Color problems

It is said that the use of agreeable and harmonious colors tends to the sanity of the whole body by strengthening the nerves; so much so, that part of the treatment of insane patients in a European asylum consists in surrounding them with certain colors, and, probably, of changing these according to certain rules. From these facts we surely learn that there is reason beyond that of our mere enjoyment of colors to lead us to study color-harmonies.

The most widely accepted division of these harmonies is that of Chevreul, who in his life of over one hundred years had time to formulate, revise, and amplify his laws of color, and, from his position as director of the manufacture of the Gobelin tapestries, great opportunities for experiment. The two chief groups, based respectively on analogy and on contrast, are resolved into three sub-divisions each. These are quoted as follows from Church, who has added some explanations to them as given in The Law of Simultaneous Contrast:

“1. The Harmony of Analogy of Scale.—This harmony is essentially that of a series, the harmony of gradation. It includes those cases in which is presented a simultaneous view of three or more tones of the same scale, whether these tones be tints, or shades, or broken tones. It is obtained in various degrees of perfection, according to the number of tones present, and the value of the intervals between them. When the tones are not easily separable by the eye, and pass into one another, then the effect called ‘shading’ is produced.

“2. The Harmony of Analogy of Tones.—When two or more tones of the same depth, or of very nearly the same depth, but belonging to different but related or neighboring scales, are viewed together, the harmony of tone is produced. Many such assortments are, however, displeasing to the educated eye, unless the tones be so selected as to fall into a series with a gradually increasing quantity of some one of their color elements, when they may be arranged in the third kind of harmonies of analogy.

“3. The Harmony of a Dominant Hue.—An example of this harmony is afforded by viewing a contrasted color assortment, a bouquet of flowers, or even a landscape, through a piece of glass so slightly tinctured with a color as not to obliterate, but merely to modify, the various colors belonging to the arrangement or composition.

“1. The Harmony of Contrast of Scale is produced by the simultaneous view of two or more distant tones of the same scale.

“2. The Harmony of Contrast of Tones is produced by the simultaneous view of two or more tones of different depths belonging to neighboring or related scales.

“3. The Harmony of Contrast of Hue is produced by the simultaneous view of colors belonging to distant scales, and assorted in accordance with the laws of contrast. This kind of contrast includes also those cases in which the effect is still further enhanced by difference of tone as well as of color.

“The distinction between these two classes or groups of harmonies is somewhat arbitrary, for the collocation of any two tones or any two colors, whether its results be agreeable or otherwise, inevitably involves the element of contrast. Color-harmonies, so far as contrast is concerned, differ in degree and complexity, but Chevreul’s harmonies of analogy pass by steps more or less marked into distinct and undoubted harmonies of contrast. In every harmony there is contrast of tone or of color, and therefore contrast cannot be employed as a criterion of classification. The two fundamental ideas underlying complex color-harmonies may perhaps be expressed as those of gradual change and of abrupt change. Instead of separating color-harmonies into two distinct groups, it would be better to arrange them in order upon the arc of a circle, placing at one extremity those harmonies on which the succession of contiguous tones or hues is marked by the smallest differences, and at the other extremity, those harmonies in which the elements of contrast are most strongly developed. About the middle of the arc will be arranged those transitional harmonies in which contrasts of tone, contrasts of color, and contrasts of tone and color combined, begin to make themselves felt as modifying the effect of the regular sequence of tones and related hues. According to this scheme, we may commence with harmonies in which the succession of tones is so gentle as to be barely perceptible, and we may end with those harmonies in which the change of hue and of tone is most abrupt. A list of illustrative examples will help to elucidate the scheme:

“1. The passage, by insensible differences, of the tints, shades, or broken tones of a single hue from light to dark.

“2. The passage, by small but regular, definite, and perceptible steps, of the tints, shades, or broken tones of a single hue from light to dark.

“3. The passage, as in the preceding example (2), of the tones of one hue, from light to dark, when each step is separated by a neutral element, such as white, gray, or black.

“4. The passage, by insensible differences, of one hue, or of the tones of one hue into another related hue, or its tones.

“5. The passage, by definite steps, of one hue, or of the tones of one hue, into another related hue or its tones.

“6. The passage, as above (5), of related hues into each other, each step separated by a neutral element.

“7. The passage, by insensible differences, of one hue into another chromatically remote hue.

“8. The passage, by definite steps, of one hue into another chromatically remote hue.

