the black chalk often referred to as Italian or black stone
“By the fifteenth century, paper mills had been established in Europe to meet the demands created by the increase in printing that resulted from the development of movable type. It was the availability of paper and the use in Italy, at about the same time, of the black chalk often referred to as Italian or black stone that brought about the birth of drawings as we know it today. The chalk, a soft natural carboniferous slate that could be cut into strips, gave to drawing a freedom and tempo that was not easily attained with the more traditional pen and ink or metal points. In addition to black chalk, red chalk (originally, hematite), ranging in color from a violet red to an orange red and often referred to by its French name, sanguine, became popular in the sixteenth century. White chalk (steatite or gypsum) was used either to highlight black- or red-chalk drawings or to prepare the tinted grounds on which the drawings often appeared.”
—Joseph H. Krause, The Nature of Art, 1969.
a quality of “blackness”
“As far as we know, the first scientific contemplation of color began with the work of Aristotle (384–322 BCE), who recorded that light was a necessary component of ordinary color perception. It was his contention that all objects impose a quality of “blackness” on the white light that falls on them and that it is the qualitative aspect of this blackness, in relation to the white light, that makes for color differences. He considered the blackness to be a form of contamination that blocks out the colors not seen. Aristotle’s theory stood until the seventeenth century and the beginning of scientific inquiry.”
—Joseph H. Krause, The Nature of Art, 1969.
a composition of all Colours
“. . . in all whites produced by Nature, there . . . [is] a mixtue of all sorts of Rays, and by consequence a composition of all Colours.”
—Sir Isaac Newton (1642–1727), from his Opticks, or A Treatise of the Reflections, Refractions, Infractions and Colours of Light.
wherever mood or the manipulation of space is important
“Architecturally, color operates in conjunction with light and surface quality. Dark, warm colors plus low polish and low light create a more inviting environment than do bright, cold colors coupled with hard surfaces and high gloss. Color and light are traditionally used to set the stage, not only in the theater but wherever mood or the manipulation of space is important, because the size of an architectural area can be perceptually increased or decreased by varying color and light.”
—Joseph H. Krause, The Nature of Art, 1969.
The north pole is white
“The north pole is white. The south pole is black. The equator is a circuit of middle reds, yellows, greens, blues, and purples. Parallels above the equator describe this circuit in lighter values, and parallels below trace it in darker values. The vertical axis joining black and white is a neutral scale of gray values, while perpendiculars to it are scales of Chroma. Thus, our color notions may be brought into orderly relation by the color sphere. Any color describes its color quality, light and strength, by its place in the combined scales of Hue, Value, and Chroma.”
—Albert Munsell, describing his color sphere in A Color Notation, 11th edition, 1961.
my lighting had changed
“When I began . . . I believed that two canvases would suffice, one for gray weather and one for sun. At that time I was painting some haystacks that had excited me and that made a magnificent group, just two steps from here. One day, I saw that my lighting had changed. I said to my stepdaughter: ‘Go to the house, if you don’t mind, and bring me another canvas!’ She brought it to me, but a short time afterward it was different again. ‘Another! Still another!’ And I worked on each one only when I had my effect, that’s all.”
—Claude Monet, on his haystack series, as quoted in Monet by William C. Seitz, 1960.
something similar to Wagner’s music
“A palette nowadays is absolutely colorful: sky-blue, pink, orange, vermillion, strong yellow, clear green, pure wine red, purple. But by strengthening all colors one again obtains calm and harmony; there happens something similar to Wagner’s music which, even though performed by a great orchestra, is nonetheless intimate.”
—Vincent van Gogh, in a letter to his sister, as quoted in Post-Impressionism from van Gogh to Gauguin by John Rewald, 1958.
A Call To The Infinite
“Depth is found in blue, first in its physical movements (1) of retreat from the spectator; (2) of turning upon its own center. It affects us likewise mentally in any geometrical form. The deeper its tone, the more intense and characteristic the effect. We feel a call to the infinite, a desire for purity and transcendence.”
—Wassily Kandinsky, from Concerning the Spiritual in Art, 1947.
the first time you saw God
“You know, dear, the first time you saw God was when You were four years old And he put his head to the window and set you ascreaming.”
—Mrs. William Blake, as recalled by Crabb Robinson, from Blake Records, 1969. Found in William Blake: The Critical Heritage, edited by B.E. Bentley, Jr, 1975.
the Eyes of a Miser
“I see Every thing I paint In This World, but Every body does not see alike. To the Eyes of a Miser a Guinea is more beautiful than the Sun. . . . To Me This World is all One continued Vision of Fancy or Imagination.”
—William Blake, in a letter to the Reverend Dr Trusler, 1799. Found in William Blake: The Critical Heritage, edited by B.E. Bentley, Jr, 1975.