Works of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Page 323
In another Note (par. 177) some further considerations are offered, which may partly explain the prevalence of this style in the beginning of the sixteenth century; here we merely add, that the conditions under which the appearance itself is most apparent in nature are perhaps more obvious in Venice than elsewhere. The colour of general nature may be observed in all places with almost equal convenience, but with regard to an important quality in living nature, namely, the colour of flesh, perhaps there are no circumstances in which its effects at different distances can be so conveniently compared as when the observer and the observed gradually approach and glide past each other on so smooth an element and in so undisturbed a manner as on the canals and in the gondolas of Venice; the complexions, from the peculiar mellow carnations of the Italian women to the sun-burnt features and limbs of the mariners, presenting at the same time the fullest variety in another sense.
At a certain distance — the colour being always assumed to be unimpaired by interposed atmosphere — the reflections appear kindled to intenser warmth; the fiery glow of Giorgione is strikingly apparent; the colour is seen in its largest relation; the macchia, an expression so emphatically used by Italian writers, appears in all its quantity, and the reflections being the focus of warmth, the hue seems to deepen in shade.
A nearer view gives the detail of cooler tints more perceptibly, and the forms are at the same time more distinct. Hence Lanzi is quite correct when, in distinguishing the style of Titian from that of Giorgione, he says that Titian’s was at once more defined and less fiery. In a still nearer observation the eye detects the minute lights which Leonardo da Vinci says are incompatible with effects such as those we have described, and which, accordingly, we never find in Giorgione and Titian. This large impression of colour, which seems to require the condition of comparative distance for its full effect, was most fitly employed by the same great artists in works painted in the open air or for large altar-pieces. Their celebrated frescoes on the exterior of the Fondaco de’ Tedeschi at Venice, to judge from their faint remains and the descriptions of earlier writers, were remarkable for extreme warmth in the shadows. The old frescoes in the open air throughout Friuli have often the same character, and, owing to the fulness of effect which this treatment ensures, are conspicuous at a very great distance.
In assuming that the Venetian painters may have acquired a taste for this breadth of colour under the circumstances above alluded to, it is moreover to be remembered that the time for this agreeable study was the evening; when the sun had already set behind the hills of Bassano; when the light was glowing but diffused; when shadows were soft — conditions all agreeing with the character of their colouring: above all, when the hour invited the fairer portion of the population to betake themselves their gondolas to the lagunes. The scene of this “promenade” was to the north of Venice, the quarter in Titian at one time lived. A letter exists written by Francesco Priscianese, giving an account of his supping the great painter in company with Jacopo Nardi, Pietro Aretino, the sculptor Sansovino, and others. The writer speaks of the beauty of the garden, where the table prepared, looking over the lagunes towards Murano, “which part of the sea,” he continues, “as soon as the sun down, was covered with a thousand gondolas, graced beautiful women, and enlivened by the harmony of voices and instruments, which lasted till midnight, formic pleasing accompaniment to our cheerful repast.”
To return to Goethe: perhaps the foregoing remarks warrant the conclusion that his idea of colour in shadow is not irreconcilable with the occasional practice of the painters. The highest examples of the style thus defined are, or were, to be found in the works of Giorgione and Titian, and hence the style itself, though “within that circle” few “dare walk,” is to be considered the grandest and most perfect. Its possible defects or abuse are not to be dissembled: in addition to the danger of exaggeration it is seldom united with’ the plenitude of light and shade, or with roundness; yet, where fine examples of both modes of treatment may be compared, the charm of colour has perhaps the advantage. The difficulty of uniting qualities so different in their nature, is proved by the very rare instances in which it has been accomplished. Tintoret in endeavouring to add chiaro-scuro to Venetian colour, in almost every instance fell short of the glowing richness of Titian. Giacomo Bassan and his imitators, even in their dark effect, still had the principle of the gem in view: their light, b certain hues, is the minimum of colour, their lower tones are rich, their darks intense, and all is sparkling. Of the great painters who, beginning, on the other hand, with chiaro-scuro, sought to combine with it the full richness of colour, Correggio, in the opinion of many, approached perfection nearest; but we may perhaps conclude with greater justice that the desired excellence was more completely attained by Rembrandt than by any of the Italians.
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Note F. — Par. 88.
The author, in these instances, seems to be anticipation his subsequent explanations on the effect of semi-transparent mediums. For an explanation of the general view container in these paragraphs respecting the gradual increase of colour from high light, see the last Note.
The anonymous French work before alluded to, among other interesting examples, contains a chapter on shadow: cast by the upper light of the sky and coloured by the setting sun. The effect of this remarkable combination is that the light on a wall is most coloured immediately under a projecting roof, and becomes comparatively neutralised in proportion to its distance from the edge of the darkest shade.
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Note G. — Par. 98.
