Page:An Elementary History of Art.djvu/324

300 Painting. distance of the observer : and aerial perspective — i. e. the effect produced on the brightness and colour of objects by the various differences in the temperature, atmosphere, light, etc. Thirdly, the painter must master the laws of light and shade, the right treatment of which is a most important element in painting. The term chiaroscuro — from two Italian words, signify- ing light and shadow — has been given to the art of repre- senting light and shadow, together with the effect of light and shadow on colour, and it is, in fact, the expression in painting, drawing, or engraving of the infinite variety of effects of brightness and shade in nature, — the faithful rendering of the sharp contrasts, the subtle combinations and rapid changes which nature exhibits in her ever-vary- ing moods. The greatest masters of chiaroscuro were Titian, Correggio, Rubens, and Rembrandt; and, in our own day, Turner. II. Colour. Lastly, and perhaps chiefly, the painter must know the laws of colour; he must train his eye to recognise the most subtle gradations of tint, as well as the most vividly contrasted colours in nature, and learn not only what will be the result of the use of separate colours, but also the infinitely varied effects of harmony or contrast which may be obtained by their combinations. The three primary colours are red, yellow, and blue, which are the constituents of white light. Every variety of tint produced is a combination of two or more of these three. The secondary colours are mixtures of any two of the primary : thus red and yellow produce orange ; yellow