EXCELSIOR SERIES OF ART MANUALS. THE TJSE OF A PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR and ^Indent?. PRICE, 25 CENTS. NEW YORK: EXCELSIOR PUBLISHING HOUSE, 2G City Hall Place. flgw AND POPULAR BOOKS SENT FREE OF POSTAGE AT PRICES ANNEXED, ' PAYNE’S BUSINESS EDUCATOR. An encyclopedia of the knowledge necessary to the conduct of busi- ness. Among the contents are : Ar, ep H ome of the Laws of the various States of the Union. Alphabetically arranged for ready reference ; Model Business Letters and Answers ; Lessons in Penmanship ; Interest Tables ; Rules of Ordei for Deliberative Assemblies and Debating Socie- ties ; Tables of Weights and Measures, Standard and Metric Systems ; Lessons in Type-Writing ; Local Forms for all Instruments used in Ordin- ary Business, such as Leases, Assignments, Con- tracts, etc., etc.; Dictionary of Mercantile Terms ; Interest Laws of the United States ; Official, Military, Sen elastic, Naval and Profes- sional Titles used in the U. 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This work also contains legal forms of Deeds, Mortgages, Contracts, Assignments, Power of Attorney, Acknowledg- ments, Builders’ Contracts, Bills of Lading, Bills of Exchange^ Affidavits, Certificate of In- corporation, Form of Release, For Sale Con, tracts, Responsibilities of Common Carriers, Proofs of Loss, Leases, Assignment of Lease Articles of Partnership, Notice of Dissolution, Deed off Trust, Bill of Sale, Wills, etc., etc. Large 12ino, cloth, 301 pages. / Price, $1.50. EXCELSIOR PUBLISHING HOUSE, 26 CITY HALL PLACE, NEW YORK, N. Y. THE USE OF COLORS. A HANDBOOK FOR ARTISTS AND ART STUDENTS ON THE CHARACTER AND USE OF COLORS, THEIR PERMANENT OR FUGITIVE QUALITIES AND THE VEHICLES PROPER TO EMPLOY. ALSO SHORT REMARKS ON THE PRACTICE OF PAINTING IN OIL AND WATER COLORS.. BT WILLIAM J. MUCKLEY, AUTHOR OP THE “MANUAL OP ARTISTIC ANATOMY,” ETC. NEW YORK: EXCELSIOR PUBLISHING HOUSE, 29 and 31 Beekman Street. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the Year 1876 , by JESSE HANEY & COMPANY, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. PREFACE. Maky pictures produced at the present time are undergoing rapid changes, sometimes even before they leave the studio of the painter, so that a few years hence, it is probable little will remain of their original beauty. This clearly shows how small an amount of knowledge has been acquired by the painter of the chemistry of colors, their stable or fugitive character, their action on each other, or the vehicles necessary to convey them to canvas. The present handbook is intended to supply, in a ready and concise form, what is required in this di- rection. The durability of a picture ought to be a matter of conscientious consideration with every painter. If he does not employ ordinary precaution in order to prevent or modify those changes which may take place in his works, sooner or later after they leave his hands, he is to a great extent responsible, if not culpable. The purchasers of pictures rarely ever consider this question. It therefore becomes all the more imperative on the painter’s part, that he should thoroughly deal with it as a necessary part of his education and practice, or in ignorance he may lay himself open to the charge of supplying to his client that which he did not bargain for. VI PREFACE. It is frequently discovered that the work which ha- been so well paid for in many cases, is visibly deteris orating every year, and almost every day* Suggestions are offered in this manual on various other matters connected with the practice of art. They have grown out of a long intercourse with stu- dents, all of whom required information of the kind, not only at the beginning of their career, but fj r some time afterwards. Short remarks have also been made on the methods of painting as practiced by the old masters, which may perhaps lead students to investigate, and after- wards to form systems of working for themselves. The various causes of the deterioration of pictures have been pointed out, and the remedy suggested. Hints are given on the treatment pictures ought to receive after they leave the hands of the painter, as they are often ruined from want of a little knowl- edge of this kind. In preparing this handbook the author has re- ferred to Fields’s “ Chromotography,” the works of colors and varnishes, etc., by Cennino Cennini, Bouvier, Merimee, Chevreul, Tingry, and others, as well as personally to some of the best chemists in the country; but very much of the information of- feied, both on the preparation of colors and vehicles, and the use of them, is from the personal investiga- tion, experiments, and practice of the writer. W. J. M. CONTENTS. Pigments, and their Relation to Each Other 7 Permanent Colors 7 Useless Pigments 28 Semi-Permanent Colors 29 A List of Permanent Colors which may be Used either Separately or in Combination with Each Other 85 A List of Permanent Colors for the Most Part UNNECESSARY 36 A List of Colors of the Second Order of Perma- nence 36 Fugitive Colors 37 Vehicles or Mediums ; their use in Combination with Colors 40 Turpentine 46 Oil of Spike Lavender 47 Preparation of Colors, Materials, etc 47 The Mixing of Colors 49 The Nature of Colors 50 Superiority of Panels to Canvas 55 Damage to Oil Paintings by Damp and Gas 58 Color of Ground for Canvas 61 viii CONTENTS. Brushes 61 Care and Treatment of Pictures 64 Varnishing Pictures, etc 64 Asphaltum and Fugitive Colors 65 Fissures 67 The Painting Room 68 Methods of Painting 70 Imitation of Surfaces 72 General Remarks on the Practice of Painting 73 Bad Effects of Scumbling 76 Impasto in Oil Painting 78 Rapid Sketching 79 RePainting... 84 Water Color Painting 85 Sound Elementary Study, the Foundation of All Success 89 THE USE OF COLORS. PIGMENTS, AND THEIR RELATION TO EACH OTHER. For the purpose of enabling the painter to acquire readily, the knowledge relating to the materials to be used by him, the information in this handbook has been condensed to as few pages as possible. The permanent colors have been the most fully described. With them, nearly everything in nature may he imitated. It was not necessary to enter so much into detail with the others, except as a cau- tion. Those colors which are of the second order of permanence, have been merely referred to. Those which are absolutely unsuitable for painting, from their fleeting nature, etc., have been simply named. There could be no object in making further reference to them, for so far as the painter is con- cerned, they are worse than useless to him, and the preparations alluded to as fugitive should be strictly avoided. PERMANENT COLORS. The colors which may be safely employed by the painter, and which are the most eligible and perma- nent, are given in the following list: 8 THE USE OF COLORS. WHITES. Previous to the discovery of oil-painting, the whites in use were chiefly pipe-clay and whiting, combined with animal glue size. These substances were employed in the composition of grounds, and they were also mixed with pigments, being at the same time nearly imperishable. When painting in oil was first practised in the fourteenth century, White lead does not appear to have been introduced as a pigment, but only as a dryer. At this time the hard white ground of whiting and size, with which the panel was prepared, served for all purposes of light in the picture. The oil colors were laid on it, much in the manner of the pure water-color painting of our own time. On the whiteness of this ground depended the brilliancy of the colors and the work generally. This process is very visible in all the early works produced with oil-colors. The frequent introduction of white lead, as a pigment, came immediately afterwards, and from that time to the present, it has always been employed in oil-painting, in connection with works of art. The white obtained from Zinc is of modern discovery. White dead, and Zinc White, when properly pre- pared, have been found sufficient to supply all the whites that are necessary for oil-painting. They break up stable pigments into tints, very satisfac- torily, giving body to them all; and used alone, they may always be relied on. Zinc White and Flake White — The former is a THE USE OF COLORS. 9 little wanting in body, but is more permanent than flake white. In winter time, Zinc White does not dry well, un- less assisted, and in warm weather it also requires a little help. When well prepared, it is a very eligible pigment, and may be always used, either pure or in combination with other pigments, with perfect safety. Whites made from lead, such as Flake White, were always employed by the old painters in oil-color. When well prepared, and the conditions have been favorable, Flake White has been found to be per- manent. It appears, however, to lose its opa’city by age. When painted thinly over a dark surface, this pecu- liarity becomes very visible in a few years. The dark parts show through the white lead more and more, as time goes on, until at last the very thin passages of white disappear altogether. Impure air and sulphuretted hydrogen turn white lead to a dirty brown in a short time. Whites from lead should never be used in water- color painting. In many of the drawings by the old painters, patches of black occur, where the high lights were intended to be. This is due to the use of white lead. YELLOWS. No permanent true yellow pigment appears to have been discovered by the ancients, suitable for the painter’s use. Throughout the middle ages, all the yellows introduced were fugitive, and although many yellow pigments are now offered by the artist’s colorman, no thoroughly satisfactory one has yet been discovered. 10 THE USE OF COLORS. It has been supposed that the early painters in oil had bright permanent yellow and orange hues. It must be confessed that these colors in old pic- tures, sometimes look rather bright, but this is chiefly in consequence of the dark and sunken con- dition of the surrounding colors. If examples of pure yellow and orange hues be actually compared with the most perfect colors of the same kind in old pictures, it will be found that these latter are so dull, that Naples Yellow, or Yellow Ochre and white, might have supplied the yellow, and the same colors, with Vermilion, produced the orange hues alluded to. Lemon Yellow has the reputation of being perma- nent. It is the only color of the kind on which we are at all able to rely ; and this varies so often, both as to purity of color and density, that it will rarely ever serve the purpose of a primary. It should therefore be regarded with suspicion. The transparent vegetable yellows have been used during the last three centuries, in combination with blues, to form, greens. In all cases these yellows have flown away, and only the blue color with which they were originally mixed has remained. This change is best seen in fruit and flower pic- tures, and more especially in the works by V an Os, and Van Huysum. The opaque yellows from arsenic, used at various periods since the introduction of oil-painting, have nearly all gone; but not in the manner of the trans- parent pigments, for the arsenic yellows have injured all colors with which they have come in contact. THE USE OF COLORS. 11 ORANGE HUES. Bright and stable orange pigments were also un- known in ancient times. Those used in the middle ages were unsuitable for painting, whether mixed in oil or distemper vehicle. The most permanent that could be made were produced by mixing the ochres or Raw Sienna with Vermilion. The hues so obtained were not very bright, but they have proved stable. In modern times, down to the discovery of the oranges from cadmium, and Orange Vermilion, no good orange color has been found out. These last two pigments, when well made and unadulter- ated, resist the usual unfavorable influences, and are of the greatest advantage to the painter. The orange hues prepared from arsenic, and em- ployed during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and even later, have nearly all turned either to dirty brown or black. When Yellow or Indian lakes have been mixed with Rose Madders, to produce orange hues, they have become fugitive, leaving the madders as though nothing had been combined with them. YELLOWS AND ORANGE HUES. Aureolin. Lemon Yellow, Naples Yellow. Yellow. Madder. Yellow Ochre. Transparent Golden Ochre. Raw Sienna. Burnt Sienna. The Orange Cadmiums. Orange Vermilion. Field’s Orange Vermilion. Aureolin . this is a new color, having been dis- covered only a few years ago, and is said by chemists to be very permanent. It is of most use when mixed with white and other colors, and landscape-painters 12 THE USE OF COLORS. will find it very serviceable. When glazed over white a pleasant tint is produced. Lemon Yellow is the only yellow the painter can employ with safety. It appears to be very difficult to make of a good color, being nearly always soiled when taken from the tube. When prepared with due care, it is looked upon as permanent, and is then very pure in color. Lemon Yellow is not dense in body, therefore it is weak when combined with other colors, and soon overpowered by them. Naples Yellow , as originally manufactured, was composed of lead and antimony. It was then per- manent; but when mixed with Yellow Ochre, or with any color in which iron was present, it was not stable. It was also necessary to avoid the use of the steel pallette knife, and use an ivory one, when mix- ing Naples Yellow with other colors. In enamel-painting it was a useful preparation. Naples Yellow , as now made, is stable under all ordinary conditions. Lead is said to be no longer employed in its preparation, zinc having taken the place of it. But Naples Yellow, as now sold, is oftener a combination of deep Cadmium and White lead. This color is valuable in flesh-painting, and more especially in the highest lights. Yellow NLaddtr is of a brownish hue, but very rich and transparent, also fairly stable. It is used solely as a glazing color. With Yiridian it furnishes an excellent hue for deep green shadows, and would be serviceable in landscape-painting. It needs help in drying. Yellow Ochre is an oxide of iron, found in a natural state, and varying occasionally in the bright- ness of its hue. THE USE OF COLORS. 13 It is quite permanent in itself, and may be safely used 'with all other durable colors. When mixed with the Vermilions, or Light red, it is most valu- able in flesh-painting. The old masters used Yellow Ochre to a great extent. Transparent Golden Ochre is of the same nature as Yellow Ochre, but brighter and more transparent. It is well suited to landscape-painting. Raw Sienna , is an earth, owing its color to the presence of iron, and is found native. It is semi- transparent, and perfectly stable. It is very useful to the landscape-painter, and the painter of foliage. With Viridian, and the Green oxides of chromium, it furnishes a variety of sombre but beautiful greens, which are also quite reliable as to stability. When used in backgrounds, either with Terre Verte or Vandyke brown, in a semi-mixed state, it produces an agreeable effect. Raw Sienna, does not dry well in winter time without assistance. Burnt Sienna is the earth above referred to, burnt to redness. It is of the same character as Raw Sienna, and of equal permanence, and dries much better. Orange Cadmiums are sulphides of the metal cadmium. These pigments are productions of the present century, and we are, therefore, not very well acquainted with their habits in paintings. They are said by chemists to be quite durable, when care- fully made and free from adulteration. For beauty and depth of hue, no other orange pigment ap- proaches them. With white they produce a scale of beautiful tints, and often supply the place of Naples Yellow. 14 THE USE OF COLORS. Cadmium Orange is the only opaque and perma- nent orange color to be obtained. When employed in tints, Zinc White should be used with it, although it is looked upon as stable when mixed with Flake White, or any of the lead whites. Like all the rest of the cadmium pigments, it is a preparation of that metal with sulphur. The degrees of heat to which it may be subjected alter the color from a lemon yellow down to a dee red. Orange Vermilion, like all the other -varieties ot Vermilion, is a sulphuretof mercury. It is a durable pigment when unadulteiated and properly prepared, inclining to red rather than yellow. With white it goes well into tint, and is a good dryer. In delicate flesh-painting it may be used advantageously. Field's Orange Vermilion is a preparation much the same as the above, only manipulated more care- fully. It is perhaps a little brighter in color. REDS. Lasting Beds, both bright and dull, have been in use during all periods of art. Vermilion, and the reds from iron, have been employed from the earliest times down to our own. In the middle ages, the Madders were much re- sorted to, and their permanent character has war- ranted the use of them down to the present day. Some of the Madders to be seen m the old paint- ings of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries are still very vivid. The Madders and the Vermilions are the only red pigments which appear to have kept their original brilliancy. They are seen in the greatest perfection in old works when used on distemper the; use of colors 15 grounds, but which are entirely out of keeping with the rest of the picture. This is in consequence of the faded condition of all the other colors which sur - round them. Many reds have been added to the old list, but they are either ineligible, or require the greatest care in the use of them. Chinese Vermilion . Vermilion. Scarlet Vermilion. Extract of Vermilion . Venetian Red . Light Red. Red Ochre. Indian Red. Madder Carmine. Rose Madder. Pink Madder. Chinese Vermilion is of a full red hue, and not at all inclining to orange. It is in itself quite perma- nent, and does not interfere with any colors which are not fugitive, when mixed with them. Vermilion is nearly the same as the pigment above described. Its habits are also the same, and when pure, is quite permanent. Whenever this color can be used with white, instead of Rose Madder, the tints produced will be more lasting. When, however, Ver- milion has been adulterated with the cheap lakes, which is sometimes the case, to give richness, it suffers. Scarlet Vermilion is also much like the two pre- ceding colors. It is brighter, and is of a scarlet hue and quite stable when pure. Extract of Vermilion is the same color as Scarlet Vermilion, only varying in the name given to it. Venetian Red is a preparation made by calcining sulphate of iron. It resembles Light Red, but is brighter. When well washed after calcination, it is quite permanent, and may be combined with any other stable color with impunity. This red is sup- 16 THE USE OF COLORS. posed to have been much employed by the old Vene- tian painters; hence its name. Light Red is Yellow Ochre calcined to redness. It varies in richness according to the brightness of the Yellow Ochre with which it is made. It is much used in flesh-painting, and enters well into combi- nation with all the other stable colors. In itself it is perfectly permanent. Both this and Venetian Bed are good dryers. Red Ochre is found native. It is not so bright as Venetian and Light Bed, and although permanent, is superfluous for the painter’s use. Indian Red is a natural product, and a peroxide of iron. Its body is of great density, and requires more grinding than is usually given to it. It is much used in the shadows of flesh-painting, and is quite permanent. In the course of time it eats through white, or light colors, when thinly painted over it. The whole of these iron reds have been much em- ployed in the works of the old painters, and have remained almost unchanged. Madder Carmine is the richest and most beautiful of all the lakes, when well prepared and free from adulteration with cochineal. The costliness of this color induces adulteration, in which case it is not permanent; but when obtained pure, it will last hundreds of years without undergoing much change. When it is used in tints with white, Zinc White is preferable to Flake White. This, with all the other lakes, requires assistance in drying. Rose Madder is of the same nature as the last- named color, varying chiefly as to hue. It is of a beautiful rose color when pure, and may be used for THE USE OF COLORS. 