“9. The passage, as above (8), of one hue into another, when each step is separated by a neutral element.

“10. The collocation of distant tones.

“11. The collocation of chromatically distant hues with or without the interposition of neutral elements.

“It will be noticed how the idea of seriation or gradation becomes more and more involved with that of change as we follow the sequence of the above examples. Gradually the notion of orderly succession, of a regular series with the presence of a pervading and dominant constituent, is lost by the abruptness of change caused by the introduction of foreign elements, or by the contiguity of distant tones and distant hues.”

As both of these sets of rules for harmonies of colors are so elaborate as to amount almost to color charts, and would be difficult and complicated to print in colors, for our practical purpose we will roughly divide harmonies of colors under three heads; as follows (See Plate XXXIII):

This division is not strictly correct, because even in a harmony of one color the element of contrast will appear; as, for instance, when we combine a pale tint of yellow, say straw color, with brown, which is a dark shade of yellow. As, however, in this case it is contrast of tone, not contrast of color, we will not let that interfere with the order of our arbitrary classification. The first class, harmonies of one color, have been considered in Chapter III. When simple, refined color is wanted in either dress or decoration, or where from inexperience one is afraid to combine colors, it is best and safest to use this simplest kind of color harmony. With this class, as black and white are not colors, we will also include harmonies of one color combined with black, or white, or gray, or two or all three of these. From a book advertisement most successful in its clear, simple, and agreeable character we give Plate XXXIV. It was on white paper, the proportions as follows: Most white, less black, least yellow, this latter always outlined with black. The white also showed through the yellow in some places and served to lighten the design.

In decoration, when two tones of one color are used they are often separated with a fine line of white or black or gray. In Plate XXXV the useful effect of such a line of separation is shown. A light tint on a dark shade does not so much need an outline, but a dark shade on a light tint is much improved by white outlines. The white line increases the apparent strength of both tint and shade, while black will increase their brightness but diminish their purity.

“In the consideration of the specific effects of the association of white, gray, or black with a single color, we follow the order in which the colors succeed each other in the spectrum, adding purple at the end.

“1. Red.—Red with white becomes deeper, more saturated or purer, and less bright. The combination, as to intensity of contrast, is similar to that of green with white, being less than that of blue, violet, or purple with white, but more marked than that of orange or yellow with white.

“Red with gray, when the latter is moderately pale, becomes brighter and less saturated, sometimes acquiring an orange tinge.

“2. Orange.—Orange with white is rendered deeper, and perhaps a trifle more reddish. The contrast of tone between orange and white is much greater than that between yellow and white; the combination is consequently more effective.

“Orange with gray, when the latter is pale, is deepened and reddened. With dark tones of gray orange becomes lighter.

“Orange with black becomes brighter and slightly yellower.

“3. Yellow.—Yellow with white is rendered deeper, less bright, and less advancing, acquiring a slight greenish hue. The lighter the tone of the yellow the less pleasing is the combination.

“Yellow with gray is rendered brighter and perhaps slightly orange. The combination is satisfactory when the gray is rather dark.

“Yellow with black is rendered paler, brighter, and more advancing. The combination affords the most intense contrast of tone next to that of white with black. The blackness of the black is modified by acquiring a slight bluish hue which enriches it.

“4. Green.—Green with white becomes deeper and purer; the combination is capable of yielding very beautiful effects.

“Green with gray becomes deeper only when the gray is pale; if the gray be at all dark it acquires a purplish tinge.

“Green with black is rendered brighter and paler, while the black suffers, being tinged with a reddish or purplish hue.

“5. Blue.—Blue with white constitutes a generally pleasing combination. The contrast of tone is very decided when the blue is at once pure and bright. The effect of strongly illuminated white clouds in deepening the tone of the blue of the sky bordering them is a good example of one of the chief characteristics of this combination; under such conditions the white often assumes a slightly yellowish tint.

“Blue with gray. Gray, if pale, deepens and purifies blue; the combination, though necessarily cold, is often most serviceable in pictorial as well as in ornamental art.

“Blue with black. This combination is less agreeable than that of blue with gray, or of violet with black, especially when the tone of the blue is deep. Light tones of blue are made still paler, but broken tones more saturated, by contiguity with black.

“6. Violet.—Violet with white affords a strong contrast of tone; the combination is an agreeable one, resembling that of blue with white.

“Violet with gray. The distinctive hue of violet makes itself felt strongly in this combination, which is a quiet and agreeable one.

