WILKINSON ON COLOUR AND TASTE.*

Sm GARDBXE Virmxinson produces in this volume one of the best books which have been written on such a subject. Works on the principles of art are apt to be too theoretic. The man most likely to write a work of the kind is prima faciea theorist ; one who has been reasoned, or has reasoned himself, into some set of beliefs regarding sesthetics,. and who tries to persuade the -public that things must be so and so because he thinks they ought to be so. The tone of the truly artistic mind in this respect is alto- gether different. It is curious to note how utterly uninterested the born artist mainly is as to the reasons why certain phases or pro- perties of professed art are wrong, and others right ; and indeed how stiff his mind is in apprehending and receiving such pro- positions' even when presented to him. No theory of colour or form, no demonstration of the why and the wherefore, makes the slightest impression upon him. He perceives in a moment what the theorist takes pages or hours to prove; and does not in the least care to know what makes the thing so, but only that so it is. He will do it aright moreover, as well as perceive it aright; but he cannot, or will not, tell you what has been his principle of ac- tion. Every now and then, though seldom; a great artist delivers himself of some theoretic views of his own upon art—as Leonardo da Vinci, Hogarth, and Reynolds .: but there is probably no in- stance on record of a great artist who concerned himself much with the theories of other men. They are for the critic, the connoisseur, and the artist of the second or a lower order.

,The superiority of Sir Gardner Wilkinson's book over many others arises in great part from his being imbued with something of the born artist's spirit in this matter. He is especially emphatic in de- claring that the eye is the real arbiter in questions of colour, as the ear in those of music ; and that an ingenious theory, even though it may be based upon some sound scientific data, has no claim to guide the perception, unless the perception itself ratifies it. Thus, as regards the oft-preached harmony of the comple- mentary colours, he vigorously refuses to admit that two colours— as red and green—are necessarily harmonious to the eye because complementary to each other in the composition of white light, or because of the scientific fact of the ocular spectrum. They may be scientifically connected, and aesthetically inharmonious. The eye is to be the judge of that : and the eve—at any rate, Sir Gardner Wilkinson's eye—pronounces that tliey do not harmonize. The appeal must be made in the first instance to perception—the per- ception of those who have that special gift, a natural eye for co- lour—and not to theory ; and any theory which clashes with per- ception must be put out of court. After perception has given its verdict is the time for theory to analyze and confirm it. We en- tirely concur in this principle, based as it is on a fair comparative estimate of all the natural facts of the case' and. not only of a certain train of them and embodied as it is in the practice of true and unsophisticated art.

As the title indicates, the book consists of three distinct essays, which the author, it may be conjectured, has written separately and unconnectedly for distinct purposes, and which he now unites in a single volume, enhancing their breadth and force. The first is on Colour ; the second on Taste as it is and as it should be, whether in reference to colour or to form ; the third on the ar- rangement of Gardens. Each of these essays forms a single and undivided whole, including a somewhat extensive survey of the subject, both general and particular ; a plan which, though the reader is assisted by an index sufficiently copious, would have admitted, we think, of improvement. In a subject which repires the attention to be so much fixed upon certain main principles, illustrated in various phases and conditions, we should prefer the visible and unmistakeable division of chapters or sections : as it is, the disquisitions run rather too much into one another, and, before we are well aware of it, we find ourselves engaged in the de- tailed following out of some branch of the subject, which may have at first appeared to be introduced rather for the purpose of casual illustration. The tendency of this is to confuse the reader ; and.

* On Maur, and on the Necessity for a General Diffusion of Taste among all Classes. With Remarks on Laying out Dressed or Geometrical Gardens, Ex- amples of Good and Bad Taste, illustrated by wood-cuts and coloured plates in contrast. By Sir J. Gardner Wilkinson, D.C.L. &e. Su. Published by Murray. to etnbarraSSIIIO'itiidn' thread °tithe Alsideurssi. Mid' tangle' ni relietunt,ilttitt"htl'Airtiinate, matter. Practically,- however; thidie not sciell Mt, owing to the-deafness and eipliollness with-whit 'the' itidtther writes-1' liofnfraid of' repeating 'himself when it servea,his end; nor 'beating about 'for: " effective " thode of presentinent, or lexpreselon;' but' ntatnig -what he has. to say with decision' ease, and '.10eight:',-Aa de.pends

chietly th , Upon' the fact that he brings' terhis task tequiremente both extensive and exact. His eye has long been familiar with the field 'of its survey;' and he is masterof hirrniebjeot.

