BLACK (n.)
TERM USED AS TRANSLATIONS IN QUOTATION
NOIR (fra.)TERM USED IN EARLY TRANSLATIONS
NOIR (fra.)FILTERS
LINKED QUOTATIONS
Quotation
Whether all colours be compounded of white and black or no.
Theophrastus hath long since laboured to proove blacke to be no colour at all, his reason is, because that colour is proper to none of the elements, for faith he, water, ayre and earth are white, and the fire is yellow, but rather would fetch it from white and yellow, whereto Scaliger leaving Aristotle, perhaps for singularitie sake, seemeth to give consent, who sets downe four primary or first colours, viz.
White in the dry body as the earth.
Greene in thicke and moyst as the water.
Blew in the thin and moyst as the ayre.
Yellow in the hot as the fire.
Yet not without reason, for Aristotle affirmed that blacke was the privation of white, as darknesse of light, to that whom Scaliger replyes nothing can be made of privation and habit, but we will leave their argument.
Conceptual field(s)
Quotation
Blacke is so called from the Saxon word black, in French Noir, in Italian Nero, in Spanish Negro, from the Latine Niger, and from the Greeke, νεκρός, which signifieth Dead, because all dead and corrupted things are properly of this colour, the reason why they are so, Aristotle plainly sheweth where he saith τὸ δὲ μελαν χρῶμα συνακολουθεῖ τοῖς στοιχείοις εἰς ἄλληλα μεταβάλλουσι, which is, blacknesse doth accompany the elements, confounded or commixed one with another, as for example, of ayre and water mixed together, and consumed with fire is made a blacke colour, […] : these be the blacks which you most commonly use in painting, this colour is simple of it selfe.
Harts Horne burned.
Ordinary Lampe blacke.
Date stones burned.
Ivory burned.
Manchet or white bread burned.
The blacke of Walnut shels.
Conceptual field(s)
Quotation
A Blacke Colour.
First you must lay on a light blacke, mingled with white lead, and afterwards when it is dry, sad it with good blacke ; for sad blacke, mixe Indie Baudias with Gumme water.
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Quotation
A sable or blacke.
Take a Torch, hold it under a lattyn Bason, temper that blacke with gumme-water.
A velvet-blacke.
Burne harts-horne on a Colliers hearth ; then grinde it with the gaul of a neat, put it into a shell, and let it dry in the shade : when you would use it, grinde it againe with gumme-water.
Conceptual field(s)
Quotation
Of Colouring
{Colouring. what ?} Corruption composition or mixing of Colours, we call Painting ; which is, to express shadows in Colours ; thereby, to resemble, what we do desire to imitate, by a moderate confusion, or tempering, discordant Colours ; as white, black, red, blew, green, &c.
[…].
{With Light and shadows.} Observe herein Light and Shadows, Obscurity and Brightnesse.
Contrary things are more apparant, being placed neer their Contraries ; Light and Shadows forward, set out any Painting outwards ; as if you might take hold of any part.
Obscurity or Darknesse, is the duskishness of a deeper shadow ; as brightness is the Intension of Light.
White appears sooner, or neerer to the Eye ; and the black seems farther off, any thing that should seem hollow (as in a Well, or Cave,) must be coloured blackish ; more deep, more black.
On the contrary, to lighten or rise forward, with white.
{Tonus, what?} Tonus or brightnesse ; as it is of necessary use, so of excellent ornament in a Picture, it is which is above light ; {A Brightness.} sparkling as in the glory of Angels, twinckling of precious stones ; […] : the variety of these Ornaments, must be expressed excellently ; but avoid satiety, not cloy your Picture with it.
{Harmogia what ?} Harmoge in Colours, is an unperceivable way of Arts ; stealing to pass from one Colour to another, as in the sea and skie meeting in one thin mistly Horizontall stroake, both are lost and confounded in sight ; […].
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Quotation
Of Limning in Water-Colours
The True Order and Names of Colours, the means to prepare them for the Pensill and to clense them from their corrupt mixtures, wherewith they are Sophisticate.
We name them Seaven (though in truth the first and last White and Black are no Colours ; but Elements.) [...] Blacks, Ivory burnt.
Cherry-stones burnt. Lamp-blacke.
