of the Harmony of Colours. 7 1 



The impossibility of producing perfect whiteness by 

 any mixture of painters' colours is a proof of the want 

 of purity of those colours, and of the difficulty of imitat- 

 ing by means of them any of those very striking 

 effects which are exhibited in experiments with the 

 pure prismatic colours. 



There is one most important advantage which paint- 

 ers may certainly derive from a knowledge of the prin- 

 ciples of the harmony of colours : it will enable them, 

 on sound philosophical principles, to contrast their 

 colours in such a manner as to give to their pictures, or 

 rather to what they choose to make the prominent parts 

 of them, a great degree of force and brilliancy. For, if 

 any and every simple and compound colour has such 

 a power on objects near it as to cause a neighbouring 

 colourlesss shadow to assume the appearance of a 

 colour, there can be no doubt but that if, instead of 

 the shadow a real colour, nearly of the same tint and 

 shade as that so called up, be substituted in its place, 

 this coloiir will appear to great advantage, or will as- 

 sume an uncommon degree of strength and brightness. 



The science of painting is a most curious and inter- 

 esting subject of philosophical investigation ; and until 

 it is more cultivated the art of colouring must continue 

 to be very obscure, uncertain, and imperfect. Genius 

 will be condemned to waste its energy in tedious me- 

 chanical experiments, instead of being employed, as it 

 ought to be, in tracing with a rapid pencil the beau- 

 tiful conception of a sublime imagination. 



[This paper is printed from Rumford's Philosophical Papers, Vol. I., 

 PP- 333-34-] 