17 glazing in flesh-painting. When mixed with Zinc White and Naples Yellow, it may also be used for the same purpose. When Rose Madder is carefully prepared and pure, it may be considered quite per- manent. Some of the red draperies to be seen in the pictures by Fra Angelico and Hans Membling, as well as those in other works by the ancient masters, are painted with Rose Madder, and the color does not appear to have either changed or faded. Pink Madder , this is of the same character as Rose Madder, only a weaker preparation. No lakes prepared from cochineal should ever have a place on the palette, as they are all fugitive. Transparent permanent reds are only to be obtained from Madder. Copal varnish is the best dryer for madders. BLUES. The most perfect of all the primaries is the blue obtained from the stone known by the name of Ultramarine. It is nearly a pure color, and quite permanent whether used alone or in tints with white. Before the discovery of this stone, the ancients used blues produced from copper, all of which have turned to a greenish hue. Factitious Ultramarine, and the blues produced from Cobalt, come next to the pure Ultramarine Blue in permanence. All other blues are more or less fleeting. Some of the Cobalt preparations are produced by prolonged and intense heat. Painters who are aware of this, sometimes suppose that this insures perma- nence. Such is not the case; for under certain con- ditions these blues change rapidly. 18 THE USE OF COLORS. Ultramarine — Genuine . Lapis- Lazuli. Brilliant Ultramarine. French Ultramarine . Cobalt . Cerulean. Ultramarine — Lapis-Lazuli — is a blue stone, ground to an impalpable powder. It is the most costly of all colors, and its permanence may be thoroughly relied on. The old painters were much in the habit of using it, for even at that early date they were well assured as to its stable character. The grays in flesh were most frequently made with a combination of Ultramarine and other colors. In the draperies of small works, no doubt it was used nearly pure, and has remained untarnished until the present time. Ultramarine varies much in the intensity of its color; the deepest portions of the stone being selected for the finest and richest hues in painting. It is the nearest approach to a perfect blue that has been ob- tained. All other blues have either a purple or a green tendency. The various degrees of coloring matter which the stone is found to possess, give a scale of blues differing in intensity, beginning with the deepest, and ending in the blue known as gray Ultramarine ash. It is a good dryer, and quite as valuable in water-color painting as it is in oil, work- ing well in both mediums. This stone is found chiefly in China and Thibet. Brilliant Ultramarine, sometimes called Factitious Ultramarine, was discovered by Monsieur Guimet, the French chemist, and prepared in imitation of the genuine blue stone, which it approaches very nearly. This color is permanent, and really possesses much of the beauty of the Lapis-lazuli; it is nearly transparent, and as intense as the native color. THE USE OF COLORS. 19 When used in glazing, its color is of a pure blue hue, sometimes, perhaps, inclining to purple. To the landscape-painter it is of great use. French Ultramarine is of the character of Brilliant Ultramarine, but not quite so bright and transparent. Although this color is a good one, there is hardly any necessity for it on the palette, when either of the two blues already referred to are present. Cobalt Blue is made from the metal Cobalt; it is a useful and eligible color. It varies in tint from those already described, and may be considered per- manent. When used thinly over white, it serves as a glazing color, but when employed in a body it is opaque. It is a good dryer. Cerulean Blue is prepared from Cobalt, and is of a greenish hue. Its chief use is in the formation of greens in combination with any of the yellows; with Lemon Yellow it produces a bright and beautiful green. It is valuable for painting drapery, and also furnishes useful tints for the landscape-painter. When glazed thinly over white, it gives a bright and agreeable color, and its beauty is then brought fully out. It dries well, and is permanent. Blues from Cobalt are unaffected by strong heat. The writer has long prepared for his own use both Cerulean and Cobalt blues for painting in enamel, as well as for oil-painting. GREEN’S. The ancients were acquainted with Terre Verte, and also with greens produced from copper. The other green hues, which we find on mummy cases, $nd on the walls of ancient Egyptian buildings, were 20 THE USE OF COLORS. most likely produced by mixing blues with such yellow or orange colors as they had at command. Prussian and Indigo Blues, in combination with the Yellow Lakes, have furnished all the dark trans- parent greens used at least for the last two hundred years. Great changes have taken place in these pigments, being of a fugitive character, and varying in this re- spect, according to the situations of the works in which they have been present. Numerous greens have been manufactured in more modern times. But until the discovery of the green oxides of chromium none have proved fully eligible for the painter’s use. Viridian, and the Transparent Oxide of Chro- mium, sometimes called the Emerald Oxide of Chromium, are very beautiful hues. We are assured that they are permanent, although they are of recent discovery. Should their stability be proved, they will be of much value to the painter’s art. Opaque Green Oxide of Chromium . Transparent Green Oxide of Chromium . Viridian . Terre Verte. The two Chromium Greens here given are pre- pared from the metal chromium, and must not be confounded with greens produced by a mixture of chromate of lead (Chrome Yellow) and Prussian Blue, both of which pigments are semi-fugitive, and ought rarely to be used by the painter. Chromium Green is found a natural state but is of a dull hue. That used for painting purposes is usually prepared. The opaque kind is very powerful and dense, and should seldom be used pure. With any of the permanent THE USE OF COLORS. 21 yellows it mixes in a very friendly way. With Raw Sienna it gives a sombre and semi-transparent green. With Lemon Yellow, a bright and useful color, is produced for painting foliage, and for landscape- painting. White may also be mixed with Chromium to a great advantage. Under all conditions it is per- manent. Even when subjected to a great heat, its color is unaffected. The Transparent Oxide of Chromium is equally eligible for the painter, and may be modified with the yellows in the same way as the opaque kind. If the landscape-painters of our time were well acquainted with the merits of the green compounds which may be made by mixing the chromium oxides with the yellows named, they would use them more than they are in the habit of doing, as they meet every necessity, and are not only changeable in themselves, but they do not affect colors that are mixed with them. Viridian may be looked upon as a new color. It is transparent when used thinly, and semi-opaque used in a body. Of all the greens it is the deepest and the richest. To the painter of foliage and the landscape-painter it is most useful, and will furnish the brightest hues of green which they may require. When combined with Aureolin and glazed over white it produces a fine color, and well suited to represent transmitted light through foliage, which is usually very vivid. Viridian dries well, and is said to be un- exceptionable as to permanence. This, like the two greens just described, is pre- pared from the metal chromium. Terre Verte is a green native earth, semi-trans- parent, and of little body. It is one of the old 22 THE USE OF COLORS. colors, and consequently was employed by the early painters of different countries. When mixed with Raw Sienna a fine sombre hue is produced. It is of such little density that it should not be mixed with opaque colors, as it would be immedi- ately overpowered by them. In landscape-painting it is of much use, and when the painter is able to employ it with other colors in a half-mixed state, it produces a pleasant effect. It is a good dryer, and when pure quite permanent. The greens here described, when mixed with the various permanent yellows also referred to, leave nothing to be desired by the landscape-painter with respect to these colors, and should he produce works of a fugitive character, it must be the result for the most part of carelessness, or from the colors themselves being adulterated. PURPLES. In consequence of the many allusions which have been made to the Tyrian Purple of the ancients, it has been supposed that they possessed some bright and permanent pigment of that name. Of this we have no real evidence whatever. That to which reference has been made by ancient writers and others was most probably nothing more than a dye or coloring matter for textile fabrics, altogether un- suited as a pigment for the painter. In the middle ages, a permanent but dull purple pigment was prepared from gold and tin, for color- ing glass of a ruby tint. This preparation would no doubt be also employed in the early works in dis- temper, and in the illuminated missals of that period, as it was well suited for the purpose. But the cost THE USE OF COLORS. 23 of producing this purple would prevent its being brought into more general use. The madders and the blues in combination were resorted to, to supply what purple hues were then further required. At the present time we have no addition to the palette, with the exception of Purple Madder, which is rich, but rather dull. Indeed, nothing more is re- quired. For the production of small works, pure Ultramarine and the madders supply a series of beautiful hues which may always be relied upon. For large pictures, the Factitious Ultramarine, with the madders, will serve all purposes required in the formation of purples. Purple Madder. Burnt Madder. Gold Purple Rubens Madder. Purple Madder. Of purple pigments this alone is the most useful. It is a costly preparation, but in every respect is perfectly well suited for the palette, being as permanent as any other of the madders. It combines readily with all colors, dries well, and is of good body. A color nearly approaching Purple Madder may be made, by mixing Factitious Ultramarines with deep Rose and Brown Maddeas, and is almost as eligible as Purple Madder. For touches of dark in the deepest shadows, it is very useful, both on ac- count of its depth, transparency and permanency. Burnt Madder is a brownish purple, but its costli- ness stands in the way of general use. It is an ex- cellent preparation, and perfectly stable when well made. Gold Purple , called Purple Cassius — it is a precip- 24 THE USE OF COLORS. itation of nitro-muriate of gold, by a solution of tin. This color is expensive, but it is by far the most permanent purple pigment known. The writer has often made this preparation of gold for painting purposes, and it is one of the most beautiful of all experiments, showing the pre- cipitation of a metal from its solution. It is used chiefly in the manufacture of the artifical ruby and ruby glass. When a very brilliant purple is required, Rose Madder should be glazed over a pure white ground, and when this is dry, either of the Ultramarines referred to may be glazed on the Madder. This method gives a bright and permanent purple. A dull, opaque, but useful and lasting purple may be made by mixing together Vermilion and the real or Factitious Ultramarine. This compound color goes well into tint with white. Rubens Madder is a warm, deep and transparent russet, very useful both to landscape and figure- painters. It is permanent, but a bad dryer, and when employed, copal varnish should be mixed with it. BROWNS. It is a fortunate circumstance that there is no lack of stable and eligible brown pigments, this color being so much required in the production of paintings, and perhaps even more so than any other. It enters much into the color of backgrounds, furniture, draperies and accessories of pictures, the shadows of objects, &c. Sketches, pictures, or engravings, produced en- tirely in brown hues, are generally agreeable, while THE USE OF COLORS. 25 no other color whatever, used for the same purposes, could be endured. It has often been thought that the old painters possessed a brown pigment with which we are now unacquainted. This has been inferred from the ap- pearance which the browns in their pictures now present. But it should be remembered that we do not see these pigments as they were when first employed, but only after time has done its work on them, and on the vehicles with which they were always mixed. It is therefore improbable that the old painters were in possession of any brown color unknown to us. Vandyke Brown . Raw Umber. Burnt Umber . Brown Madder . Amongst all the browns at the command of the painter, Vandyke Brown may perhaps be considered the most useful. The Vandyke Brown of former times, and of the days of the painter whose name it bears, was made of an earthy bog brought from Cassel. The Vandyke Brown of to-day is a bituminous ochre, and nearly resembling the ancient color of that name. It is permanent, and an excellent glazing color, for which purpose it is mostly used, and often in combination with other transparent colors. The palette should never be set without it. When employed m a semi-mixed state with Terre Verte, a very pleasing effect is produced. It dries well with a little help. Raw Umber is a native ochre. It is seldom used alone. In combination with black and white and other colors to form grays, it is valuable. It may 26 THE USE OF COLORS. also be employed to advantage with the primaries, to assist in taking those colors into shadow. In backgrounds and in landscape-painting it is also very useful. It is perfectly stable, and a good dryer. Burnt Umber is deeper than Raw Umber in con- sequence of being calcined. Its color inclines to a red brown, and is semi-opaque. Mixed with cooler colors, it forms an agreeable hue. With some painters it finds much favor, but is rarely ever employed alone. It is very permanent, and a good dryer. Brown Madder is another production of the madder root, and of great depth, transparency and beauty. It is a good dryer and permanent. Both the landscape and figure-painter find this color of the greatest use. In water-color painting it is much employed and with excellent effect. Rubens Brown is lighter and yellower than Van- dyke Brown. In the dark parts of pictures it will be found useful. Permanent browns are numerous, as we have pointed out, but those named will be found quite sufficient for the painter’s use. GRAYS. A number of grays are produced and offered to the painter by the color-maker, all of which are nearly useless. Grays of all tints can be so easily compounded with white, black, and various other pigments, that there is no necessity for the painter to trouble himself m the least about those offered in commerce. What is more, the grays made by combination in the hands of the artist will, in all THE USE OF COLORS. 27 probability, be found more stable than those mixed by the color-man. These remarks apply chiefly to the painter in oil. To the water-color painter, Ultramarine ash will be found very useful as well as permanent. BLACKS. Black may be said to be the negation of light and color, and is capable of giving the greatest value to both. Most of the black pigments used by the ancients were carbonaceous substances, and they were also of a very permanent character. Those of modern times are equally stable. Good colorists have frequently introduced black draperies and furniture into their works for the sake of contrast. When this is judiciously done it pro- duces an excellent and telling effect. In the pictures by Rubens, we often see black and yellow brought together. In most of the fine por- traits by Ravenstein, Rubens, Vandyke, Rembrandt, Valasquez, Antonio More, Moroni and others, the apparel and draperies, &c., are all black and white. The effect is very fascinating, while the contrast with the flesh tints is remarkable. Blue Black and Ivory Black . Blue Black is one of the most serviceable of the numerous and good preparations of this kind at the command of the painter. The best is procured from vine twigs burnt to charcoal. W^hen mixed with white it produces bluish tints, and may be always used in flesh- pamtmg, both in the half tints and in the shadows. 28 THE USE OF COLORS. Ivory Black seldom contains much of the matter from which it takes its name. It is made chiefly of bones charred to blackness. When broken up into tints with white and Raw Umber a series of neutral grays may be formed, which will be found very useful when painting the shadows and half tints of white objects. Ivory Black is of greater depth and transparency than Blue Black, and may be used as a glazing color. With Vandyke Brown it is serviceable when so employed. In these two blacks the painter has all that is necessary of the kind. To add others would be simply to take up room on his palette to no pur- pose. USELESS PIGMENTS. The following colors are stable, but unnecessary. Those already described in the permanent list will answer the painter’s purpose much better. Never- theless, should he be disposed to employ any of them, he may do so with impunity. WHITES. Blanc tf Argent, or Silver White. London and Not- tingham White. YELLOW. There are no permanent yellows besides those al- ready referred to. OCHRES. Roman Ochre . Brown Ochre. Oxford Ochre . Stone Ochre. Di Palito , or Light- Yellow Ochre . RED. Cadmium Red. THE USE OF COLORS. 