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Cincinnati Society of Natural History. 



In the masterpieces of olden times, great attention was paid to the 

 harmony of colors ; each color possessed a certain intensity, and a certain 

 relative superficial area in every picture. I possess a life-size copy of one 

 of the great Spanish painter's (Murillo) Madonnas. Pale orange, or flesh 

 color, occupies one-tenth of the picture ; red, one-tenth ; blue, of deep, 

 rich tone, two-tenths ; and gray, which surrounds the colors, occupies six- 

 tenths, of the canvas. The main mass of red is placed near the faces of the 

 mother and child, to concentrate attention there. 



The Six Colors of the Solar Spectri .m. 



There are three primary, and three secondary colors. The primaries 

 have never yet been decomposed, hence, are considered elementary colors. 

 White is produced by all the colors of the prism being recombined. 

 Black is the absence of all color. 

 Hues are made paler by mixing them with white. 



Darkening hues, by mixing them with black, produces tones of color, and 

 impairs their brilliancy. It should not be done. To darken any hue use 

 darker hues of the same color, then your coloring will be brilliant. 



Some colors are of mineral and some of vegetable materials ; therefore, 

 the mixing of them may produce abnormal results. 



The standard type of any color is to be found near the middle space of 

 that color in the solar spectrum. 



The degree of strength of any color is an important point to be fixed. 



Some colors in painting are more self-asserting than others; e. g., a very 

 small quantity of indigo has a powerful influence upon other colors. 



In mixing any two pigments of the primary colors, those combine best 

 which possess already some of the hue they are mixed with, and hence 

 have an affinity for each other ; e. g. , the most beautiful purple is formed 

 by mixing indigo and lake, as indigo contains some of the hue of lake, 

 and lake contains some of the hue of indigo. 



The high lights on smooth, polished or shining objects, are pure white in 

 outdoor daylight. They reflect the highest light of the luminary. 



G-uided by this principle, the juxtaposition of colors in paintings, in 

 dress, in furniture, in planning gardens, in bouquets — indeed, wherever 

 colors are employed — ceases to be a matter of accident, or an ill-understood 

 experience, and becomes a subject for rules and the predictions of science. 



In all chromatic combinations, harmonies of contrast must first be 

 sought. But as these are limited, harmonies of analogy are also called into 

 requisition, with less striking, but often with pleasing, results. 



These may be secured in three ways : 



