The dark halo technique in the oeuvre of Michael Sweerts and other Flemish and Dutch baroque painters. A 17th c. empirical solution to mitigate the optical ‘simultaneous contrast’ effect?

Although the topic is rarely addressed in literature, a significant number of baroque paintings exhibit dark, halo-like shapes around the contours of the dramatis personae. Close examination of both finished and unfinished works suggests that this intriguing feature was a practical tool that helped the artist in the early painting stages. When applying the final brushwork, the halo lost its function, with some artists undertaking efforts to hide it. Although their visibility might not have been intended by the artists, today this dark paint beneath the surface is partially visible through the upper paint layers. Moreover, the disclosure of many halos using infrared photography (IRP), infrared reflectography (IRR) and macro X-ray fluorescence imaging (MA-XRF), additional to those that can be observed visually, suggests that this was a common and established element of 17th-century painting practice in Western Europe. Building on an existing hypothesis, we argue that halos can be considered as a solution to an optical problem that arose when baroque painters reversed the traditional, 15th- and 16th-century painting sequence of working from background to foreground. Instead, they started with the dominant parts of a composition, such as the face of a sitter. In that case, a temporary halo can provide the essential tonal reference to anticipate the chromatic impact of the final dark colored background on the adjacent delicate carnations. In particular, we attempt to clarify the prevalence of dark halos as a response to optical effects such as ‘simultaneous contrast’ and ‘the crispening effect’, described in literature only centuries later. As such, the recently termed ‘ring condition’ can be seen as the present-day equivalent of the ‘halo solution’ that was seemingly empirically or intuitively developed by 17th-century artists. Modern studies in visual perception proves that by laying a black ring around a target color, the optical impact of a surrounding color can be efficiently neutralized. Finally, by delving into works by Michael Sweerts, it becomes clear that resourceful artists might have adapted the halo technique and the underlying principles to their individual challenges, such as dealing with differently colored grounds.

Does background color affect moral judgment? A registered replication report of Zarkadi and Schnall’s (2013) Study 1

Do colored backgrounds lead to polarized judgments? Zarkadi and Schnall (2013) found in their Study 1 that, indeed, exposing participants to a black-and-white (versus other colored) background polarized participants’ judgments in a moral dilemma task. This study supported a moral intuitionist model of moral judgment and lent further support to so-called Conceptual Metaphor Theories (Lakoff & Johnson, 1999).After a large pilot study (n = 12,322) that failed to replicate this effect, we conducted two strict preregistered replications relying on Bayesian sequential analyses. First study ran on a French-speaking sample (min N = 300, max N = 450) indicated that our data supports the [presence/absence] of an effect and/while data from the second study ran on an English-speaking sample (min N = 300, max N = 450) [also/while] [does not support/supports] the presence/absence of an effect. This research [confirms/failed to confirm] the effect of the background color on a moral dilemma evaluation and indicates that color may [not be/be determinative] in moral judgement formations. [There is thus strong evidence for the link between polarized color and judgments/There is therefore no evidence for the effect and we think that this line of research is a dead end].

The Dark Halo Technique in the Oeuvre of Michael Sweerts and Other Flemish and Dutch Baroque Painters. A 17th C. Empirical Solution to Mitigate the Optical ‘Simultaneous Contrast’ Effect?

Although the topic is rarely addressed in literature, a significant number of baroque paintings exhibit dark, halo-like shapes around the contours of the dramatis personae. Close examination of both finished and unfinished works suggests that this intriguing feature was a practical tool that helped the artist in the early painting stages. When applying the final brushwork, the halo lost its function, with some artists undertaking efforts to hide it. Although their visibility might not have been intended by the artists, today this dark paint beneath the surface is partially visible through the upper paint layers. Moreover, the disclosure of many halos using infrared photography (IRP), infrared reflectography (IRR) and macro X-ray fluorescence imaging (MA- XRF), additional to those that can be observed visually, suggests that this was a common and established element of 17th -century painting practice in Western Europe. Building on an existing hypothesis, we argue that halos can be considered as a solution to an optical problem that arose when baroque painters reversed the traditional, 15th - and 16th -century painting sequence of working from background to foreground. Instead, they started with the dominant parts of a composition, such as the face of a sitter. In that case, a temporary halo can provide the essential tonal reference to anticipate the chromatic impact of the final dark colored background on the adjacent delicate carnations. In particular, we attempt to clarify the prevalence of dark halos as a response to optical effects such as ‘simultaneous contrast’ and ‘the crispening effect’, described in literature only centuries later. As such, the recently termed ‘ring condition’ can be seen as the present-day equivalent of the ‘halo solution’ that was seemingly empirically or intuitively developed by 17th -century artists. Modern optics proves that by laying a black ring around a target color, the optical impact of a surrounding color can be efficiently neutralized. Finally, by delving into works by Michael Sweerts, it becomes clear that resourceful artists might have adapted the halo technique and the underlying principles to their individual challenges, such as dealing with differently colored grounds.

