combined disks show the proportions to be R. 41-1/2, B. 22-1/2, G. 36
for the larger disks, and for the small disks W. 15, and N. 85. Now if
blue and green are combined in the same proportions, as indicated above
and in quantities sufficient when added together to fill the entire
circle of 100 parts, blue will contain 38.3 parts and green, 61.7 parts,
as shown in Fig. 13, and the disks when rotated will give the color
which is the complementary of red: namely, a blue green.
In the same way the complementary of each of the other standard colors,
and in fact of any color, may be obtained.
The complementary of orange is another color between the green and blue,
but more largely blue. The complementary of green is a violet red, and
of violet a color between yellow and green, while yellow and blue are
very nearly complementary to each other.
These figures furnish the results in a very well-lighted room, with a
perfectly white interior. It is a well-established fact that this
experiment is somewhat affected by the degrees of illumination, and also
that colored light from the walls and ceiling of a room must of
necessity have its effect, but all these matters are so insignificant as
to be of no material consequence in the æsthetic study of the subject,
and they can be very nearly eliminated when necessary by a careful
selection of conditions. Whenever accurate experiments in pigmentary
color comparisons are to be made, either by the use of rotating disks or
otherwise, it is desirable to have a very well-lighted room, with a
northern exposure and to select a morning or noonday light from a
slightly overcast sky. These conditions obviate the unpleasant effect of
direct sunlight in the room and also the very slightly blue effect of
the clear sky. These precautions are unnecessary in experiments relating
to the ordinary æsthetic consideration of color combinations, but even
in such work it is important to exclude all light reflected from
neighboring trees or colored buildings. Also the interior of the room
should be as free from color as possible; a clean white surface is
especially desirable.
A Chart of Complementary Colors, shown in Fig. 14, has been found very
valuable in fixing in the minds of teacher and pupils the
complementaries of the six standards. In this chart, which is about
eighteen inches in diameter, the circles at the ends of the six
diameters are colored papers selected from the Bradley coated papers, as
approximating the true complementaries. In the majority of cases they
are not far from correct, but are least satisfactory in the blue and
yellow. Theoretically the complementary of the ideal standard blue is a
slightly orange yellow, and of the standard yellow a slightly violet
blue. But there is as yet no blue pigment in the market suitable for
commercial use which is free from a slightly violet effect. Therefore
the standard blue paper is practically as good a complementary for the
standard yellow as the violet blue paper. But notwithstanding these
slight imperfections which are at present unavoidable, the chart is a
valuable aid in fixing in the mind the positions of the complementary
pairs in the spectrum circuit.
[Illustration]
Each of the foregoing experiments furnishes an interesting class
exercise, and may be very closely repeated by the pupils with their
tops. Also the computation of the proportion of green and blue when
raised to the full circle may form a practical problem in proportion for
pupils of the higher grades. Taken together, these experiments prove
that the complementaries of the old primaries are not found in the
secondaries.
The last claim of the Brewster theory is that the secondaries by
combination form three lines of colors peculiar to themselves, called
citrines, russets and olives. It is asserted that the mixture of orange
and green makes citrine; orange and violet russet; green and violet
olive. Although these names may be very convenient terms to express
three general classes of colors, they must of necessity be too general
and indefinite to be of value for accurate expression of color effects,
and are in fact so vague that hardly two persons can be found in a large
company who will agree as to the best expression of either of them. The
following are formulas for a number of colors in each class, as made
from analyses of colors coming under these names. It is an interesting
exercise to produce some of these colors by means of the rotating color
disks and test the opinions of the different members of a company as to
which best represents to each one of them a tertiary color, as citrine,
for example. For this purpose three different formulas may be shown at
the same time, with three sizes of disks.
Citrines.
O. 7. Y. 13. W. 3-1/2. N. 76-1/2.
Y. 15. W. 4. N. 81.
Y. 13. W. 5. N. 76. G. 6.
O. 6. Y. 20. W. 4. N. 70.
O. 3. Y. 6. W. 8. N. 83.
Russets.
R. 37. O. 8. W. 8. N. 47.
R. 79. W. 10-1/2. N. 10-1/2.
R. 33. O. 20. W. 6. N. 41.
R. 36. O. 4. W. 9. N. 51.
R. 47. O. 7. W. 8. N. 38.
Olives.
G. 19. B. 11-1/2. W. 10-1/2. N. 59.
G. 13. B. 6. W. 12. N. 69.
G. 14. B. 12. W. 8. N. 66.
G. 10-1/2. B. 15. W. 8. N. 66-1/2.
G. 12-1/2. B. 5-1/2. W. 4. N. 78.
The term citrine theoretically covers all possible combinations of
orange and green, but as generally understood those colors which are so
near the orange or the green as to very decidedly approach either the
one or the other are not included, and, as shown in the above analyses,
a citrine is a very broken color ranging from an orange yellow through
yellow to a green yellow.
Although the russets would theoretically range from violet to orange,
yet the general conception of russet will hardly accept a violet red,
but will cover only the red and orange reds as above indicated, while
olives are confined to blue greens and green blues.
These tests are based on combinations of the Bradley standard orange,
green and violet pigments, and therefore are far stronger in color than
those colors usually termed citrine, russet and olive, made by mixing
the pigmentary secondaries. For example, if a yellow and blue pigment
are mixed to form a green, and red and yellow pigments to make an
orange, and then this green and orange are mixed to produce a citrine,
the result will be very much darker and more broken than the mixture of
the purer orange and green colors used as standards.
Restricted to these limits these names may become very useful terms for
general color expressions, as covering three different classes of broken
colors. If any one believes that these color formulas do not correctly
represent the three classes of colors indicated, a series of experiments
with even the small color top will prove very convincing.
When the subject of standards as a means for identifying colors is
mentioned artists frequently express the feeling that the names of
pigments are good enough for them, such as Ultramarine Blue, Prussian
Blue, Vermilions, the Siennas, Indian Red, etc. The following are the
analyses of several samples of Vermilion, Burnt Sienna, Raw Sienna, and
Indian Red of the best tube oil colors in the market:--
Vermilion.
R. 80. O. 14. W. 6.
R. 87. O. 8. W. 5.
R. 50. O. 24. W. 26.
Burnt Sienna.
R. 1-1/4. O. 6. W. 3. N. 89-1/2.
R. 22-1/2. O. 11-1/2. W. 2. N. 64.
R. 25. O. 12-1/2. W. 5-1/2. N. 57.
Raw Sienna.
O. 18-1/2. Y. 6-1/2. N. 75.
O. 17. Y. 14. W. 1. N. 68.
O. 8-1/2. Y. 3-1/2. W. 2. N. 86.
Indian Red.
R. 11-1/2. O. 7. W. 4. N. 77-1/2.
R. 13-1/2. O. 13-1/2. W. 2-1/2. N. 70-1/2.
A careful examination of these formulas and a reproduction and
comparison of the colors on the color top will convince any one that in
no case does the commercial name determine the color with a degree of
accuracy sufficient for any valuable nomenclature.
Classification of Harmonies.
The theory of the harmonies of colors is a subject which awaits very
careful investigation and a general discussion by artists and expert
colorists. Such investigations must include many experiments based on
common standards and uniform methods of measurements and records.
Harmonies naturally seem to fall into a few general classes which are
convenient for comparison and discussion as well as for elementary
instruction, but no one person can set himself or herself up to decide
which are the _best_ harmonies. The practices and recommendations of
noted artists who have appeared to be gifted with intuitive perceptions
regarding color combinations have frequently included those for which
there seemed to be no recognized authority, and yet their beauty could
not be questioned. As the rules of grammar are but the correlation of
the practices of the best scholars, so the rules governing color
combinations must be the summary of the practices and recommendations of
the best artists, if they are to be generally accepted as final, and
hence we must patiently await the growth of similarly established laws
by the comparison of the opinions of critics of acknowledged ability in
various departments of the world of art. This has not been possible in
the past and can never occur until there is a language of color through
which color facts can be somewhat accurately expressed in verbal and
written language, and this language cannot exist until there is an
accepted alphabet of color on which it can be based. This alphabet is
now in part furnished by the spectrum standards and completed by the
pigmentary standards and the rotating disks made like them. Together
they form the basis for a nomenclature by the use of which the questions
involved in harmonies can be discussed and the results expressed in
written language.
