International studio (19.1903)

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"A VtLLAGE" FROM THE FICTURE EXECUTED IN THE NEW SOLID OIL-COLOURS BY J. F. RAFFAELLI

" Have you met with any iH-wiU on the part
of your <r<77yM7-M ? "
"I have received letters—enthusiastic tetters —
from all parts of the worid ' If I were to pubiish
them, everyone wouid be charmed by their
sincerity. As for those who are incompetent and
have become soured, I am sorry for them, because,
try as you wih, you cannot do good painting with
vinegar!"
"So, in your opinion, your coiours are henceforth
to take the placeof oil-coloursand alsoof pastels?"
" Certainly."
" And what are the principal advantages you
claim for your colours over liquid oils ?"
" They are more transparent; they will last
better because they are mixed with less oil, and
because the shades are carefuily composed by
chemists, who have not only chosen none but
absolutely hxed colours, but have mixed only such
colours as can exist together without chemical
reaction. AII our 250 tones are made with twenty
colours only, for the hundreds of colours created
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during a century past have done a great deal of
harm. Then, with my colours, one can paint more
simply and more rapidly, which is of considerable
importance, inasmuch as it is thus possible to
follow uninterruptedly one's train of thought. It
is no longer necessary to compose the tones on
the palette ; the picture itself is the palette. Then
there are material advantages—your impedimenta
arelighter; there is less smell, more cleanliness, etc."
" And what are the chief advantages of your
colours when used as pastels ? "
" Durability, in the hrst place—unchangeable
durability, with tones that are riper, richer, hner,
more supple, and less thin and plastery. And no
more mould, no more spots of damp, no more
anxiety as to how your pastels will stand the
journey. The ordinary pastel was full of defects;
the pastels to be produced with my colours have
every quality to recommend them. They can be
rolled and washed and put into a portfolio, re-
touched at any time, and done on any kind of
paper. The pastellist's art, which hitherto had not