ON THE TERTIARY, OLIVE.
Olive is the third and last of the tertiary colours, and nearest in
relation to shade. Like its co-tertiaries, citrine and russet, it is
composed of the three primaries, blue, red, and yellow; but is formed
more directly of the secondaries, _purple_ and _green_, in each of which
blue is a constituent: hence blue occurs twice in the latter mode of
forming olive, while red and blue enter therein singly and
subordinately. Blue is, therefore, in every instance the archeus or
predominating colour of olive; its perfect or middle hue comprehending
sixteen of blue to five of red and three of yellow. It partakes in a
proportionate measure of the powers, properties, and relations of its
archeus: accordingly, the antagonist or harmonizing contrast of olive is
a _deep orange_. Like blue, olive is a retiring colour, the most so of
all the colours, being the penultimate of the scale, or nearest of all
in relation to black, and last, theoretically, of the regular
distinctions of colours. Hence its importance in nature and painting is
almost as great as that of black; it divides the office of clothing the
face of creation with green and blue; with both which, as with black and
grey, it enters into innumerable compounds and accordances, changing its
name as either hue prevails, into green, gray, ashen, slate, &c. Thus
the olive hues of foliage are called green, and the purple hues of
clouds are called gray, &c.; but such terms are general only, and
unequal to the infinite particularity of nature.
This infinity, or endless variation of hue, tint, and relation, of which
the tertiaries are susceptible, gives a boundless license to the revelry
of taste, in which the genius of the pencil may display the most
captivating harmonies of colouring, and the most chaste and delicate
expressions; too subtle to be defined, too intricate to be easily
understood, and often too exquisite to be felt by the untutored eye.
Nature always melodizes by imperceptible gradations, while she
harmonizes by distinct contrasts. At different seasons we have blossoms
of all hues, variously subordinated; and when the time of flowers may be
considered past, as if she had no further use for her fine colours, or
were willing to display her ultimate skill and refinement, Nature
lavishes the contents of her palette, not disorderly, but in multiplied
relations, over all vegetal creation, in those rich and beautiful
accordances of broken and finishing colours with which autumn is
decorated ere the year decays and sinks into olive darkness.
As a rule, no colour exists in nature without gradation, which is to
colours what curvature is to lines. The difference in mere beauty
between a gradated and ungradated colour may be seen by laying an even
tint of rose-colour on paper, and putting a rose leaf beside it. The
victorious beauty of the rose, as compared with other flowers, depends
wholly on the delicacy and quantity of its colour gradations, all other
flowers being either less rich in gradation, not having so many folds of
leaf; or less tender, being patched and veined instead of flushed. It is
not enough, however, that colour should be gradated in painting by being
made simply paler or darker at one place than another. Generally, colour
changes as it diminishes, and is not only darker at one spot, but also
purer at one spot than elsewhere; although it does not follow that
either the darkest or the lightest spot should be the purest. Very often
the two gradations more or less cross each other, one passing in one
direction from paleness to darkness, another in another direction from
purity to dulness; but there will almost always be both of them, however
reconciled. Hence, every piece of blue, say, laid on should be quite
pure only at some given spot, from which it must be gradated into blue
less pure--greyish blue, or greenish blue, or purplish blue--over all
the rest of the space it occupies. In Turner's largest oil pictures,
there is not one spot of colour as large as a grain of wheat ungradated;
and it will be found in practice that brilliancy of hue, vigour of
light, and even the aspect of transparency in shade, are essentially
dependent on this character alone; hardness, coldness, and opacity,
resulting far more from equality of colour than from nature of colour.
Given some mud off a city crossing, some ochre out of a gravel pit, a
little whitening, and some coal-dust, and a luminous picture might be
painted, if time were allowed to gradate the mud, and subdue the dust.
But not with the red of the ruby, the blue of the gentian, snow for the
light, and amber for the gold, could such a picture be produced, if the
masses of those colours were kept unbroken in purity, and unvarying in
depth.
Olive being usually a compound colour both with the artist and mechanic,
there are few olive pigments in commerce.
232. MIXED OLIVE
may be compounded in several ways; directly, by mixing green and purple;
or indirectly, by adding to blue a smaller proportion of yellow and red,
or by breaking much blue with little orange. Cool black pigments,
combined with yellow ochre, afford eligible olives; hues which are
called _green_ in landscape, and _invisible green_ in mechanic painting.
It is to be noted that in producing these and other compound colours on
the palette or canvass, those mixtures will most conduce to the harmony
of the performance which are formed of pigments otherwise generally
employed in the picture. Thus, presuming aureolin to be the principal
yellow used, the same yellow should be chosen for compounding orange and
green, or for obtaining indirectly citrine, russet, and olive.
PERMANENT GREEN. | PERMANENT PURPLE.
|
Oxide of Chromium, opaque. | Mars Violet, true.
