DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.68796#0212
i92 The. Work of Art as Beautiful part ii
pain from extreme action.’1 Hence we can readily under-
stand how a pure, deep, saturated colour, such as the
crimson of oriental silks, might excite those elements of the
retina which are sensible of red, abundantly but without
over-strain, or any confusing bye- or counter-stimulus, and so
result in pleasure ; while other hues produced a languid
stimulus, or else a conflict or confusion of stimuli, the effect
of which would be similar to an unmusical sound or a dis-
cord in the case of the sense of hearing.
§ 120. Physiological basis of effects of Colour;
The aesthetic effects arising, not from single tints, but
from the harmony and contrast of colours, are more open
to analysis, and are now generally understood in their main
features, though there are many points in the theory of
colour that are still obscure. The lore about ‘ complement-
ary colours ’ is a matter ot common knowledge. If we
spill a drop or two of red ink on our writing paper, gaze at
it fixedly for half a minute, and then look away at the plain
white surface, we shall see a corresponding spot of a green
hue. The explanation of the phenomenon is as follows.
In the normal state of affairs we get the impression of
white when we receive an unbroken ray of light upon the
retina. • This white ray can however be broken up, so that
we only receive on the retina a portion of it, and this is the
case when the ray is reflected from a coloured object, or
when in common parlance the ray is a coloured one. But
the effect is just the same if, while the retina receives a full
1 Principles of Psychology, ii. p. 640. It should be understood that
the theory stated in these sections is by no means universally accepted.
The whole question of the physiological basis of /Esthetic impressions,
both of form and of simple colours, is still highly problematical.
pain from extreme action.’1 Hence we can readily under-
stand how a pure, deep, saturated colour, such as the
crimson of oriental silks, might excite those elements of the
retina which are sensible of red, abundantly but without
over-strain, or any confusing bye- or counter-stimulus, and so
result in pleasure ; while other hues produced a languid
stimulus, or else a conflict or confusion of stimuli, the effect
of which would be similar to an unmusical sound or a dis-
cord in the case of the sense of hearing.
§ 120. Physiological basis of effects of Colour;
The aesthetic effects arising, not from single tints, but
from the harmony and contrast of colours, are more open
to analysis, and are now generally understood in their main
features, though there are many points in the theory of
colour that are still obscure. The lore about ‘ complement-
ary colours ’ is a matter ot common knowledge. If we
spill a drop or two of red ink on our writing paper, gaze at
it fixedly for half a minute, and then look away at the plain
white surface, we shall see a corresponding spot of a green
hue. The explanation of the phenomenon is as follows.
In the normal state of affairs we get the impression of
white when we receive an unbroken ray of light upon the
retina. • This white ray can however be broken up, so that
we only receive on the retina a portion of it, and this is the
case when the ray is reflected from a coloured object, or
when in common parlance the ray is a coloured one. But
the effect is just the same if, while the retina receives a full
1 Principles of Psychology, ii. p. 640. It should be understood that
the theory stated in these sections is by no means universally accepted.
The whole question of the physiological basis of /Esthetic impressions,
both of form and of simple colours, is still highly problematical.