Cu 31924016809927

CORNELL
UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF
ARCHITECTURE
LIBRARY
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Zbc arts anb Cutis of tbe IRations
General Editor : S. H. F.CAPENNY
THE MATERIALS OF THE

PAINTER'S CRAFT >
I5TH CENTURY TEMPERA PICTURE
Finf preservation of the Lake on tht dress of tk^ MadoMMa,
Frobahly, tfure/are. Madder Lake. (Property of Sir T. I).
Gibson Carmichael.)
Frontispiece^
THE
MATERIALS OF
THE PAINTER'S CRAFT
IN EUROPE AND EGYPT
FROM EARLIEST TIMES TO THE
END OF THE XVIlTH CENTURY,
WITH SOME ACCOUNT OF THEIR
PREPARATION AND USE
BY
A. P. LAURIE, M.A., D.Sc.

FORMERLY FELLOW OF KING's COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE
PRINCIPAL OF THE HERIOT-WATT COLLEGE, EDINBURGH
AUTHOR OF "greek AND ROMAN METHODS OF PAINTING"
CONTAINING
SEVEN REPRODUCTIONS IN COLOUR

&= OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS
T. N. FOULIS
LONDON &> EDINBURGH
1910
November igio
PRINTED BY NEILL AND CO., LTD., EDINBURGH

INSCRIBED TO
SIR ARTHUR HERBERT CHXJRCH, K.C.V.O., F.R.S.
PROFESSOR OF CHEMISTRY,
ROYAL ACADEMY OF ARTS, LONDON
A WRITER OF THE XVth CENTURY
From a MS. in the Biblioikeque Royalty reproduced
from the ^*
Ancient Practice o/ Painting;"
by Mrs Merrifield,
" I GIVE YOU THIS ADVICB, THAT YOU EN-

DEAVOUR ALWAYS TO USE FINE GOLD AND
GOOD COLOURS, PARTICULARLY IN PAINTING
REPRESENTATIONS OF OUR LADY . , AND .
EVEN IF YOU BE NOT WELL PAID, GOD AND

ODR LADY WILL REWARD YOUR SOUL AND
BODY FOR IT."
Cennino Cennini, chapter 96.

{Mrs Merrifield's translation. )
PREFACE
While many valuable and learned treatises are to
be found both in English and in foreign tongues
dealing with the materials of the painter's craft in
past ages, there is no book in the English language
which covers all the ground and brings together
the latest results of inquiry and research.
The nearest approach to a book of this kind was
Eastlake's Materials for a History of Oil Paint-
ing, which has long been out of print, and is in
many ways now out of date; while for those who
wish to study a particular method, nothing can sur-
pass Mrs Herringham's recent translation of Cen-
nino Cennini, but she confines herself to one aspect
of the subject.
My aim, therefore, is to bring together within
a reasonable compass the information scattered in
many places, along with the results of various analy-
ses and experiments carried out by myself, with the
view of throwing further light on the more difficult
ix
PREFACE
and as yet unsolved problems for the artist and the
connoisseur and to give such an account as may
;
prove of interest to the general, though cultured,

reader, with sufificiently detailed and practical in-
formation to enable a painter of pictures to repeat
such methods as are accurately known, and with
such exact experimental information as may open
the road to further researches.
The interests of architects and of those engaged
in the practical crafts, such as house painting and
decorating, have also been considered, and some
of the old processes which I have described, such as
the use of marble-dust plaster, are worthy of their
serious study; while I believe that if they would
collect the traditions still existing in the workshops,
they could solve manyof the problems which trouble
the painter of pictures to-day.
At the same time I have tried by appropriate
description and quotation to reproduce the atmo-
sphere, where possible, in which these ancient works
were carried out.
It is to be hoped that something of interest will
be found in the book for many

different kinds of
readers, and that they will remember that this is
the first attempt in this country to bring together
within reasonable compass the varied information
:
PREFACE
on a subject which is, in more than one aspect, of
absorbing interest.
Of the translations quoted in the book, those from
Cennino Cennini have either been taken direct from
Mrs Herringham's translation, or from Mrs Merri-
field's, corrected by reference to Mrs Herringham;
and I must thank Mrs Herringham and Messrs

Allen, her publishers, for their permission to quote
so extensively. The translations of Theophilus are
taken from Hendrie's edition, with the exception of
the translation of the beautiful opening chapter of
the third book, which I have myself ventured to
render into English.
Thanks are due to Miss R. F. Forbes for her
translations of Pliny, Vitruvius, and de Mayerne
and to Messrs Dent, the publishers of the tech-
nical part of Vasari's Lives of the Painters, trans-
lated by Miss Maclehose, and edited by Professor
Baldwin Brown; and to Messrs Macmillan, pub-
lishers of the Pre-Rai>haelite Brotherhood, by the
late Holman Hunt, for permission to quote from
these books. I am also much indebted to Professor
Baldwin Brown for help and assistance in many
ways; to Sir T. D. Gibson-Carmichael for permis-
sion to reproduce the picture of a Madonna and
Child belonging to him; to the Abbd Henri Breuil
xi
PREFACE
for permission to copy his drawings of the palaeo-
lithic fresco at Altamira; and to Messrs Bruck-
mann for permission to photograph their repro-

duction of an Etruscan fresco and to the various
;
authorities to reproduce pictures in our public in-

stitutions.
In conclusion, I have a suggestion to make to
those who are engaged in studying the history of

art. The more I investigate the facts about the
Van Eyck pictures, the more I am disposed to
think that the usual view that the Van Eycks were
the originators of a new technical method is wrong,
and that, on the contrary, they and their immediate
followers represent the culmination of a traditional
Northern technique involving the use of some pre-
paration of varnish, just as we may regard Fra
Lippi and Botticelli as representing the culmina-
tion of the tempera technique in Italy.
A. P. LAURIE.
August 1 910.
CONTENTS
CHAP.
1.
2.
INTRODUCTION .....
EGYPTIAN PIGMENTS AND MEDIUMS . .
PAGE
I
16
3. CLASSICAL METHODS : INTRODUCTION . .

33
4. CLASSICAL METHODS : THE PIGMENTS . . 40
5. CLASSICAL METHODS : THE WAX MEDIUM . .

49
6. CLASSICAL METHODS : THE OTHER MEDIUM USED
FOR PANEL PICTURES . . .63
7. CLASSICAL METHODS: WALL PAINTING . .
79
8. THE FURTHER HISTORY OF FRESCO-PAINTING . I06
9. THE MANUSCRIPT OF THE MONK THEOPHILUS 1 43

10. THE BOOK OF THE ART, BY CENNINO CENNINI .
172
11. ON THE PAINTING OF ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPTS 245
12. ON THE PREPARATION OF THE LAKES USED BY THE

OLD MASTERS . . .
-253
xiii
. —
CONTENTS
CHAP. PAGE
13. THE HISTORY OF THE OIL MEDIUM: INTRODUCTORY
REMARKS AND THE NATURE AND HISTORY OF

VARNISHES . . . . i 279
14. THE HISTORY OF THE OIL MEDIUM, CONTINUED

WITH SOME ACCOUNT OF SIXTEENTH- OR SEVEN-
TEENTH CENTURY PIGMENTS AND METHODS OF
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX
......
PREPARING CANVAS GROUNDS . . 327
386
435
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
15th Century Tempera Picture . Frontispiece
Palaeolithic Drawing, Altamira 2
Etruscan
........
Fresco.
Tarquinia
Tomba delle Leonesse, Cometo-
14
Dead ........
Reproduction from portion of Egyptian Book of the
20
Photograph of Portrait from Hawara .

52
Painting in Melted Wax . . ... 56
Picture painted in Melted Wax . . . . .62

Micro-photograph of portion of Roman Fresco . . 95
" Rape of Helen," by Benozzo Gozzoli . . -213

From a " Book of Hours " 250
Unfinished Picture by Jan Van Eyck . .

343
I Sth Century German "Oil" Painting .... 360
Micro-Photographs of Section and Surface of Cracked

Picture 381
XV
The
Materials of the Painter's Craft
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
The use of pigments for ornamental purposes is

probably one of the earliest forms of decorative art,
as many
of the materials were available to the artist
without any special preparation. For a white pig-
ment he could make use of chalk or other white
earths, while charcoal supplied him with a black
where a native black chalk was not known, and red
and yellow ochres could be found abundantly in
many places, and terre verte or green ochre was also
available. Moreover, many of these pigments, from
their soft and
clay-like consistency, required no
special preparation, and if merely smeared on the
walls of a cave would adhere to the surface for a
long time so that the primitive painter would have
;
to his hand many of the necessary materials.

MATERIALS OF PAINTER'S CRAFT
Such painted decorations, however, would be far
from durable, and therefore, while carvings in stone
and works in precious metals remain to us, the
remnants of such early efforts at painting must in
most cases have perished. But not in all cases, as
has been proved, for instance, by the discovery of
frescoes drawn by palaeolithic man in the caverns of
Altamira in Spain.
These drawings have been executed with bold-
ness and skill in black, and in red and yellow ochres,
and represent with great perfection many animals
practically extinct in Europe, such for instance as
the bison ; so that an artist of high technical skill,
living in palaeolithic times, has left us a record of

the animals with which he was familiar in the sur-
rounding forests.
These drawings have been most beautifully re-
produced by the Abbd Henri Breuil and published
by the Prince of Monaco, and with the kind per-
mission of the Abb^ one is copied here. But such
traces of our primeval ancestors' skill in drawing
are rare, and it is necessary in searching for later
examples to come to the times just before the dawn
of the historic period in Europe and in Egypt.
In Europe we have the Etruscan frescoes, many
of which are of great beauty, and we have also the
X
INTRODUCTION
frescoes discovered in the palace of Knossos in
Crete. Theexcavation of this wonderful palace has
revealed the existence of a high civilisation of which
we have no indication in the known history of
Greece, the later palace dating probably somewhere
about 1500 B.C.
The wall-paintings in this palace have several
peculiarities. The plaster is in three layers ; the
lower layer, of coarse rubble, lime and clay, is some
one and a half inches in thickness above this the
;
fine plaster was laid in coats, the first about half-an-

inch and the second a quarter-inch in thickness.
This fineplaster consisted apparently of limewith-
out any intermixture of sand or marble dust, though
possibly it had been allowed to remain slaked for a
long time before use.
Upon this surface the pigments have been laid
without any binding material, but they are firmly
adhering, and must therefore have been painted on
the wet lime surface.
The pigments used are black chalk, yellow and
red ochres, lime for white, and for blue the Egyptian
blue frit, of which we shall have to speak later. It
is thus highly probable that commercial relations
existed between Crete and Egypt when this palace

was decorated, about B.C. 1500,
3
To pass from Europe to Egypt, we have to go
to much earlier dates to find the remains of a pre-
historic civilisation due to an earlier race. Flinders
Petrie puts the date of the prehistoric period in
Egypt at from 8000 to 5800 B.C. Not only are
tomb frescoes of this prehistoric period known, but
prehistoric slate palettesand mullers have also been
found which were used for rubbing down pigments.
Egyptologists have decided that these slate palettes
were used for preparing pigments for decorating the
face but to whatever purposes the pigments were
;
applied, they evidently required to be rubbed down

with some convenient medium, and on one of the
palettes are to be seen traces of the pigment which
had been ground upon it.
In addition to these natural earths which would
form the first pigments used by the painter, the dis-
covery of red veins of cinnabar and blue veins of
copper carbonate would add to the materials at the
command of the artist. It would be long, however,
before these natural pigments were increased by
the addition of those from artificial sources, and it
would only be as other arts developed that the ar-
tist would get the advantage of various chemical
and metallurgical discoveries. For instance, the

development of the potter's art and the discovery
4
INTRODUCTION
of various coloured glazes would naturally result in
the attempt to use such glazes ground fine as pig-
ments. An interesting example of a development
of this kind is to be found in Egypt.
The use and glazed vessels hav-
of glazed quartz,
ing a porous siliceous body, was known in Egypt
in prehistoric times, and the prevailing colour of the
glaze was blue to green, owing to the addition of
copper compounds.
Later on we find the famous Egyptian blue used
in painting. This blue on analysis proves to be
merely a richly coloured copper glaze ground to a
fine powder, the artist in pigments thus benefiting
by the inventions of the craftsman in glazing.
Discoveries in connection with mining and metal-
lurgy would also result in adding fresh pigments to
the artist's colour-box. The cinnabar, for instance,
and the blue copper ores already referred to might
come before the painter's notice, owing to the treat-
ment of these substances for the production of cop-
per and quicksilver, while the discovery of how to
prepare lead from its ore was necessary before red
lead could be manufactured, and the additional dis-
covery of the results of the fermentation of the grape
and the production of vinegar before white lead and
verdigris could be added to the list. The painter
S
;

also owes much to the art of the dyer. The dis-
covery that certain herbs could be used to dye tex-

tile fabrics, and that certain agents could be used as
mordants to fix these dyes, would naturally lead to

the attempt to fix the dyes upon some white chalky
ground and so utilise them for painting; and we con-
sequently find that the most famous dye of classical
times, the murex, or royal purple, was also used to
prepare a pigment for the artist. It is impossible
to say which of these many discoveries may have
preceded the other, and whether the attempt to
make a pigment from the vegetal dye preceded
the attempt to use it for dyeing the textile fabric
but, at any rate, the artist has throughout been able
greatly to increase the number of pigments at his
command as the sister arts have developed, while
at the present day the discoveries of modern chem-
istry have added many valuable, and also many
treacherous, pigments to the artist's paint-box. It
is, therefore, not surprising to find in the earliest his-
torictimes that complex decorative schemes could

be carried out with a great variety of colour. The
necessity of fixing the pigment to the surface would
also naturally lead to the investigation of possible
mediums which could be mixed with the pigment
and used to attach it. In Egypt the acacia supplies
6
INTRODUCTION
gumarabic, which only needs to be dissolved in water
to form a convenient medium. Egg has also formed
an obvious and useful medium from very early times,
and the discovery of how to prepare glue, while of
importance to the carpenter, was also of importance
to the artist. The natural semi-liquid balsams or
resins obtained from trees, beeswax, and the tar pre-
pared for ships all obviously lend themselves to being
mixed with pigmentsand applied to various surfaces.
The most useful medium of all, however, which is
the basis of most modern painting, the v£ getal o ils
that have the property of hardening when exposed
to the air, seem to have been utilised comparatively
late, and were not at the command of the artist
at the beginning of things. It is evident, therefore,
that in looking into the history of the painter's ma-

terials we are led to consider some of the sister
arts and crafts ; and while it is impossible to de-
velop fully these interesting sides of the subject in
a book of this length, some passing references will
be made.
The subject may well, however, be regarded in
another aspect ; for, while leading on the one hand

to a consideration of such sister arts as the enamel-
ling of earthenware, the dyeing of fabrics, and metal-
lurgical processes, it is also connected on the other
7
hand very closely with the aesthetic development of
painting. It is not the purpose of this book to enter
into so difficult a subject; but in order thoroughly to
understand the artistic development of any period,
we should be familiar with the pigments and with the
mediums actually in the possession of the artist.
Each medium leads inevitably to certain modes of
—
expression modes of expression which are limited
in some directions, and which can be extended in
others, and so, as the art progresses, the artist is in-
evitably guided along certain channels. To give an
instance, the fifteenth century doubtless saw the final
and most perfect product which was possible with

the tempera medium, a product distinctly different
from what is possible with oil, and again different
from what can be done with a water medium of the
nature of gum. If, then, we compare on the one
hand the finest work of the Italian tempera painters
of the fifteenth century with a modern water-colour
and a modern oil-painting by a great master, we
shall realise how, in each case, the medium used has
inevitably led to certain definite forms of expression
by the may therefore well be that a medium
artist. It
different from that incommonuse may long be known

and yet not be because the artist is already
utilised
satisfied with the materials which he has been trained
INTRODUCTION
to use and does not feel drawn to search for a new
mode of expression. To give an obvious example,
the use of oil for painting was known at least as early
as the time of Theophilus, and, judging by the
accounts at Ely and at Westminster, oil must have
been used very early in connection with the decora-
tive painting in the English cathedrals. Yet it was
long before thepossibilities of this new medium were
realised by the artist. It is certainlyopen to question
whether even the Van Eycks, though usually re-
garded as the inventors of oil painting, can be con-
sidered as really having painted in oil. It seems
more probable that their pictures were begun in
tempera and glazed with a medium containing some
oil, and can thereforehardly be classed as oil paintings.
It is also probable that they were influenced in de-
parting from the egg medium by two considerations.

In the first place, a damper climate made tempera
pictures much more perishable than in Italy, even
if protected by varnish and, in the second place, the
;
desire to get transparent, brilliant, glazing colours

would lead to the attempt to produce a medium of
the nature of oil or varnish. The magnificent greens,
for instance, which are to be found in Van Eyck,
and some of those that followed after him, are not
seen in the tempera pictures. It is therefore highly
9
probable that the new line of development lay along
the direction of, in the first place, varnishing the
tempera picture, and then discovering the brilliant
effects to be obtained by grinding the more trans-
parent pigments in the varnish, or, in certain cases,
actually dissolving them in the hot varnish, and lay-

ing them over the solid tempera painting beneath,
thus combining the permanent water-protecting
surface of the varnish with the new and brilliant
effects to be obtained from transparent pigments
ground in the varnish medium. It is not till some
time after that oil practically pure, or mixed with a
little varnish, is freely used by the artist, and that
its great possibilities of expression lead to the com-

plete disappearance of the tempera medium.
It will be seen, then, from these few remarks that
while the subject of the materials used by the painter

may seem, at first sight, to be one of limited interest,
yet it is closely connected on the one hand with the
development of all the sister crafts, and on the other
hand with the aesthetic expression which the painter
has been able to obtain at various times in the history
of the art. There is also a third point of view from
which the subject may be considered, namely, as
throwing light upon the conditions of civilisation
existing at various periods. It may seem strange
lO
INTRODUCTION
at first to go to a collection of receipts and directions
for painting to get fresh light on the intimate lives
of former generations, but the student seems to get
more closely into touch with the lives of the people
when engaged in studying a collection of receipts
obtained from a painter's manuscript, than when
reading of great historical events. Wars and political
movements have always a certain similarity, and
differ littlefrom age to age except in the ingenuity
of the weapons used for carrying out the purposes
of the warrior but in the little details which are to
;
be found in the receipts for preparing a pigment or

purifying an oil, we seem to get an insight into the
whole life of the artist, and get closely into touch,
not only with the domestic conditions and the de-
velopment of the crafts, but even with his outlook
upon the world. The trite moral reflections scattered
throughout Pliny's Natural History, the deep and
childlike piety of Cennino Cennini, and the reckless
brutality of outlook combined with the sincerest
loyalty to his craft of Benvenuto Cellini, are all of
fascinating interest to the student of human char-
acter as modified by environment at each stage
it is
of the world's history. The mere statement, in a re-

ceiptobtainedfrom some monkish manuscriptforthe
preparation of a pigment, that the decoction is to be
II
allowed to boil while ten paternosters are recited,
throws a vivid light upon the lives of the monks
and their whole attitude towards the crafts on the
one hand and towards religion on the other. In
fact, on every hand, as we study that apparently
dry and mechanical side of the painter's art, we

shall find fresh suggestions throwing light on many
things of the greatest interest.
It is, of course, impossible in a little book of this
length to treat the subject exhaustively. Many vol-
umes would be required to discuss fully the various
processes used at different times, and to bring be-
fore the reader all the arguments for and against a
given conclusion. At the end, in spite of the large
amount of material that lies to hand, many of the
most interesting problems have not been solved, and
the best that can be done is to point to probabilities.
To take an instance, the durability of many of the
early " oil " pictures has always been a puzzle to the
modern artist. Theperfect freshness of a Van Eyck,
as compared with the desperate condition of many
a picture painted only a few years ago, is very diffi-
cult to understand, and at the end of all the light that

modern science can throw upon the question we have
to admit that the secret of Van Eyck has perished
with him, and that he had a mastery of certain techni-
12
INTRODUCTION
cal processes which has resulted in a durability of
workmanship which to-day we cannot imitate. The
secretof this profound technical knowledge lies inthe
fact that the artist of earlier times was also a crafts-
man. He built up his picture from the beginning ;
he knew intimately how to prepare his panel, how to

make many of his pigments, how to purify them,
grind them, and prepare his mediums and varnishes.
During his apprenticeship he was trained in these
various processes just as amoderncarpenterorblack-
smith is trained in every detail of his craft ; it was his
business while an apprentice to prepare all these
things for his master, and in that way a tradition was
built up in which what was faulty was rejected and
only what was reliable retained. Moreover, it was
the object of the early painter to produce a good and
durable job. He was not merely thinking of the
aesthetic result of his labours. H e was trying to turn
out a good piece of workmanship that would stand
the test of time, and to this end many of his opera-
tions were directed. Unfortunately, he was content
to teach his apprentices verbally, and it is only here
and there that the artist himself has left a record
of the processes that he used, while many of the
existing manuscripts contain bundles of receipts
which have accumulated through the ages and which
13
have been thrown together by the compiler without
any care as to which were of practical value and
which were useless, so that in one sense we are be-
wildered by the amount of material, the difficulty
being to select from among it what is really good
from what is bad. The modern artist is merely think-
ing of the aesthetic result he expects all these base
;
mechanical operations to be performed for him by

the manufacturers of canvas and oil, varnishes and
pigments and the result of this divorce between the
;
humbler and the higher duties of the artist has been

disastrous to the permanency of his work. If we wish
to find any of the traditions of the medieval studio
we need not look for them in the Latin Quarter or in
Chelsea. They are to be found more often in the
workshops of to-day. The house-painter and the
coach-painter, the frame-maker and gilder, are the
people among whom some of those old traditions still
linger, and where a careful inquiry would probably
result in some very striking and interesting discov-
eries.The whole subject, therefore, is surrounded
by much doubt and difficulty, and it is impossible in
a short book to discuss fully all the arguments for
and against a given conclusion and many parts
;
must be left undealt with, while those are selected

which seem of most interest and of the greatest im-
14
INTRODUCTION
portance. It may also be necessary occasionally to
be too dogmatic and to make an assertion which
some other writer might be disposed to criticise. At
the best, therefore, only an attempt can be made to
place the main facts before the reader, and to explain
to him as fully as possible the conclusions which are
most probably correct.
CHAPTER II
THE PIGMENTS AND VEHICLES USED IN EGYPT
It is not our province here to discuss Egyptian art,
but rather to confine ourselves to the materials used

for painting purposes. But in order to understand
those materials we must know something of the con-
ditions of Egypt.
life in
The delta of the Nile is surrounded by deserts on

two sides, and for a long period in Egyptian history
a region of extensive swamps lay between the cul-
tivated, civilised regions of Egypt and the sea, so
that an isolated civilisation grew up, which only by
degrees began to draw materials from the outside.
Within the country itself wood was always scarce
and the flora very limited in variety, while the sur-
rounding deserts were practically sterile. There
were, consequently, no trees, as we shall find, in the
near neighbourhood that would yield resins suitable
for varnishes. One tree, however, grew freely, the
i6
PIGMENTS AND VEHICLES IN EGYPT
acacia,and grows freely to-day and consequently,
;
as has been already pointed out, gum arabic could

be had abundance. The papyrus reed, which is no
in
longer to be found in Egypt, grew plentifully in the
swamps of the Lower Nile, and, while serving many
purposes, also supplied, as we shall find, the material
for paper.
Of natural pigments we find from the earliest re-
mains that the ochres were used, though I am not
aware that the source of supply has been identified.
Such ochre deposits are, however, very widely dis-
tributed, and may well exist in some of the surround-
ing sandstone and limestone formations. For the
copper ores which were the basis of their blue and
green glazes and blue and green pigments they had
to go further afield to the mountains on the west
side of the Sinaitic peninsula in the Wadi Nasb
and the Wadi Maghara, while the gold for gold leaf
came from the gold mines in Nubia.
Commercial relationships were comparatively ear-
ly opened up with Syria and with Arabia, from which
various products might beobtained, and the analysis
of the pigments found in the palace of Knossos goes
far to prove commercial relations with Europe as
early as 1 500 B.C., and therefore long before the date
at which theGreek civilisation which we know comes
17 2
from the region of myth into that of history. We
must therefore expect to find in later times the means
of obtaining from various sources any materials like-
ly to be of use in painting.
The early production oflinen in Egypt shows that
the flax plant must have been known and cultivated
from the earliest times, but there is no trace of know-
ledge of how to extract from the seed the linseed
oil, or of any knowledge how to utilise its drying
properties as a varnish or painting medium. It
must be remembered in this connection that the ex-

traction of oil from the olive or the walnut is com-
paratively easy, and that the linseed does not readi-
ly yield its oil to treatment. When in the eleventh
century processes for its extraction are described,
they are the same as those used at the present day:
crushing, heating, and then squeezing in heavy
presses while still hot.
The Egyptians very early in their history devel-
oped great skill in glazing, and this has already
been referred to. This glazing was not done on
ordinary earthenware, but either on quartz or stone,
or on a specially prepared siliceous body. For
further information the reader isreferred to Arts and
Crafts of Ancient Egypt, by Flinders Petrie.
The connection between the pigments used by the
artist in painting and those used for glazing ware is
fairly close, but is apt to lead to misunderstanding

if not clearly grasped. It is evident in the first place
that pigments which will stand a high temperature
inthefurnace are availablefor the glazing of pottery.
Consequently we find the pigments which owe their
colour to iron, like the red ochre and haematite,
available for the potter; but on the other hand yellow
ochre is useless, as it is on heating converted into
red ochre, and he must therefore obtain his yellow

by some other means. Another case in point is the
cobalt blue, cobalt being available as a source of
colour both to the potter and the painter, though
apparently the use by the potter of this pigment is
very old and by the painter comparatively recent.
There are also certain substances which, when
combined and fused into a glass, develop in the heat
of the furnace a colour which they do not naturally
possess, and one, therefore, not found on the artist's
palette.
In conclusion, the coloured glass or glaze of the
potter may be prepared by itself for useasa pigment,
as in the case of the Egyptian copper blue, tobeshort-
ly more fully discussed.
The art of dyeing was evidently very early under-
stood, though they seem to havepreferred to bleach
19
their beautifully fine linen and wear it white ; and
they must thereforehavecultivated or obtained from
elsewhere the necessary plants.
In the introductory chapter I have discussed
briefly the way which the artist's list of pigments
in
gradually grows, and incidentally I have taken one
or two examples from the facts known as to the
pigments used in Egypt.
We have now to consider more particularly the
pigments and vehicles in use in that country. In or-
der, however, to understand thoroughly the process-
es which we shall find in use, we must remember the
conditions resulting from the Egyptian climate.
The dry, warm air usually prevailing made it an
easy matter for the artist to obtain durable results.
He had not to fear the destructive effects of mois-

ture upon his work. Moreover, much of his work
was permanently sealed up in the tomb, and has
naturally remained practically uninjured by time.
There was no necessity, therefore, to invent an oil
medium or to use a varnish, though varnishes were
used at one period, or to make use of beeswax, al-
though we shall find beeswax in use at any rate in
Roman times, and possibly earlier.
Three kinds of painting were common the paint- :
ingof wall surfaces, the painting of thecoffins enclos-

20
Reproduction from portion of Egyptian
Book of the Dead. (Papyrus of Aid
British Museum.)
ing the embalmed bodies of the dead, and illuminat-
ing with pictures the text of papyrus manuscripts.
In all three cases the painting was of a similar
character, and decorative in its object, and, while re-
quiring accurate drawing of outline, not involving
much subtlety in the handling of the pigment and
the medium.
The painting of the wall surfaces was done either
directly on the smooth stone or on a layer of plaster
laid on to cover up irregularities in the stone sur-
face and the plaster itself seems to have been a mix-
;
ture of lime with plaster of Paris. Not only were the

walls of the tombs thus made smooth, but brick build-
ingswere covered with a thin coat of plaster, and even
the statues were similarly treated as a basis for sub-
sequent painting.
On this surface fairly solid painting was execut-
ed with some convenient medium. One useful me-
dium was easily obtained in Egypt, namely, gum ar-
able, which exudes from the acacia, a tree which grows
freely in Egypt. To use this it was merely necessary
to dissolve it in water.
The preparation of glue was also early known, and
glue was evidently used largely as a painting
medium.
It is also quite probable that egg, both the white
21
and the yolk, would also be used. None of these me-
diums will, of course, withstand the attacks of water;
and if any Egyptian wall-paintings will, as is stated
by Herr Berger, withstand the action of water, then
some other medium than these must have been used
on some occasions. Probably wax, or a mixture of
wax and resin, would be used in such cases. There
would be no difficulty in applying melted wax to wall
surfaces in so warm a climate, though its durability
might certainly be open to question.
In many of the older wall-paintings in situ, and
still more which have been re-
in the case of those
moved to the museums, no longer possible to
it is
j udge of the original condition of the medium, as they
have too often been treated in various ways. In

some genuine samples from a freshly opened tomb of
theXIXth dynasty which I obtained from Professor
Baldwin Brown, the pigment was quite easily re-
moved with a wet finger, and on analysis proved to
be attached by means of gum.-^
Something has already been said about Egyptian
pigments, but they must now be considered in more
detail. The paintings show the use of red and yellow
1 An oil-like residue was also present to the amount of about loper

gum, 2 mgm. combined with the lime. This
cent, of the is interesting
because of Herr Berger's theories.

22
ochres, a dull green, occasionally a bright green, and
a bright and beautiful blue. This blue is the Egyp-
tian blue already referred to, but now requiring to
be considered in some detail. As has already been
explained, this blue is a copper glaze, glass, or frit,
and probably originated in the glazing of pottery and

the discovery that such a glaze pounded down results
in a blue pigment. Vitruvius tells us that the blue
is made by fusing together sand, soda, and copper,
and that it was originally made in Alexandria, and
is now (the time of Augustus) manufactured in Pu-
teoli. The references in Pliny are somewhatobscure,
and he seems to be referring to the same pigment
under different names. Theophrastus also some-
what obscurely seems to refer to it under the name
of an artificial cyanos. Those references to " cyanos"
I shall have to mention more fully presently. The
blue is easily identified on a fragment of fresco, ap-
pearing under a moderate power of the microscope
as consisting of brilliant blue, transparent, glassy
fragments, and yielding under the blowpipe the usual
tests for copper. The analysis of samples reveals
usually the presence of some lime and alumina, be-
sides silica, soda, and copper. Professor Russell
has succeeded in preparing not only a beautiful blue
of this kind, but also a green.
23
A fragment of painting on stone in the Museum
at Edinburgh, of the Xlth dynasty (3500 B.C.), where
strips of red ochre and the copper frit are alternate-
ly laid on, shows how early this blue was known, the
invention, according to Theophrastus, of an Egyp-
tian king.
It was used not only in Egypt, but also in Rome
in imperial times, as the universal blue for fresco-
paintings. Its revival for fresco-painting might well
be considered, both because of its beauty and its
durability.
It is alsoa curious and interesting fact that, al-
though pigment was no doubt suggested by the
this
blue glaze, due to copper, there is no trace of a pig-
ment prepared from cobalt, though cobalt has been
detected in certain blue Egyptian glazes. The greens
already referred to seem to be usually mixtures of
this blue with a yellow pigment, such as yellow
ochre, or, according to the analysis of John, with a
yellow vegetal lake.
In the introductory chapter I explained how pig-
ments were probably suggested by the art of dyeing,
such pigments, made by staining and fixing with a
mordant on a white base a vegetal or animal dye,
being known to artists as lakes. The lakes to which
of to-day are accustomed, such as madder lake
artists
24
and crimson lake, are usually made by fixing the dye
on a translucent or almost transparent base such as
alumina but the lakes of Egypt and Rome were
;
usually fixed on chalk or gypsum, and formed there-

fore opaque pigments. It will readily be understood
that it is not enough to mix the dye with the chalk
or gypsum, the staining colour readily washing out.
The dye must be fixed on the gypsum just as it
must be fixed on the cloth, by means of a fixing
agent or mordant. Such a yellow vegetal lake is
described by the chemist John as having been found
on an Egyptian fragment.
But in addition to green prepared in this way, it
is quite possible that a green copper frit was also
used and in the case of one fragment of a piece of

;
painting on a coffin I once reported on for the late

Professor Middleton, a green copper frit was pre-
sent. Among the reds, red ochre has already been
referred to but in addition Professor Petrie found
;
a pink-coloured pigment, which on examination by

Professor Russell was found to owe its colour to
madder.
The use of the root of the madder plant for dye-
ing is very old, and it is clearly described by classi-
cal writers, and is also mentioned as yielding a pig-
ment. The preparation, however, of a madder lake
25
isby no means a simple matter, and there is very
littlereference to madder lakes in medieval times.
The discovery of an actual Egyptian madder lake
was therefore all the more interesting. This lake
was of course of the opaque variety, as already ex-
plained, and prepared on a gypsum base. Professor
Russell succeeded in reproducing it by boiling to-
gether madder root, gypsum, and a little lime, an
entirely novel receipt to the modern colour maker.
These pigments, along with charcoal for black
and possibly orpiment, seem to be the principal pig-
ments used in purely Egyptian times.
The method of painting on walls has already been
considered, though evidently furtherlightis required
on the medium used for this purpose; and it remains
to consider next the painting on coffins. The coffin
might be made of wood, or of strips of linen pasted
together, or in later times of strips of papyrus.
Before being painted on, the surface was covered
with a thin coat of gesso, consisting of chalk mixed
with glue. n the case of one fragment I have ex-
I
amined means were adopted to attach the

special
gesso firmly to the wood below. This was a matter
to which, as we shall find later, much importance
was attached by the Italian painters of the fifteenth
century. In order, then, to attach the gesso, the sur-
26
face of the wood had been up and
torn or scraped
then laid over with a mixture of sand and glue
through which the fibres of the wood still attached
were mixed, and on this bed of sand the fine gesso
was spread.
The other fragment I examined, of about the
XlXth dynasty, may be described more fully.
Overthe wood was laid a white gesso, and this had
beenpainted with black, and with an apparentlysten-
cilled pattern of yellow ochre. Over the wholeof this
had been laid a reddish-coloured varnish, which was
in places in excellent condition. On treating with
alcohol the varnish at once dissolved, leaving the
painting underneath unaffected. The black pigment
was found to be powdered charcoal ; and the yellow,
a yellow ochre containing white coarse fragments
apparently of quartz. It had therefore not been
treated according to the modern method of prepara-
tion, that is, of grinding the crude och re from the mine
with water, mixing it with a large volume of water
in a vat, letting the coarse particles settle, and then
draining off into another vat, in which the fine par-
ticles for use as a pigment are collected. The gesso
was composed of chalk.
On boiling the painted surface and gesso with
water after removal of the varnish, it was completely
27
disintegrated, so that there was no indication of a
medium like oil or wax, insoluble in water and in ;
evaporating down the water solution after filtration,

a residue of translucent brown plates was left. The
brown plates were of animal origin, and, while not
giving all the reactions of glue, are apparently glue
which had become slightly modified by time.
Whether any other medium besides glue had been
used to lay the pigment on the gesso surface it would
be impossible to say. The gesso itself was certainly
composed of chalk and glue.
The use of varnish described above is, I believe,
limited to a period of about the XlXth and XXth
dynasties (1300 B.C.), appearing about that time and
then being given up again in later times.
The presence of the varnish gives rise to some
very interesting questions, which in order to explain
will necessitate our considering shortly how var-
nishes are prepared.
In the first place, the bases of all varnishes are
various resins known commerce. Some of these
to
resins are obtained from living trees; others are
found by digging or mining, and are the resins of the
trees of old forests. Such fossil resins are amber, the
harder copals from Africa, and Kauri resin, now ex-
ported from NewZealand. The resins of living trees
28
are familiar to all, and may be seen exuding from
the bark of a pine tree. These resins exude from the
trees in a treacly condition, the hard solid resin be-
ing dissolved in the volatile oils of turpentine. If,
for instance, a larch is tapped, the semi-liquid resin
exudes, and is known as "Venice turpentine." If this
semi-liquid resinis placed in a still and heated, spirit
of turpentine passes off and can be collected from

the worm of the still, and the solid resin, the com-
mon rosin of the shops, is left behind. Although
all the resins, then, must originally leave the tree in
a semi-liquid form, they come into the market usu-
ally in a solid form, having lost their spirits of tur-
pentine or similar essential oils.
Suchresins are commonrosin,fromcertain species
of pine trees mastic, from the Pistacia lentiscus,
;
found in Syria and sandarac, from the Callitris

;
quadrivalvis, found on the Mediterranean coast of

Africa ; and many others.
In order to prepare a varnish from the resin, two
ways may be followed. Either the resin is dissolved
by heat in a volatile medium, like alcohol (spirits of
wine), turpentine, or petroleum, or it is dissolved in
a drying oil like linseed oil. If dissolved in a volatile
medium, it is called a spirit varnish, and on painting
over a surface the spirit evaporates and leaves a solid

29
glassy layer of the resin behind; or if dissolved in lin-
seed oil, it is known as an oil varnish. Linseed oil has

the property of absorbing oxygen from the air and
becoming converted into a transparent elastic solid.
This process is usually called by the misleading name

of drying. An oil varnish, then, results when dry in
a film or layer composed of the resin and the linseed
dry oil intimately combined. Such a varnish is
tougher, more elastic, and less easily injured mecha-
nically than a spirit varnish.
An apology is perhaps due for this somewhat long
digression on the nature of varnishes, but the subject
will constantly be coming before us again, and, for
those who are not familiar with it, must sooner or
later be described.
In conclusion, a semi-liquid resin, or balsam, as it
is sometimes called, can be used directly as a var-
nish as comes from the tree, on being warmed. A

it
solid resin, if fused by heat, cannot be spread on a
surface properly, and at once cracks on cooling. It

must therefore be dissolved in a suitable medium as
already described, or mixed with a little beeswax.
The varnish on the coffin already mentioned had
not the properties we associate with an oil varnish,
and was too transparent to have been mixed with
beeswax. As such volatile mediums as alcohol, tur-
30
pentine, and petroleum were almost certainly un-
known in ancient Egypt, we are driven to conclude
that this varnish was a natural semi-liquid resin as
obtained from the tree, like our Venice turpentine or
Canada balsam, probably laid on after warming.
Egypt does not, and apparently did not, possess any
resin-producing trees, and therefore the interesting
question is, from where was it obtained ? In its pro-
perties agrees neither with pine resin, which could
it
have been obtained from Europe or Syria, nor with

mastic, which could have been obtained from Syria
or Africa, nor with sandarac, which could have been
obtained from Africa. On the whole,
it is most like
pine resin in its which may have become

properties,
altered through time, and therefore was probably
obtained from Syria or Europe. The reddish colour
is very likely due to the introduction of a red like
dragon's-blood. It is evident that a further inquiry

into the nature of this varnish may throw an interest-
ing lighton the commercial dealings of the Egyptians
about the XlXth dynasty.
There only remains in conclusion to consider the
paintings on papyrus. These paintings call for no
special remark, in addition to what has already been
said, but the papyrus itself requires a word or two
of description.
31
The papyrus reed from which it was prepared
used to grow freely in Egypt, but is now extinct.
It grows twelve to twenty feet high and three inches
in diameter. It is full of pith. This pith was cut in
thin slices, and the slices laid side by side and beaten
with a mallet on a slightly sloping slab so as to allow
the sap to drain off. Then they were brushed over
with flour paste, and a fresh set of slices laid on at
right angles to the first lot and beaten with a mallet
as before. For the best papyrus this process was
repeated more than once. The finished papyrus is a
beautiful, luminous brown, and takes pigments most
excellently, and is therefore very suitable for fine
decorative treatment.
The wax portraits on panel of the second century
discovered by Flinders Petrie at Hawara will be
considered later in connection with classical modes

of painting. The Egyptians used the Carthamus
tinctorius (KviJKOi, Lat. emeus or cnecus) for a dye,
and probably prepared from this the yellow lake.-
The seeds yield an oil which they prepared, and
which is a "drying" oil, but there is no evidence
that they understood how to' utilise its "drying"
properties.
CHAPTER III
methods of painting in classical times
Introduction
As we have seen in the former chapter, the Egyptian

painter confined himself to the decorative treatment
of wall surfaces and the gesso-prepared surfaces
of coffins made of wood or papier-mi.ch4 and the
adornment of papyrus manuscripts. The designs'"
thus executed in colour seem to have been a natural
development from the bas-relief carving in stone
which they had brought to such great perfection,
and in fact replaced it in later times.
The painters of Greece, if we may judge by the
descriptions in Pliny and the wall-paintings in Pom-
peii, carried the pictorial art much further, though it
is open to question whether their greatest painters
reached a level in pictorial art which we should re-

gard as the natural equivalent of their skill in sculp-
33 3
ture. At the same time, it must be remembered
that the Pompeian decorations are not supposed to
be the work of great artists, but rather of capable
craftsmen, in many cases copying probably well-
known Greek pictures.