“Violet with black gives but a slight contrast of tone when the violet is pure. The black acquires a rusty brown hue, which reduces its depth.

“7. Purple.—Purple with white affords a good contrast of tone. Pale purples and rosy tints form agreeable combinations with white.

“Purple with gray resembles in effect the combination of violet with gray; the gray, if of moderate area, becomes decidedly greenish.

“Purple with black is rarely a satisfactory combination; the black acquires a greenish hue.”^[8]

The second class, harmonies of contrast, have been studied in Chapter IV. Where bold, striking, emphatic color is needed the complementary colors may be used. The most prominent part of a picture, a room, or a decoration will be, as far as color is concerned, where some color and its complement in nearly, or quite, spectral hues are given. This striking effect of contrast will lessen accordingly as the colors darken into shades, or lighten into tints, or become more and more neutral from the mixture with some other color. An eye untrained or inexperienced will find these complementary contrasts difficult to use, there being danger of producing a crude or harsh effect. Rules for their use are given in Chapter IV. Classifying the complementary pairs according to the pleasure we take in them we may put yellow and blue first, then orange and green-blue, red and blue-green, finally violet and green. Chevreul, Rood, Von Bezold, and Bruecke, having made many experiments and observations in their attempts to lay down rules for harmonious combinations, state that here we come upon problems that cannot be solved by purely scientific reasoning. By comparing the art of one country or of one period of one country with that of another, we find that throughout them all, certain pairs of colors have been preferred to certain others and we feel that æsthetic taste, which cannot be explained, influences us greatly in our liking for certain combinations. Beside taste, inheritance, training, environment, and contrast all have their unconscious effect upon these preferences. Church divides pairs of colors into three classes: Pairs of the small intervals, pairs of decided differences, and the extremes or complements. The latter we have considered in Chapter IV. Pairs of the small intervals are such as

which, being so close to each other in the color scale in decoration, are apt to injure each other unless separated by outlines of black, white, gray, or gold. Rood gives the following table of small intervals:

Church gives us the following list of pairs as, from his and others’ observations, they have been found to have been more or less agreeable:

“An asterisk attached to the name of a color indicates that the mixture of gray or black with it improves the effect of its association. It may be further remarked that in many cases where two colors of full depth yield a bad or unsatisfactory assortment the reduction of the tone of one of them by a considerable addition of white often makes the combination agreeable.

“The above list comprises fifty-five only of the very numerous combinations, in pairs, of some of the decided hues.... It is assumed that in our experiments on their chromatic effects, pleasing or otherwise, we have been using colored materials, which neither by any peculiarity of texture, nor quality, nor design, are capable of improving the results. Cloth and paper are suitable; silk, velvet, glass, and enamel, for various reasons, give results which are complicated by the introduction of new elements. Pairs in these latter materials, in consequence of the presence of lustre, translucency, or ‘throbbing’ hues, in varying degrees, will often become quite acceptable, while in prosaic cloth, or paper, they are just the reverse.”

The third class, harmonies of complex or various colors, follows, and includes groups of three or more colors. The difficulties of combination increase as the number of colors increases. It is well to remember, if one is bewildered with these difficulties, that, however fine the harmony of many colors may be, it can hardly surpass the beauty of one made of but two or three, provided that these are well proportioned to each other in quantity and quality, suited to and combined in some good design, or made up of various materials with differing surfaces. As to triads, or three-color combinations, Rood gives us the following groups as having been most extensively used, and if we draw on our memory we may probably recall both paintings and decorations consisting of any one of these combinations. (See Plates XXXVI and XXXVII.)

With regard to these he calls our attention to the fact that in them the colors are nearly, or quite, 120° apart on the chromatic circle, also that artists in their choice of these colors have been evidently guided by their wish to have two out of three warm colors. According to Bruecke:

Carmine, yellow, and green, a favorite combination during the middle ages, to us seems “somewhat hard and unrefined.”

Orange-yellow, violet, and bluish-green are not so agreeable because two of the colors are cold. In the triad vermilion, green, and violet-blue, used greatly by the Italian schools, there seem at first to be two cold colors, but as the green was olive it might be called vermilion, dark greenish-yellow, and violet-blue.

