, 
 or productive of harmony by their action and expression, emanating from 
 those of the principal actors. These remarks more immediately apply to 
 the mental portion of the work, and of works of the highest department 
 in the art; but many of them also may be made applicable to other 
 branches, such as the combining of several heads for the purpose of 
 preserving a mass of flesh colour, and to prevent spottiness in the effect; 
 or giving pleasure to the eye, by the forms taking pleasing shapes; or 
 assisting deception, by lines combining to give strength and magnitude to 
 the foreground objects, or diminished delicacy to the more distant: in 
 short, a knowledge of the higher requisites of painting is of the greatest 
 importance in all the departments, whether in giving dignity to portraiture, 
 such as Titian’s, or to landscapes, such as his also, and those of Annibale 
 Carrache, Salvator Rosa, or Nicolo Poussin. Towards gaining perfection 
 in poetry, we find writers recommending this course of investigation. 
 Addison says, “ a poet should be very well versed in everything that is 
 noble and stately in the productions of art, whether it appears in painting 
 or statuary; in the great works ot‘ architecture, which are in their present 
 glory, or in the ruins of those which flourished in former ages. Such 
 advantages as these help to open a man’s thoughts, and to enlarge his 
 imagination, and will therefore have their influence on all kinds of writing, 
 if the author knows how to make right use of tliem.” 23 Reynolds recom¬ 
 mends, “ that all the inventions and thoughts of the ancients, whether 
 
 " 3 The same remarks which Dr. Johnson applies to poetry may be here made use of to 
 indicate the sources of instruction for those who aspire to the higher walks of painting : “ By the 
 general consent of critics, the first praise of genius is due to the writer of an epic poem, as it 
 requires an assemblage of all the powers which are singly sufficient for other compositions. 
 Poetry is the art of uniting pleasure with truth, by calling imagination to the help of reason. 
 Epic poetry undertakes to teach the most important truths by the most pleasing precepts, and 
 therefore relates some great event in the most affecting manner. History must supply the writer 
 with the rudiments of narration, which he must improve and exalt by a nobler art, must animate 
 
EDUCATION OF THE EYE. 
 
 51 
 
 conveyed to us in statues, bas reliefs, intaglios, cameos, or coins, are to 
 be sought after and carefully studied ; the genius that hovers over these 
 venerable relics may he called the father of modern art. The collection 
 of the thoughts of the ancients which Raffaelle made with so much trouble, 
 is a proof of his opinion on this subject; such collections may be now 
 made with much more ease, by means of an art scarce known in his time, 
 I mean that of engraving ; by which, at an easy rate, every man may now 
 avail himself of the inventions of antiquity.” He also recommends taking 
 another view of the same figure, either by modelling it or setting a person 
 in the same attitude; this will give the student a quick knowledge, 
 wherein consists the beauty and character of the different great masters ; 
 or by altering it to suit his subjects, such as the figure of St. Paul, by 
 Masaccio, introduced in Paul preaching by Raffaelle, or the Sacrifice at 
 Lystra, Plate ii. To conclude, I can only repeat the words of Sir 
 Joshua Reynolds, “ study, therefore, the great works of the great masters 
 for ever, study as nearly as you can in the order, in the manner, and on the 
 principles on which they studied. Study nature attentively, but always 
 with those masters in your company ; consider them as models which you 
 are to imitate, and at the same time as rivals, with whom you are to 
 contend.” 
 
 by dramatic energy, and diversify by retrospection and anticipation ; morality must teach him the 
 exact bounds and different shades of vice and virtue; from policy, and the practice of life, he has 
 to learn the discrimination of character, and the tendency of the passions, either single or 
 combined; and physiology must supply him with illustrations and images. To put these materials 
 to poetical use, is required an imagination capable of painting nature and realizing fiction. Nor is 
 he yet a poet till he has attained the whole extension of his language, distinguished all the 
 delicacies of phrase, and all the colours of words, and learned to adjust their different sounds to all 
 the varieties of metrical modulation .”—Johnsons Life of Milton. 
 
 H 
 
 9 
 
52 
 
 AN ESSAY ON THE 
 
 A GRANGE M E N T. 
 
 Arrangement, though not partaking of that high quality which distin¬ 
 guishes composition, yet nevertheless embraces a knowledge of those 
 characteristic features to he found pervading the general appearances of 
 nature, and to he employed in giving a truth and vigour to assemblages of 
 lines, shades, and colours. All objects whose images enter the eye are 
 subject to certain laws, which regulate their form, and assign to them situa¬ 
 tions in the picture which such forms indicate, and which having been often 
 observed, have obtained a general consent as to their truth and natural 
 character. To know, therefore, these arrangements observable in nature is 
 absolutely necessary, that we may employ such knowledge in producing 
 the same results in painting, especially as we find the works of those 
 artists who have thus combined their skill in arrangement give the greatest 
 pleasure to the eye of the spectator : this gratification arises from the 
 several images being depicted in their most characteristic features. In 
 looking abroad upon the face of nature, for example, in a wide extent of 
 country, where the eye can take a comprehensive observation, we notice 
 towards the horizon a multitude of parallel lines stretching across the 
 landscape, the lines crossing them being foreshortened lose their breadth 
 while the perpendicular lines of objects lose their consequence owing to 
 their diminution from distance; but as these approach towards the fore¬ 
 ground, we perceive that they gain their ascendancy, and become more 
 rugged in the outline, and stronger in effect from their shadowed portions 
 being larger and darker, owing to their nearness to the eye. Being 
 acquainted with these facts, we can produce such an arrangement as shall 
 have the appearance of truth, and become enabled to heighten in effect 
 the arrangements of natural representation, and by the addition of colours, 
 whose properties belong to near objects, by the addition of light and 
 dark coining in contact, which gives distinctness and firmness, by the 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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EDUCATION OF THE EYE. 
 
 53 
 
 introduction of figures and other objects, we can assist the perspective, 
 by their assuming forms more or less under its influence, according to 
 their situation. 
 
 We know that quietness and regularity give dignity to part of a 
 composition while their lines contrast with others expressive of hustle, or 
 picturesque assemblage of forms ; we have noticed this exemplified in the 
 Attila, &c., we see it also in Fig. 5, part of the Heliodorus, where the 
 heads of the figures who bear the chair of the Pope surround him with 
 
 Fig. 5. 
 
 studied regularity, giving calmness by the arrangement, and firmness by 
 the perspective appearance of a column upon whose base he is elevated. 21 
 
 24 Lanzi, speaking of this work, says, “in the course of this year, 1512, Kaffaelle was 
 employed in the second chamber on the subject of Heliodorus driven from the temple by the 
 prayers of Onias the high priest, one of the most celebrated pictures of the place. In this painting 
 
54 
 
 AN ESSAY ON THE 
 
 This regularity of diminution and perspective effect lias been noticed 
 principally in the arrangement of the heads; it is also to he observed in 
 the base lines of the several compositions of the figures, such as we 
 observe upon this side of the Heliodorus, where the Pope enters, marking 
 the line from the foreground to the distance, assisting the perspective by 
 such means as to lead the eye into the depths of the composition, while it 
 gives the appearance of truth and simplicity of natural diminution. See 
 Plate iv. I have given an additional Plate tv,* part of the Dispute of 
 the Sacrament, where this disposition is more evident. Independent of 
 this mode of arrangement being of use in giving uniformity to irregular 
 portions of a composition, it is of great advantage in directing the eye to 
 the principal parts of the picture by means of the perspective appearance 
 of the line ; also by producing such arrangement either by the base of the 
 group or the introduction of accidental objects to assist such deceptive 
 diminution, we counteract the effect of false perspective, which the base 
 line of the group sometimes produces ; for in conducting the design, the 
 heads and upper portions only of the composition are attended to in the 
 
 the armed vision that appears to Heliodorus scatters lightning from his hand, while the neighing 
 steed is heard amidst the attendant thunder. In the numerous bands, some of which are 
 plundering the riches of the temple, and in others ignorant of the surprise and terror exhibited in 
 Heliodorus, consternation, amazement, joy, and abasement, and a host of passions are expressed. 
 In this work, and in others of these chambers, Raffaelle (says Mengs) gave to painting all the 
 augmentation it could receive after Michael Angelo. In this picture he introduced the portrait of 
 Julius the Second, whose zeal and authority is represented in Onias. He appears in a litter, 
 borne by his grooms, in the manner in which he was accustomed to repair to the Vatican to view 
 this work.” In these heads Raffaelle has given the portraits of his pupils M. Antonio and Julio 
 Romano, with the Pope’s secretary, Ac. For this anachronism Raffaelle has been blamed by the 
 critics, without considering that it was the only way the painter had of connecting the Jewish with 
 the Christian church, and exemplifying the temples of both as the sacred depositories for those 
 funds which were to be given out to the widow and the orphan poor. Without detracting from the 
 great merit of Raffaelle, we may rest assured that these works were of too much importance not to 
 be watched with the greatest vigilance, and assisted in their moral efficacy by all the learning 
 within the walls of the Vatican. Those who wish to see how close Raffaelle often kept to the 
 history, may examine the whole story in 2 Maccabees, chap. iii. 
 

 
 
 
 
 
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EDUCATION OF THE EYE. 
 
 55 
 
 first instance, without reflecting how the parts which come in contact 
 with the ground will appear when terminated according to their true 
 position in the picture. 
 
 A knowledge of arrangement enables us yet further to heighten 
 the gratification of the spectator, by engrafting upon the work those 
 forms found in the compositions of the most celebrated artists. This 
 knowledge it is which enables the poet to give so pleasing and vivid 
 descriptions of scenery, often gratifying the imagination more than an 
 actual survey of the scene he describes; as Addison remarks, “he takes 
 indeed the landscape after her, but gives it more vigorous touches, 
 heightens its beauty, and enlivens the whole piece, that the images which 
 flow from the objects themselves appear weak and faint, in comparison of 
 those that come from the expressions.” A knowledge of arrangement 
 enables the artist to follow up and extend lines and forms often only 
 hinted at in nature; those parts which possess a strong local character, 
 he preserves as leading points to an harmonious assemblage of lines ; while 
 portions possessing beauty, he enshrines in masses of repose, or surrounds 
 them with forms and colours, which add to their effect upon the spectator. 
 Even in the wild, rugged scenes of savage grandeur, where rocks, trees, 
 and clouds combine in awful magnificence, a knowledge of arrangement is 
 necessary to preserve this eartliquake-like appearance. In the works of 
 Salvator Eosa, the student will find many examples of this mode of 
 arrangement, every part of the work uniting “in dreadful harmony.” To 
 acquire a knowledge of beautiful scenery, founded upon aerial perspective, 
 or an agreeable assemblage of lines and forms, he ought to study the 
 arrangements of Claude, Cuyp, and those of Turner, whoso works are 
 filled with the various qualities which constitute the true poetry of painting, 
 and the power of giving extent and magnificence in the highest degree. 
 
AN ESSAY ON THE 
 
 56 
 
 HARMONY. 
 
 Harmony in painting is the connexion and agreement of one part with 
 another, either as regards form, light and shade, or colour : this agreement 
 proceeds either from a succession of the same forms in different degrees 
 of distinctness, such as arise when we cast a stone into water, producing 
 a succession of undulating circles, or by one form depending upon its 
 adjoining for its completion and unity, as is the case in poetry; 25 or the 
 harshness of isolated forms may he broken down, and harmonised with the 
 whole, by their being hinted at, or faintly repeated in various portions of 
 the picture. 
 
 FORM. 
 
 Burke, speaking of beautiful forms, says, “ as perfectly beautiful bodies 
 are not composed of angular parts, so those parts never continue long in 
 the same right line, they vary their direction every moment, and they 
 change under the eye, by a deviation continually carrying on, but for 
 whose beginning or end you will find it difficult to ascertain a point.” All 
 authors from Aristotle to Do Quincy having treated of the affections of the 
 mind as if the avenues to each sensation were the same, it will perhaps 
 lead us to a more clear definition of the properties which belong to vision 
 exclusively, by confining the observations on form, shade, or colour to 
 
 25 Dr. Johnson says, “ As harmony is the end of poetical measures, no part of the verse ought 
 to he so separated from the rest as not to remain still more harmonious than prose, or to show, by 
 the disposition of the tones, that it is part of a verse.” Further on he remarks, “when a single 
 syllable is cut off from the rest, it must either be united to the line with which the sense connects 
 it, or be found alone. If it be united to the other line, it corrupts its harmony ; if disjoined, it 
 must stand alone, and with regard to music be superfluous; for there is no harmony in a single 
 sound, because it has no proportion to another.”— Rambler, No. 90. 
 
EDUCATION OF THE EYE. 
 
 57 
 
 tlieir effects upon the eye. As the forms of all objects enter the eve 
 through a circular aperture, those objects containing a similar continuity 
 of form fall most agreeably upon the organ of vision, and are seen as it 
 were at a single glance; while objects possessing sharp angles seem less 
 in harmony with the flow of light which accompanies their entrance, and 
 require repeated examinations to gain a knowledge of their exact form; 
 for example, if a circle be presented to the eye, we are incontinently 
 carried round the whole circumference, whereas when we look upon a 
 square or cubical form, it requires four separate examinations, each 
 producing a separate effort. Now as the images of all objects are not 
 only viewed through a circular aperture, but are also received upon a 
 circular surface, and as the rays by which such images are conveyed fade 
 imperceptibly as they depart from the centre of vision, these may be 
 some of the causes why circular or undulating forms fall most agreeably 
 upon the eye ; especially if we consider that the organ itself moves as it 
 were in a circular motion, by means of its muscles, or as it is commonly 
 termed, the ball and socket. 26 There are other reasons why circular forms 
 
 26 “ One of tlie many points of superiority which the eye possesses over the ordinary camera 
 obscura is derived from its spherical shape adapting the retina to receive every portion of the 
 images produced by refraction, which are themselves curved : whereas, had they been received on 
 a plane surface, as they usually are in the camera obscura, a considerable portion of the image 
 would have been indistinct. This spherical form is preserved by means of the firm membranes 
 which protect the eye, and which are termed its coats; and the transparent media which they 
 enclose, and which effect the convergence of the rays, are termed the humours of the eye. There 
 are in this organ three principal coats and three humours, composing altogether what is called the 
 globe of the eye. The outermost coat, which is termed the sclerotica , is exceedingly firm and 
 dense, and gives to the globe of the eye the mechanical support it requires for the performance of 
 its delicate functions; it is perforated behind by the optic nerve, which passes onward to be 
 expanded into the retina. The sclerotica does not extend farther than about four-fifths of the 
 globe of the eye, its place in front being supplied by a transparent convex membrane, called the 
 cornea, which is more prominent than the rest of the eyeball; a line passing through the centre 
 of the cornea and the centre of the globe of the eye is called the axis of the eye. The sclerotica is 
 lined internally by the choroid coat, which is chiefly made up of a tissue of blood vessels for 
 supplying nourishment to the eye. It has on its inner surface a layer of a dark coloured viscid 
 
 I 
 
58 
 
 AN ESSAY ON THE 
 
 are most agreeable to the eye, arising from an association of ideas, such as 
 the soft circular forms of children and youth, compared with the rigid and 
 angular forms of age: or flowing undulating lines, conveying a greater 
 idea of motion than lines crossing each other in abrupt opposite directions. 
 Harmony consisting of a certain proportion of one part with another, no 
 figure or shape can be harmonious or agreeable unless this arrangement is 
 complete, so as to produce a unity to the eye, or a balance of one portion 
 with another, such as the preponderance of perpendicular lines being 
 counteracted by those running in a horizontal direction, or oblique lines 
 antagonized by opposite obliquities, convex by the presence of concave, 
 
 secretion, known by the name of the pigmentum nigrum, or black pigment. Its use is to absorb 
 all the light which may happen to be irregularly scattered through the eye, in consequence of 
 reflection from different quarters; and it serves, therefore, the same purpose as the black paint 
 with which the inside of optical instruments, such as telescopes, microscopes, and camerse obscurte, 
 are darkened. Within the pigmentum nigrum, and almost in immediate contact with it, the retina 
 is expanded, forming an exceedingly thin and delicate layer of nervous matter, supported by a fine 
 membrane. More than three-fourths of the globe of the eye are filled with the vitreous humour, 
 which has the appearance of a pellucid and elastic jelly, contained in an exceedingly delicate 
 texture of cellular substance. The crystalline humour, which has the shape of a double convex 
 lens, is formed of a denser material than any of the other humours, and occupies the fore part of 
 the globe of the eye, immediately in front of the vitreous humour, which is there hollowed to 
 receive it. The space which intervenes between the lens and the cornea is filled with a watery 
 secretion, called the aqueous humour. This space is divided into an anterior and posterior 
 chamber by a flat circular partition, termed the iris. The iris has a central perforation, called the 
 pupil, and it is fixed to the edge of the choroid coat by a white elastic ring, called the ciliary 
 ligament. The posterior surface of the iris is called the uvea, and is lined with a dark brown 
 pigment. The structure of the iris is very peculiar, being composed of two layers of contractile 
 fibres; the one forming concentric circles, the other disposed like radii, between the outer and 
 inner margin. When the former act, the pupil is contracted ; when the latter act, the breadth of 
 the iris is diminished, and the pupil of course is dilated. By varying the size of the pupil, the 
 quantity of light admitted into the interior of the eye is regulated and accommodated to the 
 sensibility of the retina. When the intensity of the light would be injurious to that highly 
 delicate organ, the pupil is instantly contracted, so as to exclude the greater portion ; and, on the 
 contrary, when the light is too feeble it is dilated, in order to admit as large a quantity as possible. 
 The iris also serves to intercept such rays as would have fallen on parts of the crystalline lens less 
 fitted to produce their regular refraction.”— Dr. Roget’s Bridgewater Trealise. 
 

PLat& 5. 
 
 Tia. 3. 
 
EDUCATION OF THE EYE. 
 
 59 
 
 all mingling together in regular adjustment: as in music we find harmony 
 produced by a combination of sounds different in themselves, yet affecting 
 the mind, through the medium of the ear, with one result. Aristotle, in 
 his Treatise on Poetry, says, “ beauty consists in magnitude and order; 
 but no animal, or other thing, can be beautiful that is either too small or 
 too large for the eye to take cognizance of its several component parts at 
 once, as in that case the whole, or unity, is lost to the spectator.” That 
 extension of form so conducive to harmony, and productive of an agree¬ 
 able effect upon the eye, is often taken advantage of in regulating the 
 boundary line to a composition; thus we often see a single head of a 
 child, or a group consisting of an assemblage of curved lines, reach the 
 eye more agreeably through a circular frame, as in that case the sensations 
 which arise from such a combination are not disturbed or interrupted; so, 
 likewise, the sight may be conveyed with greater pleasure, and with an 
 increased perspective effect, through a square or oblong aperture, by 
 having the horizontal and perpendicular lines of the frame repeated as 
 they depart from the eye, in diminished lengths, and strengths, and 
 magnitude, as in Plate v., also in the curved and horizontal lines of the 
 architecture of the School of Athens, the Heliodorus, &c. This mixing 
 up the frame or opening with the work is often of the utmost importance, 
 even when extended to the effect of light and shade, and colour, as it 
 breaks down that harshness which otherwise attracts the eye, while 
 examining the work contained within it . 27 
 
 27 This harmonious combination of the picture with its frame induces many artists to finish 
 their works after being framed, thereby assisting them in giving a greater force and deceptive 
 appearance to the whole; for though this deceptive appearance is argued against by some, as belong¬ 
 ing only to the infancy of the art, and not applicable to the higher walks of painting, yet the mind 
 cannot be reached through the medium of the eye unless this deception is carried out to a consider¬ 
 able extent; neither, as others reason more subtly, is it to be regarded as a diminution of our 
 gratification. Dioramas and panoramas are both pleasing illusions, on this principle alone. 
 De Quincy says, “ When the painter includes within a narrow compass a vast extent of space, 
 when on a flat surface he bears me through the far off regions of the infinite, and makes the air 
 and light appear to circulate around forms devoid of relief, I find delight in abandoning myself to 
 
60 
 
 AN ESSAY ON THE 
 
 CHIARO OSCURO. 
 
 That harmony which is produced hy chiaro oscuro, or hy the means of 
 black and white, independent of colour, depends upon the quantities of 
 light and dark employed, and the disposition of them; sometimes meeting 
 in extremes of opposition, in other portions gliding away with imper¬ 
 ceptible softness into undefined spaces, the light sometimes falling on 
 combined objects, giving out a faint halo round the group; in some 
 instances darting out through the dark masses of shadow in sharp defined 
 shapes, creating hy their whole arrangement that mixture of harsh and 
 tender gradations observable in nature. The power of producing a variety 
 of pleasing sensations upon the eye mainly rests on the conduct of the 
 chiaro oscuro; objects are rendered either strong or delicate, according 
 as they advance or retire on the perspective plane of the picture; parts 
 are forced upon the spectator’s attention, hy their clear defined character, 
 and assisted from contrast hy groups of indistinct images imbued with the 
 properties of middle tint. The quantities of dark that are to he allowed 
 to interrupt or pass within the boundaries of the masses of light, or the 
 size of those portions of light which are found within the dominion of 
 shade, either giving depth to it hy contrast, or destroying its preponder¬ 
 ance hy producing a union with the light, are entirely at the guidance 
 of the artist, whose skill is shown in the management of this difficult 
 department, it being entirely under the influence of an educated eye: 
 neither am I aware that its beauty is felt, unless hy those whose tastes 
 are refined hy long contemplation of the finest works of those who have 
 
 his illusions. But, nevertheless, I would not have the frame absent; I would wish to know that 
 what I see is in fact hut a piece of canvass on a perfectly plane surface."—Essay on Imitation 
 in the Fine Arts, chap. xiv. 
 
EDUCATION OF THE EYE. 
 
 Cl 
 
 excelled in tlie different branches of painting. "VVe know, as is the case 
 in music, though the ear is capable of acquiring a knowledge of twenty 
 thousand simple sounds, all differing in tone and strength , 28 yet this 
 power of distinction is not entirely in the construction of the organ, but 
 arises from long observation. Sir Charles Bell says, “ that this variety of 
 sensation does not entirely depend upon the structure, but is the operation 
 of the sense and intellect conjointly, appears from the long experience 
 which is requisite to give this perfection. Nature is bountiful in providing 
 the means of simple and acquired perception, but the latter is the result of 
 long experience and continued effort, though we have lost the feeling of 
 its being a voluntary effort.” We have already noticed some of the most 
 evident properties belonging to the application of shadow, by which we 
 can easily perceive, that a mere outline of a group of figures, or a variety 
 of objects, lies like a map under the eye; but by the judicious application 
 of shadow passing amongst the several forms, they rise up, and assume 
 their various situations according to their relative distances from the eye 
 of the spectator. We can easily carry our imagination further, and assign 
 a reason why some portions are to be subdued, and others brought into 
 notice; but the art of combining the whole, in an harmonious mass of 
 chiaro oscuro, can be acquired only by long investigation into the princi¬ 
 ples of those who have excelled in this captivating and imaginative art. 
 Before entering into an examination of this quality, so productive of 
 pleasure, viewing its effects in painting, it will be necessary to examine 
 its cause, and where it exists in natural imagery, the only sure source on 
 which we can build with certainty. When we direct our eyes to any 
 particular object, we observe it distinctly defined, while the surrounding 
 objects produce a fainter impression on the retina; we also perceive, on 
 examination, that we often have been attending to the impression made 
 upon one eye only, either from its more favourable position, or from a 
 superior goodness in the organ itself; nevertheless, a number of lateral 
 
 23 Reid's Inquiry into the Human Mind, p. 98. 
 
(»2 
 
 AN ESSAY ON THE 
 
 images are indistinctly hinted at upon the retina of the other, which, hy 
 their softness, give a precision to the object of our attention, from contrast, 
 and amuse and assist the imagination from a variety of circumstances; we 
 know, also, that there are two representations, one painted in each eye, 
 and though they form hut one in the mind, yet we cannot shut out entirely 
 those hints which may he conveyed to the fancy from the faintest impres¬ 
 sions unconsciously attended to; add to which, the eye, from fatigue in 
 looking at any object attentively, naturally turns for repose to soft masses 
 of shadow and indistinctness. Without following up this subject too 
 minutely, these may be some of the reasons why particular arrangements 
 of cliiaro oscuro please the eye more than others. 29 We also find, that 
 along with indistinctness, a repetition of form, and a completeness or 
 unity of shape, are very much under its influence, as may be observed by 
 trying an experiment as noticed in note 30, 30 which will suggest others to 
 the imagination. But whatever way the stifdent takes to get an insight 
 into this great charm of painting, either in arranging his composition so as 
 to suit any particular effect of light and shade, or in trying various means of 
 
 This indistinctness also pleases the eye of the spectator, in the same way in which an 
 unfinished sketch gratifies his imagination; for as every one has different notions of Leauty of 
 form, he is left to fill up the images, and shape them to his own taste ; it also pleases the mind, as 
 it gives a sort of creative power, such as is felt when looking upon a discoloured wall, or into the 
 dying embers of a fire. Burke even considers it conducive to sublimity; he says, “even in 
 painting, a judicious obscurity in some things contributes to the effect of the picture, because the 
 images in painting are exactly similar to those in nature ; and in nature, dark, confused, uncertain 
 images have a greater power on the fancy to form the grander passions than those have which are 
 more clear and determinate .”—Essay on the Sublime and Beautiful. 
 
 30 if we take a pen and sketch in a row of buildings, trees, <fcc., running from one side to a 
 point of sight in the centre, blotting in shadows broad and dark on the near objects, and while the 
 ink is wet fold the paper across the point of sight, so as to take off an impression on the opposite 
 side, the eye is not only gratified by a greater mixture of sharp and soft portions, but by a greater 
 unity, and balance of parts, one side with another, and a repetition of the sky line with the lines 
 °f the ground; or if we draw in a group of trees and fold the paper across at the base of their 
 stems, so as to take off a faint impression, as if reflected in water, the same agreeable sensation 
 will be produced. 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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 Jlem&rasidt. 
 
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EDUCATION OF THE EYE. 
 
 63 
 
 distributing light and shade over his design, let him carefully watch, both 
 in nature and in art, its various combinations, and endeavour to find out 
 the latent cause of its beauty. As the etchings of Rembrandt embrace 
 this quality in the highest degree, from a mere outline to the most extensive 
 depth of shadow, they ought to be constantly before him when he has it in 
 his power : they ought to be viewed in every direction, to enable the eye to 
 get acquainted with the proportions of light, dark, and half tint; he ought 
 also to engraft the scheme of chiaro oscuro on designs of his own, that the 
 harmony which exists in these wonderful productions may be transferred, 
 if possible, into new inventions, as in Plate vi. 
 
 HARMONY OP COLOUR. 
 
 The power of combining sounds whose united influence shall call into 
 existence, through the medium of the ear, those latent seeds by which the 
 violent or tender passions are excited, is too well understood to require 
 explanation. That there exists the same sources of enjoyment in the 
 human mind, which are capable of being awakened through the medium of 
 the eye, is equally certain; otherwise, the painter could not produce, by 
 a combination of colour, those effects which surprise or delight the 
 spectator. Locke describes colours as only ideas of the mind appre¬ 
 hended by the imagination, and not qualities that have any existence in 
 matter. Newton says, colours have their origin in the different refrangi- 
 bility of the rays of light, and are not received from reflections or 
 refractions from natural bodies. Without, however, entering too minutely 
 into the philosophy of colours, it will be necessary to inquire what are the 
 colours which affect the eye most, or from what arrangement harmony 
 arises. We observe that children and rude nations 31 are most attracted 
 
 31 “ It is evident that gay colours of all kinds are a principal source of pleasure to young 
 children, and they seem to strike them more particularly when mixed together in various ways. 
 Whether there he anything in colours which corresponds to the harmony of sound may be doubted ; 
 
64 
 
 AN ESSAY ON THE 
 
 by strong colours, from tbe excitement which they produce. De la Hire 
 says, “ the different degrees of excitement produced by colours may be 
 observed by keeping the eye shut, after looking at the sun or any luminous 
 object, for the image left upon the retina will be first red, then yellow, then 
 green, and last of all blue.” We also perceive that the effect produced 
 by strong colours may be increased or diminished, by bringing them in 
 contact with others of an opposite hue ; large portions of strong blue 
 coming in contact with red or white (for we find the ground colour often a 
 great cause of opposition) affect the eye in a different manner from what 
 the same colours produce when in smaller quantities ; or on a ground of 
 a neutral tint, such as we see in the specimens found in the Egyptian 
 tombs, contrasted with the same colours distributed over a Persian shawl: 
 in the latter case, the rays coming to the eye from every separate colour, 
 cross each other, so as to produce an agreeable harmony. 32 In the former 
 case, one colour makes too strong an impression on the eye to be 
 obliterated easily; impressions remaining of long or short duration, 
 
 if there be, it must however admit of much greater latitude than the harmony between sounds, 
 since all mixtures and degrees of colour, unless when the quantity of light overpowers the eye, are 
 pleasant: however, one colour may he more so originally than another. Black appears to he 
 originally disagreeable to the eyes of children; it becomes disagreeable also very early from 
 associated influences. In adults, the pleasures of mere colours are very languid, in comparison of 
 their present aggregates of pleasure formed by association. However, the original pleasures of 
 mere colours remain in a small degree to the last, and those transfused upon them by association 
 with other pleasures (for the influence is reciprocal without limits) is a considerable one,-—so that 
 our intellectual pleasures are not only at first generated, but afterwards supported and resuscitated 
 in part from the pleasures affecting the eye, which holds particularly in respect of the pleasures 
 afforded by the beauties of nature, and by the imitation of these which the arts of painting and 
 poetry furnish us with .”—Hartley on Man, Sense of Sight, 
 
 32 Sir Isaac Newton remarks, that when the refrangibility of any particular ray produced a 
 certain colour, he found it impossible to change that colour, if sufficiently large ; he could subdue 
 its intensity, by intercepting its rays by coloured mediums, but could not change it in specie, 
 (We find this, which is a kind of glazing, was even practised by the ancients). He found a 
 transmutation of colours might be made by a mixture of different kinds of rays, but in such 
 mixtures the component colours themselves do not appear, but by their mutually allaying each 
 
EDUCATION OF THE EYE. 
 
 65 
 
 according to the intensity of light or brightness of the object producing 
 them. Reynolds mentions three modes of harmony existing in the arrange¬ 
 ment of colours; one where the colours are of a full and strong body, such 
 as we find in the works of Raffaelle, and which he denominates the 
 Roman manner; another the Bologna style, which mixes several colours 
 together, so as to produce a general union in the whole, without reminding 
 you of the original colours of which they are composed, and which is 
 carried to the greatest perfection in the small works of the Dutch school; 
 the third is the Venetian, where the brightest colours are admitted, with 
 the two extremes of warm and cold hues, and the whole reconciled and 
 harmonised by being dispersed over the picture, presenting to the eye 
 that sensation arising from a bunch of flowers. Each method seems to 
 have its peculiar province allotted to it, corresponding to the subject or 
 style of composition, in the design, and cliiaro oscuro, according as they 
 depart more or less from common representations of nature, or retain an 
 entireness or severity of outline: harmony arising from a corresponding 
 agreement of the several parts, we can easily imagine a suitableness 
 in the colouring to preserve such unity. In the early stages of painting, 
 when the figures possessed a dry continuous outline, we find the colours 
 laid in strong and bright, so as to give relief unconnected with the effect 
 of aerial perspective. As the art advanced, we find colours made use of 
 in the character of cliiaro oscuro ; and when foreshortening and perspective 
 effect occupied a large share in the conduct of the work, we perceive that 
 colour became more subordinate, and the outline, light and shade, and 
 colour, assimilated with each other in producing an effect upon the 
 spectator, arising from neither having a preponderance in claiming his 
 attention. In entering upon a diffuse examination of the foregoing 
 
 other, constitute a middle colour; and therefore if, by refraction, the different rays be separated, 
 colours will emerge different from that of the composition. Thus blue and yellow powders finely 
 mixed appear green to the naked eye, and yet the colours of the component particles are not thereby 
 really changed, but only blended; for when they are viewed with a microscope, they still appear 
 blue and yellow.”— Priestley's Remarks on Newtons Optics. 
 
 K 
 
66 
 
 AN ESSAY ON THE 
 
 remarks, each separate division would require a lengthened essay to 
 particularise the way in which the eye receives delight from the various 
 modifications of colour : a work of this brief description can do little 
 more than point out where the various examples are to be met with, and 
 how they are modified and arranged to harmonise with those sensations 
 which exist in the mind, and cannot be altered or diverted into other 
 channels by the caprice or false taste of any one. I would fain hope I 
 have gone further: I have endeavoured to prove, that those sources of 
 enjoyment which lie dormant in the human mind, and which through the 
 sense of sight are vivified and called into operation, can only, by the 
 cultivation of that sense, be productive of pleasure. 33 I have also endea¬ 
 voured to prove the great utility of the education of the eye, as a means 
 of general instruction, giving employment to thousands, while it opens 
 those avenues to science, which even to the great power of language 
 remain as “books sealed and fountains shut up.” 
 
 STUDYING FROM NATURE. 
 
 Objects drawn from nature possess a very characteristic difference from 
 those drawn from the combinations of fancy, or from those images 
 presented to the imagination. We find in sketches from nature many 
 minute circumstances, a truth and precision, a variety and beauty, that 
 
 33 Addison remarks, that a man of polite imagination is let into a great many pleasures that 
 the vulgar are not capable of receiving. He can converse with a picture, and tind an agreeable 
 companion in a statue. He meets with a secret refreshment in a description, and often feels a 
 greater satisfaction in the prospect of fields and meadows than another does in the possession. It 
 gives him, indeed, a kind of property in everything he sees, and makes the most rude uncultivated 
 parts of nature administer to his pleasures : so that he looks upon the world as it were in another 
 light, and discovers in it a multitude of charms that conceal themselves from the generality of 
 mankind.— Spectator, No. 411. 
 
EDUCATION OF THE EYE. 
 