Lingvovisual Pragmatics of Pulled-Out Elements in English-Language Internet Media Texts

Nowadays the study of media text pragmatics is one of the research priorities in media linguistics. The pragmatic potential of a media text is actualized through the symbiosis of its verbal, nonverbal, and multimedia components, which are equally capable of having a powerful impact on mass consciousness. The article focuses on the linguovisual pragmatics of the so-called “pulled-out” elements in English-language Internet media texts, which have not been studied so far. A pulled-out element is a graphically emphasized construction within a media text, containing a very short summary of the topic covered in the article, or quotations with different references describing the position of the journalist, participants of the event or experts towards the topic, or containing additional information. Following their functional orientation and type of graphical display, the pulled-out elements are divided into three main types: callouts, pull quotes, block quotes. At the graphic level, all three types are represented by a font and font size different from the article itself; they are often located to the left or in the center of the article and can be highlighted with a colored background. The linguistic representation of the pulled-out elements is determined by their functional nature: a simple but pragmatically effective syntactic and semantic structure of the included sentences is used, in most cases implementing the “clickbait” principle. The type, content, and quantity of the pulled-out elements used depend on the genre specifics and linguistic properties of the media text. The pulled-out elements of the media text perform a number of functions, the main of which are informative, attractive, affective, integrative, and ideological. It is stated that the pulled-out elements, being an integral attribute of the modern media text and one of the ways of its creolization, effectively incorporate verbal and nonverbal (graphic) components to have a multi-layered pragmatic impact on the recipient. A comprehensive study of the nature of this phenomenon, regarding its actualization at the structural and semantic levels, is necessary and relevant for media linguistics at the present stage of its development.

Effects of color–emotion association on facial expression judgments

Color and emotion are metaphorically associated in the human mind. This color–emotion association affects perceptual judgment. For example, stimuli representing colors can affect judgment of facial expressions. The present study examined whether colors associated with happiness (e.g., yellow) and sadness (e.g., blue and gray) facilitate judgments of the associated emotions in facial expressions. We also examined whether temporal proximity between color and facial stimuli interacts with any of these effects. Participants were presented with pictures of a happy or sad face against a yellow-, blue-, or gray-colored background and asked to judge whether the face represented happiness or sadness as quickly as possible. The face stimulus was presented simultaneously (Experiment 1) or preceded for one second by the colored background (Experiment 2). The analysis of response time showed that yellow facilitated happiness judgment, while neither blue nor gray facilitated sadness judgment. Moreover, the effect was found only when the face and color stimuli were presented simultaneously. The results imply that the association of sadness with blue and gray is weak and, consequently, does not affect emotional judgment. Our results also suggest that temporal proximity is critical for the effect of the color–emotion association (e.g., yellow–happiness) on emotional judgment.

Designed to Be Noticed: A Reconceptualization of Carbon Food Labels as Warning Labels

Carbon labels are considered a fundamental tool for reducing emissions associated with grocery products. Although the prior literature has shown that both limited motivation and understanding of carbon labels explain the effectiveness of carbon labels, knowledge regarding how to improve the label design to increase noticeability is limited. Given the limited motivation of mainstream consumers to use carbon labels, this exploratory paper proposes that the label design should trigger bottom-up (or sensory-driven) attention mechanisms. Using grounded theory for the data collection and analysis of six focus groups, this study tests six features (i.e., location, size, color, icons, a colored background or border, and textual anchors) and identifies four design criteria (i.e., vividness, incongruity, simplicity, and clarity) that may increase label noticeability. The main conclusion of this qualitative study is that carbon labels are noticed when they are perceived as a cue of hazard. Based on this finding, we propose that carbon labels could be designed as warning labels; therefore, the insights already proven in the warning label literature should be applied to carbon label design to increase its noticeability and use.