“The simplest case of the phenomenon, which Goethe calls a subjective halo, and one which at once explains its cause, is the following. Regard a red wafer on a sheet of white paper, keeping the eye steadfastly fixed on a point at its center. When the retina is fatigued, withdraw the head a little from the paper, and a green halo will appear to surround the wafer. By this slight increase of distance the image of the wafer itself on the retina becomes smaller, and the ocular spectrum which before coincided with the direct image, being now relatively larger, is seen as a surrounding ring.” — S. F. Goethe mentions cases of this kind, but does not class them with subjective halos. See Par. 30.
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Note H. — Par. 113.
“Cases of this kind are by no means uncommon. Several interesting ones are related in Sir John Herschell’s article on Light in the Encyclopaedia Metropolitans. Careful investigation has, however, shown that this defect of vision arises in most, if not in all cases, from an inability to perceive the red, not the blue rays. The terms are so confounded by the individuals thus affected, that the comparison of colours in their presence is the only criterion.” — S. F.
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Note I. — Par. 135.
The author more than once admits that this chapter on “Pathological Colours” is very incomplete, and expresses a wish (Par. 734) that some medical physiologists would investigate the subject further. This was afterwards in a great degree accomplished by Dr. Johannes Muller, in his memoir “Uber die Phantastischen Gesichtserscheinungen.” Coblentz, 1826. Similar phenomena have been also investigated with great labour and success by Purkinje. For a collection of extraordinary facts of the kind recorded by these writers, the reader may consult Scott’s Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft. The instances adduced by Muller and others are, however, intended to prove the inherent capacity of the organ of vision to produce light and colours. In some maladies of the eye, the patient, it seems, suffers the constant presence of light without external 1ight. The exciting principle in this case is thus proved to within, and the conclusion of the physiologists is that external light is only one of the causes which produce luminous and coloured impressions. That this view was anticipated by Newton may be gathered from the ‘concluding query” in the third book of his Optics.
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Note K. — Par. 140.
“Catoptrical c
olours. The colours included under this head are principally those of fibres and grooved surface they can be produced artificially by cutting parallel grooves on a surface of metal from 2000 to 10,000 in the inch. See Brewster’s Optics,’ p 120. The colours called by Goethe paroptical, correspond with those produced by the diffraction or inflection of light in the received theory. — See Brewster, p. 95. The phenomena included under the title “Epoptical Colours,’ are generally known as the colours of thin plates. They vary with the thickness of the film, and thin colour seen by reflection always differs from that seen 1 transmission. The laws of these phenomena have been thoroughly investigated. See Nobili, and Brewster, p. 100 — S. F.
The colours produced by the transmission of polarised light through chrystalised mediums, were described by Goethe, in his mode, subsequently to the publication of his general theory, under the name of Entoptic Colours. See note to Par. 485
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Note L. — Par. 150.
We have in this and the next paragraph the outline Goethe’s system. The examples that follow seem to establish the doctrine here laid down, but there are mar cases which it appears cannot be explained on such principles: hence, philosophers generally prefer the theory I absorption, according to which it appears that certain mediums have the property of absorbing some of the component rays of white light, while they allow the passage of others.”
Whether all the facts adduced by Goethe — for instance, that recorded in Par. 172, are to be explained by this doctrine, we leave to the investigators of nature to determine. Dr. Eckermann, in conversing with Goethe, thus described the two leading phenomena (156, 158) as seen by him in the Alps. “At a distance of eighteen or twenty miles at midday in bright sunshine, the snow appeared yellow or even reddish, while the dark parts of the mountain, free from snow, were of the most decided blue. The appearances did not surprise me, for I could have predicted that the mass of the interposed medium would give a deep yellow tone to the white snow, but I was pleased to witness the effect, since it so entirely contradicted the erroneous views of some philosophers, who assert that the air has a blue-tinging quality. The observation, said Goethe, is of importance, and contradicts the error you allude to completely.”
The same writer has some observations to the same effect on the colour of the Rhone at Geneva. A circumstance of an amusing nature which he relates in confirmation of Goethe’s theory, deserves to be inserted. Here (at Strasburg), passing by a shop, I saw a little glass bust of Napoleon, which, relieved as it was against the dark interior of the room, exhibited every gradation of blue, from milky light blue to deep violet. I foresaw that the bust seen from within the shop with the light behind it, would present every degree of yellow, and I could not resist walking in and addressing the owner, though perfectly unknown to me. My first glance was directed to the bust, in which, to my great joy, I saw at once the most brilliant colour the warmer kind, from the palest yellow to dark ruby red. I eagerly asked if I might be allowed to purchase the bust; the owner replied that he had only lately brought it with him from Paris, from a similar attachment to the emperor to that which I appeared to feel, but, as my ardour seemed far to surpass his, I deserved to possess it. So invaluable did this treasure seem in my eyes, that I could not help looking at the good man with wonder as he put the bust into my hands for a few franks. I sent it, together with a curious medal which I had bought in Milan, as a present to Goethe and when at Frankfort received the following letter from him.” The letter, which Dr. Eckermann gives entire, thus concludes — ”When you return to Weimar you shall the bust in bright sunshine, and while the transparent countenance exhibits a quiet blue, the thick mass of breast and epaulettes glows with every gradation of warmth, from the most powerful ruby-red downwards; and as the granite statue of Memnon uttered harmonious sounds, so the dim glass image displays itself in the pomp of colours. The hero is victorious still in supporting the Farbenlehre.”