 67 
 
 objects drawn from memory, or those images under tlie guidance of the 
 mind only, have no pretension to ; tlie latter possess the general appearance 
 merely like the confused character of nature presented to indistinct vision ; 
 or if made out with detail, the minutiae contain a select set of touches or 
 forms, become agreeable from habit, which constitutes mannerism ; such 
 imperfections can be avoided only by having accustomed the eye in the 
 first instance to a scrupulous exactness in delineating objects from nature, 
 as one or two parts left out may destroy the richness and variety of lines, 
 and an unequal proportion of the forms may deprive the copy of the truth 
 and beauty of the original. These peculiarities are also to be examined and 
 contemplated upon, that this character may be engrafted upon works of 
 imagination. Reynolds says, “ I very much doubt whether a habit of 
 drawing correctly what we see will not give a proportionable power of 
 drawing what we imagine.” 
 
 To educate the eye to accomplish this, it is necessary, in the first 
 instance, to select such objects as are simple in their forms, that the eye 
 may perceive them distinctly, and make them gradually give place to others 
 more complicated, to fit the eye and the hand to a variety of lines. It is 
 also of the first importance that the drawings be made sufficiently large, 
 that an opportunity may be given for filling up the various spaces with 
 the minute parts, and also to prevent the hand acquiring a cramped, or 
 little manner of drawing : it is also of equal importance, that the object 
 chosen for representation be such as can be compared with the original, 
 to test the exactness of the copy ; much injury and fallacy has arisen 
 from not attending early to a proper mode of study; how often, for 
 example, do we perceive in those who draw landscapes the incapability 
 of drawing the human figure with any degree of correctness ; this arises 
 entirely from careless drawing in the first instance. A tree may be 
 imperfectly drawn, yet look sufficiently true to please most spectators ; 
 but the human figure possesses proportions, the want of which can be 
 easily detected ; but had we an opportunity of comparing the tree with 
 
 k 2 
 
68 
 
 AN ESSAY ON THE 
 
 the original in nature, we should discover the resemblance to he equally 
 imperfect ; for an eye capable of drawing correctly, can draw any 
 object presented to it, whether simple or complicated. Educating the 
 eye in the first instance in the elements of lineal and aerial perspective, 
 gives it a clearer insight into the causes of the changes of form and 
 shadow, observable in all objects ; while drawing from the objects them¬ 
 selves in place of copies, gives it a power of perception, 34 and a knowledge 
 of embodying forms in composition, quite unattainable by any other 
 method. When we consider that the images of objects dwell upon the 
 retina only while the eye is directed to them, and, like the pictures on the 
 table of the camera obscura, instantaneously vanish when we turn to 
 something else, we may perceive the necessity of keeping each several 
 part sufficiently long under examination before delineating it, that the mind 
 may be put in possession of its form and colour, so as to retain it in 
 the memory not only while copying it, but with such an impression as 
 will improve and enrich the imagination with a multiplicity of imagery. 
 Those who advocate the study of nature, without educating the eye in the 
 first instance, are not aware that it is the superficies of things only which 
 present themselves to the outward vision, and without a monitor to direct 
 the art would always be in its infancy. 35 A tree drawn by a beginner 
 
 34 Dr. J ui'in observes, that the eye, as well as other parts of the frame, acquires strength and 
 perfection from frequent use of the muscles, as is noticed in the eyes of sportsmen, travellers, 
 sailors, &c., who see better at long distances; while those whose professions lead them to close 
 examination, see better at small distances : but drawing from nature, especially distant prospects, 
 perfects the eye in both these extremes, as we have to carry the vision to examine objects far off, 
 and immediately transfer it to a near examination on the paper close to the eye, for this organ 
 is wonderfully provided with the means of changing the crystalline lens, both for pushing it forward 
 from the retina, and rendering it more convex when viewing near objects; and also for drawing 
 it more within the vitreous humour and rendering it flatter when examining distant objects.—See 
 Dr. Jurin on Distinct Vision, and Potterjield on the Eye. 
 
 35 “ Cicero remarks, that not to know what has been transacted in former times, is to continue 
 always a child. If no use is made of the labours of past ages, the world must remain always in the 
 
EDUCATION OE THE EYE. 
 
 69 
 
 represents a flat image, like a plant or a piece of sea weed dried between 
 tlic leaves of a book; a figure represents but tlie section of one, for even 
 if the foreshortened portions were perceived, lie is incapable of giving 
 them the perspective appearance, or lifting it from the ground by means 
 of the application of light and shade. The first restorers of the art in 
 Italy advanced but little beyond the flat brasses that supplied them with 
 the means of design ; even in the hands of Giotto and Massaccio fore¬ 
 shortening was but little attended to, and then from a want of light and 
 shade to give the parts their relative situations, looked cramped and 
 feeble; it was not till the master minds of Leonardo da Vinci and Michael 
 Angelo grappled with the subject that difficulties disappeared ; those 
 portions of the figure were no longer represented in profile views, but 
 advanced or receded from the spectator, and whole groups, in place of 
 looking like a continuous frieze, were turned round, and sunk in the 
 depths of the composition hy means of lineal and aerial perspective. 
 Raffaelle, hy taking advantage of the works of those who had preceded 
 him, carried the art to a state of perfection, which the study of nature, 
 notwithstanding his constant application to her, never could have enabled 
 him to achieve ; the contemplation of the fine works of antiquity created 
 elevated visions of ideal composition, while his constant application to 
 nature for the details enabled him to give a reality and identity to the 
 creations of his imagination. Without the eye being made acquainted with 
 the beauties of those who have advanced the art to its present state, either 
 progressively, by studying the best works, or by commencing a course 
 of drawing from antique sculpture, it will be impossible to select what is 
 beautiful in nature, or be able to choose one point of view more interesting 
 than another. It will also be impossible to combine a variety of objects. 
 
 infancy of knowledge. The discoveries of every man must terminate in his own advantage, and 
 the studies of every age be employed on questions which the past generation had discussed and 
 determined. We may with as little rejn'oach borrow science as manufactures from our ancestors ; 
 and it is as rational to live in caves till our own hands have erected a palace, as to reject all know¬ 
 ledge of architecture, which our understandings will not supply.”— Dr. Johnson. 
 
70 
 
 AN ESSAY ON THE 
 
 unless we have a knowledge of those principles upon which the various 
 works are constructed that have given satisfaction ; for though, as is the 
 case with music, the varieties are endless, yet the science is simple, and 
 to he perceived by those who investigate the arrangements of harmony. 
 He who attempts to study from nature unassisted by education in the first 
 instance, will find himself often mistaken in his results ; neither will he 
 arrive at so certain, or so expeditious a method of delineating objects 
 with truth and feeling, as he will he continually in dread of falling into 
 error. Leonardo da Vinci says, “ theory is the great director of experi¬ 
 ment, the only interpreter of the works of nature which is never wrong ; 
 it is our judgement which is sometimes deceived, because we are expecting 
 results which experiment refuses to give; we must consult experiment, 
 and vary the circumstances till we have deduced general rules, for it alone 
 can furnish us with them ; and general rules direct us in our inquiries into 
 nature, and the operations of art; they keep us from deceiving ourselves 
 and others, by promising ourselves results which we can never obtain.” 
 
 This is the experience which enables the artist to select and combine, 
 to leave out or add to the various appearances presented to his eye. 
 Why is it, for example, that the portrait painter, when his sitter is placed 
 before him, turns the head first to one side, then to the other, and 
 contemplates it also under a variety of effects of light and shade ? It is to 
 observe the best arrangement of the features, to select that view of the 
 head, which developes the greatest character, and the most beautiful 
 points. To enable the eye to make these selections, it is necessary to 
 combine with the study of nature the study of the works of those eminent 
 men who have preceded us. The works of Titian will convince the student 
 how much quiet grandeur is to he produced by simplicity and breadth; 
 the works of Vandyke exemplify the art of arrangement, and a beautiful 
 distribution of the features, also the art of uniting the several parts by 
 means of light and shade, or disj)osition of the hair, or subordinate 
 accessories. This power of planning out or adjusting the several parts to 
 
EDUCATION OF TIIE EYE. 
 
 71 
 
 the best advantage may lie acquired by long contemplation of the various 
 combinations observed in nature ; but a reference to the etchings by 
 Vandyke, and the prints after him, will facilitate the student in bis 
 inquiries. We know that Rubens advised Vandyke and Velasquez to 
 study the works of Titian as the best means of arriving at perfection in 
 portrait painting ; and so uniform lias been this mode of acquiring correct 
 knowledge, that the works of Reynolds or of Lawrence may be studied as 
 the best means of shortening labour, these artists having adopted the 
 principles existing in the works of their great predecessors, so as to suit 
 the fashion and taste of their own times, but along with such study 
 bringing their own genius to the incessant contemplation of nature : for, 
 as Bacon observes, “ to spend too much time in studies, is sloth; to use 
 them too much for ornament, is affectation; to make judgement wholly 
 by their rules is the humour of a scholar, they perfect nature, and are 
 perfected by experience; for natural abilities are like natural plants, that 
 need pruning by study, and studies themselves do give forth directions 
 too much at large, except they be bounded in by experience.” 
 
 The art of studying from nature may be therefore considered as 
 implying that which we perceive through the medium of our own eyes, 
 and those things made apparent through the spectacles of other men; for 
 seeing nature does not merely mean seeing the exact length and breadth 
 of any object, but means the power of discerning her beauties and defects, 
 those portions which are to be preserved, and the mode of heightening their 
 effect upon the eye of the spectator, and the several parts which operate 
 detrimentally to the general arrangement of the whole, which are to be 
 intercepted by other objects, or left out entirely. 36 Ror, as the accidental 
 
 36 Nothing can be so unphilosophical as a supposition that we can form any idea of beauty or 
 excellence out of or beyond nature, which is and must be the fountain-head from whence all our 
 ideas must be derived. This being acknowledged, it must follow, of course, that all the rules which 
 this theory, or any other teaches, can be no more than teaching the art of seeing nature. The 
 
72 
 
 AN ESSAY ON THE 
 
 combinations of nature are thrown together uncontrolled by the likings or 
 dislikings of any one, the greatest study is necessary, so as to form a 
 complete work, which shall possess all the appearance of chance combined 
 with the most skilful adjustment: for example, what a variety of appear¬ 
 ances do not the effects of light and shade produce upon the same scene, 
 viewed at various times of the day, or seen under the advantages or 
 disadvantages of accidental arrangements of objects; this power of 
 discernment is therefore to be acquired by the study of the works of those 
 who have excelled in the different departments of the art, and afterwards 
 perfected in searching out and contemplating the beautiful combinations 
 which lie scattered in the endless varieties of nature: this mode of study 
 alone can enable one artist to surpass another in the power of selection; 
 and the same scene, bald and ineffective in the hands of one, may be 
 rendered full and of rich effect by another, who has watched a more 
 favourable arrangement, and who has followed up and completed the 
 various hints derived from accidental combinations, as in Plate vii. Fig. 1 
 and 2. 
 
 Thus the study of nature is conducive to perfect the education of the 
 
 rules of art are formed on the various works of those who have studied nature most successfully; 
 by this advantage, of observing the various manners in which various minds have contemplated her 
 works, the artist enlarges his own views, and is taught to look for and see what otherwise would 
 have escaped his observation. It is to be remarked, that there are two modes of imitating nature; 
 one of which refers for its truth to the sensations of the mind, and the other to the eye. Some 
 schools, such as the Homan and Florentine, appear to have addressed themselves principally to the 
 mind; others solely to the eye, such as the Venetian, in the instances of Paul Veronese and 
 Tintoret; others, again, have endeavoured to unite both, by joining the elegance and grace of 
 ornament with the strength and vigour of design; such are the schools of Bologna and Parma. 
 All these schools are equally to be considered as followers of nature. He who produces a work 
 analogous to the mind or imagination of man is as natural a painter as he whose works are calcu¬ 
 lated to delight the eye; the works of Michael Angelo or Julio Bomano, in this sense, may be said 
 to be as natural as those of the Dutch painters.— Reynolds's Notes upon Fresnoy’s Art of 
 Painting. 
 
/ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
note. 7. 
 
 Tig.J. 
 
 
 Ikhcd 4 , 
 
EDUCATION OP THE EYE. 
 
 73 
 
 eye, by careful investigation of her works ourselves, and by being able to 
 comprehend and appreciate the works of those who have most successfully 
 studied her; and this not in a lukewarm or superficial manner, but with 
 that noble enthusiasm which stimulated the genius of Michael Angelo 
 through a long life, and even, when deprived of the power of vision from 
 old age, made him order his attendants to convey him to the gardens of the 
 Medici, that he might feel and pass over with his hands the glorious remains 
 of Grecian art, on whose statues he had founded his own education. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
 Waterlow & Sons Limited, Printers, London Wall, London, E.C. 
 
PRACTICAL 
 
 ON 
 
 HINTS 
 
 COMPOSITION IN PAINTING. 
 
PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 ON 
 
 COMPOSITION IN PAINTING. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY 
 
 Samples from tbe (great jHasters 
 
 OF THE 
 
 ITALIAN, FLEMISH, AND DUTCH SCHOOLS. 
 
 BY JOHN BURNET. 
 
 “Invention is one of the great marks of genius; but, if we consult experience, we shall find, that it 
 is by being conversant with the inventions of others that we learn to invent, as, by reading the thoughts 
 of others, we learn to think.”— Sir Joshua Reynolds. 
 
 EIGHTH EDITION. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 HENRY SOTHERAN & CO., 136, STRAND. 
 
 1880 . 
 
PRINTED 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 WATERLOO AND SONS LIMITED, 
 LONDON WALL, E.C. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The Plates hereto annexed were originally intended to illustrate 
 the first part of a Practical Essay on Painting, which I have long- 
 had in contemplation to publish; but have delayed, from year to 
 year, from its interruption to my professional engagements, from 
 doubts respecting its utility, and a love of ease which, after the 
 day’s employment, suggests a more natural recreation than the 
 investigation of an abstruse study: I now publish the plates with a 
 few loose hints thrown together, in the hope of their being useful. 
 Should they be thought of advantage to the younger students of 
 painting, in directing their minds to a regular mode of investigating 
 the intricacies of the art, I shall follow them with others illustrative, 
 in the first instance, of light and shade, and, ultimately, of the 
 arrangement of colour. On the contrary, should the work not be 
 considered a desideratum, by publishing only a first part, I escape 
 a heavy responsibility and expense—a tax to which I do not wish 
 that either my vanity or my love for the fine arts should subject 
 
 me. 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
C O N T E N T S . 
 
 PiGH 
 
 Composition.1 
 
 Plate 1.3 
 
 ir.6 
 
 III .8 
 
 IV .12 
 
 V.15 
 
 VI.17 
 
 VII.18 
 
 VIII.19 
 
 IX. 
 
 20 
 
PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 ON 
 
 COMPOSITION IN PAINTING. 
 
 COMPOSITION. 
 
 OMPOSITION is the art of arranging figures or objects, so as to adapt 
 
 \J them to any particular subject. In composition four requisites are 
 necessary;—that the story he well told; that it possess a good general form; 
 that it be so arranged as to be capable of receiving a proper effect of light 
 and shade; and that it be susceptible of an agreeable disposition of colour. 
 The form of a composition is best suggested by the subject or design, as 
 the fitness of the adaptation ought to appear to emanate from the circum¬ 
 stances themselves : hence the variety of compositions. 
 
 The point of time being fixed upon, the action, expression, and inci¬ 
 dental circumstances oblige us often to determine on a particular arrange¬ 
 ment, that we may he enabled to place the most interesting objects in the 
 most prominent places. Unless our attention he directed to such arrange¬ 
 ment in the first instance, we shall often he obliged to put an emphasis on 
 an insignificant object, or throw into repose an interesting point of the 
 action, when we come to consider their relation to a good effect of light 
 and shade. 
 
 B 
 
2 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS ON 
 
 To secure a good general form in composition, it is necessary tliat it 
 should he as simple as possible. A confused complicated form may hide 
 the art, hut can never invite the attention. Horace, in his Art of Poetry, 
 inculcates the same doctrine, “ Denique sit quod vis, simples duntaxat et 
 unum.” Whether this is to he produced by a breadth of light and shade, 
 which is often the case with Rembrandt, even on a most complicated out¬ 
 line, or by the simple arrangement of colour, as we often find in Titian, or 
 by the construction of the group in the first instance, evident in many of 
 Raffaelle’s works, must depend upon the taste of the artist: it is sufficient 
 to direct the younger students to this particular, their minds being gene¬ 
 rally carried away by notions of variety and contrast. 
 
 In giving a few examples of composition, I have confined myself to the 
 four simple and principal forms; not only from their being most palpable, 
 hut also from their possessing a decided character, which is at all times 
 desirable. To those who imagine that such rules tend to fetter genius, 
 I shall merely quote Sir Joshua Reynolds, whose works, if properly 
 understood, render all other writings on the subject of painting super¬ 
 fluous. “ It must, of necessity, he, that even works of genius, like every 
 other effect, as they must have their cause, must likewise have their rules ; 
 it cannot he by chance, that excellencies are produced with any constancy or 
 any certainty, for this is not the nature of chance; hut the rules, by which 
 men of extraordinary parts and such as are called men of genius work, are 
 either such as they discover by their own peculiar observations, or of such 
 a nice texture as not easily to admit being expressed in words; especially 
 as artists are not very frequently skilful in that mode of communicating 
 ideas. Unsubstantial, however, as these rules may seem, and difficult as 
 it may be to convey them in writing, they are still seen and felt in the mind 
 of the artist; and he works from them with as much certainty as if they were 
 embodied, as I may say, upon paper. It is true, these refined principles 
 cannot he always made palpable, like the more gross rules of art; yet it 
 does not follow, but that the mind may be put in such a train that it shall 
 perceive, by a kind of scientific sense, that propriety which words, par- 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Plate 1 
 
 J~o7irt.JBv.rnei So. 
 

 
 
 
 
COMPOSITION IN PAINTING. 
 
 3 
 
 ticularly words of unpractised writers such as we are, can hut very feebly 
 suggest.” Sixth Discourse. 
 
 To assist in putting the mind in such a train is all that these examples 
 aim at; and to render apparent to the young artist what he will find 
 wrapped up in theoretical disquisition. 
 
 The specimens here given, merely happened to he in my possession : there 
 are many others that will serve the student, perhaps better, for illustration, 
 which he ought by all means to procure, or make sketches of, as it is only 
 by rendering himself master of the subject, that he can hope to avoid the 
 commonplace effects which swim upon the surface, and, being palpable, 
 are adopted by every one whose judgment cannot carry him into the intri¬ 
 cacies of the art. 
 
 Concealing the art is one of its greatest beauties; and he best can accom¬ 
 plish that who can discover it under all its disguises. I ought, however, 
 to caution the young artist on this head, not to be too fastidious in trying 
 to conceal what can be obvious only to a small number; for, in endeavour¬ 
 ing to render his design more intricate, he may destroy character, sim¬ 
 plicity, and breadth; qualities which affect and are appreciated by every 
 one. 
 
 ANGULAR COMPOSITION. 
 
 Explanation of Plate I. 
 
 Fig. 1. In commencing a composition, it is customary to mark the 
 middle of the space, for the purpose of arranging those points we consider 
 of most importance to the subject; dividing the picture for the regulation 
 of the masses of light and shade, of ascertaining and fixing the horizontal 
 line, &c. This mode of constructing the composition is often suggested 
 from the perspective effect requiring a length of line, thereby obliging us 
 to place the point of sight at one side of the picture : sometimes from the 
 
 b 2 
 
4 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS ON 
 
 group requiring a large space ; which a diagonal line secures, as in the 
 elevation of the Cross by Rubens, or from the conduct of the light, as in his 
 picture of the Descent from the Cross, &c. 
 
 Cuyp, in adopting this mode of composition in most of his pictures 
 (which are generally Sunset or Sunrise) places the focus of light at the 
 bottom of the sky, thereby enabling the distant part of the landscape to 
 melt into it by the most natural means; while the strongest part of his sky, 
 being at the opposite angle, produces the greatest expanse, and mixes and 
 harmonizes with the dark side of the picture. Thus the eye is carried 
 round the composition, until the two extremes are brought in contact, the 
 most prominent with the most retiring. 
 
 In compositions constructed on this principle (particularly where the 
 landscape occupies a large portion), many artists carry the lines of the 
 clouds in a contrary direction, to counteract the appearance of all the lines 
 running to one point. Thus using the darks of the clouds, &c., to an¬ 
 tagonize ,, as it is termed, may apparently produce a better equipoise, but 
 sacrifices many advantages; for we observe in many of the pictures of 
 Cuyp, Rubens, and Teniers, where the figures, landscape, and sky are all 
 on the same side of the composition, that a rich and soft effect is pro¬ 
 duced ; the strong light and dark touches of the figures telling with great 
 force against a back ground of houses, trees, &c., which are prevented 
 from being harsh and cutting, by mixing their edges with the clouds, or 
 dark blue of the sky. This doubling of the lines (if I may so express it) 
 gives a picture that rich fulness which we often perceive in a first sketch, 
 from its possessing several outlines. Those who imagine that, by thus 
 throwing the whole composition on one side, a want of union will be pro¬ 
 duced, will be convinced of their error by perceiving how small an object 
 restores the balance; since, by its being detached and opposed to the most 
 distant part, it receives a tenfold consequence. 
 
 Plate I. fig. 3 and 4. In these compositions Potter has made use of the 
 
COMPOSITION IN PAINTING. 
 
 O 
 
 sky as a background, by which mode the high lights of his group have 
 more value, and it is rendered less harsh and cutting; which is the case 
 with his famous picture of the Bull, the figures in which are brought up 
 against the light side of the sky. If deception and strong relief were all 
 he aimed at, he has gained them both, though at the expense of some of 
 the higher qualities of the art, “ a melting and union,” as Reynolds terms it, 
 of the figures with the background. The art is now too far advanced to 
 allow us to be gratified with violent contrast; and a small 'portion of the 
 group coming firm off the ground, is found to be sufficient to give the 
 appearance of natural solidity to the whole. 
 
 Fig. 5. The original of this sketch, a small etching by Ostade, ought to 
 be in the possession of every artist, for its beautiful arrangement of light 
 and shade, and the skilful way in which they are woven together. As I 
 ought to have noticed above, that the principal mass of light in out of door 
 scenes (both in nature and the best masters) is generally placed in the 
 sky, or upper part of the picture, I may here remark, that in interiors 
 (especially such as are constructed upon this plan) it is generally reversed, 
 the roof and background being reserved for a mass of shadow and repose. 
 Ostade, in his compositions, displays such an ingenuity in their construc¬ 
 tion as to render his pictures an endless source of gratification and study 
 to the artist. In some of his works, the art is so completely hid as to 
 make it difficult to say, whether his background or figures were the first 
 composed. We have not only objects intercepting each other in the most 
 natural and picturesque manner, but the figures carried up against them; 
 thus coming in contact with various forms different in size, distance, and 
 colour. This, when done with judgment, gives a rich and inartificial 
 effect. On the contrary, in the pictures of Teniers, we often find a number 
 of objects cast down in one corner, evidently for the mere purpose of being 
 painted; which, however, from their situation, their picturesque arrange¬ 
 ment, and the mechanical skill of the execution, acquire a force, natural 
 sharpness, and beauty, that amply compensate for the ostentatious display 
 of such excellencies. Tenier’s backgrounds are also totally different from 
 
6 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS ON 
 
 Ostade’s principle; liis figures being generally surrounded with blank 
 spaces of shadow or half tint. When a story is to be told, that requires 
 the spectator to be directed to the heads and hands for expression and 
 action, this breadth is more allowable; but breadth, as Mr. Euseli 
 justly observes, ought never to have the appearance of “flatness or in¬ 
 sipidity.” It is observeable that, in an exhibition where there are a 
 number of objects to distract the attention, those pictures please us most 
 on which the eye is allowed to rest, from their possessing a vacant space ; 
 but those very pictures uniformly look blank and unfurnished when hung 
 up singly in a room. 
 
 Plate I. fig. 6 . Plate II. fig. 1. Claude, in many of his compositions, 
 displays very little address in bringing up his strong dark against the light. 
 In him, it often looks like unaffected primitive simplicity; but it might 
 not be so considered in an artist of the present day. When Claude intro¬ 
 duces a figure for such purpose, or in order to give a retiring delicacy to his 
 distance, we often find it of a strong dark blue, which serves also to bring 
 down the same colour from the opposite angle of the sky, thereby pro¬ 
 ducing a union between both sides of the picture. I may notice here the 
 length of line produced by the figures in ^< 7 . 1 , as it assists the perspective 
 effect, in carrying the eye into the picture, serving also as a base line for 
 the landscape to rest upon. When the sun is placed near the point of 
 sight, we sometimes see shadows made use of for the same purpose. A 
 straight line is often necessary also for the sake of variety; and when archi¬ 
 tecture is not present, we must get it how and where we can. 
 
 Plate II. fig. 2. Rubens in this landscape has carried the lines of the 
 clouds, trees, and ground all in the same direction; and, from his placing 
 the sun near the point of sight, even his shadows take the same course. 
 When the most prominent or strong dark of the foreground is detached 
 from the side of the picture, it has not only a less formal appearance, but 
 acquires a force from its being cut out on both sides by light; as we shall 
 find when we come to treat of Chiaroscuro. The lights also acquire a force 
 
COMPOSITION IN PAINTING. 
 
 7 
 
 and brilliancy from their being surrounded with dark, and the extent of 
 the distance and continuity of the line are not altogether interrupted. 
 
 Plate II. fig. 3. In this subject, “ Huntsman going out in the 
 Morning,” we have the principal group of a complete form in itself, yet 
 forming a part of a whole, in consequence of its being carried round by 
 the two dogs in the foreground, and connected by the principal dog in the 
 other group turning round to the noise. As it is a doubt in the minds of 
 some artists, how far it is agreeable to the rules of composition to admit 
 a figure complete in itself as a portion of a group, I shall only observe 
 here, that, as far as form is concerned, their objection cannot apply : and, 
 as to individual parts, we see not only heads and hands complete as to 
 form and light and shade ; but we find that even an eye is capable of pos¬ 
 sessing all the characteristic beauties of the art. In fact, this application 
 of it in the abstract, as well as in the aggregate, pervades every thing. 
 
 An object must not only appear to possess those properties adapted by 
 nature for its purpose and protection, but also those qualities which have 
 been found by the experience of the best masters productive of beauty : 
 this renders it a source of gratification; and it is then said to be true to 
 nature and art. Eor example, if we examine an eye turned from the light, 
 we perceive a breadth of chiaroscuro ; the white, or cornea, producing a 
 mass of light, the iris and pupil a mass of shade. We find each of these 
 focused, and a small portion of the strong dark and strong light brought in 
 contact; and the light passing through the iris gives it its transparency, and 
 serves instead of reflected light to clear up the shadow ; the watery fluid, 
 in the bottom of the eye and on the under eyelid, gives us that portion 
 of minute finish necessary in all works of art, to which even the protecting 
 hairs contribute. We have here a picture complete in itself ; but if we 
 carry our examination to the surrounding lines in the orbit, we perceive a 
 harmonious communication and extension of its form, lights, and darks, by 
 which its harshness is softened and diffused, and it becomes a part of the 
 composition of the whole countenance. 
 
8 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS ON 
 
 Plate II. fig. 4. I have given a gradual advancement of the most pro¬ 
 minent and dark part of a composition, until, in this example, we have the 
 strongest point brought into the centre. In the original, “ The Embarka¬ 
 tion of the Prince of Orange,” the two principal figures are dressed in 
 strong red, and strong black, and are the most cutting part of the group ; 
 and, from their being brought into the centre and against the most retiring 
 part, and surrounded by light, Cuyp has rendered them of the greatest 
 importance, though occupying only a very small portion of the picture. 
 
 ANGULAB COMPOSITION. 
 
 Plate III. fig. 1. The plan of composition I have here taken up is in 
 the form of a diamond ; which we find often adopted, either as a complete 
 group, or as forming part of a more complicated arrangement. In com¬ 
 mencing a composition, I have mentioned, “that it is of importance to 
 mark in those points most necessary to our purpose.” Eor example, when 
 a story is to be told, the heads and hands, the seats of action and expres¬ 
 sion are often referred to each other for the completion of form or 
 extension of light; as by such means the eye of the spectator is led to the 
 commencement and operation of the incident. After arranging the prin¬ 
 cipal points, what are called “ the secondary ” require the greatest con¬ 
 sideration ; whether for the repetition of the lines, extension of the form, 
 or conduct of the light and shade. Sometimes we are actuated by our 
 requiring a second or third group for the better illustration of the story, 
 which naturally leads us in the direction that affords us the greatest space ; 
 sometimes by the principal group demanding a considerable portion of the 
 ground for a mass of shadow, beyond which a strong point is required, as 
 a link of communication between the figures and the background. By 
 making this point the strongest of a secondary group of objects, either 
 from its size, lights, or darks, the eye is carried into the most remote cir¬ 
 cumstances, which become a part of the whole, from the principal group 
 being made to depend upon such point for the completion of its form, the 
 extension of the light, or the repetition of colour. 
 

 
 
 
 / 
 
 
 
 
Plate 3. 
 
 Fig.3. 
 
 Jfernhrandt. 
 
 Jb7m3urnel. Sr. 
 
 3frtzu. 
 

 
 
 
 
 
COMPOSITION IN PAINTING. 
 
 9 
 
 Fig. 2. In designs constructed upon this plan (especially of the Dutch 
 School), we generally find the lower part of the form strongly pronounced, 
 either by colour, or by light upon a dark ground, or vice versa: this gives 
 the group a firm foundation, and also enables the artist to keep the other 
 objects in their proper situations as to distance from the eye. I wish 
 particularly to direct the student’s attention to this particular, as a doc¬ 
 trine, founded upon the rays of vision, has been attempted to be esta¬ 
 blished, viz. that objects as they recede from the centre of the picture, 
 either to the sides or bottom, ought to be deprived of part of their force of 
 light and shade and colour. This is neither nature nor art. If the subject 
 requires those objects to be kept subordinate, true art does not deprive 
 them of their natural force, by robbing them of their lights, darks, or 
 colours : it renders them less obtrusive by the ground which surrounds 
 them, or substitutes other objects of a less attractive quality. 
 
 Flate III. jig. 3. By making the circumstance from which the story 
 springs a strong point (either from situation, force, or colour), and sur¬ 
 rounding it with those objects more immediately connected and most 
 illustrative of its effects, the picture explains itself at a glance : which is 
 one of the strong distinctions of painting from poetry,—the one proceeding 
 in a circuitous route to hide the denouement and keep hold of the attention, 
 the other proclaiming instantaneously the beginning and end of the story. 
 I do not mean that the circumstance ought always to occupy the centre, 
 any more than that the hero should always occupy the centre ; but, as it is 
 of use to explain the cause of his action and expression, it has, in my mind, 
 a prior claim to consideration. 
 
 Flate III. jig. 4 and 6. Flate IV. fig. 5. We have the strongest light 
 coming in contact with the strong dark in the most cutting manner, in the 
 knee and leg of the falling figure, the arm of the man writing, and in the 
 head of the infant Christ. When this can be done without interfering with 
 the breadth of light, it is of the greatest consequence, both on account of 
 
10 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS ON 
 
 its giving a thickness or rotundity to the group, and also because it enables 
 us to keep the most projecting points and the most retiring in their proper 
 places by analogy to one another. I am aware that the management of 
 light and shade often requires a sacrifice of this principle; where we can 
 accomplish our object without such a sacrifice it has always the most 
 natural appearance. Many accidental combinations and beautiful effects 
 of nature arise, not merely from their possessing a good general form and 
 a pictorial arrangement of light and shade, but also from the most project¬ 
 ing points being often assisted by a combination of a harsh cutting line, 
 strong dark and light, or opposition of local colour, and hence they strike 
 the artist as being applicable to painting ; these being the means he finds 
 frequently adopted by the best masters. It is only under such favourable 
 circumstances, that the artist can enter the lists with nature ; and, having 
 but a flat surface to work upon, he is warranted in availing himself of 
 every assistance science can afford. In arranging objects scientifically, to 
 give them at the same time the appearance of natural accident is one of 
 the perfections of the art. 
 
 As the best practical hints are derived from accidental combinations in 
 nature, whose sudden changes prevent the possibility of sketching, the 
 mind ought to be trained to the most regular and even mechanical mode of 
 arranging the ideas ; that in an instant we may be able to determine whe¬ 
 ther the effects, which we perceive, depend upon a particular form, upon 
 particular arrangement of the light and shade, or upon the manner in 
 which the hot and cold colours are brought in contact. By thus tracing 
 effects to their proper causes, we secure the principal points as a sort of 
 short hand notes to guide and assist the memory. This practice will also 
 open a road of communication between the eye and the operations of the 
 mind, which neither a hasty sketch nor the most learned dissertation can, 
 separately, produce. At first it may seem more difficult than it really is; 
 but a few trials will convince the student of its practicability, especially 
 as the effects that strike him to be the most pictorial are generally the 
 most simple. 
 
COMPOSITION IN PAINTING. 
 
 11 
 
 Fig. 4. The cards lying on the ground, in this subject, indicate the 
 cause of the quarrel; and the figure entering from an adjoining apartment 
 gives us a hint of the noise generally attending such brawls. As a moral 
 is here introduced, I shall make a few remarks (otherwise irrelevant to the 
 purpose) in this place. When a picture possesses a moral, it is certainly a 
 great advantage, provided we are not disgusted by its vulgarity, as is the 
 case in the representations of drunkenness, &c., in some of the Dutch 
 school, or by affected sentiment, as in many of the present works of all 
 the schools. The moral must also never injure the picture in its higher 
 requisites. In the early ages, representations of vice were necessary as 
 strong lessons of morality; but as mankind grew more enlightened, they 
 were referred to books, not pictures, for improvement. Besides, an artist 
 ought always to recollect, that he paints for the higher, not for the lower 
 classes of men; and as his business is to convey pleasure, not pain, a little 
 intercourse with society will convince him, that men in all ranks have 
 often enough to vex them, or to produce a variance with their fellow crea¬ 
 tures, without hanging up on their walls representations tending to increase 
 either the one or the other feeling. The absence of these considerations 
 in an artist (of which we see daily proofs) dooms his works to that neglect 
 which he ascribes to the want of encouragement to the arts generally. 
 Representations of tragical events also (though possessing a fine moral 
 or sentiment) have received but little patronage in this country ; whether it 
 is that they are not suited to the character of the nation, who, though not 
 averse to the representation of a tragedy on the stage, are unwilling to 
 choose a constant companion from such a class, or that there are few of 
 those connoisseurs whose feelings are completely absorbed in the contem¬ 
 plation of high art, is a question which this is not the proper place to 
 discuss : the fact is, however, indisputable. 
 