The two main sources of information as to the
materialsand technical methods employed, with
which alone we have here to do, are Pliny and
Vitruvius.
Pliny the Elder was a most voluminous writer and
reader, and has behind his Natural History ?&
left
the monument of his labours. This can best be de-

scribed as the encyclopaedia of his time. Inquiry
has often resulted in showing that Pliny was more
accurate and more reliable than careless commen-
tators and inefficient experimenters had supposed.
His remarks on painting, moreover, are of peculiar
interest, because we have as illustrations to his work
the frescoes in Pompeii and Herculaneum which
have remained buried beneath the ashes of Vesuvius,
thus preserved for our inspection by the very erup-
tion in which Pliny himself perished. Going him-
self to investigate the disaster, and being of a full
habit, he died on the shore from heat and suffocation
before he could reach his ship, as has been described
most fully by his nephew, Pliny the Younger. So
34
PAINTING IN CLASSICAL TIMES
that we have here the remarkable coincidence that
the only writer on painting in classical times, whose
writings have come down to us with any complete-
ness, perished in the eruption which smothered in
ashes and thus sealed for centuries the only ex-
tensive record left us of the classical treatment of
wall-painting.
The other writer to whom we have to refer
shall
is of quite a different type. Vitruvius was an archi-
tect in the reign of Augustus, and therefore a little
before the time of Pliny, and had charge more
especially of the engines of war for the emperor.
His book, therefore, deals with architecture, but
in the course of it he treats of the decoration of
plastered wall surfaces with colour, and also de-
scribes several kinds of pigments.
There is in addition some description of pigments
work on stones by Theophrastus.
in the
To return to Pliny : dealing as he does not only
with various objects in nature, animal, mineral,
and vegetal, but also with the uses to which they
can be put, and the methods of utilising them, as
might be expected, the commonest described are
those for medicinal purposes, nearly every con-
ceivable substance being supposed to have some
medicinal value, and able to cure a great variety
35
of diseases. But other purposes of a more practical
nature occur from time to time, along with detailed
accounts of the habits of bees, of the culture of the
grape, of mining for precious metals, and many-
other matters of curious interest.
It follows inthe course of such a compilation that
many substances are described which, while used
for other purposes, might have been utilised by
painters, though we are usually left in doubt on this
point, while other substances are, we are told defin-
itely,used for pigments.
We find, moreover, a discourse on the great
painters of Greece and Rome, with some account
of their styles of painting and their works, and in-
teresting anecdotes about them, and incidentally
further light on the materials used and the technical
processes.
Pliny was, however, essentially a compiler. He
quotes throughout numberless authorities from
which he obtained his information, and necessarily,
inmost cases, has no practical acquaintance with
what he is describing. This want of practical know-
ledge isunfortunatelyonlytoo evident inmanycases.
In addition to the authorities already mentioned,
some information on oils and resins is to be found
in the pages of the physician Dioscorides, and there
36
are brief references here and there in classical liter-
ature from which additional information can be
gleaned ; but it is almost entirely to Pliny and to
Vitruvius that we have to trust for any light upon
this curious and interesting subject.
We shall begin, then, by dealingwith the informa-
tion we have about pictures painted on panel in
classical times.
With the exception of two probable forgeries, not
a single example has come down to us of the pic-
tures painted by Greek and Roman artists upon
panel or canvas. The nearest approach that we have
are the portraits already referred to, discovered by
Flinders Petrie at Hawara, and supposed to beabout
the second century a.d. These, while to a great ex-
tent, as will be seen presently, revealing the tech-
nical methods of wax painting, and in many cases
showing great vigour of treatment, in spiteof certain
conventions, are doubtless the crude work of the
undertaker's hack, and are not to be regarded as re-
presenting the artistic possibilities of the times. It
is evident from Pliny's account that the painting of
pictures had been carried on for a long time among
the Greeks, and that great schools of painting had
arisen,and the works of the painters were evidently
regarded as of equal artistic merit with the works of
37
sculpture, and were purchased by wealthy Romans
and by the emperors to adorn their palace walls.
The references given by Pliny also reveal the fact
that there were many writers on art and art critics
who had discussed the merits of the various schools
of painters. For instance, there existed at that time
different points of view, very similar to those to be
found to-day, and which we label " Impressionist"
and " Realistic." A skilful analysis of the actual
statements of Pliny has shown it to be possible, with
every appearance of probability, to detect from what

writer different criticisms that he makes have come.
It is not our place to consider this side of Pliny's
work here, and it is merely referred to in passing as
showing that painting was considered in classical
times as one of the greatest and most important
branches of art. It is also equally clear from the
account given by Pliny that the painters were di-
vided into two schools according to the medium
which they used, just as to-day we might speak of
painters in oil and painters inwater-colour. Of these
two schools, one made use of beeswax, and we shall
have to consider shortly, with some detail, exactly
how this medium was utilised but of the other me-
;
dium there is no definite information to be obtained

anywhere. This, it is needless to say, has led to
38
many speculations, some having even gone so far as
to declare that the pictures were painted in oil. It
is,of course, impossible in a book of this length to
consider in full detail all the arguments to be derived
from a careful examination of the text of Pliny and
other writers, and at the best therefore we can only
give conclusions on this subject, and state what
seems most probable, as it is impossible to give the
space required for a detailed critical consideration
to these questions.
—
CHAPTER IV
METHODS OF PAINTING IN CLASSICAL TIMES

THE PIGMENTS
The two main literary sources for obtaining know-

ledge about the pigments used in classical times are,
as already stated, Pliny and the seventh book of

Vitruvius on architecture, with some additional in-
formation from Theophrastus. In addition to these

however, we have the actual analy-
literary sources,
sis of Egyptian pigments, some of which have al-
ready been quoted, and of pots of paint found at
Pompeii and elsewhere, and of the pigments found
on Pompeian and other Greek and Roman frescoes.
To deal with all this mass of information in detail,
and to quote the results of the various chemists and
give every referenceto the texts of Pliny and others,
would be tedious in the extreme. The larger number
of pigments have been identified without doubt, and
the fringe left of obscure references is not of enough
40
PIGMENTS IN CLASSICAL TIMES
importance to delay us. We
shall find a most ex-
cellent and complete palette available for the Greek
or Roman painter in the time of the Empire.
Before, therefore, going into the question of me-
diums, I shall proceed to describe briefly the actual
pigments that were in use. We find, as might be
expected, that the earth-colours were well known. It
may be necessary here to explain in passing that the
earth-colours, as they are roughly called, consist of
clays,which owe their peculiar tint to the presence
of compounds of iron and in some cases of mangan-
ese.The rich yellow ochres are entirely stained by
compounds of iron, while the siennas contain some
manganese, and the umbers almost entirely owe
their colour to the presence of this mineral. The
red ochres also owe their colour to the presence of
iron, and are in many cases native, such as red hae-
matite, or they can be obtained by roasting the
yellow ochres. In addition there is a green pigment
known as terre verte which owes its colour to iron,
and which was largely used in ancient times. It is
no longer possible to get such fine varieties of this
pigment as were once obtainable. These pigments
merely require mining, grinding, and floating over
as already described in a former chapter, and have
always formed and will always form an important
41
part of the artist's palette, both for beauty and dura-
bility. In addition to these there are other native
pigments, which, however, require more careful pre-
paration. Many of the ores of copper are beautiful
blues and greens, and of these the finest is azurite,
ablue carbonate of copper, already referred to. Good
specimens of azurite merely require to be ground to
give a beautiful pigment, which is very suitable for
painting in many mediums. It is, however, some-
what sandy in character, and does not lend itself
well to painting in oil. Other ground copper ores,
such as malachite, in the same way yield fine greens
which are somewhat sandy in character. There are,
in addition, cinnabar, the red sulphide of mercury,
which is, in fine specimens, very nearly as brilliant
as the artificial preparation known as vermilion; and
among yellows there none more beautiful than
is
orpiment, the native sulphide of arsenic. There are

also other tints of this sulphide of arsenic which
seem to have been used for pigments. Then among
the whites we have a large number of white earths,
of which chalk is of course the most important. This
may be said to exhaust fairly completely the pig-
ments which can be found native, and which do not
require artificial preparation. In modern days or-
piment has disappeared from the artist's palette,

42
cinnabar has been replaced by the artificial prepa-
ration known as vermilion, and the copper blues
have quite ceased to be used. It is evident from
Pliny's account that all these pigments were well
known in classical times, and the next point of in-
terest is how far artificial pigments were known and
manufactured. There are certain descriptions in
Pliny which are obscure and difficult to follow, and
therefore it is not possible to identify all the pig-
ments used in classical times, but at any rate a large
number of them can be clearly distinguished. White
lead, for instance, was prepared very much in the
way in which the best English white lead is prepared
to-day, by the corroding action of the vapour of
vinegar and the carbonic acid gas of the air upon
lead plates, the white corrosion formed on the sur-
faceof the lead being collected and washed and used
as a pigment. It seems also from Pliny's account
that white lead was used as a face powder, so that
it is evident that its deadly qualities were not then
understood. In the preparation of lead from its ores

and of silver, the discovery of the various oxides of
lead had evidently been made in Pliny's time, as he
describes more than one of these, and among them
evidently red lead, which has also been identified on
Roman frescoes. There is some confusion obvious
43
in his account between red lead and vermilion, the
word minmm being applied by him to the vermilion;
but the existence of the pigments iswithout ques-
tion. The preparation of verdigris by the action of
vinegar on copper was also known, and the beauti-
ful Egyptian blue has already been referred to. As
has already been stated, Pliny's accounts of this blue

are very vague, but it is clearly described by Vi-
truvius.
In addition to these mineral pigments, the use of
dyes for the preparation of pigments was evidently
well understood, and many of the commoner vege-
tal dyes were obviously in use, such as weld, woad,
and madder. They seem to have been accustomed

to stain chalk or gypsum with these dyes, and so to
prepare lakes. The description of such a madder
dye from Egypt has already beengiven, and also the
fact that the chemist John has discovered the use
of a vegetal yellow lake in Egypt. Pliny speaks
of dyeing some of the mineral pigments with a view
to enhancing their colour. It is possible that this
may have been done, but it is not very probable.

In addition to these dyes there are two others which
require to be mentioned. One of these is the fa-
mous murex, the shellfish from which the imperial
purple dye was obtained. Vitruvius speaks of
44
thickening this with honey, and Pliny speaks of its
being precipitated by means of a white earth which
was used for the cleaning of silver, and which was
probably infusorial earth, as this earth has the pro-
perty not only of absorbing certain liquids, and
therefore forming the basis of dynamite, but also of
absorbing and fixing certain aniline dyes, and itmay
well be that it also had the property of taking up the
murex purple. Pliny speaks of it as having a greater
attraction for the purple than wool. The use of dyes,
of course, involved the knowledge of mordants, and
Pliny describes at great length a substance of the
name of alumen, which, ifitwasnot ourmodern alum,
must have been some similar aluminous compound.
The next dye which requires to be referred to is
kermes. This dye is due to an insect of the same
kind as the cochineal insect, which lives on the
prickly oak round the shores of the Mediterranean,
and forms dry, hollow red berries in appearance.
This was used both for dyeing and the preparation
of pigments in classical and medieval times, and it
isnot until the introduction of the cochineal from
Mexico after its conquest by Cortes that kermes be-
gins to be replaced by the more brilliant cochineal.
Its use has been revived in recent times for dyeing
tapestry by the late William Morris. Blacks were
45
prepared either from lamp-black by burning resins
and fats and collecting the smoke, or from charcoal,
or apparently from bones. Pliny tells us that painters
have been known to go so far as to dig up half-
charred bones from the sepulchres for the purpose
of making black. Pliny also mentions the prepa-
ration of black from dried vine-leaves and from
grape husks, both of which are known to give a
black of fine quality at the present day. In addition
to these substances, there is a reference in Pliny
which is quite unmistakable to the use of indigo,
which, he tells us, can be obtained either from the
scum of the dyers' vats, which would mean the dyers
who were usingwoad, or from India, and he describes
its properties with such exactness that there can be
no question that indigo is the substance referred to.
We must therefore suppose that at any rate in the
first century a.d. indigo was exported to Rome from
India. is another reference

In conclusion, there
which is supposed to be to the red resin which is
used for colouring varnishes, and which was known
as dragon's-blood, and which also comes from the
East. This reference is of so quaint a character that
it is worth quoting. In the eighth book of his
Natural History Pliny describes the antipathy be-
tween the elephant and the dragon, stating that they
46
are perpetually at war, and that the contest is equally-
fatal to both, as the dragon envelops the elephant
in its coils, and the elephant, vanquished, falls and
by its weight crushes the dragon. The whole details

of this contest are given at some length. Again, in
book xxxiii., chapter xxxviii., when describing red
pigments, he tells us that the name cinnabar should
properly be given to the thick matter which issues
from the dragon when crushed beneath the weight
of the dying elephant, and is mixed with the blood
of either animal. Again, in one of his moralising
moods, in book xxxv., chapter xxxii., he compares
the limited palette used byolder Greek painters with
the craze for brilliant colouring in the modern Rome
of his day, which, while no pictures of high quality,
he tells us, are produced, yet results in 1 ndia sending
the slime of her rivers (supposed to be a reference to
indigo) and the corrupt blood of her dragons and
her elephants. Sufficient has now been said of the
pigments available to the artist in classical times.
It will be noted that the palette is very complete,
and from that which was used up to the
differs little
dawn of modern chemistry. There is only one pig-
ment, and that one of the most beautiful and valu-
able in the eyes of the medieval painters, viz. ultra-
marine, extracted from lapis lazuli, to which there
47
seems to be no distinct reference ; and on the
whole, after careful examination of the texts of Pliny
and Theophrastus, I am driven to the conclusion
that the preparation of a blue from lapis lazuli, which
aswe shall prove later on is no easy matter, was not
known in classical times.
CHAPTER V
ENCAUSTIC OR WAX PAINTING
In the following chapter we shall discuss the method

by which wax was utilised as a medium for encaustic
painting and here it is necessary to repeat what has
;
already been stated, that there were evidently two

schools of painters : those who used a medium un-
known, and those who used wax and were called
painters in encaustic. In order to explain this use of
wax, it is necessary for us to consider at this point
what the possibilities are in the way of mediums
for painting and what properties they possess. An
artist's medium must be something which can be
readily mixed with the pigment and yet will serve
to attach it to the surface, and in addition, if possible,
it should protect the pigment so attached from chem-
ical or other injury. The most obvious mediums,

therefore, are such materials as gum or glue, or egg,
but none of these possess the property of protecting
49 4
the pigment thoroughly from the attacks of moisture
or other chemical agents. Doubtless, though, such
mediums would be found satisfactory in such a cli-
mate as that of Greece, and therefore it would not

be necessary for them to search for a medium which
would resist the action of water. But in another
direction such a medium would be sought for, and
a clue to this search has come to us from Pliny,
who speaks of the painting and decorating of ships.
The tarring of ships seems to have been done by
means of a woodtar prepared from a variety of pine.
This tar is known at the present day, and is prepared
by piling up branches of the trees, covering them
with turf, and setting them on fire and boiling out
the resins which the tree contains, which pour out as
a dark brown tar. Pliny tells us that ships were
decorated with colour, and this would not be impos-
sible with a wood tar of this character, as when laid
on wood it is like a very dark brown varnish, and
therefore could be mixed with pigments which would
not entirely lose their colouring value. In addition
we learn that this tarwas mixed with beeswax before
being applied to ships, and this mixture would be
tougher and lighter in colour than the tar alone, and
mixed with pigments would form the basis for a rude
method of ship decoration. It is easy to understand
50
how such a method of decoration would be develop-
ed,how pictures on panel would be attempted, and
how the white beeswax alone would ultimately be
used and the dark-coloured sticky tar excluded.
But it is also evident from Pliny that the use of
beeswax for decorative purposes was approached
from another direction. Sticks of wax mixed with
pigment were prepared, and these were modelled
upon the surface with little hot bronze instruments
known as cauteria. It is evident from Pliny's de-
scription that both these methods were in use for the
production of pictures in wax. In fact, he describes
threemethods of using wax one with the cauterium,
:
one with the cestrum on ivory, and the third with

melted wax and the brush. The reference to the use
of wax and ivory by means of the cestrum has led to
endless speculation. There is only one other refer-
ence to it in Pliny, where he mentions laia of Cyzi-
cus, a lady painter who was famous for her portraits
on ivory by this process. Probably the process con-
sisted of some methodof engraving on the ivory with
the sharp-pointed cestrum and following up the lines
with coloured wax but it is difiScult to understand
;
exactly what pictorial effect would be gained in this

way, though the results may have been similar to
the Italian grafifito in effect. To return to the
SI
consideration of the two other methods referred to
in this chapter, namely, modelling with coloured
sticks of wax, and the painting on of coloured melted
wax we find that such authorities
with the brush,
as Eastlake and Donner rejected the possibility
of using melted wax with the brush on account of
the rapid cooling on the surface of the panel, and,
owing to a mistranslation of the phrase, "Ceris
pingere ac picturam inurere," assumed that a liquid
wax medium was used which was subsequently
fused on the surface of the picture. The discovery
by Petrie of the wax portraits at Hawara threw
fresh light upon the whole question. The wax por-
traits discovered at Hawara originated in a custom
which grew up in Egypt of having a hole cut in the
upper part of the coffin and a portrait of the deceased
inserted. The coffin was then stood up on end in a
corner of the house, and ultimately removed for
burial. Some of these wax portraits had been brought
into the market by natives, but were regarded as pro-
bable forgeries until Flinders Petrieunearthed them
in situ, many of them in an excellent state of pre-
servation, and clearly revealing the use both of the
cauterium and the brush. Petrie points out that the
liquid condition of the wax after being laid on the
panel is clearly shown in one portrait by the eye
52
DIRECT PHOTllGRAFH F'ROM ORIGINAL IN NATIONAL GALLERY
OF PORTRAIT KROM HaWARA (FLINDERS PETRIK)
having got smudged by a careless finger, just as to-
day a still wet oil-painting might be injured. These
portraits are of peculiar interest, as we see both pro-
cesses described by Pliny used upon the same panel.
The faces are usually modelled, while the drapery
has been laid in with the brush and, as Petrie points
;
out, the difficulty of using wax in Egypt, at any rate

for many months in the year, would not consist in
the fact of its cooling too rapidly, but in the fact that
it did not cool fast enough, as it would remain melted
in the sun. In colder climates the difficulty can be

got over by slightly warming the surface of the panel.
The experiments which I myself made and which
have been made by some Edinburgh artists have
shown clearly that there is no real difficulty in carrying
out this operation, even in a climate like ours. Each
stroke of the brush must be laid on with certainty,
and placed exactly where it is wanted, but there is
no difficulty in keeping the panel sufficiently warm
to make this possible without melting the whole of
the wax already in position, as therea consider-
is
able gap in temperature between that necessary to

melt the wax and that necessary to enable the al-
ready melted wax on the brush to be laid into posi-
tion. Both thin painting and impasto painting can
be easily accomplished, and the finished work, after
S3
polishing with a cloth, has all the appearance of an
oil-picture.
A few more details of the process as carried out
in my experiments may, however, be of value to any
artist who wishes to experiment for himself
In the first place, the white wax usually sold is
commonly and only genuine beeswax

adulterated,
should be employed. This can be obtained through
reputable druggists if the genuinearticle be demand-
ed, and is somewhat yellow in colour. This amount
of yellowness will not seriously affect the pigments.
A panel of wood well seasoned and without prim-
ing, or a panel coated with gesso,can be used. It is
rather apt to warp a little during use, and on the
whole the thin unprepared panels to be obtained
from artist's colourmen are found most useful. If
canvas is used it should only be sized and not prim-
ed. Probably unsized canvas would do equally well.
To prepare the colours, finely powdered dry pig-
ments should be purchased and then melted up with
wax in the little stamped metal pans which are used
by microscopists to prepare their sections.
These pans are best kept hot on a copper plate
some eighth of an inch thick and twelve inches each
way, which is placed over a ring Bunsen burner
turned low.
54
This copper plate also serves as a palette for mix-
ing tints. Ordinary stiff artist's brushes are used, but
care has to be taken to prevent the plate getting so
hot that the brushes are burnt.
The panel can be warmed in front of a fire, or over
a ring burner, simply waving it about in the hand ;
or a soldering bolt can be used held near the sur-

face, though this is not recommended. Practice is of
course required so as not to overheat or underheat
the panel, and to put in the touches of pigment firmly
and quickly while the wax is still hot. Mistakes
can be removed with a penknife, and the picture
when finished can be polished by lightly rubbing
with a handkerchief
The moulding with the cauterium has also been
thoroughly cleared up by the discovery of the actual
instruments in Pompeii and elsewhere. The most
interesting of all these discoveries was a painter's
grave found at St Medard in France, evidently of
about the fourth or fifth century. The artist was a
lady, and she had had her grave made sufficiently
large to contain not only her own body, but all her
implements of painting. The remains of brushes,
and a series of bronze instruments were found, long
and thin, flattened at one end and shaped like a
spoon at the other, which were the cauteria used for
55
"

melting and also for modelling the wax. In addi-
tion to the pots of paint, the grave also contained
beeswax and mixtures of beeswax and resin.
jars of
Thereason for the presence of resin is fairly obvious.
As has been already explained in referring to the
Egyptian coffins, the simplest form of varnish which
could be used is the natural semi-fluid resin as it
comes from the tree. Such semi-fluid resins, obtain-

ed from the pine, are well known, as Venice tur-
pentine and the modern Canada balsam, and would
exist in large quantities in the neighbourhood of the
artist of St M^dard. Working in a colder climate
than the artist of Egypt or Greece, it would be of
advantage to reduce the melting-point of the wax,
while anything which increased its transparency and
the hardness and durability of the finished picture
would also be a gain. All these objects can be easily
accomplished by mixing the balsam to be obtained
from the neighbouring pine-woods with the bees-
wax, thus forming a medium more suited to northern
climates than the originalbeeswax of the Greeks.
There was also found in the grave at St Medard a
bronze box covered with a silver grid, which probab-
ly contained glowing charcoal and could be used for
melting the wax and warming the panel if neces-
sary.
56
PAINTING IN MELTED WAX
By ADAM THOMSOX
Accorditig to receipt in iîiny. .
—

The following quotations from Pliny will serve to
make the descriptions given above of the method of
encaustic painting perfectly clear. I n the first place,
in chapter xlix. of book xxi. he describes the pre-
paration of beeswax as follows :
" Wax is made from honeycombs out of which the

honey has been pressed. Having been first cleaned
with water and dried for three days in the shade, the
combs are on the fourth day melted on the fire in a
new earthen vessel with water enough to cover them,
and then strained off in a wicker basket. The wax
is again boiled in the same pot with the same water,
and is poured into cold water contained in vessels

the interior of which has been smeared all over with
honey. The best wax is that called Punic, the next
that of a very yellow colour with the smell of honey,
which, though of Pontic origin, is unaffected, I am
surprised to find, by its poisonous honey. Next best
is the Cretan, for it has a large proportion of propolis
of which we spoke when treating of bees. Next to
these is the Corsican, which, as it comes from the
box-tree, is believed to have medicinal qualities.
Punic wax is prepared as follows Yellow wax is :
exposed to the outside air for some time, then boiled

in sea-water taken from the open sea, with nitrum
added. Then the flower, that is, the whitest part, is
57
skimmed off and poured into a vessel containing a
little cold water. Again it is boiled in sea-water by
then the vessel, or at-iea&t the water, cooled.
itself,
When this has been done three times the wax is

dried in the open air on a mat of rushes in the light
of the sun and the moon. For the latter makes it
white, the sun dries it, and lest it should melt it is
covered with a thin linen cloth. It will become ex-
ceedingly white if it is boiled again after the ex-
posure to the sun. Punic wax is the most useful for
medicines. Wax becomes black when papyrus ash
is added becomes red when mixed with
to it. It
alkanet with pigments it is made to assume various

;
colours in order to represent true likenesses of ob-

jects. It is useful to men in numberless ways, even
serving as a protection for walls and weapons.
Other particulars concerning bees and honey we
have stated when speaking of the nature of these
insects."
This chapter has given rise to extraordinary mis-
conceptions and speculations, under the idea that
"Punic wax" was a mysterious substance of the
nature of a wax soap or emulsion.
It has been conclusivelyproved by modern chemi-
cal investigation, in spite of a recent revival of these
theories by Herr Berger InhisMa/êcAmk desAlter-
58
—

Punic wax " differs in no respect from
turns, that "
ordinary wax, the boiling with " nitrum " or bicar-
bonate of soda and salt water being without influ-
ence on the final product, while the preparation of
an emulsion of wax and soda is clearly ruled out by
Pliny's own description of its preparation and pro-
perties.
In the part of his work devoted to painting the
following references occur to the encaustic process,
which will be sufficiently clear after the description
already given.
In the first place, in the table of contents we find
the following :
" Qui penicillo pinxerint.

De avium cantu compescendo.
Qui encausto cauterio vel cestro vel penicillo
pinxerint."
" Those who painted with the brush.
On silencing the singing of birds.
Those who painted in encaustic with the cauteri-
um, the cestrum, and the brush."
This table of contents is one of the pieces of evi-
dence among others of the existence of two kinds of
—
painting one with the medium unknown and the
other with wax, as we find in the context that at the
end of the long description of painters who are
59
— "

merely spoken of as " painters with the brush
comes a quaint chapter in which we are told how
an artist silenced the singing of the birds by fright-
ening them with the picture of a dragon painted
round the walls of his garden and then follow the
;
chapters dealing with encaustic painters.

The next important reference occurs among the
chapters describing the preparation and properties of
various pigments, and is as follows, in chapter xxxi.,
book XXXV. :
" Ex omnibus coloribus cretulam amant, udoque
inlini recusant purpurissum, Indicum, cseruleum,

Melinum, auripigmentum, Appianum, cerussa.
Cerae tinguntur isdem his coloribus ad eas picturas,
quae inuruntur, alieno parietibus genere, sed classi-
bus familiari, jam vero et onerariis navibus, quon-
iam et pericula expingimus, ne quis miretur et rogos
pingi, juvatque pugnaturos ad mortem aut certe
csedem speciose vehi." "Of all colours those which
love a chalk ground and refuse to be laid on a damp
surface are purpurissum, indigo, caeruleum, Melian
white, orpiment, Appianum, and white lead. Waxes
are stained with these same colours for pictures in
encaustic, a kind of painting unsuitable for walls,
but commonly used for ships of war, and now also
for merchant ships. Since we paint even those vehi-
60
—

cles of danger,no one should be surprised if we also
paint our funeral piles, and like to have gladiators
conveyed in splendid carriages to death or at least
to carnage."
Again, after completing his description of artists
who painted with the brush, he says, in chapter xxxix.
of book XXXV. :
" Ceris pingere ac picturam inurere quis primus

excogitaverit, non constat. Quidam Aristidis in-
ventum putant, postea consummatum a Praxitele ;
sed aliquanto vetustiores encaustae picturse exsti-

tere, ut Polygnoti et Nicanoris, Mnesilai Pariorum.
Elasippus quoque Aeginse picturse suae inscripsit
eveKuev, quod profecto non fecisset, nisi encaustica
inventa. " " 1 1 is not agreed who first thought of paint-
ing with wax colours and making a picture by heat.
Some think the art was invented by Aristides and
afterwards brought to perfection by Praxiteles. But
there are in existence encaustic pictures of a date
somewhat earlier than theirs, such as those by Poly-
gnotus, and by the Parians Nicanor and Mnesilaus.
Elasippus also wrote onhis pictures at ^gina evexaev,
which he certainly would not have done unless en-
caustic painting had been invented."
As has been already stated, the inaccurate trans-
lation of the opening lines of this chapter has given
6i
—

rise in the past to endless misconception of the real
nature of this process.
In conclusion, in chapter xli. of book xxxv. is as
follows :
" Encausto pingendi duo fuere antiquitus genera,

cera et in ebore cestro, id est, vericulo, donee classes
pingi ccepere. Hoc tertium accessit resolutis igni

ceris penicillo utendi, quse pictura navibus nee sole
nee sale ventisve corrumpitur." " In ancient times
there were [only] two methods of encaustic painting,

with wax and on ivory with the cestrum, that is, with
a sharp-pointed tool, until it became the custom to
paint ships of war. Then the third method was added,
that of melting the wax colours with fire and laying
them on with a brush. This kind of painting applied
to ships is not injured by sun, wind, or salt water."
After the description which hasalready been given
of this method of painting, no further discussion of
thequotations is needed, as, with theexception of the
reference to ivory and the cestrum, they are perfect-
ly clear and consistent.
Wehavethussucceeded in piecingtogetheracom-
plete picture of this lost art of painting, which in skil-
fulhands must have had great possibilities, and ap-

proached very nearly in its effects to those obtained
to-day from solid painting in oil.
62
PICTURE PAINTED IN MELTKO WAX
By ROBERT BCHiNS, A.R.S.A.
According; to receipt in Pliny,
Page 6*.
CHAPTER VI
CLASSICAL METHODS — THE OTHER MEDIUM

PROBABLY USED BY CLASSICAL PAINTERS
Reference has already been made to the fact that

there were two schools of Greek painters, one of
whom used wax, in the ways already described, and
the other school using some other medium. It is
quite clear from Pliny's text that this other school
existed, although it would take us too long here to
give a complete proof of this by quotations from his
Natural Histoiy. This other school were also paint-
ers on panel, although Pliny speaks as well of paint-
ing on canvas, and reference to wall-painting is made
by him, although he makes no very clear distinction
as to the methods used. According to him, they
were all painters with the brush, without any further
distinction. We have to look, therefore, for negative
rather than positive evidence as to what this medium
probably was. In the first place, the question natur-
63
ally arises as towhether they may not have painted
in oil, and it has in fact been suggested by some
writers that this was probably the medium used.
Such painting in oil requires, of course, not only a
knowledge of drying oils themselves, but also their
properties —
that is, of gradually absorbing oxygen
from the air and forming a firm, transparent, elastic
varnish. It is possible, of course, that anything may
have been known in classical times, and that no re-
cord may have been kept of it but in an inquiry of
;
this kind we are bound to assume, until evidence has

been overwhelmingly produced to the contrary, that
the actual statement left us by writers like Vitruvius,
himself a practical architect, and like Pliny, who
collected all the knowledge of his time to pour into
his Natural History, is in itself complete, and that,
although details may be missing, yet the main facts
known at the time are given to us. In the chapter
on Egypt the two methods of preparing varnishes
by mixing them with a volatile medium or mixing
them with a drying oil were fully described, and it
was pointed out that it was highly probable that the
varnish used by the Egyptians was the natural var-
nish formed by the semi-liquid resin as itcomes from
the tree but not very much was said about the
;
drying oils themselves. There are several vegetal

64
THE OTHER CLASSICAL MEDIUM
oils that have this peculiar property of drying, but
of these the best known are linseed oil, walnut oil,
and poppy seed oil ; and we find in Pliny's descrip-

tions of oils of various kinds that he mentions the
preparation of walnut oil, while again in Dioscorides
we find a description of the preparation of poppy oil.
Neither of these writers describesthe preparation of
an oil from linseed, although the linseed itself is de-
scribed as suitable for making poultices for medical
purposes. We have, then, a knowledge of the two
oils, but there no hint or suggestion throughout
is
Plinythat these oils differ from any other oils in their

property of drying, or that they can beutilised on that
account as a medium for painting. The first sugges-
tion of the use of a drying oil, not as a medium for
painting, but as a varnish to cover the finished pic-
tures, ismadebya medical writer of the sixth century
of the name of Aetius. We are therefore bound to
assume until further evidence is obtained that the
use of drying oils for a painting medium had not oc-
curred to the minds of anybody in classical times,
the nearest approach to recognition of their pro-
by Pliny of a bird-lime
perties being the description
made mixed with nut
of the juice of the mistletoe
oil. Another strong argument against their having
been known is the fact, already stated, that they

65 5
used wax as a medium for painting pictures. Wax
in itself is sotroublesome a medium to handle as
compared with oil, that there can, I think, be no
doubt that if they had known of the use of dryingoils
they would have discarded wax. On the other hand,
as we have already seen, they were familiar with the
preparation of glue, and in preparing lamp-black for
the painter's use ground it upwithalittleglue accord-
ing to the modern practice, and with the use of gum
forpreparing inks. Then they also had, of course,
the tempera medium, egg, either the white or the
yolk, at their command. We find in Pliny reference
distinctly made to the use of egg. Curiously enough,
an egg medium which we shall find described by
Cennino Cennini in the fifteenth century as a mix-
ture of egg with the juice of the fig tree (which con-
tains a certain amount of caoutchouc), is mentioned
by Pliny, but is not described as being used by the
painter, but as being used for medical purposes.
Pliny, however, in telling us how to lay on gold leaf,
advises that it should be done by means of white of
egg painted upon the properly prepared surface. In
another place he tells us that in order to produce a
purple colour the Tyrian purple mixed with egg is
painted over sandyx. These are the only two re-
ferences which he makes to the use of egg on the
66
part of painters, and it is not at all clear from the
second reference whether he is referring to painting
on panel or to painting on walls, and whether he
regards the use of egg as peculiar or is merely de-
scribing the way in which the particular tint is pro-
duced upon the picture by the combination of these
two colours. The actual passage, which has given
rise to much comment, is as follows (chapter xxvi.,
book XXXV.) :
" Pingentes sandyce sublita, mox ex
ovo inducentes purpurissum fulgorem minii faciunt.