One effect of Goethe’s theory has been to invite the attention of scientific men to facts and appearances which had before been unnoticed or unexplained. To the aim cases may be added the very common, but very important fact in painting, that a light warm colour, passed in a semi-transparent state over a dark one, produces a cold, bluish hue, while the operation reversed, produces extreme warmth. On the judicious application of both these effects, but especially of the latter, the richness and brilliancy of the best-coloured pictures greatly depends. The principle is to be recognised in the productions of schools apparently opposite in their methods. Thus the practice of leaving the ground, through which a light colour is apparent, as a means of ensuring warmth and depth, is very common among the Dutch and Flemish painters. The Italians, again, who preferred a solid under-painting, speak of internal light as the most fascinating quality in colour. When the ground is entirely covered by solid painting, as in the works of some colourists, the warmest tints in shadows and reflections have been found necessary to represent it. This was the practice of Rembrandt frequently, and of Reynolds universally, but the glow of their general colour is still owing to its being repeatedly or ultimately enriched on the above principle. Lastly, the works of those masters who were accustomed to paint on dark grounds are often heavy and opaque; and even where this influence of the ground was overcome, the effects of time must be constantly diminishing the warmth of their colouring as the surface becomes rubbed and the dark ground more apparent through it. The practice of painting on dark grounds was intended by the Carracci to compel the students of their school to aim at the direct imitation of the model, and to acquire the use of the brush; for the dark ground could only be overcome by very solid painting. The result answered their expectations as far as dexterity of pencil was concerned, but the method was fatal to brilliancy of colour. An intelligent writer of the seventeenth century relates that Guido adopted his extremely light style from seeing the rapid change in some works of the Carracci soon after they were done. It is important, however, to remark, that Guido’s remedy was external rather than internal brilliancy; and it is evident that so powerless a brightness as white paint can only quire the splendour of light by great contrast, and, albs all, by being seen through external darkness. The secret of Van Eyck and his contemporaries is always assumed to consist in the vehicle (varnish or oils) he employed; but a far more important condition of the splendour of colour the works of those masters was the careful preservation of internal light by painting thinly, but ultimately with great force, on white grounds. In some of the early Flemish pictures in the Royal Gallery at Munich, it may be observed, that wherever an alteration was made by the painter so that a light colour is painted over a dark one, the colour is as opaque as in any of the more modern pictures which are generally contrasted with such works. No quality in the vehicle could prevent this opacity under such circumstances; and on the other hand, provided the internal splendour is by any means preserved, the vehicle is comparatively unimportant.
It matters not (say the authorities on these points) whether the effect in question is attained by painting thinly over the ground, in the manner of the early Flemish painter and sometimes of Rubens, or by painting a solid light preparation to be afterwards toned to richness in the manner the Venetians. Among the mechanical causes of the clearness of colours superposed on a light preparation may be mentioned that of careful grinding. All writers on art who have descended to practical details have insisted on this. From the appearance of some Venetian pictures it may be conjectured that the colours of the solid under-painting were sometimes less perfectly ground than the scumbling colours (the light having to pass through the one and to b reflected from the other). The Flemish painters appear to have used carefully-ground pigments universally. This is very evident in Flemish copies from Raphael, which, though equally impasted with the originals, are to be detected, among other indications, by the finely-ground colours employed.
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Note M. — Par. 177.
Without entering
further into the scientific merits or demerits of this chapter on the “First Class of Dioptrical Colours,” it is to be observed that several of the examples correspond with the observations of Leonardo da Vinci, and again with those of a much older authority, namely, Aristotle. Goethe himself admits, and it has been remarked by others, that his theory, in many respects, closely resembles that of Aristotle: indeed he confesses that at one time he had an intention of merely paraphrasing that philosopher’s Treatise on Colours.
We have already remarked (Note on par. 150) that Goethe’s notion with regard to the production of warm colours, by the interposition of dark transparent mediums before a light ground, agrees with the practice of the best schools in colouring; and it is not impossible that the same reasons which may make this part of the doctrine generally acceptable to artists now, may have recommended the very similar theory of Aristotle to the painters of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries: at all events, it appears that the ancient theory was known to those painters.