( 12 ) 



black and white, so equal in size and power, allow the eye to wander over 

 its suiface, finding not a single point of interest on which it can repose. 

 The quantity of dark shade given in paintings is about one quarter ; 

 another quarter is allowed for light, and the remainder for middle tint- 

 In many excellent pictures we see the greatest part occupied by middle 

 tint, with very little positive light or dark, and in others we find a 

 preponderance of light, with just a little " strengthening" or " darken- 

 ing " of a part to create a focus for the whole. Generally in this latter 

 composition small spots of colour, or strong contrasts, are introduced 

 with telling effect, as is often to be noticed in some of Turner's charming 

 works, in which a group of figures, a boat, or even a few broken posts, 

 give extreme brilliancy to the picture. 

 As we are dealing with the camera now, it will be unnecessary for me 



to enter into the various methods adopted by artists in the treatment of 

 chiaro-oscuro, because it is obvious the photographer's art is limited to the 

 extent that he is only able to reproduce the subject as it appears before 

 his lens, after a careful selection of his position, &c., and the due con- 

 sideration of its most suitable lighting, whereas an artist has greater 

 scope in introducing certain effects, which may enhance the beauty of 

 the composition, although not actually present in the particular subject 

 before him. This would be considered under the head of "invention,"' 

 which need not trouble us here. 



Supposing you have chosen your position, you will note how the 

 objects in the foreground tell, the proportions of the strongest contrasts, 

 the amount of brightest light and deepest shade in proportion to the 

 remaining middle tint. See the shade and shadow is not in excess, so as 

 to produce a dark and heavy result, and that the light does not pre- 

 ponderate, fcr an exactly opposite reason whereby a weak and insipid 