 Flate III. Fig. G. As this composition consists of a single figure, I shall 
 notice here the method Metzu has taken to render it a part of the whole, 
 especially as we shall have to refer to other plates, when we come to treat 
 of light and shade and colour. The figure is dressed in black and white 
 
 c 2 
 
12 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS ON 
 
 coming in contact, and contrast in the strongest manner; the black is 
 repeated by the hat, and diffused hy the black marble in the floor, the 
 white is referred to the white marble in the floor and collected into a mass 
 hy the white wall; the carpet which is of red and warm colours, focused 
 at the light hy a stick of wax, is repeated hy the hack of the chair, and 
 carried up by the outside of the window on the edge of the picture, which 
 is painted of a pale red ; the forms are echoed and repeated with the same 
 simplicity, and the picture frame on the wall, from being smaller than the 
 frame of the window, serves at the same time to assist the perspective 
 effect: even the fastening of the casement is not without its use in the 
 composition. In thus obliging a design to depend on its ground for sup¬ 
 port, consists the principle of union and harmony; hut, as I have at 
 present only to draw the student’s attention to the arrangement of form 
 and that portion of composition that arises from the repetition and con¬ 
 nection of lines, I shall notice one good plan amongst many others, which 
 is, to mark in strongly those points in the ground which of necessity must 
 he introduced from natural circumstances, at the same time contriving the 
 group so that those points become of the greatest consequence to the com¬ 
 position. This often gives a characteristic stamp of nature to the whole. 
 
 Fig. 7. We have here the strong dark point coming in contact with the 
 light ground in the most cutting manner; which is more naturally ac¬ 
 counted for hy its being the most projecting ; as it is the inside of an 
 empty drinking cup, it perhaps indicates the commencement of the story 
 as well as any other means. 
 
 Plate IV. Jig. 1. As an outline can give us little idea of this arrange¬ 
 ment, I may he allowed to observe, that the four points of light are the 
 upper halves of both the figures (being of a pale yellow), the white dog 
 and a light wall above the fireplace brought in contact with a hlack powder 
 horn. 
 
 Fig. 2. Ostade’s pictures have the jieculiarly valuable property of look- 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Plate 4*. 
 
 Kg'l 
 
 iterbury. 
 
 I 
 
 .Reuben*?. 
 
 Fig-*- 
 
 
 c 7bh7iJBier7ieb Sc. 
 

COMPOSITION IN PAINTING. 
 
 13 
 
 ing well at a distance, thereby attracting the attention of the spectator 
 towards them. When we come nigh to examine, we find that this is pro¬ 
 duced by their possessing a decided mass of light, obtained by means of a 
 light wall, sky, &c. His heads and hands form a number of luminous 
 spots in a mass of half tint, and are rendered of more value by the introduc¬ 
 tion of blue and dark draperies ; this requires much consideration, in order 
 that those spots may take agreeable and decided forms to prevent confu¬ 
 sion. In Ostade’s works it is rendered the more easy, as he has seldom 
 any particular story to interfere with the arrangement. His pictures call 
 to my mind a passage in Hervey, which appears like the language of a 
 painter, so completely consonant is it to the principles on which he con¬ 
 structs his work. Speaking of the stars, Hervey says, “ on a careless 
 inspection, you perceive no accuracy or uniformity in the position of the 
 heavenly bodies, they appear like an illustrious chaos, a promiscuous heap 
 of shining globes, neither ranked in order nor moving by line; hut what 
 seems confusion is all regularity; what carries a show of negligence is 
 really the result of the most masterly contrivance.” 
 
 Fig. 3. P. de Laer, from his long residence amongst the Italian painters, 
 has constructed most of his pictures, though generally in the low walks of 
 art, on the most regular and severe principles of their grandest composi¬ 
 tions. As this regularity is considered by some to be incompatible with 
 the negligence of arrangement which they suppose necessary to the pictu¬ 
 resque, I shall here make a few observations on that doctrine. I con¬ 
 sider it to he false, and not tenable, when referred to the operations of 
 nature; for we find her conducting and exhibiting the most beautiful 
 appearances and effects in the humblest and most trifling of her works, hv 
 the same laws that regulate her in the formation of the most sublime. 
 Abernethv says, “ that work is beheld with admiration and delight, as the 
 result of deep counsel, which is complicated in its parts, yet simple in its 
 operations, where a variety of effects are seen to arise from one principle 
 operating uniformly.” When we refer to the great masters in poetry, we 
 find that the Idyls of Theocritus are not less regular than the Iliad of 
 
14 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS ON 
 
 Homer; or tlie Georgies and Eclogues of Virgil than the Eneid. The 
 English pastorals have failed in giving pleasure, not by the regularity of 
 their construction, hut in consequence of their not being founded on truth ; 
 the language and scenery not being that of nature in such situations. 
 
 Let me here caution the student against supposing that I mean grossness 
 and vulgarity as proper accompaniments in his representations of common 
 nature; he must convey such scenes to us with the appearance of their 
 having passed through a susceptible and amiable mind, anxious to render 
 nature agreeable, not to make her disgusting. 
 
 In the works of the best painters in the lower walks of the art, there 
 are numberless examples of this regularity. Even Wouvermans, whose 
 soft and delicate touch seems ill suited to severe regularity of form, or 
 light and shade, has received an advantage by its adoption: his best pic¬ 
 tures being founded on the simple construction of his rival. A regular 
 form can always be rendered sufficiently irregular by the means of light 
 and shade; and if P. de Laer’s pictures possess this property of light and 
 shade too decidedly for such a purpose, we must recollect that from his 
 painting upon a dark red ground (as was used at the time by many of the 
 Italians) his works often look harsh ; the lights, from being thickly painted, 
 having resisted the influence of the ground, while his half tints are ab¬ 
 sorbed and indented in the shadow. 
 
 As the student will have occasion to refer to the prints after the different 
 designs here given, I beg leave to remark, that, in most of the Italian 
 prints which I compared with the original pictures, I found the charac¬ 
 teristic points often not attended to. The strong lights wanted their 
 value, either from the shadows being deficient in their proper strength and 
 quietness, or from the introduction of aerial perspective (a circumstance 
 seldom influencing the conduct of the great masters either of the Italian or 
 Venetian schools), or from the manner in which the strong darks and 
 lights were brought in contact. I believe sufficient has already been 
 
Plate 5. 
 
 9 ?- / '/' 
 
 \Oenn, 
 
 Kg 1 
 
 l 
 
 l 
 
 Fig-2. 
 
 Cor-reoio 
 
 Pi^3 
 
 &uido . 
 
 <J~?hn 23urnfTl:So. 
 

 
 % 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
COMPOSITION IN PAINTING. 
 
 15 
 
 written on engraving, nor am I against its being considered a liberal trans¬ 
 lation; the beauty of lines is, perhaps, the only substitute engravers can 
 give for the absence of colours; but surely it is not too much to request 
 that a strong red, or a strong blue (however ornamented by lines), be re¬ 
 ferred to its proper scale, either as the extension of light, or the produc¬ 
 tion of shadow. These errors seem to have arisen from contemplating the 
 picture in the twilight, for the more easy detection of the light and shade; 
 a most fallacious method; for, in such case, the most projecting and the 
 most retiring colours are rendered similar. 
 
 Fig. 5. As in figure 2, we may observe this form influencing the arrange¬ 
 ment of the whole group; we have here the heads composed on the same 
 principle, and repeating each other with a simplicity which is safe only in 
 the hands of the best painters. I have mentioned regularity as a quality 
 to be found in the most sublime subjects in painting; but to infer from 
 that, that regularity constituted sublimity, were as absurd as to say, irre¬ 
 gularity constituted the picturesque. 
 
 CIRCULAR COMPOSITION. 
 
 We come now to speak of the circular form of composition, which is 
 applicable to the highest walks of art from its simplicity and extensive 
 sweep; and to the lowest, from its being finely adapted for the purposes of 
 light and shade. 
 
 Flate V. Jig. 1. In this Cartoon we have a fine specimen of this form of 
 composition. In the design, a strict adherence to the plan laid down has 
 secured a decided character to the picture. With Raffaelle this seems to 
 have been invariably of the first importance; his worst compositions have 
 always a strong feature to recommend them. In this design we have the 
 figures gradually declining from the sides to the centre of the circle on the 
 foreground, which enables the spectator to view the whole of the persons 
 employed: to assist which arrangement, Raffaelle has placed the Apostles 
 
16 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS ON 
 
 on an elevated plane; and, by placing tlie principal in tlie centre, has 
 enabled them to acquire that consequence their diminution would other¬ 
 wise have deprived them of. The regularity of the composition is also 
 increased by the division of the group into seven figures on each side, and 
 no one except Ananias and Sapphira, performs an action that is not 
 repeated. Thus simply has Rafraelle contrived not only to tell his story, 
 but also those circumstances which preceded and followed it. This regu¬ 
 larity will strike the student as being particularly suited to religious 
 subjects; but a few attempts, to make such uniformity appear a natural 
 emanation, will compel him to exclaim with the poet, 
 
 “ Within that circle none durst walk but he.” 
 
 As I shall have occasion to speak of the repetition of form, as being no 
 less essential towards the production of harmony than the repetition of 
 colour, I may call the student’s attention to it in this place. In compo¬ 
 sitions embracing many figures, a repetition of form and action is often 
 found to be indispensable; a single figure, in such case, being found too 
 small to give importance to any action, is referred to the next for assist¬ 
 ance ; as, in colouring, one colour is often made to depend upon the 
 adjoining for its shadow or enlargement. But, independently of its ac¬ 
 quiring a consequence by such extension, harmony requires, that a strong 
 action should be as it were broken down and diffused through the group. 
 In writing, this is generally the case, and the reader is prepared for one 
 sentence by what has preceded it. This simplicity and harmonious com¬ 
 munication is to be found in nature, in the antique, in the best Italian 
 masters, and in many of the Dutch, particularly Ostade. It is seldom to 
 be met with in the Drench school, which is fond of sudden contrast, 
 and insulated action, light, and colour. 
 
 Fig. 2. In compositions of out-of-door scenes, this circular form of ar¬ 
 rangement is often the only opportunity we have of procuring a mass of 
 shade so necessary to the group in a pictorial point of view. I am aware 
 

Plate 6 
 
 Cz? 
 
 Figl. 
 
 '^-cufiens. 
 
 Fie'2 
 
 J3. West. 
 
 
 
 
 John JBiuti ei Sc. 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 / 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
COMPOSITION IN PAINTING. 
 
 17 
 
 that some sculptors consider the arrangement of their figures degraded by 
 any attention to the picturesque effect of light and shade, which to painters 
 seems more extraordinary, as sculptors have not the means of local colour 
 to produce it. With sculpture, however, it is not our province to interfere ; 
 I shall only observe that such reasoning never seems to have influenced 
 Coreggio. The most picturesque arrangements in form, and in light and 
 shade, are to he found in his grandest compositions. We have here six 
 heads placed in the most unequal manner, numerically speaking; the 
 shadow is increased by the dark blue dress of the Virgin, and the two 
 most projecting points by the light drapery of the Magdalen and the 
 strong red of St. Jerome; yet this picture is not less sublime than that of 
 “the Doctors of the Church” (Fig 3), where the six heads are placed in 
 the most regular manner; four round the altar, and one at each side, for 
 the purpose of connecting the lower and ujiper half of the picture; the con¬ 
 sultation of the doctors, and the vision expressive of the subject of their 
 research. The prominent points in this work are the same as in fig. 2, 
 the figure with the book being in a strong red,'and the other in white. 
 
 Flate VI. fig. 1. In this subject Rubens displays all the easy fluency of 
 a great master, who would consider such a design only as an amusement. 
 The manner in which the figures are interwoven with each other, the mode 
 resorted to, to assist the projecting and retiring points, and the velocity 
 with which the whole appears to move, are all worthy of the artist’s 
 attention. 
 
 Fig. 2. The student may compare this admirable design of West’s 
 “The Death of General Wolfe,” with figure 4, “The Death of St. Je¬ 
 rome as Dominicliino has adopted the same means to produce his mass 
 of shadow in the middle of the group, and to bring it in contact with the 
 light on the principal figure. 
 
 Fig. 3. As I shall have occasion to refer to the examples of this great 
 master of light and shade in their proper place, it would be unfair to make 
 
 i) 
 
18 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS ON 
 
 any observations on him here, where he appears, as Milton would express 
 it, “shorn of his beams.” I may, however, remark, that, from his making 
 use of mean materials, he often destroys the beauty of that structure which 
 the splendour of his light is so well calculated to adorn. 
 
 Fig. 5. As the merits of this composition have been descanted on by 
 every critic,—being a subject well suited for a display of the powers of 
 eloquence,—I shall merely offer one or two practical remarks. Ttaffaelle 
 has made the principal figure of the lower group (an interesting young 
 female) detach itself from the ground by a strong warm light cutting 
 against the shadow, and by a dark blue mantle coming in contact with the 
 light; by her addressing the Apostles and pointing to the demoniac, the 
 two sides are united, and the figures are so linked together that the eye is 
 carried round until we arrive at the most projecting points, the bands and 
 feet of the Apostle with the book. The Disciples express their inability to 
 perform the cure, and, by two of them pointing to the mount, refer the 
 people to Christ, who has retired thither to pray. This is the arrangement, 
 hut it was not alone by the expression or arrangement of his figures that 
 Raffaelle holds his rank in the art; it was also by the bold and original con¬ 
 ception of his subject. He has here displayed the vision of the Transfigu¬ 
 ration in the most sublime manner, and by raising his figures from the 
 ground (one of those movements of the mind which are above restraint) 
 has stamped them with the strong feature of immortal beings. Mr. Fuseli 
 luminously describes them rising like “a flame (if not too metaphorical) 
 he might have said, “ like a bright flame issuing as if from a sacrifice, and 
 ascending unto God.” 
 
 Flate VII. It is not only necessary that a group should have 
 hollows for the reception of shadow, but also projections for the light to 
 rest upon; it not only ought to possess a good general form in the outline 
 which defines it, but the figures must also be linked together in such a 
 way as to lead the spectator in amongst them. They must appear to have 
 room to stand upon, and every figure must keep his place in its relative 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ■P' 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
Plate 7. 
 
 
 Semira7-.lt. 
 
 John Jhirnct/c 
 

 
Plate 8, 
 
 Jon n. 25urn elrjc . 
 

 
 
 
 
 / 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 >- 
 
 
COMPOSITION IN PAINTING. 
 
 19 
 
 distance from the eye : hence a form composed of a concave and convex 
 line has been often adopted as the simplest and best, and possessing the 
 greatest variety of advantages. That it is so generally nsed will cease to 
 surprize us, when we find it applicable both to the regularity of Raffaelle 
 and the irregularity of Rembrandt. 
 
 Plate VIII. Jig. 1. In this design, “The Landing of Charles II,” 
 West has placed the principal figure in the middle of the picture. Com¬ 
 mencing his composition at the nigliest point, he carries on his group until 
 it ends in the distance. Neither in the situation of the hero, nor in the 
 form of the group, does he seem solicitous to hide the science. He has 
 brought the nigh point in contact with the shadow, and strengthened it by 
 the female whom the hoy accompanies, being dressed in strong dark : when 
 this is brought sharp off the ground, as is the case also in fig. 2, it enables 
 us to keep the other figures in their places better than by diminishing the 
 firmness of their shadows or colours. 
 
 Fig. 2. “ Cattle returning home in a shower.” In this composition the 
 principal light falls on the convex part of the group, and the depth of the 
 shadow is assisted by the local colour of the objects placed in it. The 
 goat in the foreground is connected to the rest by some white flowers of an 
 elder hush, which cannot he expressed in an outline. As this is from a 
 design of my late brother’s, I cannot allow this opportunity to pass without 
 expressing the great loss I feel in not having his assistance, not only in 
 these notes, but in every thing connected with the art: though practising 
 painting hut for a short time of a short life, his strength of mind, his fine 
 eye for colour, and a taste for the beauties of pastoral painting, convince 
 me the English School has lost one that would have been an ornament to 
 that department of the science. 
 
 Fig. 3. Is a repetition of the same form. 
 
 Plate IX. This plate consists of Wilkie’s admirable composition of 
 
20 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS ON 
 
 the Blind Fiddler, the Salutation of the Virgin by Bemhrandt, and a Dance 
 by Ostade. I shall leave it to the student’s own judgment to investigate 
 the various forms on which these compositions depend. 
 
 By making the principal heads depend upon one mode of arrangement, 
 the general appearance of the group on a different mode, the background 
 on a third, and so on with the minor points (provided they all tend to the 
 assistance of one another), his composition will not only have intricacy 
 without confusion, hut that variety which is so characteristic in nature. 
 A beautiful combination in nature will often appear to evade every rule, 
 by her being perfect in every mode of examination. All her varieties ema¬ 
 nate from a strait line and a curve. A judicious arrangement of objects 
 possessing these various forms, gives the strongest natural appearance to a 
 picture ; nor ought the artist to leave out rashly what he may conceive to 
 he void of beauty. In colouring, harsh tints are admitted to produce har¬ 
 mony in the other colours ; and the most picturesque arrangements often 
 depend on the presence of what might he otherwise considered ugly forms. 
 
 As I have made use of the terms “ beautiful and agreeable arrange¬ 
 ments,” it is proper to give an explanation of the sense in which they are 
 applied. By a beautiful arrangement, I mean a proper adaptation of those 
 principles that arrest a common observer, and give a pleasurable sensation, 
 which to a cultivated mind increases (not diminishes) by the investigation 
 of the cause which produces it. For example, a beautiful appearance in 
 nature affects the savage and the philosopher from their sensations merely 
 as men ; hut a painter, whose life is spent in a constant competition with 
 nature in producing the same effects, receives a tenfold gratification in fol- 
 lowing her through those assemblages which to the world beside are, as it 
 were, “a fountain sealed and a hook shut up.” Hence, in art, a beautiful 
 arrangement must be a selection of those forms, lights, and colours that 
 produce a similar result; and the taste of an artist is shown, in heightening 
 their effect by the absence of those circumstances which are found by 
 experience to produce the contrary. Did an investigation of the means 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 / 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
mini'! 
 
 Plate 9 
 
 JD.Wilkie. 
 
 JblmlBumetJc. 
 

 
 
 
 
COMPOSITION IN PAINTING 
 
 21 
 
 pursued by the great masters tend to abridge an artist’s pleasurable sen¬ 
 sations, instead of being the most favoured, lie would be rendered tlie most 
 miserable of beings ; but the opposite is tlie case, as by such means be is 
 tauglit an alphabet that enables him to understand the language of nature. 
 It may be supposed, that in my search after so desirable an object, I have 
 perused all the works written to define Beauty and Taste, and which 
 endeavour to circumscribe with a line that endless variety and omnipre¬ 
 sence which make nature a source of gratification to all nations under 
 every alteration of the mind; but as I wish to avoid all controversy on the 
 subject, which we often find merely renders the most sublime truths more 
 obscure, I shall only remark, that, as far as painting is concerned, the 
 authors of many of these works have done an irreparable injury. Artists 
 generally prefer the opinions of untutored children to the remarks of the 
 most learned philosophers, whose advancement in other sciences really 
 seems to increase their ignorance of this. If I have explained my defini¬ 
 tion of the terms sufficiently for the artist’s comprehension, I am satisfied. 
 To explain them to others would be equally impossible as that those 
 others should be able to define them to us. The mind must have received 
 its education through the medium of the eye, not of the ear, to enjoy the 
 faculty of conceiving such ideas, or the power of tracing them to their ori¬ 
 ginal source in nature, or in art, as a test of their truth. 
 
 Before I conclude, I have to apologize for the paucity and brevity of 
 these observations, and beg the reader’s constant reference to the plates, as 
 the only method of making myself correctly understood. Painting is a 
 practical branch of philosophy, and can only be rendered clear by satisfy¬ 
 ing the observations of the eye, as well as the reflections of the mind; this, 
 perhaps, is one reason why so much has been written on the subject 
 without those truths being made sufficiently obvious, which the writers 
 wished to demonstrate. 
 
 I have also been anxious to avoid tautology, as it will be necessary to go 
 over, in a great measure, the same ground, when I come to treat of light 
 
 E 
 
22 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS ON COMPOSITION IN PAINTING. 
 
 and shade, and colour; when many observations which appear to he 
 omitted here will present themselves, from belonging more properly to 
 those divisions of the work. 
 
 I must also caution the young artist against supposing that these modes 
 of arrangement are given for his imitation ; I merely wish him to he 
 acquainted with the advantages any particular composition possesses, that 
 in adopting any invention of his own, he may engraft upon it those or 
 similar advantages. A design that has nothing but novelty to recommend 
 it, is a conceit, not a composition. The student in painting can hope to 
 derive advantage from theory only, when rendered obvious by ocular 
 demonstration. One great cause of the obscurity which envelopes the 
 art, is the criticism of those whose ideas on the subject are obscure;— 
 to free the world from their influence is perhaps impossible; but the artist 
 must free himself. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
 Waterlow & Sous Limited, Printers, London Wall, London, E.C. 
 
PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 ON 
 
 LIGHT AND SHADE IN PAINTING. 
 
PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 ON 
 
 LIGHT AND SHADE IN PAINTING. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY 
 
 lEpamples from tfjc Italian, dflemtelj, anti Sutd) £>ri)ools:. 
 
 BY JOHN BURNET, E.R.S. 
 
 The highest finishing is labour in vain, unless at the same time there be preserved a breadth of 
 
 light and shadow.” 
 
 Reynolds’s Notes on Du Fresnoy. 
 
 EIGHTH EDITION. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 HENRY SOTHERAN & CO., 136, STRAND. 
 
 1880 . 
 
LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED BY WATERLOW AND S 
 
 S T S LIMITED, 
 
 LONDON WALL, E.C. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 I am now induced to take up the second part of the Practical 
 Hints on Painting, from the encouragement the first has met 
 with; but more especially from the approbation of many of our 
 best painters, who are undoubtedly the best judges of the utility 
 of the work. In this part, treating of the conduct of the light and 
 shade, I shall follow the same mode as before, merely throwing 
 out hints as they occur, without any relation to connection, or a 
 regular treatise. The mind is naturally fond of variety, and 
 by leading it through a succession of images, provided their 
 advantages are shown or explained, the end of instruction is 
 accomplished. There is no fixed mode for conveying instruction ; 
 those things which appear to the reader to be useful, he will 
 connect in his own mind by a chain of reasoning, shorter than the 
 shortest which could be furnished by writing; and the longest 
 
VI 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 dissertation to prove the existence or utility of that which appears 
 of no advantage would be unavailing. 
 
 I have endeavoured to trace the effects, as much as possible, 
 to their first causes operating in various ways on the minds of the 
 different artists who have adopted them. Whether they were 
 guided by rules, or imitative instinct, we cannot now determine; 
 nor is it my wish to inculcate any doctrine where the student has 
 a better mode of his own to serve as a guide. Let him, however, 
 always bear in mind, that in painting, as in other things, to use 
 the words of Dr. Johnson, “ The accidental compositions of 
 heterogeneous modes are dissolved by the chance which combined 
 them, but the uniform simplicity of primitive qualities neither 
 admits increase nor suffers decay.” 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 Light and Shade.1 
 
 Plate 1.4 
 
 II.14 
 
 III .16 
 
 IV .20 
 
 Y.22 
 
 VI.27 
 
 VII.34 
 
 VIII.38 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 ON 
 
 LIGHT AND SHADE IN PAINTING. 
 
 LIGHT AND SHADE. 
 
 B EFORE proceeding to investigate light and shade in their various 
 intricate situations, it may he proper to notice a few of the more 
 palpable and self-evident combinations, and for the better comprehending 
 of which, I shall divide them into five parts : viz. light, half light, middle 
 tint, half dark, and dark. When a picture is chiefly composed of light 
 and half light, the darks will have more force and point; but, without the 
 help of strong colour to give it solidity, it will be apt to look feeble: and 
 when a picture is composed mainly of dark and half dark, the lights will 
 he more brilliant; but they will be apt to look spotty for want of half 
 light to spread and connect them; and the piece be in danger of becoming 
 
 B 
 
9 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS ON 
 
 black and heavy : and when a picture is composed chiefly of middle tint, 
 the dark and light portions have a more equal chance of coming into 
 notice; hut the general effect is in danger of being common and insipid. 
 
 Light and shade are capable of producing many results; but, the three 
 principal are relief, harmony, and breadth. By the first the Artist is 
 enabled to give his works the distinctness and solidity of nature. The 
 second is the result of a union and consent of one part with another; and 
 the third, a general breadth, is the necessary attendant on extent and 
 magnitude. A judicious management of these three properties is to he 
 found in the best pictures of the Italian, Venetian, and Blemish Schools, 
 and ought to employ the most attentive examination of the student; for 
 by giving too much relief, he will produce a dry hard effect; by too much 
 softness and blending of the parts, woolliness and insipidity; and in a 
 desire to preserve a breadth of effect, he may produce flatness. 
 
 Belief is most necessary in large works; as their being seen from a 
 greater distance than easel pictures prevents their looking harsh or 
 cutting, and gives them that sharpness and clearness of effect so necessary 
 to counteract heaviness. Not only the works of Bapliael and those of the 
 Italian school possess this quality, but we find it in the greatest perfection 
 in the pictures of Paul Veronese and Tintoret; and even the larger works 
 of Titian and Corregio have a flatness and precision which we look for in 
 vain in the succeeding school of Caracci and their disciples; Guido 
 excepted. 
 
 Harmony or a union of the different parts of a composition depends 
 upon the intermediate parts serving as a link or chain, either by conveying 
 
LIGHT AND SHADE IN PAINTING. 
 
 3 
 
 a sensation of the same colours with those in immediate contact, or by 
 neutralizing and breaking down the harsh asperities of the two extremes, 
 and thus producing a connexion or agreement. 
 
 Breadth of effect is only to he produced by a great extent of light or 
 shade pervading the picture. If an open daylight appearance is intended, 
 such as we see in Cuyp, &c. it will he best produced by leaving out part 
 of the middle tint, and allowing a greater spread of light and half light; 
 this will also give the darks the relative force which they possess in 
 nature. If a breadth of shadow is required, such as we find in Bem- 
 brandt, &c. the picture ought to be made up of middle tint and half dark. 
 In the one treatment the darks ought to tell sharp and cutting, which is 
 the characteristic of strong daylight; in the other the lights ought to 
 appear powerful and brilliant, enveloped in masses of obscurity. 
 
 The influence of shadow upon any composition, when carried beyond 
 the necessary depth for the relief or distinct marking of the several parts, 
 is breadth, from its absorbing many of the half tints and rendering the 
 darks less cutting; and repose, from there being fewer of the outlines 
 visible; hence arises a certain grandeur attendant upon space, and an 
 agreeable sensation, from the spectator being allowed to exercise his own 
 fancy in embodying indistinct forms. Thus the gloomy solitude of a wood 
 is increased by the absence of the twittering light through the trees, the 
 absence of their harsh colour, and the distinct form and crisp marking of 
 the leaves. Bembrandt has carried this property of shadow beyond the 
 hope of any improvement, and by this means has clothed the most trifling 
 subject with a portion of sublimity. If we allow ourselves to be influenced 
 by the association of ideas, it is capable of imparting a greater degree of 
 
 B 
 
 o 
 
4 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS ON 
 
 horror to any subject of terror; as imaginary clangers appear greater 
 than real, being augmented by the operations of the mind. Milton has 
 made use of this quality in describing the situation of the fallen Angels: 
 
 “ From those flames 
 No light, but rather darkness visible 
 Served only to discover sights of woe.” 
 
 And Titian, in bis picture of the Martyrdom of St. Laurence, which 
 otherwise is disagreeable from its being cold and black. 
 
 Having thus defined some of the characteristic features of shadow, the 
 effects of light in a great measure explain themselves, being in most 
 instances of an opposite nature. Its cheerful influence operates on the 
 mind of the spectator, either when viewing the festivities of a village 
 holiday or when he beholds it diffused over the general face of nature : 
 it may he termed the Allegro in Painting. 
 
 Explanation of Plate I. Pig. 1. 
 
 If light, collected into a focus by means of a lens, be thrown obliquely 
 upon a wall, it will explain to us one of its principal properties, upon 
 which many Artists have founded their principles of light and shade. 
 'Where the bundles of rays are collected, the light is increased in bright¬ 
 ness ; and when they become more diffused and spread out, it naturally 
 becomes more feeble, losing itself in half tint. In this example we have 
 some of the most essential qualities of light as applicable to the purposes 
 of painting. We have a principal light, which, being produced by the 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fldte 1. 
 
 \ 
 
LIGHT AND SHADE IN PAINTING. 
 
 5 
 
 collecting of the rays, leaves that portion of the ground the darkest 
 which comes in contact with it, thereby assisting its brightness. We 
 have an innumerable variety of gradations, until the light is dissipated 
 and lost. Some artists maintain, and justly, that every light, however 
 small, ought to have a focus, or one part brighter than another; and as 
 we find this to he a general law in nature, it is surely safe ground to go 
 upon. For the same reason we ought to have one portion of a dark more 
 decided than the rest. If these two extremes are brought in contact, 
 we make them assist each other, one becoming brighter, and the other 
 darker, from the effect of contrast. If they are placed at the opposite 
 sides of the picture, we have greater breadth and a more equal balance. 
 Let us now examine how these properties have been made use of in the 
 management of the light and shade of a picture. If, for example, we take 
 a head by Rembrandt, we find the principal light or focus in the upper 
 part of the face (which he often, to render more luminous, surrounds with 
 a black bonnet or hat, and even this he keeps of a cold tone, to give more 
 value to the flesh); the light is then allowed to fall down on the figure, 
 producing thereby a union and an appearance of his light giving out rays 
 of the same hue as itself. If we follow him in the conduct of some of his 
 larger compositions, we find the same principle adopted, whether they 
 consist of many figures, such as the hundred Guilder print, or of few, as 
 in the small Nativity in the National Gallery; thus rendering the most 
 complicated compositions subservient to the simplest principles of light 
 and shade. A few experiments on a ground of a middle tint, with a 
 pencil filled with white, and another dipped in black, will give the 
 student an insight into all the changes capable of being produced upon 
 this principle. 
 
6 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS *0N 
 
 Plate I. Fig. 2. 
 
 If a diagonal line be drawn through the picture, and the extreme dark 
 and extreme light he placed at opposite sides, we must of necessity have 
 the greatest breadth of effect. If a balance or union between the two sides 
 be wished, there is no other way but by borrowing a portion of the one 
 and exchanging it for a portion of the opposite; and not only may this 
 practice he made use of for the harmony of the whole, but the light and 
 the shade will be thus rendered more intense by the force of opposition. 
 Now, whether the dark which is carried to the light side be very small, or 
 very large, and vice versa, we have the groundwork of some of the most 
 powerful and most natural effects in painting. If the light is placed near 
 the horizon, as in evening skies, for example, such as it frequently is in 
 Cuyp, we see it rising upwards until lost in middle tint in the upper part 
 of the, picture, and the middle tint descending into shadow by means of 
 trees, figures, &c. thus making a sweep round the picture, and thereby 
 affording the greatest opportunity for breadth of effect. If the two extreme 
 points are connected by intermediate figures, so as to form but one group, 
 we have the greatest firmness, as the light part of the group will be 
 relieved by a dark ground, and the dark part of the group by a light 
 ground: if we pursue the contrary practice, and place the dark part of 
 the group on the dark ground, and the light part of the group on the light 
 ground, we have more breadth and softness of effect. There is no want 
 of examples, either in nature or in pictures, to warrant our following 
 either mode. 
 
LIGHT AND SHADE IN PAINTING. 
 
 7 
 
 Plate I. Pig. 3. 
 
 Sometimes we find the principal light in the centre of the picture 
 gradating to the extremities with a border of dark binding in the whole. 
 By this mode the light has great brilliancy, especially if a small portion of 
 dark is brought in contact with it. This melting of the light into shadow 
 has been carried to great perfection by Corregio and Rembrandt, who 
 most frequently relieved the dark side of their figures by a still darker 
 background, which Reynolds (who has adopted this mode in so many of 
 his works) mentions as giving a rich effect. 
 
 If this method is pursued in the management of the light on a hand, or 
 a single head, it is equally applicable, as in a more extensive work. In 
 the landscapes of Claude, who has often placed the sun near the centre 
 of his compositions, we find the light managed upon the same broad 
 principle, gradating to the sides of his canvass by means of buildings, 
 ships, &c., with often a clump of dark trees jutting into the mass of light, 
 thereby giving it its brilliant character, and serving at the same time to 
 convey the dark sides into the picture. If he reminds us occasionally of 
 Rembrandt, it arises from his great breadth of effect; if of Corregio, it is 
 the soft union of his lights with the shadow. A few walks in the evening- 
 in the twilight, and at night in scenery where nature has an opportunity 
 of showing her various effects, will put the student in possession of a 
 power to unravel all her mysteries. We do not know whether Claude, 
 Corregio, and Rembrandt were acquainted with the works of one another, 
 but we have the most evident proofs that they were well acquainted with 
 
8 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS ON 
 
 the principle by which nature produces her most striking effects; and a 
 breadth of light and shade, soft and subdued tones of colour, and every 
 requisite for forming the mind of an artist, is still to be found in the same 
 school in which they studied. 
 
 JPlate I. Fig. 4. 
 
 If the lights are to predominate in a picture from the ground being 
 low in tone, it is of the utmost consequence that they should not only be 
 varied in form and magnitude, but that they should produce an agreeable 
 arrangement in the picture, seeing that they will attract greater notice 
 than when the ground is lighter. 
 
