Yale Center for British Art and British Studies

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PREFACE.

IN a small Work which I published some time ago, entitled an ESSAY on LIGHT and SHADOW, on COLOURS, and on COMPOSITION in general, I endeavoured to demonstrate, that, by a peculiar arrangement of Colours in painting, according to the respective brilliancy they possess, they advance or retire from the eye of an observer, in obedience to the will of the painter, independent of Light and Shadow.

That a powerful effect can be produced by such an arrangement in a composition of Flowers, and that the principle may be extended to every other species of composition, I would venture to assert; but I speak decidedly only of the former: it is indeed peculiarly suitable to Flowers, as on them the Omnipotent Artist of the Universe has lavished every varied tint, and every brilliant hue, that the magic power of colouring can produce to captivate the eye; which permits such freedom to the pencil that pourtrays them, that what seems glaring in the other efforts of the Art, does not in Flower painting overstep the modesty of Nature.

I do not know that the idea I wish to promulgate, has ever presented itself to the mind of any other person; and I felt too diffident of my own opinion, at the time of publishing the above mentioned Essay, to give any other elucidation of my theory than coloured blots could afford. The approbation, however, with which it has been received, and the experience I have had since it was made public, in ascertaining the practicability of the principles on which it is founded, have convinced me of its justness, and emboldened me to lay before the Public a SERIES of DESIGNS, as proofs of its truth.

But as it is essential in every investigation to examine minutely, in every point of view, the arguments that may be advanced, either in support of or in opposition to any new opinion, I intend that the following Designs should exhibit examples, both in favour of, and against the truth of my theory; one part of them, therefore, have been painted, without attention to principle, whilst the other will shew the effect which my proposed arrangement is capable of producing.

I have neither the vanity nor the presumption to imagine, that the theory is so perfect as to carry with it self-evident conviction; and therefore mean by this plan, to lay it fairly open to criticism. For although, like every other person who advances a new opinion, I feel a predeliction for it, and certainly wish to see it established, yet

PREFACE.

I feel a more sincere love for truth, and the Arts, than to desire this, if it can be proved fallacious; but at the same time I must observe, that, whilst I will bend to the decisions of candid and liberal criticism, I will not consider any objection that may be urged against particular parts, as affecting the general validity of the principle.

The Gaours are intended as Specimens of that branch of the Art to which they belong; and I have endeavoured to do them all the justice of which I am capable. In the style of my own observations which accompany them, I have aimed more at perspicuity, than elegance of diction; to convince rather than amuse: and I wish rather to wear the garb of honest truth, than attempt to decorate myself with the flowing robe of Rhetoric.

For the Notes, descriptive of the Flowers and other Specimens of Natural History which compose the Groups, I am indebted to Anthony Todd Thomson, Esq. Surgeon, London, and to Mr. William Salisbury, of the Botanic Garden, Queen's Elm and Cadoogan Place, London, and other friends, who have kindly supplied my deficiency in this part of the Work by their assistance. I must, however, beg leave to observe, that it is not my intention to class it with any work of Natural History, but intend that the Notes shall merely point out the present established names of the subjects delineated, from the best authority, with a view to render the Work more useful to the purchasers.

I present myself to the world with an anxiety natural to every candidate for public approbation. If the Work be deficient of merit, it will soon find its level with other short-lived productions: if it has merit, I am not afraid it will remain unnoticed in a period so remarkable for every thing that can advance the Fine Arts in this country, to that enviable degree of perfection to which they attained in Greece and Rome in their full height of elegance and taste.

INTRODUCTION.

IN the foregoing Preface I have mentioned my intention of giving Groups of Flowers, &c. as examples of my Theory of Colours; and of giving other Groups of Flowers also, which were painted prior to the formation of it, the arrangement of which was not directed by any settled principle, but by accident and fancy. The defects of the latter I will not scruple to point out in every instance, as on this occasion I feel no reluctance to expose my own errors; but it would arrogate great presumption, and indeed be doing myself great injustice, if I left room for any one to suppose, that I considered the Examples of the Theory as so many instances of perfection, or even of having succeeded according to the principles of my own Theory; but supposing they were perfect in that respect, it is only one excellence out of many that are to be attended to, and attained, in forming a good Picture.