Attempts have been made to give formulas of certain colors as they are supposed properly to balance one another, or to make “chromatic equivalents.” Field elaborated this theory in his Chromatography, and it was adopted by Owen Jones in his Grammar of Ornament. Later writers on color, however, show that Field’s experiments were not such as to justify his conclusions. The leading idea he tried to prove was, that to make a perfect harmony, each color in a given picture or design should bear such a mathematical relation to the whole that the combination of all should make, when seen at a distance, “a neutralized bloom, or a whitish-gray.” He speaks, for instance, of red, yellow, and blue. This has a plausible sound, but cannot be correct, for with a color wheel we find that red, yellow, and blue will not in any proportions make a “whitish-gray,” also because almost all of the best works of good colorists have throughout them some dominant hue, more generally on the warm side, such as yellow, orange, or red. At the same time careful study of texture will be very useful, as different weaves reflect and absorb the colors so as to produce a sort of “neutralized bloom,” such as Field speaks of.

That chromatic equivalents can be made is shown by Maxwell’s disks; as, for instance, Church gives us the proportions of three colors which on being turned on the wheel rapidly produce a neutral gray, as follows:

We have also already seen in the chapter on Contrasts that certain parts of one color require certain parts of another color to neutralize it and so make gray.

As there is no end to the possible combinations of colors we can only give certain rules for making them, leaving it to the student to follow up his previous practice with two colors and by experience to enlarge his knowledge and ability to use all colors with skill.

A full harmony, in fact a symphony, of colors can hardly be better explained than by describing one used in the trial scene in the “Merchant of Venice,” as given by Mr. Mansfield. The tribune or desk behind which Portia delivered her speech was white, draped with a full-hued scarlet cloth. The black of her gown, the strongest contrast to white, and the brilliant red, were admirably used to focus the eye upon this part of the scene just as the ear was focused on the speech “The quality of mercy is not strained.” The other principal actors, Shylock, Antonio, and Bassanio, wore red, yellow, blue; bright colors, but less bright and less contrasting than the white, black, and scarlet. The attendants and spectators were in more neutral and subdued colors, while away behind them all stretched a grayish blue sky seen between the pillars of a wide porch which formed a background well calculated to throw into relief the colors of the costumes.

From what we have learned we find the following ways of harmonizing colors:

First. By Gradation, that is, the gradual blending of one color into another, or one variety of one color into another variety of the same color, as in the morning-glory blossom, in which the different hues grade softly into one another from edge to heart; or as in a clear sunset sky, where the blue above changes into green, the green into yellow, and the yellow into red near the horizon, and where still we cannot find the exact boundary of any one of the colors. (See Plate XXXVIII.)

“These ever-present gentle changes of color in all natural objects give to the mind a sense of the richness and vastness of the resources of Nature; there is always something more to see, some new evanescent series of delicate tints to trace; and, even where there is no conscious study of color, it still produces its effect on the mind of the beholder, giving him the sense of the fulness of Nature, and a dim perception of the infinite series of gentle changes by which she constantly varies the aspects of the commonest objects. This orderly succession of tints, gently blending into one another, is one of the greatest sources of beauty that we are acquainted with, and the best artists constantly strive to introduce more and more of this element into their works, relying for their triumphs far more on gradation than on contrast. The greatest effects in oratory are also produced by corresponding means; it is the modulation of the tone and thought, far more than sharp contrasts, that is effective in deeply moving audiences. We are very sensitive to the matter of modulation even in ordinary speech, and instantly form a general judgment with regard to the degree of cultivation and refinement of a stranger from the mode in which a few words are pronounced. All this has its parallel in the use of color, not only in painting, but also in decoration. Ruskin, speaking of gradation of color, says: ‘You will find in practice that brilliancy of hue and vigor of light, and even the aspect of transparency in shade, are essentially dependent on this character alone; hardness, coldness, and opacity resulting far more from equality of color than from nature of color.’ In another place the same author, in giving advice to a beginner, says: ‘And it does not matter how small the touch of color may be, though not larger than the smallest pin’s head, if one part of it is not darker than the rest, it is a bad touch; for it is not merely because the natural fact is so that your color should be gradated; the preciousness and pleasantness of color depends more on this than on any other of its qualities, for gradation is to colors just what curvature is to lines, both being felt to be beautiful by the pure instinct of every human mind, and both, considered as types, expressing the law of gradual change and progress in the human soul itself. What the difference is in mere beauty between a gradated and ungradated color may be seen easily by laying an even tint of rose-color on paper, and putting a rose-leaf beside it. The victorious beauty of the rose as compared with other flowers depends wholly on the delicacy and quantity of its color-gradations, all other flowers being either less rich in gradation, not having so many folds of leaf, or less tender, being patched and veined instead of flashed.’”^[9]