 I shall here take the liberty of introducing a passage from Reynolds’s 
 works, as nothing can exceed it in utility and justness of observation. In 
 his notes upon Fresnoy, speaking of light and shade, he says, “ The same 
 rules, which have been given in regard to the regulation of groups of 
 figures, must be observed in regard to the grouping of lights; that there 
 shall be a superiority of one over the rest, that they shall be separated 
 and varied in their shapes, and that there should be at least three lights : 
 the secondary lights ought, for the sake of harmony and union, to be 
 of nearly equal brightness, though not of equal magnitude with the 
 principal.” 
 
 The Dutch painters particularly excelled in the management of light 
 and shade, and have shown, in this department, that consummate skill 
 which entirely conceals the appearance of art. 
 
LIGHT AND SHADE IN PAINTING. 
 
 9 
 
 “Jan Steen, Teniers, Ostade, Du Sart, and many others of that school 
 may he produced as instances, and recommended to the young artist’s 
 careful study and attention. 
 
 “ The means by which the painter works, and on which the effect of his 
 picture depends, are light and shade, and warm and cold colours. That 
 there is an art in the management and disposition of those means will be 
 easily granted, and it is equally certain, that this art is to be acquired by 
 a careful examination of the works of those who have excelled in it. 
 
 “ I shall here set down the result of the observations which I have made 
 on the works of those artists who appear to have best understood the 
 management of light and shade, and who may be considered as examples 
 for imitation in this branch of art. 
 
 “ Titian, Paul Veronese, and Tintoret were among the first painters 
 who reduced to a system what was before practised without any fixed 
 principle, and consequently neglected occasionally. Prom the Venetian 
 painters Rubens extracted his scheme of composition, which was soon 
 understood and adopted by his countrymen, and extended even to the 
 minor painters of familiar life in the Dutch school. 
 
 “When I was at Venice, the method I took to avail myself of their 
 principles was this: when I observed an extraordinary effect of light and 
 shade in any picture, I took a leaf of my pocket-book, and darkened every 
 part of it in the same gradation of light and shade as the picture, leaving 
 the white paper untouched to represent light, and this without any 
 
 attention to the subject or to the drawing of the figures. A few trials of 
 
 c 
 
10 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS ON 
 
 this kind will he sufficient to give the method of their conduct in the 
 management of their lights. After a few experiments I found the paper 
 blotted nearly alike : their general practice appeared to he, to allow not 
 above a quarter of the picture for the light, including in this portion both 
 the principal and secondary lights; another quarter to be as dark as 
 possible; and the remaining half kept in mezzotint or half shadow. 
 
 “ Rubens appears to have admitted rather more light than a quarter, 
 and Rembrandt much less, scarce an eighth ; by this conduct Rembrandt’s 
 light is extremely brilliant, but it costs too much; the rest of the picture 
 is sacrificed to this one object. That light will certainly appear the 
 brightest which is surrounded with the greatest quantity of shade, 
 supposing equal skill in the artist. 
 
 “ By this means you may likewise remark the various forms and shapes 
 of those lights, as well as the objects on which they are flung; whether a 
 figure, or the sky, a white napkin, animals, or utensils, often introduced 
 for this purpose only. It may be observed, likewise, what portion is 
 strongly relieved, and how much is united with its ground; for it is 
 necessary that some part (though a small one is sufficient) should be sharp 
 and cutting against its ground, whether it be light on a dark or dark on a 
 light ground, in order to give firmness and distinctness to the work; if, 
 on the other hand, it is relieved on every side, it will appear as if inlaid 
 on its ground. Such a blotted paper, held at a distance from the eye, 
 will strike the spectator as something excellent for the disposition of light 
 and shadow, though he does not distinguish whether it is a history, a 
 portrait, a landscape, dead game, or any thing else; for the same 
 principles extend to every branch of the art. 
 
LIGHT AND SHADE IN PAINTING. 
 
 11 
 
 “ Whether I have given an exact account, or made a just division of the 
 quantity of light admitted into the works of those painters, is of no very 
 great consequence; let every person examine and judge for himself: it 
 will he sufficient if I have suggested a mode of examining pictures this 
 way, and one means at least of acquiring the principles on which they 
 wrought.” 
 
 This is so admirable as to need no comment, and ought never to he 
 lost sight of, as upon the management of light and shade depends the 
 general look of the picture. 
 
 Flate I. Fig. 5. 
 
 As a wall or flat surface recedes from the light, it necessarily becomes 
 darker, and as the outline is more or less defined, it has the property of 
 advancing or receding. These may seem to he properties too evident to 
 every one to need any explanation; hut, when we see a foreground, in 
 place of coming flat up to the edge of the frame, appear to slope down 
 like a declivity, we must either suppose that the painter knew not the 
 principle of assisting the perspective by means of light and shade, or had 
 not the faculty of seeing nature. When we consider that nature spreads 
 out her landscape upon a horizontal plane, and that we have to compete 
 with her upon an upright surface, we shall find we have not only to call 
 into our aid strong light, coming in contact with sharp dark, warm 
 colours, and such as have the property of advancing, hut to subdue the 
 more distant part of the ground by soft shadow and retiring cool tints. 
 
12 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS ON 
 
 Plate I. Fig. 6. 
 
 When the composition is kept dark, forming a mass of shadow in the 
 centre of the canvass, the light is often conducted round it by means of 
 the sky, water, or light foreground; and as the dark becomes in a 
 manner isolated, it receives great vigour and importance. As this is the 
 reverse of Pig. 3, we find the same simple broad principle predominant, 
 and whether it be composed of a clump of trees, or the dark dress of a 
 whole-length figure, we find the management guided by the same rules; 
 only if a portrait, the circumstance of the face coming light off the back¬ 
 ground requires the feet or base of the figure to tell dark on the ground, 
 for the sake of firmness; and if any part is more lost in the background 
 than another, it perhaps ought to be the middle portion of the figure. 
 If a clump of trees such as we often find in Claude is to be represented, 
 their stems shoot out from a ground of the same darkness, thereby 
 producing a union of the trees with the shadow which they cast on the 
 ground. As a light in the centre of dark tints must thereby acquire an 
 increased consequence, so a dark in the middle of light tints receives the 
 same importance. 
 
LIGHT AND SHADE IN PAINTING. 
 
 13 
 
 Plate I. Fig. 7. 
 
 I have noticed in another place the union of one part of the picture 
 with another, by means of a repetition of the light: it will therefore he 
 unnecessary to say any thing further upon such management. I may 
 however observe that it is not only of service to repeat the light, but, 
 also, that it should he of the same colour; accordingly we observe in 
 Cuyp, whose principal light is often yellow, that it is carried into the 
 dark part of the picture by means of yellow drapery, a cow, sheep, or 
 a few touches of golden colour, according as he wishes such extension 
 of his light large or small. If the principal light is cold, such as blue 
 and white, we find it repeated either by a reflection in water, or a figure 
 dressed in the same cool tint. Portrait painters generally make use of 
 the light in the sky to repeat the lights of their head and hands, by 
 making it of the same colour. 
 
14 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS ON 
 
 Plate II. 
 
 llenibrandt, from, his first commencement in the art, seems to have 
 been always solicitous to represent the brightness of light at the sacrifice 
 of every other quality; and in his first works it often forms a circum¬ 
 scribed spot, for, as Reynolds justly observes, “that light must appear 
 the brightest which is surrounded by the greatest quantity of shadebut 
 though this conduct enables the artist to give light one of its strong 
 characteristics, whether it be the sun, a candle, fire, &c. yet there are 
 other properties quite as essential, and more easy to contend with, which 
 are its effects on the different objects it illuminates. Itembrandt’s close 
 attention to nature soon led him to expand his principle; for example, he 
 perceived the flame of a candle exceeded in brightness every thing round 
 it in a tenfold ratio, which could lie expressed only by darkening the 
 whole, and leaving the light in a spot, and thereby extinguishing its 
 influential effect: but if the candle itself was hid, the appearance of every 
 object under its influence was not only more easily given, but the effect 
 of the whole became more deceptive and natural. His extending of the 
 light through the picture gradually became more enlarged; and even his 
 deepest shadows are illuminated by streaks of red or rich brown 
 running into them, which (from his principal light being of a warm tone) 
 keep up a connection without destroying the breadth of light and shade. 
 
 In Pig. 1 of this Plate, “ Christ restoring the Daughter of Jairus,” we 
 have a principle upon which many of his pictures are constructed, viz. a 
 ray of light falling into an apartment, and received upon a light object 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flate 2. 
 
 Fy.I. 
 
LIGHT AND SHADE IN PAINTING. 
 
 ' 15 
 
 which, as in nature, reflects hack the rays, and illuminates the surrounding 
 objects, giving thus his principal light the properties of light itself. The 
 shadows of all objects receiving such direct rays, we sometimes see 
 strongly defined, as is the case in nature, and indeed we often find 
 Rembrandt placing objects for the express purpose of producing such 
 shadows, which gives an appearance of truth to the whole effect; at other 
 times we find the shadows swallowed up in the splendour of the light, as 
 if afraid of disturbing its breadth. Sometimes we find his strong light, 
 his strong dark, and his hot and cold colours, all focused at one point; 
 and at other times his darks employed to clear up the middle tint, and 
 his strongest colours made the means of uniting his light with the shade. 
 In short, whatever was his practice, he seems always to have had some 
 end to accomplish, and when we find him departing from what would he 
 the effect in nature under such circumstances, we may rest assured that 
 such departure did not arise from ignorance. We often see the attempts 
 of de Hooge and others at representing light confined to its effect in the 
 sky or on the objects out of doors, while it is hut sparingly admitted on 
 the figures seen within the apartment; on the contrary, Rembrandt’s figures 
 are lighted up with a splendour which extinguishes every other subordi¬ 
 nate light, and which we often cannot account for upon the common 
 principles of nature. 
 
 The subject below in Plate II. is from a picture in the Louvre, and 
 shows how small a portion of light sometimes engaged Rembrandt’s 
 solicitude. He has employed the edge of the frame work, the dark under 
 the cradle, and the dark dress of the figure to give it its value. The 
 curtain is a dull red, and is carried into the picture by the dress of the 
 child being of the same colour. 
 
16 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS ON 
 
 Plate III. Pig. 1 and 2. 
 
 Fig. 1 and 2 represent the “ Taking down from the cross” and the 
 “ Presentation in the temple.” Daulby, in his catalogue, mentions two states 
 of the original etchings more worked upon; hut I find, on examination, 
 they are merely the plates left without being much wiped, thereby casting 
 a stain over the whole, except a high light on the cap of the figure holding 
 the crosier, and a light at the torch in the “ Taking down from the cross,” 
 the copper being made clean at those places. In many of the varieties 
 of Rembrandt’s etchings he has got credit for effects supposed to be 
 produced by much labour, which were the result of the printing alone. 
 In the descent from the cross he has kept the principal light in the upper 
 part of the picture in contact with the strong dark; in the other it is kept 
 below, and is carried upwards by a chain of communication to the head of 
 the crosier. Where the light is at one side, or low down in the picture, 
 such as in the “Wise Men’s offering,” in the king’s collection, there is 
 greater space for a breadth of shadow, than when the light is kept in the 
 centre, as was the principle of most of his first works. In some of his 
 designs he seems to have allowed the entire half of his canvass for repose, 
 and to have confined his composition with all its lights, and darks, and 
 colours, to the other half. Very little often serves to connect the two, 
 

 
 

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LIGHT AND SHADE IN PAINTING. 
 
 17 
 
 The dark manner of Rembrandt lias advantages over every other, if kept 
 within due hounds, as it enables the painter to give a rich tone to his 
 colours without their appearing heavy, which more feeble backgrounds 
 would not admit of, unless the colours are to stand as darks instead of 
 lights; accordingly we find Titian, Tintoret, Giorgione, Rembrandt, and 
 our own Reynolds, all swayed by the same opinion. 
 
 Plate III. Fig. 3. 
 
 "When the light part of the composition is placed upon the dark side of 
 the background, and the dark part upon the light side, greater firmness 
 and solidity are produced, and a more equal balance is kept up. The 
 contrary method lias more breadth and softness of effect, but unless the 
 light part is of a different hue from the light ground upon which it may 
 be placed, and the dark part is of a warmer or colder tone than the 
 shadow which surrounds it, there is a danger of their losing their 
 substance and becoming flat. Vandyke, in this composition, has made 
 the colours of his figures assist his arrangement of light and shade; the 
 white dress of the child and the yellow dress of the queen make the 
 principal light; the white is repeated by the cap, ruff, &c. of the other 
 figures; the yellow is carried across by the embroidery upon the king’s 
 dress, and spread out upon the under part of the sky; the darks are 
 
 D 
 
18 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS ON 
 
 made up of the dark dress of the king and the child’s dress, which is a 
 dull green; the latter tint is carried across the picture by part of the 
 curtain turned up, of the same colour; the curtain itself is a dull yellow 
 and brown, serving as a ground to the queen’s dress; the red cloth of the 
 table is repeated by the two chairs; the floor being a dark neutral tint 
 gives a firmness to the bottom of both the figures. If the student, in 
 examining the light and shade of a picture, remarks what colours are 
 resorted to for such purpose, in a few trials he will find that which at 
 first appears complicated and difficult to unravel will become easy and 
 beneficial, serving to strengthen his powers of reflection in the highest 
 degree. 
 
LIGHT AND SHADE IN PAINTING. 
 
 19 
 
 Plate III. Fig. 4. 
 
 The dark forming the greatest mass of shadow of the picture is often, 
 before being brought in contact with the extreme light, increased and 
 collected to a point by some object whose local colour conduces to such 
 purpose, as in the example here given; where the black dress of the 
 female is brought, at its darkest portion, in contact with the lightest 
 portion of the white dress. This serves to give air to the deepest shades 
 of the background, and greater firmness to the object so relieved. The 
 collecting to one head of all the light, and all the dark of a piece, gives the 
 artist the greatest force of the palette. To enable the other side of the 
 picture to keep up with so much vigour, Metzu has thrown his strong 
 colour into the scale, and brought his red and blue in contact, by a glove 
 lying upon the chair, at the point nearest the eye. The warm colour is 
 taken to the other side by a dog, &c., and the white of the female repeated 
 by a handkerchief the man holds in his hand, his neckcloth, &c. 
 
20 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS ON 
 
 Plate IY. Pig. 1. 
 
 In a single head we often have but one light; it is therefore necessary 
 to get it to harmonize with the shadow, either in the background or upon 
 the dress. Rembrandt, accordingly, frequently painted the light of the 
 dress of the same colour as the shadow side of the face, thereby keeping 
 uq> a union and simplicity. In Pig. 2 we have the hands making a second 
 light; and in Pig. 3 we have three spots of light, the shirt and ruffles of 
 both hands : this is the Titian Reynolds thus mentions in the description 
 of the Dusseldorf gallery, and which is now in Munich: “A portrait of a 
 gentleman, by Titian, a kitcat; one hand a-kimbo, the hand itself not 
 seen, only a bit of the ruffle; the other, the left, rests on what appears to 
 be his sword; he is looking off. This portrait has a very pleasing 
 countenance, but is not painted with much facility, nor is it at all 
 mannered; the shadows are of no colour; the drapery being black, and 
 the ground being very near as dark as it, prevents the arm a-kimbo from 
 having a bad effect. It is no small part of our art to know what to bring 
 forward in the light, and what to throw into shade.” 
 
 The linen in this picture, and most others of Titian, is light and cutting, 
 the flesh forming the half light. Reynolds, talking of the Descent from 
 the Cross, by Rubens, says, “he well knew what effect white linen, 
 opposed to flesh, must have, with his powers of colouring; and the truth 
 is, that none but great colourists can venture to paint pure white linen near 
 flesh; but such know the advantage of it.” In Rembrandt we generally 
 find the same treatment, although I have often observed the linen kept 
 

 

LIGHT AND SHADE IN PAINTING. 
 
 21 
 
 cool when near tlie face. To give the flesh a luminous character, he often 
 introduces cool tints coming near it, and when he can find nothing else, 
 uses the shadows of linen for such purpose. In Vandyke’s early Italian 
 manner we find the linen much brighter than in his later works, where it 
 became more of a leaden cast. 
 
 Plate IV. Fig. 4 and 5. 
 
 We sometimes find the light of the sky introduced for the purpose of 
 repeating the lights of the heads and hands, as in Tig. 3; sometimes to 
 spread and enlarge the lights of the head, and give it more consequence, 
 as in Tig. 4. To assist the hand in keeping its situation in this picture, 
 he has defined it by the hat and shadow on the chair. As it is of the 
 utmost consequence that every object should keep its relative distance 
 with regard to the eye of the spectator, it is a good method to define 
 those parts we wish to advance by a dark shadow coming in contact with 
 them, and to surround the retiring portions with a ground of a less 
 opposing character; as we know lines strongly and sharply defined will 
 approach, and those of a softer nature will retire. Such blots are 
 afterwards to he accounted for by the contrivance of the artist: in this 
 consists the application of the background to the figures, one of the most 
 difficult and essential portions of the art. 
 
 As light and shade determine the concavities or convexities of all 
 objects, without them the most intelligent outline would he but as a map 
 
22 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS ON 
 
 or flat surface. If, for example, we take a cup and examine the influence 
 of light and shade upon it, we find in nature those principles which artists 
 have applied to many purposes in painting. We perceive the near edge 
 strongly defined by the light side coming in contact with the shadow, 
 which becomes darker as it descends into the cup; we have the dark side 
 brought firmly off the light, thus giving it the simplest and most effective 
 means of a true representation of its character. This may appear too 
 evident to notice in a work of this nature, which does not profess to give 
 the mere rudiments of the art; hut I am convinced that the most intricate 
 principles of painting emanate from very few sources, and that these 
 sources are of a very simple nature. Every thing within our view is filled 
 with examples, and the mind of the student requires only to be directed 
 to an examination, and investigation of the subject, before commencing 
 any work, or while in the progress. He must not only know what is his 
 intention, hut must be in possession of the best method of expressing 
 such intention. 
 
 Plate V. Eig. 1. 
 
 When a shadow is carried through the middle of the picture, we have 
 not only an opportunity of giving a breadth of effect; but, the receding 
 portion of the sky, and perspective of the ground, are assisted by their 
 sharpnesses being swallowed up in repose: see this principle noticed at 
 Eig. 5. Plate I. 
 

Fio. 3. 
 
LIGHT AND SHADE IN PAINTING. 
 
 23 
 
 Plate V. Fig. 2 and 3. 
 
 When the principal light is kept at one side, we have an opportunity 
 of introducing a larger portion of shadow, than when the light is in the 
 centre, which is often of the first consequence, especially if repose is 
 required in the work. 
 
 When, as in Tig. 2, a multitude of small objects are introduced into a 
 picture, or when the general arrangement consists of many figures, it is 
 impossible to get a breadth of light and shade, unless many of them are 
 united together of the same strength, so as to form a mass of light, or of 
 dark ; hut which to do with skill is one of the greatest difficulties ; for 
 unless the science is in some measure concealed, it is no longer science. 
 In the confusion of a battle, for example, it is unlikely that two or three 
 white horses should he collected, so as to form a mass of light; and yet 
 we see in Salvator Rosa, and Wouvermans this method adopted ; or in a 
 representation of dead game it is equally improbable that we should 
 always find a swan for the same purpose, as in Weeninx. To obviate 
 such apparent artifice of the painter, we find P. Veronese, Tintoret, and 
 others, making use of the sky, or light buildings, for a principal mass in 
 their large works, consisting of many figures. In the small works of the 
 Dutch school we find the light upon a wall, or on the ground, or in a 
 window, in indoor subjects, and the sky, &c. in open daylight, made use 
 of for this purpose. 
 
24 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS ON 
 
 Gerard Douw, notwithstanding his extreme finish, contrived to preserve 
 that breadth of light and shade, which his instruction in the school of 
 Rembrandt had empowered him to do ; and in small works this breadth of 
 effect is the more difficult to retain, seeing, that there is so little space for 
 the middle tints, darks, lights, and reflected lights, to be observed in 
 nature, and withal, for a certain bluntness in the outline, to prevent the 
 several objects from looking like small models. Reynolds, in his notes to 
 Eresnoy, to illustrate this quality, says, “ we may have recourse to Titian’s 
 bunch of grapes, which we will suppose placed so as to receive a broad 
 light and shadow ; here, though each individual grape on the light side of 
 the bunch has its light, and shadow', and reflection, yet altogether they 
 make but one broad mass of light; the slightest sketch, therefore, where 
 this breadth is preserved, w ill have a better effect, wall have more the 
 appearance of coming from a master hand, that is, in other words, will 
 have more the characteristic and ejenerale of nature, than the most 
 laborious finishing where this breadth is lost or neglected.” One method 
 amongst many which wo sometimes find Gerard Douw adopting, so as to 
 convey an appearance of high finishing, and yet preserve the breadth of 
 nature, is to give the texture, or surface of an object without altering the 
 tints. Eor example, in painting a piece of carpet or tapestry, he seems 
 to have laid in his broad lights and shadows, and, while wet, applied a 
 piece of fine cloth, so as to leave an impression of the threads over the 
 whole, then in the high lights to have touched each thread with light, and 
 in the shadow w ith dark touching, which, did the lines accord with the 
 undulation of the folds, would have given a true appearance of the 
 breadth and detail of nature. 
 
LIGHT AND SHADE IN PAINTING. 
 
 25 
 
 The art of giving a finished look to a picture is one of the most difficult 
 departments of painting, for under it is implied the exact strengthening of 
 the different shades and colours, which defines their relative situations in 
 the picture, the introduction of and detailing the minute parts, without 
 disturbing the great breadth of the whole, and the giving to different 
 substances their several and proper characters. The term finish, when 
 applied to colouring, implies giving to the representations of objects that 
 exact tone which the objects themselves jiossess i n nature under the same 
 circumstances, either by repeated glazings with transparent washes, or by 
 a careful mixture of the colours on the palette in the first instance. 
 
 As the principle of placing the light at the side of the picture has 
 already been noticed at Plate III., I shall, in adverting to Pig. 3 of the 
 present plate, merely mention the colour. 
 
 The principal light is composed of the white and blue garments of 
 Christ, and repeated in the sky, it being of the same cool tint; the warm 
 light of the angel makes the principal for the head and hands of Christ, 
 and is repeated by a torch carried by figures in the distance. So much 
 cold colour being admitted on the lights, requires the shadows to be 
 kept warm, to prevent the picture from looking heavy; accordingly we 
 find Coreggio has kept the darks of a rich brown; Rembrandt, who was 
 master of this department of art, when his light is cool, makes his 
 shadows the hotter the darker they become; Rubens, who formed his 
 style of colouring upon the Venetian, seems to have been guided by the 
 same opinion. In one of his maxims he says, “ Begin by painting in your 
 shadows lightly, taking care that no Avhite is suffered to glide into them; 
 it is the poison of a picture except in the lights ; if ever your shadows are 
 
 E 
 
26 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS ON 
 
 corrupted by the introduction of this baneful colour, your tones will no 
 longer be warm and transparent, but heavy and leady. It is not the 
 same in the lights, they may be loaded with colour as much as you think 
 proper.” Whoever examines the works of the great colourists, will 
 find this impasting of the lights, and keeping the shadows rich, juicy, 
 and transparent, was their universal practice. The original of this 
 subject, which is in the possession of the Duke of Wellington, has this 
 character, as indeed have all the works from Coreggio’s own hand. Opie 
 in his lectures gives a clear definition of Coreggio’s management of chiar¬ 
 oscuro, as follows : 
 
 “ By classing his colours, and judiciously dividing them into few and 
 large masses of bright and obscure, gently rounding off his light, and 
 passing, by almost imperceptible degrees, through pellucid demi-tints and 
 warm reflexions, into broad, deep, and transparent shade; he artfully 
 connected the fiercest extremes of light and shadow, harmonized the most 
 intense opposition of colours, and combined the greatest possible effect 
 with the sweetest and softest repose imaginable .” 
 
 Plate YI. Pig. 1. 
 
 I have noticed in another place, that when the darks of the group are 
 brought off the light side of the background, greater firmness is obtained, 
 and more vivacity, which latter is the peculiar character of daylight. 
 Cuyp, by placing his figures in such a position as to throw long shadows 
 across the picture, gives a great appearance of sunshine. If the strong 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Plate. 6. 
 
 Pemlnmdt. 
 
LIGHT AND SHADE IN PAINTING. 
 
 27 
 
 darks are placed on the delicate half light, instead of on the strong light, 
 they have greater force, as the ground has a more retiring quality: the 
 strong colours have also a more natural appearance, as in the event of 
 colours being opposed to the glare of light, their brilliancy is destroyed. 
 
 A few small touches of light are sufficient to convey the light into the 
 dark side of the picture, and to take off the heaviness of the shadows. 
 In compositions, when the background is very dark, we find shining 
 substances, such as mirrors, metal, armour, &c. employed, as they take 
 on a sharp light, and thereby connect the shade with the light without 
 destroying its breadth; on the contrary, they add to its depth. 
 
 Plate VI. Fig. 2. 
 
 When the light part of the group is placed upon the light side of the 
 ground, provided there can be sufficient firmness given, we must of 
 necessity have a greater breadth of effect. Vandyke has in this picture 
 kept the principal light upon the sleeve of the jacket (which makes the 
 most prominent point), and has diffused it upon the sky. The cool tints 
 of the shadows of the jacket, and part of a blue ribbon detach it from the 
 under part of the sky, which is warm. The warm colouring of the boy, 
 and the cloak which he carries, and the king’s breeches being of a dull 
 
28 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS ON 
 
 red, assist the arrangement. The warm colours are carried into the 
 shadow side of the picture by the dun colour of the horse, the stump of 
 the tree, and the saddle cloth. The cool blue of the sky mixes with the 
 foliage of the trees, and prevents it from interfering with the hat, which 
 has greater point in consequence, and balances the shadow side of the 
 picture, besides drawing the attention of the spectator to the head. The 
 warm colour of the flesh necessarily detaches itself from the cool ground; 
 but in such situations we often find Rubens and all his pupils bring 
 strong blue in contact with the head, which gives it a great value, and 
 a luminous effect. We thus perceive a light figure may be strongly 
 relieved even by a light background, provided the colours are opposed to 
 each other; thereby preserving the greatest breadth of light. 
 
LIGHT AND SHADE IN PAINTING. 
 
 29 
 
 Plate VI. Fig. 3. 
 
 We have in this subject the dark of the group brought off the light 
 part of the ground with great firmness, and a very large portion of the 
 outline sharp and cutting, which, though it may give the strong feature of 
 natural objects, lias a harsh appearance at first sight. Whether it he 
 that in real objects their actual existence enables them to harmonize with 
 the harshest effects of light and shade; or that the real separation of one 
 part from another, admits of a strength of colour incompatible with a 
 flat surface, such as an outline on canvass, is worthy of the student’s 
 examination; as in nature he will often find the most distant parts of an 
 object more sharp and cutting than the nearest outlines, and yet keep 
 their situation. To represent this on canvass requires the most scientific 
 management; as a work may have the strength and freshness of nature, 
 without being a just representation, when the situation of one part with 
 regard to another is taken into the account. 
 
 Potter in this picture (in which the objects are of the natural size) has 
 made use of the simplest and firmest principles, as regards light and 
 shade. We have the group strongly defined by part of it coming light 
 off a dark ground, and dark off a light one; we have the composition 
 
30 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS ON 
 
 taking a decided form in one direction, and the light running across it in 
 another; we have therefore the strong look of nature, which consists of 
 simplicity, decision, and strength. 
 
 In the early masters we have these qualities often in a high degree; 
 and had they less of an inlaid flat appearance, would he more valuable 
 than the more harmonious softenings of modern light and shade; hut we 
 must never forget that objects in nature are more or less round, that they 
 are delicate as well as forcible, and that the harshest colours are under 
 the influence of light and shade. 
 
 O 
 
LIGHT AND SHADE IN PAINTING. 
 
 31 
 
 Plate VI. Fig. 4. 
 
 The light part of the group is here brought in contact with the light 
 part of the background, and the shadow assisted in its strength by the 
 local colour of the objects placed within it. The yellow cow, which 
 makes the light, is surrounded by others of a dull red and brown, which 
 are relieved by a still darker ground. This gives a great breadth to the 
 group. The cool colour of the upper part of the sky is carried across 
 the picture by the grass and leaves being of a cool green; the dark sharp 
 marking of the horns, eyes, &c. gives a lightness and finish to the whole, 
 as it allows the broad lights and shadows to have more union. In Cuyp 
 the local colour of his objects, whether hot or cold, is kept up undisturbed 
 by the light and shade; this gives great breadth and the distinctness of 
 nature in open daylight. 
 
 Plate VI. Fig. 5. 
 
 In this subject we have the light figure upon the dark ground, and vice 
 versa. In nature we often perceive strong effects arising out of simple 
 and decided principles, which, if sketched at the time, will be of the 
 utmost value to the student, by giving him an insight into the science of 
 light and shade; and will often serve as a key to commence with in 
 forming larger combinations. Reynolds mentions a mode of composing 
 
32 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS ON 
 
 by taking a figure from some celebrated master, and designing others to 
 correspond with it; thereby imparting a grandeur of style to the whole. 
 So, by commencing with something sketched from nature, we give a 
 decided look of truth to the other parts of the picture. 
 
 Many painters model their groups for the purpose of obtaining a true 
 representation of the light and shade. Small figures, however rude in 
 form, will serve this purpose, and give the artist many invaluable hints. 
 
 Tintoret and Coreggio, both great masters of chiaroscuro, are known 
 to have availed themselves of this method; and the student must have a 
 most erroneous idea of his art, who imagines excellence can be obtained 
 without the assistance of every auxiliary. The most learned arrange¬ 
 ments of light and shade may astonish; but there is a charm in the 
 chiaroscuro of nature which carries irresistible sway. 
 
 Plate VI. Fig. 6. 
 
 In this subject we have the dark group brought off the light side of the 
 background in the simplest and most decided manner; and the principles 
 of light and shade made applicable to giving the strong look of nature, 
 viz. breadth and solidity to the ground, and light and extent to the sky. 
 Hembrandt has often been accused of being artificial in his effects, but he 
 never misses his aim, either in representing the splendid emanations of 
 light, or the quiet depths of shadow ; the peculiar character of an object, 
 
LIGHT AND SHADE IN PAINTING. 
 
 33 
 
 either in texture or in colour, and that appearance, familiar to the 
 recollection of every one; but to convey which, either in poetry or in 
 painting, is only in the power of a few. 
 
 Rembrandt seems always to have taken up a leading feature in his 
 
 works, and never to have lost sight of it. The varieties in his prints 
 
 are but corroborations of this : as in his anxiety for its preservation 
 we trace him destroying every impediment, either by covering down or 
 burying whole groups in shadow, or by leaving in an unfinished state 
 other groups, with a mere outline to define them. Tor example, if we 
 
 take the first state of the print of the great Ecce Homo, we perceive he 
 
 has made Christ in the centre of a group, in a quiet broad mass of light, 
 with the strong darks gradating from him, right and left, and surrounded 
 by masses of half tint. He has then etched in the principal group, 
 commencing with the figure addressing the multitude, and terminating 
 with the right hand of Pilate. This portion being in strong light, 
 interspersed with a variety of strong darks, acquires by this means great 
 brilliancy and agitation. We have therefore the quiet character of Christ 
 preserved, and his superiority maintained, by his forming the centre of 
 one group, and the apex of the other, rising as Tuseli describes it, “ like 
 a pyramid from the tumultuous waves below.” 
 
 If we take his print of the Angels appearing to the Shepherds, in the 
 first state we find a broad mass of shadow running through the centre in 
 a diagonal line, thus giving it its greatest magnitude. In the upper part 
 is preserved the principal light, radiating from a centre, with a multitude 
 of children sporting in its beams, and out of which the angel addresses 
 
 F 
 

 PRACTICAL HINTS ON 
 
 the shepherds across this gulf of shadow. The second light, which is 
 in the lower portion of the print, he has in the next state, cut up by a 
 number of darks and lights, irregularly dispersed, thus conveying the 
 appearance of confusion and terror to the shepherds, their herds, and 
 flocks, which are represented flying in all directions. These two examples 
 out of many, which the student will discover by his own examination, 
 will suffice to show that light and shade may be made to contribute to the 
 character and fitness of the subject; and that of this adaptation of it, 
 Rembrandt holds unrivalled possession. 
 
 Plate YII. 
 
 When a picture is chiefly composed of light and half tint, the darks of 
 the figures must necessarily tell with great force, from there being so little 
 of half shade to rob them of tlieir value; the mid-day sun filling with 
 intense light, every particle of the atmosphere, gives that luminous 
 appearance, which is so strongly characteristic of an out of door effect, 
 the dark local colours of the figures, from the absorption of the rays, 
 retain undiminislied power, and give that firmness and vivacity to the 
 scene which prevents it from looking feeble. In nature, figures from their 
 upright position, have a greater consequence from the flat shadows being 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ■ / 
 
 
 
 

 flute 
 
 
 Yaru&velfe. 
 

 
 
 
 
LIGHT AND SHADE IN PAINTING. 
 
 35 
 
 weakened by the light of the sky falling into them; for, seeing that the 
 whole heavens are filled with light, it is showered down and reflected in 
 all directions. Also, from their being in motion, they attract the eye; a 
 circumstance to be noticed by the artist, who has to give them their 
 relative value on canvass, as they possess in reality. The consideration 
 of all these circumstances influences many painters, in giving the darks the 
 full force of the palette. As a general character and the leading features 
 of strong daylight are to be purchased at any sacrifice, critics who do 
 not sufficiently investigate these matters, may complain of want of air, 
 but the student, by a close attention to the subject, will not easily be 
 scared by the cry of “ sans vapeur .” 
 
 Birds in the air, boats on the water, figures on the sands, cornfields, 
 or light roads, have all this characteristic feature in a high degree, from 
 the middle tint being on so light a key. 
 
