4 Thoughts on Colouring. 



On looking into the Venetian pictures (particularly thofe of 

 Titian and Paul Veronefe), I found that they had all been 

 prepared with colder colours than the finifliing ones, and that 

 there was one general colour which prevailed throughout the 

 fhadows ; this observation induced me to make the following 

 remark: " the Venetians appear to have prepared their pic- 

 tures in the flefli, and its (hadow and draperies, in a colder 

 ftate, and glazed or fcumbled them with warmer colours." 

 One of the greateft considerations with the artift is to ac- 

 quire the true tone of the {hadow and its diufy {hadow; to 

 do this he muft ufe fuch colours as will moft readily fympa- 

 thife with each other in mixing : to this end it will be found 

 that ivory black, Indian red, and white, will form the beft 

 general {hadow colour, which may in the fleih be improved 

 with vermilion in the reflections. The ivory black, and 

 white, improved with lake, produces a moft beautiful pearly 

 demi-tint for delicate flefti, and at the fame time one of the 

 trueft and moft clean that can be acquired. Ivory black 

 with Indian red, or lake, glazes finely, and may be highly 

 improved, when dry, with brown pink, or afphaltum, ufed 

 with drying oil. This is very like the method I formerly 

 mentioned *, as practifed by that great man Sir Jofhua Rey- 

 nolds, to acquire his fhadows, and whofe method of colour- 

 ing was truly Venetian, accompanied with a chiaro J'curo 

 they were ftrangers to, and a talte in his portraits unexam- 

 pled. Thofe who choofe to try, will find their advantage in 

 making the fhadow colour of ivory black, vermilion, and 

 white (as mentioned in Vol. IV.), which will work cleaner 

 than any other combination; and which colours, with the 

 addition of burnt ochre in dark complexions, and yellow 

 ochre in the lights, will be quite fufficient for all the pur- 

 pofes in flefh for firft and fecond colouring, or till the draw- 

 ing is fixed ; the whole being afterwards finifhed by glazing, 

 to give depth to the fhadows, and enrich and improve the 

 colouring. Tintoret appears to have forwarded his pictures 

 to nearly their full effect, with a pearly colour of black, red, 

 and white, and to have acquired all his tints by glazing with 

 a pure tranfparent colour, invariably leaving the lights white 

 * See Vol. IV. 



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