In connection with gradation, Church says: “There is one quality of good color which lies at the very root of all successful employment of vivid hues. It consists in minute variations of hue and tone within the same surface. A color must not be absolutely uniform, flat, and monotonous unless it be very pale, very dull, or very dark, when the absence of this ‘throbbing’ or ‘palpitating’ quality, though undesirable, is less observed. We have before us, as we write, a fine old Chinese vase of turquoise crackle. Apart from the mosaic texture, resulting from the innumerable fissures in the glaze, what a number of variations in appearance does this turquoise color offer! Where the color is thinnest it is paler, and verges more upon green; where it is thickest, it is at once deeper, and more blue, and there are innumerable hues and tones. In painting, similar effects may be produced by unequal glazings and scumblings of one hue upon another, or by apposition of minute dots and patches of closely related colors.”^[10]

The following is a practical way of using this beauty of gradation: “For instance, in the morning glory and the sweet pea we may observe a perfectly beautiful combination of crimson, purple, and violet. Notice the charming gradation of color in the morning glory; one tone runs into the other with a subtlety which is quite wonderful, and all the colors merge into the luminous green-white centre from absolute positivism to perfect delicacy with an ease which is surprising. Now let us try to mass a large group of crimson, purple, violet, and greenish-white asters together with the same result. Alas! what a task it is and how confused we become with the distracting color tones; but we must feel our way carefully and systematically. First, our most powerful color—crimson or violet—must be grouped gracefully and placed in a prominent position; next, we must run our color tone either toward blue or crimson, as the case may be. If we have any gaslight near we must make use of it to accent our prominent group, and last, mingled slightly with the palest tones of dull pink and purplish-blue, we may group our greenish-white asters in some position where they will contrast well with the strong color group, and where they will be sure to have the intermediate blue and crimson tones act like a bridge to connect the color scheme. Nothing distracts the eye so much as violent transitions of color.”^[11]

A similar element of beauty in Oriental rugs, not always understood, and one in which they differ from those made by machinery, arises from the fact that being made by hand there are slight variations throughout, even in the dyeing of the wools. In an unusually fine specimen the rich green ground varied slightly in tone three or four times. To an uncultivated eye this might seem a defect; to an artistic one, the play of color, the variety in unity, is far finer than the even monotony of a perfectly matched surface.

Second. By Change of Quality; as from pure spectral colors to their tints or shades. The greater we make this change either way, the more sure we may be of harmony, as a color scheme of very pale tints or very dark shades is almost sure to be good even if quite varied. In fact, contrast of tone, which is change of quality, will harmonize any two colors, as pale blue and dark green, or pale green and dark blue. Of pairs of contrasts which in pure spectral colors we have seen to be crude and harsh, Rood says, “Complementary colors are very valuable when the artist is obliged to use dark, dull, or pale colors, and still is desirous of obtaining a strong or brilliant effect.” Another kind of change of quality helps us to make very beautiful combinations. It lies in the use of colors that are neither spectral, nor pure tints, nor shades, but of such as are neutralized by mixtures of other colors; as, for instance, if instead of using pure yellow, pure red, and pure blue, we use a yellow toned down by an admixture of a little red and blue, a red toned in the same way with blue and yellow, and a blue that has in it something of red and yellow; the colors will still be yellow, red, and blue, but in approaching each other will become more related and so far more harmonious. Still another change of quality allows us to put in the place of one or more of the colors the same amount of a tint or a shade of the same color which will improve the harmony by varying its luminosity and by bringing all nearer together. (See Plate XXXIX.)

Third. By Change of Quantity; as of a large amount of one of the colors to a small amount of the other, so as to introduce another element of contrast. For want of the better balance as given by the fourth rule it is inferior to it. (See Plate XL.)

Fourth. By Change of Quality and Quantity; or by making a small amount of a dark shade of one color balance a much larger amount of a light tint of another color, or, vice versa, a small amount of a light tint to balance a much larger amount of a dark shade, or a small amount of a pure color to balance a large amount of a more neutral color. In this case the rule is that accordingly as you lower or raise the quality of your color so in proportion may you increase its quantity. (See Plate XLI.)

