The morning call., 1893-05-21
THEY WON'T LAST.
Modern Pictures Are Just
Butterflies.
COLORS AND THEIR MIXING.
No Pictures in the Art Exhibition
Likely to Be Mellow Old Treas
ureS Centuries Hence.

III one way. Ihey knock down all our
pet ideas and won't leave us peg to hang
an illusion on. One would think for in-
stance that they could let US enjoy the
pictures at the new art CALLER y in peace,
but they won't. not bit of il.
Some German chemist who is famous
for knowing all about the habits and man.
ners OF cholera microbes has used his
spare time in discovering that the pigments
used by our modern painters are cheap
and nasty, and that the PICTURES painted
to-day will luok for all the world like faded
photographs to our great-great-g t-grand-
children.
1t is very foolish of us to mind. because
we won't live TO see the change, but at the
same time 1t takes good deal of the gilt
OFT the gingerbread to think as we walk
round the Hopkins mansion "these pic
lures won't last anyway" Raphael and
Titan and Rembrandt and all the rest of
the ola masters have painted works that
Will 90 on mellowing for ever and ever,
but this delightful Ell Campo and these
oaks, that every one admireS, are just but
tertiies of the hour.
Ii the German chemist is really right.
we might all long TO resuscitate some old
mummy and get him to give our modern
tlon. The Egyptians have broken all
records in the act of making and keeping
brilliant tiDls. Plato says he could dis
cover DO difference between paintings done
IN his own day and those painted a
thousand years before. Plato may have
exagcerated although he has the reputa-
ton OF being pretty reliable writer. but
II we want to fiud out that Plato was not
so far wrong, we have only to ask Jerry
Lynch to let US look at his mummy cases.
We can see at a glance that the Egyptian
eolors are as bright and fresh to-day as II
they had been laid on yesterday. Yet we
know that at the lowest reckoning the
mummy cases were painted between 1000
and 5000 years ago.
| Professor Yahn, who has analyZed
Egyptian pigments, says they are mixed
with preparation of glue made FROM
| hlppopotamus hides, and he knows exact
y what all The coors are. The blues con-
sist of oxides of copper with little iron:
the reis red oxide of iron; the yellows
vegetable colors, and the greens were made
by mixing yellow and blue. Red, yellow,
green and blue, with black and white.
were the only colors in which the old
Egyptians worked. for although brilliant
their painting was little better than hyer o.
glyphc writing.
The Greeks and Pompeians used min
eral culors almost entirely. Every one
knows how brilliant the Pompeiian mural
paintings still are. In fact, they look
good deal fresher and brighter than many
of the frescoes done in TIE present age and
already beginning to fade. The German
chemist may be wrong about pictures. but
we can see for ourselves how badly our
frescoes are wearing. New European
freScoes are fading out, so are those in
Washington and other American cities.
People are fond of calling any sort OF
painting on a wall a fresco, but when
medium is used to fix the color, such as oil.
wax, size or silica, the painting is 10 more
fresco than picture painted in oils on
paper is water-colOr.
In fresco painting no vehicle of any kind
but water is used. for although powdered
color would brush off as soon as the water
evaporated under ordinary circums tances,
frescoeS are made permanent by being
painted on wet mortar" Michael An
gel0's and Gotto's frescoes have lasted
brcause they were painted on superior
kind of mortar, called by the Italians
"intonlco," which had the property of
retaining and fixing the color. The bad
quality of our intonico is the cause of the
decay OF our modern frescoes. That has
been quite settled by artists, but the ques-
ton o pigment is still open to debate, and
the opinions of painters themselves on the
subject are interesting.
Modern cOlOrS are prepared by manu-
facturers. so perhanS they are not so care
fully made as those used by he OLD
masters, said Ernest Peixotto when asked
his opinion of the pigments in use to-day.
Most of the old paintei ground their own
col0rS or had them ground by students"
Would that not be possible in the pres
ent age?" asked The reporter.
Artists are not going to do it. though.
when they can buy colorS all ready pre-
pared" replied Peix0tto. laughing. land it
is hard to say what sort of an insurrection
would take place if pa Mt, T expected his
fhpm fnr
are not what they used 10 be in the middle
ages. With regard to modern colors,
though. there is great diversity Of opinion
about their permaneDcy.
The great cry of the French school is
for simple palette" continued the young
artist, walking over to his easel and pick
Tag up his palette. white and the three
primary colors-yelow, red and blue-are
here, OF course. You see, l have one lake,
a veTmiiion, a yellow ocre, cadmium.
cobalt. ultSamarine and black. That l
consider my permanent palette. Some
artists use many more made colors. Lakes
are dangerous because they are likely to
change. but yellows are the most danger
Gus. Earths, like yellow ocre or burned
sienna. are surely permanent coorS.
Emei aid green Is ii mineral and /. often
eats into the other colors and causes black
ness. l have noticed the yellows in pic
ture turn 10 duh, reddish brown In
how long a time? Well, sometimes 1t
takesa year; sometimes they have changed
in day."
do You think the cd masters have
changed much?" was asked.
They seem o have melowed," replied
PelXotto. "althoughS in some cases they
have very likely lost bri liancy. Paul
FeroneSe'S pictures seem to have faded. l.
is dark. rather heavy color to which the
change does not make much difference
believe that some of the old masters. like
Titan. laid heir colors on in a series of
gaZes, b aSin9ing with oils so diluted with
tnrpentlpe. etc.. as to be almost water
colors. The modern French school goes
oihe other extreme and cries out for the
premier coup = the first stroke of the
brrSh. as it were
In using simple palette there is one
difficulty; q considerable difference of Opin-
ion Is found as to which colors to throw
eli. Schenk. the Paris artist who paints
sheep In snowstorms and that sort of pc
cullar color effects, on told me that he
uses no yellow brighter than Naples vel.
low, and no red brighter than light red
BHt don't see how that palette ceud
WORK. myself, for il would be entirely
without brilliancy."
DO Won think that the frescos painted
Dy the old masters are fading out?" asked
the reporter.
We'll. of course they are exposed TO the
danger OF dampne>s," replied Peixatto,
.eut Michael Angplo's Sistine chapel
1rescos and Raphael's wall decorations in
The v atirau a In