Sir. Gardner Wilkinson held s thah.thia: thiglish have hitherto shoWn themselves indifferent to decorative colour : the French are' our superfora irt detorittion, but he wilttiot allow the same in favour ofthe Germans. The Italians, both in their past works and in their-present delieacy of perception, are the tasteful nation among tiMY moderns. Ilia observations on'eolore are summed up In the.fellowing atiOnis, 'which we extract, in preference to some more inviting ,passages, on account of their intrinsie value, and their Comprehensiveness in showing what his teaching amounts to

'-I hake) 'been easeful et 'point out more than once certain errors'babe ' avoided in judging of colours, and to ahoy what is necessary for the study of their harmonious combinations ; and as these cannot be to frequently in- sisted epee, I shallrepeat some of the most important of them under the following heads.

"1. The eye lathe proper judge of colour, and the perception of colour is a natural gift.

" 2. We should abstain from theories till the-enbject is understood.

"3. Flowers, and other ornaments, should be conventional, not direct co- pies.of natural objects; nor should you teeed.on, these in carpets, nor wslk on the trseery of architecture. "4. The three primary colours, blue, red, and yellow, which are a concord, should predominate in ornamentation ; vet seselet,(whieh is really a com- pound oolour) generally looks better than rock,..elven with blue and yellow, and always so when with blue alone, with which it does not assume the same-purple hue as does a red (or a crimson) in juxtaposition with blue, owing to the yellow in, the scarlet.

"5. A fillet.of yeliew (or some other colour when there are many) should be planed between or near to red and blue, to obviate their purple effect. "6. The two accidental colours do not necessarily harmonize with each other.

"7. Harmony is not limited to similarity of colours; but there is har- mony by contrast also ; and contrasts are of different kinds. "it. The effect of the simultaneous contrast of colours is to be considered.

"9. The intensity of tones of colours should be equal in the same com- position; but a dark and light hue may be used together with good effect. "10. The quantity of the colours is to be balanced ; and some may be in a smaller quantity when oombined with certain others. "11. The proper relative position of colours is to be consulted. "12. Some colours by candlelight and by daylight have a different effect, and allowance is to be made for this.

"13. Colours that accord well, both in their hues, and in certain quanti- ties, do not always suit every bind of ornament; and some combinations which suit a carpet, or a wall, do not answer well for a dress. "14. In some compositions, and particularly on the painted walls of a church, or other building, the coloured patterns should not cover the whole space. The eye requires some repose, and is fatigued by any object over- loaded with ornament.

"15. A great quantity of the same colour in one part, and little or none of it in another, are fatal to the general effect and disturb the balance of colours.

"16. Large masses of one single colour should not catch the eye ; it should receive, at the same moment, the combination of several colours. The patterns should not be too large. Spota and monotonous lines should also be avoided. It is, however, allowable to have a mass or ground of one colour in the centre, and a border of several colours round it. "17. Bright green may be well introduced to lighten up a composition ; but not in masses, except as a ground ; and when used in great quantity it is a sign of an artificial and debased taste. In those compositions, however, which arc to be seen mostly by candlelight a greater proportion of green may be used. Green as a ground sometimes suits other colours, which would not accord with it if interlaced together in a pattern ; but it must be a glaucous green. "18. Greys, and some other neutral (or intermediate) colours answer well as a ground and soften the abruptness of contrasts (as of black and white,) when required.

