shade, and therefore may be appropriately called SEMI-NEUTRAL COLOURS; and they comport themselves precisely according to the preceding relations and arrangement throughout. Of the various combinations of black, those in which yellow, orange, or citrine predominates, have obtained the terms BROWN, &c. A second class, in which the compounds of black are of a predominant red, purple, or russet hue, includes the denomination of MARRONE, CHOCOLATE, &c.; and a third class, in which the combinations of black have a predominating hue of blue, green, or olive, comprehends the colours termed GRAY, SLATE, &c. Brown, marrone, and gray may therefore be properly adopted as distinguishing appellations of the three classes of semi-neutral colours. * These colours are of importance in practice, as following, deepening, or shading colours of the primaries, secondaries, and tertiaries, under which they are to be classed, and not to be confounded therewith as legitimate compounds and relatives. Nevertheless, we know an ingenious and eminent artist, who, confounding shades with hues, and practice with theory, imagines he can always produce his third colours by the addition of black with unusual simplicity, harmony, and force; and a late professor of painting, upon a like supposition, talked of harmonizing his discordant colours by black. The same principle has probably prevailed upon many palettes: it must indeed be that upon which engravings in black are to be coloured, but would require transcendent skill in the painter to escape murkiness; and it may be presumed to have led many of the old masters into obscurity; so that the horror Rubens expressed at white in shadows ought powerfully to prevail against black in colours. A greater horror than either is a partiality for a particular colour; but, to put these horrors out of question, the painter ought to dread only the improper use of any colour. Black is, however, to be guarded against in another respect, that as colours or hues in pictures vanish or decay, blackness takes their place; and for this some allowance of freshness and force should be made in painting. Nevertheless, the contrary of this is practised, when an artist, as he is too apt to do, looks at Nature with a prejudiced eye, and sees her objects not in their true colours, but of the hues he has seen in pictures, or of the colours he has been accustomed to paint them. Fearing to look upon her impracticably, or to raise himself up to Nature, he gets over the difficulty by deceiving himself, and pulling her down to his own level. • See Note D. Black is the absolute unity of the triad of colours, and hence has in a degree a uniting, monotonizing, or harmonizing power upon them, while it softens their discordances by obscuring them, which is the only rational defence of a practice wherein obscurity, monotony, or shade, is substituted for harmony-the perfection of colouring is, however, to combine harmony with brilliancy, unity with variety, and freshness with force, without violating the truth of nature. In cases, however, where the artist is constrained. to represent his principal objects of given local or offensive colours, as in military dresses, &c., or is otherwise compelled by his subject to paint in a difficult key, this power of light and shade over colour stands him as an important aid. By an illegitimate practice in music, similar to the above, the discords of sound are tolerated by the ear when low in the scale, or thrown, unresolved by their proper consonances, growling into shade, the eye and ear being alike more sensible of high and brilliant relations of colours and sounds than of the low and deep. If any of the preceding denominations of colours or classes should be objected against, others more significant or analogous may be substituted, if there be such, for we contend not for terms, content in the present case if those we have adopted convey our meaning to the reader. With regard to the perspective of colours, or the manner in which they affect the eye, according to position and distance, it is a branch of aerial perspective, or the perspective of light and shade, and both are governed by similar laws. This perspective of light and colours is distinguished from linear perspective, or the perspective of drawing, as drawing is from colouring; and they have progressed alike in the art. The most antient painters seem to have known little of either; and linear perspective was tablished as science before the aerial, as drawing and composition preceded colouring. The perspective of colours depends upon their powers to reflect the elements of light,-powers which are by no means uniform; accordingly, blue is lost in the distance before red, and yellow is seen at a distance at which red would disappear;-yet blue preserves its hue better than red, and red better than yellow, because colours are cooled by distance. In this respect, the compound colours partake of the powers of their components, according to a general rule, by which colours nearly related to black are first lost in the distance, and those nearly related to white disappear last. It is the same with light and shade, the latter of which is totally lost at great distances; and hence it is that the shadowed side of the moon is not seen. These powers of colours are, however, varied by