In the investigation of any subject with a view to elementary
instruction, classification is an important factor, but one which
heretofore has been almost ignored as regards color education.
Consequently at present the more definite division of harmonies into
classes is very much a matter of personal opinion, but Mr. Henry T.
Bailey, State Supervisor of Drawing in Massachusetts, has suggested a
very useful classification in which he arranges all harmonies under
these five heads: Contrasted, Dominant, Complementary, Analogous and
Perfected.
_Contrasted._--The contrasted harmonies are those in which color is
contrasted with non-color, or more accurately in which an active color,
that is a tone from the spectrum circuit, is contrasted with a passive
color, white, black, gray or silver and gold; for example, a blue green
tint with white, or green blue with warm gray No. 1.
_Dominant._--By dominant harmonies we mean those in which are combined
different tones from one color scale. For example, red tint No. 1, and
red shade No. 1, or a green blue tint, green blue, and a green blue
shade. A dominant harmony composed of grays, or white, gray and black,
is sometimes called a neutral harmony.
_Complementary._--This term refers to those harmonies in which are
combined opposite or complementary colors in the spectrum circuit. The
best of them show not only opposition in color but also opposition in
tone. Thus, tints of one color with shades of its complementary produce
a more pleasing effect than do complementaries of equal value. The best
complementary harmonies contain one or more passive colors.
_Analogous._--This name is applied to those harmonies in which are
combined tones from scales of neighboring colors in the spectrum
circuit.
For example, in a composition of colors from that part of the spectrum
containing yellow, green yellow and yellow green the following simple
combination may be made: Yellow tint No. 1, green yellow and yellow
green shade No. 2.
_Perfected._--By perfected harmonies we mean those in which the general
effect of one analogous harmony is complementary to that of another.
The above classification of harmonies is very valuable for fixing in the
mind the various effects of color combinations, and yet they may seem to
somewhat merge into each other in their application, until the
underlying principles which govern them are understood. It is unwise to
suppose that because the above classification of harmonies is based on
the science of color we can infer that it furnishes definite rules for
producing best effects.
The Work of Chevreul Reviewed.
The good or bad effect of two or more colors in combination in
decorative designs or fine art depends very largely upon phenomena
which are elaborately explained in a book entitled "The principles of
Harmony and Contrasts of Colours" by M. Chevreul.[A] The first edition
of this book was prepared in 1835 and published in 1838. The author had
at that time been employed for a number of years as superintendent of
the manufactory of Gobelin Tapestries in Paris under the control of the
French government.
[A] The Principles of Harmony and Contrasts of Colours and their
Application to the Arts. By M. E. Chevreul. Translated from the French
by Charles Martel. Third Edition. London. George Bell and Sons. 1890.
In this book are described in detail the results of a great number of
experiments which were instigated by complaints regarding certain colors
produced in the dyeing department of the manufactory, and which afford
the most elaborate exposition of the subject ever published.
One of the first things which led Chevreul to make his investigation was
the complaint that certain black yarns used as shades in blue draperies
were not a full black but more or less gray.
The author says in his preface, "The work I now publish is the result of
my researches on Simultaneous Contrasts of Colours; researches which
have been greatly extended since the lectures I gave on this subject at
the institute on the 7th April, 1828. In reflecting on the relations
these facts have together, in seeking the principle of which they are
the consequence, I have been led to the discovery of the one which I
have named the _Law of Simultaneous Contrast of Colours_."
The closing sentence of the preface to the first edition and dated 1835
is as follows:--
"I beg the reader never to forget when it is asserted of the phenomena
of simultaneous contrast, _that one colour placed beside another
receives such a modification from it_, that this manner of speaking does
not mean that two colours, or rather the two material objects that
present them to us, have a mutual action, either physical or chemical;
it is really only applied to the modification that takes place before us
when we perceive the simultaneous impression of these two colours."
It was not till three years later that a publisher could be found for
this book, which is still a standard.
The English translation comprises over five hundred closely printed
pages with many engraved and colored plates, and yet, it has been of
comparatively little value in _popular instruction_ because of the lack
of a generally accepted color nomenclature or list of well defined color
terms, by which the readers might have understood and repeated for
themselves the experiments described.
Unfortunately Chevreul was fully impressed with the Newton-Brewster idea
of three primaries, red, yellow and blue, and therefore some of his
deductions from his experiments seem to have been more or less
influenced by the attempt to make them harmonize with this theory, and
yet the subject which he has treated so exhaustively and intelligently
is one of the most important in the æsthetic study and use of colors. In
all expressions of colors in combination with each other, whether in
nature, fine arts or the decorative and industrial arts, every color is
affected by its surrounding colors, a fact which is exhaustively treated
in this book.
While with our present knowledge of the subject it does not seem that
the material use of color can be reduced to an exact science, this
should not prevent us from accepting all the natural and scientific aids
which have been or may be discovered toward this desirable result.
Because of this lack of scientific knowledge in Chevreul's time much of
the worth of his experiments is lost to us, yet there is very much of
value in his work, suggesting as it does experiments which may be tried
with present standards and modern methods.
If the use of Maxwell disks had been known to Chevreul his deductions
from his experiments would have been quite different in their details.
For example, in accepting the proposition that there are three
primaries, red, yellow and blue, which may be combined in pairs to make
the secondaries, orange, green and violet, he states that owing to the
impurities of the pigments the secondaries are not as pure as the
primaries. Consequently he believes that this may account for many of
the shortcomings which he was too observing to overlook; but
notwithstanding such an error in theory this wonderful investigator made
many practical experiments and established very valuable facts regarding
color contrasts.
The term Simultaneous Contrast seems rather restricted for a title
covering such a range of effects, and the author subdivides the subject
into simultaneous contrasts, successive contrasts and mixed contrasts,
which he defines as follows:--
Simultaneous Contrast.
"In the Simultaneous Contrast of Colors is included all the phenomena of
modification which differently colored objects appear to undergo in
their physical composition and in the height of tone of their respective
colors, when seen simultaneously."
Successive Contrast.
"The Successive Contrast of Colors includes all the phenomena which are
observed when the eyes, having looked at one or more colored objects for
a certain length of time, perceive, upon turning them away, images of
these objects having a color complementary to that which belongs to each
of them."
Mixed Contrast.
"The distinction of Simultaneous and Successive Contrast renders it easy
to comprehend a phenomenon which we may call the mixed contrast; because
it results from the fact that the eye, having seen for a time a certain
color, acquires an aptitude to see for another period the complementary
of that color, and also a new color, presented to it by an exterior
object; the sensation then perceived is that which results from this new
color and the complementary of the first." These last two effects may be
shown very clearly in simple experiments.
There are various phenomena which may be classed as successive
contrasts sometimes called "after images." The phenomena which Chevreul
groups under the term "Simultaneous Contrast of Colors" belong to a
class of physio-psychological effects termed after images, and more
definitely to the subdivision called negative images. The positive after
images are not important in the consideration of the theories of color
and therefore are not described here. The specific effect most directly
involved in the subject of harmonies may be observed if the eyes are
fixed upon a small disk of red paper on a white wall for a few seconds
and then the paper is suddenly removed, as there will appear on the wall
in place of the full red disk a faint tint of a blue green. This is
called an after image, and is nearly or exactly a tint of the color
complementary to red.