29 BLUES. New Blue. Blue Ochre . GREEN’S. Scheele's Green. Cobalt Green. Olive Oxide of Chromium. Olive. PURPLES. Mars Violet. Cobalt Purple . BROWNS. Mars Brown . Mixed Citrine. Bistre. Bone Brown. Caledonian Brown. Cappah Brown. Chalons Brown. Cologne Earth. Verona Brown. Man- ganese Brown. GRAYS. Mineral Gray. Mixed Gray. Neutral Gray . BLACKS. Lamp Black. Mixed Black. Black Ochre. Bone Black. Frankfort Black. Manganese Black . Mineral Black. Purple Black. Spanish Black . Black Lead. SEMI-PERMANENT COLORS. The colors which may be placed in the second or- der of permanence and fitness are here given. Under favorable conditions most of them will last a long time. But their tempting hues and inviting appear- ance have allured many painters to the undue use of them. WHITES. Cremnitz White , is sometimes known as Vienna White. It is very bright in appearance, even sur- 30 THE USE OF COLORS. passing Flake White, but not so dense in body. It is a preparation of lead. Cadmium White, although an attractive pigment, is liable to change when combined with other colors. It is prepared from the metal Cadmium by precipi- tation and other processes. YELLOWS. Lemon Cadmium ( Sulphide of Cadmium), under certain conditions, will keep its color pretty well, both in oil and water-color when employed alone. When used in oil with Zinc White, it will also re- main unchanged for years, but the white must be perfectly free from adulteration with lead, or a change may set in at once. Lemon Cadmium may be used with Chinese White in water-color painting, and when protected by glass from foul air and from sunlight, it will last a long time unchanged. Chrome Yellow and Orange, are both chromates of lead. When carefully prepared and mixed with oil, these pigments will remain unadulterated for at least a quarter of a century. With white lead they go vrell into tints, and there is no antagonism between these colors. When, however, the chromates of lead are employed, they should be used as simply as pos- sible. Citron Yellow, known also as Zinc Yellow, both deep and pale, may be called chromates of zinc. Landscape painters are in the habit of using it much, as it combines well with Green Oxide of Chromium and other greens. It is also useful when imitating the yellow parts of foilage, grass, etc. By chemists it is not looked upon as a good color. It is so com- paratively new that painters are not yet fully ac- THE USE OF COLORS. 31 quainted with its habits. Deep Zinc Yellow is, how- ever, much more fugitive than the pale kind, as it will frequently change in a few days. Gamboge, is a gum brought from the East, and was long used as a water-color pigment, before it found a place amongst oil colors. It is fairly stable in water, and does not injure other colors. REDS. Lakes from Cochineal. In consequence of the richness and beauty of these lakes, painters are ever indulgingin their use. When employed in water- color and excluded from light, the best preparations, such as Carmine and Crimson Lake, will last half a century without much visible alteration. In oil painting, when Crimson Lake is used alone, at a thickish glaze, and kept from strong light, it will not rapidly change. But if combined with white lead, its color goes immediately. The pigment is obtained from an insect, found in great abundance on a cactus plant in Mexico. Scarlet Lake has much of the quality of Crimson Lake, and its permanence is affected by the same causes as those which interfere with other lakes of this kind, being also prepared from cochineal. Its color can be very well imitated by Rose Madder and a little Orange Cadmium, or Aureolin, all of which are stable. Purple Lake , being also a cochineal preparation, is not more permanent than the two lakes already men- tioned. This color is certainly very beautiful, but when it can be so nearly matched by the madders, and additions either of pure, or Factitious Ultra- marine, it should not be used. 32 THE USE OF COLORS. Florentine and Hamburgh Lakes are of the same character as those already described, and may not be looked on as stable pigments. Indian Lake appears to be made from a product, both animal and vegetable, which is brought from the East. The color is rich, deep, and inclined to purple. It is said to be more durable than the cochineal lakes. At the same time, it must be re- garded as amongst the semi-permanent pigments. Kermes Lake is thought by some to be the earliest lake used by the ancient Italian and German masters. No doubt it found its way to Venice early, and was used by Tintoretto, Paolo Veronese, Titian, and others. In pictures by these masters, we find colors nearly resembling Kermes Lake; nevertheless, they appear to have undergone change. BLUES. Smalt , is a blue glass colored by cobalt, and re- duced to an impalpable powder. Although this preparation will stand a high degree of heat for weeks together, it is not permanent as an oil color. It is used in enamel painting. Another Cobalt Blue , of the like nature and tint as the above, is prepared from the black oxide of cobalt, ground flint (silica), and a carbonate of tin, exposed to great heat for some days. This prepara- tion is denser than Smalt, but its stability is nearly as doubtful. Prussian Blue is prepared from iron. It is a very fascinating color, whether used as a glaze, or in com- bination with other colors. Most painters, both in oil and. water-color, are in the habit of using it, but it is not durable. In water-color, when exposed to THE USE OF COLORS. 33 full light, the richness of its hue soon fades. The works by the early water-color p tinkers of this coun- try bear sad testimony to this fact. The faded condi- tion of some of the works by Copley Fielding, Varley, Girtin, Prout, Cox, Turner and others, is chiefly the result of the use of Indigo and Prussian Bine. Antwerp Blue is of the character of Prussian Blue, a little brighter, and not having so much body. It is not so stable as Prussian Blue. Cyanine Blue is a compound of Cobalt and Prus- sian Blue. It is a very deep and agreeable color, but scarcely m< re permanent than cither Antwerp or Prussian Blue, what there is of Cobalt Blue in the compound, being permanent, and the rest is semi- fugitive. Indigo Blue is an ancient preparation, and a vege- table product. On the whole, it is less durable than Prussian Blue. It is, nevertheless, much recom- mended and employed by artists, more especially water-color painters, who make use of it in clouds and distances. The skies and clouds in some of the works of Copley Fielding, and other painters of his time, are evidences of the fleeting character of Indi- go Blue, when thus employed. There is little left in the works referred to, but drab masses of cloud forms, the blue tints having departed altogether. GREEKS. Veronese Green. By some chemists this pigment is pronounced permanent. The writer has found it to be otherwise. If carefully prepared, and when used alone, it may be stable; but as it contains ingredients which attack other colors when combined with it, it is rendered, on the whole, less eligible than Yiridian. 34 THE USE OF COLORS. Emerald Green is a preparation of copper, very bright, and in color much unlike all other greens. There is hardly anything in nature resembling it; employed pure, it will last a long time, but mixed with other colors, it soon changes. BROWNS. Brown Pink is a color much used by water- color painters. It is a vegetable production, and may be looked upon as a lake. Its color being of a rich yel- low-brown, produces either with Prussian or Indigo Blue, fine greens. Brown Pink fades in a few years, leaving the greens, of which it at first formed a part, of a cold and unnatural color. It should therefore be used as little as possible. In oil-painting it should never be employed. Sepias, both warm and cold, are produced from the cuttle-fish, and are very pleasant working colors in water, but fleeting. It has already been remarked that Emerald G-ieen, when well prepared and used alone, will remain un- changed for a long time. The same may be said of the two chromates of lead, yellow and orange. But to en- sure such permanence, it is better that these prepara- tions be mixed with Copal varnish before they are em- ployed. These coiors snould also be further protected by a thin covering of Copal varnish after they are dry. The author has used Orange Chrome in the pre- paration cf enamel colors; and it will bear a full red heat for many hours, in the presence of a vitreous flux, without undergoing any change, beyond the deepening of the color. This is, however, no test as to the permanence of Orange Chrome, when used either in oil or water-color. THE USE OF COLORS. 35 The following is a summary, giving the lists of Permanent, Semi-permanent, and Fugitive colors. These are divided from each other, so that the painter on looking down them, may at once ascer- tain the character of any pigment on which he may desire information. A LIST OF PERMANENT COLORS, WHICH MAY BE USED EITHER SEPARATELY, OR IN COMBINATION WITH EACH OTHER. These colors are as stable for water-color painting as for oil, with the exception of Flake White (white lead). Chinese, or Zinc white, should always be used in water-color painting. Whites — Chinese White, Zinc White, Flake White (white lead). Yellow and Orange Hues— Aureolin, Lemon Yellow, Yellow Madder, Yellow Ochre, Transparent Gold Ochre, Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna, The Orange Cadmiums, Orange Vermilion, Naples Yellow, Field’s Orange Vermilion. Reds. — Chinese Vermilion, Vermilion, Scarlet Vermilion, Extract of Vermilion, Venetian Red, Light Red, Red Ochre, Indian Red, Madder Car- mine, Rose Madder, Pink Madder. Blues. — Genuine Ultramarine, Factitious Ultra- marine, French Ultramarine, Cobalt, Cerulean. Greens. — Transparent Green Oxide of Chromium, Opaque Green Oxide of Chromium, Viridian, Terre Verte. Purples. — Purple Madder, Gold Purple Cassius, Rubens Madder. Browns. — Vandyke Brown, Raw Umber, Burnt Umber, Brown Madder, Rubens Brown, 36 THE USE OF COLORS. Gray. — Ultramarine Ash. Blacks. — Blue Black, Ivory Black. A LIST OF PERMANENT COLORS. FOR THE MOST PART UNNECESSARY. Whites. — Blanc d’Argent, or Silver White; Lon- don and Nottingham White. Yellow Ochres. — Roman Ochre, Brown Ochre, Oxford Ochre, Stone Ochre, Di Palito, or Light Yellow Ochre. Red. — C admium Red. Blues.— N ew Blue, Blue Ochre. Greens. — Scheele’s Green, Cobalt Green, Olive Oxide of Chromium, Olive. Purples. — Mars Violet, Cobalt Purple. Browns. — Mars Brown, Mixed Citrine, Bister, Bone Brown, Caledonian Brown, Cappah Brown, Chalons Brown, Cologne Earth, Verona Brown, Uranium Brown, Manganese Brown. Greys. — Mineral Grey, Mixed Grey, Neutral Grey. Blacks. — Lamp Black, Mixed Black, Black Ochre, Bone Black, Frankfort Black, Manganese Black, Mineral Black, Purple Black, Spanish Black, Black Lead. A LIST OF COLORS OF THE SECOND ORDER OF PERMANENCE. Most of these colors change when used alone. All of them change when combined with each other. Whites. — Cremnitz White (Vienna White), Cadmium White. THE USE OF COLORS. 37 Yellows. — Lemon Cadmium, Chrome Yellow, Citron Yellow (Zinc Yellow), Gamboge, Reds. — Carmine, Crimson Lake, Scarlet Lake, Purple Lake, Indian Lake, Florentine and Hamburgh Lakes, Kermes Lake. Blues. — Smalt, Prussian Blue, Antwerp Blue, Cyanine Blue, Indigo Blue. Greens. — Veronese Green, Emerald Green. Browns. — Brown Pink, The Sepias. FUGITIVE COLORS. The following is a list of those colors which are so fugitive or unfit for painting purposes that they should never be used. If color-makers would cease from manufacturing them, it would be of the great- est importance to art. Whites. — Flemish White, or Sulphate of Lead; Patterson’s White, or Oxychloride of Lead; Pearl White, or Nitrate of Bismuth. Yellows. — Cologne Yellow, or Chromate and Sul- phate of Lead, with Sulphate of Lime; Jaune Min- eral, or Chromate of Lead, Gallstone, Indian Yellow, or Urio-phosphate o** Lime; Yellow Lake, a vegetable production; Italian Pink, called sometimes Dutch and English Pink, a vegetable product; Quercitron Lake, a vegetable production; Orpiment, sometimes called Chinese or King’s Yellow, or Sulphurate of Arsenic; Strontian Yellow, a metallic preparation; Arsenic Yellow, prepared from arsenic; Bismuth Yellow, or Chromate Bismuth; Copper Yellow, pre^- pared from copper; Gelbin’s Yellow, or Chromate of Lime; Indium Yellow, prepared from the metal indium; Iodine Yellow, or Iodide of Lead; Iron Yel- 38 THE USE OF COLORS. low, a protoxide of iron; Massicot Yellow or Orange, a preparation of lead; Patent Yellow, a preparation of lead; Platinum Yellow, prepared from the metal platinum; Thallium Yellow, prepared from the metal thallium; Thwaite’s Yellow, a chromate of cadmium; Turbith Mineral, or Queen’s Yellow, a sulphate of mercury; Uranium Yellow, from the metal uranium; Yellow Carmine, Orient Yellow. Beds.— Carmine, a preparation from cochineal, semi-permanent in water-color and fugitive in oil; Dragon’s Blood, prepared from a resin brought from the East; Bed Chrome, a chromate of lead; Bed Lead, an oxide of lead; Antimony Bed, prepared from antimony; Chica Bed, a vegetable production; Cobalt Bed, from cobalt; Copper Bed, from copper; Ferrate of Baryta Bed, from baryta; Iodine Pink, procured from iodine and mercury; Lawson’s Bed; Manganese Bed, from the metal manganese; Bed Chalk; Bed Precipitate of Mercury; Bose Pink, from Brazil wood; Silver Bed, a preparation from silver; Thallium Bed, from the metal thallium; Ultramarine Bed; Uranium Bed. Blues. — Blue Carmine. It is an oxide of molybd num; Bice, prepared from copper; Blue Ashes, prepared from copper; Blue Verditer, prepar- ed from copper; Egyptian Blue, prepared from cop- per; Saunders Blue, prepared from copper; Schwein- furt Blue, prepared from copper; Iodine Blue; Iridium Blue; Manganese Blue; Platinum Blue; Tungsten Blue. Oranges. — Mixed Orange; Anotta, a vegetable production; Antimony Orange; Chromate of Mer- cury; Damonico, prepared from iron; Gamboge Orange, a gum; Madder Orange; Orange Lead; THE USE OF COLORS. 39 Orange Orpiment, a preparation of arsenic; Thallium Orange; Uranium Orange; Zinc Orange. Greens. — Malachite Green, a preparation of cop- per; Verdigris Green, a preparation of copper; Mixed Green; Chrome Green, chromate of lead, with Prus- sian blue; Hooker’s Green, gamboge- and Prussian blue; Sap Green, a vegetable product; Chrome Ai- seniate, from arseniate of potash and chromic oxide; Copper Borate, from copper; Green Bice, from cop- per; Green Ultramarine, prepared from French Ul- tramarine; Mineral Green, lead and copper; Uranium Green; Titianium Green. Purples. — Violet Carmine, vegetable; Orchil Pur- ple, vegetable; Bismuth Purple; Cobalt Purple; Prus- sian Purple, prussiate of iron; Sandal Wood Purple, vegetable; Tin Violet. Olives. — Mixed Olive; Olive Green, a mixed green; Olive Lake, vegetable; Burnt Verdigris. Browns. — Asphaltum, mineral pitch; Mummy, mineral and animal; Prussian Brown, from Prussian Blue; Bitumen, mineral pitch; Cadmium Brown; Chrome Browns; Copper Browns; French Prussian Brown, from Prussian Blue. Marones. — Mixed Marone; Chica Marone, veget- able; Chocolate, lead and copper; Cobalt Marone. There are other preparations, which have not been added to this list, as they are alike unworthy of the painter’s consideration. Both Strontian and Orient Yellows have been much employed by painters of late years; and al- though they have hitherto been looked upon as per- manent, a little experience with these colors will soon indicate that they are not so. THE USE OF COLORS. 40 VEHICLES OR MEDIUMS. THEIR USE IN COMBINATION WITH COLORS. The mediums necessary to convey colors to can- vas, ought to have the serious consideration of every painter. Various kinds of vehicles have always been used for this purpose. A few of them, no doubt, have conduced to the permanence of the works in which they have been employed, while others have facilitated their destruction. V ehicles have two functions. First, they are mixed with some colors to give them a drying property. Second, they are used to thin transparent colors, in order to make them fit for glazing purposes. They were also employed by the early painters in oil in combination with all opaque colors. Mediums composed of drying oil and Mastic var- nish have been used too freely by the English school of painters. On the other hand, the French painters for the most part eschew vehicles altogether. Indeed, they go to the other extreme by employing colors as free from oil or medium as possible. Very little medium should be used to thin a light color with, when it is intended for solid painting. All mediums become horny in time, when too much is used, and this change is more visible in light colors than in dark ones. Should a color be found inconveniently thick for work, which is often the case, it can be made thinner by the addition of a little raw linseed or nut oil. In the works of the Dutch and Flemish schools we have excellent evidence of the proper use of mediums, and, to a great extent, the preservation of these works is due to the judicious use of them. THE USE OF COLORS. 41 Every painter, after a few years’ practice in his art, usually selects that particular medium or vehicle, to mix with his colors, which has chanced to have found most favor with him. He is sometimes so un- duly warped to its imaginary merits, that he is in- duced to condemn all others. The student is often bewildered, and in the utmost uncertainty as to what medium he ought to adopt. Amongst the many ad- visers which he often finds, and from his own want of knowledge on the point, he not unfrequently selects one, the least eligible for his purpose. Sugar or acetate of lead, sulphate of zinc, gum mastic, plaster of Paris, boiled oil, maguilps, etc., etc., are’all used as dryers, all of which are quite un- necessary, and what is more, most of these substances seriously interfere with the permanence of any work in which they may be present. In warm weather pure raw linseed or nut oil is generally sufficient for mixing with all opaque colors to give them a drying quality. When transparent colors are used, and more especially when glazing with them is desirable, good Copal or Amber varnish, to which a little raw linseed oil has been added, is all that is necessary to mix with them. Time has proved these ingredients to be more per- manent than anything else. Should this medium be found inconvenient to work with at first, practice will soon overcome the difficulty. When the madders are used, a little Copal and Amber varnish alone, may be mixed with them to make them dry. The author has gone very carefully over the evi- dence furnished by ancient writers on art, as well as the experiments detailed by modern chemists, refer- i 42 THE USE OF COLORS.. ring to the materials used as mediums for painting in oil in the fourteenth century. The only conclusion at which he has been able to arrive in connection with his own practice is, that gum Copal and Amber, in combination with nut or linseed oil, were the chief ingredients employed to give to colors the consistency necessary for the painter’s work. This preparation was subsequently employed, to cover pictures with when finished. The early works in distemper, produced prior to the discovery of oil-painting in the fourteenth cen- tury, received a coat of varnish, mainly for protection, as soon as they were finished, and which varnish has been pronounced after analysis to consist for the most part of Copal and Amber. It is easy to suppose that in a short time after the period referred to, this preparation would naturally suggest itself as being suited for mixing directly with the colors themselves, in place of the distemper or glue size, which up to that time had been in use, and which had been attended with so much incon- venience. The fact of Copal and Amber varnish having been used by the earlier painters in distemper, to cover their works in the manner alluded to, it was only necessary to move one step further to arrive at the discovery of oil-painting. This was done by adding such an oil to the too quickly drying varnish, as would sufficiently retard its siccative qualities, and make it more manageable when combined with the colors. It appears certain that either nut or linseed oil, or per- haps both, were used for the purpose referred to. By mixing this medium directly with the colors, before they were applied to the panel, it would give THE USE OF COLORS. 