 Cuyp often accomplishes this by the general tone of the picture being 
 warm, and his shadows brownish, thereby allowing his blue draperies and 
 cool blacks to have greater point. P. Veronese and Bubens have many 
 pictures on the same principle. - 
 
 Opposition of colour is of great importance in the treatment of .pictures 
 on a light key, as it gives great relief and distinctness without cutting up 
 the breadth of light; such as blue upon a warm ground, or red upon a 
 cool one, bright yellow upon a cool gray, &c. In No. 3, Claude has 
 made great use of such opposition. The general appearance of the 
 picture is warm, the dark blue of the water is carried across the piece 
 by the dark blue draperies of some of the figures, and is suffused upon 
 
 p 2 
 
36 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS ON 
 
 the upper part of the sky. The red is interspersed upon the boats and 
 the draperies of the other figures; and, warming the near part of the 
 buildings, is repeated at the top by a figure looking over the balcony 
 and two red flags upon the blue of the sky. He has placed two blue 
 flags upon the warm part of the sky to repeat the cool colour. 
 
 Pictures painted on a dark key have already been noticed as possessing 
 many advantages, which have led our greatest colourists to its adoption. 
 But as low toned pictures are apt to look heavy and black, unless richness 
 of shadows, or sharpness of lights be preserved; so pictures painted on a 
 light key are apt to look flat and unfinished, unless the greatest circum¬ 
 spection be used. In nature, the intense light of the sky, and the 
 atmosphere, which is filled with its innumerable refractions, spread a 
 luminous character over the whole scene; to represent which the artist 
 can employ only a greater degree of whiteness, a very inadequate quality, 
 and hence the great difficulty of imitating the splendid brightness of 
 mid-day, or the brilliant effects of an evening sky. In treating the one, 
 unless the delicate varieties of the half lights are attended to with the 
 greatest care, the picture will look crude and unfinished; for the tints 
 being so nearly allied to each other, the exact sharpness to define them, 
 and their exact tone, either by repeated scumbling, or, mixing them to the 
 proper tint in the first instance, require an attention and study of the 
 most refined quality; without which the shadows will be powdery instead 
 of pearly, or the lights white instead of luminous. In the other arrange¬ 
 ment the yellow tones may become solid and foxy, if deprived of the 
 delicate cool tints so necessary to prevent their appearing too hot, and to 
 give the whole, that tremulous unsteady appearance which light possesses 
 in nature. 
 
LIGHT AND SHADE IN PAINTING. 
 
 37 
 
 Light pictures, from the tenderness of their light and shade, require 
 the colours opposed to each other, whether blue opposed to red, or yellow 
 to cool gray, to be managed with the greatest delicacy; otherwise their 
 strength will destroy all appearance of light and air. In light pictures 
 strong colours can stand only as middle tint, or for leading the light into 
 the shade, hut can appear as lights only by being relieved by strong 
 shadow. We often find them, as in P. Veronese, &c., standing as darks, 
 or made use of to give objects an appearance of solidity, without breaking 
 up the general mass of light in the picture. 
 
38 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS ON 
 
 Plate VIII. 
 
 I shall here recur to the subject of middle tint, for the purpose of taking 
 a general view of the various modes of arranging this important branch 
 of light and shade; as upon the strength of the middle tint depends, in a 
 great measure, the general look of the picture. By the middle tint is 
 meant the medium between the extreme dark and extreme light; but as 
 such a scale is too gross to take in all the gradations lying between so 
 opposite qualities, I have, for the sake of clearness, made use of inter¬ 
 mediate links, viz., half dark and half light. If we take a ground of a 
 shade composed chiefly of half dark and middle tint, and introduce the 
 strongest lights, we shall find it necessary to introduce a portion of half 
 light to spread and break down their harshness. If the extreme dark is 
 placed upon the middle tint, it will by contrast render it more in union 
 with the half light; if it be placed on the half dark, a breadth of shadow 
 and softness will be the result. Harshness of effect in treating pictures 
 upon a dark scale arises, most commonly from the want of sufficient 
 quantities of middle tint and half light, thereby causing the principal light 
 to be too much defined; as we frequently observe in the works of Michael 
 Angelo Carravagio. 
 
 Rembrandt and Coreggio excelled all others in the introduction of derni- 
 tints, which illuminate their deepest shadows. In their works and in 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 * 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
TIate 
 
 Fwl. 
 
LIGHT AND SHADE IN PAINTING. 
 
 39 
 
 nature we perceive the lowest tones of middle tint are removed from 
 blackness, either by their warmth, or the introduction of some positive 
 black or blue, to produce an appearance of air floating within them. 
 
 The exact quantity of middle tint must depend upon the arrangement 
 of the subject and the taste of the painter ; but it is absolutely necessary, 
 to prevent it from always interposing betwixt the extreme light and 
 extreme dark. 
 
 This invariably gradual declination of the light into the shadow, is one 
 cause of the insipid look of most of Vanderwerf’s works, nor is it, as Sir 
 Joshua Reynolds justly observes, consonant with the effects in nature. 
 Variety demands some portion of the composition to be sharp and cutting ; 
 and richness is to he obtained only, by a continual changing of portions 
 coming sometimes dark and sometimes light off the ground; this endless 
 variety in nature can he imitated only, by this intricate weaving of the 
 outline with the background : so that the same sound principles which 
 guide the conduct in the treatment of the whole, may he traced in the 
 management of the detail. 
 
 Middle tint, in pictures painted on a light key, ought to he in some 
 measure robbed of its consequence, either by the introduction of reflected 
 lights, or positive half lights ; for if it occupies too large a portion of the 
 canvass, the work must of necessity lose its characteristic feature. We 
 must therefore depend upon some other agent to prevent the picture 
 being flimsy, and void of that solidity which is so inherent in the most 
 delicate of nature’s works. Accordingly we find small sharp darks 
 introduced, the value of which has been noticed in another place ; and 
 
40 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS ON 
 
 (what is of the utmost importance) a sharp edge to the lights and half 
 shadows throughout the whole. 
 
 The light pictures of Teniers and Cuyp are full of this precision in the 
 touch, a flatness in the shades, a sharpness in the handling, and a 
 distinctness in the most approximate colours; by this alone a general 
 breadth can be preserved, and the most splendid light (even of a sky), 
 filled with a multitude of forms. 
 
 In this notice of middle tint or ground of the picture, I may appear to 
 have recapitulated what has already been said in other parts of the 
 work ; but my anxiety to put the student in possession of every informa¬ 
 tion in my power urges me to place it before his eyes in every point of 
 view. 
 
 The management of light and shade, as relates to a whole, ought to be 
 always present in the student’s mind, as it is from inattention to this 
 alone that a work is often destroyed in its progress. In the commence¬ 
 ment of a picture those parts only are strongly defined, or marked in, 
 which are of the greatest importance; and the other portions are left in a 
 broader and less obtrusive state. But in the progress of the work the 
 proper subordination of the latter is often injuriously diminished. 
 
 The general character of an object is its most important feature, and 
 this is to be preserved at the price of every other quality, if it cannot be 
 retained upon other terms; as it is this which is imprinted on the mind of 
 every one, and which is therefore paramount to all its other properties. 
 If the object does not possess this feature upon the canvass, it cannot 
 
LIGHT AND SHADE IN PAINTING. 
 
 41 
 
 attract or interest the spectator, as in all probability its other properties 
 are unveiled except to the artist alone, who has examined it attentively. 
 For example, in a portrait, when we see the bead alone finished, it often 
 pleases more than when the work is complete; our attention is led 
 involuntarily to the countenance, which would he the case were we intro¬ 
 duced to the original; and this preponderance, which exists in nature, 
 must of necessity become less when- in the finished work the other 
 portions of the picture have received a greater consequence. The 
 importance of the countenance, the general character of the flesh, viz. its 
 transparency, breadth of local colour, luminous appearance, &c. may he 
 all lost from the injudicious introduction, in the other parts of the picture, 
 of lights, darks, and middle tints, in the artist’s anxiety for richness of 
 effect, or in his wish to give splendour and harmony by the strength or 
 variety of his colours. 
 
 In sketching a landscape from nature, when we have time only to put 
 down the leading features, detailing such objects alone as are striking or 
 interesting, we find the spectator often more satisfied from feeling a 
 corresponding sensation from the truth of the representation imprinted on 
 his mind, than when, in a more finished work, the painter has destroyed 
 the great breadth and luminous character of the sky for the purpose of 
 mixing the shadows of the clouds with the trees, &c. to counteract 
 flatness, or when he has subdued the strength of his colours for the sake 
 of taking off their harshness. When he begins to define the different 
 parts for the sake of a finish, unless he has the treatment of the picture as 
 a whole constantly before his eye, the expansive look of the sky, the fresh 
 and decided appearance of nature in the colours, the gray tones and soft 
 
 G 
 
42 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS ON 
 
 markings of tlie aerial perspective may all disappear, and give place to 
 requisites of an inferior kind. 
 
 In all objects in nature there is something predominant, and which 
 alone has struck the observation of every one. If the artist gives that, he 
 brings his object at once home “to men’s bosoms,” and without which 
 his greatest labour is hut industrious trifling. The character of an 
 object depends upon a particular colour, a particular touch, a particular 
 concentration or diffusion of light, according to its form or substance; to 
 obtain which ought to he the constant study of the student, as it is the 
 language of his art, and the only language universally understood. 
 
 I have in these brief notices of the art of light and shade, endeavoured 
 to point out the various modes of establishing a scientific arrangement of 
 its powers, and applying them to any subject the student may have in 
 hand. The changes are infinite; but, by an attentive examination of the 
 effects in nature or in art, he will find the sources from which they arise 
 few and simple. Opie in his lectures, speaking of chiaroscuro, strongly 
 recommends the study of the several masters who have excelled in this 
 department of the art, “ By studying the works of the great masters of 
 chiaroscuro, he will by degrees become acquainted with all the artifices of 
 contrasting light to shade, colour to colour, to produce relievo, of joining 
 light objects together, and dark objects together, in masses, in order to 
 give splendour and breadth of effect; of gradually sinking some objects 
 wholly or partly in shadow, and losing their outlines in the ground, to 
 produce softness and harmony; and of making, in other places, abrupt 
 breaks and sharp transitions, to produce vivacity and spirit. lie will 
 
LIGHT AND SHADE IN PAINTING. 
 
 43 
 
 also learn their rules for shaping their masses, and of adapting them in 
 regard to force or softness to the nature of the subject, whether grave or 
 gay, sublime or terrible. By this he must lie directed when to give his 
 light the form of a globe, or when to send it in a stream across his 
 canvass; when to make a dark mass on a light ground, or a light mass on 
 a dark ground; when he may let his light die away by imperceptible 
 gradations, when diffuse it in greater breadth and abundance, and when 
 it may more properly he concentrated into one vivid flash.” This is so 
 excellent, and embraces so many of the best modes of the management 
 of light and shade, that the student, who can comprehend them and put 
 them in practice, requires no farther instruction in this part of the art. 
 He will he in possession of a key to unlock the richest stores of nature; 
 he will be in possession of a sort of short hand to note down her most 
 fleeting effects; and by understanding the cause which gives them exist¬ 
 ence, rivet them in his memory. Without having accustomed himself to 
 this mode of arranging his observations, his life will be spent in an 
 endless search after that which is continually passing before his eyes. 
 
 Light and shade, considered as a means of producing a deception, by 
 making parts of the picture advance, and other parts retire, so that every 
 tiling may keep its relative situation, as regards the distance from the 
 spectator, is a necessary attendant upon perspective. It is, however, 
 often violated in the best works, for the purpose of giving a general 
 breadth, or of preserving the light in a good shape; but, when compatible 
 with both these, it is of the utmost consequence; and the painter can 
 enter into a competition with nature only by a perfect knowledge of the 
 best modes of adapting it to such purpose. 
 
 g 2 
 
44 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS ON 
 
 Richness of effect, either by a mixture of the light and shade, so as to 
 give an appearance of doubling to the outline, or by relieving the outline 
 by a ground possessed of a variety of strengths. And distinctness of form, 
 surrounded by flatness, when we wish any part to attract notice, or to 
 preserve the expression undisturbed, are both under the dominion of 
 chiaroscuro, to whose control the whole array of colours yields implicit 
 obedience. 
 
 The application of light and shade, in a poetical point of view, is 
 capable of creating an association of ideas, without which the imagination 
 of the spectator would experience nothing but disappointment. For 
 example, if we represent a scene remarkable for disasters or shipwrecks, 
 the mind is excited, and an expectation raised, which none but an artist 
 imbued with the poetry of the art can gratify, hy clothing the scene in all 
 the ominous effects of elemental strife ; whether the shadow 
 
 Strangles the travelling lamp : 
 
 That darkness does the face of earth entomb, 
 
 When living light should kiss it?- 
 
 or 
 
 “ The sky seems to pour down stinking pitch, 
 
 But that the sea, mounting to the welkin’s cheek, 
 
 Dashes the fire out.” 
 
 Sliakspeare, who was possessed of all the poetry of the art, clothes his 
 scenery with those circumstances which awaken a thousand pleasing or 
 awful sensations as the subject may require; whether 
 
 “ The gray ey’d morn smiles on the frowning night, 
 
 Checkering the eastern clouds with streaks of light.” 
 
LIGHT AND SHADE IN PAINTING. 
 
 45 
 
 Whether 
 
 or when 
 
 “ The glorious sun 
 
 Stays in his course and plays the alchemist; 
 Turning with splendour of his precious eye 
 The meagre cloddy earth to glittering gold.'’ 
 
 “ Light thickens ; and the crow 
 Makes wing to the rooky wood.” 
 
 or when he bids 
 
 “ Thick night 
 
 Pall herself in the dunnest smoke of hell! ” 
 
 We have him adopting the softness and breadth of Coreggio, the 
 splendour and gorgeous effects of Veronese, Rubens, or Cuyp, or the 
 ominous twilight and midnight darkness of Rembrandt or Michael Angelo 
 Carravagio. His light and shade is the chiaroscuro of nature passing 
 through a mind susceptible of its finest impressions, and capable of 
 placing such effects before the eye of the spectator, “ unshorn of their 
 beams,” or unimpaired in their sublimity. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
 Waterlow & Sons Limited, Printers, London Wall, London. 
 

 
 
 
 
PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 ON 
 
 COLOUR IN PAINTINO. 
 
PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 ON 
 
 COLOUR IN PAINTING. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY 
 
 Samples from tlK SSEorks: 
 
 OF THE 
 
 VENETIAN, FLEMISH, AND DUTCH SCHOOLS. 
 
 BY JOHN BURNET. 
 
 “With respect to Colouring, though it may appear at first a part of painting merely mechanical, yet 
 it still has its rules, and those grounded upon that presiding principle which regulates both the great 
 and the little in the study of a painter.” SIR J. REYNOLDS. 
 
 SECOND EDITION. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 HENRY SOTHERAN & CO., 136, STRAND. 
 
 1880 . 
 
PRINTED 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 WATERLOW AND SONS LIMITED, 
 
 LONDON WALL, E.C. 
 
TO 
 
 SIR THOMAS LAWRENCE, 
 
 PRESIDENT OE THE ROYAL ACADEMY, 
 
 ETC. ETC. ETC. 
 
 WHO NOT ONLY IN HIS OWN ADMIRABLE PRODUCTIONS 
 
 EXHIBITS THE BEST PRINCIPLES OF ART ; 
 
 BUT WARMLY AND GENEROUSLY ENCOURAGES THE CULTIVATION OF THEM BY OTHERS ; 
 
 FOSTERING IN THE MOST LIBERAL MANNER EVERY EFFORT 
 
 CALCULATED TO CONTRIBUTE TO SO DESIRABLE AN OBJECT ; 
 
 WS ®lorfc 
 
 IS DEDICATED, AS A SMALL TRIBUTE OF RESPECT, BY 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 In this Third Part of the Work, which treats of Colour in 
 Painting, my endeavour has been to investigate and arrange 
 under some tangible form the many loose suggestions which lie 
 scattered in the different authors who have treated of the subject; 
 to collect and commit to paper those rules of practice which 
 artists are guided by, without, perhaps, being aware from what 
 source they have been derived, but which, as Reynolds says, 
 “ pass current from one to anotherand to illustrate by slight 
 examples many of the arrangements of colour from the Venetian 
 school (who, with the Bolognese school, were the first to collect 
 into masses their warm and cold colours), down to the Flemish 
 and Dutch schools, who may be said, by the excellence of their 
 works, to have established upon unerring principles the whole 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 viii 
 
 theory of chiaroscuro and colouring. All that constitutes har¬ 
 mony and breadth of effect, and the soft and vigorous tones of 
 nature, is contained in their works; and, various as their com¬ 
 binations of colours appear, they seem to depend upon the 
 simplicity of arrangement for the certainty of their effect. 
 
 If, by these few hints thrown together, I have pointed out a 
 shorter road to the student, something has been gained; and 
 should it stimulate his mind to investigate the different combi¬ 
 nations of colour which please or offend his eye, a degree of 
 certainty will attend his practice, unattainable by the mere habit 
 of copying either from nature or from art. I have aimed at 
 establishing no theory but such as exists in the works of the best 
 colourists, and those effects in nature which are daily passing 
 before us. If my researches have led me to differ in opinion 
 from former writers, I trust it will be ascribed only to a desire 
 of establishing the truth, a feeling which ought at all times to be 
 paramount to every other consideration. Should it appear that 
 these hints carry the student but little on his way, it must be 
 remembered that little exists in the shape of a practical treatise 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 IX 
 
 upon the science of colour, and even that little lies scattered 
 in a multitude of disjointed criticisms. To present these in a 
 collected and concentrated form must abridge his labour; to 
 establish them by illustrations derived from widely scattered 
 sources, must abridge it still more. 
 

 
 
C 0 N T E N T S. 
 
 Pagk 
 
 Op Colour. 1 
 
 Plate I. 0 
 
 II.12 
 
 III .21 
 
 IV .28 
 
 v.44 
 
 VI.46 
 
 VII.5G 
 
 VIII.GO 
 
PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 ON 
 
 COLOUR IN PAINTING. 
 
 OF COLOUR. 
 
 T HE proper situation of strong colour is neither in the high light nor in 
 the deep shade, for it would destroy the character of either; but if it is 
 made use of as an intermediate link, it will unite both; at the same time 
 preserve a greater consequence. Whether it is to be warm or cold must 
 depend upon the colour of the principal light, of which it is to he considered 
 as an extension, conveying its influence into the darkest recesses; and the 
 light will be either warm or cold, according as it mixes itself with the 
 following arrangements : white, yellow, red, brown, black; white, gray, 
 green, blue, black. Vide Plate I. figs. 4 and 5. 
 
 Yet, although colour holds the station of middle tint, it is nevertheless 
 more capable of giving the true representation of natural objects than the 
 most scientific arrangements of chiaroscuro; and by the judicious manage¬ 
 ment of it, a picture is rendered pleasing and attractive. Reynolds justly 
 observes, “ By this the first effect of a picture is produced; and as this is 
 performed, the spectator, as he walks the gallery, will stop or pass along.” 
 That this principal light influences the other lights, we see in nature, and in 
 
 B 
 
2 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 the best colourists; but Mengs says, “ that the deepest shades ought also 
 to be of the tint of which the general harmony is composed; because it is 
 supposed that the air is already tinged with this colour, through which 
 the light must of necessity pass.” The general tone of the picture, there¬ 
 fore, ought to be. determined on in the first instance, as everything 
 ought to accord with it for the sake of harmony and truth; what this 
 tone is to consist of is therefore of the utmost importance to the student 
 to inquire. Sir Joshua Reynolds, in the notes to Du Fresnoy, says, “The 
 predominant colours of the picture ought to be of a warm mellow kind, 
 red or yellow; and no more cold colour should be introduced than will be 
 just enough to serve as a ground or foil to set off and give value to the 
 mellow colours; and never should itself be a principal. For this purpose 
 a quarter of the picture will be sufficient; those cold colours, whether 
 blue, gray, or green, are to lie dispersed about the ground or surrounding 
 parts of the picture, wherever it has the appearance of wanting such a 
 foil, but sparingly employed in the masses of light.” Also in his Eighth 
 Discourse he recapitulates the same advice. “ It ought, in my opinion, 
 to be indispensably observed, that the masses of light in a picture be 
 always of a warm, mellow colour, yellow, red, or a yellowish white; 
 and that the blue, the gray, or the green colours be kept almost entirely 
 out of these masses, and be used only to support and set off these warm 
 colours: and for this purpose a small proportion of cold colours will be 
 sufficient. Let this conduct be reversed; let the light be cold, and the 
 surrounding colours warm, as we often see in the works of the Roman 
 and Florentine painters; and it will be out of the power of art, even in 
 the hands of Rubens or Titian, to make a picture splendid and harmo¬ 
 nious.” Now if this advice was always to be acted upon, the student 
 would not only become a mannerist, but the school to which he belonged 
 become a school of monotony. Pleasure can be conveyed only by imi¬ 
 tating the variety always existing in nature. I believe Gainsborough 
 painted the portrait of a boy dressed in blue, now in the possession of 
 Lord Grosvenor, to show the fallacy of this doctrine; which, from his 
 
ON COLOUR IN PAINTING. 
 
 3 
 
 surrounding the light with rich brown and warm shadows, has produced 
 a splendid effect. Gainsborough seems always to have been aware of the 
 value of warm and transparent shadows: his rich brown tones serve as a 
 foil to the green of his trees, &c., while this colour brings down the blue 
 and yellow tints of his sky and distance, and by this means unites the hot 
 and cold colours in harmony. In nature we as often find the light cool as 
 warm; also in the pictures of many of the Flemish and Dutch schools, 
 where, as Sir Joshua himself mentions, “the silver gray or pearly is 
 predominant, and are valued by the connoisseurs in proportion as they 
 possess this excellence of a silver tint.” In the Venetian school he 
 instances the famous Marriage at Cana, in St. George’s Church at Venice, 
 (now in the Louvre), “where the sky, which makes a considerable part of 
 the picture, is of the lightest blue colour, and the clouds perfectly white; 
 the rest of the picture is in the same key, wrought from this high pitch.” 
 In Rubens we have many examples where the light is cooler than the 
 shadow : one in particular painted upon this principle struck me to be one 
 of the best of his works; the small picture of the “Fall of the Damned” 
 in Munich, formerly the Dusseldorf Gallery. Sir Joshua says, “ it is 
 impossible to form an idea of the powers of Rubens without having seen 
 this picture.” The upper part of the picture, which represents the abode 
 of the Blessed, consists of sweet pearly tints, gradually diffused over 
 the falling group, while the under part is lighted up by the red glare 
 of the fiery gulf into which they are tumbling. This picture is finished 
 with the greatest care and delicacy, and many parts are drawn with the 
 refined taste of Vandyke. It therefore may be considered to have been 
 a carefully studied work. In Rembrandt, and others of the Dutch school, 
 we find this principle adopted, and the light which is admitted from an 
 opening into the apartment mixed with cool pearly tints, while the shadow 
 is illuminated by a fire in the opposite corner of the picture, evidently 
 introduced for this purpose. If, therefore, Le Brun and others of the 
 French school have failed in producing splendour by such arrangement 
 of colour, we must attribute their failure to some other cause. What 
 
 b 2 
 
4 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 appears to me of infinitely more consequence than the colour of the light, 
 are the colours which compose the shadows and middle tint; if these be 
 warm, the light may he cold, and yet a rich effect preserved; if these 
 are cold, no red or yellow will ever make the work splendid. It 
 therefore appears that strong colour requires rich deep shadow to support 
 it, and render it a portion of the light; and no one was more aware of 
 this than Sir Joshua himself. The warm rich browns of Titian, Ilem- 
 hrandt, and Coreggio authorize us in this conduct. That the picture should 
 consist of hot and cold colours seems therefore as indispensable as that it 
 should have light and shade; hut which shall form the shade, or which 
 the light, is entirely in the option of the artist. It is however necessary 
 that they should have separate situations, and also unite both extremes 
 of the work by an exchange of portions of each colour. We also 
 perceive that according as the shadow is increased in warmth, the light 
 partakes of a portion of its influence : thus in Rembrandt, where the dark 
 masses contain burnt sienna or lake, the blues and grays receive a tinge 
 of yellow; while, in Teniers, whose shades are of a cooler brown, the 
 blues and grays retain a greater degree of freshness. The breadth and 
 harmony observed in nature are produced by the influence of one part 
 over another, and the greatest distinctions are reconciled by an imper¬ 
 ceptible adjunct. 
 
 That this harmony, however varied and endless in nature, can be 
 reduced to tangible precepts is proved by our receiving the same plea¬ 
 surable sensations from the contemplation of the best paintings, whether 
 the mind of the spectator be cultivated or uneducated. As the eye is the 
 organ through which we receive all the sensations derived from painting, 
 its prejudices, its likings and dislikings, and the circumstances which 
 have given rise to all these feelings, are to be investigated in the first 
 instance. Colours that are most agreeable to the eye are such as the eye 
 has become accustomed to from their constantly being presented to the 
 sight; such as blue, white, or gray, in skies; green, in trees and grass; 
 brown, or warm gray, in earth, road, or stone. As, therefore, the eye 
 
ON COLOUR IN PAINTING. 
 
 O 
 
 lias been formed upon the contemplation of such colours, the general look 
 of nature can be given only by admitting large portions of such colours 
 into the picture; if they are more vivid than are most commonly observed 
 in nature, the charm is destroyed. All colours rendered familiar by the 
 introduction of artificial means are guided by the same laws; and a green, 
 though quite unnatural when employed upon herbage, might be strictly 
 natural in representing the local colour of a piece of drapery; yet we may 
 safely admit that the most brilliant colours may receive an advantage in 
 being toned to those hues most common in nature, especially if they form 
 a large mass in the picture. This breaking down of the colours by 
 glazing or scumbling is a great cause of that harmonious sweetness 
 observable in the works of the best colourists, and without which a work 
 will always look crude and unnatural. 
 
 Without entering into the philosophy of colours, or stopping to inquire 
 whether this harmony depends upon their possessing that order in ar¬ 
 rangement which they are found in nature to possess, when separated by 
 the prism or observable in the iris, we cannot but remark in nature a 
 certain accordance arising from each object possessing its due portion of 
 every arrangement. For example, in sunrise, when his disk is visible by 
 reason of the density of the atmosphere, we observe the yellow light round 
 his situation tempered and softened down with delicate gray; which tint 
 being also diffused over the local colours in the landscape gives truth and 
 harmony. In Claude we perceive the same breadth, delicacy, and soft¬ 
 ness. In the evening, when the atmosphere is less dense, we find the 
 colour of the light more brilliant and less interrupted, tinging with the 
 same hue every object placed within its influence; and this we find also 
 in Cuyp and others who have painted landscapes under the same cir¬ 
 cumstances. 
 
 Now, as this union of one part with another is observable to every one, 
 we see one great cause of harmony, which must be a good foundation for 
 the artist to commence upon; and seeing that this union depends upon 
 the medium between two extremes, we can only produce an agreeable 
 
6 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 and natural appearance by employing sucli means. White and black can 
 be reconciled only by tlie interposition of gray, and red and blue by the 
 presence of a third colour, combining the properties of hot and cold. 
 Light will more easily be spread by the lesser lights partaking of the same 
 hue as the principal, and shadow diffused by the same means, we thus 
 preserve the breadth observable in nature: but as this would in many 
 cases produce monotony, we have a third quality to consult, which is 
 variety, and which in nature being endless, we have an inexhaustible 
 source to draw upon; and very few colours are necessary to produce this 
 multiplicity of changes, in the employment of which we must however 
 always bear in mind the necessity of preserving the breadth of light and 
 shade, and the balance and union of hot and cold colours. 
 
 EXPLANATION OE PLATE I. 
 
 Fig. 1 represents the colours of the iris, which Sir I. Newton describes 
 as seven, their proportions when produced by means of a prism he cal¬ 
 culates to be as follows :•—Supposing the whole to form 100—Led 11, 
 Orange 8, Yellow 14, Green 17, Blue 17, Purple 11, Yiolet 22; whether 
 the harmony depends upon their natural arrangement, or upon the pro¬ 
 portions of each, is more an object of philosophy than of painting, which 
 has to produce an agreeable sensation, independent of all theoretical dis¬ 
 quisition. Treatises have been written to prove that the harmony existing 
 in the seven natural notes in music depend upon the same coincidence, 
 insomuch that ocular harpsichords have been constructed exhibiting 
 colours instead of sounds, and professing to give the same gratification to 
 the eye that the common ones give to the ear, thus endeavouring to prove 
 

Plate 1. 
 
 mi 
 
 Fig. 2. Fig. 3. 
 
 
ON COLOUR IN PAINTING. 
 
 7 
 
 that painting and music are governed by the same laws of harmony. This 
 harmony arising from the iris is noticed by Leonardi da Vinci in his 
 chapter on the beauty of colour; he says, “ If you mean that the proximity 
 of one colour should give beauty to another that terminates near it, 
 observe the rays of the sun in the composition of the rainbow and I 
 believe the late Mr. West endeavoured to establish a theory upon the 
 same foundation. However, as from any thing I have yet read, and after 
 a careful examination of the best pictures of the greatest colourists, from 
 Titian to our own Reynolds, I shall not perplex the student by a repeti¬ 
 tion of the theory; that portion which may be of service to the student 
 (and the worst theory may have some remarkable points of coincidence 
 with that which I am about to discuss) I shall endeavour to preserve in 
 its proper place. 
 
 Plate I. Fig. 2. I have given here the arrangement of Leonardi da 
 Vinci, who says, “ The first of all simple colours is white, though philo¬ 
 sophers will not acknowledge white or black to be colours, because the 
 first is the cause or receiver of colours, the other totally deprived of them. 
 But as painters cannot do without either, we shall place them among the 
 others ; and according to this order of things, white will be the first, 
 yellow the second, green the third, blue the fourth, red the fifth, and 
 black the sixth.” Prom the little Ha Vinci has written upon colour (for I 
 believe the work he contemplated upon the subject never was begun) he 
 reduces the number of primary colours to two, for he says, “ Blue and 
 green are not simple colours in their nature; for blue is composed of light 
 and darkness, such as the azure of the sky, which is produced by the 
 transparent body of the air illumined by the sun, and interposed between 
 the darkness of the expanse above, and will appear bluer in proportion to 
 the darkness of the space behind it: and green is composed of a simple 
 and mixed colour, being by blue and yellow.” 
 
 Harmony of colouring requires, he adds, “ that the colours ought to be 
 of the same nature ; and contrast is produced by bringing colours in con- 
 
8 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 tact with others of an opposite character, such as a blue near a yellow, a 
 green near a red, &c. ; because each colour is more distinctly seen when 
 opposed to its contrary than to any other similar to it.” In these two 
 modes of producing force and harmony he may he said to have laid a 
 foundation for principles to be traced through the works of the best 
 colourists to the present day. 
 
 Plate I. Fig. 3 represents the arrangement of Mengs, who says, 
 “ Colours, properly speaking, are hut three ; yet as we cannot do without 
 black and white,” he makes the primary colours five : viz. “white, yellow, 
 red, blue, black; and secondary colours, or first tints mixed from them, 
 are orange, green, purple, gray, and brown. Harmony ” he considers “ to 
 consist in the true equilibrium of the different colours regulated by the 
 general tone of the light by which they are illuminated : thus, if the light 
 is yellow, all the colours will appear tinged with the same hue, as the air 
 interposed between them and the eye of the spectator is already tinged 
 with that colour. In the same manner when the air is clear, and the 
 objects illuminated without sunshine, the harmony will he blue, and in all 
 harmony one ought to observe particularly those colours most opposite to 
 the general tone, that they may he used in the foreground, as they will 
 appear more advanced or less under the influence of the atmosphere, also 
 upon their situation one with another : for example, if one employs pure 
 yellow, one should accompany it with the violet, because this is composed 
 of red and blue mixed together; and if we use pure red, we should add 
 for the same reason green, which is a mixture of blue and yellow, using 
 as a foil to each colour one composed of the other two. 
 
 “ Supposing that harmony has that effect in music which is commonly 
 attributed to it, the sweetness and acuteness of colours will depend upon 
 the natural effect which they occasion to our sight, or produce upon the 
 optic nerves. The most clear colours have more force than the most 
 obscure, because their luminous rays striking the visual nerves cause in 
 part the same effect as a direct light, by filling all the internal part of the 
 
ON COLOUR IN PAINTING. 
 
 9 
 
 eye with light; occasioning a painful sensation to the eye. Obscure 
 colours have not this effect, because they do not reflect all the rays with 
 the same force: clear colours being most apt to give sensations to our 
 eyes, they ought to be employed where it is required that the eye of the 
 spectator should be attracted, and which the painter wishes shall be the 
 most principal.” 
 
 Now in all these theories there seem many points of coincidence, and 
 much to be observed, that has a foundation in truth and nature; but when 
 applied to the examination of the works of those who have excelled in 
 colouring, they are inapplicable. In many of the arrangements, the 
 coincidence leads us to conclude that a safe and certain combination 
 exists, equally applicable to the study of nature and the works of the 
 best colourists ; and which, therefore, must please the eye of the common 
 observer as Avell as the connoisseur. To endeavour to point out this 
 satisfactorily to the student, with the imperfect imitations which so small 
 memoranda of the colours can convey (especially as we find harmony to 
 consist more in the media which unite the several colours than in the 
 colours themselves), will require every indulgence. It will have the 
 advantage, however, of diminishing his labour, and enable him to examine 
 many works in a shorter period. I would chiefly have him to observe the 
 quantity of hot and cold colours in a picture, and how the equilibrium is 
 sustained under the infinite variety of combinations ; how the light and 
 shade is assisted by the arrangement, and the principal objects are 
 thrown into notice : he will then cease to censure those works which 
 have a cold colour where he expected to find a warm, or a harsh colour 
 wdiere he would have placed a more retiring. 
 