For making this experiment mount a circle of red paper, say three inches
in diameter on a square white card, four or five inches across, and
grasping the card by one corner hold it in front of a white wall or a
sheet of white paper pinned on any support. Tell the observer to look
intently at the red disk for a half minute, and then without giving any
notice suddenly remove it and ask what color is seen in place of it. At
the first trial the result may not be entirely successful, because the
eyes of the observer may naturally follow the red spot when it is
removed instead of remaining fixed in the original position, but a
second trial will bring the expected result. To illustrate mixed
contrast, fasten on the wall a piece of red tint No. 2 paper four or
five inches square. This may be very conveniently done by using a bit of
beeswax on each corner of the paper, which will not soil the wall. Then
having the three-inch circle of standard red paper mounted on a white
card somewhat larger than five inches square hold the card in front of
the red tint on the wall and repeat the experiment as before. The effect
now should be a three-inch disk of very light gray in the center of the
pink square, which is a "mixed contrast" according to Chevreul. The
reason is simple. The after-image or successive contrast of light
blue-green is projected on the red tint and being complementary the
resulting effect is a gray. If the red tint could be exactly graded to
the complementary effect in the eye the resulting gray circle would be a
true neutral gray. Another illustration of the same physical effect by
which the complementary is induced may be shown by substituting for the
tint of red a light tint of the blue-green paper retaining the full red
disk as before. The same blue-green after image is now projected on to
the light blue-green paper and hence a circle of more intense blue-green
is produced. Thus it is seen that Chevreul's successive and mixed
contrasts are both due to the same physiological effect, the only
difference being in the ground on to which the after image is projected.
It probably is unnecessary to state that these experiments may be made
with any color and its complementary and that red and blue-green are
used here merely as an example.
Another phase of the same physical effect is seen under other conditions
which may at first seem to be quite different from those described, but
which on examination appear somewhat similar.
It is a well established fact that when two surfaces approximating each
other in color, as red and orange for example, are placed side by side,
both are rendered less brilliant, an effect which might be reasonably
expected because in order to see both the eye is naturally directed
first to one and then to the other, and in each case the after image
induced is a green-blue or blue-green, which being approximately
complementary to both, dulls both. Or in other words, it is as though
one examines for a long time a line of goods of similar colors so that
the eye becomes fatigued and the color dulled. It is said that a good
salesman of colored materials will endeavor to occasionally attract a
customer's attention for a few moments to some other colors
approximating a complementary, so that when the attention is again
directed to the goods under consideration the full effect of the color
may be secured. If it is true that the phenomenon of the after image is
the cause of the peculiar effects expressed by the terms simultaneous,
successive and mixed contrasts, and that by these effects all harmonies
in color are governed, it is certainly profitable to understand them
while using color material with the children, for their good as well as
our own pleasure.
Contrasted Harmony.
Returning to our classification of harmonies, already stated, we find
the first to be Contrasted Harmony, which covers those combinations in
which a positive color, as a spectrum color for example, is combined
with white, black or gray, leaving out for the present silver and gold,
which may be confusing, and can at best be used only as outlines.
The simplest combinations of colors are found in this class, all of
which are not equally harmonious, and some may not perhaps be entitled
to be classed as harmonies, although not positively inharmonious. In
this class, as in all others, there is involved contrast of tone and
contrast of color, which may best be considered in several divisions.
Color with White.
According to the results of Chevreul's elaborate experiments the effect
of a combination of an active color with white is to render the color
more brilliant and to give to the white the effect of the complementary
of the active color. He admits that the modification of white is very
indefinite, but claims that, knowing what to expect, a complementary
effect may be seen which otherwise would not be noticed. There is also a
contrast of tone which in all cases tends to strengthen a color when
used with white.
Black with White.
White and black are both intensified by combination with each other, and
this is the type of "contrast of tone." Contrast of tone is very clearly
shown when two or more grays of different tones are placed contiguous to
each other. This experiment is easily tried by mounting side by side
several strips of gray papers of different tones. If more than two are
used they should be arranged in order from lightest to darkest. In this
case each band will appear to be graded in tone from one edge to the
other, each being lighter at the edge next to the darker paper.
This effect is plainly shown on the color wheel by producing several
rings of grays with white and black disks of several sizes graduated
from light at the center to darker at the circumference.
Color with Black.
In consequence of this law of contrast of tone the contrast of black
with active colors generally tends to intensify the black and lower the
tone of the color, i.e., to weaken it as though white or light gray was
mixed with it, but this effect is modified by contrast of color.
Contrast of color is perceptible in black when combined with color
simply because the black is not perfectly black but a very dark gray,
and hence there is the same complementary effect which shows in white
and the lighter grays, but in a smaller degree. This effect is most
clearly seen when the color used in combination is blue or blue-green,
which induces in the black, yellow or red complementaries and gives the
black a "rusty" appearance.
On the other hand, for example, red with black adds the complementary
green-blue to the black, which improves it. The orange and yellow have a
similar effect by their blue complementaries to relieve the black from
any rusty appearance and a green yellow induces a violet effect in the
black.
Colors with Gray.
When a color is contrasted with white the light from the pure white
surface is so intense as to very largely obscure the complementary
effect on the white, while on the other hand the feeble light from the
black is not favorable for the exhibition of a complementary. So it
might naturally be inferred that some tone between the white and black
would be much more favorable than either for the observance of this
effect, which is proved by experiment to be the case. This fact is
illustrated in the familiar experiment of placing a white tissue paper
over black letters on a colored ground, by which the black is
practically rendered a neutral gray and the color a light broken color,
and in appearance the gray letters receive a color complementary to the
color of the page on which they are printed. Each color has its own tone
of gray most susceptible to this complementary effect. The truth of this
proposition can be perfectly shown on the color wheel by forming with
three different sizes of disks a gray ring on a colored surface. For
example, select small disks of orange and white of equal size, then a
black and a white disk of the second size and an orange and a white disk
of the third size. First place the large orange and white disks on the
spindle, then join the two medium-sized white and black disks and put
them in front of it, and lastly add the small orange and white disks. By
rotation the result is the required neutral gray ring on a light orange
surface. By the joining of the white disk with each of the orange disks
the orange surface may be changed to a variety of tints for trial with
the different grays which may be made from the black and white disks, so
that the best tones of both orange and gray may be secured. When the
best proportions are obtained the effect will be surprising, because
when such disks are properly adjusted the complementary effect is so
strong in the gray that it appears as a very definite color, a broken
green-blue. It is said that the tone of gray should have the same
relation to the tone of the color that its complementary would have in
order to get best results.
For the same reason if a circle of lightest neutral gray paper, say four
inches in diameter, is placed on a piece of yellow paper about six
inches square, and another circle just like it is put on a piece of blue
paper of similar size, it will be quite difficult to convince any one
who has not previously seen the experiment that both gray circles are
from the same sheet of paper. The results observed in this experiment
are produced by a contrast of tone which causes one to look lighter
than the other, and a contrast of hue which gives one a blue and to the
other a yellow hue, in contrast to the color on which it is mounted.
Contrast of Colors.
If two colors contiguous in the spectrum circuit are placed in
juxtaposition the effect of the contrast of hue is to throw them away
from each other. For example, if orange red and the red orange papers
are put side by side the former will seem more red and the latter more
orange. Therefore, when colored papers are pasted up or laid in order to
form a spectrum, for example, the colors not only fail to blend together
but each line of contact is very disagreeably prominent.
If two colors are separated by a narrow strip of light gray, gold, black
or white, the effect is greatly improved. For this reason a design in
analogous colors is often improved by separating certain colors by a
fine line of black, gold or gray.
If two colors not closely related to each other in the spectrum circuit
are placed in juxtaposition, each is modified by an effect which is the
complementary of the other. For example, if red and yellow are placed
side by side, in contact, the red is rendered more violet by the added
effect of blue, which is the complementary of yellow, and the yellow is
modified by the blue-green complementary of the red, which tends to dull
the yellow and change it slightly toward green.
If blue and yellow are joined both are improved, as the two are so
nearly complementary to each other that each is intensified by
simultaneous contrast, blue being added to blue and yellow to yellow.
Dominant Harmonies.
In the use of colored papers those combinations classified as dominant
harmonies are the most simple to make because they are all in one
family, as the little children like to consider the relationship. The
red family consists of the standard red and its tints and shades, or in
other words the red scale. With the several papers ready made this
harmony becomes very simple, but in the use of pigments the production
of a true color scale is not a thing to be confidently undertaken by a
novice.
In a very elaborate color chart for Primary education prepared with
great care by Dr. Hugo Magnus and Prof. B. Joy Jeffries, and published
at large expense about ten years ago with hand-painted samples in oil
colors, this lack of classification of hues is very noticeable, although
at that time it was by far the best publication of the kind and was not
criticised on this point.