43 to them that consistency and readiness for use, as compared with the earlier process that would soon revolutionize the pictorial arts of that period, and which, as we know, actually did take place. This was really the nature of the discovery in oil- painting, made by the early Flemish painters, and for which J. Van Eyck and his brother have obtain- ed the credit. It must be remembered that the whole of the me- guilps are of comparatively modern introduction in oil-painting. Doubtless they assist colors to work pleasantly, more especially in the process of glazing. It is also a fact that the indiscreet use of them has contributed greatly to the ruin of many fine works. Numerous recipes have been handed down to us from the time Van Eyck, for the composition of vehicles for oil-painting. After they have all been duly con- sidered, we gather that the three best contained resins, Amber, Copal, and Sandarac. The two first were dissolved in either nut, poppy, or linseed oil; the last in an essential oil or spirit, and all were used as vehicles with the whole of the colors employed. At the present time there is no process by which Amber varnish can be made suitable for light colors, the preparation being always very dark, in conse- quence of the great heat to which the amber and oil have to be subjected, in order to liquify the amber. Therefore, whenever pure Amber varnish was used by the earliest oil-painters, it could only have been with the darkest colors. It has been thought by some that a process of bleaching Amber varnish has been lost, and that another process could not be discovered. But as all varnish preparations were made in the house of the 44 : THE USE OF COLORS. painter, with the simplest means at his command, it is difficult to suppose that modern chemistry could not supply all that the painter of former times could accomplish in this direction. It is most probable, as we have inferred, that Copal was used in the earliest oil pictures, and it is reasonable to assume that it was mixed with the lighter colors, instead of Amber, or perhaps in com- bination with it. Copal is soluble in linseed or nut oil at a much lower heat than amber, and the varnish produced by these ingredients is of a paler color than Amber var- nish. This peculiarity fits Copal varnish for mixing with all colors, but with the lighter ones more especi- ally. In some respects Sandarac resembles Copal, but it is unlikely that it was much used, as it would not work in so friendly a manner with the oil colors as the two others resins would do. Amber has been found in combination with some of the colors in the works of the early Flemish school, but we have no evidence that it was not al- ways mixed with some of the lighter colored var- nishes, such as Copal, already referred to, and which in all probability was the case. It is also most likely that both Copal and Amber varnish were always em- ployed by the earliest Flemish painters, and in com- bination with either nut or linseed oil, and that they were mixed with all their colors as a vehicle, before they were applied to the panel. Moreover, it is also very probable that such vehicles have conduced to that permanence in these early works, which now distinguishes them from all others. Should this as- sumption be correct — and it appears to be so — it furnishes a substantial reason why we ought to adopt THE USE OF COLORS. 45 Copal and Amber varnish with the addition of oil, as a vehicle for all oil pictures now executed, and aban- don the use of meguilps altogether. One point, however, must be insisted on, and it is, that the Copal and Amber varnish be prepared from resins of the best quality, and quite free from adulteration. These resins carefully dissolved according to one of the ancient processes which have been handed down to us, would form the best preparation for pictures. Combined with linseed oil, they would give a medium resembling as nearly as possible that of the early painters, and this, if discreetly employed, would have an enormous influence in making modern oil pictures more permanent than they are at present. A work painted with the vehicle alluded to, when dry, might receive a thin coat of Mastic varnish, for its further protection. In the course of time, and when it was felt desirable to remove this covering, it could be done without risk to the painting. The Copal and Amber varnish with which the work was originally painted, would resist the action of turpen- tine and alcohol, which are the solvents usually em- ployed to remove old Mastic varnish from pictures in the process of cleaning. The use of mastic mediums during the last hun- dred years, has been amongst the chief causes of de- terioration in the oil pictures produced. When mastic is combined with boiled linseed oil it forms the vehicle known as meguilp, and which has been so much employed in more modern times. The co- agulated substance, which the mastic, boiled linseed oil and litharge, form, is so pleasant to work with, that it has allured many painters to the most indis- creet use of it. 46 THE USE OF COLORS. When employed in glazing it often becomes great- ly discolored. Whenever the varnish of a picture is required to be removed, where Mastic meguilp has been freely used, the work is in great danger. The solvents which are employed to remove the varnish, also attack this meguilp, and many fine works have been ruined in consequence of this. TURPENTINE. It is not generally known that the use of turpen- tine with colors, is in many instances detrimental to their permanence. The mixing of turpentine with colors when painting, explains much of the change which we often see take place in a day or two after they have been applied to the canvas. This some- times arises from the impurity of the spirit, or from some material of a caustic nature, being mixed with it to clarify it. But oftener it is the result of the immediate contact of one color with another, which the use of turpentine favors. Many colors are chem- ically antagonistic to each other even when carefully manufactured. Mixing them with turpentine brings them into contact so closely that they begin to act on one another immediately they come together, when a visible change soon ensues. Flake White and Rose Madder, mixed together with turpentine, or with any medium in which it is present, will sometimes change in twelve hours. Should the Rose Madder have been adulterated with Cochineal Lake, a very marked change will take place in a few hours, and more especially in the presence of white lead. The use of turpentine with colors also assists in producing fissures in a work, In evaporation it THE USE OF COLORS. 4:7 carries off with it some of the oil with which the colors are mixed. They are then left without sufficient elasticity, and in drying they contract, and the nu- merous small fissures which we so frequently find in newly painted pictures are much due to this cause. OIL OF SPIKE LA VENDER. The frequent reference to Oil of Lavender, which has been made by the writers on art of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, in their recipes for varnishes and vehicles for painting in oil, shows that it was often used amongst the painters of that period. The early painters of Bruges in all probability used Oil of Spike Lavender, either instead of turpentine or in combination with it. It has been pointed out that much of the turpen- tine now sold is detrimental to the stability of colors when mixed with them. If its use were to be re- placed by the essential Oil of Lavender no change* need be feared; and it would serve to thin colors and vehicles, quite as well as turpentine. It appears therefore desirable that the essential Oil of Lavender should take the place of turpentine on the palette, in readiness to combine with colors as well as to thin the Amber and Copal medium when too thick for use. PREPARATION OF COLORS, MATERIALS, ETC. The conditions under which a painter commenced his education in former times, were totally different from what they are now. In the early days of art there were no artists’ color men, as at present, to provide materials. There was much work to be done 48 THE USE OF COLORS. outside*the actual pursuit of painting. The difficul- ties and inconveniencies of preparing canvases and panels, and the manufacturing of brushes, colors and vehicles, had frequently to be overcome in the studio of the painter. These were impediments in the way to the actual pursuit of painting, but they appear to have had the good effect of sharpening the appetite of the real student, making him doubly eager to fol- low the more pleasant part of his occupation, when the time arrived for him to do so. Of necessity, then, the early painters had to pre- pare, or have prepared under their own eyes, the materials necessary for their work. To learn the art of painting, years of apprenticeship had to be served in the painter’s atelier. The time of the student was at first chiefly occu- pied in the preparation of materials for the use of his master and the advanced pupils. With knowledge acquired in this way, it can be readily understood why it is that the paintings by the old masters are in such good preservation, as compared with those of modern times. Pictures ought to be produced with, that care as to the materials employed, so as to escape as much as possible those forms of change or decay to which they are usually subject after they leave the studio. If only a year or two is sometimes sufficient to dim the brilliancy of works even by our best painters, what will be their appearance at the end of a couple of centuries? This is not enough considered in these days by painters. They rely too much on the colorman to furnish all they may require, and scarcely ever trouble themselves with anything of the kind, be- THE USE OF COLORS. 49 yond the actual production of the work they may be engaged on. It is a very remarkable fact that those pictures which were produced about the year 1400, when oil painting was first introduced, and when the process was in its infancy, are in a better condition than those which were painted centuries afterwards. Some of the works by Van Eyck and his brother, painted about this time, are in a wonderful state of preservation, free from the usual evidences of decay, and as bright and clear in color as though just painted. This is mainly the result of the materials having been properly selected, and carefully prepared and employed. These facts greatly concern modern painters, aud should be matters for their anxious consideration. MIXING, AND NATURE OF COLORS. - English oil colors are nearly always too stiff for use when first squeezed from the tube, and more especial- ly Flake White. When this is the case it is best to begin work by first thinning the white with nut or raw linseed oil, good nut oil is the best. This should be done whether it is intended to mix tints or not. All other colors, when too thick, must be thinned with linseed oil, to which a little Copal and Amber varnish is added; and in winter time it is better to mix linseed oil with Flake White. Nut oil is not so liable to turn white yellow, as linseed oil is. It has not the drying quality of linseed oil, but white lead, being a dryer in itself, does not require assistance in summer-time. 50 THE USE OF COLORS. The Madders, Raw Sienna, and some of the dark- est colors, should be mixed with a little pure Copal varnish, as these pigments will not dry readily with- out help. A little observant experience will, however, soon suggest what colors require the assistance of a dryer, before application to the canvas. Much has been written on the qualities and habits of pigments and vehicles intended for the use of the painter, and it would almost appear that he need not concern himself further in this direction, but simply take what is offered by the colorman. This view is incorrect, for during the whole of his career he will be annoyed with changes of one kind or other con- nected with his materials, of which he should always try to ascertain the cause. Indeed the permanence of his works will depend on this kind of observation. In saying this, it is not intended that the painter should absorb himself too much in experiments with colors and vehicles, for this would be loss of time. The course is now being made pretty clear of impedi- ments, both chemical and mechanical, notwithstand- ing the drawbacks referred to, and if the student will make himself acquainted with what has already been done in this way, he need not trouble himself very much further about these matters. A long list of colors, now manufactured, ought never to have had the least consideration of the painter. Their beauty nearly always fascinates the inexperienced, and in ignorance they are employed indiscriminately. Pale Cadmium, which is so tempting a color, and which surpasses every other yellow in beauty, is one of the most fugitive of all pigments. It is not only THE USE OF COLORS. 51 liable to change in itself, but it affects nearly all colors with which it is combined. With Flake White, Lemon Cadmium will some- times become nearly black in a day. It is a chemical compound of the metal cadmium with sulphur, and the heat employed in its manufacture, is not suffi- ciently great to ensure permanence of color. The sul- phur being imperfectly united with the cadmium, it attacks the white lead with which it is mixed, or rather combines with it, when sulphide of lead is formed, which is of a dark color. Reference is made to this pigment in particular, as it is much used by landscape painters. The change in the greens so much complained of, is due very often to the employment of this color. It should, therefore, never be used without the greatest caution. It may here be remarked that when any of the cadmiums are used to form tints, it is always safer to mix Zinc White with them, instead of Flake White Although those bordering on orange are not so liable to change in combination with white lead, (Flake White) as the Yellow Cadmium is, it is better not to bring them in contact with pigments which are at all likely to affect them, or be affected by them. Cadmium has not been used more than about forty-five years, and we are, therefore, only imper- fectly acquainted with its habits as compared with our knowledge of the older colors. Zinc White has not so much body as white lead, but its enduring qualities, when pure, ought to re- commend it to the painter’s use. It is not affected by other colors, neither does it interfere with any pigments when properly prepared. 52 THE USE OF COLORS. One of the chief causes of the unstable character of modern colors may be attributable to insufficient washing, and too speedy preparation. Of late years there has been great competition in the prices of colors, oils and varnishes, and even the best colormen have felt it necessary to keep pace with it. This has induced quicker methods of prep- aration, as well as more extensive adulteration. If a thoroughly careful and conscientious course were to be observed, it would be of the greatest ad- vantage to art. Let some colorman begin anew, by taking special care that all the materials which come into his hands are pure, and that the washing and grinding of cer- tain pigments be as perfect as possible. Let him also supply only those colors which he knows to be of the best quality and permanent. Or if he chooses to sell those which are only semi-permanent, let this be indicated on the usual label attached to the tube or cake, so that painters may be made aware with what they have to deal. The price of such materials might be raised ac- cording to the extra time and care given to their preparation. There can be no doubt that any color- man who would take the matter up in this form, would soon have the best part of the business to himself, for at the present time no such person exists. The formation of a body or society for the preparation of painters’ materials, under the immedi- ate control and direction of painters of repute, would doubtless be still better. Cheapness, or rather low price, should be the last thing an artist ought to think of in relation to the cost of his materials. THE USE OF COLORS. 53 There is no kind of manufacture more deserving of consideration, than that of making painters’ ma- terials, and more especially that relating to pig- ments. This is at once evident, if we realize that from a few tubes of color, of small comparative cost, a work of the value of hundreds, and sometimes thousands of pounds, is often produced. When it is considered that the permanent or fugitive character of such works, is to so great an extent in the hands of colormen, their responsibility is certainly very great. In order to ascertain if colors change, and how soon such changes may take place, the painter should try experiments for himself. Let certain pigments be taken, both mixed and unmixed, and matched with such objects as may be in his possession of permanent colors, as glass, enamel, porcelain, etc. These colors or compound hues might be put upon the things referred to. After they have been allowed to remain upon them for a few weeks, any change that may have occurred will be easily seen. In some cases the painter will be astonished at the rapidity and extent of the alteration in these trial colors, and by this experiment he will be able to as- certain very distinctly what colors to employ, and what to avoid. A pigment, when well prepared, may be quite per- manent, but careless preparation, adulteration, or in- sufficient washing, will not only render it fugitive, but damaging to all other colors which come in con- tact with it. Take Zinc White, which has been either imperfectly made or adulterated, as an exam- ple of instability, but which is permanent when properly made. This pigment is often so badly 54 THE USE OF COLORS. manufactured, that when employed at all thinly, it flies away in a few weeks. This may be seen by covering over with it, a chequered or figured surface of light and dark colors, or dark gray and white, making the darker parts almost invisible with Zinc White. In a little time these marks will begin to re- appear, through the white, and in the space of a month or two, they will be nearly as visible as though nothing had been put upon them. Should suspicion be entertained of the permanence of a color, experiments ought to be made with it at once, in order to ascertain if the doubt be well founded. A number of tints with the suspected color and Flake White, should be mixed. It should also be compounded with other colors, which, in the painter’s opinion, have been, or are likely to be af- fected by it. Patches of these tints and hues might then be put on a piece of mill-board or canvas and hung in different situations, more or less likely to af- fect colors of any description. Of course each patch or trial of color should be numbered and the same entered in a memorandum book; corresponding with such number, the colors which may have been em- ployed to form the tint or hue should be named, as well as the vehicle which was mixed with them, with any remark that the painter might have felt necessary to make at the time. If this kind of experiment were to be followed up for a few years by various painters, and at the end of that time they compared notes with each other, most valuable information would be obtained ; and being put on record, it would be of the utmost importance to the painter and his art. The painter should always make an effort to use as THE USE OF COLORS. 