CHAPTER V

ON THE USE AND MODIFICATION OF COLOUR IN DECORATION

Just as the aims of the painter of pictures are quite divergent from those of the decorator, so is the use of colour in the representation of natural objects and of natural phenomena divergent from that of the latter’s in his employment of tints in coloured decoration. The painter of pictures is at liberty to use unlimited tints and shades of one colour, or of any number of colours, to represent the facts or effects of nature in realistic or in imaginative art, that is to say, he can make the greatest possible use of gradation both in colour and in light and shade, but the decorator is limited in the matter of colour gradation, and still more limited in the matter of light and shade, to the use of a few tints of closely related tones, and, as a rule, he must use them in a series of flat tints, with little or no light and shade, and which may or may not be separated from each other by contours or outlines of neutral or different colours.

The aim of the decorator is to beautify surfaces by the use of colour, so he selects or creates his tints and shades, which may be of extremely rich and deeply saturated hues, heightened perhaps with the addition of silver or gold, or he may use schemes of sober tints of broken colours; but the aim of the picture painter is to respect the colouring of nature and to produce another kind of beauty, which if not always strictly imitative of natural forms and facts in colour and drawing, must at least show that its foundations are laid on the solid ground of nature. Colour is therefore used by the artist-painter in a limited sense, in so far as it is imitative of any particular scene or natural effect which he may desire to record, but the choice of the decorator is unlimited, for he can always invent his own colour schemes. And as the latter is justified in disregarding shadows and gradation in the rendering of his decorative forms, even when they are derived from nature, he is equally free to use any colour in an arbitrary way on such forms instead of their natural or local colour, provided that it does not interfere with the harmony and balance of his colour scheme. The old Gothic glass painters, for example, who produced some of the finest coloured glass, did not hesitate to colour the feet or the hands of their figures a vivid green, a crimson, or a brilliant blue, though the other flesh portions of the same figure would be in the natural colour, if they found it necessary to have any of those colours in such parts of the design where the feet or hands happened to be. Although we should not agree with this arbitrary colour treatment of natural forms, it only emphasises the fact that the old designers looked upon their figure compositions as simply units or integral parts of the general colour scheme, and nothing more or less than legitimate decoration.

The decorator may design his ornamental forms on the bases of natural ones, and may, by colouring them in tints suggested by nature, produce a beautiful decorative work, which indeed has often been done. Still, he is free to frankly disregard the natural or local colour of such forms if the latter does not suit his purpose, and may use any other colours that will enable him to produce the best effect and most satisfactory decoration. In any case there should be no attempt to imitate either the colouring or forms of nature in a realistic sense, however much he may make use of suggestions from natural forms and objects. If purely natural forms, such as those of birds, animals, or the human figure are introduced into decoration, they should be firmly outlined in some neutral colour in order to show that they are only intended as portions of the decorative scheme and not in the sense of realistic representations. Accurate representations of natural forms and photographic realism should be avoided in decoration. If the Byzantine mosaicists had drawn, or could have drawn, their figures better, they might have produced worse decoration, and might have failed to express the essentials of decorative art.

The greater part of modern polychrome decoration, not only on buildings but on nearly every description of handmade objects or manufactured goods that have pretensions to artistic claims, is only misapplied painting which has usurped the place of true decoration. This kind of semi-pictorial work came into vogue about the beginning of the seventeenth century in Italy and France, and gradually spread and developed in other European countries, so to-day there is still a great demand for this kind of art which is neither genuine decoration nor painting. Interior surfaces of buildings, textile hangings, carpets, all kinds of pottery, and almost every kind of object that presents a surface for decoration is treated with naturalistic transcripts of flowers, birds, animals, the human figure, as well as copies of landscapes and architectural views, all represented in a pictorial manner with more or less merit, but all misapplied work. Such meretricious merchandise is welcomed and purchased by a very large section of the public, who are unable to distinguish between true and false decoration.

