

Analysis of Taste. 87 



When there exists in any landscape a certain number and diversity 

 of forms and colours, or of their combinations or successions, so as to 

 produce a degree of novelty; and that with a certain repetition, or 

 arrangement of parts, so as to render them gradually comprehensible 

 or easily compared with the usual course of nature; if this agreeable 

 combination of visible objects be on a moderate scale, in respect to 

 magnitude, and form the principal part of the landscape, it is termed 

 PICTURESQUE by modern artists; and when such n combination of 

 forms and colours contains many easy flowing curves and smooth sur- 

 faces, the delightful sentiment of BEAUTY becomes added to the plea- 

 sure of the Picturesque. 



If the above agreeable combination of novelty and repetition ex- 

 ists on a larger scale with more projecting rocks, and deeper dells, and 

 perhaps with a somewhat greater proportion of novelty than repetition, 

 the landscape assumes the name of ROMANTIC ; and if some of these 

 forms or combinations are much above the usual magnitude of simi- 

 lar objects, the more interesting sentiment of SUBLIMITY becomes 

 mixed with the pleasure of the romantic* 



III. Mdody of Colours. 



A third source of pleasure arising from the inspection of visible 

 objects, besides that of simple perception, arises from what may be 

 termed melody of colours, as certain colours are more agreeable, 

 when they succeed each other; or when they are disposed in each 

 other's vicinity, so as successively to affect the organ of vision. 



In a paper on the colours seen in the eye after looking for some 

 time on luminous objects, published by Dr. Darwin of Shrewsbury in 

 the Philos. Trans. Vol. 76, it is evidently shown, that we see certain 

 colours not only with greater ease and distinctness, but with relief 

 and pleasure, after having for some time inspected other certain 

 colours; as green after red, or red after green; orange after blue, or 

 blue after orange; yellow after violet, or violet after yellow; this, he 

 shows, arises from the ocular spectrum of the colour last viewed coin- 

 ciding with the irritation of the colour now under contemplation,. 