55 few colors as possible, and they should be of the most permanent kind. The use of a limited palette with the old masters was a necessity, and this explains, to a great extent, the good condition of mar.y of their works at the present time. It must not be forgotten that many colormen manufacture their goods to sell, and almost irrespective of their final use in the pro- duction of costly works of art. The most fugitive colors may be obtained from them, as well as the most durable, and the painter who is uninformed as to the nature of colors, generally employs them all indiscriminately, and of course, to the detriment of his work. Painters often attach themselves too much to the use of some special color for certain purposes. This is also a mistake. There is so much in practice, that if the painter sees the true color of the object he wishes to imitate, and is acquainted with the full power of his palette, he will not find it necessary to tie himself strictly to the use of any particular color, so long as others at his command are not fleeting. Some color-makers are in the habit of mixing bright and cheap colors with the dull ones, such as Yellow Ochre, Light, Venetian or Indian Bed, Terre Verte, etc. The purpose is to make them attractive to the buyer. Bright colors of the kind alluded to should be regarded with suspicion, for although they may produce pleasing results at the time they are used, in all probability they will not be found permanent. SUPERIORITY OF PANELS TO CANVAS. On looking through the works of different schools, countries, and periods, exhibited last winter (1880) at Burlington House, with a view to examine their 56 THE USE OF COLORS. various states of preservation or decay, no one can doubt that those pictures which have been painted on panel are in a much better condition than those painted on canvas. Pictures on canvas are much more subject to de- terioration, than those on panel. In many of these works the evidence of injury re- sulting from damp situations was obvious, particular- ly that from the moisture from walls against which they have been hung. The patches of discoloration and mildew were some of the indications of this. Where the paint had been thinly laid on the canvas, this was occasi Dually very conspicuous. Then again, the texture of certain kinds of canvas tends to the secretion of dirt, which, after a time cannot be removed without damage to the work. When a canvas is not wedged up tightly, wrinkles sometimes occur, and any motion which may be in- duced by the looseness of it, will produce cracks. The numerous cracks which are to be found on old pictures painted on canvas, are for the most part due to this cause. So long as the paint is elastic, this kind of injury will not show itself, but so soon as it is quite dry, it becomes very brittle, and the least bending of the surface will crack it. Canvas is also incapable of resisting a blow, and the pressure of a nail from the back may make a hole in it. Even chalk marks on the back of the canvas, will cause cracks in the surface to correspond. Panels are less liable to any of these risks, and they are capable of resisting most other injurious influ- ences to a greater extent than canvas. Of course there are certain disadvantages in con- THE USE OF COLORS. 5Y nection with panel pictures, which are not common to pictures on canvas, but they may be all provided against. Both large and small cabinet pictures ought to be painted on panel, when the durability of the work is of consideration. Works painted by the same mas- ter, at the same time, and on the two materials referred to, show a very marked difference in their states of preservation in favor of the use of panel. When the work has been painted on canvas, the color has sunken and become comparatively dull to whatsit originally was. Many of those works which are on panel are as brilliant as if only just painted. The works by Rubens are singularly illustrative of this. All of those which have been executed on panel are bright and fresh looking, while those which are on canvas, although painted with a thick impasto, have gone down very much. The works by Teniers, Ostade, Metzu, Terburge and others, also show this peculiar difference in condition, when the two materials have been employ- ed by the same painter. In the Price-0 wen collection, now in the gallery at the South Kensington Museum, is “A Portrait of a Lady,” by Sir Joshua Reynolds, painted on panel, which was unusual with this master. The preservation of the picture is in every way so perfect that it looks as though it had only recently left the easel. This beautiful work is so vivid, clear, and free from cracks and fissures, that it is an excellent example, showing the superiority of the panel over canvas. The writer has seen most of the works by Sir Joshua, which have been publicly exhibited during 58 THE USE OF COLORS. the last twenty-five years, and he does not recollect any work on canvas, by the same master, approach- ing it, as to its state of preservation. There will be found many pictures on panels, by all the early masters, which have suffered from various causes. But then in all probability their state would have been much worse, had they been painted on canvas. These panel pictures may have been sub- jected to influences which most likely would have entirely annihilated works on canvas. In fact, from the appearance which many of them present, this must have been the case. In some instances the paint is seen peeling from the surface of the panel. The underground of the picture appears to have been composed of animal glue size, and whiting. The form of decay alluded to has no doubt arisen from atttacks of damp through the back of the picture, which decomposed the size with which the priming was made. The ad- hesive quality of the whiting preparation thus de- stroyed, the whole of the substance would in a little time leave the surface to which it was originally ap- plied. If the backs and edges of the panels had been well covered with oil paint, or with a coat of wax and tur- pentine, in all probability the in jury alluded to would not have occurred to them. In most instances, when a picture on panel has suffered, it might have been easily prevented by a little forethought. i DAMAGE TO OIL PAINTINGS BY DAMP AND GAS. Deterioration in pictures is sure to take place under the most favorable conditions. THE USE OF COLORS. 59 Even when the knowledge of the chemist is com- bined with the skill of the painter, certain changes will go on more or less, although in most instances they may be nearly imperceptible. But when proper care has not been taken as to the materials on which the picture is painted or the preparation of grounds, in the choice and mixing of pigments, and in the use of vehicles, in order to prevent deterioration as much as possible, it ought not to be a surprise if changes show themselves very rapidly in various ways. " Oil pictures commonly suffer from being attacked at the back by damp from the walls on which they may be hung. The canvas on which they are painted is often so incapable of resisting moisture, that it not only soon becomes rotten, but the damp finds its way through it to the colors on the front surface. This form of decay, for the most part, may be prevented, or at least checked, by painting the back of the canvas with a coat of white lead. Painters’ canvas is usually prepared by first cover- ing one side of it with a coat of whiting, to which glue size has been added. Although the top surface of this preparation is afterwards protected by the coats of oil paint which it subsequently receives, that part of the glue and whiting which is immediately attached to the canvas, is always liable to be affected more or less by damp. No doubt the coat of whiting and size absorbs a portion of the oil from the color, which is afterwards laid upon it to finish the surface; nevertheless, this is attended with uncertainty, and the consequences are accordingly very serious. 60 THE USE OF COLORS. It is not unusual to find the back of a newly painted picture covered with a compact fur or fun- gus. In such a case an organic change has taken place in the priming of glue and whiting, the effect of damp on the glue size, and which, if not arrested, will ultimately end in the destruction of the picture. Whenever this may have happened, a certain damage will have been done to the work which cannot be re- paired, and this will be more distinctly shown in the course of time by the paint peeling off the canvas wholesale. In rooms where gas is used for lighting, any tex- tile fabric which may be in them greatly suffers. In- deed, in some instances, a few years are sufficient to effect complete decay. This is shown by the break- ing of picture-cords, window-blind-cords, etc. The backs of oil pictures on canvas are subject to the same influence. It must, therefore, be seen that unless they are protected, destruction must en- sue. It may be said, in answer to this, that oil pictures on canvas may be lined and relined when necessary; and this is quite true. At the same time it would be a mistake to suppose that a work escapes injury whenever this is done. The writer is well acquainted with the various processes resorted to for cleaning, restoring and lin- ing pictures, and feels assured that every effort should be made to protect works of art, from the necessity of undergoing any operation of the kind. A coat of oil paint, applied to the backs of can- vases, will prevent the form of decay above alluded to. THE USE OF COLORS. 61 When canvas is used the smooth kind is the best for small or moderate sized works, and when very high finish is deemed desirable. Canvas of a rough surface is not so well adapted for works of this class, as it interferes with the proper effect. But for paintings of large dimensions, and when high finish is not intended, then Koman canvas or ticking are preferable. COLOR OF GROUND FOR PANELS OR CANVAS. The ground of the canvas or panels on which pictures are intended to be painted should always be of a light color, and the permanent brightness of a work will much depend on this. If a dark ground be employed it will soon show through the light colors thinly painted on it. Many of the pictures of the old Spanish school, being painted on a dull red ground, have become so dark that the thinly painted parts are scarcely discernible. Nearly all the works by Nicolas and Gasper Pous- sin are painted either on a red or umber ground, and the color of the works of the former, which was never pleasant, has at length become very offensive; this is due to the change referred to. Everything considered, a pure white ground is pre- ferable to all others, and pictures w r hich have been painted with a fair impasto on a white ground, have been found to survive the ravages of time the best. BRUSHES, ETC. Good tools are indispensible to good work. They should always be kept clean and in proper order. 62 THE USE OF COLORS. Whenever it is practicable, it is desirable that hog- hair brushes should be employed to lay on color in preference to sable. When this is done with due intelligence, the work will be much more satisfactory than when performed with sable brushes. There is often a feeble look about a work executed with sable brushes, which is rarely the case when hog-hair tools have been used. Brushes must always be washed with soap and water at the end of each day’s work. After they are wiped with a towel, they should be drawn to a point, and allowed to dry thoroughly. By this practice the points of the brushes, which are so essential in work- ing, are preserved until they are worn out. If this habit is not observed, brushes will not yield readily to the will of the painter, and they are soon unfit for use. If students do not keep their materials in good condition, their general success is interfered with, and the interest is checked which ought always to be felt in their work. The study of art in itself is difficult enough, and no unnecessary impediment ought to come in the way, in the form of imperfect materials, to make it more so. The habit should be formed early of using brushes as large as possible. By doing so the quality of the work will more likely be better than when small ones are used; and what is still more important, the student will be obliged to work slower and with more deliberation. When painting with large brushes every stroke must be well guided, or confusion and emptiness will soon be the result. Every touch, when well directed, THE USE OF COLORS. 63 will probably be just the embodiment of the eye, the mind and the hand, which last should ever be the obedient servant of the two other agents. The hand should never be permitted to work on its own ac- count, a habit which we so constantly see. The itse of small brushes always favors poor work. They do not require so constantly directing as large ones do. They cover but a small space on the can- vas at a stroke, and therefore will not go so far wrong as a large one would do without proper direc- tion. Small brushes encourage a thoughtless and idle method of working, most damaging to the education of the student, while insipidity or inanity will most likely be the chief features of the work itself. The forms of brushes are of some consequence with most painters. Animal and landscape painters occasionally have brushes specially made for them. This was the habit of Sir Edwin Landseer. Round tools are best suited for some kinds of work, while flat ones will do other kinds better. Ordinary intelligence is, however, usually sufficient to suggest what may be required in such matters, after a little practice. If one may judge from observation, it is the habit of all students when beginning to paint, to hold a brush in the mouth. This no doubt arises from the difficulty felt at first, of holding in one hand a sheaf of brushes, together with the palette and mahLstick. This practice should be guarded against. Oval palettes, made either with walnut, sycamore, or satin wood, are found to be the most agreeable for oil painting. Mahogany, although so much used, is not a pleasant wood for the purpose. 64 THE USE OF COLORS. For water-color painting, papier-mache palettes will be found very serviceable. They can be had of any tint, and as large as those generally used for oil painting, and are not too heavy. CARE AND TREATMENT OE PICTURES. Oil paintings should never be turned with their faces to the wall. Both old and new works become discolored by exclusion from light. Newly painted pictures in oil color undergo a rapid change when placed in the dark. White first becomes a dirty yel- low, and ultimately turns to a light brown. Every other color, whether mixed or unmixed, is affected in the same way, although the change may not be so apparent as it is in the light ones. This deterioration arises chiefly from the darkening of the oils with which the colors may be mixed, or the vehicles used to convey them to the canvas. A painting discolored by the cause referred to, may be partly restored to its original condition by exposure to full light for a few weeks. If the darkening of a picture is due to some chem- ical action in the colors themselves, which is not un- frequently the case, the original condition of the work cannot be restored. VARNISHING PICTURES, ETC. The application of a thick coat of varnish to an oil picture as usually practised is a mistake. The chief use of varnish is to bring out the full value of the darker colors, and to protect the work generally from dirt, and from the action of injurious vapor. A very thin coat of varnish is always suffi- cient to do this. THE USE OF COLORS. 65 Soon after a painting is finished, a smear of medium, composed of raw linseed oil and Copal var- nish, may be rubbed over the surface of it. At the end of three years, and after it has been carefully sponged with a little cold water to remove the dirt, a thin coat of Mastic varnish may be applied. In a little time after this has been done, a bloom will most likely appear on the surface of the picture. This may be removed easily by lightly rubbing it with an old silk handkerchief, or a piece of soft wash leather, on which a little raw linseed oil has been placed. The surface thus produced will keep in good condition, under ordinary circumstances, for many years, and without any further varnishing. When varnish is put upon oil pictures too soon after they are painted, it tears up the partially dried color, and produces fissures which are nearly always irreparable. Nevertheless it is desirable that the surface of the picture should be protected by var- nish, as soon as the paint is dry enough to receive it, for all colors will deteriorate unless this is done. ASPHALTUM AND FUGITIVE COLORS. Notwithstanding the fascinating peculiarities of Bitumen or Asphaltum, they should never have a place on the painter’s palette. They are not pig- ments, but simply pitch or deeply colored vanishes. They never dry as colors do, but alter with the temperature, whether the result of the sun’s rays or the fire of a room. That preparation usually sold under the name of Bitumen is only Asphaltum, with a little boiled oil, mastic meguilp, or wax, added. These ingredients give to it that consistency which we find, when squeezed from the tube. By these 66 THE USE OF COLORS. additions it is intended that Asphaltum should be more eligible for the painter’s use. This is a delu- sion, and the damaging effect on any work where it may have been applied, is only a question of time. Painters are sometimes aware of the results of the use of Asphaltum in pictures; yet they are tempted, by the beauty of its hue, to try further experiments with it in their own way, and they rather persuade themselves, that their own special method of applicaton, will overcome its objection- able tendencies. Sir Joshua Reynolds, Wilkie, Jackson, Opie and other painters have used Asphaltum in many of their works,and the wide fissures with which we find some of them covered, are the result of its use more than anything else. All this shows very clearly that we ought to avoid Asphaltum. Many of the fine portraits by Sir Joshua have been painted in combination with Asphaltum and fugitive colors. We are able to form an idea of what he used, from ISTorthcote’s notes in his life of Sir Joshua, and also of the cause of the changes which have taken place. The earlier part of his career was devoted to ex- periments, but they appear to have been in no way made with reference to the permanence of his pro- ductions. His chief object was to obtain some oil-vehicle, or pigment which would assist him in giving the like- ness or peculiarity of surface of the object he wished to imitate, as also to obtain tone in combination with brilliancy of effect; and he appears to have forgotten every other consideration in this effort. Sir Joshua used the yellow and red preparations of Arsenic, THE USE OF COLORS. 