Page 62 - Studio International - November 1971

colour and science. His annotations are brief, the grip, to nature, to move her, even to mentioned in Matthaei's commentary and
and are chiefly devoted to explaining, for recommend and extol her. One must not be led notes. In his lengthy account of the development
example, the limitations of Goethe's objections astray, though analogy might do so of Goethe's colour-circle, for example, he is
to Newton. His more substantial contributions occasionally, particularly when it is too anxious to derive it from experiments with the
are confined to a short preface, a longer section far-fetched and goes up in smoke. Not prism, and adduces the beautiful 'polarity'
discussing the reasons for the hiatus in Goethe's throwing the baby out with the bath (sic) is diagram dating from about 1798 (ill. 5i). The
publications on colour between 1792 and 1808, either a correct or an incorrect approach, even six-colour circular arrangement was, however,
the development and importance of his connecting the remotest that aims to astound as Matthaei shows, clearly expressed in 1793,
colour-circle, and, finally, a list of his writings and surprise us with contrast upon contrast ... ' and was first hinted at two years earlier in the
on colour. Individual words and phrases whose context (8 of the Contributions) of
But of a book costing thirteen guineas it is translation is quite misleading include colour-harmonies, which suggests that the
reasonable to ask whether the buyer is getting Veranderungen (`angles'), allenfalls (`overall'), idea comes from a painterly milieu. A
value for money, and it seems to me that the empfand (`invented'), Tinten, in the sense of twelve-colour circle, with some loose
answer is no. The very abundance and quality `colours' (`inks'), ungleich, in the sense of 'far speculations that it might offer hints on
of the illustrations seems an extravagance when more' (`unequal'), Konsequenz, in the sense of harmony, had been published by Schiffermüller
a score or so of the plates have no more than a `substance' (`sequence'), Schlafwagen, before in 1772, and had been quoted both in Sulzer's
sentimental value in this context, and when the advent of the railway (`sleeping-car'), Allgemeine Theorie der Schönen Künste, which
Goethe's very simple colour-circle is repeated mineralische Chamäleon, in the sense of 'a Goethe used in Italy in 1787, and in the
in colour five times, not including Matthaei's chameleon of a mineral' (`mineral-like German translation of Priestley's history of
own reconstruction of it. Sixty-six pages of chameleon'), Riche in the sense of `area' optics, which he began to read early in 1791.
this edition are given up to an (imperfect) (`plane'), Die Temperamentrose (`The There is no direct evidence that Goethe read
facsimile of the whole of Eastlake's 1840 temperamental rose'), Der Versuch als Schiffermüller book before 180o, but there
translation, which is already available in an V Vermittler von Objekt und Subjekt (`The is every chance that such ideas were discussed
English reprint of 1967 and an American Experiment as Transmitter of the Object and in studios by 1790, and that it was this that
paperback of 1970. This duplicates some 120 Subject'), Zur Farbenlehre (`To the Colour stimulated Goethe to make his own experiments.