For example in a scale of five tones of red the following are the
analyses, beginning at the lightest tint:--
Tint No. 2, O.45, Y.20, W.18, N.17.
Tint No. 1, O.69, Y.3, W.7, N.21.
Standard, R.75, O.25.
Shade No. 1, R.85, O.15.
Shade No. 2, R.75, N.25.
In this scale according to the Bradley nomenclature the standard or full
color is a very fine vermilion expressed by R.75, O.25, i.e. an orange
red, and therefore in order to form a perfect scale both tints and
shades should be in the orange reds, but in fact the tints are both
broken colors, the lightest a very broken yellow-orange and the deeper
tint very nearly a light broken orange. The lightest shade is a pure
orange-red but with a larger proportion of red to the orange than the
standard, while the darkest tone is a pure shade of red. Thus in the
five tones we have the following arrangement, beginning at the lightest
tint:--
Broken yellow-orange, broken orange, orange-red; another pure orange-red
but more red, and lastly red shade, thus embracing in one orange-red
scale parts of four scales from yellow-orange to red. In these defects
in the best chart of its kind in the market only ten years ago is seen
the best possible evidence of the advance made since that time in color
perception, largely due to the use of the color disks in determining
scales. While in the use of colored papers the dominant harmony may be
the simplest and the one in which there is least danger of really bad
work, some of the combinations are much better than others, and
superiority is perhaps secured as much by the relative quantities of
each tone used in a composition as in the selecting of the tones. In the
entire range of the spectrum even this class of harmonies involves
problems too complex to be solved by a few rules, but it is a very
interesting field in which the children may safely be allowed to roam
and experiment.
Complementary Harmonies.
Complementary Harmonies may perhaps be classified next to dominant
because they are more easily described and more definitely limited than
those effects termed Analogous Harmonies. A pure Complementary Harmony
consists of the combination of tones from two scales which are
complementary to each other. For example, the red scale is complementary
to the blue-green scale, as also the green to the violet-red, and so on
throughout the entire range of the spectrum scales.
As explained on Page 50, the complementary of any color can be
determined by means of the color wheel, or nearly enough for æsthetic
purposes with the color top. But even though the colors complementary to
each other may be determined scientifically there will always remain
ample opportunity for the exhibition of color sense and artistic feeling
in the choice of colors because the difference between a very beautiful
composition in complementary harmony and an indifferently good one may
be found in the choice of tones, or in the proportions of each and their
arrangement with relation to each other. This harmony certainly contains
great possibilities with comparatively few limitations.
While it is perhaps approximately true that complementaries are
harmonious in combination, yet best authorities do not seem to fully
sustain this opinion and it is quite evident that pure tones of some
complementary pairs when combined are very hard in their effects, if not
positively unpleasant. This can be relieved very decidedly and
oftentimes very pleasing results secured by modifying the colors to
tints and shades or various broken tones.
But as has before been stated, and must be constantly reiterated, all
fine questions of harmonies can only be determined by a general
agreement of experts in color based on accepted standards.
Analogous Harmonies may seem to be more closely related to the dominant
than the complementary and hence, logically, should perhaps be
considered before the complementary, but there may be greater
difficulties involved in the analogous than in the complementary because
they are not so definitely limited.
Analogous Harmonies.
In an Analogous Harmony we may use tones from a number of scales more or
less closely related in the spectrum circuit. In some parts of the
spectrum it is possible to include a much wider range than in others. It
is comparatively easy to produce safe compositions through that part
bounded by the orange-yellow and the green scales, while from the green
to the violet experiments are much less safe.
In almost any section of the spectrum a range of three scales is safe if
the tones are properly selected and proportioned, and in some sections
as many as five or six may possibly be included, by an artist, with
striking and pleasing effect.
Perfected Harmonies.
The compositions which have been classified as Perfected Harmonies may
be defined as the combination of two Analogous Harmonies which as a
whole are approximately complementary to each other, or in which the key
tones of the Analogous Harmonies are complementary to each other. Such
compositions may be entirely composed of analogous colors with the
addition of but one complementary color, and this is in fact a very safe
harmony, especially if that one color is used as a border line or an
outline here and there in the design, in which case it may sometimes be
strong in color and tone.
The chart of spectrum scales as made from colored papers cut in squares
is of great value in explaining the classification of harmonies. Fig. 15
is a reduced copy of the chart of pure spectrum scales shown on page 41,
and which is here placed horizontally for convenience.
[Illustration]
The black zig-zag lines are designed as graphic illustrations of the
various classes of harmonies.
Contrasted Harmonies as defined are limited to designs in one active
color mounted on a background of one of the passive colors and thus need
no further explanation, although experience will prove that some
combinations are very much more pleasing than others.
The Dominant Harmonies which are defined as combinations of tones from
one scale cannot be made more clear by a diagram, which would be simply
a straight vertical line through any one of the eighteen scales,
indicating that the five tones in that scale or any selection from them
may be used in a Dominant Harmony.
The Analogous Harmony has given students the most trouble and the
diagram is principally prepared to illustrate the great variety in
harmonies of this class.
Commencing at the left, the first line indicates a harmony in three
scales beginning with red-violet shade No. 2 and passing to shade No. 1,
then to standard violet and thence to blue-violet tints No. 1 and No. 2.
The next is in two scales, beginning at violet-blue shade No. 2, thence
to blue shade No. 1; back to normal violet-blue; again into the blue
scale at tint No. 1 and back to violet-blue tint No. 2.
The next begins at green-blue shade No. 2 and ends in green tint No. 2.
Theoretically the line beginning in G. B. S. 2. and leading to G. T. 1.
and thence to Y. S. 2. may represent an Analogous Harmony, but it may be
doubtful whether a range of such an extent in that part of the spectrum
could be made very harmonious. This may be divided into two harmonies at
G. T. 1. and each part may be extended to G. T. 2.
The straight line from G. S. 2. to O. Y. T. 2., embracing five scales,
might be extended to include the joining broken line running into the Y.
O. scale and finishing at O. Y. S. 2.
The remaining lines at the red end of the chart may be considered as
indicating one harmony in six tones, or two harmonies in three tones
each.
If the two ends of the Chart of Spectrum Scales are joined so as to form
an endless band or a cylinder, bringing the violet-red scale adjoining
the red-violet, as in the spectrum circuit, the same graphic
illustration could be given of harmonies extending from violet to red.
The complementary harmonies require no diagrams, because they are
limited to the combination of two scales complementary to each other and
would be represented by two parallel vertical lines through any two
complementary colors, as for example vertical lines through the red and
green-blue scales.
The compositions termed Perfected Harmonies may be fairly well
illustrated in the diagram by the combination of the line in V. B. and
B. with the broken line commencing in G. Y. S. 2. and ending in G. Y. T.
2.; or again by the line in R. V. to B. V. combined with the straight
line from G. T. 1. to Y. S. 2.; or the broken line G. to Y. S. 2. Or
again, the entire range of the double combination O. S. 2., O. R. T. 2.,
V. R. and O. R. S. 2. with the broken line from G. B. S. 2. to G. T. 2.
Another sample of Perfected Harmony is found in the union of line O. R.
S. 2., V. R., O. R. T. 2., with line G. B. S. 2. to G. T. 2. These
diagrams are designed to show the range or extent which a single
composition may cover under its special definition and do not imply a
necessity for using at one time all the colors through which the line
passes, or that they are specially good harmonies.
A striking illustration in nature of a Perfected Harmony was seen one
bright autumn morning in a species of woodbine covering the side of a
red brick building, in which could be discovered an infinite variety of
colors in greens and violet-reds whose tones were increased in number
and intensified in effect by the reflections of the sunlight and the
corresponding shadows, producing very light tints and very dark shades
of various hues of the complementary colors, and forming a complicated
and wonderfully beautiful effect very definitely classified as a
Perfected Harmony.
Field's Chromatic Equivalents.
So much has been said and written about Field's Equivalents that there
is a very general impression among artists and others that they
constitute an important element in harmonious compositions of color.
