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HARMONY OF COLORS— Complementary Harmony. 
Definition. Complementary harmony is an agreeable com- 
bination of colors produced by using complementary or opposite 
colors. 
Explanation. Any two colors, which by their union produce, 
or closely approximate white (gray), are called complementary. 
It is easily shown by the aid of a prism, that pure light, that is, 
white sunlight, may be separated into the colors of the solar spec- 
trum, viz : into red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet, and 
it is generally understood that these colors are the elements of which 
white light is composed The absence then, of one or more of these 
colors deprives the light of its whiteness. It is therefore quite evi- 
dent that for every color, there must be some other color or colors 
which, if added to it, will produce white. The color that is wanting 
in a given color in order ro restore it to pure whiteness, is its com- 
plement, and is therefore called its complementary color . 
If we take all the colors of the solar spectrum and separate them in 
any way into two divisions, the combined colors of one division will 
be complementary to the combined colors of the other division. 
For convenience the various colors are often arranged in a circle 
in their due proportions, or with their due intervals, as shown below; 
the complementary color is then directly opposite the given color, 
and it is for this reason often called its opposite color. 
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Complementary Contrasts. 
By this illustration it will be seen that red is the opposite or com- 
plementary color of blue green, and that blue green is the comple- 
mentary color of red ; this is the same in every case, the two colors 
that will produce white when mingled, are complementary, one of 
the other. 
These are also called contrasting colors, because they are just the 
opposite of one another in effect. 
They are sometimes spoken of as accidental colors, because, after 
the eye has become fatigued by looking at a given color, and is then 
turned to a sheet of white paper or other white surface, a colored spot 
is seen that is the exact opposite or complement of the color looked 
at. 
While there is but one complementary color for each definite de- 
gree of intensity, and for each definite hue, there are so many possi- 
ble variations of each color, and as each has a complementary color 
of its own, the number of complementaries of a color is almost un 
limited. 
It must not be inferred that the complementary of a color is always 
a satisfactory harmony with it. Our best colorists avoid some of 
these combinations, because of the unsatisfactory effect they produce 
when used together. Neither do the best complementary harmonies 
depend upon the use of the complementaries in the proportions re- 
quired to produce white. A tint of a color, with a shade of its com- 
plementary, is often more pleasing in effect than when they are used 
in their full intensities. 
Black, white, gray, gold, and silver, may be used with any of 
these harmonies, but gold and silver must be used with care and dis- 
cretion, as they are likely to make elementary designs look gaudy. 
An edging of some sort is, however, indispensable in many com- 
binations of colors in order to prevent a borrowing or a swimming 
effect, and to preserve the true hue and tone of the associated colors, 
for, as Wilkinson says : "The great point in ornamenting with 
colors is to keep them distinct, and to seek effect, not confusion, from 
their combinations." 