Si purpurae facere malunt, cseruleum sublinunt,
mox purpurissum ex ovo inducunt." " Painters put
on sandyx as a ground colour thereafter, laying on
;
purpurissum with egg, they produce the brilliance of

vermilion. If they prefer to produce the brilliance
of purple they put on caeruleum as the groundcolour,
and then lay on purpurissum with egg." Again, it is
obvious from his accounts of the pictures painted by
this method that they were easily injured by damp ;
and he tells a story of Protogenes attempting to

paint the foam upon a dog's mouth, repeatedlypaint-
ing it in and sponging it off again, until at last in a
temper he threw the sponge, loaded with pigment,
at thepicture,and found that he had produced exact-
ly the effect he wanted. This certainly suggests the
use of some medium mixed with water, although the
67
description is not incompatible with the use of an oil
medium. There is also a reference made by Plutarch

which in the absence of more direct evidence may
perhaps be taken as throwing some light upon the
question, although its application to this purpose has
been criticised by some good scholars. In his Ama-
torius he says " For indeed sight seems to paint
:
all flying fancies on a wet ground, so swiftly do they
fade and leave the mind but the images of those

;
beloved, painted by it as it were in encaustic by

means of fire, leave behind in the memory shapes
which move and live and speak and remain forever."
He certainly seems to be contrasting here the two
schools of painting, the painters in encaustic or
wax and the painters on the wet ground, so that,
if this passage is to be taken literally, the other

school of painting made use of some watery medium.
The first actual reference to a painting receipt is not
made until we come to the third or fourth century,
when in a papyrus found at Thebes a medium con-
sisting of egg and gum mixed, with the addition of
bile to make the colour flow easily, is referred to.
This the whole of the evidence available as to

is
the medium which was used in classical times but ;
we must remember that we have in addition the

fact of the Byzantine tradition, which was handed on
68
to the Italian artists of the fourteenth century, and
in which we find that the medium is universally egg.
There is also the fact that, of the obvious mediums
at the command of the painter, gum, egg, and size
or glue, egg would probably prove to be the most
useful in classical times as it proved to be in medi-
eval times ; and therefore, until there is more defi-
nite evidence than is at present obtainable, we are
probably fairly safe in assuming that the Greek pic-
tures were painted with an egg medium just as the
medieval and fifteenth-century pictures were paint-
ed in the same medium. The reason why Pliny
never mentions the medium is that it does not occur
to him to refer to something so obvious, and which
is a matter of common experience and practice. He
speaks of the invention of the wax medium, and dis-
cusses who invented it. The other medium did not re-
quire invention, as it lay to everybody's hand. I have
purposely avoided, in all this, again discussing the
many fancy mediums which have been invented for
the painters of classical times the mixtures of wax
:
and turpentine or naphtha, wax and drying oils, or

wax and soda or potash. We shall have to discuss
later certain receipts in which wax appears but on ;
the one hand the evidence from Plinyas to the actual

process of painting from beeswax is so clear and
69
definiteand proves to be so simple in practice, and
on the other hand the evidence as to the second
medium is so completely absent, that all such specu-
lations are of no value to the student.
It still remains for us to consider the question
as to how far the Greek pictures were varnished.
The need of varnishes has already been dealt with,
but it is necessary, perhaps, to say here a word or two
more on the subject of the preparation of volatile
—
mediums namely, alcohol, turpentine, and naphtha,
— as, unless we are quite clear as to the question as to
whether volatile mediums existed in classical times,
we cannot have a definite idea as to whether such
mediums as varnishes are available. The prepara-
tion of these three mediumsdependsupon the know-
ledge of the art of distillation ; that is to say, it de-
pends upon the construction of a closed vessel with
a pipe leading out from the top which is bent over
and perhaps twisted into a worm, and in manycases
placed in water to keep it cool. On boiling the liquid
enclosed in the vessel the vapour passes through the
pipe and is condensed and drips as liquid through
the end. If, then, we wish to prepare alcohol from
wine or beer or any other fermented liquor, we place
it in a still and distil off the alcohol. In this way
brandy, whisky, spirits of wine, and other more or
70
less impure preparations of alcohol are made. If
we wish to prepare spirits of turpentine, the semi-
liquid resin from the tree is placed in the still and
the turpentine is distilled from it with the help of
steam or if from the crude petroleum as it rises from
;
VV
The MSS. containing these fig-
ures of distiUing apparatus
(alembic) were copied in
the eleventh and fifteenth
centuries, but they repro-
duce more ancient MSS.,
and the figures correspond Early
umr apparatus
distilling
exactly to descriptions in (alembic) from a MS. in
the text. St Mark's, Venice.
the soil we wish to obtain the thin, light, and vola-

tile petroleum suitable for artists' purposes, we heat
the petroleum in a still and use the portion which
first comes over. It is evident, then, that a proper
knowledge of distillation is necessary for the pre-
paration of such volatile mediums, and therefore for
71
the preparation of what we have already described
as spirit varnishes. The whole of this question has
been investigated most carefully by Berthelot in his
inquiry into early preparation of alcohol and into
the history of early chemistry and of alchemy and ;
it is to some of the writers on alchemy that we have

to look for information upon this subject. It is evi-
dent that the first form of still consisted merely of
covering the open pot or vessel with some kind of
cloth in which the liquid was condensed, and from
which it could be wrung out afterwards. Pliny de-
scribes an oil which can be obtained from pitch by
heating the pitch and covering the pot with a sheep's
fleece, and then wringing out the fleece and collect-
ing the oil. This is evidently a very crude method
of distillation, which must have come before the in-
vention of the proper still, which has already been

described; and it is certainly unlikely that a satisfac-
tory preparation of turpentine, naphtha, or alcohol
could be made in this way or prepared of such a
quality or in such quantities as would be of any use
to the artist. It is not until we come at any rate to
the third century that we get a definite description
of the process of distillation and while the early
;
drawings have been lost, drawings have been found

in a manuscript which is in the library of St Mark's
72
;

at Venice which agree closely with the descriptions
given by these earlier writers. These drawings are
of proper stills, though somewhat quaint in design
and the process of distillation was evidently clearly
described by a learned Egyptian lady of the name
of Cleopatra who lived some time in the early Chris-
tian era ; while there are other references at about
this time. We may take it, then, that the art of dis-
was invented somewhere about the third or
tillation
fourth century, butit was probably kept as a mys-
tery among the alchemists and only used for the pre-
paration of small quantities of distilled liquors for
medical purposes ; in fact, it is evident that such dis-
were regarded with much reverence
tilled liquors
and mystery. It would be long before such appar-
atus came into general use for supplying the needs
of commerce or volatile mediums. Naphtha in its
crude form was of course known to the ancients, as
well as various forms of bitumen and Pliny describes
;
a kind of brine which was obtained by those living

in Babylon, and from which by boiling an oil was
separated which they burned in lamps. Pliny has
other references to naphtha which need not be given
here. It is of interest to notice that on the shores of
the Red Sea there are known to-day to be certain
shallow petroleum deposits mixed with brine.
73
If, then, we have no right to assume the pre-
paration of volatile mediums, we are driven to the
conclusion that any varnish used consisted of the
natural varnish as it came from the tree or the resin
mixed with drying oil. The mixture of resins and
olive oil for medical purposes is found referred to by
Pliny, but in no case is this admixture of drying oil
referred to, or any suggestion made that in this way
a varnish could be prepared. On the contrary, as
already stated, the only approach towards a varnish
of this description a mixture of pitch and bees-
is
wax used for ships. Here again the use

of oil would
have yielded such a superior produce that the fact
of beeswax being used is further proof that the pro-
perties of drying oils were not known. The classical
painters then had the means to varnish their pictures
with the natural semi-liquid resin or varnish ob-
tained from the tree, and such semi-liquid resins were
obtained at the time of the Roman
empire from
many sources. Pliny describes the resins from many
varieties of pine, and also resins obtained from Syria
and Africa, such as mastic, terebinth, and so on.
We should therefore expect to find that the Greek
artists varnished their tempera pictures. The one
reference, however, to this process made by Pliny
is very difficult to understand. Speaking of Apelles,
74
in the first place he begins by telling us of his in-
ventions in the art of painting, but that one of them
nobody has been able to imitate, and then he pro-
ceeds to give us a description of a process which is
evidently some kind of varnishing. He tells us that
heusedtocover his pictures with a layerof 'atramen-
tum,' so thin that, while it created a reflection of all
the colours and protected them from dust and dirt,
it was itself invisible until examined very closely.

Pliny, in his description of atramentum, mentions
among the varieties a kind that exudes from the
earth like the brine of salt-pits. This could only be
some form of bitumen, and his description of
liquid
the process used by Apelles might certainly be sa-
tisfied by his having very thinly covered his picture
with a layer of liquid bitumen, because he tells us
that one of the objects was to prevent the brightness
of the colours from offending the eye. The bitumen,
however, was, as obtained in its native state, pro-
bably too dark, and it is more likely that Apelles
made use of a semi-liquid resin which he darkened
by dissolving in it a little of the fluid bitumen, and
then laid it over the picture. If the picture was
painted in tempera the effect of any such varnishing
process would be very much as Pliny describes. The
real difficulty lies in the fact that Pliny says nobody
75
has been able to imitate this effect. At a time when
pitch and crude varnish were being used constantly
on ships, and long after the time when the Egyptians
had been accustomed to varnish their coffins, and
with semi-liquid varnishes capable of being obtained
from various sources, it is very difficult to understand
how this process of Apelles could have involved any
mystery whatsoever. It seems incredible that the
Greek painters had not realised the advantages to
be gained by varnishing their tempera pictures, and
were not accustomed to do so and it seems more
;
probable that Pliny, ignorant of the knowledge of

the studios, was under a complete delusion when he
imagined that Apelles had been able to make use of
a process which was not known to the other painters.
On the other hand, we are certainly not justified, as
has been done by many writers, in assuming a com-
mon knowledge of the advantages of varnishing
pictures on the part of the painters of classical times,
an assumption based upon this quotation from Pliny,
for Pliny begins by telling us most distinctly that
this process of Apelles is one that nobody had been
able to imitate.
These remarks of Pliny's are so interesting that
they may well be quoted in full " Inventa ejus et ce-
:
teris profuere in arte ; unum imitari nemo potuit, quod

;6
absoluta opera atramento inlinebat ita tenui, ut id
ipsum, cum repercussum claritatis colorum omnium
excitaret, custodiretque a pulvere et sordibus, ad
manum intuenti demum appareret,
sed et luminum
ratione magna, ne claritas colorum aciem offenderet
veluti per lapidem specularem intuentibus et e lon-
ginquo eadem res nimis floridis coloribus austeri-
tatem occulte daret." " His innovations in the art
of painting have also been useful to others but one ;
of them nobody has been able to imitate. He used

to cover his pictures after their completion with a
layer of atramentum so thin, that while it created a
reflection of the brightness of all the colours and
protected them from dust and was itself
dirt, it
visible only to one examining very closely. But the

chief purpose was to prevent the brightness of the
colours from offending the eye (they were as if looked
at through talc), also that when seen from a distance
the too florid colours might be imperceptibly chas-
tened."
As
the result, then, of our inquiry into classical
methods of painting on panel, we have been driven
were two recognised
to the conclusion that there
methods of painting ;
one was with a
that of these
medium not described, but which in all probability
was the Ggg medium used by the Byzantine and by
77
the Italian artists of later times, but whether these
tempera pictures were varnished or not must be left
an open question, though there is no reason why
they should not have been so treated. The second
method of painting by means of beeswax we have
already fully described.
CHAPTER VII
CLASSICAL METHODS —WALL-PAINTING

The methods employed in painting pictures upon
walls during classical times have led to a great deal
of controversy, and in spite of the many theories
which have been advanced there are many ques-
tions which are not yet clearly settled. It is obvious
from what has already been said that several me-
thods of painting on walls might have been made
use of by the ancients. In the first place, to deal with
the dry plastered wall surface, pigments might be
laid upon it with any of the mediums already dis-
cussed. Egg, gum, or glue could well have been
used. And we have already seen that the wall-paint-
ing in Egypt was of this character, glue or gum being
the medium which apparently was usually used there
for painting on walls. In addition to this it might
be possible to make use of wax, although the de-
scription of the wax process already given is sufifi-
79
cient to reveal the difficulties of utilising it for such
a purpose. I f we suppose the wall surface to be suffi-
ciently warm from climatic conditions, there would

be no difficulty in paintingon such a wall with melted
wax ; but where the surface of the wall had to be
heated, the difficulties would be very great. As we
shall find, both Pliny and Vitruvius describe such a
heating process where walls in certain cases had to
be varnished with wax, and therefore it is quite pos-
sible that similar methods might be used for painting
purposes. It is worthy of experiment how far in the
summer the walls of Greek temples are sufficiently
warm to enable painting with melted wax to be
carried out. With reference to the evidence as to the
use of wax in wall-painting, it is of a somewhat con-
tradictory character. In the first place, Pliny states
quite definitely that wax was not suitable for paint-
ing on walls, and yet he himself tells us that Agrippa
had the potters' work in the baths painted in encaus-
tic. This seems to have been ornamental terra-cotta
work, and it is possible that the encaustic painting

was done upon the terra-cotta before it was placed in
position. We also have in the accounts of the build-
sum paid to en-
ing of the Erechtheion the entry of a
caustic painters.That encaustic was used for ceil-
ing decoration seems clear from the statement in
80
—
WALL-PAINTING
Procopius that Justinian, on restoring the imperial
palace, had the ceilings decorated not with paintings
in melted wax but with mosaic. If, then, by these
statements is meant the encaustic paintingwhich we
have already discussed, it is evident that, in spite of

Pliny's statement that it was not suitable for walls,
it seems to have been at any rate sometimes applied
to them. It is, however, just possible that by encaus-

tic painting in this case was meant a slightly differ-
ent process which presently we shall have to discuss.

Besides the mediums already suggested egg, glue,
—
gum, and wax for painting upon dry surfaces, there
was another way in which the wall surfaces could
be treated, and that was by the method which is now
known as buon fresco, the pigments being merely
mixed with water and laid on the wet plaster. This
is the process which is usually called true fresco, and
which was so largely used by the Italian painters

for wall decoration in the sixteenth century. There
are also possible modifications of this the pigments,
:
although laid on the wet plaster, might be mixed be-

fore being so laid on with a suitable medium, and
this process might be combined with dry wall paint-
ing ; we shall find that Cennino Cennini
in fact,
directs the painting of a wall to be finished by means
of pigments mixed with egg, and it was only in the
8i 6
later and stricter school of Italian fresco-painting
that all additions of dry colour were objected to. Not
only were these different methods open to the
all
painter, but it is quite obvious from the beginning

methods were used. I n the case of the
that different
Greek temples, the pigment was laid either directly
upon the marble surface or more commonly upon
the thin coating of plaster laid over the stone.
Where the painting was done directly on the marble
surface, or on the thin plaster, the process cannot
have been that of buon fresco, which necessitates
a surface of wet plaster which at any rate would re-
main damp long enough for the painting to be finish-
ed. It is not at all likely, therefore, that in the case
of the Greek temples, where the climate is warm,
that the very thin coat of plaster used would be suffi-
ciently damp to be suitable for buon fresco ; and it
is also highly probable that, whatever the process

used by the Greeks might be, would be equally
it
suitable for the plaster and for the marble surfaces.

In addition to this, we know that the Greek marble
statues were coloured, and no doubt the same pro-
cess was applied in this case also. It was customary
in the case of the Greeks to polish their marble
statues with wax, this polishing process being known
as " gandsis " and we shall have presently to refer
;
82
—
WALL-PAINTING
to this again. In the case of the frescoes at Knossos
which have recently been discovered, Heaton, who
has carefully examined them from a chemical point
of view.hascome to the conclusion, as I have already
stated, that they are examples of buon fresco and ;
incidentally in this case we find that the masses of

plaster are very thick, so that the keeping of a damp
surface would not be so difficult. Coming next to
the frescoes at Pompeii, and other frescoes of
Roman origin, the painting in these caseshas been
done upon a very thick plaster ground, and on the
whole the evidence of the experts is in favour of the
conclusion that in these cases we are dealing with
buon fresco. There are certain references in Pliny
which indicate at any rate that he was quite aware
of the painting done upon wet plaster and in Vi-
;
truvius we have a long description of the method of

preparing the plaster and painting upon the surface
a description from which, again, great controversy
has arisen, for it is not clear whether it merely refers
to the preparation of the colour surface upon which
the picture was painted or to the actual picture itself,
and this doubt is of great importance owing to the
fact that in many of the Pompeian frescoes the whole
of the plaster is covered with a uniform colour ground
upon which the paintings are executed. The results
83
—

of analysis might be expected to throw light on the
question, but these results are not altogether con-
clusive. n some cases no organic binding vehicle has
I
been found in other cases an organic binding vehicle

;
has been proved to be present which, judging from

the descriptions of the analyst, might either be egg
or milk or glue. In the case of the Greek wall-paint-
has been to show an or-
ings, the result of analysis
ganic binding material and the presence of wax, but
no wax has been found in the case of the Pompeian or
other Roman frescoes. These results, then, are quite
sufficient to confirm what has already been said: that
it is quite evident that there was not one recognised
method in classical times for painting wall surfaces,

and that there was probably a sharp distinction to be
drawn between the methods used in Greece and the
methods used in Rome. This distinction may have
been very largely due to climatic considerations, the
cooler climate found in Italy being possibly more
suitable for genuine or buon fresco.
We shall now proceed to consider in more detail
the actual information given on this subject by
Pliny and Vitruvius. This I can best do by selected
quotations from my recent book Greek and Roman
Methods of Painting, in which the whole subject is
critically and fully discussed :
84
WALL-PAINTING
" The principal authority whom we shall have to
consult in this matter is Vitruvius, but before doing
so we shall consider first the statements made by
Pliny which throw light on the subject. We have
already noted one of these, in which he says defin-
itely that encaustic painting is not suitable fpr walls.
In the opening of the same chapter, which I here
requote, he mentions certain pigments as not suit-
able for painting on a wet surface.
" '
Ex omnibus coloribus cretulam amant udoque
inlini recusant purpurissum, Indicum, caeruleum,
Melinum, auripigmentum, Appianum, cerussa.' This
sentence is quite meaningless if it is intended to ap-
ply to water only, but if it means a wet surface of
lime becomes intelligible, as many of these pig-
it
ments would be destroyed by wet lime. The re-

ference to wall-painting in the next sentence makes
this meaning all the more probable.
" But this chapter must be considered in conjunc-
tion with another chapter, xxxiii. 56, where he is
describing different varieties of ochre. One variety
he calls marmorosum sil, and then goes on to say :
•
Hoc autem et Attico ad lumina utuntur, ad abacos
non nisi marmoroso, quoniam marmor in eo resistit
amaritudini calcis.' This and the Attic sort they
'
use for high lights for

; panelled spaces none but
85
the marmorean kind, because the marble in it re-
sists acridity of the lime.'
"If this mention of a special ochre which resists
lime be read along with the mention of the special
colours which do not resist a wet surface, I think
the combined evidence shows clearly that he is
speaking in both cases of the action of wet lime, and
therefore is familiar with the process of painting on
wet plaster. There is, however, another interesting
point to be noticed in the last quotation. One of the
arguments against the use of buon fresco in classical
times is the large area covered at one time by many
of their wall-paintings, as it is held that buon fresco
involves the treatment of limited areas at a time,
and therefore joins should be visible. We shall have
to consider these matters presently at greater length,
but in this chapter Pliny distinctly suggests, by the
use of the word abacus, that limited spaces or panels
only are painted on the wet plaster, and that con-
sequently a pigment which could resist wet lime
was selected for the painting of such limited areas.
It may well have been that, while this wet painting
was used for important decorative pictures, the
cheaper decorative colouring round the margins was
painted on dry plaster in a less durable manner.^
" ' Wiegmann holds this view : Die Malerei der Alten."
86
—
WALL-PAINTING
We shall find some remarks of Vitruvius bearing on
this point. In the meantime the evidence is clear
and unmistakable from Pliny that he was familiar
with the operation of painting on wet plaster. This
does not, however, exclude the possibility of some
medium like size being mixed with the pigments
laid on this wet surface.
" We shall next consider the information to be
obtained from Vitruvius.
" In the seventh
book of his work on Architecture,
after describmg the making of concrete floors and
the preparation of lime, and the plastering of arches
and cornices, he proceeds as follows, in the middle
of the third chapter :
" '
When the cornices are finished, the walls are to
be trowelled as roughly as possible, and thereafter,
when the trowelling is somewhat dry, over it the
directions of the sand-mortar are to be so traced out,
that in length must be true by the rule, in height
it
by the plumb-line, and the angles by the square.

For thus the surface of the plaster will be faultless
for pictures. When this (first coat) is slightly dry,
a second is to be laid on, and then a third. The
firmerand sounder the laying on of the sand-mortar,
the more solid and durable will the plaster-work
be. When besides the trowelling not less than three
87
coats of sand have been set out, applications of
marble-dust-^ are to be used. This stuff is to be so
tempered that in the spreading it does not stick to
the trowel, but the iron comes out of the mortar

clean. A coat of marble-dust ^ having been laid on
and getting dry, another rather thin coat is to be ap-
plied. When this has been beaten and well rubbed,
another still finer is to be put on. Thus with three
coats of sand and as many of marble, the walls are
so firm that they cannot crack or become defective
in any way. And, moreover, solidity being secured
by rubbing with planes, and smoothness from the
hardness and sheen of the marble, the walls will give
out with great brilliance colours applied with polish-
ings. For colours, when they are carefully laid on
damp plaster, do not get loose, but are for ever per-
manent, for this reason, that the lime, losing all its
moisture in the kiln, is so dry and porous that it
readily imbibes whatever chances to touch it, and
solidification taking place from the mixtures of the
various potentialities whose elements or first prin-
ciples are brought together, the resulting substance,
of whatever it is composed, when it becomes dry, is
such that it seems to have special qualities peculiar
to itself Thus plaster- work which is well executed
"1 I.e. marble-dust mortar."
88
WALL-PAINTING
neither becomes rough from age nor when it is wash-
ed does it give up the colours unless they have been
laid on carelessly and on a dry surface. If, therefore,
plaster-work on walls is carried out as above de-
scribed, it will be firm, lustrous, and very durable.
But when only one coat of sand and one of marble-
dust are used, its thinness renders it liable to be
easily broken, nor can it take on a proper brilliance
from the polishings owing to its lack of substance.
For just as a silver mirror when made from a thin
plate gives back a wavering and uncertain image,
but if made from a plate of solid temper takes on a
high polish and reflects to the spectators bright and
faultless images, so plastering, when its substance
is thin, is not only full of cracks but also quickly de-
cays, while that which is firmly compacted of sand-
mortar and marble, when it has been rubbed with
many polishings, is not only glistening but also
clearly reflects to the spectators the images falling
on it. Greek plasterers, indeed,use not only the above
methods to make their work firm, but also putting
the lime and sand together in a mortar, they have
it thoroughly pounded with wooden staves by a
number of men, and use it after it is so prepared.

Hence from their old walls people cut out slabs and
use them as panels, and those plaster slabs so cut
89
out for panels and mirrors have fillets in relief round
them.'i
"We shall now consider the information to be de-
rived from this passage.
"In the first place, the instructions for preparing
the plaster surface are perfectly clear and definite.
"In the second place, whatever doubt there may
be about the translation of line 3, line 4 can only be
translated as meaning that the pigments are to be
laid on the wet lime.
"In the passages after line 4 there is a most inter-
esting attempt to explain the way in which the lime
and pigments ultimately form a homogeneous whole.
If, instead of speaking of the lime losing its moisture,
Vitruvius had said losing its carbonic acid, the pas-
sage might with this emendation have been written
by a modern chemist describing the scientific basis
of buon fresco. I do not understand why this most
interesting passage has been condemned as obscure.
"In the next place, it is to be noted that Vitruvius
does not speak of this as the only method of wall-
painting, but as the most durable method, and con-
trasts it with the results obtained by painting on a
dry surface.
^ Further information about ancient mortars will be found in
St. Sophia by Lethaby and Swainson. London, 1894.

90
WALL-PAINTING
" We have here definite evidence that painting on
dry walls was also customary, in which case some
medium like glue would doubtless be used, and this
goes a long way to explain the conflicting conclu-
sions of investigators and chemists.
" Vitruvius in effect tells us that he is familiar with
painting on dry walls, necessarily with some bind-
ing medium, and with painting on wet lime, and he
regards the wet-lime painting as the more perman-
ent. Hewould not have come to this conclusion
without a wide experience of both methods.
" We have next to consider whether, in painting on
wet plaster, any medium such as glue was intro-

duced. No such medium is mentioned by Vitruvius,
and we are therefore bound to conclude that it was
absent, until chemical analysis or carefully conducted
experiments prove the contrary. Thereno neces-
is
sity for its introduction in buon fresco. As

I have
already pointed out, no conclusive evidence is to be

derived on this point from Pliny.
" I have already discussed the references in Pliny
and Vitruvius to the mixing of glue with black, and

have shown that they do not prove the use of glue
as a medium, as they are capable of quite a differ-
ent and equally plausible explanation.
"A further study of this chapter shows clearly that
91
this method of fresco-painting was very different
from the method used in the time of the Renais-
sance, or to-day, as there are frequent references to
the polishing of the surface during the process.
Herr Berger was, I believe, the first to point out the
significance of these polishing processes. In order
to understand the meaning of these passages, we
shall have to consider more clearly the nature of
buon fresco itself.
" When the pigment is flooded over the wet sur-
face of the plaster, the particles settle into the hol-
lows of the surface, bathed in a solution of lime. As
this solution of lime becomes carbonated and pre-
cipitated by the carbonic acid of the air, the par-
ticles of pigment are packed round with the precipi-
tated carbonate, so that the holding of the pigment
to the plaster is more of the nature of a mechanical
than a chemical process.
" Moreover, lime is so slightly soluble in water, and
the carbonating of the lime is so slow a process, that
each time the surface is flooded with water, fresh
unaltered lime is dissolved and brought to the sur-
face of the plaster, for many days.

" There is no need, therefore, for the immediate
painting of a surface as soon as the last layer of

plaster is put on, though, on the other hand, it is as
92
WALL-PAINTING
well that the plaster should be kept damp, in order
tokeep a soft bed beneath the pigments, into which
they can become more or less incorporated. If this is
done there is no reason why a large surface should
not receive its final coat of plaster and then be paint-
ed on in a leisurely manner, as long as, by means of
damp cloths or occasional sprinkling over with water,
it is prevented from getting too hard. The particu-
lar technique, therefore, adopted by the Renaissance
painters, a small portion at a time receiving its final
coat of plaster and then being painted on, is not of

the essence of the buon fresco process.
"The Roman was not only very thick [up
plaster
to 5 inches], but thenumerous coats were to be put
on before the last coats were completely dry.
" Such a mass would hold the contained water for
some time, and could easily be kept damp if neces-

sary, while the painting could be proceeded with in
a leisurely manner.
" 1 1 is next necessary to consider carefully the state-
ments made in Vitruvius about polished surfaces.

Ashe does not direct the addition of any foreign sub-
stances, we must first try whether such a polished
surface can be produced by the methods he describes.
"In order to test this I had a series of shallow
wooden trays made, into which I introduced first a

93
layer of lime and sand, and then laid on this, when
partially dry, two layers of marble dust and lime, in
the proportion of two of marble dust to one of lime.
" While the final coat was quite wet it was subjected
to the process familiar to plasterers of 'closing in.'
That is was worked repeatedly on the sur-

to say, it
face with the long, straight, slightly rounded steel

edge of the plasterer's trowel, the trowel being held at
an angle to the surface of about forty-five degrees.
This closed-in surface, although inside a building,
took several days to dry. As it got drier and firmer the
working of the surface with the rounded edge of the
trowel was repeated, by drawing it across with quick,
firm strokes. Ultimately we obtained a dry, hard,
compact surface with the appearance of polished
marble. This satisfied me that, in so far as uniform
plaster surfaces are concerned, the polished surface
described by Vitruvius can be got without the intro-
duction of any material beyond lime, marble dust,

and water, although great technical skill is doubtless
wanted, and great expenditure of time and patience,
to produce a satisfactory result. It is, however, evi-
dent from his account that such polished plaster sur-
faces were highly prized, and were not the work of
the everyday plasterer.
'
' The next experiments were made with pigments.
94
Micrvpftofogrnph in three ctflours of portion of
Roman fresco, shoeing Eg;yptian Frit irnbedtfrd
into lime andfragments of marble dust
WALL-PAINTING
'
' I had had the opportunity of examin ing some por-
tions of Roman fresco obtained some years ago by
a friend from the Palatine. One of these was coated
with vermiHon,^ another with red oxide of iron, and
a third with the blue Egyptian frit. In the case of
the vermilion, and to a great extent in the case of
the oxide of iron, the coating of pigment appeared
homogeneous under the microscope. But in the
case of the coarse particles of the copper frit, which
had to some extent weathered off, it was evident
that the particles were imbedded in the plaster
and flush with the particles of marble dust. In
order to try to reproduce this appearance another
panel of plaster was prepared and closed in. It was
then allowed to dry for a day before being painted
on, and then it was painted with a thin coat of cobalt
blue in one part — laid on so as to show the brush-
marks and different depths of work, with a thick —
uniform coat of vermilion in another part, and with
yellow ochre in a third part. It was then left for
another twenty-four hours, and the whole surface
then pressed firmly with the flat of the plasterer's
trowel. This could be done without any disturbance
" 1 The plaster immediately below the vermilion was stained yellow,
as if some wax and oil had been used. This appearance was absent
in the other examples."
95
to the painted surface, but with an evident improve-
ment in the vividness of the colouring. On examin-
ing under the microscope the whole surface appeared
uniform and the pigments flush with the plaster, the
edge of the vermilion and the edge of the plaster be-
ing in focus at the same time, and the particles of co-
balt blue imbedded among and flush with the par-
ticles of marble-dust. (This pigment was selected
because it is of a comparatively coarse grain, and
corresponds most nearly therefore to the old Egyp-
tian blue.) The surface was allowed to dry further,
and then the attempt was made to polish it with the
edge of the trowel. This was only partially success-
ful ; in some was obtained, in others
places a polish
the pigment was disturbed owing to a want of per-
fect smoothness edge of the trowel. Such a
in the
process of polishing does not seem, however, to be
impossible, even in the case of a painted surface, if
the right tools were devised and sufficient practice
attained. But even the first stage of the process pro-
duces a smooth surface with some degree of shine
about it, and compacts the whole mass together.
When dry it can be washed with water or rubbed
up with beeswax and turpentine.
" We shall next consider the special treatment to
which the plaster surface was subjected in order to
96
WALL-PAINTING
protect vermilion, according to the statements of
Pliny and Vitruvius.
"In the fortieth chapter of the thirty-third book,
speaking of native vermilion, Pliny says: 'Inlitosolis
atquelunae contactus inimicus. Remedium, ut parieti
siccato cera Punicacumoleo liquefacta candens setis
inducatur iterumque admotis gallse carbonibus inur-
atur ad sudorem usque, postea candelis subigatur ac
deinde linteis puris, sicut et marmora nitescunt.'
'
When laid on, the exposure to sun and moon is
harmful. The remedy is : when the wall is dry

spread on with a brush melted Punic wax mixed
it
with oil and glowing hot, and again heat it to sweat-

ing point by placing charred gall-apples near it after- ;
wards rub it with candles, and then with clean linen

cloths as marble is made to shine.' And Vitruvius,
also speaking of vermilion, says in the ninth chapter
of the seventh book But in open places, that is,
:
'
in peristyles and loggias and the like, into which sun

and moon can dart their bright rays, the [painted]
part when touched by these is marred, and the
quality of its colour being destroyed it turns black.
Thus it was that when Faberius the notary wished,
like many others, to have his house on the Aventine
hill richly decorated, he covered all the walls in the
peristyles with vermilion. After a month they be-