mist, air, altitude, and mixture, which produce evanescence, and by contrast, which preserves the force of colours by distinguishing them. Colours do not decline in force so much by height as by horizontal distance, because the upper atmosphere is less dense and less clouded with vapour; and hence it is that mountains of great elevation appear much nearer than they really are. From all these circumstances it is evident, that it is not a simple scumbling or uniform degradation of local colours that will effect a true perspective therein; for this will be the aerial of light and shade only; but such a subordination of hues and tints as the various powers of colours require, and is always observable in nature. Few artists have succeeded satisfactorily in this species of effect, which is principally attainable by close application to nature; and we have no finer examples thereof in art than the landscapes of Wilson afford. If the expression of which we have treated in the preceding chapter may, according to no improper analogy, be called the poetry of colouring, the relations which are our present subject have equal claim to be considered as its music, for they are that upon which the harmony of painting depends, and all ages have consented to class these arts as sisters, and of the same parentage. This affinity of the sister arts, and the unquestionable identity of their archetype, discloses numerous analogies, through which the lights of either art may be reciprocally reflected upon the obscurities of the others, as well in theory as in practice; and it is evident that the hues and combinations of colours are as infinite as those of sounds; and there is hence equal scope for the fine sense and genius of the colourist and musician. Beautiful, fine, distinct, and classed colours are as necessary to the former as sounds of similar qualities are to the latter. The palette is the instrument of the painter, as the viol is of the musician, and the tone and tuning of the latter is analogous to the colours and setting of the former; each requires such adjustment according to the principles of its respective art. It is difficult indeed to say where this analogy ceases, if it be true, as philosophers have argued and poets sung, that Nature, which is the vast creation's sou!, CATHARINE PHILLIPS. In furnishing or setting the palette philosophically, harmonically, and upon principle, according to the preceding relations, it is necessary to supply it with pure blue, red, and yellow;—to oppose to these an orange of a hue that will neutralize the blue-green of a hue that will neutralize the red—and purple of a hue that will neutralize the yellow; and so on to black and white that also neutralize each other. As in nature the general colour of the sky is blue, and the colour of light is always opposite to that of the sky and shade, the white which is to represent light should be tinged with the orange of the palette sufficiently to neutralize the predominant coldness of black; and pure neutral white may thus be reserved as a local colour, by which term is understood, technically, the natural colour of an object unvaried by distance, reflection, or any other circumstance interfering with distinct vision. This principle of setting a palette requires that all the colours should be as much as possible in contrast and accordance; and a palette thus tuned or set will afford facilities and conduct to harmonious colouring in ways as various, under the eye of taste and judgment, as the melodies and harmonies which music can elicit, through the genius of the composer, from a finetoned and well-tuned instrument. It is admitted, nevertheless, that an able hand, guided by fine sense and a judicious mind, may realize fine effects in either art with irregular and inferior means; and granting also that such setting of a palette is theoretical, it is nevertheless not a false refinement, since it is founded in nature, and assimilates with the most approved general practice, and the constant aim of the most eminent colourists; we offer it therefore only as consequent to the relations of which we have been treating. Such observances may notwithstanding, we repeat, be held unnecessary to the few in whom the perceptions of sense are so powerful, that, with little of the aid of intellect and less of science, they operate and produce with the grace and certainty of nature, as it were by instinct, compared with which the productions of science are mere mimickry. This is the inspiring principle called genius, in which we recognise Divinity; to be fraught with which in perfection, is to be above rule,-to mark an æra, and to give canons to art. But though indisposed with some to deny such principle altogether, we admit it to be, in perfection, of the rarest occurrence only, and hold that most excellences of human art have been the joint results of application and rule or science; or, in other words, of true theory and assiduous practice com bined. It has hence been objected that rules are but fetters to genius; and it may be remarked that they enable men of little ability to produce considerable works mechanically; and both these have some truth when rules are used without their reasons ;-but reason does not fetter genius; on the contrary, genius itself is latent reason operating by natural rules unconsciously. E |