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THE LAWS OF CONTRAST OF COLOUR:

AND THEIR APPLICATION TO THE ARTS OF PAINTING, DECORATION OF BUILDINGS, MOSAIC WORK, TAPESTRY AND CARPET WEAVING, CALICO-PRINTING, DRESS, PAPER-STAINING, PRINTING, MILITARY CLOTHING, Illumination, Landscape, and Flower Gardening, &c.

BY M. E. CHEVREUL,

DIRECTOR OF THE DYE WORKS OF THE GOBELINS, ETC. ETC.

TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH BY JOHN SPANTON.

NEW EDITION,

With Illustrations printed in Colours.

LONDON: ROUTLEDGE, WARNE, AND ROUTLEDGE, FARRINGDON STREET. NEW YORK: 56, WALKER STREET.

PART THE FIRST.

SECTION I.—ON THE LAW OF SIMULTANEOUS CONTRAST OF COLOURS, AND OF ITS DEMONSTRATION BY MEANS OF EXPERIMENT

CHAP. I.—Manner of observing the Phenomena of the Simultaneous Contrast of Colours. Definition of Simultaneous Contrast

The science of colours, as applied to the arts, is a vast and interesting subject; and although many philosophers and artists have turned their attention to it, yet, I believe, I am the first who has deduced, from direct observation and experiment, a law which governs the contrast of colours, and which has an influence so considerable, that without a knowledge of it, it is impossible to produce truly harmonious effects in the combination of colours.

The most important law of simultaneous contrast of colours is that which results from the juxtaposition of two colours, one beside the other, however modified they may be. This law is founded on a phenomenon of the organisation of the eye, which I have had occasion to observe in the manufactory where I am employed, and which I shall now endeavour to render intelligible to the reader.

The effects of simultaneous contrast of colours are entirely dependent on the action of the eye itself; and it is necessary to guard against the most common source of error—that of believing that the tint of a colour is modified by the tint of its neighbour when this modification is perceived at a distance, or when the eye is fatigued by observing it.

In order to observe the phenomena of the simultaneous contrast of colours, it is necessary to use a particular method, which I shall detail in this chapter, and which consists in placing small adjacent portions of coloured paper, of equal intensity, near each other, on a ground of another colour.

I must first make the reader acquainted with the difference between a tint and a hue of colour.

By the tint of a colour, I mean the degree of its intensity, or its approach to white or black. Thus, the tint of red is lighter or darker in proportion as it contains more or less white or black.

By the hue of a colour, I mean the proper colour itself, such as red, yellow, orange, &c.; and the degree of its intensity, or its approach to the pure colour. Thus, the hue of a red is more or less deep, more or less marked, according as it contains more or less of the constituent colours that form it, according to the chromatic circle.

To apply this distinction to the subject of contrast, we must observe two colours placed side by side. Let us take a piece of pure grey paper, and place upon it two small pieces of coloured paper, one red and the other green, both of which are perfectly equal in tint, and have the same degree of intensity. If these two colours are viewed at a moderate distance, the red will appear slightly tinted with green, and the green will appear slightly tinted with red.

This phenomenon, which is perceived by the eye when observing two contiguous colours, is what I term the Simultaneous Contrast of Colours.

CHAP. II.—The Law of the Simultaneous Contrast of Colours, and the Formula which represents it

If we observe two colours placed side by side, one of which is the complement of the other, the contrast is at its maximum. If the two colours are not complementary, the contrast exists, but in a less marked degree, and it is always such that each colour is tinted with the complement of the other.

The Law of the Simultaneous Contrast of Colours is thus formulated: When the eye observes simultaneously two colours, placed side by side, the eye, in order to accommodate itself to the impression of the colour viewed, produces in the perception of the adjacent colour an opposite tint, or the complement of the tint viewed.

Let us represent the colours of the spectrum in their natural order: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet.

We know that complementary colours are those which, when mixed in the proper proportions, produce white light, or grey when mixed as pigments. The complementary colours are:

Red and Green Orange and Blue Yellow and Violet

If we observe, for example, a small square of red surrounded by a larger square of green, the red will appear slightly tinted with green, and the green will appear slightly tinted with red. This is because the green that is perceived in the red is the complement of the red, and the red that is perceived in the green is the complement of the green.

If the two colours are not complementary, the effect of contrast is still produced, but the tint added to each colour is the complement of the colour seen.

For example, if we place red beside orange: The red will appear tinted with green (the complement of orange). The orange will appear tinted with violet (the complement of red).

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