97 7
came ugly and uneven, and accordingly he bargain-
ed with the contractors to lay on other colours in-
stead of vermilion. But a more discerning person,

who wishes his vermilion decoration to keep its col-
our, should, when the wall is well polished and dry,
lay on with a brush Pontic wax melted in the
stiff
fire and tempered with a little oil; then bringing an
iron pan of glowing coals near to the wall, he must

heat both it and the wall and make the wax sweat,
and thereafter, to make the surface even, he must
rub it with a candle and clean linen cloths, as nude
marble statues are treated. This process is called
•yai/wo-t? by the Greeks. The coat of Pontic wax being
in front does not allow the play of the sun's rays or
the sheen of the moon to take away the colour from
such decorations.'
" In the first place, it is evident that this is a pro-
cess for varnishing a surface already painted, and
not for painting a surface. There is no inconsist-
ency therefore, as some have held, in Pliny's saying
in XXXV. 31, alieno parietibus genere,' where he is
'
discussing the use of wax as a medium for painting,

and on the other hand recommending- it for varnish-
ing an already painted surface. Mastic varnish, for
instance, is quite suitable for varnishing pictures,
but would make a very inconvenient and unsatis-
98
WALL-PAINTING
factory medium to paint with. In the second place,
both Vitruvius and Pliny confine the use of this
process to a special purpose, namely, the protec-
tion of vermilion, and only when exposed to direct
sunlight. Vitruvius states definitely that it is not
necessary where vermilion is used for interior deco-
ration.
" This is a conclusive proof that this process was
not a universal one. If the process had not been men-
tioned at all, it might have been omitted by accident
and still have been used. But to mention a process
and at the same time confine it to a particular pur-
pose, shows quite clearly that it was not the general
method of treating all wall surfaces. It will also be
noted that Vitruvius says the varnish is to be ap-
plied 'cum paries expolitus et aridus,' clearly indicat-
ing that the decorative treatment with vermilion
has been executed on the wet surface, which, after
drying, is then varnished with wax.
" The use of the word candela has given rise to
some difficulty. Some have suggested that it means
that a lighted candle was used to warm the surface,
others that a roller shaped like a candle is meant.
Candles seem to have been known, made both of

wax and tallow, and therefore others have said that
the meaning is that the surface was finally rubbed
99
with a wax candle and a linen cloth. Another pos-
sible view is that a tallow candle was used for the
final polishing.
"Itwill be noticed also, on examining the context,
that it is not at all clear whether the statement about
the polishing of marble applies to the whole process,
or merely to the rubbing with candelse and linen
cloths. Either view would satisfy the translation.
" I experiment of polishing marble with
tried the
tallow, with wax melted with olive oil and then
strongly heated after being applied, and with a lump
of solid wax alone and a linen cloth.
" I failed to obtain a polish either by rubbing up
with tallow or rubbing up after treatment with hot

melted wax and oil. But I found that if the marble
was very lightly rubbed over wtth a lump of solid
beeswax, and then rubbed hard with a hard, rough
linen cloth, a beautiful polish was at once obtained.
The only precaution necessary is to avoid putting
on too much wax when rubbing with the lump of
beeswax. The layer is so thin that the marble is not
in the slightest discoloured, but gets at once a glossy
surface,which gives it depth and translucency. The
marble used had already, of course, been smoothed
and polished as far as was possible by merely treat-
ing the surface of the stone itself.
lOO
WALL-PAINTING
"A piece of wax, already shaped as a candle,
would be very convenient for this purpose, being
readily held in the hand while the end would be
rubbed over the marble.
"The rubbing with wax candles is thus completely
explained, and it is evident that while in the case of
a porous plaster surface it is necessary to fill up the
pores with hot wax to begin with, before polishing
with wax candles and linen, in the case of marble
this process is not necessary, the process called
"yactocri? being the rubbing with wax candles and
linen alone.^
" In conclusion, vermilion, when exposed to direct
sunlight, does change colour in the way described,
and is to some extent protected by being covered
with a glossy surface either by varnishing or in the
way described by Vitruvius.^"
While these experiments were being made there
was a paper published by F. Gerlich in the Neue
Jahrbiicher fiir das klassische Altertum, 1908, de-
' " Pliny uses the word '

nitescunt,' therefore the process must
give a shine. No doubt armour, to which he refers, would be pol-
ished the same way."
" ^^ Se yixwais toS &yi\/),aTos &vayKaU- rax^ y^p eforffei t^ iiI\thiov f
rk iroXoict rZv ayaKfiiTuv ixfC'"'- The " Ganosis " of the Statue
'
is
necessary, for the vermilion with which the ancient statues are
painted soon loses its colour.'— Plutarch, Qucesf. Rom., 287 D."
lOI
scribingthevariousexperimentsthathave been made
in Germany and fresh evidence collected, which
on the whole confirms the conclusions to which I
have here come. Recent analysis has confirmed the
earlier chemists in their view that the Pompeian
frescoes are free from organic material andare there-
fore examples of the buon fresco on the other hand,
;
it seemsevident thatthe actual paintings themselves

stand out a little from the smooth surface of the
plaster behind, and therefore the polishing process
which I have dealt with in some detail cannot have
been applied to the painted surface itself, but must
have rather been applied to the plaster after coating
it with colour upon which the painting was to be
carried out. It is difficult to understand why, if this

was so, the frescoes have proved so durable and ;
even if a little lime may have been mixed with the

pigments, as has been suggested, it is difficult to be-
lieve that this would really make a durable painting,
so that there still seems to be some doubt as to the
exact process practised by the Pompeian painters.
The outcome of the inquiry, however, is not with-
out its practical value, as in the first place it reveals
the importance of marble-dust mixed with lime for
forming a plastering surface. The beauty of the
surface is very remarkable, the plaster not having
I02
WALL-PAINTING
the dull appearance which one notices with ordinary
lime plaster, or with plaster of Paris, but throwing
off light, so that even when unpolished it has a cer-
tain brilliancy. The pigments laid upon it are pe-
culiarly beautiful,and are thrown up by the rich
creamy-white ground, while in the case of smooth
surfaces the polishing can be brought up to the point
of ordinary marble, and in the case of painted sur-
faces the method described, of pressing upon the
surface with flat steel trowels, both enhances the
brilliancy of the pictures and the bedding of the
colour produces a smooth surface which should be
remarkably durable and able to resist the attacks of
time. Whether, therefore, the polishing of the sur-
face by the process described by Vitruvius was
carried out on the actual painted surface or not, there
can be no doubt that we have here an actual tech-
nical process which might quite well be used by our
modern fresco-painters. If the directions of Vitru-
vius are carefully carried out, and the plaster care-
fully prepared to the proper thickness, there can be
no difficulty in producing the desired effect after the
surface has been properly closed by repeated work-
ing with the trowel in the method already described.
The finished painting then merely requires to be
pressed so as to bring the whole surface firmly toge-
103
ther, and there can be no doubt thatwithalittle prac-
tice a certain amount even of polishing can be done.
While such a process of wall-painting is quite un-
suitable in a climate such as that existing in Great
Britain, and even more unsuitable in our modern
country because of the smoke and dirt,
cities in this
it might well be revived in other countries where
the smoke is absent and in which the dampness of

climate is not so great.
With Greek method of painting
reference to the
on walls and statues, further experiments I have
made have shown that beautiful effects can be ob-
tained by painting on marble with size and then
polishing with wax in the way already described,
showing that we have here a method worthy of
further investigation, and it seems at any rate quite
possible that the encaustic painters were entrusted
with this painting with size and polishing with
wax, and that therefore the references to encaustic
painting which have already been quoted do not
mean that melted wax was the medium used. A
large field is therefore opened up by these inquiries
andexperimentsfor further experiment which might
result in adding some valuable technical processes
which might be utilised by our modern artists. In
such countries as America, for instance, with a clear
104
WALL-PAINTING
dry climate and smokeless cities, the use of marble
and of marble-dust plaster and the painting of such
surfaces might well be developed. Marble-dust
plaster highly polished has, I believe,been already
used in America, and the artist will find it a most
beautiful surface on which to execute paintings.
CHAPTER VIII
THE FURTHER HISTORY OF FRESCO-PAINTING
It is evident from the foregoing account of classical

methods that while there can be no doubt as to the
preparation of the wall surface and the laying on of
the ground coat of colour, there is some doubt as
to the actualmethod of painting on this ground, the

appearance of the Pompeian paintings apparently
showing that the painting was done on this smooth-
ed surface and is slightly raised. If this is always
the case, the polishing process must have been con-
fined to the preparation of the ground, and the at-
tachment of the colour laid on by the artist must
have been due to the lime water dissolved from the
still wet surface, unless lime was added to the pig-
ments.
In the case of frescoes found at St Medard, and
probably fourth or fifth century, Chevreul found that
he could split off one layer of colour from another
1 06
FRESCO-PAINTING
below, and that they all contained chalk. He there-
fore suggests that they were mixed with lime.
Presently we shall have to consider in this con-
nection the instructions given by Cennino Cennini
and by Theophilus, butin the meantimewill continue
to followupin order the various pieces of information
extant. Inthe Cathedral libraryatLuccathere exists
a very old MS. of receipts of various kinds to which
we shall have to refer more than once, and which
is supposed to belong to the eighth century. In
this the following statement is made :
" Ita memo-
ramus omnium operationes quae in parietibus sim-
plice in ligno cere commixtis coloribus in pellibus
ictiocollon commixtum." "Thus we mention opera-
tions with all of them on walls unmixed, on wood
the colours being mixed with wax, on skins fish-glue
being mixed." This sentence tells us most clearly
what the mediums used in paintingat this time were.
The pigments were laid doubtless on the wet plaster
with no immixture (except water) wax was still used
;
for panel pictures and fish-glue (the preparation of

;
which is described by Pliny) for illuminating on

parchment. But it is elsewhere that we obtain prob-
ablythe most authentic record of old-world methods
andopenup the most romantic incidentinthe history
oftheinquiryintoancientmethodsof painting. I refer
107
to the visit of Monsieur Didron to a monastery on
Mount Athos, from which he carried away a treatise
on painting and had also the opportunity of seeing
fresco-painting don e by the monks. This S. is sup- M
posed to be of the fifteenth century, and claims to be
the teaching of a painter of the eleventh century, and
therefore might well beheld to be of too late a dateto
throw fresh light on classical or post- classical me-
thods. But when the isolation of the monasteries is
considered we have at any rate a reasonable pre-
sumption that traditions would long remain unalter-
ed. While, therefore, wearenot justifiedinassuming
that a method or medium not mentioned in classical
times, but described in theMount Athos manuscript,
was known in classical times, yet we may regard
processes which seem the same as throwing
still
light on older methods. Didron found the monks

painting on walls exactly according to the directions
given in this manuscript, usually referred to as the
Hermeneia, from its Greek title, and the following is
his description of what he saw. In the first place, two
layers of lime plaster were laid upon the walls, each
about half a centimetre in thickness. The first layer
of plaster consisted of limeand chopped straw, and
the second layer consisted of lime mixed with tow or
flax or cotton, in this respect the practice evidently
1 08
FRESCO-PAINTING
being somewhat in agreement with the method of
plastering adopted in the palace of Knossos, where,
as we have seen, the plaster consisted apparently of
lime with no addition either of sand or marble-dust.
This being finished, was allowed to dry
plaster, after
for three days before the painting was begun. The
drawings were then laid out by means of a compass
with a brush attached to one arm, and the painting
begun right away, simple washes of colour being laid
on, followed by the necessary tints required for shad-
ing. It is unnecessary here to describe the somewhat
mechanical method by which the shading and tints
of flesh and drapery were built up. These details are
fully given by Didron, and are also to be found else-
where. The interesting fact to be noted is that no
medium but water was used, that the painting did
not begin until the plaster had been drying for three
days, and it took some five days to complete, so that
duringthis time the fixing of the pigments depended
upon the dissolving out of fresh lime from the sur-
face of the plaster, which would have already been
considered too dry for painting on according to the
practice of the sixteenth century and of to-day. This
is entirely in agreement both with the description
given in the Hermeneia, the manuscript of painting

which Didron brought away from the monastery, and
109
also with what have already said as to the false
I
impression held by artists as to the rapidity with

whichlime becomes converted into carbonate of lime
or chalk. There can be no reason why fresh lime
water should not be dissolved out of the surface for
days or weeks after the lime has been attached to
the wall. At the same time, it will be noticed in the
Hermeneia receipt that they distinctly direct that the
painting is to be begun before a crust has formed
upon the surface of the lime. Mr Traquair, who has
had the opportunity of examining many Byzantine
frescoes in the East, and who has kindly lent me
photographs of such frescoes of the thirteenth
century, and of later dates, tells me that he has
found in many cases that a fresh fresco has been
painted over the old one, a thin coat of fresh mor-
tar about one-eighth of an inch thick having been
laid over the surface before a new picture is attach-
ed. There seems no reason why in this case
to be
also there should not be sufficient lime dissolved to
bind the pigment to the wall. Where the actual sur-
face of the pigment is raised, obviously, above the
surface of the wall, it is quite possible that a little
limehas been added to the pigments in order to form

the bindingmedium, and Theophilus, in his descrip-
tion of fresco-painting, distinctly advises that this
no
FRESCO-PAINTING
should be done. It also agrees with the description
given by Chevreul of the frescoes at St Medard,
though it may be noted that in the Hermeneia the
use of chalk for mixing with the pigment is advised,
but directions are most clearly given for avoiding
the introduction of lime.It is significant of the Her-
culaneum frescoes that it is stated by Winckelmann
that on trying to wash some of the frescoes the
painting was at once removed, leaving the polished
underground of colour untouched. The polishing of
the ground, whether coloured or not, is also advised
in the Hermeneia receipt, and Didron states that
this was done before the painting was begun on the
plaster surface. It is evident that such a closing in
of the surface as we have already explained would
tend to keep in moisture longer and prevent the
rapid evaporation of the water. If, then, we are to
take this Byzantine tradition as of any value in con-
nection with the classical method, there can be very
little doubt that the process was carried on as de-
scribed by Vitruvius : that is to say, that the clos-
ing in and the polishing of the surface was a neces-
sary stage ; that if the whole surface was to be made
of a uniform colour, it was at this stage that colour
was laid on the wet plaster, and then polished that ;
upon this still damp and smooth surface the paint-

III
—

ing was carried out either with water or with the ad-
mixture of a little lime in the pigments; and that, just
as at Mount Athos,
the painting was carried out in a
leisurelymanner, there being no necessity for haste
with a thick mass of damp plaster lying behind.
The most important references to wall-painting
which we next have to consider are the directions
given in the MS. by Theophilus, supposed to be
written about the eleventh or twelfth century. We
shall have to consider this MS. presently at much
greater length, but in the meantime quote his in-
structions about painting on walls. In chap. xv. of

the book he directs as follows
first :
"But on a wall, fill in a drapery with ochre, a little

lime being added to it on account of the brilliancy,
and make its shadows either with red simply, or
with prasinus, or from pose, which is made from the
same ochre and green. Flesh-colour upon a wall is
made from ochre and cinnabar and lime, and its
pose and rose colour and light are made as before.
When figures or likeness of other things are por-
trayed on a dry wall, it is first sprinkled with water
until completely soaked. And in this humidity

it is
all colours which are superposed are painted, all which
are mixed with lime, and let them dry with the wall
itself, that they may adhere. A colour is laid as a
112
—
FRESCO-PAINTING
ground under lazur and green which is called vene-
da, mixed from black and lime, upon which, when
dry, lazur is laid in its place thinly, tempered with
yolkofeggabundantlytempered with water, and over
this again more thickly because of its beauty. Green
also is mixed with succus and black."
It is evident from this account that Theophilus
intends painting on the wall already dry, and ad-
vises, contrary to the Mount Athos practice, mixing
lime with the colours. Probably a wise direction for
an old dry wall. His reference to the use of egg for
green and blue isvery like the reference to egg
medium already quoted from Pliny.
The next author that we have to consider is
Cennino Cennini, an Italian painter, who wrote a
treatise on painting earlyin the 1 5th century. I shall
have to refer to this much more fully later on, but
in the meantime shall merely consider his advice
about painting in fresco (chap. Ixvii.) :
"Chapter LXVII
" The manner of painting on walls, that is, in fresco, and
of colouring or painting the flesh of the faces ofyoung
persons.
"In the name of the most holy Trinity, I will now

put you to colouring. I begin first with painting on
113 8
walls, and shall teach you step by step the manner
in which you ought to proceed. When you are go-
ing to paint on walls, which is the most delightful
and charming kind of work that there can be, pro-
cure, in the first place, lime and sand, both of them
well sifted. If the lime is very rich and fresh, it will
require two parts of sand, the third of lime. [Ac-
cording to later authorities the lime should have
been slaked for a year and the proportions of lime
and sand half and half.] Grind them well together
with water, and grind enough to last you fifteen or
twenty days. Let it rest for some days till it be
quite slaked for if any heat remains in it, it cracks
;
the plaster [tnionaco^. When you are going to plas-

ter, first sweep the wall, and wet it well —
you can-
not wet it too much and take the well-stirred lime,
;
a trowelful at a time, and spread it over once or

twice, till the intonaco becomes quite even on the
wall. Afterwards, when you are going to work, re-
member to make the surface of the mortar quite
rough \_6ene arricciaio] with a good tooth {rasposo].
Then, according to the subject or figures you have
to make, if the intonaco is dry, take some charcoal,
and design and compose, and take every measure-
ment carefully, first striking one line, taking the
centre of the space, and another for the horizon.
114
FRESCO-PAINTING
The perpendicular line by means of which the hori-
zontal one is obtained must be made with a plumb-
line. Then put one foot of the large compasses on

the top of this line. Turn the compasses half round
on the under side then put the leg of the compasses
;
on the point of intersection of these two lines and

make the other half circle above, and you will
always find a cross on your right hand by the lines
intersecting each other. Do the same on the left
hand, which will give you two crosses, and the line
between will be exactly level. Then draw with
charcoal, as I have before directed you, historical
pieces and figures, and arrange your spaces always
equal. Next take a small and pointed bristle brush,
with a little ochre without tempera, as liquid as
water, and continue to draw your figures, shading
them as you did with water-colours when I taught
you to draw. Afterwards take a bunch of feathers
and thoroughly brush away the charcoal.
" Then take a little sinopia without tempera, and
with a finely pointed brush mark out the nose, eyes,
hair, and all the extremities and outlines of the
figures,and let these figures be correctly set out in
every measurement which helps you to realise and
project the figures which you have to paint. Then
make your fringes [or ornaments, yV^^z] and acces-
series as you please. Take some of the above-men-
tioned lime ; stir it well with a trowel till it is like
the consistence of ointment. Then consider how
much you can paint in a day ; for whatever you
cover with the plaster you must finish the same day.
Sometimes in winter, in damp weather, working on
a stone wall, the plaster remains fresh till the next
day ; but if you can help
do not delay, because
it
when painting in fresco, that which is finished in

one day is the firmest and best, and is the most
beautiful work. Then spread over a coat of thin
intonaco, and not too much, first wetting the old in-
tonaco. Next take your large hog's-hair brush in
your hand, steep it in clean water, beat it and wet
your plaster with it, and then with a slip of wood as
wide as the palm of your hand rub round and round
and over the wetted intonaco soas to remove thelime
where you have put too much, and put more where
there is not enough, and thus make your plaster
quite smooth. Then wet the plaster with the same
brush if necessary, and with the point of the trowel,
which must be very clean and smooth, rub all over

the intonaco. Then place your plumb-line as usual,
and measure as you did on the underlying intonaco.
Let us suppose that you can paint in one day the
head only of a young male or female saint, such as
ii6
;
FRESCO-PAINTING
that of ourmost holy Lady. Having thus smoothed
the lime of your intonaco, procure a glazed vessel
the vessels should be all glazed and shaped like
drinking or beer glasses, with a good heavy bottom
that they may stand firmly and not spill the colours.
Take as much as a bean of dark ochre (for there are
two kinds of ochre, light and dark) and if you have
;
no dark ochre, take light ochre ground very fine ;
put it into your vase, and take a little black the size
of a lentil, mix it with the ochre take a little bianco
;
sangiovanni [lime-white] as much as the third of a

bean, and as much on the
light cinabrese as will lie
mix all these colours thoroughly
point of a penknife ;
together, and make them flowing and liquid with

water, without tempera. Make a sharp brush of fine
which may be introduced into the quill
soft bristles,
of a goose, and with this brush indicate with proper
expression the face you are going to paint (remem-
bering that the face is divided into three parts,
namely, the forehead, the nose, and the chin, with
the mouth), and with your brush nearly dry put on
this colour, little by little, which is
called in Florence
verdaccio, and Siena bazzô. When you have
in
sketched out the form of the face, if the proportions
or any other thing should displease you, with a large
brush steeped in water, by rubbing over the inton-
117
aco, you can efface and repair what you have done.
Thentakea Httle verde-terra, very liquid, in another
vase, and with a hog's-bristle brush, without a point,
squeezed with the fingers and thumb of the left
hand, begin to shade under the chin, and all those
—
parts of the face which should be darkest under
the lips, the corners of the mouth, under the nose,
and under the eyebrows, making the shade darker

near the nose, a little on the edge of the eye towards
the ear and in the same manner making out with
;
judgment [sentimento] the whole face and hands,

which are hereafter to be coloured with flesh-colour.
Next take a pointed minever brush, and strengthen
all the outlines of the nose, eyes, lips, and ears with
the verdaccio. There are some masters who now,

when the face is advanced thus far, take a little
bianco sangiovanni tempered with water, and seek
out the high lights and reliefs in proper order then;
give the rosy colours to the lips and cheeks then

;
wash over the whole with the flesh-colours very

liquid with water, and the colouring is done. It is
a good plan to retouch afterwards the high lights
with a little white. Some wash over the whole face
with the flesh-colour first they go picking out with
;
a little verdaccio and flesh-colour, retouching with

a little flesh-colour, and the work is finished. This
ii8
FRESCO-PAINTING
plan adopted by those only who know but little
is
of the art but do you follow the method of colour-

;
ing which I shall point out to you, because Giotto

the great master followed it. He had Taddeo Gaddi
the Florentine for his disciple for four-and-twenty
years, who was
his godson. Taddeo had Agnolo
his son Agnolo had me for twelve years, whereby
;
I gained this manner of colouring, which Agnolo
coloured with more charm and freshness than Tad-

deo his father.
"First take a small vase ;
put into it (a tiny morsel
is enough) a little bianco sangiovanni, and a little
light cinabrese, about as much of one as of the other.

Temper them very liquid with clean water then ;
with a soft bristle-brush, squeezed between the fin-

ger and thumb as before, go over the face when you
have finished putting it in with verde-terra and ;
with this red colour [rosse^â] touch in the lips and

the roses of the cheeks. My master was accustom-
ed to put the colour in the cheeks nearer the ear than
the nose, because it assisted in giving relief to the
face, and then he softened the rosiness well into
the surrounding colours. Then have three small
vases, and make three shades of flesh-colour, so that
the darkest may be darker by one-half than the ros-
setta, and the other two each lighter than the other
119
in regular gradations. Now take the little vase con-
taining the lightest tint, and with a very soft bristle-
brush without a point take some of this flesh-colour,

squeezing the brush with the fingers, and pick out
the reliefs of the face then take the vase contain-
;
ing the middle tint of the flesh-colour, and paint

the middle tint of the face, hands, and body, when
you paint a naked figure. Afterwards take the third
vase of flesh-colour, and go to the edges of the sha-
dows, but always taking care at the contours that the
verde-terra should not lose its value, and in this
manner keep on softening one flesh-tint into another,
until it is all covered as well as the nature of the work
will permit. But mind that if you would have your
work appear very brilliant, be careful to keep each
tint of colour in its place, except that with skill you
soften one delicately into the other. But seeing
others work and practising with your hand, will make
you perceive better than seeing it merely written.
When you have painted in these carnations, make
—
from them a tint much lighter indeed almost white,
and use this above the eyebrows, on the relief of the
nose, the tip of the chin, and the upper eyelids then ;
take a sharp-pointed pencil of minever, and with pure

white put in the whites of the eyes, and above the
tip of the nose and a little on the fulness of the mouth
1 20
FRESCO-PAINTING
\dellaproda della docca], and so touch tenderly such
lights. Then put a little black into another vase,
and with a brush mark out the outlines of the eyes
above the lights of the eyes, and make the nostrils
of the nose, and the holes within the ear. Then put
some dark sinopia into another vase, paint the under
outline of the eyes, the contour of the nose, the brows
and the mouth, and shade a little under the upper
lip, which must be a little darker than the under.
Before you finish these outlines thus, take the said

brush and with verdaccio retouch the hair then with
;
the said brush put on the lights of the hair with

white, and with a watery wash of light ochre, and a
soft bristle-brush cover over the hair as you did the
carnations. Markoutthe extremities of theshadows
with dark ochre, then with a small and very pointed
pencil of minever put on the lights of the hair with
bianco sangiovanni and light ochre. Retouch the
outlines and extremities of the hair with sinopia as
you did on the face, all over. And this is sufficient
for you for a youthful face."
It isevident from this account that we are here

dealing with a new technique in which, after sketch-
ing in the figures in the wet lime, fresh plaster is
laid over it bit by bit and finished the same day.
121
—
This method of fresco-painting, practised by the
great painters during the highest development of
Italian art, what is more strictly to be described
is
as buon fresco, and has obvious differences from the

classical and Byzantine tradition and no further de-
;
scription is requiredof the method of fresco-painting

as carried out in the present day.
be noted that in this account a white is
It will
mentioned called bianco sangiovanni. The pre-

paration of this white is thus described in chap.
Iviii. :
''
Of the nature of bianco sangiovanni.
"This is a natural white pigment, which how-

ever requires some preparation. It is prepared in
this manner. Take very white slaked lime, pulverise
it, and put it into a little tub for the space of eight
days, changing the water every day and mixing the

lime and water well together in order that it may
throw off unctuous properties. Then make it into
small cakes, put them upon the roof of the house in
the sun, and the older the cakes are the whiter they
become. If you wish to do it quickly and well, when
the cakes are dry grind them on your slab with
water and then make them into cakes and dry them
again. Do this twice, and you will see what a per-
122
I
FRESCO-PAINTING
feet white it will become. This white must be
ground with water, and thoroughly. It is good for
—
working in fresco that is, on walls without tempera ;
and without this colour you can do nothing —

mean you cannot paint flesh, or make tints of the
other colours which are necessary in painting on
walls, namely, in fresco ;and it never requires any
tempera."
This pigment is of peculiar interest after what we

have already seen of the Byzantine practice of us-
ing chalk, of the practice of Theophilus of using
lime, and of the chalk found in the pigments exam-
ined by Chevreul and obtained from St Mddard.
These cakes of lime exposed to the air would be
very largely reconverted into chalk by the carbon-
ic acid gas of the atmosphere, but this conversion
would take a very long time before it became com-
plete.
Thispigment, therefore, ofCenninoCennini would
be superior to the lime of Theophilus, as it would be
much whiter, and superior to the chalk of the monks
of Mount Athos, as it would still contain free lime.
the ideal white pigment for the fresco-
It is in fact
painter, and its use for fresco-painting should be

revived.
123
Those wishing to read exactly how each tint was
mixed must be referred to Cennino Cennini, but
for our purpose the next chapter of importance is
chap. Ixxii.
"Chapter LXXII
" The manner of colouring ivalls in secco, and in the
proper temperas
"Any of the colours used in painting in fresco may
also be used in secco ; but in fresco some colours
cannot be used, as orpiment, cinnabar, azzuro della
magna, minio, biacca, verderame, and lacca. Those
which may be used in fresco are giallorino, bianco
sangiovanni, black, ochre, cinabrese, sinopia, verde-
terra, and amatisto. Colours used in fresco must be
made lighter with bianco sangiovanni, and if you
wish the greens to preserve their green tint, make
them lighter with giallorino when you would have
;
them take the colour of sage, add bianco. Those

colours which cannot be used in fresco must be made
lighter by the addition of biacca, giallorino, and
sometimes orpiment, but orpiment is very rarely
used indeed I think it superfluous. To make a light
;
blue, take three of the same kind of small vase as I

directed you to use when speaking of the carnation
tints and cinabrese, and prepare them in the same
manner, except that where you then used bianco,
124
FRESCO-PAINTING
you should now use biacca, and temper them all.
Two sorts of tempera are good, but one is better
than the other. The first tempera consists of the
white and yolk of an egg, into which are put some
cuttings of young shoots of a fig tree beat them;
well together then add some of this tempera mod-

;
erately, neither too much nor too little, to each of the

vases, like mixing half wine with half water then ;
work with your colours, either white or green or red,

as I directed you in fresco-painting and you will
;
proceed with your draperies in the same manner as

you did in fresco, with a careful hand, waiting, how-
ever, till it (the plaster) is dry. If you use too much
tempera, suddenly the colour will crack and peel off
the wall. Be wise and skilful. Remember, before
you begin to work, if you wish to make a drapery of
lake, or of any other colour, take a clean sponge, and
having mixed the white and yolk of an egg with
about two porringers full of clean water, and mixed
them well together, with the sponge squeezed half
dry pass this tempera over the whole of the space on
which you have to paint in secco, and ornament in
gold, and then colour freely as you please. The sec-
ond kind of tempera is the yolk of the egg only ;
and you must know that this tempera is of universal

application on walls, on panels, and on iron, and you
I 25
cannot use too much of it, but be wise, and take a
middle course. Before we proceed further, I would
have you paint a drapery in seccoin the same manner
as you did in fresco, with cinabrese. Now I will have
you make one of ultramarine blue. Take the three
vases as usual ; into the first put two parts azure and
the third biacca ; into the third, two parts biacca and
one part azure: mix them and temper themas I have
directed you. Then take the empty vase, that is to

say, the second ;
put into it an equal quantity from
each of the others, and stir all well together with a
hog's-bristle brush, or, if you like, a minever brush
blunt and firm and with the first colour, that is to
;
say, the darkest, go round the outlines, marking out

the darkest folds. Then take the middle colour and
lay the first tint of these dark folds, and mark out
the light folds of the light side of the figure. Then
take the third colour, and lay the flat tint of the light
folds which come on the lighted side, and unite them
with each other, softening and laying in the flat tints
as show you how to do in fresco. Take the lightest

I
colour, add to it some biacca with tempera, and put

on the high lights of the folds of the light part. Then
take a little pure biacca, and retouch a few of the
highest lights as the nude shape of the figure re-
quires. Afterwards with pure ultramarine pick out
126
FRESCO-PAINTING
the darkest folds and outlines, in this way retouch-
ing \leccando, lit. licking] the drapery according to
its situation and colours, without soiling or mixing
them one with another except to soften them. And

in this manner use lake and all other colours with
which you work in secco."
The pigments mentioned here as safe for use on

wet plaster are giallorino, bianco sangiovanni, black,
ochre (yellow ochre), cinabrese( red ochre with lime),
sinopia (red ochre), verde-terra (terre verte), ama-
tisto (haematite) that is to say,
; with the exception of
merely black, white, and red, yellow, and
giallorino,
green ochres. Giallorino is the pigment afterwards
calledNaples yellow, but in the timeof CenninoCen-
nini and later seems to have been a native yellow
pigment found in Mount Vesuvius, which was after-
wards imitated by a fusion of compounds of lead
and antimony. The artificial pigment is not to be re-
commended for use in fresco.
The remainder of the chapter explains how the
be overcome
difficulties of this limited palette are to
by painting with &^g on the dry surface. It will be
noted that we have mentioned here as a medium the
mixture of egg and fig-tree juice described by Pliny
for medical purposes. In the later development of
127
—

fresco in Italy, however, such painting on the dry-
surface was not regarded as the highest develop-
ment of the art, and consequently wefindthatVasari,
in his introduction on technique to his Lives of the
Painters, gives the following directions about fresco
(Miss Louisa S. Maclehose's translation, p. 221) :
" TAe Fresco Process

" Of all the methodsthatpaintersemploy, painting
on the wall is the most masterly and beautiful, be-
cause it consists in doing in a single day that which,
in the other methods, may be
retouched day after
day, over the work already done. Fresco was much
used among the ancients, and the older masters
among the moderns have continued to employ it.
It is worked on the plaster while it is fresh, and must
not be left till the day's portion is finished. The

reason is that if there be any delay in painting, the
plaster forms a certain slight crust, whether from
heat or cold or currents of air or frost, whereby the
whole work is stained and grows mouldy. To pre-
vent this the wall that is to be painted must be kept
continually moist and the colours employed there-
;
on must all be of earths and not metallic, and the

white of calcined travertine. There is needed also
a hand that is dexterous, resolute, and rapid, but
most of all a sound and perfect judgment because ;
128
FRESCO-PAINTING
while the wall wet the colours show up in one
is
fashion, and afterwards when dry they are no longer

the same. Therefore, in these works done in fresco
it is necessary that the judgment of the painter
should play a more important part than his drawing,

and that he should have for his guide the very great-
est experience, it being supremely difficult to bring
fresco work to perfection. Many of our artists ex-
cel in other kinds ofwork, that is, in oil or in tempera,
but in this do not succeed, fresco being truly the
most manly, most certain, most resolute and durable
of all the other methods, and as time goes on it con-
tinually acquires infinitely more beauty and harmony
than do the others. Exposed to the air, fresco throws
off all impurities, water does not penetrate it, and it
resists anything that would injure it. But beware of
having to retouch it with colours that contain size
prepared from parchment, or the yolk of egg, or gum,
or tragacanth, as many painters do, for besides pre-
venting the wall from showing up the work in all clear-
ness, the colours become clouded by that retouching
and in a short time turn black. Therefore, let those
who desire to work on the wall work boldly in fresco,
and not retouch in the dry, because, besides being
a very poor thing in itself, it renders the life of the
pictures short, as has been said in another place."
129 9
It will be noted that fresco white is lime, and is
no longer the bianco sangiovanni of Cennino Cen-

nini. It is evident from these accounts that while
the method of fresco-painting had changed consider-
ably, the tradition of using lime, either pure or partly
calcinated, is an old one, and it is therefore highly
probable that was so used in the Pompeian frescoes
it
and was the origin of the chalk found in the St

Medard frescoes by Chevreul.
The use of pure chalk at Mount Athos is to be ex-
plained by the enormous excess of lime already pre-
sent in the walls.
It is evident from these quotations from Cennino
Cennini and Vasari that the method of fresco-paint-

ing during the great period in Italian art was quite
different from the classical or the Byzantine method.
The already dry plastered wall was wetted with
water and covered with a thin plaster at the most
not more than half a finger in thickness, composed
of fine sand and lime which had been slaked in
water for twelve months, in the proportion of one

of lime to two of sand.Fine river sand was pre-
ferred for this purpose. According to the practice
in Cennino Cennini's time, a complete sketch of
the final fresco was drawn upon the wall, and then
each day a small portion was plastered and the wet
130
—
FRESCO-PAINTING
painting finished and the unpainted-on plaster cut
away.
In the time of Michael Angelo the practice was
somewhat d ifferent. A
complete cartoon of the fi nal
picturewas prepared on paper spread over the wall.
This picture was then cut up into numbered squares
of convenient size for one day's painting. The
plaster wall was thoroughly wetted the night before,
and next morning the thin plaster laid on, the out-
lines of the design marked through the paper on the
wet surface with a point, and then the painting
finished. All authorities agree that if the painting
is not finished the same day, a kind of skin forms on
the plaster, and the colouring gets spotty. This is
probably due to the rapid drying of the thin layer.