pages of the main text, which has been only Theory'). Similarly, his most important contact with a
lightly edited from the same translation. The Herb Aach accuses Eastlake of imprecise living painter, Philipp Otto Runge, goes
quality of translation and editing in the terminology in his translation, although he unremarked, although one of Runge's
sections presented in English for the first time rarely corrects him, and allows some very paintings at Weimar makes an appearance as
can be gauged from a characteristically opaque passages (e.g. §563) to stand. His own ill. 121, presumably to illustrate the
free-wheeling remark by Herb Aach in his terms are scarcely less eccentric and various. characterization of yellow as `serene, gay,
foreword: Of Goethe's most crucial concepts, Urphanomen exciting', qualities which sort ill with this
`If readers object to the selection of material, is rendered as `base phenomenon' and 'basic particular portrait of a shy child. Goethe
the interpretation or the translation, that is all phenomenon', as well as Eastlake's 'primordial published an early draft of Runge's colour
to the good, for controversy may stimulate phenomenon'; trübe becomes `turbid' and (less theory as if it agreed with his own (pp 190-4)
further interest and research.' accurately) `dense'; Steigerung is translated as although they barely touch, and his growing
It is hard to see how an unintelligible `gradation', 'intensification' and (from horror at the `enthusiasm' of the young painter
translation can do either, and we are presented Eastlake) 'augmentation'. We are presented may well be one of the reasons why his early
with many passages and words which defy with many unfamiliar and unexplained words speculations on colour symbolism (pp 188-9)
interpretation. Thus, on p 38, 'Es wird, wenn like `triadinal' ( ? triadic), `centroid', were severely restrained in the published
Sie wollen, eigentlich die Welt des Auges, die `birefrigent' `... `... birefringent), 'double-sparred Theory (cf. §920). A fine colour plate of a Holy
durch Gestalt und Farbe erschöpft wird', prism'. The normal English term millimicron Family by G. B. Pittoni in Weimar is introduced
becomes : 'If you wish, it becomes singularly the (mu) is here given as Nanometer' (nm). (ill. 134) to illustrate (rather unconvincingly)
world of the eye which is conceived through Proof-reading is poor. The caption to ill. 47 the red-yellow-blue triad in painting; but we
structure and colour'. On p 57 we read : ... but is wrongly lettered, and that to ill. 126 confuses are not told whether Goethe knew this picture,
then everyone will see how severe these demands left and right. The lettering to ill. 48 is both or was interested in it: Pittoni makes no
are and how little is the hope to see them inadequate and remains in German. A note is appearance in the history of colour in painting
totally met. One may conceive these demands missing on p 7o; on pp 92-3 we read which Goethe commissioned from Heinrich
only for others or for oneself', which is a `Gilgemeister', `Gildemeister' (correct) and Meyer for the Historical Part of his own Theory.
rendering of `... so sieht wohl jeder, wie streng `Gildenmeister'; 'Mahn' becomes 'Mains' Professor Matthaei cuts from his text of the
diese Forderungen sind und wie wenig man (p 124) and 'oxyhemoglobin', 'oxyhemoglobin' Theory some of Goethe's sharpest observations,
hoffen kann, sie ganz erfüllt zu sehen, man (p 153). for example the account of the corruscating
mag sie nun an andere oder an sich machen'. These are simply some of the minor details, flowers at dusk (S54); the remarks on smoke
§24 on p 20 and §2 on p 59 state precisely the but more generally the conception of the book and smoked glass as semi-opaque media
opposite of the German. Two paragraphs on seems confused. The format, richness of (§§160, 169), surely two of the most
p 135 read as follows : illustration and, to a lesser degree, choice of anschaulich examples of the basic phenomenon;
`If it is advisable, even necessary, to regard the texts, seems directed at the artist and the paragraphs including chemical experiments
phenomenon by and to itself throughout, then art-student; but Professor Matthaei is very which relate to the early development of
carefully to repeat it and to examine it from all little interested in this aspect of Goethe's work. photography (SS673-687), and one of Goethe's
sides again and again, we will yet be driven in A survey of painters' responses to Goethe's rare colour-music analogies (§756). These
the end to turn outward. This, in order to look theory in this century would show that their omissions are marked and can be rectified from
upon everything from our standpoint, if it isn't concerns have been very varied, and it would the facsimile of Eastlake's translation at the end,
desirableto find similar manifestations favourable be rash perhaps to single out one text more than but they are surely lost to most readers in this
to our precepts. That is why it became necessary another as fruitful to artists. Yet there is a good supplementary limbo beyond the index.
to think directly though unwillingly, of the deal that could be said about the place of The notes on the aesthetic ramifications of
far-removed magnet. painting and aesthetics in the formation of the theory are sparing, and the most important
`Analogy here can be taken for the handle, Goethe's colour ideas, and this is barely of them, on some of Goethe's remarks on the
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