67 Orpiment, and Realgar; pigments of the most fleet- ing kind, as well as the most injurious to those colors they come in contact with. Wax, Bitumen, Mastic, Carmine, the whole of the Cochineal lakes and other materials, equally unsuitable for oil painting, were also employed to aid him in his endeavor to imitate what he saw in nature. FISSURES. It frequently happens that in a week or two after a work has been painted, small cracks or fissures are to be seen all over the surface of it, but more especially in the darker parts. When a work has been swiftly pain ted, or executed at cne sitting, this defect is found to occur still oftener. It is caused by the contraction of the color in drying. The oil with which the pigment was mixed by the colorman, was not sufficiently elastic to admit of that contraction which always takes place from the action of the air. The colorman finds it necessary to mix his pigments, when preparing them, with nut or poppy oil as well as with linseed oil, to prevent them from drying in the tube, or becoming fat by keeping. If too much of the two former oils is present in a color, its elasticity is interfered with, and as a consequence the color divides in drying. When turpentine is used to thin certain colors, it also assists in producing fissures. In the evaporation of the turpentine, some of the oils are most likely carried oft with it, leaving the color insufficiently elastic to remain intact. In all probability the old painters ground their colors in linseed oil as they were required, which prevented defects of this kind. THE USE OF COLORS. THE PALNTIH G-ROOM. The painting-room should be lighted from the north or northeast. From any other aspect sun- light would interfere too much with the work. For ordinary work the bottom of the window should be at least six feet from the floor of the room. When a painting-room is specially built, the window may come near to the floor ; the lower part might then be covered up with drapery according to the light re- quired. For figure subjects the light should be of a concentrated character. Eembrandt, and other mas- ters of bis time, preferred a very narrow aperture for the light, and the peculiarity of effect given by these painters to their works, is mainly due to this arrange- ment. It is very difficult to paint a good portrait in a diffuse light. Some of the heads by Eembrandt are painted from a model lighted from an aperture not more than eighteen inches square, while the painter himself re- ceived light for his work from another source. With the landscape-painter it is quite different. He generally paints his picture from sketches pre- viously prepared from nature; consequently, he only requires a full and good light. It is not necessary for it to be from the north ; and sometimes a large top light is preferred to all others. The walls of the painting-room should be of a warm grey, which may be made with white, black, Yellow Ochre, and a very little Prussian Blue in combination. The tint should be rather dark, so as not to give back much light. Such a tint, whether obtained in a paper-hanging, THE USE OF COLORS. 69 or a distemper color, will form a most pleasant back- ground for furniture, pictures, and the usual objects of the painting-room. It is also very well suited as a general background for the Jiving model. When, however, it is intended to give an outside effect to the objects to be represented, the upper part of the walls of the painting-room should be of a lighter color than the lower. The chocolate-colored tint, which has been so much employed in England, not only in studies, but in pub- lic buildings and picture-galleries, is simply hideous. No one who ever felt color truly, could have had the least sympathy with it, employed as it has been, in this country, without any balance or contrast. The floor of the painting-room should be covered with linoleum or something of that kind, and of an agreeable hue. On this material a number of worn and faded rugs might be placed here and there, and in such positions as would best suit the convenience, taste, and comfort of the painter. These rugs might be taken up readily, when required, and freed from dust, and the linoleum wiped over with a wet cloth, to remove lint and dirt. A well worn Turkey carpet in the middle of a painting-room, supplies a pleasant covering for the floor. The surrounding margin, which it may not cover, if painted over of a dark and good color, always produces a pleasant effect. Of course the furniture should be carefully select- ed. If the room is intended for a figure painter, every object acquired, should have some relation to its future usefulness in this direction. When the purchase of old tapestry can be made, nothing produces a more agreeable effect on the walls of the room, and it is always useful. Apart from its no THE USE OF COLORS. decorative characters it forms a ready background either for sitters or furniture. METHODS OE PAINTING. The various methods of painting practiced in both ancient and modern times, are not equally productive of lasting effects. On the whole, solid painting is found to be the most durable. The system of obtain- ing the greys in flesh -painting by scumbling, is a convenient and ready one, but ought to be employed with much judgment, or the color will soon change. When the tint forming the scumble is nicely calcu- lated, no doubt a more delicate and transparent grey will be the result, than when produced by solid paint- ing. The process, indeed, resembles that of nature. Much of the grey tint which we find in flesh, is the effect of a thin, semi-transparent, and delicately, colored skin covering a darker substance underneath, and thus producing those subtle blue and green greys, which the best colorists alone are able to imi- tate. The colors over which a scumble is placed ought never to be too dark, nor indeed much darker than the scumble itself, or they will soon eat through it. At any time it was the practice of Titian and other Venetian masters, to paint in the dead coloring of their work solidly. White, black, and a little Indian Bed in the shadows, were used for this purpose. Over this preparation the true hues of the objects were painted with transparent colors, introducing in the lights and half-lights, opaque and semi-opaque colors. Glazing was not confined to the deep shad- ows and dark half-tints, but the local hues of objects were often represented by this process. THE USE OF COLORS. 71 The method has been followed with success in continental schools, as well as by painters in this country. Studies, or copies from Titian’s works can be best made by this process. Indeed, such pictures as the ‘Entombment,’ in the Louvre, or the ‘ Peter Martyr/ could only be well imitated by this system of working, and it will also be found to be more en- during in its effects than most others. It is the practice of some painters, when they re- quire dull tints, to produce them by mixing several bright colors together, with the addition of white. This should never be done. Whenever the tint re- quired can be made with the more sombre colors, the brighter ones should not be employed for the pur- pose. As a rule, bright colors are more fugitive than dull ones, and when they are mixed together, they become still more liable to a change. Most of the bright colors are chemical productions; the manufac- ture of them is often very imperfect, arising from various causes, not easily controlled. Any slovenli- ness on the part of the workmen engaged in their preparation, and which it is to be feared, but too often occurs, would not only render a color fugitive in itself, but damaging to those with which it may come in contact. It will therefore be seen, how much more likely bright colors are to change than dull ones, the latter being either native earths, or mineral substances, and little affected by time. The tints used for flesh-painting in modern times, frequently change very rapidly. This is often due to the use of bright and fleeting colors, such as the lakes from cochineal. Yellow Cadmium, the light madders, &c. When the tints required for flesh can 72 THE USE OF COLORS. be produced by mixing white with the Vermilions, the iron reds (Light, Venetian, or Indian red), the Ochres, the Siennas, the Umbers, and the Naples Yellows, they may always be relied on as permanent. The bright colors will of course produce more fas- cinating tints, but they will not last so long as the dull ones. IMITATION - OF SURFACES. The imitation of various surfaces, by what is com- monly known amongst painters, as texture or “ qual- ity,” ought to be of consideration with the student. Certain surfaces may be best represented by intelli- gent brash work, and manipulative skill, rather than by an effort of absolute imitation. The quality of the furs of certain animals, dra- peries, the texture of fruit, and the foregrounds of landscapes, &c., &c., may often be better expressed by clever brush work and “ quality,” than by at- tempts at actual imitation. Sir Edwin Landseer possessed unusual skill of this kind, perhaps even to a greater extent than any other painter. When the process is carried too far, the effect be- comes offensive and vulgar, and it is then very just- ly called “trick.” So that much discrimination is necessary, in order to make the fullest use of mechan- ical means, and manipulative skill, without carrying them over the line of fitness and propriety. It is much better to err on the side of elaborate imitation, than to fall into methods of imitative trickery. THE USE OF COLORS. 73 GENERAL REMARKS ON THE PRACTICE OF PAINTING. The old painters of different schools and countries have employed various methods in the technical use of colors, for the pictorial representation of objects. Several of these methods were so perfect, that they have been constantly adopted in more modern times, down to the present. Indeed, in the hands of the painter who is acquainted with their resources, they furnish everything that can be desired. In the works of the Venetian School, we have the most complete evidence of power in this respect, which the technicalities of art can give. The works of Bellini, and other painters of his time, present to us their systems of thin painting over white grounds, and which were most likely prepared in distemper. These grounds have great power to reflect light, even when the colors are painted over them. At this period, manipulative skill was not so much the aim, as refined realization. The full power of the material was not then known. But when Titian, the pupil of Bellini, and Giorgione, had made them- selves fully aquainted with the means at their com- mand, they were soon able to develop a system of painting, and a manipulative knowledge which has never been surpassed. The life of Titian was one of experiments in his art. At the early part of his career he painted in the manner of his master. But in a short time this was embarrassing to him, and also insufficient. He then had recourse to painting in his subject in light and shade, in the most solid manner; depending on glazing for that harmony and depth of coloring, THE USE OF COLORS. Y4 which we see in his best works. Painting solidly with opaque color, and glazing afterwards, was also the habit of Giorgione, the two Palmas, Tintoretto, and Paolo Veronese. Painters of less notoriety, and living at the same time, also pursued this method of working. In Flanders it was copied by Rubens, and adopted by Vandyke and other pupils of Rubens. The works of Rembrandt also owe much to it. In Eng- land the most perfect exponent was Sir Joshua Rey- nolds. It is in fact, the only method of painting in oil suited to the execution of large works. The pictures of the old Dutch School are perfect, as small examples to students, showing the techni- calities of art. Those by Adrian Brauwer and A. Ostade are for the most part produced by solid paint- ing, and with glazing on the top of it! The original ground is rarely ever to be seen. The productions of David Teniers the younger are painted in a differ- ent way. His aim was always to paint everything at once, which indeed he did with an alluring facility. This method enabled him to show his under- ground, and which gave great transparency to the work. By this prompt, judicious, and almost playful manner of working, a charm is given to his produc- tions which more elaborate systems cannot supply. Every art student should study very carefully the pictures by this master, as well as those of the Dutch School generally, for they will best furnish him with the means to understand the language of his art, and most readily assist him to apply it in his own work. It is a curious fact, that when the coloring of a THE USE OF COLORS. 75 picture is not in harmony, it is mainly in conse- quence of there being either too little or too much yellow in combination with some of the colors in the work. Let the experiment be tried of placing together colors which are out of harmony with each other. Then let the painter add to, or take from them the amount of yellow which he may feel necessary, to bring the whole into harmony. If this be properly done, the desired effect will be produced, and the picture will be in perfect harmony. The whites are often too cold, or too warm; the reds, blues, greens and greys, may also be deficient in this respect. Or the general aspect of the picture may be such as to require treatment in the way pointed out, to bring it into harmony as a whole. It is also found that if a color in a picture be not in general harmony with the work, such color will not only be imperfect in itself, but all those colors or hues which happen to be in juxtaposition, and which may be correct, will appear to be out of harmony also. The colors in most old oil-paintings, whether good or bad, are usually in harmony with each other. This arises from the yellowness of the varnish which covers the surface, and also from the discoloration of the vehicles, &c., with which the works have been painted. When these yellow coverings have been removed from old pictures in the process of restoration, it is not uncommon to find the work underneath the var- nish very inharmonious. In such cases it has sometimes been supposed that the glazings have been taken away which have pro- 76 THE USE OF COLORS. duced this change, and which is often the fact; but more frequently the alteration is due to the removal of the yellow varnish referred to. A badly colored picture will always look fairly well by gas or lamp light. This is in consequence of the rays of light from those sources being yellow. The effect is that of a yellow coat of varnish oyer the work. BAD EFFECTS OF SCUMBLING. Changes in oil-pictures frequently take place from the injudicious use of scumbling. A thin scumble of light color is sometimes applied to a dark surface. When this is the case, a change for the worse will be the result in a short time after- wards. It is the habit of light colors, when thinly scumbled over dark ones, to become fugitive. It is also the peculiarity of dark colors to show through a thin scumble more and more as time goes on. It will therefore be seen that here are two elements more or less productive of change. This can be guarded again t by taking care that the surface over which it is intended to apply the scumble be not too dark. In the practice of painting, effort should be made to lay the colors on the canvas at once. When the desired effect can be obtained at one painting, it is much better than when arrived at by repeated paint- ings. Too much disturbance of colors with the brush produces muddiness. When they are brought into immediate contact by much mixing, they are not so likely to be permanent as when the opposite prac- tice is followed. Excessive mixing brings the parti- THE USE OF COLORS. Y7 cles of colors into close contact with each other, and favors thereby a chemical change and deterioration. Sometimes artists are in the habit of painting their works in a dark key, in imitation, as they sup- pose, of those by the old masters. This is even done by men of distinction, and is productive of mischief amongst students, who often aim at imitating in their work the peculiarities of their seniors. An old painting, as seen to-day, has undergone a great change since the time it was first produced. In most cases the colors have become mellowed and subdued by time. But when we con- sider the effect which would be brought about by the application of from twenty to thirty coats of var- nish at various periods, with a certain amount of dirt interposed between each coat, together with the re- peated injuries of the picture-cleaner, during the course of centuries, it can easily be supposed that all old paintings, however good their state may be, can bear but little resemblance to what they were when they left the painter’s hands. The peculiarities pro- duced by time, discolored oils, varnishes, and repara- tion — all of which present themselves in old pictures — are imitated wholesale by some painters. Thsy forget, or they act irrespective of the fact, that an excess of varnish or oil in a painting will in a comparatively short time ruin it. The old painters appear to have had a clearer idea of the fitness of the materials for their work than more modern painters. It is remarkable that the works by the chief of the old masters are free from those marks of decay, and evidence of ignorance as to the materials used in them, which we find in more modern works. Take for example, those of the 78 THE USE OF COLORS. English School, which are covered with wide fissures, many by Sir Josua Reynolds, Opie, Sir David Wilkie and others. These injuries are most likely due to the use of either wax or Bitumen, and often to the employment of water color on the top of oil color. IMPASTO IN OIL PAINTING. When painting with white or with light tints, it will he found that the greatest power of reflecting light is obtained where the color has been laid on the thickest. White, or tints of the description alluded to, em- ployed thinly, are not nearly so powerful as when laid on with great body. The part of the work which is intended to be the brightest and most powerful should therefore receive the greatest body of color, and sometimes be loaded with it. It is always best to keep the shadows thin in color, for they will keep their places better when this is the case. In the course of the work the painting will often be found to have acquired a roughness beyond what is desirable. When this is so, any marks of the brush or raisings of color, which may appear to in- terfere with the surface of the work, when seen at the proper distance, should be carefully removed. This may be done in several ways. If only a few lines or small lumps of paint occur, the knife will soon remove them without scraping. When the tex- ture is uniformly too rough, it may be reduced by scraping it with a razor or common table knife made very keen, or by sandpaper or cuttlefish. Before, however, any application of this kind is made, it THE USE OF COLORS. 