International studio (20.1903)

STUDY FOR FLYIXG FIGURE BY HERBERT
A few words may now be said about the
technique. The canvas was well grounded with
siiver-white (blanc d'argent), and the.medium used
for the painting was paraffin wax dissolved in spirits
of turpentine and spike oil. The modelling was
obtained not by light and shade, but by colour,
a dual illumination being adopted; and note,
too, that Mr. Draper made skilful use of that
process of cross-hatching which has been em-
ployed by frbsco-workers in all times and

countries. There is not room
here for a full account of the pro-
blems of colour, but the following
facts will be of interest to art
students. Mr. Draper had con-
stantly to bear in mind that his
decoration would be seen very
frequently by artificial light, during
the dinners given by the Company;
and hence it was necessary to choose
those colours which were least
affected by that light. Experiments
proved that cobalt in the yellow
light faded to a dull slate-tint,
whereas a green-blue or a purple-
blue kept its value in the general
colour - scheme. Purple became
much redder but retained its tone.
Yellow responded well—sometimes
even too well—to the artificial light,
while touches of transparent colour
in the darker parts were useless as
shadows, the yellow light passing
through them to the canvas and
returning to the eye with very little
toss of luminosity. Tints of lilac
and of puce had to be discarded,
and cold blue-greens were found to
be more effective than yellow-greens,
which were too receptive to the
influences of artificial light. But at
last, after many experiments, Mr.
Draper saw his way clear, and
decided that his scheme of colour
should be an arrangement of orange-
red, cold greys, and pale yellow.
The illustrations that accompany
these notes will enable everybody
to form a just opinion of the scope
of Mr. Draper's work, and we have
no doubt that the studies will be
widely appreciated. They are a
great advance on everything which
he has done in the same line.
There was a time when Mr. Draper's studies lacked
that character which is soon acquired on the Con-
tinent in any good school of drawing. They had
a certain prettiness of aspect, a certain want of
structural vigour, firmness and precision, proving
that the artist had studied in the Royal Academy
Schools and had acquired there the besetting vice
of English figure draughtsmanship. It may be
that Mr. Draper became conscious of this defect;
it is certain, in any case, that his studies have

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