This proposition as given in Owen Jones' Grammar of Ornament is as
follows:--
"The primaries of equal intensities will harmonize or neutralize each
other, in the proportions of 3 yellow, 5 red and 8 blue--integrally as
16.
The secondaries in the proportions of 8 orange, 13 purple, 11
green--integrally as 32.
The tertiaries, citrine (compound of orange and green), 19; russet
(orange and purple), 21; olive (green and purple), 24--integrally as
64."
In commenting on this in "The Theory of Color" Dr. Von Bezold says: "It
is often maintained that the individual colors in a colored ornament
should be so chosen, both as regards hues and the areas assigned to
them, that the resulting mixture, as well as the total impression
produced when such ornaments are looked at from a considerable distance,
should be a neutral gray. Starting from this idea, the attempt has been
made to fix the proportional size of the areas, which would have to be
assigned to the various colors usually employed in the arts, for the
purpose of arriving at the result indicated. This idea was especially
elaborated by Field, an Englishman, who gave the name of 'chromatic
equivalents' to the numbers of the proportions obtained, a designation
which has since been very generally adopted. In reality, however, these
'chromatic equivalents' have no value whatever."
The same writer also says: "It will always remain incomprehensible that
even a man like Owen Jones in the text accompanying his beautiful
"Grammar of Ornament" should have adopted this proposition in the form
given to it by Field, since among all the ornaments reproduced in the
work just mentioned there are scarcely any which will really show the
distribution of colors demanded by the proposition in question."[B]
[B] The Theory of Color in its relation to Art and Art Industry. By Dr.
William Von Bezold. Translated from the German by S. K. Koehler with
introduction and notes by Edward C. Pickering. Boston; L. Prang &
Company, 1876.
In accordance with this eminent authority any one familiar with disk
combinations will know by experiment that no combinations of red, yellow
and blue approaching the proportion named by Field can produce a neutral
gray effect in the eye.
Colored Papers.
For practical study of color some economic material is absolutely
necessary and nothing so well combines manual work with æsthetic
cultivation as colored papers, if specially prepared in standard colors
and with a dead plated surface.
In the manufacture of the colored papers adopted in the Bradley scheme
of color instruction, the effort has constantly been to produce the
closest possible imitations of natural colors consistent with the
material.
With this aim in view we have secured the brightest possible red,
orange, yellow, green and blue and have chosen a violet which has the
same relation to the other pigmentary colors that the soft beauty of the
spectrum violet bears to the other parts of the spectrum.
It however happens that in the pure aniline colors discovered in recent
years a line of purples and violets has been found so much purer than
the other pigments that we cannot with our red and violet make a perfect
imitation of the brightest aniline purples used in some of the goods now
in the market. Purple is a general name for the several modifications of
violet, red-violet and violet-red as Peacock Blue is a name given to the
beautiful hues of blue-green and green-blue. These aniline purples are
but another indication that we may expect such advance in the science of
pigment manufacture in the comparatively near future that a much purer
line of standards may be secured than is now possible in papers. But it
does not materially affect the value of the present standards as long as
they are accepted as indicating the kind of color, i.e., its location in
the spectrum, and the _artists_ certainly should not object to this lack
of purity, because their only present criticism is that the standards
are too "raw," which is but another term for pure.
In the glazed colored papers in the market we may find some of these
purples, especially in the tints or "pinks" which when placed beside the
unglazed surfaces of the standard papers render the latter quite
subdued. But in primary color education there is no place for these
purest purple papers, until chemistry discovers other colors
correspondingly brilliant to complete a purer chart of spectrum colors
than is now possible.
[Illustration]
Color Teaching in The Schoolroom.
In the preceding sections of this book the author has aimed to so guide
the teacher who is looking for aids in elementary color teaching that
she can by actual experiment determine for herself the truths regarding
color, and hence be able to choose such facts as are suited to the needs
of her pupils from time to time, and to present them in such a logical
order as to render them of the greatest value in practical results.
It should be possible to interest the children in color more easily than
in any other subject. Examples are always around them at home, in the
street, in the garden and the field, if perchance they are fortunate
enough to see the field, and those who see no attractive colors
elsewhere certainly should find them in the schoolroom. To a teacher who
is in love with the subject the world will be full of examples, every
day. The beautiful yellows and greens of the spring leaves, the flowers,
birds and butterflies of the summer, the autumn foliage, the sunsets and
blue and purple mountains of winter, are but hints of the multitude of
object lessons in color all around us; and if none of these are
available the more commonplace subjects found in the latest seasonable
colors of dress goods and house furnishings will be almost equally
valuable. When the children are once interested they will discover,
through their own observation, examples of such value as to surprise one
who has had experience with only the old methods of trying to teach
color, or rather the utter lack of all methods heretofore in vogue.
The value of kindergarten training has been so thoroughly demonstrated
as to be beyond controversy, and all progressive school boards must soon
recognize the necessity of adopting kindergarten methods in the lower
primary grades, until such time as it may be possible to introduce the
complete kindergarten for all the children, to precede the school
proper. The conditions prevailing in the kindergarten are peculiarly
favorable to the study of color, because of the opportunities afforded
for introducing it in connection with the manual exercises of the gifts
and occupations.
The first gift of the kindergarten, as originally introduced by
Froebel, consists of six soft worsted balls in six colors, which he
seems to have selected as standards without care or knowledge regarding
the theory of "three primaries and three secondaries," although no doubt
he may have indifferently accepted it, because it was the only one in
his day suggesting any logical scheme of color combinations.
The use of colored papers educationally in a systematic way originated
in the kindergarten, and comprised folding, cutting, pasting and
weaving, from which some color instruction was incidentally derived by
the children. But with the papers formerly in the market little special
training in the selecting, matching and naming of colors, such as is of
so great value at the present time, was possible. The call for better
colors in papers came first from the kindergartners, and the diversity
of ideas expressed by them caused the writer to institute a series of
investigations which have resulted in the system to which this book is
devoted. The occupations of paper folding, cutting and pasting have been
adopted into the primary school from the kindergarten, and there is no
question but the occupation of paper mat weaving as practiced in the
kindergarten should also be introduced in the lowest primary grades for
those who have not had kindergarten training, because of its value in
simple manual work and in designing symmetrical patterns and harmonious
color combinations.
By general consent colored papers have been chosen as the most available
material for this work, because while relatively cheap, the purest
colors possible in pigments are secured, and the material is adapted to
the most elementary manual training and education in form as well as
color. It is not the author's aim to here provide a definite course of
lessons to be given in a perfunctory way or in a fixed order, but rather
to furnish suggestions based on practical work in the schoolroom that
may be of value to those who have carefully examined the preceding pages
of this book and become familiar with the experiments described. The
suggestions are based on the experience of teachers who have been using
the system here advocated for several years and testing it in various
ways, and therefore it is hoped that they may be of value to any earnest
worker who is not fully satisfied with her efforts in teaching color up
to date. Consequently a brief outline of work is suggested for the
earliest years, according to a definite order, and then further
suggestions and experiments are introduced, somewhat in the order in
which they may naturally present themselves.
The time has passed when it is necessary to offer any argument for the
study of color in the schoolroom. Every child begins his school life
with many color impressions which he has been acquiring since the day
when his baby fingers first stretched toward some bit of color, and his
development demands a clear presentation to him during the earliest
school years of the fundamental facts concerning color upon which all
later work must be based.
The Glass Prism.
A glass prism is one of the first requisites in the appliances for
teaching color, and a prism which may be bought for a few cents will
work wonders in the hands of an interested teacher, although a more
perfect instrument, such as is sold with physical apparatus, will give
colors which are better defined.
Experience in many schoolrooms has proved that a spectrum can be shown
somewhere in the average room at some hour in every sunny day,
especially in the longer days of spring and summer, and it is well to
have the prism when not in use so fixed as to project the spectrum into
the room much of the time, so that it may become familiar to the younger
children. Observation of the spectrum enthuses the children with a
feeling for color which can be developed in no other way, and they never
tire with watching the wonderful vibrating effects of the liquid colors;
and by studying it the mental image of each of the six colors becomes as
distinct as that of the cube after it has been handled and modeled. If
the schoolroom is provided with shutters or dark curtains a much better
spectrum can be produced by closing them, as even a slight change from a
bright sunny daylight has a very perceptible effect in bringing out the
colors. A person who has never seen a carefully prepared spectrum in a
room almost perfectly dark can have no realizing sense of the purest
possible expressions of color.
