s work, its details being drawn from
every-day observation.

Light and Shade should always, I think, partake of the character of the
subject: a _fete champetre_ should not be enveloped in the gloom of
shadowy obscurity, any more than a storm piece should be clothed in the
glories of sunshine.

When the composition consists of a number of objects, the best way is to
single out those that should most attract, by giving them the highest
quality of the light; while whole portions may be disposed of by
connecting them in broad masses of the secondary light, and further
uniting them with the trees, buildings, or any other objects that occur,
to extend its quantity; while the masses of shadow are formed by the
union of other several parts, the light mingling with and intersecting
the shade, until the whole present an harmonious _breadth_. But to
achieve this, so that the parts take agreeable forms--sustaining and
supporting, and giving value to each other--is perhaps the
_chef-d'oeuvre_ of the arduous arrangement of light and shade. (_Plate
2, fig. 5._)

If we require a large space for repose, by getting the light at one or
other side of the picture, the light should of necessity possess some
striking quality, to compensate so great a sacrifice of space; while a
multitude of less important objects may find a mysterious locality in
the reposing mass. (_Plate 2, figs. 1, 2._)

In some of Rembrandt's etchings, a very small but brilliant point of
light is carried through the composition, by the softest gradations,
into the intense depth of shadow, by striking the tops only of the
figures, parts of architecture, &c., until completely lost. The
principal light must never be placed in the centre, but either on one
side or other.

A single mass of light will have the greatest force when brought in
immediate contact with a dark background: so will a dark object tell
with equal power when opposed to the strongest light. So a figure,
clothed in black and white, and placed on one side of the foreground,
will focus _all the other_ lights and shadows, which will immediately
keep their places in the picture--so they be less in strength. In
proportion to the number of forms in the composition, this rule may be
equally applied to a group, if it agree in its outline, and does not
disturb the masses on which it depends for repose.

If the picture be generally light, or the greater part in half tint, a
single object or point of dark will