 Plate I. In Fig. 4 and 5, I have given the arrangement of warm and 
 cold colours, which constitute the scale of hot or cold pictures ; by a 
 proper balance of which the characteristic feature of nature may be given, 
 and an harmonious effect produced. In both arrangements we have the 
 greatest breadth preserved; a union of one part with another, and a 
 
 c 
 
10 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 general harmony pervading the whole. Cool colours produce a softer 
 influence upon the eye than warm, and excite it less ; their predominance 
 therefore in subjects of a soft or tender nature is according to the practice 
 of the best masters, and founded upon a union of the several parts, to 
 preserve the general character of the picture. The introduction of a 
 warm colour will increase this harmony, as those tints which appear 
 distinct from each other will appear less so when compared with one of 
 a still more opposite character : thus the white, blue, gray, and green 
 existing in a landscape will appear more harmonious, and a greater 
 freshness will be produced by the introduction of a red, and that colour 
 will have greater point from the harshness arising from its situation. 
 
 Warm colours produce a greater excitement, and therefore arrest the 
 attention or attract the spectator in a greater degree; and their union 
 will be increased by the introduction of a cold colour : thus we find those 
 figures red which are required to attract the eye; and the harmony of a 
 picture, composed of white, yellow, red, and brown, is increased by the 
 introduction of a blue, which in its turn will have more value from its 
 partaking less of that harmony which unites the other colours. 
 
 This mode of making the light harmonize with the shade is one cause 
 why we often find a hot or cold colour introduced into a variety of situa¬ 
 tions ; we also find the harmony of a picture sustained by a proper 
 equilibrium of hot and cold, which requires a warm colour to be placed 
 on the cold side of a picture, and vice versa; we often find a red or blue 
 placed where the light rounds into the shadow, for the sake of breadth 
 and extension of the light: and seeing that they are the strongest and 
 more opposed than any of the other colours, they are often placed upon 
 the same figure, to draw the attention of the spectator to such point; and 
 notwithstanding we are told by Du Dresnoy and others, “ not to permit 
 two hostile colours to meet without a medium to unite them,” we see 
 from the earliest times it has been the practice of all the great painters ; 
 so that red and blue has in a manner become the dress in which, from 
 custom, we always expect to find certain figures clothed, such as Christ, 
 the Virgin, &c. 
 
ON COLOUR IN PAINTING. 
 
 11 
 
 Plate I. Fig. 6. The means by which a painter produces his effect is 
 by light and shade, hot and cold colours. By dividing the picture into 
 masses of warm and cold colours, he preserves the greatest breadth: his 
 warm tones increase in splendour and richness, from opposition and 
 contrast; also the aerial perspective will he increased, and solidity given 
 to the foreground figures, without the assistance of black shadows. As 
 we find, in the management of chiaroscuro, a small portion of each sufficient 
 to produce an harmonious union, so in the balance of hot and cold 
 colours. By the same means harmony may be produced, and yet the 
 greatest breadth preserved. In nature we find that most objects illumi¬ 
 nated by the sun increase in splendour according as they are opposed to 
 a ground of a colder tone; such as buildings, &c. in the evening coming 
 in contact with the northern or eastern sky : and even the moon and stars 
 assume a brightness, as the blue deepens. We therefore find in nature 
 those principles existing which artists have applied to painting, in the 
 treatment of a single head, up to the most extensive compositions. 
 Independent, however, of our introducing cool colours for the purpose 
 of giving splendour and brightness; by the means of contrast, of giving 
 breadth from its resolving the other colours into larger masses; we give 
 that variety which is so characteristic a feature, and which is found to 
 exist in the most trifling as well as in the grandest combinations of 
 nature’s colouring. 
 
 Fig. 7. The nature of light upon any object is to communicate the 
 colour of its rays to such object, either by impinging them with such 
 colour directly, or from their taking it on from reflection according as 
 they are more or less smooth, or from both causes. We, therefore, see a 
 reason, if the light is of a cool colour, for spreading its effects upon 
 objects receiving its rays, and depriving others of those effects less within 
 its influence; thereby giving it its strong character. Bor example, when 
 in a picture of common daylight we introduce its rays into an apartment, 
 the objects receiving the strongest impressions from such rays, ought to 
 
 13 2 
 
12 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 produce a sensation of tlie cool colours, such as the blue, grays, or 
 greens existing without doors, and which impression ought to become 
 more feeble, according as the light is broken up by the reflection of the 
 several colours within the apartment. For all reflected lights, being of a 
 warmer colour when the light is cool (and vice versa), give a warmth to 
 the shadows. This then being the leading feature of light, the artist, in 
 conducting it through the picture, so places those local colours that they 
 will assist him in preserving such feature, and heightening with their 
 opposites the properties of the shadows; the employment of science 
 being the investigation of the phenomena existing in nature, and the 
 preservation of their several features unimpaired in the representation. 
 
 PLATE II. 
 
 Fig. 1. That harmony arising from the reflection of one colour upon 
 the adjoining, so as to produce a blending and union of the several hues, 
 has been practised with the greatest success by many of the Dutch 
 school, producing a chain of connexion between the two extremes of hot 
 and cold. This reflection of colour is more or less powerful according to 
 the brightness of the colour receiving the light in the first instance, and 
 the degree of shadow existing on that part of the adjoining object which 
 receives such reflection. It also depends on the situation of the several 
 objects : it will also be guided by the smoothness or roughness of the 
 objects, for reflected light is regulated by both of these circumstances. 
 Eor example, the polished surface of grass or foliage, when the fight falls 
 upon it, renders such part less green from its reflecting the colour of 
 the sky ; and, therefore, when that fight is thrown off upon any adjoining 
 object, it is less impinged with green colour. We must also bear in mi nd 
 that one object receives the colour of the adjoining from two causes ; for 
 example, when a ray of fight falls upon any object, it is refracted, im- 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fig. Z. 
 
 Fig. 3. 
 
 ' 
 
 
 
 
 
 Fig. f. 
 
ON COLOUR IN PAINTING. 
 
 13 
 
 pinged with the colour of such object, and which it communicates to those 
 adjoining; but, should the latter be of a polished nature, they will also 
 receive the colour from reflection. 
 
 Plate II. Fig. 2. When a picture is composed of the two extremes of 
 hot and cold, we are certain of having employed the whole strength of the 
 palette; and, if judiciously used to assist the chiaroscuro, an harmonious 
 union will be kept up between these opposite qualities, more forcible and 
 splendid than by the intervention of middle tint: which superiority wiL 
 always be perceived when such works are attempted to be imitated by 
 mere black and white. When a warm light is surrounded by warm tones, 
 it assumes a breadth and splendour from the appearance of its giving out 
 rays; when it is surrounded by cold ones, it derives a value from contrast. 
 If the strongest colours are placed upon the darks, it will prevent them 
 from being heavy by their strength, and will enable them to appear as 
 influenced by the light, which sensation they otherwise could not convey. 
 
 Fig. 3. In producing variety and contrast, we ought never to lose 
 sight of that imperceptible harmony arising from the union of two colours 
 in producing a third composed of both. Whether this be founded 
 upon any law existing in optics, or is merely the result of that sympathy 
 which one colour has to another in producing harmony, we know not. 
 If in the arrangement we bring those colours in contact which have a 
 separate origin, we give a value to each from contrast. Thus a green 
 will give a value to red, and a purple to a yellow; from neither of the 
 primitive colours containing any of those rays which produce the com¬ 
 pound colours. Sir Joshua Reynolds says, “ That the same colour which 
 makes the largest mass must be diffused and appear to revive in different 
 parts of the picture; for a single colour will make a spot or blot.” 
 Though he adds, “This rule should never be neglected,” yet we find 
 in the best works of all the great colourists a contrary practice often 
 adopted; for if repeating a colour in several parts of the picture diffuses 
 
14 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 it, it also destroys its value from tlie repetition. We, therefore, often find 
 a colour not only single, hut even surrounded by colours of a different 
 tone, thereby increasing its power. In figures of great interest, or in 
 such points as the artist wishes to produce great attraction, this is of the 
 utmost value; and it will not only give such colour the greatest force of 
 the palette, but resolve the other colours into an agreement with one 
 another. Thus a knowledge of the theory of colour will enable the artist 
 to give a vigour to any part of his work, which, without such knowledge, 
 lie would always run the risk of destroying. 
 
 Plate II. Fig 4. There is a harmony arising from a continuation of 
 the same colour conducted from the extreme light to the deepest shade 
 passing through a variety of gradations. When a composition consists 
 of many figures, a variety of colours becomes necessary; to preserve 
 which from confusion requires simplicity of arrangement: and a union of 
 one part of a picture with another requires repetition of a colour in 
 different parts; but the breadth of light and shade requires such colours 
 to be influenced according as they pass from the high lights into the deep 
 shadows : thus a pale yellow may terminate in a deep brown, and yet a 
 chain of communication be kept up; or a pure white may find repose and 
 union in a pure black; a bright red vibrate (to use a term in music) along 
 a chord terminating in the gentlest echo of such colour, &c. The weaving 
 of these lines of colour through the piece constitutes its harmony; for it is 
 as necessary that colours should take agreeable forms, as light and shade, 
 or composition of lines. In this mode of conducting the colours in a 
 picture, the several schools may be united, and colours of the strong full 
 body found in the Homan school, such as we see in Eapliael’s works; the 
 mixed and delicately toned colours found in the Dutch school; and the 
 vivid and splendid colour found in the Venetian introduced. TLubens 
 seems to have formed his style from a combination of all the different 
 schools; and even in the small pictures of Teniers we can trace the 
 different modes of producing harmony from the harshest reds and blues 
 
ON COLOUR IN PAINTING. 
 
 15 
 
 to tints of the most complicated colours. Reynolds says, “ Colouring is 
 true when it is naturally adapted to the eye from brightness, from soft¬ 
 ness, from harmony, from resemblance; because these agree with their 
 objects in nature, and therefore are true, as true as mathematical demon¬ 
 stration ; but known to be true only to those who study these things : 
 but, with all this variety, a picture ought to possess repose, for we must 
 take care that the eye be not perplexed and disturbed by a confusion of 
 equal parts or equal lights, or offended by an unliarmonious mixture of 
 colours, as we should guard against offending the ear by unliarmonious 
 sounds.” 
 
 Part II. Fig. 5. When the principal light is chiefly composed of cool 
 colours, or tints of a delicate hue, as we often find in the open daylight 
 in nature, the darks ought, for the sake of contrast and force, to be warm; 
 as we know all darks are influenced more or less by the interposition of 
 the atmosphere, which tends to rob them of their strength, and gives 
 them a cooler tone ; and as the situation of the strong darks and harsh 
 colours is nearest to the eye, they ought therefore to be less affected by 
 tints which have a retiring property, and the situation of the neutral 
 colours will be between the extreme of the hot and cold colours ; for we 
 find in nature a continual harmony kept up between these opposites by a 
 gradual encroachment on the province of each other. For example, in a 
 landscape, let us suppose the sky chiefly composed of blue and white, 
 the distance of blue and gray, the middle ground of warmer gray, inter¬ 
 spersed with yellow and green, and the foreground of brown and warm 
 colours; we shall not only have great opposition and force, but the 
 colours of the picture will be constructed on the principles of aerial per¬ 
 spective, which in nature is so great a chain in the harmony of colours. 
 Some of the best of Hobbema’s and Ruvsdael’s are painted upon this 
 arrangement; which seems to have been derived from the practice of 
 Rubens, formed from the contemplation of the works of Titian, Veronese, 
 and the best colourists of the Venetian School. This principle, therefore, 
 
16 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 upon wliicli the hot and cold colours of a picture are arranged, has its 
 foundation in nature; has the practice of the best colourists to sanction 
 our adopting it, and therefore may he safely recommended to the student. 
 
 In many pictures of the Dutch school we see a perfect harmony sus¬ 
 tained between the hot and cold colours of a picture; and the warm 
 colour contained in the foreground, and strong darks wove into the 
 masses of neutral tint in a multiplicity of ways. To focus the warm 
 colour of the ground, we often find figures dressed in red, withered 
 leaves, hark of trees, pieces of brick, &c. made use of, and trace it 
 insinuating itself into the colder colour by a variety of channels. The 
 cool tints of the sky and distance we find diffused by the gray colour of 
 wood, stems of trees, gray road, or water taking on the reflection of the 
 sky. In many of the works of Diehard Wilson and Gainsborough we see 
 the richest effects of colour produced by this mode of arrangement: using 
 the middle ground as a ground of union between the warm and cold 
 colours. 
 
 In extending the light of a picture, a gradual influence seems necessary 
 to be kept up in the surrounding objects; whether it be that the eye, 
 from being attracted to the principal light in the first instance, receives 
 an impression which prejudices it in favour of those tones approximating 
 to such colour as the principal light is composed of; and is therefore 
 more gently drawn off hv lights of the same hue; which in their turn 
 gradually subside in others of a less influenced quality : or that a union 
 really exists in nature from objects receiving a tinge of that colour of 
 which the principal light is composed (which, in many cases, we know to 
 be the fact, such as in sunset and midday), or both of these causes ope¬ 
 rating on our mind, it is difficult to determine; but we often see, where 
 this chain of union is broken by the introduction of colours of an opposite 
 nature to the light, that a harshness of effect is produced, for which 
 nothing can compensate. 
 
 Mengs expresses himself well when he talks of the colouring of light 
 and shade; for what is colouring, if it is to destroy the great breadth of 
 
ON COLOUR IN PAINTING. 
 
 17 
 
 wliich they are the foundation ? Colour, therefore, ought to be used only 
 to strengthen the effects of light and shade ; or rather, perhaps, it ought 
 to take precedence, and light and shade he called in to support the 
 splendid effects of colour. 
 
 Strong colours and light seem incompatible ; for though in nature light 
 renders colours more bright, yet it detaches the light parts of figures 
 (even though dressed in blue or black) from the most delicate background. 
 This may be observed on looking at objects placed between the spectator 
 and the sun. One of the many difficulties, therefore, with which the artist 
 has to contend is to represent the rotundity of objects composed of strong 
 local colour. In the earlier masters we find the figures possessing a flat 
 inlaid appearance, with the lights strongly charged with local colour ; in 
 the next advances of the art we find the light part of figures kept nearly 
 white, though clothed in strong coloured draperies ; which we even per¬ 
 ceive in many of the pictures of Raphael, such as his Transfiguration, &c. 
 till at length we find the strong colouring of Georgioni, and the delicate 
 light of Coreggio, combined in the works of Titian; who has united the 
 severity of the earliest masters with the softest effects of nature. Coreggio 
 was the first to attend particularly to the influence of aerial perspective, 
 and to preserve the breadth of light and shade undisturbed by colour; 
 and in this he has been followed by Rembrandt and Reynolds. His 
 lights are much impasted with white, over which are laid colours of the 
 most delicate nature, or semi-transparent washes, which permit the 
 ground to shine through, giving a luminous effect; or tints in which a 
 considerable portion of white is mixed: thus preserving the rotundity of 
 his figures, while his shadows are filled with a juicy vehicle, in which 
 transparent particles of rich warm colour are floating ; thereby leading 
 the light into the darkest masses, without its being refracted from the 
 surface. This property of the illuminated parts to give back the light, 
 and the absorption of it in the shadow, Coreggio may have learned in 
 studying his models by lamplight; as his breadth of light and shade leads 
 us to suppose was his practice. Reynolds advises, “for the sake of 
 
 D 
 
18 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 harmony, the colours, however distinguished in their light, should he 
 nearly the same in the shadows of a 
 
 “ simple unity of shade, 
 
 As all were from one single palette spread.” 
 
 This, however, must he done with caution, as we find in nature and the 
 best colourists exceptions in the shadows of many of the colours. Tor 
 instance, in the shadows of red we find the local colour preserved more 
 strongly than in the shadows of other colours; and white, when warm in 
 the light, is cool in the shadow. When the mass of shadow is warm, the 
 introduction of some dark blue or cool black will be of service to clear it 
 up, and give it air; while the introduction of red will often focus the 
 warm colours, and give them richness, with more appearance of truth. 
 I may also notice here that nothing gives a more natural look than 
 preserving the local colours of the objects in shadow, provided they are 
 not too light to disturb the breadth; for they give clearness and precision, 
 and that particular relation which one colour bears to another; for in 
 shadow the colours have not the property of communicating their reflec¬ 
 tions to one another, whereas in the strong light the rays are refracted 
 from each colour, tinging the whole with an harmonious union. 
 
 Distinctness of local colour, and precision of outline, are the peculiar 
 character of objects placed out of the effect of strong light. In sunshine, 
 from the objects refracting the light, the outline is full and soft, sur¬ 
 rounded by tones of an indistinct nature. In Rembrandt we find par¬ 
 ticular attention paid to the effects of light upon colour, which his rough 
 manner of using the colours not a little contributes to give. Sir Joshua 
 seems to have constantly contemplated this bathing of his colour in the 
 splendour of sunshine; and if he has given us an English translation of 
 the works of Titian unimpaired, it is from his having made use of the 
 Dutch version. That brilliancy of colour in the lights of Sir Joshua’s 
 pictures ; the mixed chaotic hue made use of to give it value; that 
 diffusion by means of carrying one colour into another, such as touching 
 
ON COLOUR IN PAINTING. 
 
 19 
 
 in the white with yellow tints, working in the yellow with red touches, 
 and hemming in the red with a black of a cool tone, so as to make even 
 the shadows partake of the influence of light, thereby preserving the 
 greatest breadth of chiaroscuro, are the peculiar properties of Rembrandt. 
 In Titian we have the white drapery more distinct from the flesh tint 
 than in Rembrandt and Reynolds; in whose pictures the luminous 
 character of the flesh seems to shed its influence upon the lights of the 
 white drapery, and tinges its gray shadows with a blush of yellow. This 
 extending of the light by means of colour is, therefore, the mode of 
 combining both, and is to he found in nature and the best colourists. 
 In a sketch of Rembrandt’s (formerly in the Luxembourg) of “Christ and 
 the Disciples at Emmaus,” he has placed the figure of Christ in the centre, 
 in white, with a glory of stars; while one of the disciples is clothed in 
 yellow, and the other in red : from which we may gather some idea of 
 his treatment of light. In Cuyp we often find the same arrangement 
 diffusing his delicate pearly tints about his strong light. In nature, such 
 as in sunset, we find the delicate aerial tints gaining ground, and showing 
 themselves where the light passes into the strong colours; thereby 
 imbuing them with its effects. I have often thought Rubens’s advice in 
 painting flesh founded upon this principle. “ Paint your high lights 
 white ; place next to it yellow, then red, using darker red as it passes 
 into the shadow; then with a brush filled with cool gray pass gently over 
 the whole, until they are tempered and sweetened to the tone you wish.” 
 As flesh is of a smooth nature, we find the pearly reflections jfiay upon 
 the surface, and are more evident where the colours are the tenderest. 
 In his compositions of many figures we find him adopt the same principle 
 in conducting the light across the picture; for example, in the “Battle 
 of the Amazons,” the principal light is on the white horse dappled with 
 gray, and diffused by touches of cool colours; the yellow tints of the 
 mane, &c. carry it on to the flesh of the figure in advance, who is naked 
 for the sake of spreading the light; then comes a drapery of strong red : 
 the horse adjoining is a warm dun colour: the next is rich brown, 
 
20 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 carrying on the light into the shadow, which is focused hy a black, 
 surrounded hy transparent rich tones ; thus adding rich and warm colours 
 to the light, as it spreads itself into the shadow side of the picture: to 
 balance which he has given the amazon, who is turning round with a 
 spear in her hand, a red drapery; and, to repeat the cool tints in the 
 shadow side, he has given the female lying in the water a green dress, 
 and spread it hy a few sedges of the same colour. We, therefore, see the 
 same principle pervading the works of different artists, from the glowing 
 sunshine of Titian and Rembrandt to the fresher and cooler tones of 
 P. Veronese and Rubens. 
 
 Before proceeding to investigate the different arrangements of colour 
 in the sketches which follow, I shall endeavour to make myself more 
 clearly understood, that the student may be better able to perceive what 
 is placed before him; and, for his more readily doing so, he ought to 
 understand what he is in search of; as nothing is more vague than the 
 word colouring, either as applied to the works of nature or those of art. 
 Reynolds says, “The striking distinction between the works of the 
 Roman, Bolognian, and Venetian schools consists more in that general 
 effect which is produced by colours than in the more profound excellences 
 of the art. At least, it is from thence that each is distinguished and 
 known at first sight. 
 
 “ Grandeur of effect is produced by two different ways, which seem 
 entirely opposed to each other. One is, by reducing the colours to little 
 more than chiaroscuro, which was often the practice of the Bolognian 
 school; and the other, by making the colours very distinct and forcible, 
 such as we see in those of Rome and Florence ; hut still the presiding 
 principle of both those manners is simplicity. Certainly nothing can be 
 more simple than monotony; and the distinct blue, red, and yellow 
 colours which are seen in the draperies of the Roman and Florentine 
 schools, though they have not that kind of harmony which is produced hy 
 a variety of broken and transparent colours, have that effect of grandeur 
 which was intended. Perhaps these distinct colours strike the mind 
 
ON COLOUR IN PAINTING. 
 
 21 
 
 more forcibly, from there not being any great union between them; as 
 martial music, which is intended to rouse the nobler passions, has its 
 effect from the sudden and strongly marked transitions from one note to 
 another, which that style of music requires; whilst in that which is 
 intended to move the softer passions, the notes imperceptibly melt into 
 one another.” 
 
 “Next to these (viz. the Roman, the Florentine, and Bolognian schools) 
 we may rank the Venetian, together with the Flemish and the Dutch 
 schools; all professing to depart from the great purposes of painting, 
 and catching at applause by inferior qualities. I am not ignorant that 
 some will censure me for placing the Venetians in this inferior class, and 
 many of the warmest admirers of painting will think them unjustly 
 degraded ; but I wish not to be misunderstood. Though I can by no 
 means allow them to hold any rank with the nobler schools of painting, 
 they accomplished perfectly the thing they attempted. But as mere 
 elegance is their principal object, as they seem more willing to dazzle 
 than to affect, it can be no injury to them to suppose that their practice 
 is useful only to its proper end. But what may heighten the elegant 
 may degrade the sublime. There is a simplicity, and I may add, severity, 
 in the great manner, which is, I am afraid, almost incompatible with this 
 comparatively sensual style.” 
 
 “Tintoret, Paul Veronese, and others of the Venetian School, seem to 
 have painted with no other purpose than to be admired for their skill and 
 expertness in the mechanism of painting, and to make a parade of that art 
 which, as I before observed, the higher style requires its followers to 
 conceal.” Further, 
 
 “However great the difference is between the composition of the 
 Venetian and the rest of the Italian schools, there is full as great a 
 disparity in the effect of their pictures as produced by colours. And 
 though in this respect the Venetians must be allowed extraordinary skill, 
 yet even that skill, as they have employed it, will but ill correspond with 
 the great style. Their colouring is not only too brilliant, but, I will 
 
99 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 venture to say, too harmonious, to produce that solidity, steadiness, and 
 simplicity of effect, which heroic subjects require, and which simple or 
 grave colours only can give to a work.” 
 
 We from these passages may therefore find that colouring, as applied 
 to the art of painting, is to he conducted upon different principles 
 according to the character of the work in hand, as that which would be 
 applicable to one style would in some measure he destructive of another. 
 The student can know these distinctions only by examining the works 
 carefully of the several schools wherein they exist; and though the 
 works may not be in the particular department in which his pencil is 
 engaged, he may rest assured that the lowest branches of the art will 
 derive a strength and grace from an acquaintance with those principles 
 which regulate the higher and more sublime. This infusion of the great 
 style into their own was the constant object of the Bolognian and 
 Venetian schools; the Caracci, the great founders of the first, speaking 
 of Michael Angelo, style him Nostro Michael Angelo Riformato; and 
 Tintorett inscribed upon the walls of his painting room “ II designo di 
 Michel Angiolo, e il colorito di Titiano.” Reynolds says, “They (viz. 
 the Venetians) certainly much advanced the dignity of their style by 
 adding to their fascinating powers of colouring something of the strength 
 of Michael Angelo; at the same time it may still be a doubt how far 
 their ornamental elegance would be an advantageous addition to his 
 grandeur. But if there is any manner of painting which may be said to 
 unite kindly with his style, it is that of Titian; his handling, the manner 
 in which his colours are left on the canvass, appears to proceed, as far as 
 it goes, from a congenial mind, equally disdainful of vulgar criticism.” In 
 the same way was the simple grandeur of Raffaelle, or the sublimity of 
 Michael Angelo, infused into the Blemish school by the taste of Rubens, 
 however much deteriorated from its having passed through the medium 
 of the Venetian school, from whence he imbibed it. “ In pursuing this 
 great art, it must be acknowledged that we labour under greater diffi¬ 
 culties than those who were born in the age of its discovery, and whose 
 
ON COLOUR IN PAINTING. 
 
 23 
 
 minds, from tlieir infancy, were habituated to this style; who learned it 
 as language, as their mother tongue. They had no meau taste to unlearn ; 
 they needed no persuasive discourse to allure them to a favourable 
 reception of it; no abstruse investigation of its principles to convince 
 them of the great latent truths on which it is founded. We are con¬ 
 strained, in these later days, to have recourse to a sort of grammar and 
 dictionary, as the only means of recovering a dead language. It was 
 by them learned by rote, and perhaps better learned that way than by 
 precept.” Equally vague with the phrase of “ the colouring of the great 
 masters ” is the phrase of “ the colouring of nature.” “Look at nature,” 
 say the critics ; “nature is the true school of art,” is in the mouth of every 
 one : but the art of seeing nature is only to be learned by the contem¬ 
 plation of the works of art. “If our judgment,” says Sir Joshua, “is 
 to be directed by narrow, vulgar, untaught, or rather ill taught reason, 
 we must prefer a portrait by Denner, or any other high finisher, to those 
 of Titian 'or Vandyke; and a landscape of Vanderheyden to those of 
 Titian or Reubens, for they are certainly more exact representations of 
 nature. If we suppose a view of nature represented with all the truth 
 of the camera obscura, and the same scene represented by a great artist, 
 how little and mean will the one appear in comparison of the other, when 
 no superiority is supposed from the choice of the subject.” Again 
 Reynolds says, “ Amongst the painters and the writers on painting, there 
 is one maxim universally admitted and continually inculcated. Imitate 
 nature is the invariable rule ; but I know none who have explained in 
 what manner this rule is to be understood : the consequence of which is, 
 that every one takes it in the most obvious sense, that objects are 
 represented naturally when they have such relief that they seem real. 
 It may appear strange, perhaps, to hear this sense of the rule disputed ; 
 but it must be considered that, if the excellence of a painter consisted 
 only in this kind of imitation, painting must lose its rank, and be no 
 longer considered as a liberal art, and sister to poetry, this imitation 
 being merely mechanical, in which the slowest intellect is always sure to 
 succeed best; for the painter of genius cannot stoop to drudgery, in 
 
24 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 which the understanding has no part; and what pretence has the art to 
 claim kindred with poetry, hut its powers over the imagination ? To this 
 power the painter of genius directs his aim ; in this sense he studies 
 nature, and often arrives at his end, even by being unnatural in the 
 confined sense of the word. The grand style of painting requires this 
 minute attention to he carefully avoided, and must he kept as separate 
 from it as the style of poetry from that of history. Poetical ornaments 
 destroy that air of truth and plainness which ought to characterise 
 history; but the very being of poetry consists in departing from this 
 plain narration, and adopting every ornament that will warm the imagi¬ 
 nation. To desire to see the excellences of each style united, to mingle 
 the Dutch with the Italian school, is to join contrarieties which cannot 
 subsist together, and which destroy the efficacy of each other. The 
 Italian attends only to the invariable, the great and general ideas which 
 are fixed and inherent in universal nature ; the Dutch, on the contrary, to 
 literal truth, and a minute exactness in the detail, as I may say of nature 
 modified by accident. The attention to these petty peculiarities is the 
 very cause of this naturalness, so much admired in the Dutch pictures, 
 which, if we suppose it to be a beauty, is certainly of a lower order, that 
 ought to give place to a beauty of a superior kind, since one cannot be 
 obtained but by departing from the other.” These remarks show that it 
 is always necessary for the student to bear in mind the nature of any of 
 the works of art which he investigates ; what is to be learned from them, 
 and how far such principles as they exhibit are founded upon truth, either 
 when viewing nature upon broad general ideas, or when investigating 
 the little intricacies of the detail in painting. 
 
 PLATE III. 
 
 Fig. 1 Represents the Bacchus and Ariadne of Titian. Reynolds says, 
 “ The conduct of Titian in this picture has been much celebrated, and 
 justly, for the harmony of colouring. To Ariadne is given (say the 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tlate 3. 
 
OX COLOUR IN PAINTING 
 
 25 
 
 critics) a red scarf, to relieve the figure from the sea, which is behind 
 her. It is not for that reason alone, hut for another of much greater 
 consequence ; for the sake of the general harmony and effect of the 
 picture. The figure of Ariadne is separated from the great group, and 
 is dressed in blue, which, added to the colour of the sea, makes that 
 quantity of cold colour which Titian thought necessary for the support and 
 brilliancy of the great group; which group is composed, with very little 
 exception, entirely of mellow colours. But as the picture in this case 
 would he divided into two distinct parts, one half cold, and the other 
 warm, it was necessary to carry some of the mellow colours of the great 
 group into the cold part of the picture, and a part of the cold into the 
 great group; accordingly Titian gave Ariadne a red scarf, and to one 
 of the Bacchante a little blue drapery.” If a diagonal line he drawn 
 across the picture, we find the picture composed of a mass of hot and a 
 mass of cold colours, laid out upon the broadest scale, and aiding each 
 other by their opposition. The blue is carried into the warm mass by a 
 little blue drapery, and a few blue flowers at the bottom of the picture; 
 the next approach from the cool to the warm colours is by green, 
 produced by the green of the distance and the trees; and is carried on 
 to the figures by the wreaths of vine tendrils, &c., and repeated by the 
 grass at the bottom. The warm colour is brought up against the cool 
 ground by the drapery of Bacchus, which is of a lake colour, and the 
 scarf of Ariadne of a strong red ; which latter coming in contact with her 
 blue drapery, attracts the eye by its harsh opposition, this figure being 
 the point from which the action of the picture emanates. We find in 
 this arrangement not only the greatest breadth of colour, but also such 
 colour laid out in the general appearance of nature. When we compare 
 Titian with other colourists, we find in his tones a greater truth and 
 sweetness, his deepest brown shadows never appear black, his reds have 
 a less harsh appearance from their being less positive, his green colours 
 less violent, possessing more tone either of a brown or gray hue, and his 
 
 E 
 
26 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 deepest blues truer to tlie colouring of nature in extreme distances, or in 
 the deep blue of the sky, or in distant sea. 
 
 Plate III. Fig. 2. In this picture, “The Entombment of Christ,” we 
 perceive the same broad principle of colour. The cool colour is carried 
 into the warm by means of the green dress of the figure kneeling ; and it 
 is extended by the lining of the dress of the figure on the opposite side. 
 Titian has also given this figure a scarf of a cool gray. The warm colour 
 is brought up against the cool by the red dress of St. John, and the 
 yellow dress and hair of the Magdalen. We may here notice the union 
 of the yellow of the Magdalen’s dress and the blue of the mother’s dress, 
 in producing a green as a medium, and the red dress of St. John finding 
 a repetition in the more delicate red of the servant’s dress. The dark 
 green dress of Joseph serves as a shadow to the white drapery of Christ; 
 and the strong red of St. John’s dress gives the body of Christ a cold 
 deathlike appearance. Titian often has his red placed near the centre of 
 his picture, which gives it consequence, and he either throws it into 
 much light, or keeps it flat, according as he wishes it to tell as a dark or 
 light in his scale of chiaroscuro. Mengs supposes Titian to have used 
 colours more or less retiring upon his figures according to their situation. 
 Such is not, however, his principle; and strong colours are more often 
 used by him to support his composition, without any reference to their 
 being employed upon the most prominent points. From Raffaelle to 
 Rubens we often find them introduced upon background figures, as a 
 dark in light pictures, and a light in dark ones; sometimes carrying the 
 eye to the point of attraction, or for the purpose of clearing up the 
 shadows. We often find portions of deep lake dresses running into the 
 dark masses of Tintoretto and P. Veronese; and we know, the more a 
 picture is made out by colour, the lighter the effect will be, and the nearer 
 allied to the appearance of nature in open daylight. 
 
 I have noticed in another place the toning down of colours to the 
 
ON COLOUR IN PAINTING. 
 
 27 
 
 general hue most commonly presented to the eye, as being not only the 
 most agreeable to the spectator from habit, hut equally applicable to the 
 great historical style, from its giving an appearance of truth and reality. 
 Laying out the subject in large masses of hot and cold colours, carrying 
 them boldly into the provinces of each other, blending the warm light with 
 the rich warm shadow, by means of introducing decided dark blues, 
 thereby producing a union and splendour over the whole, are amongst 
 some of the leading features of Titian’s works, and are founded upon 
 principles existing in nature, when under the influence of sunsliine. 
 
 “It is to Titian,” says Reynolds, “we must turn our eyes to find 
 excellence with regard to colour, and light and shade in the highest 
 degree. He was both the first and the greatest master of this art. By 
 a few strokes he knew how to mark the general image and character of 
 whatever object he attempted: and produced, by this alone, a truer 
 representation than his master Giovanni Bellino, or any of his prede¬ 
 cessors, who finished every hair. His great care was to express the 
 general colour, to preserve the masses of light and shade, and to give by 
 opposition the idea of that solidity which is inseparable from natural 
 objects. When those are preserved, though the work should possess 
 no other merit, it will have in a proper place its complete effect; hut 
 where any of these are wanting, however minutely laboured the picture 
 may he in the detail, the whole will have a false and even an unfinished 
 appearance, at whatever distance or in whatever light it can he shown. 
 
 “ It is vain to attend to the variation of tints, if, in that attention, the 
 general hue of flesh is lost; or, to finish ever so minutely the parts, if the 
 masses are not observed, or the whole not well put together. 
 
 “ Vasari seems to have had no great disposition to favour the Venetian 
 painters, yet he every where justly commends il modo di fare, la maniera , 
 la Leila pratica; that is, the admirable manner and practice of that school. 
 On Titian in particular he bestows the epithets of giudicioso, hello, e 
 stupendo. 
 
 e 2 
 
28 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 “ This manner was then new to the world, but that unshaken truth on 
 which it is founded has fixed it as a model to all succeeding painters ; 
 and those who will examine into the artifice will find it to consist in the 
 power of generalizing, and in the shortness and simplicity of the means 
 employed.” 
 
