732 



ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1913. 



center and somewhat nearer yellow, whereas green-blue will merely 

 be removed farther from the center, which means that orange will 

 become less saturated and yellower, whereas green-blue will increase 

 in saturation but be unaltered in hue. 



In general we may say that the effect produced by contrasting two 

 colors is to move them farther apart on the chromatic circle, thus 

 causing mainly a change in hue in the case of colors that stand near 

 one another, but making a change in saturation in those which are far 

 apart. 



In order that the contrast effects may be taken full advantage of 

 certain conditions must be fulfilled. The most important of these are 

 as follows: (1) The complementary tint which gray assumes is most 

 vivid when it is somewhat darker (i. e., of less brightness, see p. 734) 



than the hue against 

 which it is apposed, in 

 the case of the warm 

 colors (the r e d s, 

 oranges, and yellows), 

 and when it is lighter 

 in the case of the cold 

 colors (the greens and 

 blues). The dividing 

 line between the warm 

 and cold colors may be 

 taken as that joining 

 the complementaries, 

 yellow-green and vio- 

 let. (2) When a color 

 of low saturation (i. e., 

 nearlj' a gray) is ap- 

 posed to one of high 

 saturation and of complementary hue the former will become more 

 saturated, and, conversely, if two colors which are identical in hue 

 but of unequal saturation be apposed the paler one may appear gray. 

 When they are not complementary the hue which undergoes the 

 greater change is that which is the paler. (3) The greatest effects 

 are produced when the color field whose hue it is desired to alter is 

 much smaller in extent than that of its complementary and when it is 

 completely surrounded by the latter. By placing a thick black line 

 between the areas the complementary effects may be suppressed. 

 Thus the complementary hue which a piece of gray paper placed on 

 a colored field assumes when it is viewed through tissue paper be- 

 comes much less evident if a thick black line be drawn on the tissue 

 paper at the edge of the gray. ^^Iien the color areas are large, it is at 

 the edge only that the complementary influence is noticeable. On 



m qe 



iic.A 



Fig. 2.— Rood's chromatic ciecles as used to show the 

 influence of one color on the others. 