I offer them, therefore, [and with diffidence] as subjects only by which the Theory may be illustrated; sensible that, in many other respects, they may be deficient, although I have done my best to make them perfect. In the former Work I have alluded to in the Preface, I confined myself chiefly to the consideration of the *colours* in composition; in this, I shall venture to speak of Invention, or Design; but indeed there is little for me to add, after what has already been said on the subject in the Works of Du Fresnoy and Sir Joshua Reynolds; for although their remarks are applied to the nobler branches of the Art, yet, the rules are so perfectly applicable to the branch in question, and so consonant to my own ideas on the subject, that perhaps it were sufficient, if I merely pointed out their application to Flower Painting, to those who are already possessed of those valuable Works; and recommended the perusal of them to those who are not, and are desirous of being proficients in Painting; having endeavoured to avail myself of them in my own practice, and felt the advantage of such guides.

The different Groups will, I hope, serve to elucidate the principles I have laid down in my Theory, although I may too often fail in my attempts to approach to such acknowledged standards of perfection as the rules I have alluded to are allowed to be: but I have this to encourage me, that the more I endeavour to guide my pencil by those rules, the more worthy the productions of it will be of public

INTRODUCTION.

attention. Having spoken thus far generally, I shall now endeavour to enter more
particularly into the subject, and in the first place point out, as far as I am able, the
advantage which fancy and taste derive (even in trifling works) from being guided
by judgment, matured by a knowledge of the first principles of the Art. Those who
employ their genius without this advantage, are generally more attentive to the
separate individual parts, and the manner of finishing, than to the general effect of
the whole Picture. But without meaning, in the least degree, to depreciate the merit
of high finishing, it certainly is an inferior consideration in a Picture. The more
important objects are, first, the choice of the subject, and invention if the imagination
be employed; the contour of the whole and the separate individual parts; the
disposition of the colours into proportionable and harmonious masses; and lastly,
the execution and finishing; which, although last, is so far from being a least consi-
deration, that it is to a Picture, what Hayley so beautifully describes *temper* to be
in regard to virtue and sense—the image which creates *sterling value*: so will high
finishing give value and beauty to a Painting, provided the principle by which it is
conducted, and the general effect of the whole Picture be good, that is, conformable
to Nature.

The choice or imagination employed on the subject of a Picture, at once shews
the taste and the knowledge of the Painter, who should

"Weigh part with part, and with prophetic eye

"The picture power of all thy tints descry." Du Fresnoy, p.36.

For if the design be washed in with brown, or in some slight manner, which it should
be at first, the mind's eye of the Painter must review the effect both of form and
colour; but even with the greatest skill, it will sometimes be found no easy matter to
form a just conception of a Group of Flowers in such a state, and to observe the
requisite rules of composition; because the materials of which it consists, comprehend
such a variety of small parts, that it is difficult, with a strict attention to Nature, to
combine them, so as to form the proper harmonious masses of Light and Shade.
In a Flower piece, a great difficulty also arises in determining the exact form, not
only of the whole, but of the interior small parts; and this is a joint work with that
of deciding on the quantity of each colour, and the disposition of the masses of
Light and Shade. If, therefore, the Painter cannot with "prophetic eye" survey his
Picture in this stage of its execution, he must, of course, work out the effect in a
most uncertain manner, without having any clear idea of it in his mind; which will
be attended with manifest disadvantage in the execution, as it must inevitably prove
a mere heterogeneous mass of materials, without unity; and with no other merit, if
any, than what may belong to the parts of it separately. I shall now beg leave to

INTRODUCTION.

quote some other passages from Mr. Mason's translation of Du Fresnoy, that are
particularly applicable to my subject.

" That form alone, where dwells peculiar grace,

" The genuine painter condescends to trace." Du Fresnoy, p. 27.

It is of course necessary, even in a Flower-painting, to have a true idea of the beautiful; (I speak only of form here,) and to be able to select, as well as describe subjects worthy of the Pencil, and possessed of picturesque effect. The beauty of the outline, or general form of any figure, is, I believe, owing to the gradual varied line, which Mr. Hogarth calls the line of beauty, and which Du Fresnoy describes in page 39,

" But chief from her the flowing outline take,

" Which floats in easy windings like the snake."

It is, however, much easier to preserve the flowing outline, and give that graceful ease in the contour of the human figure, than in flowers, where the number of minute parts renders that sometimes difficult; but when the subject in itself will not admit of it, the separate parts should be so arranged, as to produce the above effect, and as much boldness and freedom aimed at in their arrangement as possible; for all cramped formal geometric lines should be carefully avoided, as particularly disagreeable to the eye, let the subject be what it will; yet the firm unvarying straight line is occasionally necessary, for too strict an adherence to the curve, as *never* to introduce a straight line, would be not only to depart from Nature, but to give a tame insipidity to a Picture, and entirely shut out one source of beauty, *contrast*.

" For, in every figured Group the judging eye

" Demands the charm of contrariety."

