The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1881-09-12
The Yellow Light.
AZ Interesting Study in Color.
Boston Advertiser.l

Boston Advertser.l
So emphatic a lesson in color as the yellow
light of Tuesday is rare enough to justify spec
ial notice from that point of view. Every day
has similar lessons, but Of such fine grAdations
that probably no two artists would agree on
one and the same definition. But yesterday
every one noted the prominent transforms
tions To every eye the gaslights were whittier
than the daylight, and recalled the electric
light to every mind. The startling hues
grass trees and flowers were an amazement
even to the unobservant. 1t differed from
London fog in its purity of color and conse-
quent logic in the strange changes it produced.
To follow these changes intelligently we
need but keep in view that the yellow light Ito
an eye placed in the yellow medium) neutral
ICES yellow in all colors which contain it and
adds it to the others. Thus sunfowers seemed
bleached, and linen on the line, while keeping
a value of white came near to gold. All yellow
being eliminated from the grass and leaves
left them as nearly pure green as we can ever
hope to see. The eye turning, from grass to
hedge of box, or clump of pines or row Of
cabbages, ran through long scale OF green's OF
marvellous purity. Distinctly not blues as
some have called them. White astsrs became
yellow; the pink were intensified with gold,
while the purple ones faded to magenta col
or, the yellow light and the blue OF the purple
asters reducing each other to white and leav-
ing only the pale red shade.
had no opportunity of observing a genuine
blue but am confident it would have appeared
either purplish or greenish as it leaned either
way; or if without alloy, would simply have
been bleached, like all yellows, though from
different cause. Reds were everywhere lnteh-
sified both by.the elimination of yellow and
blue, and by the cont t.asts of green, which in
the country framed all objects. In the same
way all neutral tones, roads, rocks, ploughed
fields, became various hues OF orange and red
browns, partly from absorption, partly from
contrast. The pure greens were confined to
horizontal surfaces; all vertical masses, and
the under surfaces of leaves were either so
bathed in the light or so illumined by red re-
Elections as to pass into hot browns The dis
tances as seen from here were unexpectedly
green perhaps owing TO the nearness Of the
hills and consequent influence OF the local col
or. A tone more akin to the sky, ike wash
of sepa is what with more distant horizon
would be looked for. 1t is further worthy OF
note that gold and brass were not like yellows
bleached in appearance, but rather intensified
Later the light deepened to copper color,
in which even the scarlet geraniums began TO
bleach. And finally the yellow and red were
withdrawn and everything assumed monotc-
nous greenish hue, not agreeable, but more
akin to the usual foggy daylight Indoors,
with gas flames white and glaring at midday,
the dark window frames surrounding space
of gold, the changes of normal hues were as
strange as those without. l note but one; In
this double illumination the wonderful purity
of bunch of white flowers was thing Of
which I never saw the like.
AS to its cause, light high fog with light
smoke behind it has a satisfactory sound
amond the various guesses propounded. But
wish to note as of importance that this effect
in less perfection is by no means rare. have
wondered over it many times in thepast, and
have always seen itwith alight and high fog at
or often immediately after sunset, when yell
low light seems in order without the need of
superadded smoke, which is certainly not in
dispensable to this effect in its transient FORM
am, yours very truly,
j. G. BANCROFT.