Accident once disclosed a simple means by which one teacher secured a
very good spectrum. There was a deep, dark closet opening from the
schoolroom and one bright day when the prism was being used the spectrum
was accidentally thrown into this closet, and the sudden and
enthusiastic expression of approval by those pupils who were in position
to discover it was certainly interesting to the teacher of that country
school, with a dark coal closet.
In a spectrum such as can be produced in a dark room with the most
perfect form of prism, all the various colors can be separated and
carefully examined and by special appliances compared with pigmentary
colors. Experiments of this kind are exceedingly interesting and
instructive, and demonstrate the wonderful intensity and purity of the
spectrum colors as compared with the purest pigmentary colors that can
be produced. Such experiments were carried to a great degree of
perfection when the six standard colors for the Bradley Colored Papers
were selected.
How the Bradley Color Standards Were Chosen.
After many months of labor in securing samples of material colors, and
many days spent with the spectrum, a committee of artists, scientists,
teachers, and artizans unanimously decided that æsthetically and
psychologically the colors adopted were the best possible material
expression of the six localities in the spectrum corresponding to the
feeling or psychological perception of red, orange, yellow, green, blue
and violet. Many subsequent experiments have apparently proved that
practically the same six colors best serve the purpose of primaries from
which to make all others by combination.
In accordance with these selections the educational colored papers have
been made, and since that time an expert scientist has accurately
located each of these colors in the spectrum by its wave length.
Consequently after the children have come to know the six colors in the
sun spectrum the six standard colors of the papers may be shown as the
best imitations possible. In studying the six colors from the spectrum
in a schoolroom it frequently happens that one color may be best seen on
the floor, another on the wall or even the blackboard, and another on
the ceiling, and after the order of the colors in the whole spectrum has
been observed, it is well to get each color where it can be best
secured.
Paper Color Tablets.
When the spectrum has been studied so that the children have some idea
of the six colors and their location relative to each other, give each
of the children a package of the colored paper tablets, one inch by two
inches, containing the eighteen normal spectrum colors, i.e., those in
the central vertical column in the Chart of Pure Spectrum Scales, Page
41, and tell them to select from the eighteen the six which they have
seen in the spectrum and which may be named to them as red, orange,
yellow, green, blue and violet.[C]
[C] Tablets of paper instead of cardboard are recommended because in
primary instruction the standards or types of color presented to the
child ought to be the purest possible expressions of the colors
represented, and a piece of color material cannot meet this requirement
after having been used one year by a child. The necessary expense of
cardboard tablets practically precludes a new supply each year. But the
papers can finally be used to form, by pasting, some chart or
combination which the pupil may be allowed to own as a sample of his
work.
If a sheet of neutral gray cardboard can be secured for use on each desk
all early color work will be more valuable, because of the undesirable
effect of the usual yellow or orange color of the wood of the desk.
If some of the pupils do not make the correct selection of the papers it
may be well to let the error pass for that time and have another
exhibition of the spectrum before the next trial. Get as many of them as
possible to make the selection of the six colors from the eighteen
solely by comparison with the spectrum. Later if some are still unable
to succeed, a paper spectrum may be shown to them, or what is better,
six bits of paper like their own, pasted on a card, with an interval as
wide as two papers between each two. When every child can readily select
the six standard colors from the eighteen then all of them may with
advantage be told to lay the six in a row on the gray cardboard or desk,
in their proper order, and sufficiently separated to allow room for two
other papers between each two. When all have made the attempt and some
have failed to arrange the papers correctly the card having them
properly mounted may again be shown and each one in error may make the
necessary corrections by comparison.
In a solar spectrum such as is possible in the ordinary schoolroom the
intermediate colors between the standards cannot be very distinctly seen
but the child can be shown that between the red and orange, with which
he is familiar, there are colors different from both and possibly he may
be led to see that these colors seem to be a mixture of the two. With
this impression in the minds of the children the following experiment
may be a very interesting psychological test of the natural color
perception of each child, or in other words his "color feeling."
Ask the children to arrange the remaining twelve papers between the six
standards in pairs and one outside of the red and violet at the ends.
This exercise will serve to bring each of the other colors to the
critical attention of the children so that they may not be entirely
strangers to them in the succeeding exercises. At this stage the color
wheel or color top or both will be most valuable.
Color Wheel or Top.
If the wheel is available let the teacher place on it combined red and
orange disks of medium size and in front a small red disk. Before
beginning the six papers should be laid on the desk in order, separated
by two spaces. Call attention to the fact that the red disks are like
the red sample of paper. Explain how the disks are joined and that the
two larger ones can be made to show more or less of the orange and the
red.
Then introduce a small amount of orange, perhaps not enough to cause the
effect to be perceived by the children when the wheel is in motion, and
rotate. Ask if they see any difference between the small disk at the
center and the larger surface. Add more orange till they see a
difference, and continue to add orange to the red until nearly one-half
the disk is orange or till it may be questionable whether the color made
by rotation is more nearly orange or red. This point will be reached
before the orange nearly equals the red, because the orange is more
luminous. Explain that all these colors which the children have been
seeing are orange-reds and ask the pupils to select that color from
their papers which is orange-red, or most like the orange and red. In
the meantime set the orange and red disks to the proportion of R. 85, O.
15, which nearly or exactly matches the orange-red paper. When the
children have selected the paper which they think is orange-red, put the
wheel in motion and ask them if their selection is like the color on the
wheel. If not, see that all understand and have selected the orange-red
paper to place next the red sample. When this has been done remove the
disks from the wheel and readjust the larger ones so as to show a
combination that is nearly all orange; then replace them and substitute
in front a small orange disk instead of the red one and proceed to show
a series of red-orange colors from the orange toward the red, as
previously shown from the red toward the orange. With experiments
before adults this break in the order of proceeding and the change of
disks would be unnecessary, but with children it is desirable to mark a
distinction between the orange-red and the red-orange colors, a fact
which is emphasized by the mechanical manipulation. When the children
have been asked to place their red-orange paper in its proper position
the disks may be set to R. 50, O. 50, and an imitation of their
red-orange paper shown.
If the school is provided with color tops their use may be begun at this
point by allowing the children to attempt to repeat the wheel
experiments with the tops and thus produce for themselves an imitation
of the two intermediate spectrum hues in the papers. In all combinations
of colors by disks as well as pigments there is some loss of purity and
hence the colors of papers in the intermediate hues may be a little
brighter in some cases than the results of two disks in combination.
This suggestion for the presentation of one pair of the intermediate
spectrum hues may serve to illustrate all the others, and the time which
can be devoted to the whole subject must determine the detail with which
each pair is treated.
If the tops are provided in a school but no color wheel then the teacher
must begin with a top as a substitute for the wheel and let the children
follow her with their tops by dictation. At first this will be much more
difficult than if the wheel could be used, but after the children have
become somewhat familiar with the handling of the top by dictation the
result will be quite surprising. There will be in every school some
children who are exceedingly awkward in the manipulation of the top,
until the happy day arrives when all school children are graduates of
kindergartens. At present the average kindergarten pupil will handle the
top better than the children in the lowest primary grades who have not
had the advantages of kindergarten instruction.
When all the hues except the red-violet and violet-red have been
located, the teacher should be prepared with a chart made by pasting
the eighteen paper samples, including standards and intermediate hues,
in their order on a strip of paper, so that by bringing the ends
together the children may see that when they place the violet-red at one
end of their row and the red-violet at the other they are really
completing a spectrum circuit and forming a chart of natural colors.
Ever since Newton's day it has been fashionable to speak of the spectrum
as nature's chart of colors. This expression is but partially true and
is entirely false if we mean that it contains examples of all the colors
in nature. The spectrum is valuable in color study only from the fact
that it enables us to establish permanent standard colors from which all
colors in nature and the arts may be named and by the combinations of
which such colors may be imitated.
