Ruskin, John: The elements of drawing: in three letters to beginners (London, 1857)

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THE ELEMENTS OF DRAWING. [letter I.

" shadow was darker than the dark side," he would
never think of the reflection from the glass, but paint
a dark grey under the hand, just as if no glass were
there. But a great painter would be sure to think
of the true effect, and paint it; and then comes the
stupid critic, and wonders why the hand is so light
on its dark side.

Thus it is always dangerous to assert anything
as a rule in matters of art; yet it is useful for you
to remember that, in a general way, a shadow
is darker than the dark side of the thing that
casts it, supposing the colours otherwise the same;
that is to say, when a white object casts a shadow
on a white surface, or a dark object on a dark
surface: the rule will not hold if the colours are
different, the shadow of a black object on a white
surface being, of course, not so dark, usually, as the
black thing casting it. The only way to ascertain the
ultimate truth in such matters is to look for it; but,
in the meantime, you will be helped by noticing
that the cracks in the stone are little ravines, on
one side of which the light strikes sharply, while