The experiments I have made on properly closed-in
marble-dust plaster with a thick backing (about one
inch in my experiments) of still damp plaster behind
reveals no such peculiarities. The colour is brilliant
and fresh on the creamy white glistening surface,

whether laid on one day or the next.
-- — If—to return to the sixteenth-century practice
the painting was not complete in one day, the plaster
had then to be allowed to dry and the picture finished
in sdcco with size or egg. Such finishing was depre-
cated, butwas evidently frequently found necessary.
131
1 1 from Cennino Cennini's account that
is also evident
there was difficulty in his time at any rate, about a

suitable blue, as he mentions no blue in his list of
pigments to be laid on the wet lime. In the chapter
dealing with Cennino Cennini's pigments it will be
—
found that he was familiar with two blues ultra-
marine, from lapis lazuli, and blue carbonate of cop-
per ore. Of these, there is no reason to suppose that
ultramarine is not perfectly safe to use on wet plaster,
and it was therefore probably on account of its being
so expensive that it was used sparingly on the finish-
ed dry wall where necessary with egg. The copper
ore was not likely to stand the action of wet lime,
and all knowledge of the Egyptian fritseems to have
disappeared. In writers of the sixteenth century,
however, another blue is mentioned, smalto, which
is, as they say, "a glass," and which they recommend
for use on the wet lime. This blue came from Ger-
many, and the modern smalt from the same source
is a glass coloured blue with cobalt. We have seen
that the use of cobalt in glazes was known in Egyptian

times, but there no trace of a cobalt glass being
is
used asapigment. There seems to be some doubt as

to whether this smalto of the sixteenth-century paint-
ers was always or from the beginning coloured with
cobalt, or whether in some instances it was a re-
132
FRESCO-PAINTING
newal of the old Egyptian frit coloured with copper.
At any rate, whether coloured with copper or cobalt,
if properly made it should have been quite suitable
for putting on the wet lime, and as durable as the

old Egyptian frit has proved. The fading of the
blue in many old Italian frescoes is probably due to
unsuitable blues, like the native copper ore, or in-
digo, having been used. The modern artist, with
oxide of chromium greens (viridian) and cobalt blue,
is much better equipped for fresco-painting than
Cennino Cennini or Michael Angelo.

The only attempt to revive the classical method of
which wehave record is to be found in commentaries
on Vitruvius by Guevara, written in Spanish about
1 550, and in the directions for plastering by Alberti,
1452. Guevara was, a great antiquarian and seems

to have travelled widely, and his situation at the
court of Charles the Fifth and Philip the Second
gave him plenty of opportunities for study and for
collecting information. He gives a very complete
account of the directions of Vitruvius, and dwells
on the importance of thick coats and careful polish-
ing, and suggests that when marble cannot be ob-
tained white pebbles can be ground up, and he
criticises the methods of fresco-painting of his time
and gives directions for keeping the wall damp.
133
The directions given by Alberti are also of great
interest.
He advises three plasterings, thefirst rough pla-
ster containing pit sand and pounded brick the

size of acorns, and attached to the wall by driving
bits of flint between the stones of the wall to make
a rough grip to the surface then a second rough
;
coat, made with river sand and then the final coat,
;
on which the painting is done, which need not be

more than half a finger's-breadth in thickness. A
white stone should be used instead of sand. This
white stone is, he says, found in quarries, consist-
ing of marbly veins which resemble alabaster but
are neither marble nor gesso, and which sparkle
when pounded. He directs the lime to be worked
up again and again for at least three months with
plenty of water, and well pounded and mixed with
the sand. When in proper condition it should
not stick to the trowel. The third coat is to be
laidon the still wet sand coat, and well smoothed
and rubbed till it shines like glass. He also says
that the final surface can be treated with wax and
mastic driven in by heat or polished with a litde
soap and then discusses the casting of small fig-
;
ures and objects in There

relief. is then only a
brief reference to painting on this surface, which
134
—
FRESCO-PAINTING
he says may be done in fresco, secco, or with Un-
seed oil.
Leon Batista Alberti wrote De re Mdificatoria

about 1452, and deals principally with architec-
ture. It is evident that he is considering the methods
of preparing fine plastered surfaces rather than the
technique of wall-painting and while his methods,
;
whichare based on Vitruvius,wereprobably followed

for such purposes, they do not seem to have influ-
enced the recognised buon fresco technique.
The polishing with soap is interesting, as it cor-
responds to the modern Italian stucco lustro process
of making imitation marble in which Herr Berger
believes he has found the ancient method of wall-
painting. The bianco sangiovanni of Cennino Cen-
nini seems have been replaced by well-slaked
to
calcined travertine. This would probably not be
quite so pure and opaque a white, but would equally
well serve to cement the pigments to the wall. The
extraordinary facility obtained in this kind of paint-
ing can be measured by the following quotation
from Vasari :
" Amico Aspertino painted with both hands at
once, holding in one hand a brush filled with light

colour and in the other one filled with dark but ;
what was more remarkable and laughable was that

13s
he bound round his waist a leather strap to which
hung his gallipots of tempered colours; and he look-
ed like the devil of St Maccario with all his phials
hanging round him, and when painting with his
spectacles on his nose, it was enough to make the
very stones laugh, especially when he began to talk,
for he talked enough for twenty persons, and he
loved to say the strangest things in the world."
The modern practice of fresco, which is closely
copied from the sixteenth-century methods, is fully
described by James Ward in his Fresco-Painting,
and practised with great perfection by Sir Frederick
Leighton in his frescoat South Kensington Museum.
The directions given by Mr Ward are scientifically
sound except in two respects. For the final coat he
advises three-quarters of sand to one-quarteroflime.
This seems to me too high a proportion of sand to
make a durable surface. Both Pacheco (1641) and
Palomino ( 1 7 1 5) recommend half and half Cennino
Cennini ^\\ki fresh lime recommends one-third lime
to two-thirds sand. In his list of pigments he ex-
cludes yellow ochre for quite an inadequate reason,
more especially as he includes raw sienna. Yellow
ochre is absolutely permanent and without injurious
effects of any kind. He furthermore replaces it by
cadmium yellow. There are two objections to cad-
136
FRESCO-PAINTING
mium yellow. One is that unless prepared by most
particular methods it is fugitive. Most of the pale
cadmiums in the market are fugitive, and only orange
cadmium and certain special preparations are re-
liable. In the second place, cadmium yellow strikes
too high a colour key, if the rest of the work is to
be done in earth colours, and spoils the dignity and
harmony of the work.
He should also include among his greens terre
verte. This was the favourite green of the old
masters in fresco-painting and though most of the
;
terre verte sold is an imitation, it is still possible to

obtain the genuine green, which has just the quali-
ties wanted in fresco. On the whole, vermilion is also
better excluded, leaving on the ideal palette lime
white, the blacks, the yellow ochres and raw siennas,
light or Venetian red, burnt sienna and Indian red,
the opaque and hydrated oxides of chromium (virid-
ian), cobalt greens and blues, and the umbers if de-
sired. The umbers are not necessary, and are never
mentioned among fifteenth- and sixteenth-century
pigments. If necessary a far larger rangeof tint from
red to violet can be got in oxides of iron (Venetian
and Indian red) than are supplied by the artist's
colourman. A fresco-painter should therefore askto
be supplied with the whole range.
137
With these additions and corrections Mr Ward's
book is a thoroughly reliable manual for those who
wish to practise the buon fresco of the sixteenth cen-
tury, and containsone valuable suggestion unknown
to the older painters, namely, the introduction of as-
bestos into the plaster to bind it together. The
beautifuland probably more permanent classical
methods require careful workingout in practice from
the hints already supplied.
The following quotations from Mrs Merrifield's
translation of the actual text of Alberti are of value
for those engaged in permanent plasterings.
He observes (lib. vi. ch. ix.) " that in all plaster-
ings three kinds, at least, of intonachi are required.

The first is called rinzaffato, and its use is to ad-
here very closely to the wall, and to hold firmly the
other two intonachi which are laid upon it. The use
of the last intonaco is to receive the polish, and the
colours and lineaments, which make the work pleas-
ing. Theuse of the middle intonaco, which is now
called arricciato, is to obviate any defects both in the
first and in the last intonaco. The defects are as
follows :
— If the two last coats, namely, the arric-
ciato and the intonaco, are caustic, and, so to speak,
astringent, as the rinzaffato ought to be, they will,
on account of their crudity, show many cracks as

138
FRESCO-PAINTING
they dry. And if the rinzaffato is mild, as the in-
tonaco should be, it will not adhere sufficiently to the
wall, but will fall off in pieces. The more coats of
it are given, the better will the surface receive the
polish and be enabled to withstand the effects of the
weather. have seen some of the more ancient
I
specimens which had nine coats, one upon the other.

It isnecessary for the first of these to be rough, con-
taining pit sand and pounded brick, the pieces of
which should not be too small, but as big as acorns,
and sometimes the
or in pieces the size of the finger,
size of apalm. For the arricciato, river sand is best,
being less liable to crack this arricciato should also
;
be rough, because the coats which are to be laid on

afterwards will not adhere to smooth surfaces. The
last coat must be very white, like marble in fact, ;
very white pounded stone should be used instead of

sand, and it will be sufficient for this coat to be half
a finger's-breadth in thickness, because, if it is made
too thick, it dries with difficulty. Ihave seen some
persons, who, in order to save expense, do not make
this coat thicker than the sole of a shoe. The ar-
ricciato must be mixed according as it is nearer to
the first, or to the second coat. In the masses of
stone, in stone-quarries, there are found certain
veins, very much resembling transparent alabaster,
139
which are neither marble nor ^êsso, but of a certain
middle nature, between the one and the other, and
which are very apt to crumble. When these are
pounded, and used instead of sand, they sparkle like
shining marble. In many places are seen sharp
points projecting from the wall, in order to hold the
intonachi and time has shown us that these are
;
better made
of bronze than of iron. I approve very
much of those who, instead of nails, insert between
the stones certain pieces of stone, or flints, so as to
project ; but, for this purpose, a wooden mallet must
be used, and the fresher and rougher the wall is, the
better it will hold the rinzaffato, the arricciato, and
the intonaco ; therefore, if, while building, and while
the work being done, you apply the rinzaffato, al-
is
though you will cause the arricciato and the

thinly,
intonaco to adhere to it very strongly so as never —
to separate. You may carry on any of these pro-
cesses during the prevalence of the south wind ; but
if you apply the intonacoWsvX^ the north wind blows,
or during severe cold, or great heat, the intonaco will
immediately become rough or uneven.
" Slake the lime with clear water in a covered
trough, and with so much water that there may be
a great excess above the lime then stir it well with
;
the spade, kneading and working it thoroughly;

140
;
FRESCO-PAINTING
and be thoroughly slaked and kneaded, which
let it
may be known by the spade not meeting with any

lumps or clods. The lime is not considered to be
mature in less than three months. That which is
good must be very soft and viscid because, if the
;
trowel put into it comes out dry, it proves that it has

not had enough water to slake it completely. When
you mix it with the sand, or with any powdered ma-
terials, work it again and again with great labour
and continue to work it until it almost froths. The

ancients were accustomed to pound in a mortar the
materials they required for the intonachi and they
;
tempered the mixture so that it might not adhere to

the trowel when they were laying it on the wall.
Upon the coat which has just been put on, and while
it is still wet and soft, another coat must be laid, and
care must be taken that all these coatings may dry

together, and at the same instant. They must be
smoothed and made even with smoothing boards,
floats, and other similar things while they are yet
soft. If the last coat of pure white be well rubbed it
will shinelike a looking-glass; and if, when the same
is nearly dry, you anoint it with wax and mastic,
liquefied with a very little oil, and then heat the wall,
so anointed, with a chafing-dish of lighted charcoal,
or with an iron, so that it may soak up the ointment,
141
it will surpass marble in whiteness. I have found by
experience that such intonachi never cracked, if, in
making them, the moment the little cracks begin to
appear they are rubbed down with bundles of twigs
of the wild mallow, or of wild broom. But if, on any
occasion, you have to apply an intonaco in the dog-
days, or in very hot places, pound and cut up, very
finely, some old rope, and mix it with the intonaco.
Besides this, it will be very delicately polished if you
throw on it a little white soap, dissolved in tepid
water. If it is too greasy, it will become pale.
" Small figures of stucco may be executed very
expeditiously by casting from hollow moulds ; and
the hollow moulds may be obtained from rilievos,
by pouring liquid gesso over them. When they are

dry, if they are anointed with the composition which
I have mentioned, they will have a surface like
marble."
—
CHAPTER IX
THE MS. OF THE MONK THEOPHILUS
After the works of Pliny there is very little infor-

mation to be found as to the painting processes until
we come to a manuscript which has been already
quoted from and is in the library of the Cathedral of
Lucca, known as the Lucca Manuscript, and which
has been reproduced somewhat incorrectly by Mura-
tori in his work on Italian Antiquities. The only
other two references of earlier date have also been
already mentioned — viz. the description in the The-
bes papyrus of a painting medium, and the reference
to the use of drying oil for varnish by the physician
Aetius. I do not propose to dwell here upon the
information contained in the Lucca Manuscript be-
yond repeating one sentence which is of consider-
able importance as indicating what methods were
in use at that time :
" Ita memoramus omnium operationes quae in

143
parietibus simplice in ligno cere commixtis coloribus
in pellibus ictiocoUoncommixtum."
" Thus we mention operations with all of them,
on walls unmixed, on wood the colours being mixed
with wax, on skins fish-glue being mixed."
It is evident from this quotation that painting
upon walls in buon fresco and painting upon wood

with wax was still customary, while fish-glue was
the medium used for painting upon parchment. The
Lucca Manuscript is also of interest because it con-
tains the first receipt for the preparation of artificial
vermilion, and one or two receipts for
also contains
varnishes. The greater part of the Lucca Manu-
script is repeated in the Mappcs Clavicula, a manu-
script of the twelfth century, and another very im-
portant and interestingmanuscript of about thisdate
is the Sckedula Diversarum Ariium of Theophilus.
It has been edited by Hendrie, and has since also
been published at Vienna in Eitelberger von Edel-

berg's Quellenschriftenfur Kunstgeschichte. Later
than these we have the manuscripts which were trans-
lated —
by Mrs Merrifield viz., Eraclius, Alcherius,
and the book of Peter, St Audemar, all included in
the manuscripts of Le Begue, the Sloane MS., the
anonymous Bernensis, and the Strassburg MS. We
have not space to consider all these manuscripts in
144
THE MS. OF THEOPHILUS
detail, with the exception of Theophilus but it will
;
be of some interest to pick out from them certain

receipts which throw light upon the methods em-
ployed during the Middle Ages, and later for paint-
ing and illuminating. The first of these receipts of
special interest is the one for the preparation of real
ultramarine, which we find given in the manuscript
of Le Begue but it is not mentioned in the MS. by
;
Theophilus to which reference has already been

made. As already stated, there is no evidence that
the preparation of ultramarine from lapis lazuli was
understood in classical times. The amount of actual
colouring matter to be found in lapis lazuli is very
small, and if the stone is pounded down it merely
appears to be of a light grey. It is possible by float-
ing and fine grinding repeatedly carried out to ulti-
mately separate the ultramarine or real colouring
matter from the rest of the stone, but the process is
tedious and difficult. Ultramarine when finally ex-
tracted is a remarkable chemical compound, contain-
ing soda, silica, alumina, and sulphur. It has long
been a puzzle to the chemists to understand exactly
its constitution, and many experiments have been
made with the aim of clearing up what compounds

it contains. It can, however, be prepared artificially,
and the artificial manufacture of ultramarine by
145 10
roasting together these substances is now carried on
on a large scale in many places, and the artificial
ultramarine so produced used for ordinary paint-

is
ing purposes and as an artist's pigment. It is not,

however, quite so subtile in colour as the real ultra-
marine, being somewhat crude and violet in tint,
while the real ultramarine is a most delicate and
perfect blue. It is seldom to be seen in modern pic-
tures, as it is a very expensive pigment and can be
replaced by other blues. But for purely decorative
treatment of a surface, such as illuminated manu-
script, itisquestionable whether any blue could really
replace it, although native copper blue, which has
already been described, comes very near it in beauty.
The receipt for preparing it, given by Le Begue, is
similar to receipts to be found in other manuscripts,
and must have been the recognised process for its
preparation. It is almost exactly the same as the
receipt shortly to be quoted from Cennino Cennini,
so need not be quoted here.
While dealing with the question of pigments, we
have to consider very fully what lakes were used
during these times, and it is only here that we find
very much to add to the description of pigments
which has already been given in the classical part
of the book. The materials for preparing lakes were
146
very much the same as before, with the addition of
dye-woods such as sandal- or Brazil-wood. Yellow
lakes were prepared from citron bark, from weld,
and from Persian berries, but these materials were
probably made use of for the same purpose in classi-
cal times. It is rather in the actual detailed receipts
which we now obtain for the first time that fresh light
is thrown upon the processes which were made use
of, and also in the replacing of opaque by transpar-
ent lakes. Before going further and quoting these

receipts, there are one or two points of interest to
be noted about them. In the first place, it should
be noted that madder is seldom referred to, the re-
ceipts for the preparation of red lakes being nearly
all for the preparation of lakes from kermes or
from dye-woods, or from red cloth from which the
dye was extracted. It is, of course, possible that
where the red cloth was used the dye may have been
madder. After the discovery of an Egyptian madder
lake and the distinct references to it by Vitruvius,
it is curious to find the absence of such reference in
these treatises of the twelfth, thirteenth, and four-

teenth centuries. The next point to be noted is that
these lakes without exception are fugitive when ex-
posed to light, and would be rejected from the modern
artist's paint-box upon that account. We are there-
147
fore faced with the puzzling problem of how such
lakes, when used by the early painters, could have
beenso permanent as they haveproved to be. There
are many pigments to be seen not only upon illumi-
nated manuscripts which have, of course, not been
exposed to the light, but also upon pictures of the
fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, which could only
have been produced by means of lake, and which
have stood remarkably the test of time. Among
other things there is a pink seen in Fra Angelico's
pictures which I have never been able to detect any-
where else, and it is very difficult to tell from what
pigment it is produced. I cannot help suspecting
that the permanency of these lakes in many cases
shows that madder lakes were actually in use, but
possibly prepared in many cases after the Egyptian
receipt, and that any rate, is one explanation
this, at
ofthe durability of these pigments where theyappear.

The question of the preparation of lakes will, how-
ever, require a chapter to itself, and in the meantime
we shall proceed to the more detailed consideration
of the most interesting ofthe existing MSS., before
that ofCennino Cennini, namely, the Diversarum
ArtiuTn Schedula of Theophilus.
While it is true so little information has come
down to us of painting methods between the first
148
and the eleventh and twelfth centuries, yet it must
not be supposed that these centuries had been ster-
ile of invention, and that no new improvements and
discoveries had been made.

While the Roman Empire was breaking up in the
West, it continued to exist in the East until the
Mohammedan conquest, and this period saw the rise
and development of Byzantine art. Nor were the
sister arts and sciences necessarily stagnant. The
discoveries of the alchemists of Alexandria became
the inheritance of their Mohammedan conquerors,
and under the Arabs learning and civilisation rapidly
progressed, and schools were established at Bagh-
dad, Alexandria, Cairo and Cordova. Charlemagne
had not neglected the decoration of the cathedrals,
and in the quiet monasteries of Ireland, far re-
moved from the turmoils of Europe, the monks were
bringing to perfection the art of illuminating manu-
scripts. Moreover, the learned monastic orders were
everywhere growing stronger from year to year,
and bringing together all the knowledge of the past
under the shadow of the Church, and the eleventh
century had seen the rise of the universities, true
children of the classical schools of philosophy.
The first manuscript, therefore, which we shall
have to consider comes to us from the monasteries,
149
where every craft was practised by the monks for
the glory of God. For, besides the pursuit of agri-
culture and other useful crafts, the monks devoted
themselves more especially to the artistic crafts, in
order that the house of God might be richly em-
bellished and the people taught the truths of Chris-
tianity and the lives of the saints through pictorial
representations. Dedicated to a life of poverty and
possessing no individual property, and looking to
a future life for their reward, they devoted every
thought and faculty to the one pious purpose, and
out of this grew the exquisite art of illumination, the
perfection of Gothic architecture, the craft of paint-
ing on panel and on wall, and the glories of stained
glass. Even when the art of painting ceased to be
carried on by the monks and became the object of
the professional artist, the skill in preparing certain
pigments still remained in the monastery, and the
artist himself engaged in sacred pictures at first pre-
served towards his craft the religious feeling by
which the monks had been inspired.
There is no blasphemy, therefore, no thought of
irreverence, in directing the measurement of time
while a pot of colour is boiling by the repetition of
paternosters. The decoration of the church was it-
self an act of prayer, and all that appertained to it,
ISO
such as the preparation of a pigment, was therefore
an act of devotion. When, therefore, we come to
examine the MS. of the monk Theophilus, an un-
known inhabitant of some German monastery, we
find this spirit pervades the whole, and is beauti-
fully expressed in the prefaces by which each book
dealing with some artistic craft is introduced. Of
these the preface to the third book, dealing with
the working of metals, is the most beautiful, and
is worthy of quotation as one of the most perfect
revelations of the thought and feeling of a monk en-
gaged in artistic crafts in a medieval monastery.
Nothing is known of Theophilus, but it is pro-
bable from internal evidence that he travelled far
and wide, even as far as Constantinople, to collect
his receipts, and his elaborate defence of the duty of
decorating the house of God is perhaps an answer
to the iconoclasts, and the persecution of the artists
in the eighth and ninth centuries, begun under Leo
the I saurian. His work is divided into three books,
the of whichdeals with painting, the second with
first
glass manufacture, and the third with work in the

metals, and the title of the MS. is " Diversarum Ar-
tium Sckedula, by Theophilus, called also Rugerus."
Before considering briefly the book dealing with
painting, I shall quote in full the whole of the
iSi
:

beautiful preface to the third book as a revelation of
the attitude towards art and religion of a monk of
the Middle Ages. For the following translation of
it I am
myself responsibile, as the rendering given
by Hendrie does not quite satisfy me. Since mak-
ing my version I have read with pleasure the trans-
lation by Mr Coulton in his Medieval Garner.
" Preface to the Third Book of Diversarum Artium

'
Schedula,' by Theophilus
"David, of special excellence among the prophets,

whom God foreknew and predestined before time
was, and whom, because of his simple and humble
mind, he chose as one after his own heart, and made
a prince over his own people, and strengthened him
with his holy spirit that he might rule with the no-
bility and prudence worthy of so great a name with ;
all his mind intent on love of his Maker, spoke these
among many other words, Domine, dilexi decorem

'
domus tuse.' And it is lawful for a man of such

authority and such breadth of understanding to
speak of the habitation of the celestial host in which
God rules with inestimable brightness over the
hymns of the celestial choirs as a house towards ;
which indeed his very bowels yearned, saying

'
Unam petii a Domino, hanc requiram, ut inhabi-
152
;

tern in domo Domini omnibus diebus vitse meae'
or as the sanctuary of a faithful breast and purest
heart in which verily God dwelt a refuge for which
;
the same glowing desire again breathes forth in

prayer, 'Spiritum rectum innova in visceribus meis,
Domine. ' N evertheless, it is certain that he longed to
make beautiful the earthly House of God, the place
of prayer. For he made over to Solomon his son
almost all the treasures in gold and in silver, in brass
and the House, of which he himself had
in iron, of
desired with the most ardent passion to be the
author, a privilege denied to him because of the fre-
quent spilling of human though hostile blood. For
he had read in Exodus that God had given to Moses
the command to build the tabernacle, and had chos-
en by name the masters of the work, and had made
them full of the spirit of wisdom, understanding, and
knowledge for the designing and making of things
in gold and silver, in brass and precious stones
and wood, and in every kind of craftsmanship ;
and through devout meditation he knew that God

was graciously pleased with such furnishings, which
he designed to be put together under the guidance
and influence of his Holy Spirit and he believed
;
that nothing of this kind could possibly be brought

to pass without the divine impulse.
153
"Therefore, beloved Son, do not hesitate, but
with abundant faith believe that the Spirit of God
has filled thy heart, since thou hast furnished the
House in so comely a manner and with so many di-
verse works of art and lest perchance thou shouldst
;
be distrustful, I will clearly and reasonably prove

that whatsoever of craftsmanship thou art able to
learn, to comprehend, or to invent is gifted to thee
by the favour of the sevenfold spirit.
"Through the spirit of wisdom thou knowest that
all created things proceed from God, and without
him nothing is; through the spirit of understanding

thou art become capable of invention, in whatsoever
order, variety, or measure thou wouldst exercise
it on various works of art through the spirit of
;
counsel thou hidest not the talent gifted to thee

by God, but with all humility labourest openly, and
teachest loyally, showing everything to those de-
sirous of learning ; through the spirit of ghostly
strength thou dost shake off all slothful lethargy and
completest with abundant force whatever thou hast
diligently begun without delay ; through the spirit
of knowledge with which thou hast been endowed

thou controllest thy invention from an abundant
heart, and that which flows out in perfect form from
thy well-stored mind thou boldly usest for the good
154
;

of all ; through the spirit of true godliness thou dost
direct the time, the manner, and the quantity of thy
work and ; lest the vice of avarice and greed should
creep in, thou dost fix the price of thy labours by a
pious consideration of the virtues of moderation
through the spirit of the holy fear thou dost reflect
that thou art able to do nothing from thyself, and
that thou canst neither possess nor will anything
except through the gift of God but, believing, ;
trusting, giving thanks, thou ascribest to divine

compassion what thou knowest, what thou art, and
what thou art able to be.
"Havingdrawn near, O dearest Son, to the House
of God with a confidence inspired by these cove-
nants with the virtues, thou hast adorned with so
much grace both walls and ceilings with different
works and with different colours, setting forth the
semblance of the paradise of God blooming with
all kinds of flowers, green with grass and leaves,
cherishing the souls of the saints with crowns of

varied worth. Thou hast in a measure disclosed to
the beholders everything created praising God its
maker, and hast caused them to proclaim him won-

derful in all his works. Nor can the eye of man
decide upon which work first to fix his glance if he ;
beholds the ceilings, they bloom like tapestries; if he

155
regards the walls, they have the splendour of para-
dise ;he looks up to the wealth of light from the
if
windows, he admires the marvellous beauty of the

glass and the variety of that glorious work. And if
perchance a faithful soul beholds an image of our
Lord's Passion revealed in drawing, he is pierced
with compassion if he beholds what torments the
;
saints have endured in their own bodies and what

rewards reaped in the life of eternity, he lays hold on
the lesson to observe a better life if he beholds the
;
joy of heaven and the torments of the flames of hell,

he is inspired with hope through his own good deeds
and is shaken with terror by reflecting on his sins.
" Act therefore now, virtuous man, happy before
God and men in this life, happier in the future life,

through whose labour and zeal so many sacrifices are
offered up before God henceforth be kindled by a
;
more splendid genius, and begin with the full exer-

tion of thy mind those things which are still want-
ing among the utensils of the House of the Lord.
These are the chalices, candelabra, incense-burners,
vials, pitchers, caskets of sacred relics, crosses, mis-
and other things which are required as needful

sals,
and expedient for the ceremonies of the Church.

"If thou wouldst fashion these, thou must begin
in the following order."
156
The book on painting which has already been re-
ferred to, consists of forty chapters, and deals largely
with the mixing and laying on of tints for producing
various effects. The first fourteen chapters are thus
occupied, the fifteenth chapter containing the direc-
tions for painting on walls which have been already
quoted. In this chapter on wall-painting yolk of
egg is also mentioned as a medium.
In the seventeenth chapter instructions are given
for preparing a glue by taking cheese, washing it,
grinding it fine, and making into a paste with quick-
lime. This glue was used for fixing together wooden
objects, such as pieces of panel. Such panels, after
smoothing, are directed to be covered with the un-
tanned skin of a horse or ass, cemented on with the
cheese-glue. After this skin is dry, ordinary glue is
prepared by boiling down the cuttings of skin and
stag-horn. This glue is then mixed with chalk or
slaked gypsum and painted on the skin in a series
of thin coats. When dry it is smoothed and polished
with the herb called shave-grass.
The directions for preparing a panel for painting
on are very interesting and thoroughly sound. We
shall consider later the modifications on thispractice
to be found later, during the best time of Italian
tempera painting.
IS7
"Chapter XVII
" Of the tablets of altars and doors and of the glue
of cheese
'
' The tabletsof altars, or of doors, are first carefully
fitted together with the joining instrument which
carpenters or vat-makers use ; they are then joined
with the glue of cheese, which is made in this man-
ner: — Soft cheese is cut very small, and is washed
with warm water in a small mortar with a pestle un-
til, being frequently poured in, the water comes
away pure. Then this cheese, compressed by the

hand, is put into cold water until it hardens. After
this it is very finely ground, with another piece of
wood, upon a smooth wooden table, and in this state

it is again placed in the mortar, and is carefully
ground with a pestle, water mixed with quicklime

being added until it is made as thick as lees. The
tablets of altars fastened together with this glue,
after they are dry, so adhere together that neither
heat nor humidity are able to disjoin them. They
should afterwards be smoothed with a planing iron,
which, curved and sharp inside, has two handles,
so that it may be drawn by both hands (with which
doors and shields are shaved), until they are made
perfectly smooth. They are then covered with the
158
untanned skin of a horse, or ass, which is soaked in
water as soon as the hairs have been scraped off,
;
some water is squeezed from it, and, thus moist, it

is superposed with the curd glue.
"Chapter XVIII
" Of glue of skins and stag-horns
"The above being carefully dried, take cuttings of
the same skins, dried in like manner, and carefully
cut them up into small pieces, and taking the stag-
horns, broken very small with a smith's hammer
upon an anvil, place them together In a new pot,
until it is half full, and fill it up with water, and so
apply a third part of this water be evapor-
fire until
ated, so, however, that it may not boil. And you will
thus try it moisten your fingers with this water,
:
and if, when they have become cool, they adhere

together, the glue is good but if not, cook it until
;
they do adhere together. Then pour this glue into

a clean vessel and again fill the pot with water, and
simmer it as before ; and do this four times.
"Chapter XIX
" Of the white ground of gypsum
"After this take gypsum, burnt like lime, or chalk

with which skins are whitened, and carefully grind
IS9
— — " ;

itwith water upon a stone, then place it in a baked
earthen vessel, and, pouring in some glue made
from skins, place it over the coals, that the glue may
liquefy, and in this manner paint over the skin very
thinly with a pencil, and when it is dry, paint some-
what thicker, and, if needed, paint a third time.
When it is quite dry, take the herb called shave-
grass which grows like a bulrush, and ragged is
when you have gathered it in summer you will dry

it in the sun, and will rub this whitening with it un-
til it is made everywhere smooth and polished.^
The following are, however, the most interesting

chapters, as they are the earliest account we possess
of oil-painting :
"Chapter XX
"
Of reddening doors, and of linseed oil
"If, however, you wish to redden panels, take lin-
seed oil, which you make in this manner Take lin- :
—
seed and dry it in a pan over the fire, without water.
Then put it mortar and bruise it with the
into a
pestle until becomes a very fine powder placing
it ;
it again in the pan, and pouring a little water upon

' " But if a skin is wanted for covering tablets, they are covered
with canvas not too new, with the same glue and in the same man-
ner." Cod. Guelph. et Harlei. in fine, cap. 21.
160
it, make it thus very hot. Afterwards fold it in a new
cloth and place it in the press, in which olive, or
walnut, or poppy oil is accustomed to be expressed,
that this also may be expressed in the same man-
ner. With this oil grind minium, or cinnabar, upon
the stone, without water, and paint over the doors
or tablets, which you wish to redden, with a pencil,
and you will dry them in the sun. Then paint them
again, and again dry them. At last cover them over
with that gluten which is called varnish, and which
is made in this manner."
This method of expressing the linseed oil agrees

with modern practice, but no account is given of how
to refine it or how to convert it into a drying oil.
Such an unrefined oil would dry rather slowly, and
the painting would therefore be the better of ex-
posure to the sun.
In the two following chapters two receipts are
given for making varnishes. These receipts will
have to be considered more fully elsewhere.
"Chapter XXI
" Of the varnish gluten
" Put linseed oil into a small new pot, and add,
veryfinely powdered, the gum which is called fornis,
i6i II
which has the appearance of the most lucid Thus,
but, when broken, it yields a brighter lustre. When
you have placed which over the fire, cook carefully,
so that it may not boil up, until a third part is con-
sumed, and guard against the flame, because it is
very dangerous and is extinguished with difficulty
if it be raised. Every painting, covered over with
this gluten, is made both beautiful and for ever dur-
able.
"Chapter XXII
" Of the same
"Place together four stones which may be able to
sustain the fire without flying to pieces, and place a
common pot upon them, and put into it the above-
mentioned gum fornis, which in Romaic is called
glassa, and upon the mouth of this pot place a
smaller pot, which has a small hole in the bottom,
and lute a paste round it, so that no vapour may
come out between these pots. Then place fire care-
fully underneath, until this gum liquefy. You will
also have a thin iron rod fitted to a handle, with

which you will stir this gum, and with which you
can feel when it is quite liquid. Have also a third
pot nigh, placed upon the coals, in which is hot lin-
seed oil, and when the gum is quite liquid, so that
the iron being extracted a kind of thread is drawn
162
out with it, pour the hot oil into it and stir it with the
iron,and thus cook them together that they boil not

violently, and at times draw out the iron and daub a
littleoverapieceofwoodorstone,totryitssubstance.
And take care in this, that in weight there are two
parts of oil and the third part of gum. And when you
have carefully cooked it to your wish, removing it
from the fire and uncovering it, allow it to cool."

In chapter xxiv. directions are given for ham-
mering out gold leaf, and in chapter xxv. directions
for laying it on, which correspond closely with those
given by Pliny.
"Chapter XXV
" Of laying on the gold
" In laying on gold take the clear part of the white
of &%%, which is beat up without water, and then
with a pencil paint lightly over the place in which

the gold is to be placed, and, the handle of the same
pencil being wetted in your mouth, touch one cor-
ner of the cut leaf, and so elevating it, lay it on with
the greatest quickness, and spread it even with a
brush. And at that moment you must beware of a
current of air and refrain from breathing, because if
you blow you lose the leaf and with difficulty re-
cover it. When this is laid on and dried, superpose
163
another upon it, if you wish, same manner,
in the
and a third likewise, if it is necessary, that you may
be able to polish it more brightly with a tooth or a
stone. You can also, if you wish, lay this leaf upon
a wall, and on a ceiling, in the same manner. But
if you have not gold, take a leaf of tin, which you
make in this manner."
In chapter xxvi. directions are given for the laying

on of tin leaf and giving it a tint like gold by means
of a saffron-tinted varnish. The leaf is finally to be
cemented on the surface with skin glue and painted
on with oil-paints, "grinding them carefully with lin-
seed oil without water; and make tints for faces and
draperies as you before made with water, and you will
vary beasts, birds, or leaves in their colours as it may
please you." It is evident from this that elaborate
oil-paintingwas thoroughly understood. In the next
chapter, however, we are again warned that only
things which can be dried in the sun can be painted
in oil.
"Chapter XXVII
"
Of colours ground with oil and gum
"All sorts of colours can be ground and laid upon
woodwork, with the same kind of oil, in those things
only which can be dried in the sun because each ;
164
—

time that you have laid on one colour, you cannot
superpose another upon it until the first has dried,
which, for figures, is excessively long and tedious.
If,however, you wish to hasten your work, take gum

which exudes from the cherry or plum tree, and, cut-
ting it up very small, place it in an earthenware pot,
and pour water upon it abundantly and place it in
the sun, or in winter upon the coals, until the gum
has liquefied and mix it together with a smooth
;
piece of wood. Then strain it through a cloth, and

grind the colours with it and lay them on. All
colours and their mixtures can be ground and laid
on with this kind of oil, except minium and ceruse
and carmine, which are ground and laid on with
white of egg. Spanish green is not mixed with succus
under the gluten, but is laid on by itself with gum
gluten. You can otherwise mix it if you wish it."
In chapter xxx. directions are given for grinding

gold for illuminating books, which is afterwards to
be mixed with fish-glue. Then come the following
directions :
"Chapter XXXI
" How gold and silver are laid in books
"Afterwards take pureminiumandaddtoita third

part of cinnabar, grinding it upon a stone with water.
i6s
Which being carefully ground, beat up the clear of
the white of an egg, in summer with water, in winter
without water, and when it is clear, put the minium
into a horn and pour the clear upon and stir it a
it,
little with a piece of wood put into and with a

it,
pencil fill up all places with it upon which you wish

to lay gold. Then place a little pot with glue over
the fire, and when it is liquefied, pour it into the
shell of gold and wash it with it. When you have
poured which into another shell, in which the puri-
fying is kept, again pour in warm glue, and, holding
it in the palm of the left hand, stir it carefully with
the pencil, and lay it on where you wish thick or

thin, so, however, that there be little glue, because,
should it exceed, it blackens the gold and does not
receive a polish. But after it has dried, polish it with
a tooth or bloodstone carefully filed and polished,
upon a smooth and shining horn tablet. But should
it happen, through negligence of the glue not being
well cooked, that the gold pulverises in rubbing, or

riseson account of too great thickness, have near
you some old clear of egg beat up without water,
and directly with a pencil paint slightly and quickly
with it over the gold when it is dry, again rub it
;
with the tooth or stone. Lay in this manner silver,

brass, and copper in their place, and polish them."
166
Then in the following chapter we have further
instructions for the preparation of a glue suitable
for illuminating purposes and the directions for
tempering colours.
"Chapter XXXIII
"
Of every sort of glue for a picture ofgold
"If you have not a bladder, cut up thick parch-
ment of vellum in the same manner, wash and cook
it. Prepare also the skin of an eel carefully scraped,
cut up and washed in the same manner. Prepare
thus also the bones of the head of the wolf-fish
washed and dried, carefully washed in warm water
three times. To whichever of these you have pre-
pared, add a third part of very transparent gum,
simmer it a little, and you can keep it as long as
you wish.
"Chapter XXXIV
" How colours are tempered for books
"These things thus accomplished, make a mixture

of the clearest gum and water as above, and temper
all colours except green and ceruse and minium and
carmine. Salt green is worth nothing for books.