"19. Two of the primaries may harmonize better with each other than another two of them; and blue ana red, or blue and yellow, or red and yel- low, accord in different ratios. So too there may be a grader or less degree of relationship between any two of the secondaries; and while orange and green, or orange and purple, are both agreeable in juxtaposition, purple and green are discords. The same difference subsists also between the prima- ries and their accidental (secondary) colours ; blue and orange harmonizing most agreeably by contrast, which cannot certainly be said of red and blue- green."

Of the essay on Taste a considerable portion was published in the " Builder " of 1854. The author approves the system (exem- plified in the quondam Chamber of Horrors in the Marlborough House Museum) of showing why certain forms and objects are bad in design, as an excellent introduction to the ascertaining of what are good; and he pursues this plan by exhibiting a number of condemnable vases, cabinets, &c., aide by side sometimes with the pure type from which they start and deviate. He very properly insists upon the necessity of imbuing the purchasers of decorative works with correct taste if the producers are to follow the right path: and even lays it down that the former are most in fault at the present day, recognizing that great improvements are already initiated among us. For its share in this result he allows full credit to the Government schools of art : indeed, he is prompt and candid in admitting the merits of all who have borne a part, including many of his own competitors in authorship. lie is above carping at either cooperators or dissidents in the same field, which we are glad to notice. These remarks upon some solecisms of modern decoration,—following a passage upon the freedom of true decorative art, both ancient and modern, from false pride and jealousy,—are forcibly put.

"If the advantages arising from this real feeling for the beautiful were better understood at the present day, we should not have decorative art left

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" One of the most important points, therefore, is—that. taste be general among all classes. These too are essential ;:. that the beautifulbe, eonibined • with the useful ; that proportion, good form,: and (when required) harem- , Dime aolour, be.coinbined in objects of every-tlaY use; .111A Tare :apa costly , Inateriele ho not preferred -to excellence of dselysx; that good examples he ofT- iMod, .rather than new designs invente4 merely for the sake of novelty ; that no designs be made up of. parts put together to form it, without refer- ence to their compatibility ; that one ohjeet:be, not. employed for another of, a different oharaoter ; .that•authority be 110t all excuse for a faulty design ; that the spirit, not the direct imitation, f .natural objects be adopted for ornamentation ; and that the education of the eye be preferred ,to a me- chanical adhesion to mererulas."

In the course of the essay on Taste, the question of the colour- ing of Grecian edifices and sculpture is treated with some pro- minence and detail. Sir :Gardner Wilkinson, well worthy,: Of a hearing on the subject, pronounces that colouring was un- doubtedly and generally used in both instances, and in the best periods of art ; but, with regard to sculpture, he is "by no means an. advocate for our adopting the -custom ; and at all events, until we have reached the same point of perfection as the Greeks, it will be far better to abstain from the attempt." A very sensible conclusion ; though we should be disposed to view with interest and without reluctance individual experiments in colouring statues. The general question of the colouring has not yet, we conceive, been exhausted. Scholars and archmologists still differ concerning it, though the colour theory continues to gain ground rapidly. We should like to see some thoroughly qualified person take up the subject categorically ; collecting (which we think has never yet been done, at least in England) all the illustrative pass- ages in ancient authors—certainly no unmanageable quantity— and carefully sifting them, in connexion with the material evi- dence supplied by the works themselves, with a steady view to these leading points :—what kind and method of colouring can be ascertained ; to what extent is it proved to have existed in art generally, and in the several works singly ; and what positive reason is there for supposing that the existing traces of colour date from the same period as the works on which they are found, or how far might it be maintainable that they are the additions of a later and impurer age of art.

Sir Gardner Wilkinson's work is illustrated by wood-cuts, and by designs printed in colour. These exhibit specimens of decora- tion both for approval and condemnation. We do not think those in the former class generally so happy as might be wished ; which may be partly due to the method of their execution, and partly to the fact that acuteness in analyzing works of taste does not necessarily imply the power of producing them. If, as we have already intimated, the true artist is alien from theoretic criticism, the converse of the proposition also is often correct : the true cri- tic is none the nearer to being an artist.