Unless the standard colors in a system of color instruction are the
closest possible imitations of corresponding spectrum colors there is no
logical relation between such a system and a chart of colors based on
the spectrum, because the spectrum does not furnish a complete circuit
of colors and its only value is, as before stated, in furnishing a
permanent standard on which to found a nomenclature of colors.
Up to this time we have not suggested the practice of introducing any
natural objects or calling the attention of the children to various
colors found in their surroundings. Each teacher must use her judgment
regarding this matter, but as soon as miscellaneous colors are to be
considered the two questions of hues and tones are necessarily involved,
and experienced teachers have been divided in their opinions as to which
should be first considered, tone or hue. When it was thought necessary
to occupy a long time in presenting all the spectrum colors this
question assumed greater importance than at present, but very many
teachers have become convinced that we have not been giving the children
credit for nearly as much ability in the recognition of colors as they
deserve, and that with the methods at present in use the six standard
colors and twelve hues can be learned in a few weeks, during which time
it may not be necessary to discuss the complicated combinations of
colors in nature and our domestic surroundings. This is not intended to
mean that the child will in this time be able to name the various hues
when seen separately, but that having the eighteen paper tablets he may
feel their relations to each other to such an extent as to be able to
lay them in their spectrum order. Those pupils who seem to have no
natural perception of the proper relationship of colors will require
more experience than the rest of the class before they can be sure of
their colors and the teacher must exercise her judgment in deciding how
long to hold the class to this subject of spectrum hues on their
account.
As in other class work it is not necessary that the dull children
perfectly comprehend all that is told them at each step, because there
will always be some in a class who will comprehend and thus the others
may learn by observation, and in this subject particularly every step in
advance must necessarily include a continual review of all that has
preceded.
Consequently when a teacher has given as much time to the study of hues
in the arrangement of the papers as she deems profitable, considering
the entire time that can be devoted to the subject during the year, she
may well proceed to tones.
The Study of Tones.
It is unnecessary at the beginning to use the word tones with the
children, as "light and dark" colors will be understood more clearly.
The first lesson in light and shade may be given with some book bound in
a bright color, as red for example, which is common in cloth bindings.
For this experiment partially open the book and hold it vertically, with
back toward the class, in such position that a strong light from one
side of the room will fall directly on one cover while the other is in
the shade. If properly manipulated this simple experiment may be made
effective to an entire class by moving the book in various directions to
accommodate the several members, so that at different times all the
pupils may get very clearly the idea of light and dark colors in the
same scale.
This idea can be more clearly shown by means of a simple model very
easily made for the purpose. Take, for example, three pieces of standard
red paper, 4×4 inches, and mount them on a piece of cardboard side by
side, in a row. Trim the card parallel to the edges of the papers,
leaving a margin of uniform width, and with the point of a knife "score"
a line partially through the card from the front, at the joining of the
papers, so that it can be neatly bent to the form shown in Fig. 16 which
represents the model as seen by the class. By holding one of the rear
edges with each hand the faces can be folded to different angles with
each other and the model turned to different positions with relation to
the children. Possibly the windows at the rear of the room may be
partially darkened to advantage; they certainly can be if they have a
sunny exposure at the time. The object is to give a fair daylight on the
central surface for the standard, a strong light on one side to form a
tint of the standard and a shadow on the other for a shade of the same
color.
[Illustration]
By a trial before school, in company with some other teacher perhaps,
the best positions for different parts of the room as well as best
lighting of the room may be determined in advance and thus such a
success achieved with the first experiment that the whole idea of tint
and shade may be impressed on each child for all time and definitions
firmly fixed in his mind for these two most abused words in our every
day vocabulary. Added interest may be excited by showing similar models
in several other colors during the same lesson, thus avoiding the
possible impression on any mind that the term tint and shade apply to
any special color.
Tints and shades may also be shown very beautifully by some kinds of
colored materials. Colored satin ribbons, folded or crumpled, and
velvets and plushes give good object lessons. One of the most effective
exhibitions of tints and shades may be found in a material used for
upholstering furniture and technically called "crushed plush," which is
a worsted plush embossed in figures and very changeable in its effects
as its relation to the light is changed, giving at the same time very
light tints and very dark shades in different portions.
Having thus shown how real tints and shades in nature are produced, the
color wheel may be introduced with advantage. If it were practicable to
use opaque colors in the school they could be employed to show that the
effect of a tint is produced in pigments by mixing white with the
standard color and a shade by mixing black with it, but while the
mixture of white may produce the best imitations of some tints in
nature, the same result does not hold good in the use of black to form
shades, and black pigments are rarely used for this purpose, because
they impart various untruthful hues, according to the colors with which
they are mixed.
For this reason, and others which will appear later, the white and black
disks of the color wheel are found to be better than any other single
method for representing tones. In shades the black disk produces by far
the best imitation of nature, and so does the white disk for more than
half of the colors. But, as previously stated, there is an effect which
has never been satisfactorily explained by which the tints of red and
blue especially receive an unexpected violet gray tinge by rotation.
Therefore in showing tints on the wheel it is well not to show very
light tints of red or blue until the class has received some impressions
of tones in other colors. In the orange and violet the tints seem to be
practically perfect, and in the yellow and green not far from correct,
but in the green they run a trifle toward the blue and in the yellow
become a little gray or broken. But in the shades the black disk has
done wonders for color instruction, particularly in making standard
neutral grays which cannot be imitated by white and black pigments, and
in determining the shades of yellow, as has been explained. See Page 36.
Therefore, after having shown actual tints and shades with the folded
models, and perhaps the other materials suggested, place a colored disk
combined with a white disk on the wheel, and in front of them a smaller
colored disk of the same color as the larger one for comparison, and by
changing the relative proportions show various tints. Then substitute a
black disk for the white and show shades. If, for example, orange is
taken, all proportions of both tints and shades may be shown very
truthfully, the deeper shades being very rich browns. Having in this way
impressed on the children the terms tints and shades, give them the
paper tablets, Selection No. 2, in the deepest tints and the lightest
shades, reserving the lightest tints and deepest shades found in
Selection No. 4 for later use.
Let each member of the class lay the spectrum in the normal colors and
then select the six tints corresponding to the six standards. When all
of them think they have done this, tell them to choose the corresponding
shades. If a number fail in the attempt it may be well to set up three
sizes of disks on the color wheel in shade, standard and tint of red. In
showing a tint of red with the disks it is not a good plan to make a
tint lighter than R. 95, W. 5, which is about R. T. 1. If the wheel is
not available samples of papers may be held up in the three tones so
that the class can get the correct idea. There is no best method of
reaching all pupils in any class, but in some way at this point in color
education every pupil ought to acquire such knowledge of the subject as
to be able to select at least the six standard scales in three tones,
and this should be practically accomplished before much time is devoted
to the consideration of such materials as flowers, fabrics and
miscellaneous papers, because until the child understands both hues and
tones he can do nothing in either analyzing or naming colors.
As soon as these six scales are familiar to the pupil the selecting of
various objects and placing them in general families may be very
valuable work, but until that time the classification of colors cannot
be carried out very accurately, or at best the families will be very
likely to include some uncles, and cousins and aunts, and yet, on the
other hand, if even the distant relatives are recognized in preference
to strangers the choice will give evidence of a sympathetic feeling for
color relations, favorable to future progress and indicating something
of the natural color sense of the child.
If such occupations as paper cutting and pasting, or weaving of mats
have a place in the school, combinations in two or three tones of the
six standards can now be made. At this stage names are of little
importance, but they will come in play early, as it is natural to give
names to everything, and as soon as the child knows the definite names
which belong to colors they will be used.
Neutral Grays.