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Quotation
An excellent Black.
{Black.} The best Black is black-Ivory, burnt in a Crucible, well stopt with a tyle-shard, or iron-plate, and luted, that the aire enter not […].
Conceptual field(s)
Quotation
Of Colours there be seven Species, to wit, White, Red, Yellow, Green, Blew, Brown, and Black. White and Black are the extremities, and the parents of all other Colours ; for Red is an equal mixture of White and Black, and so is Green : Yellow is two parts of White, and one of Red, &c.
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Quotation
An Exposition of Colours.
Abram colour, i.e. brown
Auburne or Abborne, i.e. brown or brown-black.
Cole black.
Sable black.
Velvet black.
Pitchy black.
Blanket colour, i. e. a light watchet.
Venice blew, i. e. a light blew.
Lincolne blew.
Coventry blew.
A Prince blew.
Crimson, i. e. Scarlet.
Cumatical colour, i. e. blew.
Flesh colour, a certain mixture of red white.
Gangran colour, i. e. divers colours together, as in a Mallards, or Pigeons neck.
Sabell colour, i. e. flame colour.
Incardine, or flesh colour.
Peacocke colour, i. e. changeable blew, or red blew.
Patise, or a kinde of red or Arsenick colour.
Plumbet colour, i. e. like little Speks of gray clouds in a fair day.
Puke colour, i. e. between russet and black.
Purpurine, or Purple colour ; of which read Matth. 27.2. A colour much used heretofore, by the Tyrians ; but now it is not to be had.
Ried colour, or Diversified.
Scarlet, i. e. crimson, or stammel.
Shammy colour, a smoakie, or rain colour, which is a kind of yellow ; as you may see upon whited walls or in a Chymny.
Stammel, i. e. Scarlet, as before.
Lyon Tawny.
Turkie colour, i. e. Venice blew, or as others will have it, red.
Milke white.
Paper white.
Snow white.
Bastard yellow.
Bright yellow.
Dark yellow.
Of the Names of Colours, read more in Aul. Gel. Noct. Attic.
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Quotation
CHAP. XVII. Of the seven Colours in General. [...] II. The chief BLACKS are these, Hartshorn burnt, Ivory burnt, Cherry-stones burnt, Lamp-black, Charcoal. [...].
Les différents noirs mentionnés dans cette partie sont ceux que l'on doit utiliser dans le cas de la peinture à l'eau (limning).
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Quotation
CHAP. II. Of the Colours in General.
I. The chief Whites for painting in oyl are, White lead, Ceruse, and Spodium.
II. The chief Blacks are, Lamp black, Seacoal black, Ivory black, Charcoal, and earth of Colen.
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Quotation
The Colours to be used in Limning are termed thus,
Whites (Flake white / Serus)
Red (Carmine, / Indian Lake, / Red Lead, / Indian Red, / Burnt Ocur, &c.)
Yellow (Masticot, / Yellow ocur, / Eng. ocur, / Pinck.)
Greens (Sap Green, / Pinck and Bice, / Green Bice, / Terra Vert.)
Blews (Ultra Marine, / Dutch Bice, / Smalt, / Indigo.)
Browns (Gall Stone, / Mumme, / Cullins Earth, / Umber, / Rust.)
Blacks (Ivory black, / Sea-cole, / Lamp black, / Cherry Stone.)
Conceptual field(s)
Quotation
Black.
Black) Ivory and Cherry-stone, are both to be burnt in a Cruciple, and so ground ; Cherrystone is good for Drapery, […].
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Quotation
The Ground colour for a Face.
[…], you are to lay a ground or primer of flesh colour before you begin your work, and that must be tempered according to the complexion of the Face to be drawn, if the complexion be fair, temper white, red lead, and lake, if an hard swarthy complexion, mingle with your white and red a little fine Masticot, or English Ocur, but Note that your ground ought alwayes to be fairer then the Face you take ; for it is a facile matter to darken a light colour, but a difficult to lighten a deep one ; for in Limning you must never heighten, but work them down to their just colour.
[…].
The Order of Shadowes for the Face.