FEATURES OF THE REPRODUCTION OF FOLKLORE ELEMENTS IN THE TRANSLATION OF UKRAINIAN FOLKTALES

Recently, more and more urgently we can note the increased interest in the problems and features of the translation of folklore text. The authors of works associated with each year appear, explore the features and certain difficulties of translating folklore genres and folk tales, in particular, the difficulties associated with reproducing the national cultural background in translation, the difficulties associated with maintaining a special form of existence, difficulties associated with the display folklore thinking, the difficulties associated with symbolic translation of a folklore text into the language of the text of the host tradition. Authors-translators of folklore most often face the problem of conveying words that can denote concepts inherent only in the original culture, traditions of the language. These words include words-dialectisms, words-archaisms, and, first of all, realities. All these units have a national and cultural background. The author-translator must take into account the genre and style features of the translated text, preserve not only the content, but also the emotional-style, colored background and make it accessible for the process of understanding native speakers, the text is translated. An adequate translation of folklore elements and realities of Ukrainian folk tales is of particular importance when working with a folk tale. The purpose of the article is to establish the peculiarities of the translation of Ukrainian realities and the revealed universal characteristics of the fairytale text, which can be used as a reserve of translation matches when reproducing the folklore elements of Ukrainian folk tales into English. The research used the following methods: analysis of special, network and methodological literature, synthesis and structuring of data obtained in theoretical analysis. The article examines the well-known realities of the Ukrainian folk tale and analyzes their English translation correspondences. In the course of the research, it was found that the fabulous color is one of the key features of the Ukrainian folk tale. Manifestations of a fabulous color are variability in the translation of national traditions.

Optical properties and masking capacity of flowable giomers

Background and aims. To assess the color, translucency and masking properties of novel flowable giomers. Methods. Three flowable giomers were used for the fabrication of 1-mm thick samples (n=126) in three consistencies (Beautifil flow Plus X F00; Beautifil flow F02; Beautifil flow Plus X F03, Shofu Dental Corporation, Japan) and two shades (A2 and A3). The relative spectral reflectance was recorded over white, black, C3, and a tested-sample colored background. Lightness (L*), and color coordinates a* and b*, Relative Translucency parameter (RTP00) and masking capacity of C3 background were calculated; differences in color and translucency were compared with thresholds for perceptibility and acceptability (PT and AT). Statistical analyses used significance tests for paired samples. Results. All tested materials displayed increased values of L*: for A2 F00=86.16(±0.86), F02=86.39(±0.63), F03=86.40(±0.63); for A3: F00=84.24(±0.58), F02=83.34(±0.3), F03=84.19(±0.4), as well as of RTP: for A2 F00=30.34(±0.88), F02=31.37(±0.94), F03=31.11(±1.15), for A3 F00=29.64(±1.64), F02=30.79(±1.02), F03=30.1(±1.26). For A2 samples, the masking capacity was significantly different for all materials, whilst for A3 there were differences only between F00-F03 and F02-F03. Conclusions. The tested flowable giomers proved high lightness and translucency. The color differences between the materials with the same designation were below the perceptibility threshold in most cases. In addition, the differences in relative translucency parameters ranged between the perceptibility and acceptability thresholds. All tested flowable giomers had an unacceptable masking capacity for a C3 background.

“Argento Deaurato” or “Argento Biancheggiato”? A Rare and Interesting Case of Silver Background in Italian Painting of the XIII Century

The painting depicting the “Virgin with the Child and two angels” by a Tuscan anonymous artist of the XIII century, has raised great interest regarding the execution technique including the use of silver, applied on wood as a background. An in-depth investigation was carried out especially concerning the burnishing process of the silver leaves as well as a detailed inspection of the nature of the organic compounds over the metal leaf and the degradation products of the silver layer. To this aim, a multianalytical approach was used including UV–VIS microscopy along with an Ultra-High-Resolution Scanning Electron Microscopy (UHR-SEM), as well as Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), fluorescence and micro-Raman spectroscopies. As a result, the presence of an oil-resin varnish layer in the uppermost layer and a wax-protein layer between the varnish and the metal layer as well as the evidence that the silver leaf was applied with high accuracy directly to the preparation layer, were clearly demonstrated. Furthermore, degradation products of the silver leaf were identified as sulphides, chlorides, and oxides. The holistic approach herein adopted enabled a step forward in the knowledge of the 13th century silver leaf gilding technique, adding value to the originality of this artwork. In this respect, the scientific evidence led to the assumption that likely this painting originally showed a silver-colored background (“argento biancheggiato”) as compared to the initial theory of a case of “argento deaurato”.

An Improved Spatial Difference Smoothing Method Based on Multistage Wiener Filtering

In order to solve the angle estimation problem of coherent sources in the colored background noise, an improved forward and backward spatial difference smoothing algorithm is proposed by combining the improved spatial smoothing algorithm with the spatial difference algorithm. By the algorithm we can not only decoherent the coherent source but also suppress the influence of the color noise. In order to further reduce the computational complexity of the IFBSDS algorithm, an improved forward and backward spatial difference smoothing algorithm based on Wiener filtering is also proposed. Thus, the eigenvalue decomposition operation of subspace class algorithm can be avoided, and at the same time, the same performance with the IFBSDS algorithm can be obtained, which is more consistent with the real demand of MIMO radar signal real-time processing.