Du Fresnoy, p. 43.

What is here said of contrasting the attitudes of Figures in Historical Composition, applies likewise to the Grouping of Flowers, in which it is just as necessary to vary the position of each, so that no two shall be exactly alike in that respect; and to let them be seen in various positions, but so that the intention shall not be obvious, only the effect of variety, produced in so insensible a manner, as to please the eye; which, if there be any abrupt transition from one position to another, will never be the case, for then the intention is perceived, and the effect lost. It is requisite also to preserve a proper balance; and to distribute the different parts or objects in your Group in such a manner, that one part may answer to another, and an equal attention be visible throughout, so that all shall be well connected together, and form one whole design.

Having obtained an idea of what the beauty of form or outline consists in, it will
naturally infuse itself into the works where it is in the mind, and from a striking

## INTRODUCTION.

found I had only to consider what part of a Group came foremost, and *there* to place
those colours that would of themselves strike the eye first, and also in the retiring
parts, to place those that were of a nature less striking; and each of these, aided by
the effect of Light and Shade, would perform the part allotted to them with more
effect, than if no attention was paid to their natural powers, and the harmony
produced merely by subduing warm colours by Shade, and bringing cold ones
forward by Light; at least so it appeared to me, and I have since been enabled to
work with a degree of certainty unknown to me before.

What I have farther to say on this head, will, perhaps, be better understood, if
attached to the Explanation of the different Examples that follow. These, I trust,
will confirm what I have advanced, although I must beg leave to observe, they may
not always conclusively do so, for there is the same kind of difficulty in adhering to
a principle or precept with the pencil, that there is in our moral conduct; various
failings prevent a strict conformity to the precepts of virtue in the one case, and
various oversights and disadvantages, often of subject, prevent it in the other; but a
strict adherence in both cases might assist us in approximating to perfection.

FIRST GROUP.

THE Painter who would excel in composition, should study and understand what the Italians call Chiaroscuro; the doctrine of light and shadow, or clair obscure, as it is generally translated; for unless the lights and shadows in a Picture be justly distributed, although the colours may be so arranged, as in some degree to supply the want of Chiaroscuro, yet still they will require its constant aid and assistance to produce a perfect imitation of Nature.

There appears to me to be a certain colour or shade, as it were, belonging to and according with every degree of light, from the highest point of illumination to the most entire privation of it. Without Chiaroscuro, therefore, there would not be any appearance in a Picture of that delightful beauty, which the enlivening beams of the sun give to the scenery around us; and in the absence of which, the most beautiful scene is bereft of its greatest charm; and it is only by its conveying that beauty to a Picture, that meaning and animation in the whole is produced.

If we carry on the allusion farther, and observe the woods and distant scenery when enlightened by the sun, we cannot say this colour or that shadow would have been better here, another there; but we must acknowledge, that all is in perfect harmony.

There appears some secret but uniform cause for this general beauty, which I take to be that universal distribution of harmonious colour throughout Nature, that we are more immediately sensible of in the rainbow; where the different portions of each colour are placed before us, as on a pallet, from which we might, as it were, supply our pencils when delineating Nature; and we have only to imitate her in the distribution of them on our canvas.

A thorough knowledge therefore of the relative brilliancy of each colour, and their due proportion, is as essentially necessary, in my opinion, for the Painter who would excel in Chiaroscuro, as in coloured composition; for it is evident, that it is not Light and Darkness only that he has to express, but the local colour of each object also, and the general tone of them altogether: he may even by the different shades and lights, express all the colours he means to introduce into his subject, so as clearly to point out a scarlet, a blue, or a yellow, &c. &c. and give to each its proper degree of brilliancy and warmth; and to any one acquainted with the before-mentioned theory, the situation of a colour would alone be to them sufficient to dis-

THIRD GROUP.

ALTHOUGH this little piece consists of Flowers, beautiful and elegant in themselves, yet, when they are grouped together thus, they by no means form a pleasing *whole* to the eye of a *painter*. But at the time it was composed I was not aware, that any attempt to arrange the intermediate prismatic tints was injudicious; and that for slight designs of this sort, a more simple choice of colours would have had a better effect; for, without there are flowers of all the various colours, enough to disperse and display the whole compliment of prismatic tints together in their due proportions and gradations, there cannot exist perfect harmony amongst them; for if one colour be wanting, its absence is as easily perceived by a well-informed eye, as a deficient note, or one out of tune, in a full chorus, is by the correct ear of a musician. In this combination of colours, and also in the conduct of the light and shade, there is such an evident want of the principles of composition, that, I think it a fair specimen, by which I can point out, as was proposed in the Preface to this work, the disadvantages arising from not being guided by the rules there alluded to;* and the necessity there is of following, at least, some other system of colouring, should mine not be approved of.