You will temper Spanish green with pure wine, and
if you wish to make shadows, add a little sap of iris
167
—
or cabbage or leek. You will temper minium and
ceruse and carmine with clear of egg. Compose all
preparations of colours for a book as above, if you
want them for painting figures. All colours are laid
on twice in books, at first very thinly, then more
thickly ; but once for letters."
The use of Spanish green (verdigris), though

fugitive in water-colours when exposed to light,
seems to be justified for illuminating books, judging
by the magnificent preservation of the greens in
many old illuminated manuscripts.
In chapter xxxv. the tempering of "folium,"
which seems to have been a preparation of more
than one vegetal dye, is described :
"Chapter XXXV
" Of the kinds and the tempering of Folium
"There are three kinds of folium, one red, another
purple, a third blue, which you will thus temper.
Take ashes, and sift them through a cloth, and
sprinkling them with cold water, make rolls of them
in form of loaves, and placing them in the fire, leave
them until they quite glow. After they have first
burnt for a very long time and have afterwards
cooled, place a portion of them in a vessel of clay,
pouring urine upon them and stirring with wood.
i68
When has deposed in a clear manner, pour it
it
upon the third folium, and grinding it slightly upon

a stone, add to it a fourth part of quicklime, and
when it shall be ground and sufficiently moistened,
strain it through a cloth, and paint with a pencil
where you wish, thinly, afterwards more thickly.
And if you wish to imitate a robe in a page of a
book, with purple folium with the same tempering,
;
without the mixture of lime, paint first with a pen

in the same page, flourishes or circles, and in them
birds or beasts, or leaves and when it is dry, paint
;
red folium over all, thinly, then more thickly, and

a third time if necessary and afterwards paint over
;
it some old clear of egg, beat up without water. Do
not grind purple or blue folium, but pour it with the

same tempering, without lime, into a shell, and stir
it with wood, and when it has stood for a night, the
next day use it in what manner you wish, paint

over it with clear of egg. Paint over also with glaire
of egg, draperies, and all things which you have
painted with folium and carmine. You can likewise
preserve the burned ashes which remain, for a long
time, dry."
Preparations of this kind are often referred to, and

seem to have been obtained as follows: An extract —
169
of the vegetal dye having been prepared, a piece
of linen was alternately soaked in the dye and in
alum. In this way the dye was loosely mordanted
on to the linen, but could be easily extracted with
an alkaline solution. Such transparent vegetal
pigments must have been very fugitive, and have
probably perished, at any rate wherever exposed to
light. " Folium " itself seems to have been more
strictly the juice of the Croton tinctorium, which

would change in colour according as the medium
was acid or alkaline.
Then follow receipts for making "salt-green," a
mixture of verdigris and subchloride of copper, of
Spanish green or verdigris, of cinnabar or vermil-
ion, of ceruse (white lead) and minium (red lead),
all of which receipts agree with the methods of
to-day.
Finally, in chapter xl. the preparation of ink is
described. The ink of classical times was, we have

seen, lampblack ground up with gum arable and
water; the ink of Theophilus is the modern ink, that
is, an infusion of tannin and sulphate of iron or green
vitriol. It will be noted that in the opening chapters

nothing is said of the medium to be used; but in the
course of the narrative, mediums of yolk of &<gg,
white of egg, fish-glue, parchment, cherry and plum-

170
tree gum, and linseed oil are mentioned, each, how-
ever, for a more or less specific purpose, and leaving
it open to question whether eggwas not the ordinary-
recognised medium if none other were mentioned.

No mention is made of the classical medium, wax,
except for another purpose, so that its use must have
completely died out between the time of the Lucca
MS. and Theophilus.
This early and free use of linseed oil (though evi-
dently found somewhat slow in drying) is conclu-
sive as to the early discovery of oil-painting at any
rate in the North.
There is no receipt for the preparation of ultra-
marine from lapis lazuli, the commonplace of later
manuscripts.
CHAPTER X
THE BOOK OF THE ART, BY CENNINO CENNINI
In the last we have considered in some

chapter
detail the MS. by the monk Theophilus of the
left
eleventh century, and his receipts and descriptions

of how to prepare for painting. Those who are in-
terested in the instructions given for mixing various
books on glass and working
tints for flesh, and in the
in metals, must consult the original, as both are be-
yond our province. Nor is there space here to dis-
cuss various interesting manuscripts of somewhat
later date, such as the Paris MS., translated by Mrs
Merrifield, and originally brought together by one
Le Begue in the fourteenth century. Quotations
from these manuscripts and others will necessarily
be made in considering the methods of oil-painting,
the receipts for varnishes and the receipts for lakes;
but we cannot break the main course of our narra-
tive to consider them further here, as we must pro-
172
CENNINO CENNINI'S TREATISE
ceed to deal with the treatise on tempera painting
leftby Cennino Cennini. The formal painting and
sculpture, due to the Byzantine traditions, had
begun to alter in the thirteenth century, starting
with a revival of sculpture in the hands of Niccolo
Pisano, of which his pulpit at Pisa (1260) is an
example. The first examples we possess of the
revival in painting are the Last Judgment at St
Cecilia in Rome by Pietro Cavallini (1293), and
the Madonna at Siena by Duccio di Buoninseg-
na (1255-1315). In Florence the new movement
was begun by Cimabue, who was the teacher of
Giotto (1266-1337), the founder of the Florentine
school.
These artists were all painters in " tempera," that
is to say, the medium with which their colours were
blended was egg in one form or another ; and from
the universality of the use of that medium the phrase
" tempera " painters has come to mean painters with
an &^^ medium, although the word is applied by
the early Italian writers to any medium oil, &g'g, —
—
gum, or glue they may be discussing. This great
school of tempera painters continued through the
fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, finally giving
place to the oil medium, which is supposed to have
been introduced from Flanders, and culminating
173
in the painting of such masters of tempera as
Sandro Botticelli (1447-1510) and Fra Filippo
Lippi (1406- 1 469).
The Annunciation, by Fra Filippo Lippi, in our
National Gallery, probably represents the final per-
fection possible in the medium. In fact, Eastlake,
the author of Some Materials for a History of Oil-
Painting, did not believe that it was a tempera pic-
ture, suspecting some additions to the medium to
make such technique possible. Mrs Herringham, on
the other hand, who has now practised tempera-
painting for many years, regards it as a perfect ex-
ample of what tempera-painting can do.
The two tempera pictures chosen here for repro-
duction have been taken because they illustrate with
great perfection the preservation of brilliant colour-
ing in this medium. The painter of one is unknown.
Benozzo Gozzoli, the painter of the other, was born in
1 420, and died in 1498. He therefore belongs to the
period when the finest work in tempera was being
executed, and was himself a pupil of Fra Angelico
da Fiesole, and executed many delightful works in
fresco. The picture here selected for reproduction is
The Rape of Helen, and is in our National Gallery.
painted on wood, probably the end or cover of a
It is
box or cassettone such as were used for wedding gifts,

174
andis in an excellent state of preservation. The per-
fection with which the brilliant unglazed vermilion
has been preserved is especially worthy of note, as
vermilion has been among the suspected pigments
since classical times, when, as we have seen, both
Pliny and Vitruvius warn us against exposing ver-
milion to the sun.
To return, however, to our subject. Cennino
Cennini was, as he tells us, instructed in the art of
painting for twelve years by Agnolo Gaddi, the son
of Taddeo Gaddi, the godson and pupil of Giotto,
He was living in Padua in 1398, while his master,
Agnolo Gaddi, died in 1396.
The Vatican MS. of Cennino Cennini is dated
1437, but this is probably the date attached by the
copyist, who seems to have done his work in the
debtors' prison at Florence, soitwas probably written
before this date. The treatise, therefore, can be con-
sidered as summing up, on the one hand, the teach-
ing in painting of the fourteenth century andfound ing
the methods of the fifteenth century, so that it gives
us a detailed insight into the way the great school of

tempera painters did their work. In addition, it in-
forms us of other methods of painting, and the infor-
mation it contains about fresco-painting has already
been quoted. Of Cennino Cennini himself little
17s
is known. Vasari refers to him among the minor
painters, but more because of his treatise than be-
cause of his work. Vasari tells us " that Cennino di
Drea Cennini of Colle-di-Valdelsa learned painting
from this same Agnolo (Agnolo Gaddi), and for love
of his art he wrote with his own hand on themethods
of painting in fresco, in tempera, insize, and in gum,
and besides how to paint in miniature, and how gold

is laid on for all these different kinds of painting,
which book is in the hands of Giuliano, a Sienese

goldsmith, an excellent master, and a friend of
these arts."
No picture known to be by Cennino Cennini is in
existence, and consequently his fame rests upon his
treatise and not upon the actual work of his hand.
But his treatise is not only of technical interest on
account of his receipts and directions how to draw
and to paint it is also of the greatest value as the un-
;
conscious,unpremeditated revelation ofthecharacter

and point of view of the man who wrote it, and con-
sequently of the influence upon him of the environ-
ment in which he lived. The preface to the third
book of Theophilus is in itself a revelation of the
point of view of an eleventh-century monk, but after
all it is an exhortation addressed to the reader, and
therefore necessarily has in it a certain artificial
176
quality and tells us little of the man himself; while,
to go to a later time than the one we are considering,
the autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini is a most
naive and therefore precious revelation of a robust
blackguard of the Italian Renaissance, who, how-
ever, still retains a deep ethical purpose in his work
as a craftsman; but here, too, we are dealing with
autobiography which at once involves a certain self-
conscious pose of the author before the public. We
are still looking for the honest diary or correspond-
ence of a man of genius which was not written with
an eye on posterity and the future publisher. In
this treatise by Cennino Cennini we have the writer
inspired simply by the desire to give information
about his craft, and therefore his way of giving that
information is a purely unconscious revelation of his
personality and point of view. It is impossible by a
few quotations to convey fully to the reader the
delicate flavour of this treatise. While reading it we
seem to be removed to a sunny but simply and yet
beautifully furnished house, where our artist sits at
work in a room with only the severest necessaries of
his craft around him, and the symbols of his religion.
Here we see him fullofachildlikepiety, and engaged
and dainty manipulation, tinting a sheet
in exquisite
of vellum, or laying gold leaf on a panel with a
177 12
pleasure in the perfect product and a joy in its
finished beauty.
The very dedication of the book sets the keynote
to the whole " Here begins the book of the Art,
:
made and composed by Cennino da Colle in the

reverence of God and of the Virgin Mary, and of
St Eustachius, and of St Francis, and of St John
the Baptist, and St Anthony of Padua, and gener-
ally of all the saints of God, and in the reverence
of Giotto, of Taddeo, and of Agnolo the master of
Cennino, and for the utility and good and advan-
tage of those who would attain perfection in the Art."
The very titles of the chapters have a perfume
aboutthem like the scent of lavender, andthedainti-
ness of an exquisitely bound book. For instance,
to select at random " How a green tint is made
:
on drawing-paper and how it is tempered," " How

to tint parchment and how to burnish it," " How to
tint paper of a morella or purple colour," " In what
manner you make an outline of a beautiful face or
design on transparent paper," "In what manner this
tin overlaid with gold can be used for the diadems of
saints on walls," "How works in relief are executed
on panels with gesso sottile, and how precious stones
are affixed to them," are among the headings of
chapters. But it is perhaps still more in the simple
178
—
CENNINO CENNINFS TREATISE

piety and quaint moralisings in the receipts them-
selves that the most is to be found. To take this,
for instance :
" How you should regulate your manner of living so as to

preserve decorum, and your hand in proper con-
keep
dition ; and what company you should frequent ; and
how to select and draw a figure in relief
" Your manner of living should always be regu-
lated as you were studying theology, philosophy,
if
or any other science that is to say, eating and

;
drinking temperately at least twice a day, using light

and good food and but little wine, sparing and re-
serving your hand, saving it from fatigue, as throwing
stones or iron bars, and many other things which
are injurious to the hand, wearying it. There is still
another cause the occurrence of which may render

your hand so unsteady that it will tremble and flutter
more than leaves shaken by the wind, and this is
frequenting too much the company of ladies. Let us
return to our subject. Make a pocket of sheets of
paper glued together, or of light wood, square shap-
ed, large enough to hold a foglio reale —that is, half
size, and desk to draw on. Then
also serve for a
always retire alone, or with companions who are
inclined to do as you do, and are not disposed to
hinder your work and the more intellectual the
;
179
—

companions are, the better will it be for you. When
you are in churches or chapels and you begin to
draw, consider first what space or history or figures
you wish to sketch, and remark where the shades,
middle tints, and lights fall and I must tell you
;
how to shade with ink and water, to leave the

ground of the panel for middle tints, and to use
white for the lights."
Or take the following from the introductory

chapter :
" Ahumble member, then, of the art of painting,

I, Cennino, born of Drea Cennino of the Colle-di-
Valdelsa, was instructed in these arts for twelve

years by Agnolo, the son of Taddeo of Florence, my
master, who learnt the art from Taddeo his father,
who was the godson of Giotto, and was his disciple
for twenty-four years.
" ThisGiotto changed the artof painting from the
Greek to the Latin,and brought it to the modern
style and he possessed more perfect art than ever
;
anyone else had had. In order to assist all those

who would approach this art, I shall take note of all
that was taught me by my master Agnolo, and of
that which I have proved by my own hand invok- ;
—
ing first the high Omnipotent God that is to say,
1 80
- — —

the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit ; secondly, that
most delightful advocate of all sinners, the Virgin
Mary, and St Luke the Evangelist, the first Christian
painter, and my advocate, St Eustachius, and gener-
ally all the saints, male and female, of Paradise."
Or take the following from the receipt for prepar-
ing ultramarine from lapis lazuli, which we shall pre-
sently quote in full : —
First the blue is described :
" Ultramarine blue
is a colour noble, beautiful, and perfect beyond all
other colours, and there is nothing that could be said
of it, but it will still exceed this praise."
Then, after a long description of the complex and
difficult mode of preparation, we have :
" When dry, put it into a skin or purse and rejoice

in it, for it is perfect ; and bear in mind that it is a
rare gift to know how to make it well. You must
know also that it is rather the art of maidens than
of men to make it, because they remain continually
in the house,and are more patient, and their hands
are more delicate. But beware of old women."
Or take the following chapter :
" Showing that you should always make a habit of

working with fine gold and good colours
" It is usual to adorn walls with gilded tin, because
it is less expensive than gold. Nevertheless, I give

i8i
you this advice, that you endeavour to adorn always
with fine gold and good colours, particularly in the
figures of our Lady.
"And you say that a poor person cannot afford
if
the expense, I augur that if you work well and

give time to your work and good colours, you will
acquire so much fame that a rich person will come
to you to pay for the poor one and your name will
;
stand so high for using good colours, that if some

masters receive one ducat for painting a figure, you
will be offered two, and your wishes be fulfilled,
—
according to the old proverb good work, good pay.
And whenever you should not be well paid, Godand
our Lady will reward you soul and body for it."
Or again, after telling us how to paint the human

face, he tells us in the next chapter,
" Why women should abstain from using medicated
waters on their skin
"It might happen in the service of youthful ladies,
especially those of Tuscany, to have to make some

colour of which they are desirous, and use to make
themselves beautiful, and certain waters.
"But the Paduan women do not use them, and, not
to give them cause for finding fault with me, and as
it is also displeasing to God and our Lady, I shall
182
—

be silent. But I advise you, if you desire to preserve
your complexion for a long period, to be accustomed
to wash yourself with water from fountains, rivers,
or wells ;and I warn you that if you use any arti-
ficial preparation your face will soon become wither-
ed, and your teeth black, and in the end women get
old before the natural course of time and become the
ugliest old hags possible. This is quite sufficient to
say on this subject."
have already quoted the opening sentences of the

I
treatise, and it only remains to quote the conclusion,

before proceeding to consider it in its purely technical
aspect.
This conclusion is as follows :
" Praying that the Most High God, our Lady, St
John, St Luke the evangelist and painter, St Eus-

and St Anthony of Padua may
tachius, St Francis,
give us grace and strength to sustain and bear in
peace the burdens and fatigues of this world and ;
that towhomsoever may study this book, they will

give grace to study it well and remember it, so that
by the sweat of their brow they may live peace-
ably, and maintain their families in this world with
grace, and finally, in that which is to come, in glory,
per infinita secula seculorum."
183
We shall now proceed to deal with the technical
information to be obtained from Cennino Cennini,
and begin by considering his directions for the pre-
paration of panels.
In preparing a panel for painting, it is essential
that the wood should not warp or crack, and that
the layer of plaster or gesso on the panel should not
be liable to crack off. We
accordingly find special
precautions taken to guard against these dangers.
Probably the best guard against cracking and warp-
ing is to have thoroughly seasoned wood. This is
not easy to secure, unless the wood has been stored
by yourself But there is another precaution for
small panels, given by Cennino Cennini, which is
interesting. He advises boiling them in water, to
prevent warping or cracking. I have made some
inquiries into this, and I find that it corresponds
somewhat with a modern practice, namely, the
steaming of wood to get it seasoned rapidly. I do
not find, however, that this practice is regarded as
the best by carpenters. They consider that slow air
drying is the best. Apparently, the most important
matter is to season the panel after it is cut to its final
shape and size. The panel should be cut in summer,

and kept to next summer. If this is done, some will
warp, twist, and crack, and may be rejected others ;
184
will survive thetest, and are then safe. The care-
ful selection and seasoning of the wood is of the
first importance. Cennino says little about it. He,
probably, trusted to his carpenter to see to that for
him.
Having now obtained a piece of wood of suitable
size and shape, we must next prepare it with a fine
surface of gesso, on which thepicture is to be painted.
Obviously, the important point now is to prevent the
possibility of the gesso peeling off. This can best
be prevented by thoroughly roughening the surface
of the wood, so as to give a tooth on which the fine
plaster can hold, just as a plasterer marks his rough
lime with the trowel, in order to enable the fine
lime finishing the wall or ceiling to firmly adhere.
This, then, being the most important matter, you
will not be surprised to hear that the intelligent
maker of panels for painting at the present day
carefully smooths his wood before laying on the
gesso.
Before quoting in full, as I propose to do, Cennino
Cennini on this matter of panel preparation, I shall
briefly refer again to the method used by the Egyp-
tians in certain cases. The wooden coffin lids were
prepared for painting on by being first coated with
gesso, and it was my good fortune to be presented
185
;

with a small crumb of such a coating by Professor
Middleton, obtained from a coffin in the British
Museum. There was a streak of green pigment on
this fragment, which has already been described
but with that we have nothingto do at present.
On examining this portion of prepared surface, I
found a thin coating of fine white plaster lying over
a dark brown substance, resembling oil-cake in ap-
pearance.
I was somewhat troubled to make out what this
substance could possibly be. It seemed about one-
sixteenth inch thick, and must have lain between
the white plaster and the surface of the wood. On
moistening the fragment with hot water it fell to
pieces, the binding cement or gum being dissolved,
and then, on examining under a glass, the nature of
this substance was revealed. It consisted of grains
of sand mixed with wood fibres.
The way in which the panel had been prepared
was now sufficiently obvious. The surface of the
wood had been rubbed and torn up with sand mixed
with gum water. Then the whole surface had been
smoothed down, sand, wood fibres, and all, and
allowed to harden. Then on this curious concrete,
bound to the wood by partially torn fibres, the fine
white gesso had been laid. The revival of this
— 1 ;

method is worthy of careful consideration, and I can
safely recommend it. It has stood the test of more
than 3000 years. Passing, then, from this ingenious
method, let us consider how Cennino Cennini mas-
tered the same difficulties.
I cannot do better than quote directly from his
work :
"Chapter CXI 1
"How to begin to paint pictures
" Now we are really going to paint pictures. In
the first a panel of the wood of the poplar,
place,
lime, or willow tree must be prepared, on which to
paint the picture. Let it be made quite smooth. If
it be defaced with knots, or if it be greasy, you must
cut it away as far as the grease extends, for there is

no other remedy. The wood must be very dry
and if it be such a piece that you can boil in a caul-
dron of clean water, after the boiling it will never
split. Let us now return to the knots, or any other
defect in the smoothness of the panel.
" Take some glue \colla di spicchi\ and about a
glassful of clean water melt and boil two pieces

;
\spicch{\ in a pipkin free from grease then put in ;
a porringer some sawdust, and knead it into the

glue fill up the defects or knots with a wooden
;
spatula, and let them remain then scrape them

;
187
;

with the point of a knife they are level with the
till
rest of the panel. Examine if there be any nail, or

other thing that renders the panel uneven, and
knock it into the panel, then provide some pieces of
tin-plate, like g'uai^rtm [small pieces of money], and
cover over the iron with them ; and this is done that
the rust of the iron may not rise through the "ground.
The surface of the panel must not be too smooth.
Boil some glue, made of parchment shavings, till the
water be reduced to one-third of what it was at first,
and, when put on the hands, if one hand stick to the
other, it is sufficiently boiled. two or three
Strain it
times, put half this glue into a pipkin, add a third

part water, and boil well together ; then, with a
hog's-hair pencil, large and soft, pass a coat of the
glue over the panel, or foliage, or pyxes [civori], or
columns, or whatever you work upon, that is to be

covered with a ground [ingessare], and let it dry
then take some of your first strong glue [colla forte],
and pass twice over your work, letting it dry well
between each coat of glue, and it will be glued to
perfection.
" Do you know the effect of the first glue? A
weak water or liquor is absorbed from it by thewood,
which operates exactly as if, when fasting, you eat a
few comfits, and drank a glass of wine, which gives
i88
you an appetite for dinner ; so this glue prepares
the wood for the glue and grounds to be applied
afterwards.
"Chapter CXIV
" How to fasten linen on panels
"Having thus spread the glue, get some linen
and white, and free from grease.
cloth, old, fine,
Take your best glue, cut or tear this linen into large
or small strips, soak these in the glue, and spread it
with your hand over the surface of the panel re- ;
move the seams, and spread it well with the palms

of the hands, and leave two days. And
it to dry for
remember it is best to use glue when the weather is
dry and windy. Glue is stronger in the winter. For
gilding, the weather should be damp and rainy.
"Chapter CXV
" How to lay grounds of gesso grosso on the surface of
a picture with a spatula
" Where the panel is very dry, take the point of
a knife like a rasp [me//o], rasp it well, and make the
surface quite even. Then take some gesso grosso,
that is to say, volterrano, purified, and sifted like
flour.Put a porringer-full on the porphyry slab,
grind it well with this glue, as you would grind
189
colours, collect it, and put
on the surface of the
it
pictures, and, with a very smooth and rather large

spatula, cover the whole surface, and wherever you
can use the spatula do so.
" Then take some of this ground plaster (gesso),
warm it, take a soft hog's-hair pencil, and give a

coat on the cornices and foliage, and on the even
surfaces with the spatula. Give three or four coats
on the other parts of the cornices, but on the other
level parts you cannot use too much. Leave it to
dry for two or three days. Then take the iron rasp
[mese//a], and level the surface procure some
;
small iron rods, which are called rafifiette, such as

you will find in the painters', who use several kinds
of them. Pick out all the cornices and foliage which
are not flat, and with these make every part of the
surface of the ground smooth and free from knots.
"Chapter CXVI
" How to prepare a fine ground (gesso sottile)for
pictures
" You must now prepare a plaster of fine grounds,
called gesso sottile. This is made from the same
it must be well washed \pur-
plaster as the last, but
gata\, and kept moist in a large tub for at least a
month stir it up well every day until it almost rots
;
190
[marctse], and is completely slaked, and it will be-
come as soft as silk. Throw away the water, make
it into cakes, and
dry and this plaster
let it ; [/'î'ô]
is by the apothecaries to our painters.

sold It is
used for grounds for gilding, for working in relief,
and other fine works.
"Chapter CXVII
" How to prepare a ground of gesso sottile on a picture,
and how it is to be tempered
" Having laidon the gesso grosso, rubbed down
the surface, and levelled it well and delicately, put
some cakes of the gesso sottile into a pipkin of
water, and let them absorb as much as they will.
Put a small portion of it at a time on the porphyry
slab, and, without adding any more water to it, grind
it perfectly. Put it then on a piece of linen cloth,
strong and white, and wring it well to get out as
much water as possible. When you have ground
as much of it as you want (that you may neither
have to make two portions of tempered plaster,
nor to throw away any good plaster), take some
of the same glue with which you tempered the
gesso grosso. You must make sufficient at one
time to temper both kinds of gesso. The gesso sot-
tile requires less tempering than the gesso grosso;
191
the reason for this is that the gesso grosso is the
foundation of allyour work, and that how much so-

ever you press the gesso grosso a Httle water will
still remain in it. For this reason make the same
kind of glue for both. Take a new pipkin which is
free from grease, and if it be glazed, so much the
better. Take a cake of this gesso sottile, and scrape
it fine with a knife, as you would cheese, and put it
into the pipkin. Put some of the glue on it, and

work the gesso with the hand as you would a paste
for making fritters, smoothly and evenly, so that it
may not froth. Procure a cauldron of water, and
make it very hot, and put into it the pipkin con-
taining the tempered gesso. Thus the gesso will
become warm, but will not boil for if it should boil,
;
it would be spoiled. When it is warm, take your

picture, and a large and very soft pencil of hog's
bristles, dipped in the pipkin, and taking up a proper
quantity at a time, neither too much nor too little,
spread it evenly over the level surfaces, the cornices,
and the foliage. It is true that in doing this the first
time you should spread and rub the gesso with your
fingers, and hand, round and round, and this will
incorporate the gesso grosso with the gesso sottile.
When you have done this, begin again, and spread
it with a brush, without touching it with the hand.
192
Let it but not so long as to dry thorough-
rest a little,
ly then go over it again in the other direction with

;
the brush, and let it dry as usual. Then give it a

coat in the reverse direction and in this manner ;
always keeping the gesso warm, give the panel eight

coats. Foliage andre/tevos want less, but you cannot
put too much on the flat. This is on account of the
rasping down, which is done afterwards.
"Chapter CXX
" How tobegin to smooth the surface of a panel on which
you have laid a ground of 'gesso sottile'
" When
you have finished laying the ground
(which must be done in one day, even if you work
at it in the night, in order to complete it in the
usual way), let it dry in the shade for two days and
nights at least. The drier it is the better.
"
Tie some powdered charcoal in a piece of linen,
and sift it over the ground of the picture. Then,
with the feather of a hen or goose, spread this
black powder equally over the ground, because the
panel cannot be made too smooth, and because the
iron with which you rub the picture is smooth also.
When you remove it, the ground will be as white
as milk, and you will then see whether it requires
more rubbing with the iron.
193 13
"Chapter CXXI
" How to scrape surfaces on which ^ gesso sottile' has been
laid, and of what use the scraping is
" Take a flat rafifietto, about as wide as a finger,

and gently rub the surface of the cornice once; then,
with a sharp rasp \mella arrotatd], which you must
hold as freely and lightly as you possibly can, rub
over the surface of the panel with a very light hand,
brushing away the loose gesso with the feather. And
know that this dust is excellent for removing grease
from the pages of books [carte de librt\.
"In the same manner rub smooth the cornices
and foliage, and polish them as if they were ivory.
And sometimes (for you may have many kinds of
work) you may polish cornices and foliage by rub-
bing them with a piece of linen, first wetted and
then squeezed almost dry."
The bands of old linen evidently serve the pur-

pose of the sand in the Egyptian method. They
afford a tooth for the plaster, and at the same time
must help to hold the panel together, and also help
to prevent resin rising through the gesso surface.

Apparently linen was also used for the best coffins
in Egypt in the same way.
The gesso volterrano is, according to Mrs Mer-
194
rifield, plaster of Paris, which was obtained from
some gypsum quarries in the neighbourhood of
Bologna, and Vasari gives a long account of this
gesso volterrano in his life of Andrea Verrocchio,
who used it to make casts of dead persons.
It will be noted that the gypsum for the final

coating of gesso is thoroughly slaked by keeping in
water for some weeks.
A very fine example of gesso work exists in the
old cathedral church at Coire. They have there a
box which they claim to be as old as the ninth cen-
tury. It is entirely covered with gesso, on which a
design in low relief has been roughly scrolled. The
gesso has been polished so as to give the appearance
of ivory. At the corners, where it has got chipped
off, the ends of the linen can be seen, which has
evidently been put next the wood, as Cennino Cen-

nini advises. There is nothing, I think, in the whole
of this account which could not be easily reproduced
at the present day. I have had mahogany panels
carefully prepared by a picture-frame maker, from
Cennino's directions.
Gilding
Having completed the preparation of the panel,
we can now paint upon it, or, as was usually done
195
in the earlier Italian pictures, cover it completely
with gold leaf.
For this purpose Cennino Cennini mentions three

mordants that can be used one prepared from white
:
of egg and Armenian bole, one a quick-drying oil-

varnish similar to the gold size now used, and one
prepared from garlic juice. He devotes some space
tt) the account of gilding done with the white of egg
medium, which I shall quote in full. The only trace

of this method of gilding left now is the use of white
of egg by bookbinders in gilding books. The bole
is used in water-gilding now with parchment glue.
"Chapter CXXXI
" How to lay bole on panels, and how to temper it(\)
" Let us return to our subject. When you have
finished the relievos of your picture, procure some
Armenian bole and try whether it be good. Touch
your under lip with it ; if it stick to it, it is good.
You must now learn the best tempera for gilding.
Put the white of an egg into a very clean glazed
porringer. Make some twigs of broom into a rod,
and beat up the white of egg with it until the por-
ringer is full of thick froth, which appears like snow.
Then take a common drinking-glass, not too large
nor too full of water, pour it on the white of egg into
196
;

the porringer. Let it stand from night till the next
morning, to clarify itself. Then grind the bole in
this tempera as perfectly as you can. Next dip a clean
soft sponge into clean water, and squeeze it dry rub ;
lightly with the sponge (not too wet) on these parts

on which the gold is to be laid. Then pass over it,
for the first time, with a large pencil of minever, a
coat of this tempered bole as liquid as water, and,
wherever the gold is to be used (having first sponged
the part with water), spread the bole very evenly,
being careful not to stop, so that you may leave no
hard edges with your pencil. Then wait a little; put
a little more bole into your porringer, and let the
second coat of colour have a little more body. Give
it this second coat, and let it again rest a short time
put more bole into the vase, and give it a third coat
in the same manner, making no hard edges. Put
more bole still in the vase, and give it a fourth coat,
and then you will have finished laying on the bole.
Now you may cover over your panel with a cloth,
to keep it as much as you can from dust, sun, and
water.
"Chapter CXXXIV
" How to gild panels
"When the weather becomes ddmp and cloudy,
and you wish to lay on any gold, place your panel
197
flat on two trestles. Sweep it with a feather, and,
with a pass very lightly over the ground of
rafifietto,
bole, and if you find any knots or roughness remove

them. Burnish the bole very carefully with a piece
of coarse linen. If you afterwards burnish it with a
tooth, it cannot look otherwise than well. When
you have thus cleaned and burnished it, put into a
glass nearly full of clean water a little of the white of
egg tempera; if it be quite fresh so much the better.
Mix it thoroughly with the water. Take a large
pencil of minever, made, as I have previously taught
you, of the hairs of the tip of the tail. Take up your
fine gold with a pair of fine pincers, lay it on a
square piece of card larger than the piece of gold,
and cut off at each corner, which you are to hold
in your left hand, and, with the pencil which you
hold in your right hand, wet the bole sufficiently to
hold the piece of gold you have in your hand. Wet
the bole equally, that there may not be more water
on one part than on another ; then let the gold slip
off the card, taking care not to wet the card. Now,
as soon as the gold has touched the wet part, with-
draw the card quickly and suddenly ; and if you
perceive that the gold does not adhere to the panel,
press it down as gently as you can with a piece of
clean cotton, and in this manner gild the other parts
198
of the panel ; and when you wet it, preparatory to
laying on the second piece of gold, be careful that
the pencil does not go so near the first piece as to
make it wet and let the two pieces join,
; first breath-
ing on it, that the gold may adhere where you wish
it to unite with the other piece. When you have laid
on three pieces, pass the cotton again over the first
piece, and see whether any part requires mending.
Provide a cushion as large as a brick, made of a
smooth piece of board, covered with soft leather,
very clean and not greasy, of the same kind as that
of which boots are made. Stretch it very evenly, and
fill the space between the wood and the leather with
shreds of cloth spread a piece of gold evenly on