{Shadows} In all your Shadowes, remember to mix some white, (exempli gratia) for the red in the Cheeks, Lips, &c. temper Lake, red Lead ; […] Note that black must not by any means be used in a Face, for other shadowes your own observation must direct you, for it is impossible to give a general Rule for the shadowes in all Faces, unless we could force nature to observe the same method in composing and modelling them, so that one in every punctilio should resemble the other.
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Quotation
The NAMES of the COLOURS Most useful and onely necessary for MINITURE.
(Flake White)
Reds (Carmine / Indian Lake / Cynnabar Lake / Florence Lake / Cynnabar / Red Lead / Yellow Oker burnt)
Blews (Ultra Marine / Dutch Bice / Smalt / Indigo)
Yellows (Light Masticote / Deep Masticote /Yellow Oker / Roman Oker / Gall-stone / Light Pink / Dark Pink)
Greens (Green Pink / Green Bice / TerraVerte)
Browns (Collens Earth / Burnt Umber / Umber / Rust of Iron)
Blacks (Burnt Ivory / Sea Cole / Cherry-stone burnt / Verditer burnt)
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Quotation
Mummy is every way ill-condition’d, and hard, and will not flow out of your Pencil, unless you burn it in a Crucible well Luted ; so prepared, it may make a good Black. But as for Blacks, those Four which I principally mentioned before [ndr : Burnt Ivory, Sea Cole, Cherry-stone burnt, Verditer burnt], are sufficient enought to do any thing withall, though there are many other Blacks used, as Grape-stones burnt, Vine-stalks burnt, Lamp Black, Blew Black, and many other I could name, which in my Opinion are rather a Confusion then an Help ;
Conceptual field(s)
Quotation
SECT III. Of Colours.
There are simply six, viz. White, Black, Red, Green, Yellow, and Blew ; to which we may add Browns, but they are compounded. […].
Chap. II, Of Colours used in Limning : their names, and how to order them.
SECT. I. Of the Names of Colours, and how every Colour is to be prepared ; whether Ground, Wash’d, or Steep’d.
BLACKS. / Cherry-stones burnt. / Ivory burnt. / Lamp black.
WHITES. / Ceruse. / White-Lead.
REDS. / Red-Lead. / Lake.
GREENS. / Bise. / Pink. / Sapgreen. / Cedar-green.
BLEWS. / Indico. / Ultramarine. / Bise. / Smalt.
YELLOWS. / English Oker. / Masticote.
BROWNS. / Umber. / Spanish Brown. / Colen’s Earth.
These are the principal Colours used in Limning ; I have omitted many others but they are such that are not fitting for this Work, which I shall speak of when I come to teach how to wash Maps and printed Pictures, for which use those Colours I have omitted are only useful.
Of the Colours here mentioned, useful in Limning, they are to be used three several ways, viz. either Washed, Grownd, or Steeped.
The Colours to be only Washed are these :
Bise. / Smalt.
Cedar. / Ultramarine.
Red-Lead. / Masticote.
To be Steeped, only Sap-green.
The Colours to be Washed and Grownd, are these :
Ceruse. / White-Lead. / Lake. / English Oker.
Pink. / Indico. / Umber. / Colens Earth.
Spanish Brown. / Ivory, / and Cherry-stone. ) black.
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Quotation
Chap. I. Of the Names of your Colours, and how to Grind and order them.
The Names of the Colours in Oyl.
BLACKS / Lamp-black. / Seacoal-black. / Ivory-black. / Charcoal-black. / Earth of Colen.
WHITES / White-Lead.
GREENS. / Verdigrease. / Terra vert. / Verditer.
BLEWS. / Bise. / Indico. / Smalt. / Ultamarine.
REDS. / Vermilion. / Red-Lead. / Lake. / India-Red. / Ornotto.
YELLOWS. / Pink. / Masticote. / English Oker. / Orpiment. / Spruse Oker.
Spanish Brown, Burnt Spruse, Umber.
These are the chief Colours that are used in Painting in Oyl, the most part of which are to be grownd very fine upon your Stone with a Muller, with Linseed-Oyl : some must be Burnt before they be Grownd ; others must be only temper’d upon the Pallat, and not grownd at all.
The Colours to be burnt are these :
Ivory, Spruse, Oker, and Umber.
The Colours that are not to be Grownd at all, but only tempered with Oyl upon your Pallat, are these :
Lamp-black, Verditer, Vermilion, Bise, Smalt, Masticote, Orpiment, Ultamarine.