The principal flower, in a perfect composition, should be of a colour to accord with light;† and nothing should cut or intercept the masses of light and shade. If they are preserved entire, it marks the hand of a skilful master; and is then, by Artists, termed breadth in a picture. Nor should there be a warmer tint at the extremities of a group, than in the centre. Now in this group, yellow, which is a warm colour, and next to white in brilliancy, is placed at the *side*; and pink, a much colder and less brilliant colour, occupies a great part of the centre. The crimson, or rather scarlet Ixia, is by no means in its right situation, although it serves to give value to the pink; but both would be better in their proper places; the pink somewhere towards the extremities, and the scarlet sinking more into the shade. The dark purple, also, has a bad effect in being placed in its present situation. There wants a warmer colour beyond it, to produce that reflected tint seen on a ball on the shaded side farthest from the eye, which gives roundness and projection to the whole: and without a group of flowers be conducted upon that principle, it must of course be imperfect.

But in the assemblage of flowers before us, no arrangement of them alone, could

* Du Fresnoy's. † The highest and most brilliant degree of which is ascertained by Dr. Herschel to be white.

a more correct idea will be obtained by examining the drawing, than can be con-
veyed by any description. The most remarkable circumstance is the quadrant of
feathers that spring from beneath the wing on each side, of a greyish white colour,
tipped with a bar of lucid green; in order to display which as distinctly as possible,
the separated wing is thrown down in the foreground of the Picture.

'This bird,' says Lathem, 'is found principally at Aroo, but only during the
' dry monsoon, coming from New Guinea, where it is supposed to breed. It is called
' at Aroo, Wowi Wowi; in the Papian Islands, Sosselo-o, being brought chiefly from
' Aroo Sosselo-o, and especially from Wadger, a well known village there.

'The Dutch call it King Bird, and get it from Banda; to which place it is
' brought from the islands where it is found.' It is said to be a solitary bird, and
that it feeds on red berries, and is fond of the nutmeg; one of which with the mace
still on it is introduced into the drawing.

Specimens of this bird are rarely found in cabinets. That from which the draw-
ings was taken, is in the possession of the Countess of Powis.

II. The Nutmeg, which is here represented with the mace still on it, is the kernel of the fruit of the *Myristica moschata*, or nutmeg tree, belonging to the class *Monoecia*, genus *Monandria*, and natural order *Oleraceae* of Linnæus. It is a native of the Molacca islands; but is cultivated at Banda only. The tree grows to the size of a pear tree, with laurel-shaped leaves; is ten years old before it yields fruit, and lives and thrives to the age of one hundred. The fruit is like an apricot in size, shape, and colour. When ripe, it opens at the longitudinal furrow, shewing the shell of the nutmeg covered by the dark red mace, in narrow branched slips. When the fruit is gathered, the pulp is separated from the mace and nut; the mace is then stripped off, and dried in the sun; and the nutmegs in the shells exposed to heat and smoke for three months. The shells are now broken, and the nutmegs dipped in a solution of lime, which preserves them till cleaned and packed for the European market. T.

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FIFTH GROUP.

As the Shells, &c. of which this Group is composed, are not marked with any colour but brown, it of course points out one mode only of expressing them. In forming such an arrangement, no other attention is requisite than to place the lightest Shells foremost, and the darkest in the shade, that each may, from its own natural brilliancy, assume its proper situation in the mass of light and shadow; and by that means aid the general effect. The nicer discriminations of each particular Shell, &c. are not here aimed at, as it is their general appearance only, when grouped together, that is intended to be represented; but any one wishing to paint such a group with nicety, may easily obtain every assistance necessary from the numerous beautiful coloured works of both English and foreign Shells now extant, in which every known species of shell and coral is most accurately described; or from the real objects themselves, if possessed of them.

Shells, individually, are very beautiful objects for the pencil. In grouping them together, it is not always an easy matter to prevent them from having a heavy appearance, owing to the want of lighter parts, which are here in some measure supplied by the coralines; for the form of Shells are in general too compact to unite with one another, so as to produce that easy graceful line formerly spoken of in the general contour of the Group, and which forms so great a beauty in composition. The corals and the sea weeds, however, may, by being judiciously introduced, supply this deficiency, and have a very beautiful effect. Had these Shells been marked with a variety of colours, they would have been arranged accordingly, and the different colours distributed throughout the Group in the same manner as in a composition of flowers. But the effect produced by a combination of coloured Shells, can never be so brilliant as that of one of Flowers; for although they abound with a variety of the most beautiful tints, blending delicately into each other, yet there is very rarely a pure prismatic tint amongst them; they are almost all of them broken tints, such as come under the class expressed in the second table of my Essay. They are indeed rendered more delicate by a mixture of white or light; but to paint a Group of Shells in their natural colours, requires both a very nice pencil and considerable judgment; for when a number is picked out, whose *colours* would form an harmonious mass, perhaps their forms will by no means agree, and some particular tint may be wanting to fill up the full complement of colours, necessary to produce a

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SEVENTH GROUP.