;
this cushion, and with a knife cut the gold into pieces
as you want it, to make the necessary repairs. Wet
the parts to be repaired with a minever pencil, and,
then, wetting the handle of the pencil with your
lips, the piece of gold will adhere to it sufficiently to
enable you to apply it on the part
be mended.
to
When you have laid as much gold on the level sur-
face as you can burnish in one day (for which I shall
give you directions when you have to gild cornices
and foliage), be careful to collect the small pieces of
gold, as those masters do who are economical, so
that you may save the gold as much as you can, be-
199
ing sparing of it, and always covering the gold you
have laid on with a clean handkerchief.
"Chapter CXXXV
" What stones are proper for burnishing gold
" When you mean to burnish gold, you must pro-
cure a stone called lapis amatisto, which I will show
you how to prepare. If you have not this stone,
sapphires, emeralds, balas rubies, topazes, rubies,
and garnets are still better for those who can afford
the expense, and the finer the stone the better it is
for the purpose. The teeth of dogs, lions, wolves,
cats, leopards, and generally of all carnivorous ani-
mals, are equally good.
"Chapter CXXXVII
" How to burnish gold, and what to do ifyou cannot
burnish it when ready for burnishing
" You must now burnish gold ; for the time is
come that you should do so. It is true that, in winter,

you may gild whenever you please, during damp
and cloudy weather. In summer it will take one hour
to lay on the gold; another to burnish it but should ;
the weather be too damp, and, from some cause or

other, you want to burnish it, keep it in a place where
it is not exposed to heat and air but if it be too
;
200
—

dry, keep it in a damp
always covered, and,
place,
when you would burnish it, uncover it carefully, for
the smallest scratch will blemish it. Put it in a cellar,
at the foot of the casks, and
be ready to bur-
it will
nish but should you be prevented from burnishing
;
it for eight or ten days or a month, take a very clean
handkerchief or a towel, lay it over your gold in the

cellar, or wherever it may be then take another;
handkerchief, dip it in clean water, wring, and

squeeze it very dry open it, and spread over the
;
first handkerchiefthat you laid over the gold, and the
gold will then be in a proper state for burnishing."
We have here a complete account of gilding with

white of egg. Further on, he gives the following
receipt for another mordant :
"A perfect mordant for walls, pictures, glass,

and ever other thing may be made as follows
iron, :
With your oil either boiled on the fire or baked in

the sun in the manner before directed, grind a little
biacca (white lead) and verdigris and when you ;
have made it flow like water, add a little varnish and

boil altogether fora short time."
The varnish mentioned here is probably an oil
varnish, as the varnishes described at that time are
all oil varnishes. The verdigris would make it dry
201
very quickly, and, consequently, he directs later on
thatno verdigris is to be added if it is not to be used
at once. He also states that some fear the verdigris
injuring the gold, but he has not found it do so. The
rest of the directions are the same as those now
given for gilding. It is of interest to note that,
though he especially says the leaf must be thick for
the white-of-egg gilding, he recommends very thin
leaf for this gilding.
For miniature work he recommends the use of
a gesso sottile (one-third) mixed with a little
little
white lead and sugar of " candia." This is made into

cakes and dried in the shade. This is ground with
white of egg for use. "And you must know that you
may write letters with a pen dipped in this size."
In another receipt he adds also a little Armenian
bole.
The late Professor Middleton had an illuminated
MS. of the sixteenth century, in some parts of which
thegoldhad come off. Underneath is a hardpolished
substance raised above the level of the parchment.
Apparently in this case Armenian bole had been
used. Besides gold leaf, silver leaf and tin leaf were
used. Tin leaf is recommended as superior to silver
leaf, as it does not blacken. Cennino Cennini re-
commends the use of the tin leaf for glories of saints
202
in wall-paintings. His directions are a little obscure,
but apparently it isstuck on with varnish. He also
recommends gilding it before sticking it on.
This use of tinfoil is of special interest. At a later
date it seems to have been used largely instead of
gold, being coated with a yellow varnish called auri-
petrum. Several receipts for auripetrums are given
in the old MSS. The Spanish leather hangings
which are so famous have been prepared this way.
I have examined some portions of some old hangings
in the possession of the late Mr Cobbold, of Felix-

stowe. A design had been stamped on the leather,
then it had been covered with tin leaf Some parts
of the tin leaf had been varnished with a yellow var-
nish and other parts painted, the rich bronze gold
colour being so produced. As an experiment I have
coated canvas with size, then with gold size, and then
with tinfoil. The tinfoil has then been polished
and varnished with an oil varnish coloured with
dragon's-blood.
The receipts for the preparation of auripetrum are
somewhat obscure. Several are given in the MS.
of St Audemar, which has been translated by Mrs
Merrifield. In these the oil varnish used is coloured
by saffron, aloes, the inner bark of black plum, or
dragon's-blood. These substances are all easily dis-
203
solved in melted pine balsam, which can then be
diluted with boiled oil and turps.
The reintroduction of varnished tinfoil for decor-
ative work is, I think, to be recommended. Very
beautiful and durable results are, I think, easily ob-
tained.
Dragon's-blood is easily obtainable, but varies
very much in quality ; the best that can be now ob-
tained being sent over in sticks about eight inches
long, each stick being encased in some native fibre.
The dragon's-blood in lump, as usually sold, is very

inferior. The dragon's-tears referred to by Charles
Reade, on violins, are unfortunately no
in his essay
longer to be had. I once knew of one sample, in a
herbalist's window in East London, and it was not
for sale.
There is no great difficulty in having panels pre-
pared according to the method herein
for painting
described, as the practices of the best gilders ap-
proach very closely to Cennino Cennini's receipts.
It isperhaps not generally known that gold leaf is
translucent,and that the light passing through is
blue-green in colour. The laying of gold on white
gesso on the ground for the picture must, I think,
have had an important effect on pigments above it,
corresponding to a green ground to a certain extent.
204
11 must, however, be remembered that many pictures
were painted directly on the white gesso ground
without the interposition of gold leaf.
We
have now dealt with the preparation of pa-
nels for painting, with gilding, and with the use of
tinfoil and coloured varnishes. The receipts are simi-
lar tothose at present in use, and if equally good
and durable results are not obtained it seems to be
due more to want of care and of taking time than to
serious defects of method. We come next to the
consideration of the pigments used during the best
period of art, with the view of carefully examining
their nature and properties. Here we are met by
several difficulties.
In the first place, we are embarrassed by the
number and variety of pigments mentioned. I can-
not attempt to deal with more than a few of them
in this chapter, and must select those of apparent-
ly the most importance. In the next place, it is in
many cases difficult to identify an old pigment, or to
recognise the same pigment under different names.
Much ingenuity, however, has been expended on
this subject, and, on the whole, with tolerably satis-
factory results.
In the third place, a large proportion of the old
pigments are fugitive, and we are consequently some-
205
what embarrassed by this fact, as it throws upon
us the burden of picking out those of real value from
among the many described.
It is of importance, in this connection, to re-
member the various uses to which the pigments were
put. Roughly, these may be described as painting :
in fresco, painting in seccoon walls, painting in secco

on panels, painting in oil, and illuminating MSS.
Now, of these, the most destructive to pigments
is fresco-painting, and consequently few pigments
could with safety be used, while, on the other hand,

many pigments might safely be used for illuminat-
ing that could not be used for anything else. Pro-
tected from damp and from the action of light,
preserved between closed leaves of vellum, and
probably never touched by sunlight, many fugitive
pigments might be safely used.
It is, furthermore, impossible to consider this sub-
ject of the durability of pigments by itself, apart from
the mediums used to paint with. When we come to
consider the question of vehicles, we shall find that
certain pigments may safely be used with some
vehicles that cannot be used with others. There is
another very pertinent question that can be asked :
How many of the old works of art have perished

completely from natural decay ? Are not those we
206
—

possess the successful experiments among many
failures? It is a common remark to say of an old
master that it is as fresh as the day it was painted.
There are very few that really have this appearance.
If carefully examined, the colours have, in many
cases, dulled and faded. The pigments still look
bright owing to their contrast one with another,
though often, when examined separately, they ap-
pear quite dull.
Unfortunately, too, there are pigments which,
while quite legitimate under old conditions, are no
longer suitable for use in the polluted air of modern
cities. It is also of importance to consider climatic
conditions in this connection. For instance, it is an

easy problem to paint permanent pictures in the dry
climate of Egypt, a very difficult one to do the same
in England. All these matters have to be taken in-
to consideration, giving us a very complex problem
to be dealt with.
Let us begin by considering the list of pigments
mentioned by Cennino Cennini. This list we can
add to afterwards, but it forms an important and use-
ful introduction. They are as follows :
Red. — Sinopia (red ochre), cinabrese (red ochre

and white), cinnabar, minium, amatisto (haematite),
dragon's-blood, lake.
207
Yellow. —Ochre, giallorino (Naples yellow), or-
piment, risalgallo (realgar), zafferano (safifron),
arzica.
Green. —Verdeterra, verde azzurro(copper green,
malachite), verderame (verdigris).
JVAtle.— (Chalk) bianco sangiovanni, (white lead)
biacca.
Blue.—Azzurro della magna (azurite), azzurro
oltremarino (ultramarine).
Black. — A black
soft stone. Black made of the
tendrils of young shoots of the vine. Black made
of the skins of almonds, or the kernels of peaches.
Lampblack.
Let us take these pigments in order, and consider
them one by one.
Sinopia. —This is one of the many names under
which red ochres are mentioned, whether native or
prepared by roasting yellow ochres. They have
been used from the earliest times, and are perfectly
reliable for all kinds of work. There is no need to
dwell longer on them.
Cinabrese. — This pigment is described by Cen-
nino as being a mixture of red ochre with chalk.
This is very commonly done now in order to pre-
pare a bright red, and is a perfectly harmless
practice.
208
—
Cinnabar (vermilion). This pigment is known
in two forms, native and artificial. Cinnabar, or sul-
phide of mercury, is one of the commonest ores of
that metal, and is occasionally found in pieces of a
fine red colour when ground. Probably it was first
used in this form. A much finer pigment is, how-
ever, obtained by subliming sulphur and mercury in
a covered crucible, when is found at
the cinnabar
This method of pre-
the top in crystalline masses.
paration must have been known from very early
times.
The preparation of mercury is described by Theo-
phrastus, 300 B.C., and the early alchemists, such as
Geber, were familiar with many of the compounds

of mercury, so that there can be little doubt that they
were also familiar with the artificial preparation of
vermilion.
The oldest of the MSS. on the preparation of
pigments, that at Lucca, supposed to be of the
eighth century, describes the preparation of artificial
vermilion ;and similar receipts occur repeatedly in
MSS. Returning again to Cennino,
of later dates.
there can be no doubt that the vermilion he refers
to is artificial. He says: " This colour is produced
by alchemy, performed in an alembic. You may
. . .
find many receipts, especially among the friars. . . .
209 14
Always purchase whole cinnabar. . That which
. .
is convex on the top, and covered with needle-shaped
is the best."
filaments, It has been suggested more
than once that the old masters used the native cin-
nabar, but, on the whole, the evidence is, I think,
against this view. Evidently Cennino, at any rate,
was familiar with the artificial variety.

No people have been more famous than the
Chinese for the preparation of vermilion, and they
still have a deservedly high reputation for it. It
seems to have been used by them, from very ekrly

times, as a royal colour and we find, according to
;
Marco Polo, that the paper currencyof Kublai Khan

was stamped with the royal signature in vermilion.
This remains the custom to thepresent dayinChina.
The Chinese prepare the vermilion now by sublim-
ing sulphur and mercury, and then grinding, wash-
ing, and floating over. According to an account
published in the Chemical News, the vermilion
is suspended in water containing a little size.
In this it settles slowly, and the top layer is then

removed. I have examined many samples of ver-
milion from China. It is a little difficult to get the
genuine article, as most of that sent in here is merely
European vermilion repacked in Chinese paper.
The real article is unmistakable. It is not quite so
2IO
bright as English vermilion, but is of a finer and
softer colour, and is much more finely ground, being
as soft as silk between the fingers. On subliming
it, an ash is left, weighing from u to "05 percent,
or even less, of the whole. The ash is brown, and
is apparently a trace of oxide of iron.
Unfortunately, English vermilion-makers have
departed from the ways of their forefathers. They
prepare a product by heating the black sulphide of
mercury with strong caustic potash, and the product
is Seldom free from alkali and alkaline sulphides.
Chinese vermilion may be safely mixed with

white lead. I know a sample so mixed which has
remained unchanged for forty years. I should not
like to try the same experiment with many of the
vermilions made here.
You will ask, is vermilion a permanent colour
when properly prepared ? This question issome-
what difficult to answer, but I will give you my view
of the matter.
In the first place, let us consider the facts before
us. Vermilion is a sulphide of mercury. Now, this
sulphide can exist in two varieties, the red or ver-
milion and a black sulphide. We can pass from the
black to the red sulphide. We can also, unfortu-
nately, pass very easily from the red to the black
211
;

sulphide. Chinese vermilion (that is practically
If
the same article as Cennino describes) is ground in
oil, painted out, and exposed to sunlight in a south
window, it turns black in a few rnonths. This agrees

with Cennino's statement " But remember that
:
vermilion is not durable when exposed to the air

it is more lasting on pictures than on walls, because,
by long exposure to the air, it becomes black when

applied to walls."
Evidently, then, Cennino distrusted this pigment,
though I venture to differ with his reason for doing
so. We know of too many pigments that are affect-
ed by air or moisture. The case of vermilion seems
to be different from these. No chemical change is
needed. The action of the sun's rays alone seems
to rearrange the molecules into the black variety.
In the experiments on water-colours made by Cap-
tain Abney and Professor Russell, it was proved that,
while many so-called fugitive colours were per-
manent in dry hydrogen, this did not save vermilion
from turning black.
Now, let us look at the evidence on the other side.
I have already mentioned the experiment with ver-
milion in the late Holman Hunt's studio. Butwe can

get other examples. There are many reds in the
National Gallery that can only be produced by ver-
212
RAPE OF HELEN
By BENOZZO GOZZOLI
I 'crmiiiatt /reely used aftd per/ectly J>ri'i:erve>it
Page zij.
milion. Among others, the red in the Rape ofHelen,
reproduced here.
How, then, are these apparently contradictory
facts to be reconciled ? If we accept the theory put
forward by Abney and Russell, that the rate of de-
struction of a pigment is a function of the amount
of light falling on it, and that, consequently, a feeble
light for lOO years produces the same effect as a
strong light for one year, we cannot reconcile these
facts. But this opinion of theirs has not been ac-
cepted by the best authorities, such as Professor
Church nor does it agree with the experience of
;
chemists in other directions. Let us take, as an

example, the action of heat in assisting chemical
change. There are some changes which take place at
a gradually accelerating rate, as the temperature is
raised, but there are others which do not begin
appreciably until a certain temperature is passed.
Vermilion is a case of this kind. It does not change
in the diffused- light of a room, but is quickly
altered by direct sunlight. In this way only can
I account for the facts before us. Under proper
conditions, then, vermilion, properly made, is, I
believe, a reliable pigment, and may be safely
used. European vermilions, unless carefully wash-
ed with weak acid, and then with water, are not
213
reliable. In this way 70 per cent, of the ash is
removed.
Minium or Red Lead. — This pigment, prepared
by the careful roasting of litharge, has been long
known. It is described by Pliny, and, according to
this authority, was discovered 320 B.C. There can
be no doubt that this pigment has been much used
in the past, and it is still very largely used for house-
painters' work. It is, however, very rarely used by
artists, as it has fallen completely into discredit. To
my mind there is no more beautiful red, and I think
it is a great loss to the palette. Two reasons for
not using it One, that it tends,

are usually given.
like all lead pigments, to blacken in impure air. The
other, that it is actually decomposed by daylight, re-
turning to the dull brownish-yellow litharge. It is
of interest here to note what Cennino Cennini says

of it " This pigment is only proper to be used in
:
pictures ; for if it be used on walls, on exposure to
the air it suddenly becomes black, and loses its

colour." It used to be customary to wash it before
use with wine and water. One curious receipt for

preserving minium is given by De Mayerne, a
physician in the court of Charles I., to whom I
shallhave to refer very fully in later chapters. He
advises washing it repeatedly with vinegar. More
214
;

than one reference shows that it was not considered
a very safe pigment. It was prepared by roasting
white lead. It is now, I believe, usually prepared
from litharge. No doubt the minium prepared from
white lead would be a finer pigment. I have not
made any experiments with it myself, but I propose

doing so, as I doubt if it is rightly condemned, and
its beauty makes it well worth reintroducing to the
notice of artists.
Amatisto. —Thereseems to be considerable doubt
as to the nature of the pigment so called by Cennino
Cennini. He says it is a natural colour, and is pro-
duced from a hard, firm stone from which burnish-
ing tools can be made. It is a purple colour, and
is probably a variety of haematite. (Mrs Merrifield

seems to think it may have been native cinnabar.)
One curious point is thatCenninosays it is the colour
that cardinals use. " The cardinals had the red hat
by a decree of the Council of Lyons, held in 1 245
by Innocent IV. They did not adopt the red dress
till 1464, that is, under the pontificate of Paul II.
therefore at the period when Cennino was living

they still wore the purple colour" (Tambroni).
Dragons-blood. — I have already referred to this
resin in the third chapter. It is mentioned by Pliny,

and is the resin obtained from the calamus palm
215
{Pterocarpus Draco, Linnaeus. Dragon tree). Cen-
nino says of this pigment, " Let it alone it will ;
never do you much credit."

Lake, which comes next in order, I shall treat of
in a special chapter.
Yellow Ochre. —
Nothing need be said about this
pigment. A natural earth, it has been used from the
earliest times, and is absolutely permanent. Cennino
describes a very fine variety he found near Casole.
Giallorino. —
The history and nature of this pig-
ment are somewhat obscure. Cennino distinctly
states that it is a volcanic product. He states that
it is not a brilliant yellow, though brighter than
ochre, and never makes bright greens. Mrs Merri-
field considers that several pigments were included
under this name. I cannot do better than quote her
summing up of this matter.
1."A native mineral yellow pigment, known by
the name oi giallolino, giallolino di Napoli, jaune de
Naples, lutecium Napolitanum."
This is doubtless the yellow referred to by Cen-
nino. All trace of it seems to be lost, though prob-
ably a proper search in a volcanic district would
lead to its discovery.
2. "An artificial pigment which was composed
of the yellow protoxide of lead, and which was called
216
—
:

fornace di
giallolino, giallolino fino, giallolino di
fiandra, luteolum Belgicum genuli (the last is a
Spanish term), and massicot, oi^Vvch there were two
varieties, namely, the golden or yellow, and the
white or pale massicot^
This pigment can be prepared by gently roasting
white lead. It is now known as Turner's yellow.
It is all lead pigments, the
apt to turn black, like
fault of our towns, not of themselves,
f 3. " An artificial pigment made at Venice, com-
posed oi giallolino fino and a certain kind oi giallo
di vetro, or vitreous yellow, for which a receipt is
given in the Bolognese MS. in the Venetian dialect,
and which appears to have been the Hornaza of the
Spaniards."
This receipt is worth quoting, and is as follows :
"To make yellow glass for paternosters or beads

—Take of lead i lb., of tin 2 lb. ;
melt and calcine
them, and make glass for paternosters.
" To rmke giallolino for painting : — Take 2 lb. of
this calcined lead and tin, that is, 2 lb. of this glass
for paternosters, 2^ lb. of minium, and ^ lb. of sand
pounded very fine put it into a furnace and let it
;
^
fine itself, and the colour will be perfect."
' MS. of the fifteenth century in the library of the R. R. Canonici

Regolari, in the Convent of the St Salvatore in Bologna.
217
— —
This pigment must have been a yellow lead frit.
Probably effective on fresco walls, but of little or no
use in oil. Mrs Merrifield then goes on :
" I consider it established that they used two

kinds of Naples yellow, namely
" I. A native mineral pigment found in the neigh-
bourhood of volcanoes, the nature of which is not
accurately known, and which was called ^M/Zfj/mc di
Napoli and jaune de Naples, and which is synony-
mous with the first kind of giallolino above men-
tioned.
" 2. An pigment now in use composed
artificial
of the oxides of lead and antimony, cdWed giallo di

Napoli, jaune de Naples, and Naples yellow, and
which was not known to the Italian artists."
Apparently the manufacture of the more modern
artificial Naples yellow has now ceased. I failed to
find either that it was made or that anyone had ever

heard of its being made in Naples. The manufacture
has long ceased, apparently. The colour now sold
as Naples yellow is, I understand, usually a mixture
of yellows.One sample I examined was massicot pure
and simple. A fine yellow can be made from lead and
antimony, and have some which I have made my-
I
self Possibly a search on Mount Vesuvius might re-

sult in the rediscovery of the original Naples yellow,
218
Orpiment or Auripigmentum. — This sulphide of
arsenic exists both as a natural and artificial pig-
ment. The natural sulphide is found in volcanic
districts. 11 has not been found in any of the ancient
Greek or Roman paintings. Cennino says it is unfit
for use in distemper, because it turns black. Cen-
nino mentions it as being an artificial pigment. It
was known and used through the best periods of art,
but always with special precautions, as being liable
to change and to attack other pigments.
Cornelius Jansen says " Orpiment will ly fayre
:
on any colour except verdegris, but no colour can ly

fayre on him he kills them all."
;
De Mayerne, speaking of Vandyck, says "He :
makes use of orpiment, which is the finest yellow

that is to be found, but it dries very slowly, and,
when mixed with other colours, it destroys them.
In order to make it dry, a little ground glass should
be mixed with it. In making use of it, it should be
applied by itself, the drapery (for which alone it is
fit) having been prepared with other yellows. Upon
them, when dry, the lights should be painted with
orpiment your work will then be in the highest
;
degree beautiful."
This addition of powdered glass is advised by
Cennino for another reason. It will be noted, from
219
these accounts, that it does not seem liable to alter
but to act on other colours. If it was liable
in itself,
to change, it would be advisable to use some differ-
ent medium than oil. There can be no objection
apparently to using it in the way stated, but it would
not be safe to put it into the hands of a modern
artist, as he would probably mix it too freely with
other colours. The reason for not painting it over
with verdigris will be given when we come to that
pigment.
Risalgallo Realgar, or Red Orpiment. This —
pigment, prepared by heating gently orpiment, has
similar properties, and must be used with the same
precautions.
Zafferano {Saffron). —
Cennino recommends pre-
paring this colour by putting the saffron in a bag
and rubbing it down with lye. He says it is good
for staining linen or paper, and it makes a beautiful
green with verdigris, but must not be exposed to the
air. This is, if course, a very fugitive colour, and
was probably only used for temporary purposes.
Saffron has already been mentioned as suitable for
colouring varnishes.
Arzica. — Cennino says that pigment is not
this
durable when exposed and is not to be
to the air,
used on walls. According to the Bolognese MS.,
220
it is a lake prepared from weld (wild mignonette).
It is probably the most permanent of the yellow
lakes. When used for dyeing, weld yields a very
beautiful yellow, which stands exposure to sunlight
remarkably well, and is probably the most perma-
nent yellow dye. It was used by William Morris for
his tapestry work. At the same time the yellows in
the old tapestries do not seem to bear exposure and
time so well as the reds and blues. In many cases
they are almost completely gone. So that Cennino's
judgment of this pigment is probably correct.
This completes the list of yellow pigments men-
tioned by Cennino Cennini. He has, however,
omitted one of the first importance from the list, to
which he devotes a great part of his book, namely,
gold. He describes elsewhere the grinding up of
gold leaf for use in miniature painting, and, as his
panels are laid on with gold, he depends on it for
many of his effects. The use of gold as a yellow
pigment, however, apart from decorative work, is
not common, as far as my experience goes. It is,
however, used by Holbein, the process being appar-
ently to lay on the gold, and then glaze with dull
yellow up to the high lights, just allowing the gold
to show through at the high lights. Another re-
markable instance is the famous rainbow portrait of
221
Queen Elizabeth. The inner lining of the robe is
a rich yellow. The high lights are given by means
of gold.
Those who have not trieddo not know what a
wonderfully rich effect can be produced by the glaz-
ing over gold of transparent pigments.
Verde Terra {Terre Verte). — There
no need is
to say anything about this natural earth. Like the

ochres, it is useful and absolutely reliable, and al-
ways has and always will be used. Cennino says
that it may be used instead of bole for preparing the
surface for the gold.
—
Verde Azzurro. Cennino says that this green
is prepared from azzurro della magna. He also
states that it must not be ground too fine, as it loses
its colour. According to Mrs Merrifield, however,
verde azzurro is a native copper carbonate, similar to
green bice. Cennino's description certainly suggests
a frit of some kind, as the frits are spoiled by too fine
grinding. It is not impossible that the azzurro della
magna (blue copper ore) was converted into a green
pigment artificially. There can be no doubt, how-
ever, that green copper oreswere known and used
as pigments. however, discuss this point at
I shall,
greater length when I come to the copper blues.
—
Verderame ( Verdigris). Of this pigment Cen-
222
nino says it is good in pictures tempered with glue,
but must never be mixed with white lead. He also

says it is improved in colour by grinding with vin-
egar, but is not durable.
This pigment was largely used apparently both
by the Italian and Flemish painters. It was pre-
pared by exposing plates of copper to the action of
acetic acid vapour, and it is a subacetate of copper.
A finer preparation was made by dissolving it in
vinegar, and letting it crystallise out. This prepar-
ation was known as verde eterno. It is a very trans-
parent blue green, and was used to glaze over other
colours, A drapery, for instance, painted in yellow
and glazed with verdigris would be of a fine green.
The brilliant greens in the original manuscript from
which the picture on page 250 is photographed are
probably painted with verdigris. The green is, how-
ever, a fine one, especially as no yellow brighter than
ochre is used in thesolid painting. Verdigris is per-
haps the most interesting of all the pigments used
by the old masters, as we know it to turn black
and to invade and destroy other colours. Its suc-
cessful use by them, therefore, is little short of mar-
vellous. I will treat of this, however, at some length
when the mediums used by the old masters come
under discussion, and it will be our most interesting
223
example of what can be done by the right selection
of a medium.
Bianco Sangiovanni ( Whiting). —
This is largely
whiting, or chalk, and is recommended for fresco
work by Cennino Cennini. His method of prepara-
tion however, a beautiful one. He takes slaked
is,
lime, and,mixing it with water, keeps it for eight

days, changing the water every day. He then
makes it into small cakes, and lets them dry in the
sun. As he says, the older they are (that is, the
more completely they change back into carbonate)
the whiter they become.
Biacca ( White Lead). —Cennino says that it must
not be used for fresco, as it turns black, but may
be used on pictures. This pigment was apparently
known to the ancients, though not used on walls.
It always has been, and still is, prepared (some of it)
in the same way, by the action of vinegar vapour

on metallic lead a process popularly known as the
;
Dutch process. There is no reason to suppose that

the pigment made now by this process differs in any
way from that used by the old masters. Under the
name of flake white it is used to-day for oil-painting.
It may be as well to explain here, and now, certain
points about this pigment which seem to be not

clearly understood by artists.
224
In the first place, it is necessary to understand that
stack lead, as I shall call it, that is, white lead made
by the action of acetic acid vapour on lead plates,
contains two substances, one known as carbonate,
the other hydrate of lead, and it owes its peculiar
properties to the intimate union in the right propor-
tion of these two. One of the most important of
these properties is its power of combining with the
oil to form what is known as a lead soap, thus form-
ing a leathery substance of great durability. All the
so-called permanent whites do not do this, and, con-
sequently, remain merely a mixture of particles of
pigment with the oil.Furthermore, a great deal of
white lead is made now by a precipitation process.
It iswhiter than stack lead, and therefore preferred
by artists but it does not combine with the oil, as
;
stack lead does, and is not so reliable. A mixture

of the two is also sold, which is fairly satisfactory,
I think.
Now, to illustrate what I mean by
combin-this
ing with the oil, I will describe an experiment made

by a manufacturer of whites. He coated some
pieces of canvas with different whites, such as pa-
tent white, precipitated white lead, and so on, and
fixedthem up on a roof, where they would flap
about in the wind and get all the weather going.
225 15
The stack lead canvas was not affected by this treat-
ment, but the other whites cracked and dusted off.
On the other hand, exposure tests on wood have

conclusively shown that zinc white or mixtures of
zinc white and lead whites such as lead sulphate
stand exposure better than white lead.
To go on to another point — the
darkening of
white lead. In impure air, containing certain com-
pounds of sulphur, white lead turns to an unpleas-
ant brown. If, however, it is then exposed to sun-
light, it quickly recovers again and returns to its
original white.
Besides this action, if kept in the dark it becomes
of a yellow colour, not disagreeable. This is quite

different from the effect of sulphuretted hydrogen,
but can also be removed by exposure to sunlight.
The ease with which white lead is thus restored
has not, I think, been allowed for sufficiently in
considering its instability as a pigment.
Azzurro della Magna. —
According to Mrs
Merrifield, it is a blue copper ore. Cennino says
that it is found in the veins of silver mines, and that
it comes from Germany and from Greece. There
was, probably, no blue more universally used than
this during the best periods of Italian art. It is
repeatedly referred to, and Professor Branchi, of
226
Pisa,has found it in many old pictures and frescoes.
I do not doubt that blue often seen on the walls of
our cathedrals, where a little of the old colouring
remains, copper ore. It is true that the origi-
is this
nal preparation of copper blues seems to have come

in also very early, and it is difficult, therefore, to
say which may have been used in any particular
case. I will not trouble you with all the information
collected on this point. With reference to the use
of copper blues in painting, however, a few remarks
are necessary. In the first place, it seems to have
been the practice to lay on this blue with size and
not with oil, the opinion being that in
oil it turned
green. Whether deserving of an

this is so or not is
experiment. In order to be able to use size in an oil-
painting, the oil surface was rubbed with a little gar-
lic. In this way a sticky surface was formed on
which the size could grip. The use of size in this way
is undoubted, and has been found in restoring some
ancient pictures. Doubtless, also, the blue would be
laid on with certain varnishes but this point must
;
be left in the meantime. After laying on with size

it was varnished over in many cases.
In fresco, of course, these difficulties would not

present themselves. Copper blue and green have
fallen into great discredit in modern times, and I
227
propose to consider here shortly how far this is
justifiable.
In the first place, their use in oil seems to have
been always objected to, certain varnishes or size
being used. But if used with size there seems to
be no reason to doubt their durability in pure air.
Copper tends, under certain conditions, to oxidise
and carbonate into blues and greens, as is seen on
old bronze. This is the final product from exposure
to damp and air, and doubtless a stable one. The
fact of similar colours being found in copper ores
confirms the view that copper blues and green, at
any rate of native origin, should be stable com-
pounds.
Can they then be recommended for use now in
painting.'' I and because of our old enemy,

fear not,
sulphur. In the pure air of a country house, where
ofas has never been heard of, I would not fear to
use them, but they are, I consider, more suscep-
tible even than white lead, and for this reason.
White lead is easily restored, at least in oil, by ex-
posure to sunlight. Copper, I believe, will be found
not to recover in the same way. It will gradually
blacken without recovery. Consequently the re-
introduction of copper ores for modern work cannot,
I fear, be recommended.
228
We have discussed elsewhere the Egyptian blue
and the more modern smalt, apparently both un-
known to Cennino Cennini.
They are quite useless in oil, as fine grinding
immediately destroys their beauty, but are, I be-
lieve, especially applicable to fresco work. I know
of no blue at present in the market which can be
more safely recommended for fresco-painting, and I
think that these blues might well be revived for this

purpose. The manufacture of a cobalt frit or com-
mon smalt might well be improved, so as to make a
reliable pigment of it.
Azzurro oltre Marino ( Ultramarine). — We now

come to the most famous of all blues, real ultra-
marine, prepared from lapis lazuli. Cennino says,
" Ultramarine is a colour more noble, beautiful, and
perfect than any other colour and its good qualities

;
exceed anything we can say in its favour." The

utmost pains used to be taken with its preparation
from the stone, and it was always very expensive.
Certain monasteries were famous for preparing it,
and supplied it to the artists they employed and ;
many stories are told of their stingy ways with this
colour, and how they suspected the artists of steal-

ing it, and so on. It is still prepared, but has been
replaced by the artificial ultramarines. These are
229
—

similar in chemical composition, and very beautiful,
and the best qualities seem durable. But it is very
questionable they equal in
if any way the real
article. I quote in full Cennino's description of the
method of preparing this colour. It is very similar

to the receipts given in other MSS. :
"Chapter LXII
" Of the nature of azzurro oltre marino {ultramarine blue),
and how it is prepared
" Ultramarine blue a colour noble, beautiful,
is
and perfect beyond all other colours, and there is no-

thing that could be said of it but it will still exceed
this (praise). On account of its great excellence, I
shall speak of it at length, and give you full direc-
tions for preparing it and you must pay great at-
;
tention to them, that you may gain honour and

service from them. And with this colour, together
with gold (which adorns all the works of our art) let
everything be resplendent, whether on walls or
panels.
" First take some lapis lazuli ; and if you would
know how to distinguish the best stones, take those
which contain most of the blue colour, for it is mixed
with what is like ashes. That which contains least
of this ash pigment is the best but be careful that
;
230
you do not mistake for it azzurro della magna, which
is as beautiful to the eye as enamel.
"
Pound it in a covered bronze mortar, that the
powder may not fly away then put it on your slab
;
of porphyry, and grind it without water; afterwards

take a covered strainer like that used by the drug-
gists for sifting drugs (spices) and sift it, and pound
again as much as is required. But bear in mind that
though the more you grind, the more finely powdered
the azzurro will be, yet it will not be so beautiful and
rich and deep in colour, and that the finely ground
sort is fit for miniature painters, and for draperies
inclining to white. When the powder is prepared,
procure from the druggist six ounces of resin of the
pine, three ounces of mastic, and three ounces of new
wax each pound of lapis lazuli. Put all these in-
to
gredients into a new pipkin and melt them together.
Then take a piece of white linen and strain these
things into a glazed basin. Then take a pound of the
powder of lapis lazuli mix it all well together into
;
a paste, and that you may be able to handle the paste,

take linseed oil, and keep your hands always well
anointed with this oil. This paste must be kept at
least three days and three nights, kneading it a little
every day and remember that you may keep it for
;
fifteen days or a month, or as long as you please.

231
When you would extract the azure from the paste,
—
proceed thus: Make two sticks of strong wood,
neither too thick nor too thin, about a foot long ; let
them be well rounded at each end and well polished

(smoothed). Then, your paste being in the glazed
basin into which you first put it, add to it a porrin-
gerful of lye, moderately warm and with these two

;
sticks, one in each hand, turn and squeeze and knead

the paste thoroughly, exactly in the manner thatyou
would knead bread. When you see that the lye is
thoroughly blue, pour it out into a glazed basin take ;
the same quantity of fresh lye, pour it over the paste,

and work it with the sticks as before. When this lye
is very blue, pour it into another glazed basin, and
continue to do so for several days, until the paste no
longer tinges the lye. Then throw it away it is good ;
for nothing. Range all the basins before you on a

table in order, that is to say, the first, second, third,
and fourth then, beginning at the first, with your
;
hand stir up the lye with the azure, which by its

weight will have sunk to the bottom, and then you
will know the depth of colour of the azure. Consider
how many shades of the azure you will have, whether
three, or four, or six, or what number you please, al-
ways remembering that the first-drawn extracts are
the best, as the first basin is better than the second.
232
And if you have eighteen basins of extract, and you
wish to make three shadesofazure, take the contents
of six basins and mix them together; that will be one
shade. Proceed in the same manner with the others.
But remember that if you have good lapis lazuli, the
azure from the first two extracts is worth eightducats
the ounce. The last two extracts are worse than
ashes —may your eyes therefore be experienced, so
as not to spoil the good azure by mixing it with the
bad ; and each day remove the lye that the azure
may dry. When it is quite dry, according to the sorts
you have, put it into skins, bladders, or purses, as
may be most convenient, and take notice that if the
lapis lazuli should not be very good, or if, after hav-
ing ground it, the colour were not to turn out deep
(violante) enough, I will tell you how to give it a
little colour. Take a little pounded kermes lake
i^grana) and a little verzino, but mind the verzino
is grated or scraped with glass and then boil them
;
together with lye or a little roche alum. And when

they and you see that the colour is a perfect
boil,
crimson, before you have withdrawn the azure from
the porringer, but well dried from lye, add to it a
little of this lake and verzino, and with your finger
mix everything well together and let them remain

;
till dried, without sun, or fire, or wind. When dry,

233
put it into a skin or purse, and rejoice in it, for it is
good and perfect. And bear in mind that it is a

rare gift to know how to make it well. You must
know also that it is rather the art of maidens than
of men to make it, because they remain continually
in the house, and are more patient and their hands
are more delicate. But beware of old women. When
you use this azure, take as much as you want and ;
if you are going to work on light dresses, it must
be ground a little on your usual stone. And if you

want it for laying grounds, it must be very little
worked on the stone and always with very clear
water, the stone being well washed and clean. And
if the azure should get soiled it any way, take a little
lye or clean water, and put it into the vase, and

stir them well together, changing it two or three
times, when the blue will be quite clean. I shall not

treat of its tempera,because I shall hereafter de-
scribe all the temperas proper for every colour to
be used on pictures, on walls, on iron, on paper, on
stone, or on glass."
The blacks mentioned by Cennino are three in
number black chalk, a chalk prepared by charring

:
the young shoots of the vine a black from almond

;
skins or peach stones and lampblack.

