DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.1183#0115
18 PRACTICAL HINTS ON
principle; where we can accomplish our object without such a sacrifice it
has always the most natural appearance. Many accidental combinations
and beautiful effects of nature arise, not merely from their possessing a
good general form and a pictorial arrangement of light and shade, but also
from the most projecting points being often assisted by a combination of a
harsh cutting line, strong dark and light, or opposition of local colour, and
hence they strike the artist as being applicable to painting; these being
the means he finds frequently adopted by the best masters. It is only
under such favourable circumstances, that the artist can enter the lists
with nature; and, having but a flat surface to work upon, he is warranted
in availing himself of every assistance science can afford. In arranging
objects scientifically, to give them at the same time the appearance of
natural accident, is one of the perfections of the art.
As the best practical hints are derived from accidental combinations in
nature, whose sudden changes prevent the possibility of sketching, the
mind ought to be trained to the most regular and even mechanical mode
of arranging the ideas; that in an instant we may be able to determine
whether the effects, which we perceive, depend upon a particular form,
upon particular arrangement of the light and shade, or upon the manner
in which the hot and cold colours are brought in contact. By thus tracing
effects to their proper causes, we secure the principal points as a sort of
short hand notes to guide and assist the memory. This practice will also
open a road of communication between the eye and the operations of the
mind, which neither a hasty sketch nor the most learned dissertation can,
separately, produce. At first it may seem more difficult than it really is;
but a few trials will convince the student of its practicability, especially as
the effects that strike him to be the most pictorial are generally the most
simple.
Plate III. fig. 4. The cards lying on the ground, in this subject, indicate
the cause of the quarrel; and the figure entering from an adjoining apartment
principle; where we can accomplish our object without such a sacrifice it
has always the most natural appearance. Many accidental combinations
and beautiful effects of nature arise, not merely from their possessing a
good general form and a pictorial arrangement of light and shade, but also
from the most projecting points being often assisted by a combination of a
harsh cutting line, strong dark and light, or opposition of local colour, and
hence they strike the artist as being applicable to painting; these being
the means he finds frequently adopted by the best masters. It is only
under such favourable circumstances, that the artist can enter the lists
with nature; and, having but a flat surface to work upon, he is warranted
in availing himself of every assistance science can afford. In arranging
objects scientifically, to give them at the same time the appearance of
natural accident, is one of the perfections of the art.
As the best practical hints are derived from accidental combinations in
nature, whose sudden changes prevent the possibility of sketching, the
mind ought to be trained to the most regular and even mechanical mode
of arranging the ideas; that in an instant we may be able to determine
whether the effects, which we perceive, depend upon a particular form,
upon particular arrangement of the light and shade, or upon the manner
in which the hot and cold colours are brought in contact. By thus tracing
effects to their proper causes, we secure the principal points as a sort of
short hand notes to guide and assist the memory. This practice will also
open a road of communication between the eye and the operations of the
mind, which neither a hasty sketch nor the most learned dissertation can,
separately, produce. At first it may seem more difficult than it really is;
but a few trials will convince the student of its practicability, especially as
the effects that strike him to be the most pictorial are generally the most
simple.
Plate III. fig. 4. The cards lying on the ground, in this subject, indicate
the cause of the quarrel; and the figure entering from an adjoining apartment