The Painter in oil

condition of light, as governing the modern picture. For you cannot accept the ordinary
or actual condition of light, as governing the light and shade of your picture, without
extending the same scheme of relations over the whole canvas. Every most insignificant
spot of light and shade and color, as well as the most significant, must keep its place,
must hold its true relation to every spot and to all the rest. Each value must keep its
place according to the laws of fact, or it is out of touch with the whole. The whole picture
must be either on a scheme of general fact, or a scheme of general arbitrary
arrangement. Any one piece of arbitrary arrangements in this connection must be
backed up by other pieces of arbitrary arrangement, or else there must be no arbitrary
arrangement at all. The modern painter accepts the former; and the importance of
“values” is the result. Absolute and Relative Values. - We may speak of values as absolute
or relative. This relates to the key or pitch of a painting. It is the contribution to the art of
painting which was made by the French painter, Manet. You may paint a picture in the
same pitch as nature, or you may transpose it to a higher or a lower pitch.
The relations of the different values of the picture will hold the same relation to each
other as the values of nature do to each other. But the actual pitch of each, the relation of
each to an absolute light or an absolute dark, will be higher or lower than in nature. This
would be relative to values.
Or the pitch, relation to absolute light and dark, of each value may be the same, value
for value, as in nature. This would be absolute values.
The attempt at absolute values was not made at all before Manet’s time. A landscape
was frankly painted down, or darker, from the pitch of nature, and an interor as frankly
painted up, or lighter. In both cases the values had to be condensed, — telescoped, so to
speak, — because pigment would not express the highest light nor the lowest dark in
nature; and to have the same number of gradations between the highest and lowest notes
in the picture, the amount of difference between each value had to be diminished - but
relatively they were the same. The degree of variation from the actual was the same all
through.
With absolute values the painter aims at giving the just note, — the exact equivalent in
value that he finds in nature. He tries to paint up to out-door light or paint down to in-
door light.
Close Values. - This naturally calls for a fine distinction of tones - the utmost
subtlety of perception of values. To paint a picture in which the highest light may not be
white nor the lowest dark black, and yet give a great range and variety to the values all
through the picture, the values must be close; must be studied so closely as to take
cognizant of the slightest possible distinction, and to justly express it. This sort of thing
was not thought of by the older painters. It is the distinguishing characteristic of modern
painting. It is a substitution of the study of relation to the study of contrast.
Study of Values. - You see at once how important, how vital, the study of values is to
painting. Even if you paint with arbitrary lighting, as is still done by many painters,
especially in portraits, you have to consider and study them as they apply to parts of
your picture. You will find no good painter of old time who did not study relations. If you
look at a Velasquez, you will find that he knew values, even though he did not use the
word.