Oxide of Chromium, transparent. | Purple Madder.
Veronese Green. |
Viridian. |
Emerald Green. |
Scheele's Green. |
Terre Verte. |
As in the case of russet, there may be added to the two original
purples, mixtures composed of durable reds and blues. There are so many
ways of producing the tertiaries, that no difficulty can be found in
compounding them with stable pigments. Each tertiary may be represented
as follows:--
CITRINE = Orange + Green.
" = (Yellow + Red) + (Yellow + Blue.)
" = 2 Yellow + Red + Blue.
RUSSET = Orange + Purple.
" = (Yellow + Red) + (Red + Blue.)
" = 2 Red + Yellow + Blue.
OLIVE = Green + Purple.
" = (Yellow + Blue) + (Red + Blue.)
" = 2 Blue + Yellow + Red.
From the above equations, and by consulting the lists given of permanent
primary and secondary colours, the artist will at once see how easily
and safely he may vary his mode of compounding the tertiaries.
233. OLIVE GREEN,
sometimes called _Dewint's Green_, is an arbitrary compound, or mixed
green, of a fine deep olive colour and sober richness. Advisedly or not,
it is used in landscape, sketching, &c.; but only in water, olive lake
supplying its place in oil. Like many other compound pigments, it is
either permanent, semi-stable, or fugitive, according to the
constituents of which it is composed. Generally speaking, it is more
beautiful than durable, and is often decidedly fugacious, fading on
exposure. It is impossible for a writer to pronounce an absolute opinion
on the stability of all mixtures sold in a separate form, inasmuch as
the compounds of one firm may differ from those of another. We have
before expressed our dislike to such pigments, and this uncertainty with
regard to their composition serves to strengthen it. Nevertheless, as
there are exceptions to every rule, it must be admitted that the palette
possesses compounds always to be relied upon.
234. OLIVE LAKE
is in commerce exclusively an oil colour. When true, it is a lake
prepared from the green ebony, or laburnum, and is of considerable
permanence, transparency, and depth, both in water and oil; in which
latter vehicle it dries well. This variety, however, may be said to be
obsolete; having given way to a mixture, usually semi-stable, and liable
to blacken.
* * * * *
235. _Burnt Verdigris_
is what its name expresses, and is an olive-coloured oxide of copper
deprived of acid. It dries remarkably well in oil, is more durable than
the original verdigris, and is in other respects an improved and more
eligible pigment, although not to be recommended.
236. _Olive Oxide of Chromium._
An olive oxide of this metal is obtainable, transparent, of strict
stability, and altogether superior to any original or compound olive
pigment as yet known. Eligible either in water or oil, it is admirably
adapted for autumn foliage, where a quiet, subdued, nature-like green
is required. It has not, however, been introduced, partly because of its
expense, and partly because a mixture of other pigments with the
ordinary chrome oxides sufficiently answers the purpose. There are more
good colours in the world than are dreamt of in the palette's
philosophy, but either they are not wanted, or are too costly to sell.
In a great measure, both art and science are dependent on commerce.
237. _Olive Rinman's Green._
A compound analogous to cobalt green may be made, of an olive hue, with
more body, and equally stable.
238. _Olive Scheele's Green._
Cupric arsenite, when heated, gives off arsenious acid and water,
leaving a residue of arsenide of copper and copper arseniate. A series
of olive colours is so afforded, which are as durable as their original
pigment, and might with advantage be substituted for the doubtful
compounds at present in use.
239. _Olive Schweinfurt Green_
is likewise furnished by gentle calcination. It may be directly prepared
by mixing boiling aqueous solutions of equal parts of crystallised
verdigris and arsenious acid. An olive-green precipitate is immediately
formed, which is apt, without due precaution, to pass into an emerald
green. A durable copper colour.
240. _Olive Terre Verte._
We have obtained a very beautiful olive from terre verte by simply
changing its hue. In oil, especially, the colour so produced would be
found of service for autumn foliage, or richly painted foregrounds. A
simple original pigment, consisting wholly of the earth, it resembles
ordinary terre verte in being unaffected by strong light or impure air,
and uninjured by admixture; but differs from it in not darkening by
time. Semi-transparent, of sober richness and drying well in oil, it is,
according to its powers, a perfectly unexceptionable colour, of strict
stability.
* * * * *
Of the two olive colours in common use, olive lake and olive green, the
first is generally semi-stable, and apt to blacken; while the second is
usually fugitive, and liable to fade: both are compounds. The palette,
therefore, possesses no original olive pigment, good or bad. A glance at
the numbered italicised olives will show that the doubtful mixtures
referred to might with advantage be superseded. It is clear that the
olive pigments which the palette does not know, are better than those
with which it is acquainted.