This little Garland, which may be useful for various ornamental purposes, was the work of a period when fancy was almost the only director of my studies. Aware, however, that a general distribution of the different colours employed in it was requisite, and that no one part of a design intended, as this is, to ornament a flat surface (for instance, the top of a small table) should strike the eye before another, I placed flowers of nearly the same tints, as equally as I could throughout the whole of it. This arrangement of the colours is perfectly right, although the flowers, which compose each separate Group, might have been much more judiciously chosen; and the Garland has, notwithstanding, a picturesque appearance on the whole, as the little trailing branch of common heath,* coloured grey, with the blue riband, connect the separate Groups very well, and afford that repose to the eye which the gaiety of the other colours necessarily requires. With a little more judgment, this design might have presented a much superior appearance; whereas the want of it has occasioned a flatness or deficiency of rising in the separate parts from the ground on which they are thrown; but which, with more attention to Light and Shade, might have been effected without their losing any of their delicacy or lightness. In some future number, I will endeavour to shew what may be done in a subject of this sort, by a judicious arrangement of the flowers, and a better disposition of the Light and Shade, and with fewer small parts. The infinite number of these, in the present instance, does not add in the least to the elegance of the design, but destroys that simplicity of composition which should always be aimed at, as being ever pleasing to the eye, and which is produced by the having a clear idea of the design in the mind before it is transmitted to the canvas. When a correct and perspicuous idea is not previously formed, a confusion and multiplicity of parts in the picture always follow; for although part after part may be added, until the eye becomes in some measure satisfied with the effect, yet it is never entirely so, because that unity of design is wanting which marks a well-formed composition, where the meaning is obvious and clearly understood at the first view. But however clear the idea of a design may be in the mind of a painter, without a knowledge of the principles of the art (which it is the intention of this Work to illustrate) there will be as it were a want of language to express it; and therefore it is scarcely necessary to observe, that the study of them is essential to give value to every effort of the pencil.

* Erica vulgaris, Linn.

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I shall here beg leave to remark, that in the works of taste which have frequently come under my observation, the obvious want of arrangement of the colours in them have convinced me, that they might have been much more beautiful had they been conducted with more knowledge of the Art of Composition. In the trifling circumstance even of a border round a screen, or a table, a group of brilliant colours in the centre has been finished by a border of still more brilliant ones at the edge, which served only to distract the eye, and prevent it from resting on the principal object, whereas, had broken tints supplied their place, either dark or light, the border and centre would have been properly separated; each might have pleased the eye, and assisted in shewing off the beauty of the other. Although a border to a drawing may be considered, by an inexperienced painter, as the easiest part, and one of little or no consequence, yet in reality it requires a considerable share of judgment; as experience of the effect of colours is necessary to know how to produce, by the addition of a border, a happy combination of colour with those employed in the picture; but it is impossible to lay down any general rules to assist the choice, farther than that pure tints should be avoided, and broken or neutral ones made use of, of such a hue as shall either harmonize or contrast with those which are most predominant in the drawing, just as circumstances may require. There may sometimes happen to be too small a quantity of some one colour in the group, or composition; in which case a broken tint of the same hue, introduced into the border, may supply the deficiency, and harmonize the whole: or the value of the tints employed in the design, may be heightened by a contrasting one thrown into the border; and in this trifling circumstance, the judicious hand of a master may be as conspicuous, as in any other part of the picture. For a border to the design before us, it was necessary to choose a tint of so neutral a hue, that it should not at all share the attention of the observer with the rest of the composition, nor clash with any one colour in it; but, on the contrary, set off and contrast the principal colours, the reds and yellows, which it does, and at the same time harmonizes with the colder ones. If a warmer tint had been chosen, this would not have been the case, for the attention would then have been divided between the border and garland, which from its delicacy requires every thing to give it consequence and force of effect. The different flowers that compose this Garland, are drawn so much smaller than the natural size, that it is needless to give a botanical description of them; but they are drawn with as much correctness, and coloured as near to nature as they could be, on so small a scale.