Immediately following the first idea of tints and shades or tones, the
grays should have attention, because in the occupations with papers they
will play an important part. For this purpose white, black and the
neutral gray papers are included in Selection No. 2 of the paper tablets
and should be made familiar to the children while the tints and shades
are being studied. The suggestion that a neutral gray is a tint of black
or a shade of white may or may not aid a child to better understand the
relation of the neutral grays to the color chart, but it is a thought
worthy of the attention of the teacher, as expressing a fact important
in the consideration of color impressions. This gray may also be
illustrated on the wheel by the union of white and black disks, and
should be early presented in this way, because this is the only means by
which we can secure standards for pigmentary neutral grays, and the fact
that this special and peculiar gray is so important in all color
investigation furnishes sufficient argument for making it prominent
before the other grays.
Even at this early period in his color education a child may be shown
that white in shadow is a gray, and the fact that it is a neutral gray
is not essential to him, as he has no knowledge of any other gray and
probably it may not be desirable to call attention to the various
classes of grays until after the broken colors have been studied. A
sheet of white card or heavy paper may serve to show that white in shade
or shadow is a gray.
For this experiment fold the card or paper very sharply and hold it with
the folded edge vertical and projecting toward the class, and in such a
position relative to the windows that half of the paper is in very full
light and the other in shadow.
A comparison of neutral gray paper No. 1 with a true shade of white or
white in shadow, as explained on Page 36, will serve to connect the gray
papers with the shades of white. After the idea of tones is made clear
to the children, so that they can readily form the six standard scales
in three tones, the completing of the Chart of Spectrum Scales in three
tones will be merely a matter of drill, as no new principles are
involved.
When the pupils can lay the Chart of Pure Spectrum Scales in three tones
correctly, the thoughtful teacher will naturally ask herself what is the
next logical step, and it may at first seem as though the completion of
the chart in five tones ought to immediately follow. But it is very
desirable that the pupils begin as early as possible to make a practical
application of their knowledge of colors to the familiar objects around
them; and it is evident that before any very accurate comparison of
miscellaneous colors can be intelligently undertaken the child should
be able to recognize the effect of mixing gray with a color, in
distinction from the pure tints and shades of that color.
Explanation of Broken Colors.
Very few of the common colors seen in fabrics and house furnishings are
either full pure colors or their tints and shades, but nearly all are
broken colors. Therefore it seems desirable to introduce the study of
broken colors, before considering the extreme tones of the pure colors
as represented in tints and shades No. 2 in the Chart of Pure Spectrum
Scales in five tones.
This order of presentation seems specially advisable, because the
distinguishing of the extreme tones where the color is lost to so great
a degree is more difficult than anything connected with the subject of
broken colors. Therefore at this point paper tablets, Selection No. 3
are introduced. From this collection of tablets when properly arranged a
Chart of Broken Spectrum Scales of twelve colors in three tones may be
made, and in addition there are tablets illustrating the several classes
of grays other than neutral grays.
The first result desired is a definite distinction in the mind of each
pupil between a broken color and any tint or shade of the same color. In
order that the explanation of this distinction shall be intelligently
comprehended each child must have such a clear idea of the meaning of
the terms "tints" and "shades" that he shall not fail to readily
understand any statement regarding them because of confusion as to the
definite meaning of these terms. The child should know clearly that a
"tint" is a color in a strong light or mixed with white either in
pigments or disks, while a "shade" is a color in shade or shadow, i.e.
with less than the normal illumination, or mixed with black. When this
has been fixed in the mind of a pupil, and he has also been shown that
neutral gray, the only gray he has learned anything of, is the result of
the combination of white and black, it will not be difficult for him to
see that a broken color is produced by the mixture of both white and
black with the pure color. Much later it will be possible for him to
think of a broken color as a tint thrown into a shade or shadow, as may
be observed by casting a strong shade or shadow on to a piece of colored
paper in some one of the _tints_ of the spectrum scales.
The color wheel and tops furnish the simplest and most effective means
for the presentation of broken colors, because they automatically
analyze every color shown, so that the pupil sees for himself just what
has been done.
An Exercise in Broken Colors.
After having refreshed the minds of the class as to tints and shades and
grays by a brief restatement of the conditions involved in these terms,
the idea of broken colors may be shown with disks on the color wheel or
top. For this experiment place on the spindle, for example, a
combination of orange, white and black disks, and in front of these
disks put combined orange and black disks of smaller size. Make the
proportions of the larger disks, O. 15, W. 4, N. 81, and the smaller, O.
26, N. 74. In rotation the larger ring will show a dark broken orange
and the inner one a dark shade of orange, and the difference in quality
will be readily seen and felt. The effect is more valuable as a lesson
if the tones of the two are nearly equal, although this is not
necessary.
A very much lighter pair of colors is secured by using the following
formulas, O. 43, W. 26, N. 31, and O. 77, W. 23.
Both these experiments may be made with the primary color wheel or color
top. If the High School Color Wheel is in use so that the four rings of
color can be shown at one time, the two larger rings may show two tones
of broken color and the smaller rings a tint and shade of pure color.
In the use of tops two may be spun at once as near together as possible,
the two broken tones on one top and the tint and shade on another.
In green similar experiments may be tried, with the following
formulas:--
G. 20, W. 6, N. 74.
G. 36, W. 13, N. 51.
G. 34, N. 66.
G. 82, W. 18.
Practically the same methods may be adopted in the study of broken
colors as were employed with the pure colors.
The paper tablets contained in Selection No. 3, comprising broken colors
and grays, will now come into use to accompany experiments with disks in
broken colors. The tablets in the broken spectrum colors number
thirty-six, comprising twelve scales of three tones each, thus producing
but one intermediate hue between each two standards, instead of two, as
in the chart of pure colors.
Exercises in selection and arrangement of these tablets to form a chart
may be employed to familiarize the pupils with the new kind of colors.
The colors are not so pronounced as in the pure scales, and for this
reason the arranging may be more difficult, but the smaller number of
hues simplifies it somewhat, so that, with the better-trained color
perception which the child will have acquired at this stage, no greater
effort will be required than in the earlier lessons.
When the Chart of Broken Scales can be laid with reasonable accuracy by
the majority of the class the two charts as far as studied, each in
three tones, may be laid on the desk at the same time for comparison and
thus the difference in quality or character emphasized.
All kinds of materials may now be considered and classified, and great
interest inspired in the subject generally. Flowers, autumn leaves,
dress goods and anything with color can be studied and the colors
analyzed. Before the study of broken colors was taken up some few
flowers could be quite accurately matched with the disks and analyzed,
but now very many more of the flowers and plants as well as other
material can be accurately analyzed and a definite nomenclature given to
each sample.
Selection No. 3 of tablets contains, in addition to the twelve scales of
broken colors, six colored grays, which must at some stage be considered
in connection with gray colors or broken colors, to which they are
closely related. As has already been stated, there is a point where by
the continued addition of gray to a color, the color is so far obscured
that its identity is practically lost and the result becomes a colored
gray.
Although the line between gray colors and colored grays cannot be
definitely drawn there are so many grades visible beyond the point where
the exact color used with the gray can be determined, that the term
"colored gray," which covers the three classes, warm, cool and green
grays, is convenient for common use.
It is very desirable that a distinction be observed between the terms
"colored grays" and "gray colors," and therefore broken colors may be a
better term to apply to the gray colors because a distinction is thus
more strongly emphasized between these two classes of colors.
The following table furnishes formulas from which the colors of the
Chart of Broken Spectrum Scales may be very nearly imitated on the High
School Color Wheel. Each scale should be shown by the three smaller sets
of disks, namely, the smallest for light tone, next size for standard or
medium, and the third size for darkest tone.
This list of disk combinations is furnished here for the convenience of
teachers who may have occasion to illustrate the compositions of the
various classes of colors comprised in the Chart of Broken Spectrum
Scales, which covers the entire range of the æsthetic colors and from
which by modifications every subdued color in material substances can be
analyzed and definitely named.
Owing to the color usually found on the interior of a schoolroom and
the lack of pure white light from outside it is not probable that these
proportions will exactly match the papers, but the formulas will enable
the teacher to approximate the color, and then the more accurate match
in conformity to the conditions in each case may be secured by making
changes in accordance with suggestions from a majority of the class, an
exercise which will afford valuable practice for the pupils.
Formulas for a Chart of Broken Spectrum Scales.