In the quest for harmony, what better course could be taken than to copy
harmonies? Nothing so sharpens color perception as contact with the best
examples. The attempt to reach a master’s style, peculiar color‐feeling,
refinements of tone and methods of handling, brings both knowledge and
appreciation. For ordinary use Japanese prints are most convenient and
inspiring color‐models.
COPYING JAPANESE PRINTS. In the best of these the color has a peculiar
bloom due to the process of printing from wood blocks. The paper is
pressed upon forms cut on the flat side of a board; the grain of the wood,
the rough surface of the “baren” with which the paper is rubbed down, and
the fibrous texture of the paper combine to make a luminous vibrating
tone. Particles of color lie upon the tops of silken filaments, allowing
the undertone of the paper to shine through,—precisely the quality sought
by painters in using a rough canvas and thin washes, or thick color put on
with small brushes. In the print the vibration is not obvious, but the
effect is that of color over which floats a thin golden envelope.
Ordinary charcoal paper is good for copies, as it has a roughness that
aids in producing atmospheric tones. Rub a slight quantity of charcoal
over the surface, very lightly; wipe it off with chamois or cotton rag,
leaving little points of black in the hollows of the paper.
Isolate the desired color‐passage, by cutting an opening in a sheet of
white paper and laying it upon the face of the print. Copy with washes of
water color. If the print is age‐stained, tone your charcoal paper with
Raw Sienna and Ivory Black.
AUTHORS. Good color‐schemes can be found anywhere in the range of Japanese
color‐printing, from Okumura Masanobu in the middle of the XVIIIth century
to modern days, but the rarity and great value of early prints puts them
out of reach of those who have not access to museum collections. I can
mention here but a few names, with which the student is most likely to
meet:
Torii Kiyonobu and his fellows of the “red‐and‐green period” (first half
of the XVIIIth century); Harunobu, Koriusai, Kiyonaga and Shunsho, who
worked in sunny yellows and reds, pearly greens and pale purples, often
most cleverly opposed with transparent black and cool silvery grays; then
Utamaro and Toyokuni I., strong but less fine.
Among XLXth century men Hiroshige (page 13) and Hokusai are preëminent as
colorists. Both have strongly influenced Occidental painters. Hiroshige
designed series after series of prints,—scenes famous for their beauty or
historic interest; stations on the two great highways, the Tokaido and the
Kisokaido; effects of wind, rain, snow and twilight; flowers, birds, and a
few figures. He would recompose the same series again and again in
different size and color‐scheme. His design is full of delightful
surprises; his artistic power and inventiveness are astonishing. A
prodigious amount of work is signed by his name; some critics hold that
there was a second, and even a third Hiroshige, but Fenollosa believed in
one only, whose manner naturally varied during a long life (1790—1858).
Hokusai’s color is strange and imaginative; sometimes delicate almost to
neutrality, sometimes startling and daring. His pupils Hokkei, Hokuju and
the rest are more gentle.
The figure prints most commonly seen are by Kunisada (Toyokuni II),
Kuniyoshi and other pupils of Toyokuni I., and Keisai Yeisen. Here, as in
most Japanese figure prints, color effects are produced by skilful
combinations of patterns upon costumes. Every kind of color‐key is
possible, by this means, with infinite variations;—impressionist painting
with wood blocks. The student is warned that poor prints
abound,—impressions from worn‐out blocks, cheap modern reprints, and
imitations. Bright, fresh color, however, need not be taken to mean
imitation; some of the early editions have been kept in albums in store
houses, and the color has not changed. Experience and appreciation are
after all the only safeguards.
APPLICATION. Having made the copy of the color‐scheme, apply the same
colors to several tracings of one design, (No. 67). One of the things
taught by this exercise is that distribution and proportion of color
affect harmonic relations. Colors that harmonize as they stand in the
print may seem discordant when used in different quantities; they will
surely be so if the design is badly spaced. With a good design, and
correct judgment as to hue, notan and intensity, the chances are that each
variation will be satisfactory.
Copies from Hiroshige are of special value to the landscape painter. These
may be made in oil as a study of quality and vibration. The procedure is a
little different from the preceding. It is better, in oil painting, to
copy whole prints. Over the surface of a large rough canvas scrub a thin
gray, of the color of the paper of the print. Draw the design in a few
vigorous lines, omitting all details. Paint in, at arm’s length, the
principal color notes, not covering the whole surface or filling in
outlines. Mix colors beforehand, taking time to copy each hue and value
exactly. The painting, with each color ready upon the palette, should be
swift and vigorous. Place the print above the canvas; stand while
painting; make comparisons at a distance.
Copying Japanese prints is recommended for practice in color; it does not
replace nature‐painting or original design, though it will be a help to
both.
COPYING COLOR from TEXTILES. The exercises described above may be taken
with textiles. Beauty of color in the finest of these is due to good
composition, the softening of dust and age‐stain, and the atmospheric
envelope caused by reflection of light from the minute points of the web.
For some kinds of textile the charcoal paper, as above, may be useful; for
others, gray paper and wax crayons.
The latter are excellent for copying rugs and can be used in original
designs for rugs.
As to models, work from originals in museums,—Persian carpets and rugs,
Coptic and Peruvian tapestries, mediaeval tapestries, Italian, Spanish and
French textiles XIIIth to XVIIIth centuries, etc. In the “rag‐fairs” of
Europe, and in antique shops, one may find scraps of the woven and printed
stuffs of the best periods. The South Kensington Museum has published
colored reproductions of textiles. Art libraries will have Fischbach’s,
Mumford’s, the Kelekian Collection and others in full color.