_Decoration in Monochrome._--The simplest form of coloured decoration is monochromatic, that is, where one colour is used or where several tints of any one colour are used. This kind of colour treatment is often very satisfactory for the walls, ceilings, and woodwork of any ordinary room, where the pictures on the walls, the carpet, hangings, furniture and ornamental objects all combine to furnish the sharper and more contrasting colour notes that may be required. In such monochromatic decoration lighter and darker shades of the selected colour are used, the lighter and less intense tints being spread over the larger spaces, while the more intense and purer shades would be on the mouldings and on the smaller subdivisions of the architecture. The choice of the particular colour selected for any monochromatic scheme will in a measure depend on the uses of the room as well as on the decorative taste and feeling for colour. Monochromatic colouring may be enlivened by the use of gold in narrow lines or in small quantities, such as in the gilding of the fillets of door mouldings and cornices, etc.

_Use of gold in decoration._--Gold should not be used in large quantities in any scheme of decoration, except in backgrounds where it would be partially covered with ornamentation, or else it will be liable to lose its precious quality, and so look vulgar and common. Where gold is used in great quantities, such as we see in the gaudy gold and white decoration of some state assembly-rooms, it completely loses its quality of preciousness, and in proportion to the increase of the quantity used, it becomes cheap-looking and appears more like brass than gold. If gold must be used lavishly in the decoration of state rooms it ought to be toned down with some transparent brown colour which would tend to make it still richer, and would destroy the tinselly or brassy appearance which large masses of gilding always present to the eye. Where gold was used in backgrounds of figure or ornamental compositions by the Italian artists, its natural glare was usually toned down either by having a net-work of lines, or a fine tracery pattern, or sometimes a fine diaper or checker pattern painted on it in black or dark brown. Also the surface, previous to the gilding of it, was sometimes prepared with a rough texture, in order to prevent it from having the objectionable shine that is common to the gilding of smooth surfaces, and to enable the spectator to see the real colour of the precious metal. Gold grounds look better when the surface is slightly curved, for all gilded flat surfaces, unless modified by one of the methods we have mentioned above, will either appear glaringly bright or very dark according to the position from which they are seen. It may also be mentioned that gold has in common with white, or very pale colours, the effect of spreading, so that thin lines, or delicate tracery patterns in gold, on a dark, or moderately dark coloured ground, always appear to look broader than they really are, this being due to the spreading effect of light which is reflected to the eye by the brilliancy of gold, or white.

Coloured decoration on gold grounds ought to be outlined in black, or some very dark colour, in order to prevent the gold from overpowering the colour and making it look ineffective. When highly relieved enrichments are gilt, the ground behind them may be “picked out” in strong colour, such as vermilion, deep cobalt blue, or black in cases where an effect of penetration is desired, but in proportion to the lowness of the relief the background colouring may be lessened in strength or intensity. It must be pointed out, however, that ornament in very low relief, if gilded, will require a more strongly coloured background than in the case of ornament that may be simply coloured, but not gilt.

_The small interval, or concord of closely related tones._--It might be suggested that the natural development, or sequence of purely monochromatic colouring to a full and rich polychromy would be of that kind of colour harmony which is known as _the small interval_, which, in decoration, is expressed by the concord of closely related colour tones. It may be also defined as a harmony of colour analogy, a kind of gradation where colours and their tints are separated by a little distance or interval from each other in the chromatic circle. The colouring of natural objects and phenomena afford endless examples of the small interval. The plumage of birds, wings of insects, foliage of trees and plants, flowers, shells, some minerals, and the sunset sky may be mentioned as some of the illustrations of this kind of harmonious colour gradation, where the various tints and shades of closely related colours are cunningly arranged by nature in delicate, yet decided contrasts, not of hue, but of analogous tones. For example, a green-blue may pass into a violet-blue, by a gradual series of separated tints, but the latter colour must be kept at the shade of violet just before it is overcome by red, and the former must not be overpowered by yellow. The colour of a peacock’s neck-plumage affords a good illustration of this kind of green-blue to violet-blue colouring by gradation of shades. A similar gradation is where an orange-red passes gradually into a crimson-red, but neither yellow in the first-named colour nor blue in the crimson must be permitted to overcome them. The decorator being concerned with the use of broken colours--that is, pure colours modified by mixture of black, white or grey--for the covering of large spaces such as walls, ceilings and woodwork panels, can therefore adopt the principle of the small interval in architectural colouring with advantage and success, by using any group of closely related colours for his scheme; and further, if he desires to intensify or enliven the latter, he can do so by the use of small quantities of other contrasting colours introduced in the cornice, frieze or mouldings, or in lines, bands and other forms of painted ornamentation, and, if necessary, the whole of the decoration might be heightened by gilding.