79 should be first ascertained if the paint is dry enough to allow of it. RAPID SKETCHING. Sketching from nature should be the constant practice, not only of every art student, but every painter, however advanced he may be in his career. Some of the studies made, ought to be of the most careful character possible, while others shotfld be ex- ecuted against time, and in a very rapid manner. These two methods of study should be carried on to- gether every day; in fact the practice is indispens- able with the student. Such a habit of working will alone enable him to copy nature in her most fasci- nating, but often her most fleeting guise. The best effects being usually very transient, the combined power of swiftness and accuracy will be found necessary, in order to obtain a representation of them. The power to work swiftly and accurately, is quite another thing to working slowly and well, and un- less the double power referred to be acquired, the painter will fall short in his work. It is an excellent practice to make rapid studies in water-color from pictures by the old masters; just blots of color in flat washes. Of small cabinet works, two or three studies a day might easily be made. Such recollections will be found to be of the utmost value to the art student, and they ought always to hang in his presence in the painting-room. This quick kind of work, supposing it to be careful at the same time, will help the student in his general prac- tice. Studies of the figure from life, landscape, drapery, furniture, flowers and fruit, and still-life, 80 THE USE OF COLORS. or anything else suggesting good color, or light and shade, should be constantly made in the same rapid and intelligent manner. Such a habit of working evolves, so to speak, a facility and readiness to see and seize on anything that may present itself as ser- viceable to the painter. At the time a work is being painted, the painter should always bear in mind that if any change takes place in it after it goes from his hands, the result of imperfect knowledge on his part, of the materials used, or of the mode of using them, it cannot be made good by the so-called restorer. Any excess of medium or oil, or any indiscreet use of varnish, should be carefully avoided. We have been told that injuries of this kind may be rectified by cleaning, but experience tells us that a picture rarely ever passes through the restorer’s hands without being the worse for it. Various methods have been, and still are employed to remove varnish from oil-pictures. Two in partic- ular have usually been resorted to, namely, those by friction and solvents. Both of these methods are attended with the greatest danger to the picture. Nothing can be more ruinous to an oil-painting than the practice of cleaning by friction. The freckled look which many old pictures pre- sent is due to this process, and it is quite impossible that it can be otherwise. The lower interstices of the surface cannot be reached by friction, before the higher prominences are damaged. At the end of a day’s work, most likely some color will be left unused upon the palette. This should be thrown away rather than saved, and the palette THE USE OF COLORS. 81 thoroughly cleaned in readiness for the next day’s work. Colors so left during a night, are usually un- fit for use, and are an impediment in various ways to good work. The habit of going over the doings of each day, with the view of appointing the work for the day fol- lowing, should be formed early, as this greatly facil- itates successful study. It is a good custom to take a slip of paper and quietly look over the work in hand, noting down from time to time everything which may appear to require alteration, and when beginning to work again, look over the notes and proceed to make the altera- tions accordingly. In the arrangement of a subject, it is more conve- nient that the light should come over the left side of the painter. When painting with the light from the right, the shadows of the brush and mahlstick fall on the canvas and interfere with the pleasantness of the work. Care should always be taken to paint far enough away from the sitter or subject. When this is not duly observed, the objects in the picture will appear to be sliding out of it, and the perspective will look wrong. The painter should not look down upon his subject, nor should he take into his picture more than may be contained within an angle of sixty de- grees. If the room in which he may have to work is in- conveniently small, which is often the case, the dif- ficulty may be met to a certain extent by sitting on a low seat. With regard to the propriety of mixing tints with THE USE OF COLORS. S3 the palette-knife previous to beginning to paint, there is a division of opinion on the subject amongst painters. Much depends on habit, and doubtless either practice will end in the right result if carried out with intelligent observation and perseverance. Still theie are certain advantages to be derived from mixing a few tints with the palette knife, in general imitation of the objects intended to be represented. By doing so, less work will have to be done with the brushes, and the execution will most likely be sim- pler. The subtler gradations can be more easily mixed and applied to the canvas, when tints are partly pre- pared with the palette-knife beforehand. When colors can be laid on canvas, and the re- quired effect obtained by partially mixing one with another, the result is usually more satisfactory than when more complete combination takes place, and the colors used are also likely to be more perma- nent. Effort should ever be made to paint up to the full brightness of nature. The highest lights become the soonest dulled by age, however bright they may have been at first. Unless this practice had been observed by the best painters of former times, their works would not have been in that excellent condition with respect to this quality, in which we how find them. This brightness may be produced in two ways: by the whiteness of the underground, and also by a fair impasto in the lightest parts of the work. The practice of putting the brush in the mouth when painting in water-color is bad, injurious both to the general health and the teeth. No doubt a THE USE OF COLORS. 83 certain convenience is felt in doing this, but if the student will accustom himself to free the brush from excess of water or color, by drawing it along a piece of folded blotting-paper, it will meet every necessity. When drawing from nature, whether the figure, drapery, flowers, fruit or still-life, the background in- tended to be represented in the work, should always be placed behind the object itself when practicable. Deviation from this rule, invariably leads to difficul- ties, and more especially with young students who are not able to calculate the effect of the object at all correctly when a different practice is followed. Students are always very solicitous about the kind of manipulative appearance their works ought to present, and not unfrequently form incorrect ideas on the subject. We are constantly hearing of the ‘nice touch’ in works, by the uninitiated; and it is thought by many amateurs that if they could only obtain this quality in their productions, they would have nearly every- thing that could be wished for. Doubtless a pleasant mode of execution is a great fascination with every painter. With some it is the sole aim, to the neglect of the more essential quali- ties of art. It may be said that all kinds of manipulative skill or dexterity of hand, are absolute emptiness, unless accompanied with the true expression of the object intended to be represented. Smoothness of work is usually attended with in- sipidity, and is less to be preferred to that intelligent brush work, which expresses with freedom the pecu- liarities of things. Form, light and shade, and color, may be given in 84 THE USE OF COLORS. all truth by a comparatively few strokes of the brush; and this is indeed the highest kind of manipulation. In such a case nearly every touch will most likely be the concentrated and successful effort of the eye, the mind, and the hand — all acting in unison to one end. When manipulation of this kind is present in a picture, the spectator has qualities to dwell upon which justly give him a great pleasure, apart from any other merits which the work may possess. ' The size of the picture to a certain extent, should regulate the painter, as to the kind of manipulative skill he ought to display. And small cabinet works should be as perfect as possible in this respect; while larger ones, intend d to be seen at a greater distance, need not be so carefully considered. The best paintings by David Teniers the younger, regarded as small works, are perfect examples of the kind of skill to be aimed at by the student. Those by Paolo Veronese and Titian stand unrivalled amongst the larger works of the Old Masters, as ex- amples of fine executive power, and which all paint- ers may study to the greatest advantage. REPAINTING. In order to ascertain if the parts of a picture re- cently worked upon are dry enough to proceed with, it is only necessary to breathe upon them. Should they become dull on the surface, it is an indication that the work is dry enough to be carried forward. But should it present patches unaffected by the breath, such parts are wet, and may not be inter- fered with. When the whole has become dry, and it is necessary to repaint or retouch the work, before doing so, again breathe on it, and while the surface THE USE OE COLORS. 85 is dull, apply to it with a stiff brush, a little raw lin- seed oil. This will help the fresh color to unite with that previously laid on, and cause it to work pleasantly, which it would not do without this assistance. Care should be taken that not more than a smear of oil be applied to the work in this operation, and that it be not rubbed too hard with the brush. WATER-COLOR PAINTING. A few words will suffice about water-color paint- ing. The art is only a few years old, so to speak, and may be said to have been originated and devel- oped in this country. The early Italian and German masters, certainly did paint on paper with a wash of color in light and shade, touching on the lights either with white lead or whiting, to which an adhesive substance was added. But it remained for English painters to carry out fully that which up to more modern times had been only suggested. The resources of water-color painting are not so gi eat as those of oil-painting, consequently little can be said about them. Most of the colors employed in oil are suited for water colors. White lead is replaced by Chinese White, and which is so well prepared by the colormen that the painter may always use it with- out the least concern, either as to permanence, or general fitness for his work. Zinc White is used as a water-color, and also a preparation of baryta, which in all respects answer perfectly the purposes required of them. The discovery of Zinc White, soon gave a new ex- pression to water-color art. It was first used in a sparing manner, and only parts of the picture were THE USE OF COLORS. touched with it, more especially the high lights and small details, which could the more readily be imitated with body color than by leaving the lights. As the powers of this new pigment became obvious to the artist, and to the oil painter in particular, it was made to do that work in water-color painting, which Flake White was doing in oil, until at last Zinc White (Chinese White) was combined with all the pigments used in water-color painting, much in the manner of tempera painting. Of course there were, and still are, cries against the use of white in this form. These objections are more matters of sentiment than anything else. The fact is, Chinese White requires more skill to use properly, than painting simply with transparent col- ors. With some painters this skill is never acquired. In many works the presence of Chinese White is so disagreeably conspicuous that the spectator is never able to forget it. But when we see how thoroughly this material has been made subservient to the intention of the paint- er, as in the works of William Hunt, I). G. Rosetti, Burne-Jones, and others, it must be felt that water- color painting has gained enormously by the discov- ery of Zinc or Chinese White. When well made, this pigment is not affected by contact with other colors, nor does it injure any with which it may be mixed. It has been a question as to which of the two kinds of painting, oil or water- color, is the more durable. It must be remembered that all the causes of de- terioration in paintings, are not common to both processes. THE USE OF COLORS. 87 Oil paintings often suffer from the discoloring ef- fect of the mediums with which the colors are mixed, and from the application of varnishes after pictures are finished. They are also liable to injury from fissures and cracks. These are the peculiar disad- vantages which affect the permanence of oil-paint- ings. Water-color paintings suffer in other ways. They are readily attacked by damp, and, unlike oil-pictures, there is nothing mixed with the colors capable of resisting moisture. When water-color drawings are hung against a damp wall, or placed in a damp room, they may be ruined in twelve months, or even less time. Works of this description are also more subject to change from bad air, there being no protection on the surface in the form of varnish. To a certain extent, the glass will shield the work from the causes of discoloration of this kind, but it is almost impossible to exclude damaging vapors from a picture by such means, for any length of time. We know that pictures painted in oil will resist for centuries the effects of time, and the vicissitudes to which they are usually subject. But we have no such assurance relative to water-color painting, as the art is not more than a hundred and fifty years old. All the works which were produced at the early part of this period are greatly changed, and some of them are worthless as works of art. They were chiefly executed in transparent colors. If it were possible to protect water-color paintings from the influences of damp and bad vapors, there 88 THE USE OF COLORS. can be but little doubt that they would be at least as enduring as oil-paintings; but until this has been affected, the chances are against it. Various mediums are prepared for water-color painting, and most of them are of no real use. The dark colors, when employed in deep shadows, require assistance to give them transparency, and bring out their full depth and richness. Gum traga- cant-h is used to a great extent for this purpose, as it produces a moderate glaze on the surface of a work, when combined with colors. So far, this is satisfactory, but it will also be found that this gum imparts a turbid quality to the dark colors, the result of its being in itself only semi- transparent. Gum arabic is the simplest and best medium to as- sist the transparency and depth of water-colors, and when discreetly used, will meet every require- ment. It may be added that an effort should always be made to do without vehicles of any kind, rather than to seek their aid to obtain the desired effect. A water-color painting, if executed with Chinese White, and exhausting the full power of the palette from light to dark, will be found more powerful than an oil-picture produced in the same manner. The dark parts of the work, if assisted by the ad- dition of a little Gum arabic, may be of the depth and richness of a work in oil-color. If Chinese White be freely and properly used in the lightest part of the work, it will be brighter than the lightest parts of an oil-picture painted in the same key. The Chinese White being more dense, and the THE USE OF COLORS. 89 particles more compact than the Flake White em- ployed in oil-color, it is capable of reflecting more light. The ordinary sable and hog-hair brushes used for oil-painting are very well suited for water-colors. At times they are perferable to all other kinds, while they are less expensive than good water-color brushes. SOUND ELEMENTARY STUDY, THE FOUNDATION OF ALL SUCCESS. Students are generally very anxious to begin to use oil-colors, to ‘paint in oils/ as they sometimes call it. They suppose there is some mysterious virtue or merit in the materials alone, which will atone for a want of knowledge of drawing, and light, and shade. This elementary knowledge ought always to be ac- quired by the simpler means, previous to using either oil or water-colors. If the difficulties of drawing with chalk, &c., have not been fairly well overcome, it is improper to add other difficulties, and more especially those of paint- ing in oil and water-colors. Yet this is constantly done, not only in private institutions, but in schools of art. To paint properly with oil-colors, the full resources of the material should be known and exhausted. To mix and muddle color ground in oil, is not oil- painting. To use either oil or water-color in a proper manner, every stroke should be well aimed, and the peculiar functions of the materials ascertained. This can only be done by the more elementary work being thoroughly cariied out as a preparation. Impatience to do what pt\ious study has not prepared the student to un- 90 THE USE OF COLORS. dertake intelligently, has led to blundering efforts and final disappointment, where more elementary training would have ensured success. He who attempts to run, before he can walk, may expect to stumble, and finally fall. W£W AND POPULAR BOOKS SENT FREE OF POSTAGE AT PRICES ANNEXED BEALE’S CALISTHENICS and LIGHT GYMNASTICS for Young Folks.— 120 Illustrations. Containing Broom and Fan Drills, Marches, Fencing, Club and Dumb Bell Exercises, etc., etc. Thu is the most complete work published on the subject. 160 pages. Boards, 76 cts. Cloth, price $1.00 fURDETT’S SELECT RECITATIONS AND READ- lugs, in Prose and Poetry.— For the use of Schools, Colleges, and Public Readers. 500 pages, 12mo. Cloth. Price — $1.00 THE ELITE LETTER WRITER.— A comprehensive assistant ' and instructor in correspondence on all the occasions of social life. Containing Model Letters, Hints on Punctuation, etc., etc. 128 pages. Paper cover. Price 25 cts. WILFORD’S ORIGINAL DIALOGUES AND RECI- tations for Yoang Folks. — Being by far the most complete of its kind ever issued. This work supplies that palpable need, which has so long been evident in books of this class, that of Dialogues and Speeches adapted to the natures of children. Containing 160 pages. Board cover, with cloth back. Price 50 cts. CUSHINC’S MANUAL .