Fifth. By the Addition of another Color, however unobtrusive, which breaks the even balance between two colors, just as in form, where we may find two trees of the same size and shape make an unpleasant composition. There the effect can be much improved by the addition of a third tree of a different size and shape. For instance, with yellow and yellowish-green, the addition of violet would improve and harmonize them. This third color can be added in different ways, by outlines, small masses, etc. (See Plate XLII.)

Sixth. By the Addition of Black, White, Gray, Gold, or Silver.—When two colors are not quite harmonious a small quantity of black will much improve the combination. The strong contrast in depth between the black and the colors seems to bring them together and so make them more related. In Chinese coloring the happy effect of black should be noted, also in old Japanese prints where the black hair of the figures acts in the same way. This black, white, gray, gold, or silver may be added in outlines, as the brass in Japanese cloisonné, or in such lines as these | | | | | | | | drawn over the whole design, as seen in a wall paper, softening the colors and blending them with each other. It may be as in cement around and between the little bits of stone in mosaic, which produces much the same effect in throwing a sort of bloom over the colors. It may be in separating some part of the design from the other, as seen in a wall decoration where there was a rectangle of greenish-blue on a ground of dark violet-blue separated by white and gold, of which the result was excellent; or it may be by little dots over all the colors. (See Plate XLIII.)

Seventh. By a Dominant Hue, which may run through all the design in outlines, although colored outlines are not so good as those of black, white, gray, gold, or silver, or those which may be added in small spots over all the colors; or those which may be added in small quantities to all the colors, changing their quality, and so bringing them to a harmony of a dominant hue. To make this clear, look at Plate VI. In it we have pure spectral yellow, pure spectral blue, and pure spectral red. Put over it the blue screen found in the end of the book; the blue will be seen to be bluer, the yellow will become a greenish-yellow, the red will have a violet tinge to it. It will have become a harmony of the dominant hue of blue, but as blue is a cold color the harmony will not have become much more agreeable for the change. Try what making the same colors a harmony of the dominant hue of yellow will do by putting over it the yellow screen. The colors will be seen to be quite different. The yellow will be changed very little, only growing slightly darker, the red from the pure spectral hue will be moved toward the orange, and the blue will be moved toward the green. This gives us a fine harmony, and a favorite one with artists. Harmonies of the dominant hues of red, orange, or yellow—warm colors—are much more generally liked than those of blue, green, or violet, the cold colors. Age has done much for old pictures by darkening and mellowing the paints and varnish so as to give them harmony of the dominant hue. Jean François Millet’s have such harmony already, owing to his fine eye for color; it will be noticed that though he may have put many fairly bright colors, blue, red, green, and yellow on one canvas, they all blend wonderfully together. “Harmony” (we quote from Burnet on Colour, who speaks of Mengs) “he considers to consist in the true equilibrium of the different colors regulated by the general tone of light by which they are illuminated; thus, if the light is yellow, all the colors will appear tinged with the same hue, as the air interposed between them and the eye of the spectator is already tinged with that color.” The harmony resulting from a dominant hue in nature may also be seen in a spray of young leaves in spring when many hues of green and yellow will be found connected and harmonized by the red of the stem, which color runs through it all, carrying the red into the greens and yellows. (See Plate XLIV.)

Eighth. By Interchange.—If two unbroken masses of the same quantity of strong color are put side by side the result may be unbearable. By interchanging them, however, in this way, in what are called in design diaper patterns, they may blend so as to be quite agreeable. Or they may be blended in weaving by interchange, as if one thread be of green, the next of purple, then again green. (See Plate XLV.)

Ninth. By Counterchange.—Examples of fine decorative art may be found of two colors where the design and the ground change places at certain intervals. It is an ingenious and beautiful way of obtaining variety of coloring. To make it successful the amount of ground color should balance that of the design. Plate XLVI gives us a good example.

Tenth. By Form and Texture, as by the curves in a vase or any object which deepens the color as it goes away from the light and lightens it as it turns toward the light; as in a curtain of which the folds modify the color; as in rough and shaggy stuffs like plush, etc., which produce constant variation and vibration of color, and just so much added charm. The sparkle in jewels and colored glass, the sheen on satins, silks, and metals, and the down on fruit also come under this rule, as so many modifications of color tending to break up its flat surface and produce harmony.

Eleventh. By Outlining a mass of flat color in a design with black or a dark color, then adding a second outline inside the first, but of either a light tint of the same color as the dark mass or of another color which harmonizes with it; then there will be found an agreeable result. In fact, this will give a velvety appearance to the color.