_Coloured decoration on coloured grounds._--The use of coloured grounds, and especially those of contrasting colours, postulates the more complex forms of polychromatic decoration, where a good number of widely separated tints and shades of various colours are employed in any one scheme.

In polychromatic schemes of colouring there are certain laws which must be respected, regarding the relation of one colour to another, their modification of tint or shade, as affected by their position, and the strength or weakness of the light which illuminates them, however much may be left to the good taste and feeling for colour which the decorator may possess. All these essentials have to be considered, for it is not so much a question of rich and glowing colour schemes, or sober, quiet and subdued arrangements, but to obtain a harmonious colour finish in either. The decorator must aim for, and if possible obtain, a proper balance of colour, not so much for the achievement of uniformity, as for that of unity and repose. In order to obtain unity he must therefore see that even in the most complex polychromy a perfect balance of the colours is the first consideration, and of the utmost importance. In decoration we have both colour and form, but colour in decorative art is the more important of the two. A certain balance is looked for in ornamental or pictorial fillings of panels, for example, or even in the secondary ornamentation of painted bands, stiles, and other minor surfaces, but the repetition of exactly similar forms on such surfaces is by no means essential, but on the contrary produces monotony. In the matter of colour the case is reversed, for it is very important that there should be a decided repetition of

colour, even to the point of symmetry, in architectural colouring, if the balance is to be maintained. There must be “echoes” or “recalls” of the same, or very similar, tints and shades in ceilings, walls, woodwork, and other parts of interior colouring if the qualities of good decoration, such as breadth, repose, and rhythm are to be secured. The rhythm of colour in decoration is of far more importance than that of the ornamental forms.

These laws and principles apply to all kinds of architectural decoration and their colour schemes, but if possible with more force to the richer and more complex polychromy, where pure and intense colours are employed with others of lesser intensity, together with gold, silver, white and black.

_Contours, or outlines._--Coloured ornament or pictorial decoration on coloured grounds ought to be outlined, especially so if the ornament or decoration does not differ much in colour from that of the ground. Even colours that greatly contrast with each other ought to be outlined to prevent them from having the appearance of mixing with each other, for most colours will not show their true value unless they are outlined with a neutral one such as black, white or gold, or with some lighter or darker colour than their own. The general rule is, that if the superimposed ornament is of a lighter colour than the ground, provided that it is not excessively light, it should be outlined with a still lighter colour, but if darker than the ground, the outline should be still darker.

Certain ornamental compositions, such as arabesques that are painted in light and shade on a coloured or gold ground, may not require decided contours. The absence of outlines on such ornament is not so detrimental to them as it would be to decoration that is painted in flat tints, because such arabesques or tracery are sufficiently relieved by their light and shade treatment, and are usually painted in dark and intense colours, if the background is white or light in tint, and on dark-coloured grounds they are generally executed in lighter and brighter colours on the dark ground.