 “ Many artists,” as Vasari likewise observes, “ have ignorantly imagined 
 they are imitating the manner of Titian, when they leave their colours 
 rough, and neglect the detail; but, not possessing the principles on which 
 he wrought, they have produced what he calls goffe pitture, absurd foolish 
 pictures; for such will always be the consequence of affecting dexterity 
 without science, without selection, and without fixed principles.” 
 
 PLATE IV. 
 
 Fig. 1. In this subject, A holy Eamily with St. Erancis, St. Catherine, 
 St. John, and St. Jerome, we have the warm and rich colours kept on 
 the dark side of the picture. The cool colour, commencing in the sky, 
 is spread over the shadows of the architecture and gray dress of St. 
 Erancis, and collected in the dark blue of the Virgin’s dress, which is 
 brought in contact with the strongest red, viz. the upper part of the dress 
 of St. Jerome, which latter is diffused by the softer colour in his under 
 garment, carried into the picture by the reddish marble inlaid in the 
 altar and on the pavement, and carried upwards by the dress of the 
 Virgin. The brown yellow dress of Joseph is spread by means of the 
 rich brocade behind the figures. Whether Veronese thought the yellow 
 and blue required a green to be present, or from whatever other cause, 
 he has given a little of that colour to the lining of the Virgin’s dress. 
 Perhaps, from the same reasoning, or, to repeat the purple dress of 
 Joseph, he has given a purple tinge to the drapery, (supported by a 
 cherub), reflected from the blue and red dress of the Virgin. 
 
 In considering the chiaroscuro of this picture, we find (as is often the 
 

ON COLOUR. IN PAINTING 
 
 29 
 
 case in P. Veronese) tlie lights kept tender, and less charged with strong 
 colour than the shadow side, which is made up of strong blue, reds, 
 brown, yellow, and blacks; the brown hair of St. Catherine, the olive- 
 green branch, and hook of St. Francis being the only colours which tell 
 upon the light side. He has brought the strong light of the lower group 
 (viz. the shoulder and arm of St. John, and the hook of St. Jerome) in 
 contact with the strong dark of the upper group, produced by the dark 
 blue dress of the Virgin, which is carried into the lower part of the picture 
 by means of the black marble inlaid in the altar, and into the upper by 
 means of the strong darks in the tapestry. 
 
 Some artists have been at a loss to account for the harsh darks in the 
 upper part of the picture, as it is in a manner the background to the 
 upper group. Perhaps the introduction of them was for the purpose of 
 drawing the attention to such part of the composition; or it may have 
 been the identical tapestry used in decorating the church on festival days; 
 as we often see the Venetian painters introducing the architecture and 
 local circumstances of Venice. Thus the bright blue skies and sea, the 
 dazzling light clouds and buildings, the variegated marbles, and draperies 
 of black or crimson velvet, which we find introduced in their works, are 
 to he traced to this source. I cannot here refrain from noticing the limb 
 opinion entertained by Barry of P. Veronese, as his lectures contain some 
 excellent remarks; and though they are not so much known as those of 
 Reynolds, yet in many instances they may he read as an antidote to some 
 of the doctrines even of his more fortunate predecessor. We cannot hut 
 regret the direction given to Barry’s studies, and must consider him one 
 of those noble minds ruined by a close adherence to the dry manner of 
 the early masters. 
 
 In his lecture upon colour, he says, “ Paul Veronese is an example 
 which I would hold out to you with much more pleasure; for the whole 
 economy and practical conduct of a picture no man is more worthy your 
 attention. His tints of colour, though often not equal in value to those of 
 Titian, are however equally true, and necessarily much more variegated, 
 
30 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 from tlie greater extent of liis subjects, lie lias shown a most exquisite 
 sensibility in according bis almost endless variety of broken tints with the 
 portions of pure vivid colour which accompany them; and the harmony 
 resulting from all those variegated masses of colour, together with the 
 light, easy, graceful, spiritual manner in which the whole is conducted, 
 leaves nothing further to be wished for in this part of the art. 
 
 “ In this school, then, is to be found all that can be desired respecting 
 the scientific, necessary conduct to be employed in the colouring of a 
 picture. In colouring, the Venetians were select and ideal, and have 
 proceeded with a finesse and management quite the reverse of the 
 conduct they adopted in the other parts of the art. Whilst those of the 
 other schools of Italy, who had availed themselves of the ideal respecting 
 design and composition, have been equally defective in not pursuing the 
 same selection in the chiaroscuro of their colours.” 
 
 In comparing Titian with P. Veronese, the first great difference which 
 strikes us is the general warmth which seems diffused over the works of 
 the former. Titian’s objects are represented under the influence of an 
 evening sky, when the white atmosphere is filled with yellow rays of tbe 
 setting sun, swallowing up the little differences of colour in one broad 
 universal splendour. The works of Veronese possess the freshness of 
 morn when the dewy moisture spreads a delicate veil over the scene, and 
 every object glitters with pearls ; or when they give out the insufferable 
 brightness of midday in contact with masses of clear blue sky. 
 
 This difference in the general look of their pictures pervades the most 
 minute parts of the composition. We seek in vain, in the works of 
 Titian, for those delicate gray tones which we see in the flesh of 
 Veronese: in Titian they are absorbed in one general rich glaze; in 
 Veronese the grays of the architecture, the shadows of the white drapery, 
 and of the clouds, &c., all partake of freshness and delicacy, having a 
 resemblance to the tender tints in size colour; while in Titian they assume 
 an appearance of the same tints washed over with a glazing of transparent 
 yellow. That they both reached perfection in their works may be reason- 
 
ON COLOUR IN PAINTING. 
 
 31 
 
 ably concluded, from the superiority they still hold above all those who 
 have worked upon the same principles. 
 
 The nearest approach to Titian is found in the works of Tintoretto, 
 particularly in his famous picture of the “ Miracle of St. Mark,” which is 
 a splendid combination of the rich tones of Titian with the more fresh 
 colouring of Veronese; and could we suppose it placed between two 
 of their most famous works, viz. the “ Peter Martyr ” of Titian and the 
 “Martyrdom of St. George” of Veronese, I am confident the one would 
 appear too hot, and the other too cold. If any picture deserves the name 
 of the triumph of painting, it is this work ; in the presence of which, 
 when in the Louvre, even the “ Transfiguration” of Paffaelle looked cold 
 and academic. 
 
 "Why Sir Joshua should caution the student against imbibing the 
 manner of this artist I cannot understand ; for Michael Angelo, Tintoretto, 
 S. Posa, and Puhens seem to have been born for the art of painting. 
 
 Plate IV. Fig. 2. The colours of this picture commencing with St. 
 Peter are the following. His dress is composed of strong blue and 
 yellow ; the blue is repeated upon the upper dress of the Virgin, and 
 carried up into the sky; the yellow is spread by means of the embroidery 
 on the flag of St. George, and a few gold bars on the figure in white 
 in the opposite corner, and suffused over the clouds and architecture; 
 they are united and broke into the harmony of the picture by the green 
 cloth of the altar, by the lights of the dark figure kneeling being of a 
 greenish tone, and the dull green dresses of the opposite figures partly 
 seen. The principal red is the flag of St. George, carried across the 
 picture by the dress of the Virgin, and the large mass of dull lake on the 
 figure kneeling, the reddish dress of the servant behind the saint, a red 
 binding to the upper dress of the dark figure on his knees, and a small 
 part of the red dress seen opposite, break it into the general mass. The 
 warm gray dress of St. Francis brings down the colour of the architecture 
 into the group; and the black armour of St. George makes a mass with 
 
32 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 the figure upon his knees, ancl is carried up by some bars of the arms 
 upon the flag. The white is produced by the veil of the Virgin, the hook 
 of St. Peter, the white turban, a scroll upon the flag, and the white dress 
 of the figure in the lower corner of the picture. 
 
 Though there are few pictures of Titian where a multitude of figures 
 are introduced, such as we see in those of Paul Veronese, yet we can 
 gather sufficient from his works to give us a correct idea of his arrange¬ 
 ment of colour in such subjects, and must conclude that Veronese 
 extended the principles of his master over subjects of a more complicated 
 character by the same means, viz. a spreading out of the colours in large 
 masses, breaking them down by others of the same hue, hut less positive, 
 and distributing his hot and cold colours in a judicious manner through 
 the picture. As this is the picture mentioned by Reynolds as an example 
 of grandeur and simplicity arising out of the regularity of composition, I 
 shall here give his remarks, which will place them more before the 
 student’s observation than a reference to the pages where they occur. 
 “ Here the Virgin and child are placed on an altar instead of a pedestal; 
 St. Peter, with an open book, leaning on the altar, and looking at 
 St. George and another figure which is kneeling. On the other side is 
 St. Prancis, looking up to Christ, and recommending to his protection a 
 noble Venetian, with four other figures, who are on their knees. Nothing 
 can exceed the simplicity and dignity of these figures. They are drawn 
 in profile, looking straight forward in the most natural manner, without 
 any contrast or affectation of attitude whatever. The figure on the other 
 side is likewise in profile and kneeling; which, while it gives an air of 
 formality to the picture, adds also to its grandeur and simplicity. This 
 must he acknowledged to he above Rubens; that is, I fear he would 
 have renounced it, had it occured. Rubens’s manner is often too 
 artificial and picturesque for the grand style. Titian knew very well that 
 so much formality or regularity, as to give the appearance of being above 
 all the tricks of art, which we call picturesque, is of itself grandeur. 
 There is a quiet dignity in the composition of Titian, and an animation 
 
ON COLOUU IN PAINTING. 
 
 33 
 
 and bustle in that of Rubens; one is splendid, the other is grand and 
 majestic. These two pictures may he considered among the best works 
 of those great painters, and each characterizes its respective author. 
 They may, therefore, he properly opposed to each other, and compared 
 together. 
 
 “ I confess I was so overpowered with the brilliancy of this picture of 
 Rubens, whilst I was before it, and under its fascinating influence, that I 
 thought I had never before seen so great powers exerted in the art. 
 It was not till I was removed from its influence that I could acknowledge 
 any inferiority in Rubens to any other painter whatever. 
 
 “ The composition of Titian is of that kind which leaves the middle 
 space void, and the figures are ranged around it. In this space is the 
 white linen that covers the altar; and it is for the sake of this white ‘ 
 linen, I apprehend, that he has made an altar instead of a pedestal, in 
 order to make the linen the principal light, which is about the middle of 
 the picture. The second light is the Virgin, and Christ, and the heads 
 of the figures.” 
 
 The remarks regarding the effect of this picture Reynolds must have 
 made with the print of Le Pebre before him, as in it the altar cloth 
 appears white, whereas in the picture it is of a dull green. There is a 
 splendour in the print which a breadth of light always conveys ; but, 
 keeping the cloth of a tone produced by the blue and yellow of St. Peter 
 seems to harmonize these colours with the picture, and gives it a greater 
 solidity of effect. We must, however, allow that keeping the cloth white 
 is conformable to the practice of Titian and Veronese, and in the print 
 there is no indication of a fringe, which is in the picture; yet we cannot 
 suppose, with the high character Titian holds in Venice, that any altera¬ 
 tion in the picture would have been permitted, for the purpose of making 
 the Virgin and child more principal. The strongest point of light is 
 brought in contact with the strongest dark in the book which comes 
 against the dark dress of St. Peter, and is next taken up by the white 
 veil of the Virgin, and is carried up by the light in the sky to the upj^er 
 
 F 
 
 €> 
 
34 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 part of the picture. In the lower part the light is carried across by the 
 steps and the figure with the white dress. Perhaps, were the altar cloth 
 white, the light in the upper part, and that in the under part of the 
 picture, would he too much united. 
 
 As nothing has given rise to greater uncertainty than the proper degree 
 of detail and style of colour to be used in subjects of an heroic nature, it 
 will he necessary in this place to draw the student’s attention to the 
 subject. Prom the earliest specimens of painting which have been dis¬ 
 covered in Egypt and Herculaneum, we find colours used indiscriminately, 
 and without regard to harmony; reds, blues, and yellows put down as 
 mere ornament, or perhaps symbolically, and such as we find now in uncul¬ 
 tivated nations. As the arts advanced, we find painting keeping pace 
 'with poetry and sculpture; and though from the remains of the two latter 
 we can form a more correct opinion of their excellence than of painting, as 
 all remains of this art are destroyed, we are nevertheless able to gather 
 something from contemporary authors and analogy of reasoning, which, 
 if rightly considered, will lead us to pretty just conclusions. Apelles and 
 Zeuxis are mentioned as two of the greatest painters at a time when 
 Greece was in her glory ; and as the fragments of Phidias prove that its 
 sculptors aimed at a true representation of nature, we may infer that 
 painting took the same direction; especially as many anecdotes respecting 
 the Grecian painters confirm us in such supposition. Eor example, when 
 we are told Apelles altered even the tying of a sandal to accord with 
 truth, and that the birds attempted to peck at some grapes Zeuxis had 
 painted, we may conclude that detail, and colouring true to nature, were 
 amongst some of their excellences. Reynolds, in his notes to Du Eresnoy, 
 says, “ There can be no doubt but that the same correctness of design 
 was required from the painter as from the sculptor; and if what has 
 happened in the case of sculpture had likewise happened in regard to 
 their paintings, and we had the good fortune to possess what the ancients 
 themselves esteemed their masterpieces, I have no doubt but we should 
 find their figures as correctly drawn as the Laocoon, and probably 
 
ON COLOUR IN PAINTING. 
 
 35 
 
 coloured like Titian. What disposes me to think higher of their colouring 
 than any remains of ancient painting will warrant, is the account which 
 Pliny gives of the mode of operation used by Apelles; that over his 
 finished picture he spread a transparent liquid like ink, of which the effect 
 was to give brilliancy, and at the same time to lower the too great glare 
 of the colour: c Quod absoluta opera atramento illinebat ita tenui, ut id 
 ipsum repercussu claritates colorum excitaret; et cum ratione magna, ne 
 colorum claritas oculorum aciem offenderet.’ This passage, though it 
 may possibly perplex the critics, is a true and an artist-like description of 
 the effects of glazing or scumbling, such as was practised by Titian and 
 the rest of the Venetian painters. This custom, or mode of operation, 
 implies at least a true taste of that in which the excellence of colouring 
 consists ; which does not proceed from fine colours, but true colours ; 
 from breaking down these fine colours, which would appear too raw, to a 
 deep-toned brightness.” 
 
 Prom these short observations we may conclude that possessing a 
 portion of detail, and a natural style of colouring, was considered neces¬ 
 sary by the ancients. 
 
 Prom the revival of painting in the- thirteenth century to its perfection 
 in the fifteenth, we see a constant attention to these two objects ; though 
 with more or less success, according to the talents of the artists : and the 
 works of Michael Angelo and Paffaelle seem in these respects carried as 
 far as they were capable of carrying them. The detail in the foreground 
 of the “Transfiguration” exhibits the scrupulous fidelity of Paul Potter. 
 If, therefore, such detail and an attention to truth are found in the works 
 of Paffaelle, why should we censure them in Titian, where, even in his 
 “Peter Martyr,” the detail partakes of a less laboured character? We 
 may, therefore, consider a certain portion of detail necessary to give the 
 work an appearance of truth. With respect to the harmony of colouring, 
 as it invites the spectator’s attention, and detains him, from the agreeable 
 sensation it produces, it seems not only allowable but necessary. The 
 
36 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 mincl may be improved through the gratification of the eye, and the most 
 sublime scenes represented, though clothed with the colouring of truth. 
 
 Reynolds, in his fourth Discourse, says, “ However great the difference 
 is between the composition of the Venetian and the rest of the Italian 
 schools, there is full as great a disparity in the effect of their pictures as 
 produced by colours. And though in this respect the Venetians must be 
 allowed extraordinary skill, yet even that skill, as they have employed it, 
 will but ill correspond with the great style. Their colouring is not only 
 too brilliant, but, I will venture to say, too harmonious to produce that 
 solidity, steadiness, and simplicity of effect which heroic subjects require, 
 and which simple or grave colours only can give to a work. That they 
 are to be cautiously studied by those who are ambitions of treading the 
 great walk of history, is confirmed, if it wants confirmation, by the 
 greatest of all authorities, Michael Angelo. This wonderful man, after 
 having seen a picture by Titian, told Vasari, who accompanied him, £ that 
 he liked much his colouring and manner;’ but he added, ‘that it was a 
 pity the Venetian painters did not learn to draw correctly in their early 
 youth, and adopt a better manner of study.’ ” And again, 
 
 “ Though it be allowed that elaborate harmony of colouring, a brilliancy 
 of tints, a soft and gradual transition from one to another, present to the 
 eye what an harmonious concert of music does to the ear, it must be 
 remembered that painting is not merely gratification of the sight. Such 
 excellence, though properly cultivated, where nothing higher than elegance 
 is intended, is weak and unworthy of regard, when the work aspires to 
 grandeur and sublimity.” 
 
 Yet twelve years afterwards, when his notes to Du ITesnoy were 
 published, he makes use of the following observations, talking of Rnffaelle 
 and Julio Rmnano: “Though it would be far from an addition to the 
 merit of those two great painters to have made their works deceptions, 
 yet there can be no reason why they might not, in some degree, and with 
 a judicious caution and selection, have availed themselves of many excel- 
 
ON COLOUR IN PAINTING. 
 
 37 
 
 lences which are found in the Venetian, Flemish, and even Dutch schools, 
 and which have been inculcated in this poem. There are some of them 
 which are not in absolute contradiction to any style; the happy dispo¬ 
 sition, for instance, of light and shade; the preservation of breadth in 
 masses of colours ; the union of these with their grounds; and the har¬ 
 mony arising from a due mixture of hot and cold hues, with many other 
 excellences not inseparably connected with that individuality which pro¬ 
 duces deception, would surely not counteract the effect of the grand style ; 
 they would only contribute to the ease of the spectator, by making the 
 vehicle pleasing by which ideas are conveyed to the mind, which other¬ 
 wise might be perplexed and bewildered with a confused assemblage of 
 objects; they would add a certain degree of grace and sweetness to 
 strength and grandeur. Though the merits of those two great painters 
 are of such transcendency as to make us overlook their deficiency, yet a 
 subdued attention to these inferior excellences must be added to complete 
 the idea of a perfect painter.” 
 
 And further, in his Tour through Flanders, noticing three pictures by 
 Vandyke, he says, “ In the next room are three admirable pictures by 
 Vandyke; c St. Sebastian,’ ‘Susanna,’ and a ‘Pieta.’ The first two were 
 done when he was very young, highly coloured, in the same manner as 
 the ‘Jupiter and Antiope ’ at Mr. Dascli’s at Antwerp; a picture on the 
 same subject, in the possession of Lord Coventry; his own portrait at the 
 Duke of Grafton’s; and the portrait of Pubens, in my possession. lie 
 never afterwards had so brilliant a manner of colouring; it kills every 
 thing near it. Behind are figures on horseback, touched with great 
 spirit. This is Vandyke’s first manner, when he imitated Pubens and 
 Titian, which supposes the sun in the room : in his pictures afterwards he 
 represented the effects of common daylight; both were equally true to 
 nature, but his first manner carries a superiority with it, and seizes our 
 attention, whilst the pictures painted in his latter manner run a risk of 
 being overlooked.” 
 
38 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 "VVe may, from tliese conflicting opinions, suspect tliat Sir Joshua 
 Reynolds himself had become a convert to the idea of Tintoretto, that 
 the colouring of Titian might add a grace even to the design of Michael 
 Angelo; hut, he this as it may, the student can have no hesitation in 
 endeavouring to follow this school in the splendid ranks of Velasquez, 
 Rubens, Vandyke, Rembrandt, and even Reynolds himself, instead of 
 adding another to the cold though classic files of Poussin, Le Seur, 
 Le Brun, and Sebastian Bourdon. With the composition or expression 
 of the Venetian school we have at present nothing to do; we are 
 examining their mode of colouring, which may he said to possess 
 brilliancy without gaudiness, solidity without harshness, truth without 
 familiarity, and sweetness without insipidity; all conjoined in the greatest 
 breadth of colour, overpowering every other work brought in competition 
 with it. In historical works the draperies often make the largest portions 
 of colour, and what in the first instance attracts the eye of the spectator. 
 It is, therefore, necessary that the most applicable colours should he 
 chosen, either from their appropriate quality, or with reference to the 
 situation of the figure as regarding the chiaroscuro of the picture. 
 
 That colours have a tendency to give either grandeur or meanness, 
 arising from their effect upon the eye, or from an association of ideas, no 
 one will question. Primitive colours, or such as have great opposition to 
 each other, seem to have been the first made use of. We read in Exodus 
 of garments of blue, purple, and scarlet; which colours, either from their 
 simplicity or forcible quality, have been employed by artists of all ages in 
 painting draperies of sacred or noble characters. Colours also have a 
 litness according to the several personages represented. Thus we read 
 of the azure zone of Venus, of the seagreen garments of Neptune, and 
 the red mantle of Mars. The power of colour in conveying sentiment I 
 have mentioned already in that part of this work which treats of the 
 chiaroscuro. It may he seen in a variety of examples, from the murky 
 sky that envelopes the “Murder of Abel” by Titian, where all positive 
 
ON COLOUR IN PAINTING. 
 
 39 
 
 colours are kept out of the picture, down to the “Tragic Muse” by 
 Reynolds ; where the pale and sad colours seem illuminated only by the 
 yellow glare of the lightning. 
 
 Lavater, reasoning upon the effect of colour producing sad or pleasing 
 sensations on the mind, endeavoured to establish a theory which should 
 stamp an aversion to those things which were injurious to man; and 
 endeavoured to prove that all poisonous plants and noxious reptiles were 
 clothed with gloomy colours. Without discussing the truth or fallacy of 
 his reasoning, we may safely assert that darkness of colour gives sadness, 
 and that light and vivacity of colouring convey cheerfulness. 
 
 Prom the few fragments of early Greek paintings which have escaped 
 the obliterating hand of time, we perceive a mode of managing the local 
 colour of drapery, which was adopted at the revival of painting, and 
 existed during the perfection of many of the schools, viz. leaving the 
 light parts but faintly stained, and making use of the several colours for 
 the shadows ; thereby producing an effect of chiaroscuro by colour alone : 
 while in those figures which were in shadow, or in the background, a flat 
 wash of colour was made use of, that gave to the whole the appearance of 
 a basso-relievo, wherein those parts are most rounded which most project. 
 The introduction of aerial perspective into the art introduced at the same 
 time an harmonious breadth and union of one tint with another: this led 
 to a massing of the hot and cold colours ; and in place of having a light 
 blue inlaid upon a ground of a yellow or red, without any arrangement as 
 to its union, it was surrounded by tints of a corresponding hue, and broke 
 down and united with the ground, and harmonized into the other parts of 
 the picture by a repetition of the same colour; and as the light parts of 
 the composition became more charged with the local colour of the several 
 objects, it became necessary to strengthen the dark masses to preserve 
 the luminous character of the lights; and this, perhaps, gave rise to a 
 unity of tone in the shadows. 
 
 Before proceeding to investigate how far the higher branches of the art 
 contribute to the perfection of the inferior departments, it will be neces- 
 
40 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 sary to inquire whether the grand style of painting can he improved hy 
 the addition of inferior qualities. The gratification and improvement of 
 the mind from the contemplation of pictures must arise out of grandeur, 
 novelty, or beauty. Addison says, “ Our imagination loves to he filled 
 with an object, or to grasp at any thing that is too big for its capacity.” 
 This quality in the mind has given rise to the most stupendous conceptions, 
 either for gratifying the caprice of one man, or leading captive the imagi¬ 
 nations of thousands : it is to this sensation in the mind that we are 
 indebted for many of the greatest works of art. “We are obliged,” he 
 adds, “ to devotion for the noblest buildings that have adorned the several 
 countries of the world : it is this which lias set man at work on temples 
 and public places of worship, not only that they might, hy the magnifi¬ 
 cence of the building, invite the Deity to reside within it, hut that such 
 stupendous works might at the same time ojien the mind to vast con¬ 
 ceptions, and fit it to converse with the Divinity of the place. Dor every 
 thing that is majestic imprints an awfulness and reverence on the mind of 
 the beholder, and strikes in with the natural greatness of the soul.” It 
 therefore followed, if statues and pictures were to he introduced for the 
 purpose of increasing such emotions, that they should be of a grandeur 
 to correspond with the magnitude of the building, both in dimensions and 
 style. This has given rise to boldness in the design, simplicity in the 
 attitudes, a continuity of the outline, and a spreading out of the masses 
 of colour. Hence the superhuman conceptions of Michael Angelo, the 
 awe-inspiring dignity of Baffaelle, and the breadth and magnificence of 
 Titian and Paul Veronese. 
 
 What in another place would appear gigantic, there appears natural; 
 what might he thought formal, there appears dignified; and what might 
 he too harsh or dazzling in the colouring, is there subdued into a grand 
 and harmonious union. By these component parts of one magnificent 
 structure, the imagination is enlarged and extended. Colouring must 
 either add to or diminish the effect of any work upon the imagination ; it 
 must add to it hy increasing, or diminish it hy destroying the decejition. 
 
ON COLOUR IN PAINTING. 
 
 41 
 
 Tlie language in which the poet clothes imagery is not more necessary to 
 its identity, than the colouring in the hands of the painter to the identity 
 of the subject treated hv him. 
 
 Addison, speaking of Sliakspeare’s language, says, “There is some¬ 
 thing so wild, and yet so solemn, in the speeches of ghosts, fairies, 
 witches, and the like imaginary persons, that we cannot forbear thinking 
 them natural, though we have no rule by which to judge of them, and must 
 confess, if there are such beings in the world, it looks highly probable 
 they should talk and act as he has represented them.” This train of 
 reasoning is applicable to painting in a high degree; and, by it, we may 
 investigate the superior beings of Michael Angelo or his followers in the 
 field of poetical imagery. Addison justly says, “We cannot indeed have 
 a single image in the fancy that did not make its first entrance through 
 the sight; hut we have the power of retaining, altering, and compounding 
 those images which we have once received into all the varieties of picture 
 and vision that are most agreeable to the imagination.” We can form no 
 idea of colouring beyond what has an existence in nature. Prom this 
 source all our materials must he drawn: both sacred and profane writers 
 have employed the same means. In the vision of Ezekiel, when describing 
 even the glory of God, he compares the brightness as like “ unto amber, 
 with the appearance of a fire within it, and surrounding it, as the 
 appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain.” 
 
 Michael Angelo and Raffaelle have both in the representation of the 
 Deity personified him in the likeness of a man; not so much from our 
 “having been created after his own image,” as from the impossibility to 
 conceive a grander idea of form and colour; if those representations have 
 not the grandeur of colour which Titian could have imparted, it must be 
 ascribed to their want of power in this branch of the art, either from 
 fresco painting not admitting of such excellence, from the materials and 
 the despatch necessary in finishing it, or from their studies being directed 
 into another channel. Reynolds says, “ Raffaelle and Titian seem to have 
 looked at nature for different purposes: they both had the power of 
 
 G 
 
42 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 extending tlieir view to the whole; hut one looked only for the general 
 effect as produced by form, the other as produced by colour.” And he 
 adds : “ If he (Raffaelle) had expressed his ideas with the facility and 
 eloquence, as it may he called, of Titian, his works would certainly not 
 have been less excellent, and that praise which ages and nations have 
 poured out upon him for possessing genius in the higher attainments of 
 art, would have been extended to them all.” This naturalness in the tone 
 of colour seems, therefore, equally applicable to the higher departments as 
 the outline or the light and shade. There seems a certain identity neces¬ 
 sary in representation, to give an appearance of reality of existence, and 
 awaken those ideas in the mind consequent upon such appearance. The 
 representation of beings like ourselves, in the “Last Judgment” of Michael 
 Angelo, or the “Tall of the Damned,” by Rubens, strikes us with more 
 horror than if those beings were coloured with the etlierial essence which 
 Milton describes spirits to inherit. 
 
 If we descend lower into the regions of fiction and allegory, this truth 
 of representation is still more essential, as in many respects it conveys 
 the images more strongly to the mind ; for example, the Satyrs, Silenuses, 
 and Lawns of Rubens seem as if they had actually existed, so true to 
 reality do they appear in all that constitutes the sensual, unrestrained, and 
 had passions of human nature when bereft of every thing mental; while 
 in Poussin the cold formality of the antique, the dryness in colouring, and 
 the absence of that juicy luscious character throughout, clothe them with 
 chastity, and chill the imagination. Even with these few hints, perhaps, 
 the student will be able to continue the train of reasoning which places 
 colouring in so prominent a situation. The necessary detail must depend 
 upon the subject in hand: for the artist must never forget that the mind 
 is composed of ideas received from early impressions, from perceptions 
 frequently occurring, and from reflections founded on such perceptions. 
 Painting can reach the mind only through the medium of the eye, which 
 must be gratified sufficiently to interest it in the communication. 
 
 If the student keeps this steadily in view, he will see that there can he 
 
ON COLOUR IN PAINTING. 
 
 43 
 
 no danger in his adopting a natural and harmonious style of colouring : as 
 by such means he will add a more captivating manner to the most sublime 
 walks of painting. 
 
 Reynolds says, “ Poussin, whose eye was always steadily fixed upon 
 the sublime, has been often heard to say, £ that a particular attention to 
 colouring was an obstacle to the student in his progress to the great end 
 and design of the art, and that he who attaches himself to this principal 
 end will acquire by practice a reasonable good method of colouring.’” 
 What sort of practice is here meant I cannot say; hut, unless the student 
 begins early to colour from objects in nature, and habituates himself to 
 examine well coloured pictures with attention, his eye never will acquire 
 a good method of colouring. Of all branches of the art, colouring is the 
 least mechanical. The eye may he taught to measure with great accu¬ 
 racy the distance from one point to another, and the particular form of an 
 object as hounded by lines; but colouring is a matter of much greater 
 subtilty, as the shades which separate one tint from another are not only 
 less tangible, hut seem less under the control of the eye, even though the 
 mind is conscious of what constitutes good colouring. 
 
 Addison says, “The fancy delights in every thing great, strange, or 
 beautiful; and is still more pleased the more it finds of these perfections 
 in the same object, as the pleasure arises from more than a single 
 principle. The figure of the rainbow does not contribute less to its 
 magnificence than the colours to its beauty; colour is, therefore, an 
 addition to the grandeur of an object. Among these several kinds of 
 beauty, the eye takes most delight in colours: we nowhere meet with a 
 more glorious or pleasing show in nature than what appears in the 
 heavens at the rising and setting of the sun, which is wholly made up 
 of these different stains of light, that show themselves in clouds of a 
 different situation.” Purther, he says, “Things would make but a poor 
 appearance to the eye, if we saw them only in their proper figures and 
 motions; and what reason can we assign for their exciting in us many of 
 those ideas which are different from any thing that exists in the objects 
 
44 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 themselves (for such are light and colours), were it not to add super¬ 
 numerary ornaments to the universe, and make it more agreeable to the 
 imagination ? We are everywhere entertained with pleasing shows and 
 apparitions; we discover imaginary glories in the heavens and in the 
 earth, and see some of this visionary beauty poured out upon the whole 
 creation; but what a rough unsightly sketch of nature should we he 
 entertained with, did all her colouring disappear, and the several dis¬ 
 tinctions of light and shade vanish ? ” 
 
 PLATE Y. 
 
 Fig. 1. The colours of this subject, viz. a sketch of the “ Good 
 Samaritan,” by Rembrandt, are yellow, brown, red, and black, tempered 
 with masses of cool grey. In a work of this kind it is impossible to give 
 any idea of the manner of Rembrandt’s arrangement of colour; as it 
 arises out of his excellence of tone more than his placing of the several 
 colours. 
 
 Fig. 2. Is “The Prince of Orange going out in the Morning,” by Cuyp. 
 The principal light is composed of yellowish white and cool grey; the 
 mass of shadow, of warm brown; the green dress of the servant, repeated 
 by some leaves, serves as a medium to unite them, and acts as a foil to 
 the dress of the Prince, which is strong red. The warm colour is led 
 into the shadow by the brown horse, and pink saddlecloth of the servant 
 in a dark dress, and repeated by the pink feather; the brown is repeated 
 upon the sleeves of the servant’s green dress, and spots upon the dog. 
 The blacks are kept very decided, which is generally the practice of 
 Cuyp, in order to give clearness and lighenesss of effect to the whole. 
 He has brought a small portion of the dark group cutting against the 
 sky, and the strongest light sharp off the dark. The grey colour of the 
 sky and horse gives the red great value, as does also the presence of the 
 green. Many artists object to the opposition arising from red and green, 
 

Plate. 5. 
 
ON COLOUR IN PAINTING. 
 
 45 
 
 as being too violent; but tliis may arise from the green not being 
 sufficiently of a neutral tone. 
 
 Plate V. Fig. 3. Represents “ The Descent from the Cross,” by Rubens. 
 Reynolds remarks, speaking of this subject, “The composition of this 
 picture is said to be borrowed from an Italian print: this print I never 
 saw; but those who have seen it say, that Rubens has made no deviation 
 from it, except in the attitude of the Magdalen. On the print is written, 
 ‘ Peter Passer invenit; Hieronymus Wirix sculpsit.’ 
 
 “ The greatest peculiarity of this composition is the contrivance of the 
 white sheet, on which the body of Jesus lies: this circumstance was 
 probably what induced Rubens to adopt the composition. He well knew 
 what effect wdiite linen opposed to flesh must have, with his powers of 
 colouring; a circumstance which was not likely to enter into the mind of 
 an Italian painter, who probably would have been afraid of the linen’s 
 hurting the colouring of the flesh, and have kept it down of a low tint. 
 And the truth is, that none but great colourists can venture to paint pure 
 wdiite linen near flesh; but such know the advantage of it: so that pos¬ 
 sibly wdiat w r as stolen by Rubens, the possessor knew not how to value; 
 and certainly no person knew so well as Rubens how to use. After all, 
 this may perhaps turn out another Lauder’s detection of plagiarism. 
 I could wish to see this print, if there is one, to ascertain how far Rubens 
 was indebted to it for his Christ, which I consider as one of the finest 
 figures that ever was invented; it is most correctly drawn, and, I appre¬ 
 hend, in an attitude of the utmost difficulty to execute. The hanging of 
 the head on his shoulder, and the falling of the body on one side, give 
 such an appearance of the heaviness of death, that nothing can exceed it.” 
 