—Revised edition, with additions and cor. rections. No one who wishes to take part in the proceedings of any organized body can afford to do without the help of this little volume; knowledge of its contents, alone is a valuable education, and the price is so moderate that no one need deprive himself of its teachings. Con- taining 200 pages, paper cover, price 25 cts. Cloth Gilt 50 cts. Spreclien Sie Peutsch ? GERMAN AT A GLANCE.— A new system on the most simple principles, for universal self-tuition, with English pronunciation of every word. By this system any person can become proficient in the German language in a very short time. It is the most complete and easy method ever published. By Franz Thimm. (Revised edition). Bound in boards, cloth back, 35 cts. Paper cover, price 25 cts. Parlez-Vous Francais ? FRENCH AT A GLANCE. — Uniform, „nd arranged the same as “ German at a Glance,” being the raos. thorough and easy system for self -tuition. (Revised and corrected by Prof. M. Gauthier). Bound in boards, cloth back, 35 cts. 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It is the most complete and easy method ever published. By Franz Thimm. (Revised Edition.) Bound in paper cover. Price 25 cts. Bound in boards, with cloth back. Price 35 “ ■ . FRENCH AT A GLANCE. “Parlez vous Francalsf” Uniform and arranged the same as “German at a Glance,” being the most thorough and easy system for Self-Tuition. (Revised Edition.) Bound in paper cover. Price 25 cts. Bound in boards, cloth back. Price 35 “ SPANISH AT A GLANCE. “iHabla V. Espanol?” A new system for Self-Tuition, arranged the same as French and German, being the easiest method of acquiring a thorough knowledge of the Spanish language. (Revised Edition.) Bound in paper cover. Price 25 cts. Bound in boards, cloth back. Price 35 “ ITALIAN AT A GLANCE. Parlate Italiano ? »» Uniform in size and style with German, French, and Spanish, being the most simple method of learning the Italian language. (Revised Edition.) Bound in paper cover. Price 25 cts. Bound in boards, cloth back. Price 35 *’ IXSSLUOfi PUBLISHING HOUSE, 29 and 31 Beeiman Street, He* Yrt. H. 1 . P. O. Box 1144. NEW AND POPULAR BOOKS SENT FREE OF POSTAGE AT PRICES ANNEXED. BEALE’S CALISTHENICS AND LIGHT Gymnastics for Young Folks.— 120 Illustrations from Life by Photographic Process, containing Broom and Fan Drills, Marches, Fencing, Club, Wand, and Dumb Bell Exercises, Swimming, and Music for marching. This is the most complete work published on the subject. 160 pages. Boards, 75 cents; Cloth, price $1.00 MANUAL OF SWEDISH DRILL, based on Ding’s System, as used in the London Board Schools. Com- piled and arranged by George S.Melio, Director of Exercises to the Young Men’s Society and Young Men’s Christian Association. This valuable little Handbook is reprinted here complete in all its essential parts. Its illustrations are easily understood, and embrace Marches, Drills, and Gymnastic Ex- ercises in sufficient variety for most occasions. Containing 110 illustrations, diagrams, etc. Board cover. Price. .50 cts. HOW TO BOWL.— A new and complete man- ual. “ Ten-pins” is an old and favorite game, and has re- cently sprung into fresh popularity, both as an exercise and as an entertainment. Our manual has been prepared with the assistance of the ablest experts. Within its pages will be found the Rules op the Game, as recently adopted by the Convention of players ; Advice to Beginners ; Instruc- tions in Scoring, Etc., Etc. Every point needing it is illustrated, and we are gratified to add that it has the appro- bation of all the experts who have had an opportunity of ex- amining it in its published form. 100 pages, Paper cover. Price 25 cts. DUMB BELLS, INDIAN CLUB, AND other Athletic Exercises. — Clothing, Time of Exer- cising, Weight of Bells, Position, Caution. Dumb Bell Ex- ercises : First Position, Heavy Dumb Bell Lifting. Indian Club Exercises: A Word to Beginners, Position in Club Swinging. The Trapeze. Suspended Rings. The Gymna- sium : Rules and Regulations, Apparatus required. Quoits. Archery. Muscular Training. Striking-Bag Exercise. The most complete manual published. Containing 128 pages. Illustrated. Price 25 cts. DE VERE’S ORIGINAL LAUGHABLE Recitations in Prose and Poetry. We are pleased to in- form our patrons that we have induced “Mr. Wm. De Verb,” the great humorist and poet, to bring out his original Gems in book form. No doubt a great many persons have heard these pieces recited by different “ stars ” of the profession, and will be delighted to get them all together in this convenient form. Containing 62 original pieces which cannot be found in any other book. Illustrated. Paper cover. Price 25 cts. EXCELSIOR PUBLISHING HOUSE, 29 and 31 Beekman Street, New York, N. Y. BCHDETT’S Select Recitations and Readings, IN PROSE AND POETRY. For the Use of Schools, Colleges, and Public Readers. Annie and Willie’s Prayee Annie’s Ticket. Anthony’s Prayer. Arab’s Farewell to his Steed, The. Baby’s Kiss. Ballad of Roland Clare, The. Baron’s Last Banquet, The. Battle of Fontenoy, The. Battle o f Ivry , The. Battle ofMorgarten, The. Beau. Benediction, The. Beth Gelert. Bill Gibbon’s Delirerance. Bill Mason’s Bride. Boat-Race, The. Bridge o f Sighs, The. Burial o f Little Nell. Caldwell of Springfield. Charge of the Light Brigade, The. Child’s Prayer, The. Confession of a Drunkard. Christian Maiden and the Lion, The. Cowardly Jim. Cuddle Doon. Curfew must net Ring To-Night. Death. Death-bed of Benedict Arnold. Death of King John. Death of Murat Death o f‘ ‘ Old Braze.” Death of the Drunkard, The. Death of the Old Squire, The. Death of the Reveller, The. Defence of Lucknow, The. Dermot’s Parting. Diver, The. Downfall of Poland, The. Dream of Eugene Aram, The, Drowned. Dying Hebrew, Tha Eagle’s Rock, Tha Education. Evangelist, The. Execution of Montrose, The. Execution of Queen Mary. Face Against the Pane, The. Fall of Pemberton Mill, The. Farmer Gray’s Photograph. Father John. Fearless De Courcy, The. Fireman, The. First Settler’s Story, The. Flight for Life, The. Foreclosure of the Mortgage, The. Forgive, — No, Never. Forgotten Actor, The. Found Dead. Salley Slave, The. Same Knut Played, The. ftlove and the Lions, The. Heart’# Charity, The. CONTENTS. He Doeth his Alms to be Seen of Men. Henry of Navarre before Paris, Her Last Look. Heroism. Herv6 Riel. How He Saved St. Michael’s. How J ane Conquest Rang the Bell In the Tunnel. Isabel’s Grave. Ivan, the Czar Jean Goello’s Yarn. Jim Bludso. John Bartholemew’s Ride. John Maynard. Kate Maloney. Karl the Martyr. King Robert of Sicily. Last Banquet, The. Last Hymn, The. Last Redoubt, The. Last Words. Leaguer of Lucknow, The. Leap of Roushan Beg, The. Legend of the Church of Los An- geles. Legend of a Veil. Leper, The. Little Boy I Dreamed About, The. Little Golden Hair. Little Grave, The. Little Hero, The. Little Jim. Little Ned. Little Phil Little Will Little Rocket’s Christmas. Lochinvar. Lost and Found. “ Lynch for Lynch.” Maclaine’s Child. MainTruck.The; or, A Leap forLife Maniac, The. Marco Bozzaris. Marseillaise at Sebastopol, The. Martyrs of Sandomir, The. Mary Queen of Scots. Mary, the Maid of the Inn. Mask and Domino. Master Jonny’s Next-door Neigh- bor. Maud Muller. Mona’s Waters. Mother and her Dead Child, The. “Mother’s Fool.” My Bread on the Waters. New dear’s Eve. Night Watch, The. Nobody’s Child. Nothing. Ode to Eloquence. Old Man’s Prayer, The. O Maria, Regina Misericordise. O’Mnrtogh. One of King Charles* Madcap Met Only a Jew. Over the Hill from the Poorhoos® Over the Hill to tha Poufhous*. Over the River. Out in the Storm. Painter ofFlorenos, Tha Papa’s Letter. Parrhasius. Pass of Brander, Tha Phil Rlood’s Leap. Polish Boy, The. Poor Little Joe. Portrait, The. Ramon. Red Jacket, The. Rescue, The. Ride of J ennie McNeal, The. Richelieu ; or, The Conspiracy: Sea Captain’s Story, The. Sergeant’s Story, The, of tfe* Light Brigade. Seventh Fusileers, She is Dead. Ship on Fire, The. Sim’s Little Girl. Sister of Charity, The, Somebody’s Darling: Somebody’s Mother. Spanish Armada, Th* Spanish Mother, The: Spanish Page, The. Station Agent’s Story, The: Story of the Faithful Soul, That Street Musicians, The. Street Organ-Player, The. Sue’s Thanksgiving. Suicide, The. Supporting the Guns. There’ll be Room in Heaven. Three Sons, The. Three Words (The); Arnold the Traitor Tiger Bay. Tim’s Kit. Told at the Falcon. Tom. To Mark Mother’s Gram Tramp, The. Trooper’s Story, The. True Hero, A. Turn Mother’s Face to the Two Loves and a Life. Unfinished Prayer, The We are Seven. What Ailed “ Ugly Sam. ’ * Where the Angels Lingered. Will the New Year On*t ft- Night, Mamma. Woolen Doll, Tha Yeoman's Story, Tha. Young Tramp, Tha Containing' 508 pages, bound in extra Cloth, Price $1.00w For sale by all Booksellers, or sent postpaid, on reoeipt f price. ,&C£L8I0B PUBLISHING HOUSE, 29 & 31 Beekman St., NewY«&,ir.* BTJR.r)EJT r r , S Irish Dialect Recitations and Readings, CONTENTS. The “ Ager.” IKatieV Answer. The Battle of Limerick. iLarric O’Dee. Biddy McGinnis on the, Larry’s on the Force. Photograph. Biddy McGinnis at the Photographer’s. Biddy’s Trials Among the Yankees. Biddy’s Troubles. The Birth of St. Patrick. 'The Donkey. Don’t be Tazing Me. The Emigrants. How Pat Saved His Bacon Irish Coquetry. An Irish Letter. The Irish Philosopher. The Irish Schoolmaster. The Irish Traveller. An Irishm n’s Letter. The Irishman’s Panorama Jimmy McBride’s Letter. | Bound in illuminated paper cover. Love in the Kitchen. Make it Four Yer Honor. The Man He Was Waiting to Sec. Mike’s Confession. Miss Maloney on the Chi- nese Question. Miss Maloney Goes to the Dentist. Modern Astronomy and Philosophy. Mr. Moloney’s Account of the Ball. Noah Murphy and the Spirits. The O’Nayle who had Lost the Big “ O.” O’Reilly’s Nightmare. O’Thello. Paddy Blake’s Echo. Paddy’s Courting. Paddy’s Dream. Paddy the Piper. Paddy O’Raftber. Paddy’s Reflections t Cleopathra’s N y.-dle. Pat’s Criticism. Pat’s Letter. Pat and His Musket. Pat and the Oysters. Patrick O’Rouke and th| Frogs. Paudeen O'Refferty’s Sa| Voyage. Peter Mulrooney and th« Black Filly. Tim Murphy’s Irish Stew The Wake of Tim O’Hara The Widow Cummiskey. - Price, 25 cents. BURDETT’S New Comic Recitatioos& Humorous Readings CONTENT^. Add. Ryman’s Fourth of How She Managed It. [Pyrotechnic Polyglot. July Oration. [How They Plaj the Piano A Receipt for Actors. The Aged Stranger. j in New Orleans. :She Meant Business. A Baby’s Soliloquy. iHow to Manage Carpets. She Was Too Fastidious Be-Yu-Ti-Ful Snow. jHow Toro Sawyer Got His |A Similar Case. ’"he Blue Bottle Fly. I Fence v\ hite-washed. jThe Simple Story of G. ’heBook Agent Beats Ihejliow wo Hunted a Mouse. I Washington. Bandit. Au Idyl of the Period. ]A Speech which every The Brakeman at Cbuxch.jTbe irre-pressible Boy. Congressman Could TJn- Brigg’s Rash Bet. Jim Wolfe and the Cats. Buck Fanshawe’sFunp.rd John Spiner’s Shirt. Butterwick’s Little Gay Love in Oyster Bay. Bill. ! Maidens, Beware I The Captain’s Speech to Mr. Ephraim Muggins on the Montgomery Guards | Oilymargarine. The Car Condur tor’sMr. Potts’ Story. Mistake. j A New Primer. The Case of Young Bangs. Nobody’s Mule. One of Those Awful Chil- dren. derstand. Spoopendyke’s Suspend- ers. A Struggle with a Stove Pipe. That Bad Boy Again. iThat Emerson Boy. [That. Hired Girl. Tou jours Jamais.” Travelling in a Mixed ! Train. The Two Boot Blacks. Confessing their Faults. Faithless Sally Brown. Fast Freight. !Only a Pin The Frenchman and the The Parent with the Hoof The Villain Still Pursued Flea Powder. i A Plea for the Opera. [ Her Darius Green and His Fly- The Presentation of the The Wrong Ashes. ing Machine. Trumpet. The Yarn of the “Nancy He Had Been to Candahar The Puzzled Census} Bell.” How “ Ruby ” Played. | Taker. | Hlu8trated paper cover. ------ Price, 25 cents. For sale by all Booksellers, or will he sent, post-paid, on receipt of price. EXCELSIOR PUBLISHING HOUSE, P. O. Box 1144. 39 and 31 Beekman Street. New York, N. Y, EXCELSIOR SELECTIONS. A collection of the most popular and successful Readings and Recitations adapted for p ublic or Parlob Entertainments. besides the New and Original pieces never before published in permanent form, this volume brings together many of the best selections of Humorous, Dramatic, Sentimental, Patriotic, Lie. fuent, Pathetic and Dialect pieces in prose and poetry. It is the Newest and Handsomest book of its kind ever published. Aux Italiens Asleep at the Switch Bachelor’s Dream, The Before and After Taking Boy’s Essay on Girls, A Border Funeral, A Brother Bill Brother Gardner on Liars bells of Shandon Bishop of Ross, The Building and Being Battle of Waterloo, The Benediction Biddy Maginness at the Photog- rapher’s Billy’s Rose Black Horse and His Rider, Tho Book Canvasser, The Brier Rose ^ Cane-Bottomed Chair Countryman at the Show, The Clown’s Baby, The Cow, The A Boy’s Composition. Charity Dinner, The Conno* Crazy Kate Cuddle Doon Californian and a New York Segar, A Caoch the Piper Cataract of Lodore, The Catawba Wine Children We Keep, The Chinese Excelsior, The Clothing Business, The Goal? of Fire Come Curfew Must Not Ring To-Night De Cake Walk Death-Bed of Benedict Arnold Drummer’s Bride, The Death of the Old Squire, The Dot Baby off Mine Drama of Three, The Duel betweft&Mr. Shott and Mr. Nott Death of Ronespierre, The Difficulty in Rhyming Engineers Making Love CONTENTS. Granger and the Gambler, The He Understood It Horse or Husband How We Fought the Fire His Last Court How “Ruby” Played How Sockery Set a Hen Her Rival How Girls Study How Jane Conquest Rang the Bell In Der Shweed Long Ago Intensely Utter Inventor’s Wife, The Irrepressible Yankee, The Jim's Kids Jiners, The Justice in Leadviile Jack Kate Maloney Katrina’s Visit to New York Knight’s Toast, The Kitchen Clock, The Little Meg and I Lost Grave, The Legend of Innisfallen, The Lost and Found Left Life Boat, The Life’s Magnet Marriage Tour Mary’s Lamb Miner’s Protegee, The Modern Sermon, A Music Grinders, The Maniac, The Mr. Fisher’s Bereavement My Neighbor’s Baby Mary’s Lamb on a New Principle Maud Rosihue’s Choice Miss Maloney on the Chinese Question Moll Jarvis O’Marley Mrs. Smart Learns How to Skate My Garden My Lover Ninety-eight No. 5 Collect St. Not Opposed to Matrimony Nora Murphy and the Spirit* Nancy Now and Then Old Actor’s Story, The Old Sergeant, The On the other Train Oratory and the Press Original Love Story, An Our First Cigars Occupant of Lower No. 3, The Old Man Goes to Town, The Oration on the Labor Question Over the Hill from the Poor House Over the Hill to the Poor House Old Man in the Palace Car, The Our Travelled Parson Erin’s Flag Essay on the Elephant Emigrants, The Father Prout’s Sermon Fireman’s Story, The Fisher’s Wife, The Free Seat, A Freckled-Faced Girl, The Frenchman’s Version of Young Norval Froward Duster, The Farmer John Fearless De CoUrcy, The 01 ash. (The Fireman's Story) Cogitation, A Grannie’s Picture Going to School Containing 500 pages, bound in extra Cloth, Price For sale by all Booksellers, or sent postpaid, on receipt of price. HCELSIOB PUBT.TSFmG HOUSE. 29 & 3X Beekman St Hew York, Paddy’s Lament Parson Snow’s Broad Hind Philip Barton, Engineer Photograph Album, The Paddy’s Reflections on Cleopc- thera’s Needle Piece of Red Calico Pledge with Wine Providence Pulled him Throng* Phryne’s Husband Poor House Nan Railway Matinee, A Religious Card Player Robert Emmet Romance at a Hammock Rag-picker, The Revenge is Sweet Room Enough for All Shoemaker’s Daughter, The Smiting the Rock S’posin’ Stage Driver’s Story, The Supper of St. Gregory, The Shipwrecked Soft Guitar, The Song of the Shirt Spring House-cleaning Story of the Faithful Soul Street Cries Scandal, A Seedy One, A. (A tala of Frau< and Deception.) Sign Board, The Sister of Charity, The Smoker’s Soliloquy, A Tale of the Tenth Hussars Test, A That Queen Trying to Lick the Teacher That Woman Played Despair Tirzah Ann’s Summer Trip To Draw or not to Draw Threadwater Jim Two Glasses, The Tale of a Dog, The To a Skeleton Trouble in the Amea OOtStZ? Unknown Dead Uncle Ike’s Rooster* Uncle Ned’s Defens* Valentine, The Widder, The Widow’s Son, The Woman at Poker What Intemperance What made him Glad Widow Cummiskey, Th«_ Wickedest Man in '* Winnie’s Welcome What is a Gentleman* When Witness, The Wounded Wrong Train, Tb* bixe£I>E7X u z w s Select Recitations and Readings, IN PROSE AND POETRY. For the Use of Schools, Colleges, and Public Readers. » and Willie’s Prayer. Annie’s Ticket. Anthony’s Prayer. Arab’s F arewell to his Steed, The. Baby’s Kiss. Ballad of Roland Clare, The. Baron’s Last Banquet, The. Battle of Fontenoy, The. Battle o f Ivry , The. Battle ofMorgarten, The. Beau. * Benediction, The. Beth Gelert. Bill Gibbon’s Deliverance. Bill Mason’s Bride. Boat-Race, The. Bridge of Sighs, The. Burial o f Little Nell. Caldwel 1 of Springfield. Charge of the Light Brigade, The. Child’s Prayer, The. Confession of a Drunkard. Christian Maiden and the Lion, The. Cowardly Jim. Cuddle lioon. Curfew must not Ring To-Night Death. Death-bed of Benedict Arnold. Death o f King John. Death of Murat Death of“01d Braze.” Death of the Drunkard, The. Death o f the Old Squire, The. Death of the Reveller, The. Defence of Lucknow, The. Dar mot’s Parting. Diver, The. Downfall of Poland, The. Dream of Eugene Aram, The. Drowned. Dying Hebrew, Tha Eagle’s Rock, Tha Education. Evangelist, The. Execution o f Montrose, The. Execution of Queen Mary. Face Against the Pane, The. Fall of Pemberton Mill, The. Fanner Gray’s Photograph. Father John. Fearless De Courcy, The. Fireman, The. ' First Settler’s Story, The. Flight for Life, The. Foreclosure of the Mortgage, The. Forgive,— No, Never. Forgotten Actor, The. Found Dead. Salley Slave, The. Same Knut Played, The. Sieve and the Lions, Tha Heart's Charity, Tha CONTENTS. He Doeth his Alms to be Seen of Men. Henry of Navarre before Paris. Her Last L«ok. Heroism. Herv6 Riel. How He Saved St. Michael’s. How J ane Conquest Rang the Bell In the Tunnel. Isabel’s Grave. Ivan, the Czar Jean Goello’s Yam. Jim Bludso. John Bartholemew’s Rida John Maynard. Kate Maloney. Karl the Martyr. King Robert of Sicily. Last Banquet, Tha Last Hymn, The. Last Redoubt, Tha Last Words. Leaguer of Lucknow, Tha Leap of Roushan Beg, The. Legend of the Church of Los An- geles. Legend of a Veil. Leper, The. Little Boy I Dreamed About, The. Little Golden Hair. Little Grave, Tha Little Hero, Tha Little Jim. Little Ned. Little Phil. Little Will Little Rocket’s Christmasi Lochinvar. Lost and Found. “ Lynch for Lynch.*' Maclaine’s Child. MainTruck.The; or, A Leap forLife Maniac, The. Marco Bozzaria Marseillaise at Sebastopol, The. Martyrs ofSandomir, The. Mary Queen of Scots. Mary, the Maid of the Inn. Mask and Domino. Master Jonny’s Next-door Neiglt- bor. Maud Muller. Mona’s Waters. Mother and her Dead Child, The. “Mother’s Fool.” My Bread on the Waters, New Year’s Eve. Night Wateh, The. Nobody’s Child. Nothing. I Ode to Eloquence. Old Man’s Prayer, The. | O Maria, Regina Miserioordise. O’Mnrtogh. One of King Charles’ Madcap Mas Only a Jew. Over the H ill firotn the PoorhooM Over the Hill to the Powhouss. Over the River. Out in the Storm. Painter o f Florence, Tha Papa’s Letter. Parrhasius. Pas^of Brander, Thet Phil Blood’s Leap. Polish Boy, The. Poor Little Joe. Portrait, The. Ramon. Red Jacket, Tha Rescue, The. Ride of Jennie McNeal, Tha Richelieu ; or. The Conspiracy Sea Captain’s Story, The. Sergeant’s Story, The, of