Light or pale-coloured grounds are made to appear deeper in hue by painting a fine tracery of a similar but deeper and purer colour on them, or by “powdering” small patterns or spots of such colour on these light surfaces, and a deeply-coloured ground may have its colour considerably lightened by superimposing on it a fine tracery pattern in white. Also, a fine pattern painted in two distinct colours, or a series of small dots in two colours, evenly distributed on a brightly-coloured ground, will change the colour scheme by causing another, and a new colour to appear, when the work is viewed from a distance. All these changes and effects are produced in an optical sense, for the new colours are those which are due to the mixtures of the painted ones on the retina of the eye, as they are not the inherent colours of the decoration. Though these optical colours are not, as a rule, purposely sought for, yet a consideration of them is valuable to the decorator. Much of the beauty of certain kinds of decoration is due to them; for example, that of the strongly coloured Moorish schemes, where red and gold, which supplies the yellow, combine to produce an optical orange colour, and where blue and gold mingle to produce a violet, when seen at some distance away. In the same way when white is introduced into these colour arrangements, as in the outlining of the patterns, or in numerous small touches, paler tints of the new colours are optically produced. Other illustrations of new colours that are produced in an optical sense may be noticed in the old glass of the Romanesque and early Gothic periods, where the magnificent purple and violet hues are more than often obtained by the juxtaposition of deeply saturated reds and crimsons with intense and rich blues, that notwithstanding their separation by the leading of the stained glass, which acts as black outlines, mingle together and produce rich purples and violets when seen at a distance. It has been noticed that even the negative shades of greys, which are made from mixtures of black and white, if surrounded by, or in juxtaposition with, warm shades of yellowish-red, or red ochres, will appear as refined tones of blue when seen from a distance, as in the case of ceiling decoration.

There are certain colours which “carry” or “read” well at a distance, and others which, however brilliant they may be near at hand, become obscured or indefinite when they are viewed from afar. For example, deep reds, dark blues and greens, intense purples and violets, all become either much darker, or are changed into dirty browns when seen far off, though they may all appear very brilliant when seen near to. Such colours have all low degrees of luminosity, and therefore do not reflect sufficient white light to enable them to carry well. It follows from this that if they were made lighter by the addition of white their carrying powers would be considerably increased, though at a loss of their intensity. The colours that carry, or tell at a distance, in addition to the pale shades of the above-mentioned ones, are the yellows and red ochres, white, buff, emerald green, and cerulean blue.

_Coloured surfaces under artificial light._--We have already mentioned that it is only very rarely that the decorator is asked to arrange his colour schemes for rooms that are only used when artificially lighted, and also if his colouring has been planned to be seen in daylight, it will almost invariably look well under artificial light, provided that the room is well lighted. It may, however, be of some advantage to consider some of the more important changes and modifications of colour when viewed by artificial light. Such light would be in ordinary cases that of gas or electric

lighting, and although the latter is not so deficient in violet and bluish rays as the former, still it has a considerable amount of yellow rays, though not so much of orange-yellow as gaslight. All kinds of artificial light impart some of their yellow to all colours, and while this kind of illumination improves the brilliancy of yellow and yellowish-reds, or of such colours as lie closely to yellow in the chromatic circle, it dulls and saddens blues, bluish-greens, and violet-blues, or in other words, the colours that are more distantly removed from the orange-yellow in the chromatic circle. Blues and bluish-greens suffer most change in artificial light, as they become degraded to duller and greyer shades. Greens become bluish-greens, yellow-greens are not much changed, bluish-greens become more yellowish. Indigo blue changes to greenish grey. Violet becomes purple, and purple much redder. Yellow becomes paler in artificial light, but, on the contrary, orange becomes redder, and all bright reds from vermilion to carmine become still brighter in hue. Brilliant blues, like cobalt and ultramarine, appear more purplish in gaslight. If we wish, therefore, to obtain a tint of blue that will look blue by gaslight, it must appear as a slightly greenish shade of blue by daylight, and must not be dark in tone. On Plate 13 there are shown a few colours on the left of the diagram, at A, and the approximate changes in these colours, at B, when seen in artificial light.