All the rest are to be Grownd upon your Stone with Linseed-Oyl ; only White-Lead, when you are to use that for Linnen, you must grind it with Oyl of Walnuts, for Linseed-Oyl will make it turn yellow.
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Quotation
Chap. VI, Of Garments of several colours, and of their proper Colouring.
The next thing I shall speak of, shall be of Drapery or Garments, and the true and proper manner of Colouring of them.
And
1. For a Red Garment.
For a light-red Garment, first dead-colour it with Vermilion, and when you would finish it, glaze it over with Lake, and heighten it with White.
For a Scarlet.
[…]
For a Crimson Velvet.
[…]
For a sad Red.
[…]
2. For Green Garments.
The best Green for holding, is Bise and Pink, heighten it with Masticote, and deepen it with Indico and Pink.
For Green Velvet.
[…].
3. For Blew Garments.
Take Indico and White, first lay the White in its due places, and then your mean colour, namely Indico and White mixed in their due places, then deepen it with Indico only, […].
4. For Yellow Garments.
For a Yellow Garment, Masticote, yellow Oker, and Umber ; lay the dead colour of Masticote and White in the lightest places, Oker and White in the mean places, and Umber in the darkest places ; when it is dry glaze it with Pink. […].
5. For Black Garments.
Let the dead colour be Lamp-black, and some Verdigrease ; when that is dry, go over it with Ivory-black and Verdigrease ; before you go over it the second time, heighten it with White.
6. For Purple Garments.
Oyl Smalt, tempered with Lake and White-Lead, heighten it with White Lead.
7. Orange Colour.
Red-Lead and Lake, lay the lightest parts of all with Red-Lead and White, the mean parts with Red-Lead alone, the deeper parts with Lake, if need require heighten it with White.
8. Hair Colour.
Umber and White for the ground, Umber and Black for the deeper shadows, Umber and English Oker for mean shadows, for heightning White with a little English Oker.
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Quotation
Colours to be used in Washing, which are not used in Limning.
BLACKS. / Printers Black, / or / Franckford-black, / to be had of the / Plate-Printers.
REDS / Vermilion. / Rosset.
BLEWS. / Verditure. / Litmos. / Flory.
YELLOWS. Gumbooge, Yellow-berries, Orpiment.
Also these ;
Brazeel and Log-wood ground, and Turnsoil.
Of these Colours above-mentioned, Printers Black, Vermilion. Rosset, Verditure, and Orpiment are to be Ground as is taught in the second Section of the second Chapter of the third Book, page 70. and therefore, I say, Grind them as you are there taught.
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Quotation
What Colours sets off best together.
1. Whites are very useful in all Colours, and sets off Black and Blew very well ; but Blacks are not much used, but upon necessary occasions in some things, as you judgement shall direct you.
2. Reds sets off well with Yellows.
3. Yellows sets off well with Reds, sad Blews Greens, Browns, Purples.
4. Blews sets off well with Reds, Yellows, Whites, Browns, and Blacks ; but Blews set not off well with Greens and Purples.
5. But Greens sets off well with Purples and Reds.
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Quotation
Perfect Black, and White are disagreeable ; for which reason a Painter should break those Extreams of Colours that there may be a Warmth, and Mellowness in his Work : Let him (in Flesh especially) remember to avoid the Chalk, the Brick, and the Charcoal, and think of a Pearl, and a ripe Peach.
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Quotation
BEFORE we leave this eminent Master [ndr : Apelle], we cannot but take notice what Pliny in two several Places, has, with pretty positive Assurance asserted, that in all the stupendious Paintings of this ARTIST above-cited, he made use of but four Colours only, which were White, Yellow, Red, and Black ; his White Tripoli of Melos ; for Yellows, Okre of Athens ; for Reds, red Okre and Synopye of Pontos, and for Black, ordinary Vitrial, or Shoemakers Black. […] in another Place himself [ndr : Pline] tells us (besides the other Black above-mention’d) Apelles was the first that invented to make Black of Ivory, or the Tooth of an Elephant burnt, which was call’d Elephantinum, and gives us the Particulars of several other Colours, both Natural and Artificial, found out and used among the Greek, […].