 The celebrated w r ork of Daniel di Volterra (which, from its receiving 
 the assistance of Michael Angelo, had acquired great celebrity), is 
 perhaps the picture from which Rubens obtained his idea, as the two 
 works resemble each other in several particulars. 
 
 “ Of the three Maries, two of them have more beauty than he generally 
 bestowed on female figures, but no great elegance of character. The 
 
46 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 St. Joseph of Arimatliea is the same countenance which he so often 
 introduced in his works ; a smooth fat face,—a very unhistorical character. 
 The principal light is formed by the body of Christ and the white sheet; 
 there is no second light which hears any proportion to the principal: 
 in this respect it lias more the manner of Rembrandt’s disposition of light 
 than any other of Rubens’s works; however, there are many little 
 detached lights distributed at some distance from the great mass, such as 
 the head and shoulders of the Magdalen, the heads of the two Maries, the 
 head of St. Joseph, and the hack and arm of the figure leaning over the 
 cross; the whole surrounded with a dark sky, except a little light in the 
 horizon, and above the cross.” 
 
 Rubens has given great brilliancy to his light by bringing his strongest 
 dark in contact with it in the most cutting manner; and he has supported 
 it hy a mass of strong red in the dress of St. John, which colour is 
 repeated in the other side hy the red cap of Joseph of Arimatliea, and hy 
 the blood on the hand and arm of Christ, &c. The Mother is dressed in 
 dark blue, repeated hy the garment of the figure stretching over the cross. 
 The dress of Joseph, the hair of the Magdalen, the hair and dress of the 
 other Mary, and the light at the horizon, are of a yellow colour. The 
 dress of the Magdalen is of a strong green. The figure descending the 
 ladder is of a purple and brown. We may here notice the union of the 
 blue and yellow, in producing a green, as in the “Entombment,” hy 
 Titian; the bringing of this colour next to a red; and the presence of a 
 purple, arising from the union of a blue and red. 
 
 PLATE YI. 
 
 Represents the “ Rape of the Sabines,” by Rubens. As this work 
 embraces many of the peculiarities of that arrangement of colour which 
 afterwards was diffused through the Elemish and Dutch schools, I shall 
 particularize the different colours of which it is composed, with the 
 situation in which they are placed. The sky is composed of pale yellow 
 

Tlate & 
 
ON COLOUR IN PAINTING. 
 
 47 
 
 and blue; the buildings, of a grey, are united to the figures by a small 
 portion being of a faint red ; the light is spread over the female group by 
 delicate colours, viz. grey, light flesh tints, and faint yellow; then pink and 
 blue, falling into dull yellow, black, red, and dark blue. The foreground 
 group commences with dark and light purple, red, black, yellow; then 
 green (with a ] ittle red above) ; then brown and blue; a red, of a dull 
 tone, carried up to the figure on the throne, which is surrounded by dull 
 yellow. The buildings in shadow are grey; the drapery at the top, of a 
 purple. We find in this composition the strong colour surrounding the 
 light, or placed where the one group unites with the other. With Rubens 
 this is generally the case, as it prevents the light subsiding too gently, 
 and enables him to keep up his splendour and force. He has given a 
 strong red to clear up the shadow of the female group, and jflaced a dark 
 blue in the warm side of his composition, to carry the cold colour into 
 this portion of the picture; which is harmonized by a green coming 
 between the blue and yellow. Most of the colours are repeated and 
 broken down by a similarity of tints, except the green (for a faint blush 
 of this colour upon the festoon at the upper part does not amount to this), 
 which thereby acquires a force which it otherwise would not possess. 
 I have noticed in another place the practice of painters often leaving 
 colours singly, when employed on a prominent object; or for giving 
 such colours the power of harmonizing the others in the picture. In 
 arranging his colours, Rubens always seems to have been guided by 
 his masses of light and of shadow ; and to have made use of those tints 
 which contributed to the preservation and enrichment of both. His mass 
 of light is generally composed of delicate colours, and such as do not 
 destroy the breadth ; his mass of shadow, of strong warm colours; using 
 dull yellow and brown for those figures under the influence of reflected 
 light. His principal light has, by this means, a freshness of appearance 
 when compared with Titian, whose delicate grays and tender blues are 
 generally swallowed up in a rich glazing of yellow ; and Rubens, by 
 keeping blackness out of his shadows, gives the whole that splendour of 
 
48 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 effect which arises from the employment of colour in producing the 
 chiaroscuro. His colours are generally placed in harmony with each 
 other, or in contact with such as give them value ; such as red and black, 
 black and yellow, green and brown, &c.; a blue, for the purpose of 
 carrying the cool colour into the shadow side of the picture ; or a red, 
 for repeating the warm colour in the cool side, Reynolds says, “ The 
 difference of the manner of Ituhens from that of any other painter before 
 him is in nothing more distinguishable than in his colouring; which is 
 totally different from that of Titian, Coreggio, or any of the great 
 colourists. The effect of his pictures may he not improperly compared 
 to clusters of flowers. All his colours appear as clear and as beautiful; 
 at the same time he has avoided that tawdry effect which one would 
 expect such gay colours to produce; in this respect resembling Barocci 
 more than any other painter.” In comparing Ituhens with Titian, we 
 find in the flesh of the one an assemblage and variety of tints, from the 
 strongest reds to the most tender greys, vieing often in brightness with 
 the white linen in contact with it; the flesh of Titian is of a more uniform 
 colour, the high lights partaking of half tint, when compared with his 
 white drapery. 
 
 The flesh of Ituhens has the character of flesh when viewed near, where 
 every variety of tint can he perceived; that of Titian seems sufficiently 
 removed from the eye to lose the little varieties in one general blaze. 
 Perhaps this treatment, from possessing less detail, gives an appearance 
 of a higher character to the flesh of Titian. 
 
 The luminous breadth of colour observable in the works of Titian has 
 been successfully imitated by Vandyke, in what is termed his Italian 
 manner; and his pictures of that period possess this character in per¬ 
 fection. His most delicate tints have a richness and warmth resembling 
 the deep tones of Rembrandt: this treatment of the light is supported by 
 deep browns and reds in the shadows and half lights, thereby preventing 
 the light from appearing heavy, and giving it an influence over the whole 
 picture. Por example, in his picture of “ Susanna,” mentioned at page 37, 
 
ON COLOUR IN PAINTING 
 
 49 
 
 she is wrapping round lier a garment of deep crimson, supported by dark 
 colours in the background; and, in his “St. Sebastian,” the saint is sur¬ 
 rounded by rich warm tones, produced by the flesh of the figures binding 
 him, the brown horse, and a red flag (carried by one of the figures on 
 horseback), rising up against the dark blue sky. The red is repeated 
 upon the other side by an Asiatic in a red dress; and the blue of the sky, 
 by one of the figures haying a little blue drapery. Rubens, in many of 
 his works, has adopted the practice of Veronese in bringing the warm 
 tones of his flesh up against a bright blue sky; producing great brilliancy 
 and lightness of effect. His reds seldom partake of that deep laky cast 
 arising from the glazings of the Venetian painters; neither do his blues 
 assume the depth of those generally found in the skies of Titian: they 
 have, however, the freshness of Veronese, without his coldness; and 
 Rubens’s colouring, if it has not the rich splendour of the Venetian 
 masters, has nevertheless a sweetness and force which fully compensates 
 for the absence of many of their best qualities. Ilis leaving his colours 
 unbroken from the palette, and the easy decided manner of his handling, 
 give a great charm to his works; and perhaps the tenderness of his 
 colours upon the lights, although it may impart to his pictures a tinted 
 appearance, contributes to the same end. 
 
 In inquiring how far the principles of colour, which govern the great 
 style of painting, are applicable to the inferior walks of the art, it will be 
 necessary to revert to what appears to be the constituent parts of those 
 principles, viz. breadth, or laying out the several colours in large portions; 
 opposition, in bringing light and dark, and hot and cold colours in 
 contact; and strength, in using the colours pure off the palette, or 
 deepening them by repeated glazings. These properties seem to belong 
 more exclusively to the higher walks, from their harmonizing with the 
 grandeur of the subject and greatness of style necessary in the com¬ 
 position, as regards the outline or chiaroscuro; for the most discordant 
 properties produce harmony, if the several parts are upon the same scale; 
 yet, nevertheless, a certain portion of the harshest arrangement, and the 
 
 H 
 
50 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 strongest contrast of colour, is necessary in the humblest walks of the art, 
 to give the work that firmness and zest observable in nature. If we 
 examine such works from the time of Rubens, who was the first to 
 ennoble human scenes by his pencil, to the decline of the Dutch school, 
 we observe a want of decision, a timidity in the colour, and a. total 
 absence of those fresh and vigorous tones so truly characteristic of this 
 department of the art. The breadth of local colour is here equally 
 necessary, from its being a strong feature in nature; and referring many 
 colours to the adjoining figures, for their shadow and half tones, becomes 
 in a degree indispensable; since the figures are generally of a smaller 
 size, and less capable of sustaining a colour, with all its intermediate hues 
 from light to dark, upon the same object. Hence also arises the necessity 
 of often enqfioying the three principal colours, viz. red, blue, and yellow, 
 upon one figure, to give such figure that consequence over the others 
 which it ought to have, either from its situation in the group or its 
 importance in the story. In the inferior walks of the art, we ought never 
 to lose sight of that approach to deception, and the natural appearance of 
 objects, arising from their possessing the exact tone of colour observed in 
 nature under the same influence of atmosphere; and here, perhaps, exists 
 a difference in the treatment of a subject in familiar life, and one founded 
 upon ancient history or a poetical basis; the naturalness of the former 
 being indispensable, while the style of drawing necessary in the latter 
 requires a corresponding style of colouring. 
 
 In the landscapes of Claude we may perceive a breadth of colour and 
 effect, which has served as an example down to the present time; and 
 which may be considered as furnishing hints for the treatment of subjects 
 embracing a wide expanse of country; a softness in the colour, either 
 from the interposition of atmosphere, or breadth of shadow. Ilis green 
 tints are seldom violent, and his blue of the sky and distance is filled with 
 retiring grey tones. Ilis shadows, if illuminated, are touched upon with 
 cool reflected lights; which treatment, if it deprives them of the rich 
 tones arising from transparent glazings, gives them that truth which they 
 
ON COLOUR IN PAINTING. 
 
 51 
 
 possess in nature. At sunrise or sunset, liis light generally possesses its 
 characteristic feature, and is seldom charged with strong colour; his 
 darkest shadows are prevented from being heavy, and receive a portion 
 of air from the introduction of figures dressed in strong blue draperies; 
 and the warm colours of his buildings and ground are focused, or 
 rendered less harsh by figures dressed in still more positive colours. 
 Reynolds, speaking of the local principles which characterize the Dutch 
 landscape painters, mentions the practice of Claude as opposed to such 
 confined representations of nature : 
 
 “ Claude Lorraine, on the contrary, was convinced that taking nature as 
 he found it seldom produced beauty; his pictures are a composition of 
 the various draughts which he had previously made from various beautiful 
 scenes and prospects. However, Rubens in some measure has made 
 amends for the deficiency with which he is charged; he has contrived to 
 raise and animate his otherwise uninteresting views, by introducing a 
 rainbow, storm, or some particular accidental effect of light. That the 
 practice of Claude Lorraine, in respect to his choice, is to be adopted by 
 landscape painters, in opposition to that of the Flemish and Dutch schools 
 there can he no doubt, as its truth is founded upon the same principle as 
 that by which the historical painter acquires perfect form. But whether 
 landscape painting has a right to aspire so far as to reject what the 
 painters call accidents of nature, is not easy to determine ; it is certain, 
 Claude Lorraine seldom, if ever, availed himself of those accidents; either 
 he thought that such peculiarities were contrary to that style of general 
 nature which he professed, or that it would catch the attention too 
 strongly, and destroy that quietness and repose which he thought 
 necessary to that kind of painting.” 
 
 If we contemplate the landscapes of Titian, we find in them the same 
 greatness of style in composition and colour, which pervades his most 
 sublime works. The light of his clouds assumes a deep-toned brightness, 
 aided by the contrast of his dark azure and distances, and is often 
 rendered dazzling by a multiplicity of' dark brown leaves rustling up 
 
 h 2 
 
52 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 against it; wliile the blue and yellow of his skies find a corresponding 
 harmony in the green and hrown of his foliage, and ground or stems of 
 his trees. The background to his “ Peter Martyr” claims equal admiration 
 with the figures. 
 
 The great breadth of colour and effect in the few landscapes from the 
 pencil of Rubens stamps them with that splendour which his knowledge 
 of colour, and his practice in the higher departments of the art, so easily 
 enabled him to accomplish; as he has generally represented his scenery 
 under the influence of a rising or setting sun, he was enabled to employ 
 the most glowing colours with a greater appearance of truth. The yellow 
 light struggling amidst a multiplicity of delicate purples and blues in the 
 sky, assumes a deeper hue as it sheds its colour upon the trees and 
 herbage, until it reaches the foreground in one mass of warm and 
 transparent colour ; and though the light commences in pale yellow and 
 white, it terminates in the foreground in rich brown and red. The land¬ 
 scape presented to the National Gallery by Sir George Beaumont, and 
 “The Watering Place” at Montague House, are excellent examples of 
 his mode of treating colours. In this latter the green of his middle 
 ground, and blue of his distance, are of a more positive character, 
 reminding one more of the colour of Van Uden. Ilis figures are gene¬ 
 rally employed to enable him to introduce more naturally his strong reds 
 or browns, as his light falls into his shadow side of the picture; or to 
 focus his strong colours in the foreground. If his green colours are 
 sometimes more violent than we might expect to see in nature, under 
 such circumstances, they are kept in check, and counteracted by his warm 
 brown colours. In this particular he has been admirably imitated by 
 Gainsborough; whose later works possess the same brilliancy of effect 
 with the yellow tones approaching more to the depth of Titian. Reynolds, 
 speaking of the licence allowable in departing from truth, instances the 
 representation of a moonlight by Rubens. 
 
 “ Rubens has not only diffused more light over the picture than is in 
 nature; but has bestowed on it those warm glowing colours by which his 
 
ON COLOUR IN PAINTING. 
 
 53 
 
 works are so much distinguished. It is so unlike what any other painters 
 have given us of moonlight, that it might he easily mistaken, if he had not 
 likewise added stars, for a fainter setting sun. Rubens thought the eye 
 ought to he satisfied in this case above all other considerations : he might 
 indeed have made it more natural, hut it would have been at the expense 
 of what he thought of much greater consequence,—the harmony proceeding 
 from the contrast and variety of colours. 
 
 “ This same picture will furnish us with another instance, where we 
 must depart from nature for a greater advantage. The moon in this 
 picture does not preserve so great a superiority in regard to its lightness 
 over the object which it illumines, as it does in nature; this is likewise 
 an intended deviation, and for the same reason. If Rubens had preserved 
 the same scale of gradation of light between the moon and the objects 
 which is found in nature, the picture must have consisted of one small 
 spot of light only; and at a little distance from the picture nothing but 
 this spot would have been seen.” 
 
 This is the case with a picture by Cuyp, in the possession of Lord 
 Grosvenor, where the moon appears a spot; and the effect of the whole 
 has a cold slaty character. Rut although most poets and painters have 
 represented moonlight shedding its cold influence over a scene, we cannot 
 refuse to Rubens a stricter adherence to nature in this instance than 
 Sir Joshua will allow; as in moonlight we frequently may perceive the 
 most splendid effects of light and colour, both of which have been happily 
 imitated by Vanderneer. 
 
 We may give Albert Cuyp as another instance of ennobling the effect 
 of his landscapes by the breadth and splendour of his colour. His 
 colouring in many of his works is of a more chaste character, yet 
 possessing the same brilliancy as the works of Rubens. Ilis blue is less 
 positive, and his green tones are more delicate; indeed, the colouring of 
 his trees seldom exceeds those tints which may be imitated by a mixture 
 of yellow and black. Any positive green he generally introduces into the 
 foreground plants, which by this means repeat the cool tints in the upper 
 
54 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 part of liis skies, and approach the eye from their being less influenced 
 by that yellow haze which the illuminated atmosphere spreads over his 
 distance and middleground objects. This effect is even heightened by the 
 decided black shadows underneath the foreground leaves, which give 
 them that effect of light, though charged with strong colour, which objects 
 in nature possess. In this he differs from Titian, Rubens, and many 
 others, whose shadows are warm brown. We may also observe a greater 
 attention to the blue tones in his skies; they being seldom deeper than 
 those in nature under the influence of sunshine; whereas many artists 
 increase the blue in the upper part of the sky, to give a greater effect of 
 light to that portion near the situation of the sun; which portion is less 
 charged with colour than is generally supposed. We may also notice 
 the attention to a breadth of local colour in Cuyp, Both, and others of 
 the Butch school, who painted effects of sunshine. Instead of having 
 the shadows crossing a warm ground cooler than the light, which is to be 
 observed in nature, from their receiving the reflection of the cool part of 
 the sky, we perceive them preserving one general tone. This and many 
 other licences, for the sake of the general effect, the student ought to 
 weigh well before he adopts or rejects; for, as Reynolds justly observes, 
 “ An artist is obliged for 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 subjects of familiar life we find conducting the chiaroscuro and the 
 colouring upon broad scientific principles stamps them with a consequence 
 and interest unattainable by other means. Jordaens has given his merry¬ 
 makings and scenes of the most vulgar character a splendour of colour 
 and richness of effect which destroy every thing brought in contact with 
 them; and he has tempered the whole by the introduction of delicate 
 grey tones amidst his warmest lights; and has given to his shadows a 
 firmness of colour and lightness of handling which produce the most 
 natural and splendid harmony. Indeed we can trace the principles of 
 colouring introduced by Rubens, and diffused by his pupils Vandyck, 
 
ON COLOUR IN PAINTING. 
 
 -JO 
 
 Jordaens, Teniers, and Snyders, into every walk of the art; which renders 
 the Dutch school so completely a school of colour for the contemplation 
 of the student. Sir Joshua says, “The same skill which is practised by 
 Pubens and Titian in their large works is here exhibited, though on a 
 smaller scale. Painters should go to the Dutch school to learn the art of 
 painting, as they would go to a grammar school to learn languages. They 
 must go to Italy to learn the higher branches of knowledge. We must 
 be contented to make up our idea of perfection from the excellences 
 which are dispersed over the world. A poetical imagination, expression, 
 character, or even correctness of drawing, are seldom united with that 
 power of colouring which would set off those excellences to the best 
 advantage; and in this, perhaps, no school ever excelled the Dutch. 
 An artist, by a close examination of their works, may in a few hours 
 make himself master of the principles on which they wrought, which 
 cost them whole ages, and perhaps the experience of a succession of 
 ages, to ascertain. 
 
56 
 
 PRACTICAL nns T TS 
 
 PLATE VII. 
 
 Fig. 1 Represents “ A Eamily Group,” by Rubens. This is the picture 
 mentioned by Reynolds in liis description of the Dusseldorf Gallery. 
 “ Over the door is a portrait of a lady, whole length, with her hand 
 on a dog’s head; a gentleman behind; a boy (her son) by her side, with 
 a hawk; and a dwarf behind the dog. This is called Lord and Lady 
 Arundel; but certainly does not contain their portraits. The arms on 
 the curtain have a lion and unicorn for supporters, and the garter as a 
 label under.” Notwithstanding these remarks of Sir Joshua, I believe 
 the picture does contain the portraits of Lord and Lady Arundel, and 
 that the arms are correct, viz. a lion and horse; with the shield red and 
 white. It has always gone by this designation; and we know that Lord 
 Arundel was ambassador at the time of Rubens, and was afterwards 
 painted by him in England. The principal lights in the picture are 
 composed of delicate colours, viz. the blue, grey, and yellow of the sky; 
 white dog; head and hands of the lady; boy’s head; and hawk. The 
 principal mass of dark is the lady’s black dress, diffused by the dull blue 
 curtain, jacket and sleeve of the dwarf, spots upon the dog, carpet, &c. 
 On examining the colours of this picture, we lind them divided into a 
 mass of hot and cold; the cool colour spread over the light is carried 
 into the shadow side by the grey hawk, boy’s ruff, some cool grey in 
 contact with his red dress, some blue figuring upon the carpet. The 
 yclloAv dress of the dwarf is repeated by the stockings of the boy and 
 figure behind being of the same colour, and some gold embroidery upon 
 his dress. The boy’s red dress, and carpet, make the principal mass of 
 red; it is brought in contact with the black, also by the chair being of 
 

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ON COLOUR IN PAINTING. 
 
 57 
 
 the same colour, and carried over to the cool side of the picture by the 
 red mantle of the arms upon the curtain, its strings and tassels. We 
 here perceive the green situated between the blue and yellow; and the 
 red interwoven with the mass of dark. This practice of keeping his red 
 on the shadow side of the picture Rubens learned of the Venetian 
 painters, as by its strength it would destroy the breadth of light, but 
 supports the shadows, and prevents them from being heavy. We may 
 also notice that red is a colour falling into shadow when a picture is 
 placed in a faint light, and that in twilight it becomes a dark. This may 
 be one reason why black and red produce harmony, and contribute to the 
 richness and strength of a work. If the shadow of a picture be supported 
 by warm colours, the effect must be splendid, even though the light 
 should he cold; hut if the warm and strong colours he used in the light, 
 and surrounded with cool colours, nothing will prevent the work from 
 being heavy and flat. 
 
 Plate VII. Fig. 2. Is from the picture of “ Titian and his Mistress” in 
 the Louvre. In this composition we perceive the same simplicity and 
 breadth which regulates his greater works. His principal light spreads 
 itself into the two extremes of hot and cold colours with the gentlest 
 harmony; the white linen unites itself with the tints of the flesh, which is 
 softened into the ground by the yellow tint of the hair, rendered delicate 
 and supported by the still stronger colour of the figure with the glass in 
 his hand, viz. brown and deep lake ; thus deepening the colours as they 
 lose themselves into the background. As the light descends, it loses 
 itself in the cool portion of the picture passing over green, grey, and 
 blue. The keeping of the two extremes of hot and cold colour at opposite 
 sides of the composition, the using of such colours as enrich and support 
 the chiaroscuro, may be remarked even in this work; which, from its 
 taking in but a portion of the figure, affords so little space for arrange¬ 
 ment of colour. 
 
 i 
 
58 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 Plate VII. Fig. 3. Is “Tlie Portrait of Bentivoglio,” by Vandyke, in 
 the Gallery at Florence. This celebrated picture was painted when 
 Vandyke visited Pome, after studying some time the splendid works of 
 the Venetian painters; and, though he was then hut twenty years of age, 
 is considered one of his best works. Reynolds, in his notes to Du Fresnoy, 
 speaking of the variety necessary in a single figure, adds: “It is not 
 certain that the variety recommended in a single figure can with equal 
 success he extended to colouring. The difficulty will be in diffusing the 
 colours of the drapery of this single figure to other distant parts of the 
 picture; for this is what harmony requires. This difficulty, however, 
 seems to he evaded in the works of Titian, Vandyke, and many others, 
 by dressing their single figures in black or white. Vandyke, in the 
 famous portrait of Cardinal Bentivoglio, was confined in his dress to 
 crimson velvet and white linen: he has, therefore made the curtain in 
 the background of the same crimson colour, and the white is diffused by 
 a letter which lies on the table; and a hunch of flowers is likewise 
 introduced for the same purpose.” 
 
 We may also notice the table cover, which is also deep crimson velvet. 
 The warm colours are harmonized by a half tone in the oaken floor; the 
 white, and cool greys find a union and repose in the colour of the sky and 
 architecture. This mode of regulating the background by the dress of 
 the figure, gives to the whole the greatest breadth and the most har¬ 
 monious effect. Titian, Vandyke, and others may have been regulated 
 in their colours hv the dresses of those who sat to them; hut the advan¬ 
 tages resulting from their practice have rendered their works so many 
 precedents. For example, we know that bringing the strongest darks in 
 contact with the strongest lights gives the latter the greatest force and 
 clearness ; and dark dresses enable the artist to do this in the simplest 
 manner; thereby giving the face and hands firmness, consequence, and 
 brilliancy of effect. Or if a light dress be adopted, these points of light 
 (the face and hands) are united with the figure in one great mass of 
 
ON COLOUR IN PAINTING. 
 
 59 
 
 liglit; and on the background we must rely in giving the work solidity. 
 Many artists, when the dress is black, use the background as a middle tint 
 for the flesh and the drapery; and, when the dress is of a middle tint, 
 keep the background dark, to unite the lights of the flesh with the figure ; 
 simplicity of effect being more necessary in a portrait than in any other 
 work; since the face ought to be the great point of attraction, and many 
 lights and a diversity of colours distract the attention of the spectator. 
 Rubens and Vandyke have produced this simplicity by a union of the 
 figure with its ground in a variety of ways, either by carrying the colours 
 of the figure into the background, as in the example here given, or by 
 making some part of the dress of the same colour as the ground. Thus 
 we often find in the portraits of Rubens and Vandyke a scarf, of a stone 
 or drab colour, to unite the figure with the ground, and also to give the 
 tints of the flesh clearness and delicacy. Reynolds justly observes that 
 the management of the background requires the greatest skill and the 
 most comprehensive knowledge of the art. 
 
 “ It must be in union with the figure, so as not to have the appearance 
 of being inlaid, like Holbein’s portraits, which are often on a bright green 
 or blue ground. To prevent this effect, the ground must partake of the 
 colour of the figure ; or, as expressed in a subsequent line, receive all the 
 treasures of the palette. The background regulates likewise where and 
 in what part the figure is to be relieved. 'When the form is beautiful, 
 it is to be seen distinctly; when, on the contrary, it is uncouth or too 
 angular, it may be lost in the ground. Sometimes a light is introduced 
 in order to join and extend the light on the figure, and the dark side of 
 the figure is lost in a still darker background; for the fewer the outlines 
 are which cut against the ground, the richer will be the effect, as the 
 contrary produces what is called the dry manner. 
 
 “ One of the arts of supplying the defects of a scantiness of dress by 
 means of the background, may be observed in a whole length portrait by 
 Vandyke, which is in the cabinet of the Duke of Montagu. The dress 
 
 i 2 
 
60 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 of this figure would have had an ungraceful effect; he has, therefore, by 
 means of a light background opposed to the light of the figure, and by 
 help of a curtain that catches the light near the figure, made the effect 
 of the whole together full and rich to the eye.” 
 
 PLATE VIII. 
 
 Fig. 1. Represents “An Interior,” by P. de Ilooge; an artist who 
 carried the highest principle of the art into the humblest walks, and 
 thereby gave a consequence, by his decided management of the chiar¬ 
 oscuro and colour to the most trifling circumstance; stamping the whole 
 with the firmness and truth of nature. In his works we generally find 
 some strong effect of light represented, either upon the broad principle 
 of Cuyp, with the darks telling powerfully, or in the subdued tones of 
 Rembrandt, for the sake of imitating a particular effect of sunshine. 
 
 In this composition the strong darks and lights are of the most 
 powerful character, and are brought in contact in the most cutting 
 manner in the centre of the group. The black is extended by the hat 
 of the figure sitting at the window, and the trunk behind the door; also 
 repeated by the black frame. The principal light is composed of the 
 light dresses of the females, and is extended and repeated by the light 
 in the closet, in the window, by the dog, and by the linen of the men ; 
 and is diffused upon the wall. The mass of red, formed by the petticoat 
 of the female sitting, keeps up with the powerful opposition of the black 
 and white ; and contributes to the harmony, from its strength of colour, 
 without destroying the consequence of either. It is repeated by the back 
 of the chair, and by the cushion; and is carried across by some warm 
 colour in the glass and upon the outer window frame. The yellow jacket 
 
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ON COLOUR IN PAINTING. 
 
 61 
 
 makes a focus or point for tlie yellow colour of the table cover, and is 
 diffused by the floor, and the cabinet in the distant apartment. The blue 
 upon the chair-cover, and the cool tint of the wall in the passage, and 
 upon the window, constitute the cold colours of the picture. The dark 
 wood this master generally keeps of a warm brown, to prevent its inter¬ 
 fering with the value of his black dresses. We may observe the great 
 simplicity of the whole arrangement; and that the darks, lights, and 
 strong colours take each agreeable forms; which circumstance enables 
 the artist to give them the greatest force of the palette, without offending 
 the eye. The nearest object is here brought under the most distant; 
 which is often the case with the Dutch masters, to assist the perspective. 
 The blue and red coming in contact on the chair, assists it in keeping its 
 place; and the cool tint in the passage gives a greater appearance of light 
 to the distant apartment. 
 
 Plate VIII. Fig. 2. In representing an effect of sunshine, De Hooge 
 has confined his light to small portions; thereby giving these portions 
 a greater value. He has kept his middle tint of a low tone; and, to 
 prevent the whole having a heavy effect, he has kept his blacks firm and 
 positive. The yellow lights of the sunshine he lias extended by repeating 
 them by a range of red colours, viz. the woman’s jacket, the chairs, and 
 shoes on the floor. He has also given a little of the same colour in the 
 window, by representing the tiling, &c. of the houses without. He has 
 brought the red in contact with the blue of the woman’s petticoat, and 
 carried it across the picture by the colour of the Dutch tiles skirting 
 the wall, and by the plate upon the chair. This subject, like many of 
 De Ilooge’s, is confined to a simple effect of light taken from natural 
 objects. The half-shut window is accounted for in the original, by the 
 book having the word mors upon it, and the picture on the wall repre¬ 
 senting a funeral procession indicates the solemn quietness of a sick 
 chamber. In these two subjects of Dc Ilooge, we perceive strong red 
 
62 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS 
 
 made use of as tlie principal colour. In others of the Dutch school, and 
 frequently in the Venetian masters, we may observe the same harmony. 
 
 Plate VIII. Fig. 3. “ Strolling Musicians at a Cottage Door.” In this 
 composition by A. Ostade, we find the warm and cold colours placed 
 upon opposite sides, and upon the most prominent points. In the nearest 
 part of the circle he has brought the strong black and white in contact 
 by the spots upon the dog. 
 
 Fig. 4. “An Interior,” by A. Ostade. The cool colour accompanies 
 the light in its entrance into the apartment by the bine dress of the child, 
 and the jacket of the man smoking. It communicates with the dresses 
 through the centre of the picture, and is led off by the blue dress of 
 the figure near the window, and the colour of the sky. The red com¬ 
 mences on the opposite figure, and is conducted across in a contrary 
 direction. In so small a scale little can be given, but the situation of 
 the hot and cold colours, leaving undefined the whole chain of inter¬ 
 mediate tints; but, in making memorandums from pictures, the student 
 will find giving only the principal colours, with their several directions in 
 passing through the composition, will enable him more easily to detect 
 the different modes of employing these two extremes, in giving either 
 breadth or brilliancy to any work. Secondary colours, introduced for 
 the sake of harmony in diffusing the principal, or in giving them value, 
 are of too delicate a nature to be noted down, without the greatest care; 
 as we find if too hot, or too cold, they injure the value of that which they 
 are intended to support. In referring to the several sketches of colour 
 contained in this part of the work, I have endeavoured to point out the 
 various combinations of the several colours, and their results; but if I 
 have not sufficiently dilated upon any subject, it must be remembered 
 that these hints are to be considered as mere heads upon which the 
 student must employ his own contemplations. That which is gained by 
 
ON COLOUR IN PAINTING. 
 
 63 
 
 reflection and study will, however, he of more service to him in the 
 pursuit of the art than lengthened criticism; since what we acquire with 
 some trouble, we retain; while information obtained without effort often 
 makes hut a transient impression. 
 
 In directing the student’s attention to the contemplation of the works 
 of the several schools, I would have him bear in mind the advice of Sir 
 Joshua Reynolds, who takes every opportunity of recommending a 
 continued study of the works of former artists : 
 
 “ The great use of studying our predecessors is to open the mind, to 
 shorten our labour, and to give us the result of the selection made by 
 those great minds of what is grand or beautiful in nature : her rich stores 
 are all spread out before us; hut it is an art, and no easy art, to know 
 how or what to choose ; and how to obtain and secure the object of our 
 choice. Thus the highest beauty of form must he taken from nature, 
 but it is an art of long deduction and great experience to know how to 
 find it. We must not content ourselves with merely admiring and 
 relishing; we must enter into the principles on which the work is 
 wrought: these do not swim on the superficies, and consequently are not 
 open to superficial observers. 
 
 “ Art in its perfection is not ostentatious; it lies hid, and works its 
 effect, itself unseen. It is the proper study and labour of an artist to 
 uncover and find out the latent cause of conspicuous beauties; and from 
 thence form principles for his own conduct: such an examination is a 
 continual exertion of the mind, as great, perhaps, as that of the artist 
 whose works he is thus studying. The sagacious imitator does not 
 content himself with merely remarking what distinguishes the different 
 manner or genius of each master; lie enters into the contrivance in the 
 composition, how the masses of lights are disposed, the means by which 
 the effect is produced, how artfully some parts are lost in the ground, 
 others boldly relieved, and how all these arc mutually altered and 
 interchanged according to the reason and scheme of the work. lie 
 
64 
 
 PRACTICAL HINTS ON COLOUR IN PAINTING. 
 
 admires not tlie harmony of colouring alone, but examines by what 
 artifice one colour is a foil to its neighbour. He looks close into the 
 tints, examines of Avhat colours they are composed, till he has formed 
 clear and distinct ideas, and has learned to see in what harmony and 
 good colouring consist. What is learned in this manner from the works 
 of others becomes really our own, sinks deep, and is never forgotten; 
 nay, it is by seizing on this clue that we proceed forward, and get 
 further and further in enlarging the principles and improving the practice 
 of our art.” 
 
 PINIS. 
 
 Waterlow & Sons Limited, Printers, London Wall, London, E.C. 
 

 
 
 
 
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