The Laws of Contrast of Colour, Tr. by J. Spanton

by Michel Eugène Chevreul

Questo libro di storia potrebbe contenere numerosi refusi e parti di testo mancanti. Solitamente gli acquirenti hanno la possibilita di scaricare gratuitamente una copia scansionata del libro originale (senza refusi) direttamente dall'editore. Il libro e Non illustrato. 1857 edition. Estratto: ...on a ground of blue, inclined to yellow through the influence of orange, the complementary of the ground. She therefore advised that the proportion of blue in the colouring composition should be increased in order to correct the effect of contrast. The recipe, modified according to this suggestion, gave the beautiful green which they had obtained formerly. 372. Thus every recipe for colours to be applied upon a ground of another colour, must be modified conformably to the effect which the ground will produce. It is this great facility in correcting the ill effect of certain contrasts which explains why they so often succeed without being able to account for it. Here, notwithstanding their colour, the eye judges them to be colourless, or of the tint complementary to that of the ground. These appearances have been the subject of questions frequently addressed to me by the manufacturers of printed stuffs, and by drapers: they are due to the law of simultaneous contrast of colours. In fact, when the patterns appear white, the ground acts by contrast of tone (9); if they appear coloured (and this appearance generally succeeds to that where they appear white), the ground then acts by contrast of colour (13). The manufacturer of printed stuffs therefore will not seek to attribute the cause of these phenomena to the chemical actions in his operations. 373. Ignorance of the law of contrast has, among drapers and manufacturers, been the subject of many disputes, which I have been happy to settle amicably, by demonstrating to the parties that they had no possible cause for litigation in the cases they submitted to me. I will relate some of these, to prevent similar disputes....

130 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1889

About the author

Michel Eugène Chevreul (31 August 1786 – 9 April 1889) was a French chemist whose work with fatty acids led to early applications in the fields of art and science. He is credited with the discovery of margaric acid, creatine, and designing an early form of soap made from animal fats and salt. He lived to 102 and was a pioneer in the field of gerontology. He is also one of the 72 people whose names are inscribed on the Eiffel Tower; of those 72 scientists and engineers, Chevreul was one of only two who were still alive when Gustave Eiffel planted the French Tricolor on the top of the tower on 31 March 1889 (the other being Hippolyte Fizeau) and was the last living individual born before the French Revolution.