In making a complex color arrangement it is well to begin by planning first its leading parts; the additions will be much easier. Harmony of color must come not alone from the object we are planning for, but also from the place in which it is to be used, or the person who is to wear it. The color of an object may be beautiful in itself, but much of that beauty may be lost or neutralized by its surroundings. On the other hand, an object giving but one good, simple color note may be so appropriate to its position, may so exactly suit its surroundings, as to complete a perfect harmony.

Colors should also be adapted to the form of the object or designs on which they are to be used. Thus, when wishing to emphasize a part that retires from the eye, retiring colors should be used, and vice versa.

In addition to the above rules a few suggestions for making color-harmonies may be useful:

First, texture can be used to help the harmony.

Second, harmonies with warm colors predominating are preferred.

Third, if certain colors are to be used in any decoration it is wise to put them together first in paint, paper, or plain materials, for the reason that any unpleasant effect they may have on one another will show more quickly in such materials; for the better the material, the more readily the colors blend on account of the richer surfaces. In colored, not painted, glass, this can be appreciated. It will be noticed that the quality of the glass and the brilliancy of the light through it help to harmonize the colors.

Fourth, a simple pattern, if pattern at all, should be tried first, as the beauty of a good design may blind one to the quality of the coloring.

Fifth, remember that combinations in which warm colors prevail are more agreeable than those made mainly of cold colors, while it is also true that the finest harmony of complex or various colors is that in which there is a proper balance of both warm and cold colors, so used that they enhance each other.

Sixth, it is safe to affirm that any colors may be used together with success, provided that they are harmonized by the use of some of the rules here given.

Any one unused to working with colored materials would do wisely to begin cautiously, experimenting at first with simple combinations of one color according to the first rule on page 75 for such combinations. In some flowers we do see the two extremes of a color combined, as in a jonquil the centre is of orange-yellow, the outer petals of greenish-yellow, but they are rather the exception. Attention here should also be had to the suggestion as to the use of differing materials of one color. When some skill has been gained in the simplest kind of color harmony, a single note of the complementary color may be added. For example, see the dinner table harmony, page 69, of yellows with a strong note of dark blue. When the eye has become somewhat trained by practice of this kind, harmonies in triads or three colors may be tried. Constant practice in pairs and triads cannot be too fully recommended. Finally, trials may be made in complex combinations. One other way to begin working in color is by the use of neutral or grayed colors. Turner, the English artist, one of the greatest, if not the greatest, of modern landscape painters, began in this way, in the use of what are called “broken tints,” using finally in his pictures the fullest palette of glowing colors.

Let us suppose three ways of being called upon to make a color harmony. The first, that a designer has an order for a bouquet, a dress, a curtain, or for the decoration of a room, but is limited by the terms of the order to the use of certain colors. Then let him begin by studying the qualities of those colors, and ask himself if they are cool or warm, tints or shades, bright or dull, whether they are tones of one color, contrasts or complex.

Again, suppose the order to be less limited in color, but that the bouquet is to be put in a room of certain coloring, or the dress to be worn by a person of such and such complexion and hair, or that the curtain is to be hung in a north room where warm color is needed, or perhaps in a light room where the southern sun needs to be toned down as it enters, to prevent a glare. The general coloring of the room must also be taken into account, but is it not seen that the answer must be different in each case? One colored flower would give quite a different effect from another, the dress that would suit a fair face with yellow hair would be quite unlike one becoming to a dark skin with black hair, while a curtain of soft yellow would tinge the northern light with some of the sunshine color that never enters the dull room, and in the sunny room a curtain of cool, non-luminous color would soften the glare and add to its comfort and harmony. The light and shade in the room should also be taken into account. The warm and cold tones can be arranged in such balance that color will glow from the shadows.

In a third supposable case the designer is given unlimited choice of colors. Then every resource can be called in, and the work resulting should be beautiful in proportion to the freedom of the order.

Furthermore, colors should be appropriate; for a quiet room, a quiet, commonplace person, for anything where quiet effect is desired, the designer should adhere to quiet, neutral combinations, or to combinations of one color. When a woman has a brilliant complexion, black eyes and dark hair, gay colors may be worn and seem all in harmony with the wearer, but these same gay colors would only emphasize the more commonplace character and coloring of others.

Plates XLVII and XLVIII have been added here to show the true character of whites so-called; as blue-white, which is really a very pale tint of blue; and how by gradation, one color changes into another in nature.