;
234
Ivory black was also known, though not mention-
ed by him. With reference to lampblack, Vasari says
that has a tendency to darken in time, and gives
it
this as the cause of injury to Raphael's Transfigura-

tion in the Vatican.
It will be noticed that he mentions no browns.
Browns, however, such as umber were known and
used, and asphaltum in later times. The successful
use of asphaltum is very difficult to understand.
Many modern pictures have been spoiled by it, and
artists are afraid of it. In some old receipts, how-
ever, we are directed to roast it before grinding
in oil. Professor Church, in his recent book on
pigments, gives his testimony that this is perfectly
successful, and the pigment may then be used with
impunity, but it is very much less beautiful.
Besides these colours, Cennino mentions indigo,
and states that a fine green can be made by mixing
it with orpiment. He probably, however, only means
it be used in miniature painting.

to
He also mentions lakes, but does not describe their
composition. The question of the lakes used by the
old masters is so important that it will be discussed
in a separate chapter.
Having thus gone through the list of pigments
given by him, it is of some interest to refer again to
235
—

those that he regarded as safe for use in fresco.
These were sinopia, amatisto, yellow ochre, Naples
yellow, verde terra, bianco sangiovanni, and black.
No blue is mentioned, though elsewhere he talks of
using indigo, which is difficult to understand. Of
these colours one from the modern palette,
is wanting
namely, Naples yellow. There can be no doubt that

as safe a palette can be selected from among modern
pigments. As stated in Chapter VI., if blue copper
frits are introduced again, or cobalt blue used, with
cobalt green and oxide of chromium green, a per-
fectly safe palette could be made up along with the
earths given above.
Cennino Cennini next tells us how to varnish the
finished tempera picture, in the following words :
" You must know that the best varnishing is to

delay as long as possible after your picture is painted
— the longer the better. And I speak truth when
I say that if you delay for several years, or at least
for one year, your work will be much fresher. The

reason of this is, that the colouring naturally acquires
the same condition as the gold, which shuns a mix-
ture with other metals ; so that the colours when
mixed with tempera dislike the inmix-
their proper
ture of other tempera.Varnish is a strong liquor
and gives great force {dimostrativo), and will be
236
obeyed in everything, and annuls every other tem-
pera. And suddenly, as you spread it over the pic-
ture, the colours lose their natural strength and must
obey the varnish, and their own tempera has no
longer power to refresh them. Then take liquid
. . .
varnish, the brightest and clearest you can obtain ;
place your picture in the sun, wipe it and clean it as

thoroughly as you can from dust and dirt of every
kind and take care that it is weather without wind,
;
because the dust is subtle, and every time that the

wind blows it over your picture, you will have more
difficulty in making it clean. You might well var-
nish in such a place as a green meadow or by the
sea. . When you have warmed the picture in
. .
the sun and the varnish also, place the picture level,
and with your hands spread the varnish all over
thinly and well ... or dip a small piece of fine
sponge in the varnish, rolling it with the hand over
the picture."
It is evident from this account that the varnish
was thick, and had be warmed and then rubbed
to
on with the hand. Its probable composition is dis-
cussed in the chapter on varnishes. We have thus
obtained by a study of this MS. a very complete
picture of the whole procedure in his time necessary
for the painting for tempera pictures. The final pro-
237
—
cess of varnishing has not usually lasted on these
pictures, the varnish having crumbled off through
time and left the uninjured egg-picture underneath,
which has in many cases again been varnished in
modern times. Such protection by varnish is no
doubt very necessary for such pictures, as they
are easily injured by scratching, dirt, and injurious
gases. The remarkable fact remains, however, that
though egg is not the medium one would have se-
lected as likely to endure through the centuries, these
pictures have remained fresh and firm, while oil-
pictures have darkened, wrinkled, cracked, and fis-
sured, have, in fact, been destroyed by the medium
with which they have been painted, not through the
fault in most cases of the pigments which have been
used.
In the following chapters Cennino Cennini dis-
courses on oil painting:
"Chapter LXXXIX
" How io paint in oil on walls, panels, iron, or whatever
you please
" Before we proceed I will teach you to
further,
paint in oil onon panels, which is much
walls, or
practised by the Germans, and in the same way on
iron or stone. But we will first speak of walls.
238
;

"Chapter XC
" How to begin painting in oil on walls
"
Cover your wall with plaster, exactly as you
would do when painting in fresco, except that where
you then covered but a small space at a time, you
are now to spread it over your whole work. Make
your design with charcoal, and fix it with ink or
verdaccio, tempered. Then take a little glue, much
diluted with water a —
whole egg, well beaten in a
porringer, with the milky juice of the fig-tree, is a
still better tempera — you must add egg to the said
a glassful of clean water. Then, either with a sponge
or a very soft brush without a point, go once over
the whole ground on which you are going to paint,
and leave it to dry for one day at least.
"Chapter XCI
'
' How to make oil fit for tempering colours, and also for
mordants, by boiling over the fire
"It will be very useful to you to know how to

prepare this oil for many things that are done
therefore, take one, two, three, or four pounds of
it into a new pipkin
linseed oil, and put if it is glazed, ;
so much the better. Make a small furnace, and make

a round hole, into which the pipkin fits exactly, so
239
;

that the flame may not reach it, because the fire easily
catches and there would be danger to the oil, and
it,
also of burning the house. When you have made

your furnace, put a moderate fire in it and the more ;
slowly your oil boils, the better and more perfect

will it be. Let it boil until it is reduced to half the
quantity. But to prepare mordants, when it is re-
duced to half the quantity, add to each pound of oil
one ounce of liquid varnish {vernice liquida), and let
it be very fine and clear and oil thus prepared is
;
good for mordants.
"Chapter XCII
'
' How to prepare good and perfect oil by cooking it
in the sun
" When you have prepared this oil (which is also

cooked another way, better for painting, but not
in
for mordants, for which it must be done on the fire,
that is, cooked), take your linseed oil, and in summer
time put it in a basin of bronze or copper. And in
August [quando e il sole leone) place it in the sun
and if you keep it there till it is half wasted, it will
be exactly right for mixing with colours. And you

must know that, in Florence, I have found the finest
and best that there can be.
240
"Chapter XCIII
" How to grind colours in oil and to use them on walls
"
Let us return to grinding the colours. Begin and
grind colour by colour, as you did when working in
fresco, except that where you then ground them with
water, you must now grind them with oil. And when
you have ground them, that is to say, all the colours
(for every colour can be mixed with oil except bianco
sangiovanni), provide small vessels, either of lead
or of tin, into which put these colours. And if you
cannot find such, get glazed vessels, and put the
ground colours into them put them in a box, that
;
they may keep clean. When you would paint a

drapery with three gradations of colour, as I have
previously taught you, divide the space, and each let
colour be laid in its proper place with a minever

brush, uniting one colour well with another, the
colours being very stiff Then stop for a few days
and return again to your work see how the paint;
covers, and repaint where necessary. And in this

way paint flesh or anything you please, and in this
way mountains, trees, and every other work. Pro-
vide a vessel of tin or lead (something like a lamp),
about the height of your finger, half fill it with oil,
and keep your brushes in it that they may not dry."
241 16
This oil would be thicker than that used by artists
to-day, and would rather resemble lithographic var-
nish, and be stiff to grind pigments in and to paint
with. I discuss its properties at greater length when
considering the whole subject of oil-painting. It is
evident from these chapters that Cennino Cennini

was not only aware that everything could be done
in oil, buthad himself experimented with it.
Finally,though Cennino Cennini mentions var-
nish (vernice liquida), he tells us nothing of its com-
position. Besides mixing it with thickened oil as a
mordant for laying on gold, he also uses it for his
finished tempera pictures.
We have next to consider the g.^^ mediums de-
scribed by Cennino Cennini, and the way in which
he directs them to be used. Of these the most im-
portant is the yolk of &%g. In the part of this book
dealing with fresco I have already mentioned that
for painting on the dry wall surface Cennino Cen-
nini advises a medium of white and yolk of ^gg and
fig-tree juice. This, however, is medium for
not his
panel pictures. For these he recommends simply
the yolk of the ^gg.
In chapter Ixxii. —
the one already quoted as giv-
ing thelist of pigments safe for buonfresco hesays: —
" The first tempera consists of the white and yolk
242
of an egg, into which are put some cuttings of young
shoots of the fig-tree ; beat them well together, then
add some of thistempera moderately, neither too
much nor too little, to each of the vases, like mixing
halfwine with half water. . If you use too much
, ,
tempera suddenly, the colour will crack off the wall.

. , The second kind of tempera is the yolk of egg
.
only and you must know that this tempera is of

;
universal application on walls, on panels, and on

iron, and you cannot use too much of it but be ;
sure and take a middle course." Again, in chapter

cxlv., he says: "You must always temper your
colours with yolk of egg" for panel-painting. There
can be no doubt, therefore, that yolk of egg was his
tempera, the pigments being first ground in and kept
wet with water. The proportion between egg and
water is, however, left uncertain but apparently the
;
yolk of egg, after breaking up, is mixed with an equal

quantity of water and this used to blend with the
pastily wet pigments. With this medium thin and
repeated paintings were made one over the other.
For the whole technique the reader is referred to
Mrs Herringham's translation of Cennino Cennini.
Besides this universal tempera, Cennino Cennini ad-
vises the use of size in the case of saffron, orpiment
and ultramarine, orpiment and indigo; and, for ver-
243
digris, size on panels, but yolk of egg on parchment
or paper. Mrs Herringham has not found it prac-
ticable to use size in the same picture with yolk of
egg. Besides receipts for the preparation of parch-
ment glue, Cennino Cennini mentions fish-glue more
than once, and honey, but not as painting mediums.
He also refers to linseed oil for making paper trans-
parent, as well as a painting medium. The refer-
ence to linseed oil by Cennino Cennini is of great
interest as showing what was known of this medium
long before oil-painting became customary in Italy.
CHAPTER XI
ON THE PAINTING OF ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPTS
In the course of the various chapters dealing with

the receipts from Theophilus, Cennino Cennini, and
others, a considerable amount of information has
necessarily been given on the subject of the illumin-
ating of manuscripts ; but it is, nevertheless, neces-
sary to bring it one place in order to
to a focus in
make the information intelligible and connective.
It is not part of the purpose of this book to deal with
the history of illuminated manuscripts, or to con-

sider the various developments of decorative art in
connection with them. We have already said some-
thing of the painting on papyrus MSS. in Egypt,
and the illustration on page 21 is an example of this
kind of Egyptian art; but we have now to deal with
the efforts of later times.
During the time of the Byzantine Empire very
beautiful illuminated MSS.wereproduced,andmore
24s
especially for the use of the Byzantine emperors,
manuscripts stained purple with murex and written
in letters of gold. These manuscripts were princi-
pally books of the Gospels, and many of them are
still in existence. The purple staining seems to have
faded considerably, but the pigments have retained

their freshness.
Beautiful illuminated manuscripts were also pro-
duced during the reign of Charles the Great and his
successors. This revival of the illuminator's art was
due to the aid of Alcuin of York, who was abbot of
the Benedictine monastery of St Martin at Tours.
A beautifully illuminated copy of his revised edition
of the Vulgate exists in the British Museum.
But the history of illuminated MSS. is very speci-
ally associated with these islands, and especially with
Ireland. The Irish Church was founded about 430
A.D., and by the middle of the seventh century the
Irish monks had learned to produce both gold-
smiths' work and illuminated manuscripts with a
taste and skill of the highest order. The delicate
work executed in gold influenced largely the decora-
tive treatment of the vellum surface owing to the
fact that thesame monk practised both arts. The
most famous example of the work of this period is
the Book of Kells, in the library of Trinity College,
246
ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPTS
Dublin. The sheets of vellum are occasionally
stained purple after the Byzantine manner —the
Irish monks had learned how to extract the purple
dye from a varietyofmurex found on the shoreof the
Irish Channel, —
but both gold and silver decoration
is absent from these early manuscripts. The art
was introduced into England by Irish monks, and
for many centuries the finest illuminating work was
done in this country. One of the most famous centres
for the production of this work was the Abbey of
Lindisfarne. In the year 635, at the request of
Oswald, King of N orthumbria, an I rish monk, Aidan,
came from lona to preach the Gospel in North-
umbria, and selected the island of Lindisfarne as his
headquarters. Here was prepared the "Book of the
Gospels of St Cuthbert," the writing being done by
Eadfrith, "in honour of God and of Saint Cuthbert,"
the illuminations by ^thelwold, afterwards ninth
Bishop of Lindisfarne, and thegoldandgem-studded
case by Bilfrith. Owing to the constant harrying
of the abbey by the Vikings, the monks, in the
year 878, fled from the island with the body of St
Cuthbert and the "Book of the Gospels." The box
containing the Gospels was washed overboard, and
the ship finally driven back and stranded on the
shore, where the monks, to their joy, found the box
247
with the manuscript miraculouslypreserved, and, ac-
cording to Symeon, uninjured. The MS., which is
to-day in the British Museum, shows, however,
traces of the injury done by the salt water, but is on
the whole wonderfully preserved.
The English art of illuminating reached its highest
perfection in the thirteenth century, more especially
during the long reign of Henry III., from 1216 to
1272 but fine work was still executed through the
;
fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, although mixed

with a great deal of inferior work.
In France the illuminating of MSS. flourished
under King Louis IX. (121 5-1 270) as much as it
did in England, and in the fourteenth century the
French MSS. are the finest being produced at that
time. The fifteenth and sixteenth centuries are
periods of decline in the production of these works
of art. The demand forilluminated MSS. hadgrown
enormously, with the result that it passed out of the
hands of the monks, and in Paris, Brussels, Antwerp,
Bruges, Ghent, Arras, and other French and Flem-
ish cities, large numbers of secular writers and illu-
minators grew up, and special guilds of illuminators
were formed. Ultimately the art is destroyed by the
invention and development of printing, though for
some time both are found being carried on side by
248
side, and a combination of both arts is to be found
in the Books of Hours, produced in Paris during the
close of the fifteenth and beginning of the sixteenth
century, printed on vellum, decorated with woodcut
borders, and illuminated by painting in gold and
opaque colours over the engravings. For this brief
historical account I am indebted to the late Profes-
sor Middleton's Illuminated Manuscripts in Classi-
cal and Mediceval Times.
The manuscripts were usually written and painted
on vellum, though paper was sometimes used, and
the pigments and mediums were those already de-
scribed. Special attention was given, among other
things, to the application of gold. This was done in
two ways, either as gold leaf or gold paint. When
applied as gold leaf it was usually burnished, and
for this purpose required to have underneath it a
firm bed, which was usually slightly convex. Many
different mixtures for this foundation are given, but
it usually consisted of a mixture of whiting with
white of &g^ or parchment-glue, mixed with a red
ochre to colour it. This was laid on with a brush,
allowed to dry, polished with a burnisher, and then
the gold leaf attached with white of ^g<g. Ultimate-
ly the gold leaf was also burnished with the dog's
tooth or other burnisher.
249
Theoldgoldleafwas, itmustbe remembered,much
thicker than the gold leaf of to-day, and was some-
times laid on two or three layers thick before burn-
ishing. The other method of using gold was to grind
up the leaf with white of egg or gum and then paint
it on. This gold paint was also capable of some par-
tial burnishing, apparently, from the directions given,
but was as a rule left dead. It is used in two ways,

namely, as part of the decorative scheme, and also
as a yellow in high lights. Very often a rich effect
is produced by many very fine lines of this dead gold
running through a piece of painting. In the particu-

larexampleof anilluminated^(?0/^ of Hours, given on
page 250, the dead gold is represented entirely by
yellow in the reproduction. If the page is held so
as to look straight at it, the gold has merely a yellow
effect; but the slightest movement of the position of
the pages bririgs out the metallic sheen. 1 1 is practic-
ally impossible to reproduce the delicate interlacing
of gold paint by means of modern methods of repro-
duction. This Book of Hours, which is in the pos-
session of the University of Edinburgh, is a very
dainty little volume, bound in velvet, and written
upon vellum, with ornamented borders and fine
miniatures, in the first of which is painted the arms
of the Duke of Anjou. On the flyleaf it is written
250
FROM A •' BOOK OF HOURS
Bri^M GritHS, probaily vrrdigHs; Blues, frohably
nltramarine; also t'ermiliim and foaiify Lake,
1 ell«ws—Gold I'mtt. {Eiiin. Univ. Lilirary)
rage igv.
that it became 1586 the property of the Che-
in
valier Balthazar Remiel, and that it had belonged
to his grandmother, Joan Bertrand. It is apparent-
ly late fifteenth-century French work.
This use of gold as a yellow pigment is not
peculiar to illuminators of MSS. A very remark-
able example is to be seen in Holbein's The Am-
bassadors, in the National Gallery, where the gold
chain painted with yellow ochre, with particles of
is
gold leaf for the high lights. The staining of the

vellum was not only done with murex, as Cennino
Cennini gives several receipts for staining vellum
different colours. These receipts are not properly
for stains at all, as they consist of very thin washes
of pigments mixed with a little size. Such staining,
however, does not seem to have been common. The
black ink used in the earlier times was simply lamp-
black and gum water, but in later times an ink made
like our modern ink was used. Theophilus, as we
have seen, gives a receipt for an ink of this kind,
containing tannic acid and iron. These inks have in
many cases badly faded. The older ink is quite in-
destructible,and corresponds to what we now know
as Indian ink, Vermilion and red lead are used for
red inks. The many pigments already described are
available for miniature-painting, but judging by
251
their appearance the actual palette was fairly limited.
Verdigris is easily recognised in many cases, and red
lead and vermilion, lake and ultramarine.
How far the " folium " colourswere used it is
difficult to say, butvery unlikely that they have
it is
stood the test of time. Many hues of the fugitive

pigments already described were not necessarily un-
suitable for illuminating MSS., as they were so sel-
dom exposed to the light. The mediums were, as
we have seen, white of egg, parchment-glue, gum,
fish-glue, and for verdigris merely wine, the verdi-
gris being worked in more as a stain than as a pig-
ment. The selection of these mediums for certain
pigments was somewhat capricious, and the advice
of Theophilus on this matter has already been quot-
ed on page 167. Probably of these mediums white
of egg proved the best and safest, and gum the
worst, as it would be more likely to crack and flake
off. For those who may wish to revive and experi-
ment on the illuminating of vellum, therefore, the
best advice would be to buy dry pigments, and to
grind them in white of egg as wanted, and to use
thick gold leaf, both for laying on as leaf and for
grinding up with white of egg as paint. If the pig-
ments are carefully selected there should be no diffi-
culty in producing beautiful and permanent work.
252
CHAPTER XII
ON THE PREPARATION OF THE LAKES USED BY

THE OLD MASTERS
In discussing the pigments used in classical times

we have found that the preparation of pigments
from animal and vegetal dyes was evidently under-
stood. The simplest form of such a pigment is the
colouring matter extracted from a plant and evapor-
ated to a thick consistency and mixed with gypsum
or chalk. Such a preparation is, however, unsatis-
factory, because the pigment is not really suited to
the chalk base. Another method of using such ex-
tracts is to mix them with a little gum or glue water,
and lay them on as transparent stains upon the sur-
face. In the case, however, of many of the most
brilliant and permanent dyes the colour is not pro-
perly developed under these conditions, and a mor-
dant of some kind is required which, uniting chemi-
cally with the dye, fixes it to the cloth, or chalky
253
base,and at the same time develops its colour. In
some cases, for instance, the colour of the mordanted
dye is quite different from that of the dye itself.
To give a striking example, alizarin, the dyeing

principle of the madder
root, is an orange-yellow
colour, but whenmordanted into the cloth with alum
is red. The dyes from madder (red to crimson),
woad (blue), weld (yellow), kermes (red to crimson),
and murex seem to have been known from very
early times; and to this list we can add others, such
as the dyes from certain lichens like litmus, and
the yellow dyes from Persian berries and quercitron
bark. The dyes from saffron- or Brazil-wood do
not seem to have been known in classical times, but
were very familiar from the thirteenth century on-
ward. As already explained, in the first instance
a base such as a chalk was usually used, and alum
or some similar and closely related body used as
the mordant ; while in the case of the Egyptian
madder the base was gypsum and the mordant
lime. But in later times the use of alum as a mor-
dant was extended to the use of alumina as a base.
If alum is dissolved in water and some soda added,
a white, flocculent, translucent precipitate of alu-
mina is formed, which, if dried and ground in water
or in oil, is almost transparent. If the alum or
354
— —
LAKES USED BY OLD MASTERS
soda solution contains also in solution a suitable
dye, then the precipitate during formation absorbs
the dye, and the resulting product is what is now
known as a "lake," whether the dye be madder,
or cochineal, or another. Accordingly we find that
the earliest receipts are for pigments prepared as
in the classical times on a chalky base, the dis-
covery of how to obtain what we mean by a lake
coming later. Accordingly we find in the older
MSS. receipts for preparing lakes of the simplest
kind.
For instance, a receipt for the preparation of lake
in this way occurs in the manuscript of E radius,
which isregarded as not being later than the
thirteenth century :
" Thus when painters wish to imitate sil atticum
they put dried violets into a vase of water over the

fire to boil, and when boiled down they are strain-
ed through a linen cloth, and rubbed down in a

mortar with chalk, and so a colour like sil atticum
is made."
Again we find E radius says :
" Fôres in varies qui vult mutare colores,

Causa scribendi quos libri pagina poscit,
Est opus ut segetes in summo mane pererret,
Et tunc diversos floras ortuque recentes."
255
" Inveniet properetque sibi decerpere eosdem,
Cumque domum fuerit, caveat ne ponat in unutn,
Illos, sed faciat quod talis res sibi poscit
Desuper equalem petram contriveris istos
Flores; incoctum pariter turn contere gypsum,
Sic tibi siccatos poteris servare colores.
Ex quibus in viridem si vis mutare colorem,
Calcem commisce cum inde videbis
floribus ;
Quod tibi mandavi, veluti prius ipse probavi."

The above quotations are taken from Mrs Merri-
field's translation of the manuscripts of one "Jehan
le Begue,'' notary to the masters of the mint in
Paris, who compiled them (1431) from the manu-
scripts of one " Jehan Alcherius." They contain
the receipts collected by Jehan Alcherius himself,
the manuscripts of Petrus de S. Audemar, of E ra-
dius, and part of that of Theophilus. Mrs Merri-
field has corrected the version of E radius, and the
manuscripts of Jehan le Begue, by the copy of
E radius bound up with Theophilus, and found by
Raspe in Trinity College Library, Cambridge,
now at the British Museum (Egerton Manuscripts,
184A).
be seen that when a purple colour is re-
It will
quired, a neutral substance is used; when a green,

lime is added. The colour in the former receipt is
consequently green.
256
In order to use the colours thus prepared for illu-
minated manuscripts, they were mixed with a little
gum arable or white of egg beaten up, directions for
this occurring frequently. I have prepared a green
pigment by boiling the petals of violets with water,
filtering and evaporating the filtrate slowly with a
little French chalk and gum arable.
The result shows that such pigments can be pre-

pared with no great difficulty, and would doubtless
give soft and pleasing tints.
Eraclius gives also another method of preparing
lake by allowing ivy juice to slowly evaporate in a
porous jar till thick enough to use as a colour.
" De Edera et Lacca

Propositis rebus edere satis utile robur.
Vere novo, reduci cum gaudent omnia succo,

Arboribusque refert humor, . . .
Nam subula rami, loca per deserta forati,

Emittunt viscum, quem qui sibi sumpserit ilium,
Transferet in rubeam coctum prurigine formam ;
Sanguineumque sibi leviter capit ille colorem,

Hunc sibi pictor amat et scriptor diligit eque.
Hinc etiam roseo fit parcia tincta colore.
Quae quoque caprinas, quae pelles tingit ovinas."
257 17
The preparation of a lake from ivy is also de-
scribed by Petrus de S. Audemar/ He advises the
addition of madder, straining through a cloth, and
then evaporating over a fire. "And while it is on the
fire, put it frequently with a twig upon your rod to
try it. If it is thick enough, let it cool and harden,
so that you may be able to make it into cakes."
In this receipt he says take lac, that is, the gum of
ivy; andinother receipts the month of Marchismen-
tioned as the right time to collect the gum from the
young twigs. This gum is referred to in Balfour's
Manual of Botany, and is stated to have certain
medicinal properties, but it is not mentioned in the
Pharmacopoeia, and the wholesale druggists know
nothing of it. I have not been successful in prepar-
ing such a lake from the young twigs of English ivy
— the expressed juice merely drying up into a dark
—
green but I have obtained a yellow gum from the
ivy in Italy, which, on exposure to air, darkens
gradually to a ruby colour on the outside. Appar-
ently, however, to get a fine colour from it, the
Italian sun is necessary.
We soon find, however, that these methods are
replaced by more scientific ones, derived from the
' Supposed to be not later than the end of the thirteenth century.
Contains some receipts from Clavicula. A twelfth-century MS.

258
—

art of dyeing, which, of course, reached great per-
fection in very early times. In the MS. of Jehan le
Begue we find several receipts for the preparation
of lakes in the modern method, which, as they were
compiled by him from the MSS. of Alcherius, be-
long to the fourteenth century.^
We find in these receipts the substance from which
the colouring matter is to be obtained is first to be
boiled in a ley, made from wood ashes, or with a
stale urine, and then the colour precipitated by the
addition of alum. Traces of the older method, how-
ever, are to be found, as frequently the addition of
gypsum as well as alum is mentioned. Some of
these receipts indicate considerable knowledge of
the properties of alum basic salts, and their tend-
ency to form a precipitate under certain conditions.
The following quotations from Mrs Merrifield's
translation of the manuscripts of Jehan le B^gue
will serve to illustrate the methods used in the four-
teenth century :
" —
To make a rose colour. Take brixillium scraped
very fine with a knife or with glass, and tie it in a
* For instance, we find " Continentur hoc volumine de coloribus ad
pingendum capitulascriptaet notata a JohanneArcherio seu Alcherio,

Anno Domine 1398, ut accepit a Jacobo Cona, flamingo pictore Com-
morante tunc Parisiis,"and so on, from Jehan le B^gue.
259
fine piece of linen, not tight, but loose and easy.
And put it, tied up in that manner, into a new glaz-
ed earthen jar, to soak in ley or in urine; and if the
urine is stale, so much you cannot
the better. If
have any such, take very strong ley and put with
the said piece of linen containing the brixillium
some of the white chalk of three or four times the
weight of the brixillium, more or less, as by looking
at it you may think fit, according to the goodness
of the brixillium. Afterwards add some pulverised
raw alum, in quantity about one-fourth of the chalk
or thereabouts, more or less, and mix all the things
together, always leaving the said brixillium tied up
in the said piece of linen, and leave it so for about
one hour. Next place the jar upon a fire, not of
wood, but of charcoal, and let it boil, but not too
fast, for the space of a quarter of an hour or less, so
as just to melt the alum. Then take the said bag

of brixillium out of the vase, and press it and screw
it out well, in order that the whole of the colour
may run out of it in the said vase; and then remove

the colour, hot as it is, from the fire, and put it on
a hollow lump of chalk or upon a brick of baked
clay, in order that the urine or ley may be immedi-
ately absorbed into the stone, and the colour itself
remain thickened and half dry. Afterwards let it
260
—

dry completely in the sun, and then remove the
colour, which is of a rose colour, from the stone or
brick with a knife, and put it by for use. When you
wish to use it, take as much as you require and pow-
der it, that is, grind it upon a hard and smooth stone
with gum water, which must be made of two-third
parts of gum arabic dissolved in so small a quantity
of water as barely to cover the colour when the
water added and strained through a linen cloth,
is
and one-third part of clear water mixed with the said

gum so dissolved and strained. And with the gum
water, thus made, temper your rose colour to a pro-
per consistence, and use for whatever you please."
As a further example of the methods employed,
the following receipt from a MS., not later than the
middle of the fifteenth century, may be taken :
^
To make good andfine lake.

" — Take i lb. of clip-
pings of rosato, and put them into very strong ley
made of ashes, such as the dyers use, in a new glazed
jar, and on the fire to boil, and boil it slowly
set it
two paternosters then pass the ley

for the space of ;
and the shavings through a clean linen strainer, and

press it strongly with the hand, so that all the ley
may pass out ; then put back the ley to boil again
' This manuscript was found by Mrs Merrifield in the library of
RR. Canonici Regolari Convent of S. Salvatore in Bologna.
261
;

without the clippings, and when it is boiled, throw
it on the shavings which are in the strainer, and
press the strainer hard with the hand, so that all the
ley may run out, and put it by. Throw away the
shavings and wash the strainer well, so that there
may not remain in it any of the hairs of the shavings.
Next take 5 ozs. of roche alum in fine powder, and
put it, a a time, into the ley, until the ley be-
little at
gins to which you may know by its turning
settle,
almost entirely to a thick scum from top to bottom,
and you must keep on mixing the ley with a clean
spoon until it becomes cool and settles; then put
the ley into the clean strainer and strain it all off,
and the lake will remain on the strainer. Let it re-
main on the strainer until quite dry, and then put it
into a small basin of glazed earth full of clear and
cold water, and stir and rub it up well with the hand
until it diffuses itself; all the scum which rises to the
top at first must be thrown away with a feather
then wash the strainer well and pour into it the water
in which you have put the lake, and the clear water
will pass out along with the alum, and this is called
purifying it from the alum. And when the lake is
nearly dry, remove it from the strainer, and spread
it out with a broad knife on a new tile. Let it dry
in the shade, and before it has done drying, cut it
262
—
into pieces, according to your fancy, and let it dry,
and done. And know that the more it is purified
it is
from the alum, the more beautiful, and lively, and

the better it is. And observe this secret, that if you
wish to have the lake a brighter colour and one
which will never change, when the shavings are
boiling, add a lump of assafetida as large as a chest-
nut."
These two receipts give in some detail thegeneral
methods in use during the fifteenth, sixteenth, and
seventeenth centuries for the preparation of lakes.
There are, however, certain variations in detail that
are worth noting. The introduction of assafetida is
not again suggested, but in a receipt of later date

the substance is boiled with fennel seed. This receipt
isworth quoting in full, as it shows that they were
aware that under certain conditions the colour would
carry down alumina without the addition of an
alkali :
" To make a most beautifulpurple lake. —Take an

ounce of fine granaorcochineal, a quarter of anounce
of roche alum, and about a boccale full of common
water. Boil the water with a quarter of an ounce of
fennel seed until it is diminished one-third; then add
the grana or cochineal finely pulverised, and boil the
whole over a slow fire for a quarter of an hour; then
263
add the pulverised roche alum, and let it boil for an-
other quarter of an hour. After this, take it from
the fire, strain it through a linen cloth into a new
and unglazed earthen porringer, and leave it there
for eight days. You must then decant the water, or
take it up gently with a sponge, evaporating the little
which remains, until the colour is condensed, which
you must afterwards keep in shells, adding to it a
little lemon juice." ^
I have tested this receipt, and find that a precipi-
tate is thrown down of a purple colour. The addi-

tion of lemon juice referred to here, and in some
other receipts, causes the lake to become more of a
crimson and less of a purple.
Occasionally lime is to be added to the ley, pre-
pared from wood ashes, thus making it into caustic
potash and in one receipt we are told that the urine
;
must be kept twenty days, then boiled, skimmed,

and filtered. Occasionally lime-water alone is pro-
posed instead of ley. Alum is usually called roche
alum, but occasionally an alum zuccarino is men-
tioned. The addition of tartar is mentioned in a
receipt in the Padua MS., and the addition of sal
gemma, or pure rock salt, is once or twice referred to.
1 From a MS. in the library of the University of Padua, date prob-
ably the middle of the seventeenth century.
264
Occasionally the addition of powdered travertine,
egg shells, or fish-bones is advised and directions
;
are frequently given for filtering the ley through the

wood ashes several times with a view to obtaining
a saturated solution. I n a receiptgiven by Alcherius,
a little ley is added to the alum before adding the
alum solution to the coloured liquid, thus preparing
a basic salt. In more than one receipt the lake is to
be strained through linen, after the addition of the
alum. Apparently this would stop the pieces of dye-
wood or the grana from passing through, while al-
lowing the passage of the alumina. To understand
this, we must remember the loose weaving of linen
at that time. When the lake itself is to be filtered, a
woollen bag is usually prescribed, shaped like the
hood of a Capuchin friar. In some receipts we are
told to dry the lake in the shade, and not in the sun-
light, and occasionally the directions for filtering are
omitted. The washing of the lake is hardly ever
referred to.
In conclusion, we may sum up the methods used

by saying that they consisted in boiling the dye-
stuff with an alkahne solution, and precipitating the
colouring matter with alum.
Passing from the methods of preparation, the sub-
stances usually used to prepare these lakes require
265
next to be considered. A very large number of sub-
stances seem to have been used at different times
for the preparation not only of rose colours, but also
ofblue,green,and yellow lakes. For instance, East-
lake (p. 441, Materials for a History of Oil-Paint-
ing) mentions graines d' Avignon, weld, broom,
curcuma, saffron, aloes, and the inner bark of vari-
ous trees, as used for the preparation of yellow lakes.
De Mayerne (1573-1655), a friend of Rubens, men-
tions a green lake prepared from buckthorn {Rham-
nus catkarticus), and Hoogstraten says, " With us
lakes are in use, not only the purple, but the blue,
green, brown, or tints of yellow lakes." These quo-
tations are sufficient alone to show the large number
of lakes in use at various periods in the history of
art, and effectually dispose of those who imagine
the old masters to have been confined to using a few

colours only. Anyonewho holds this view need only
study the "Tabula de Vocabulis Sinonimis et Equi-
vocis colorum," at the beginning of the MSS. of
Jehanle Begue, to abandon it at once. Nevertheless,
though so many lakes were known, those of most
importance seem to have been the rose-coloured
lakes. I shall therefore pass over my experiments
on lakes from broom and from saffron, and consider

only the substances used for the preparation of rose-
266
coloured lakes, but I shall also include the prepar-
ation of lake from madder.
The rose-coloured lake prepared from ivy gum
has already been considered, In the later receipts
we find Indian lac, Brazil-wood, and kermes re-
peatedly referred to. I shall begin by considering
the lakes prepared from Indian lac.

It is sometimes doubtful whether the word lac
or lacca refers to the red resin from India, or to ivy-

juice, whichisoccasionallycalled lac; butitisevident-
ly the Indian resin in the later manuscripts, and
we find that it was imported for dyeing into Spain
and Provence as early as 1220. The colouring
matter in this resin is due to the coccus lacca, which
lives on the twigs of trees of the species Butea,
Ficus, and Croton. These insects become embed-
ded in the resin which exudes from the tree, thus
forming a red resinous mass, which is imported
under the name of stick lac, and probably corre-
sponds to thesubstance known as Indian lac in olden
times. It is customary now, however, to soften the
resin in water, when it is removed from the tree, by
which the colouring matter is largely extracted, and
the resin known as shellac separated. The solution
of the colouring matter is then evaporated down
into cakes known as lac dye. Until quite recently
267
—
a considerable quantity of lac dye was sent into
England, and I had some difficulty in obtaining a
pound of it. The sample I obtained has been, I
should think, overheated during evaporation, and
the colour partly burnt. As showing the identity of
stick lac with the Indian lac of olden times, I may
mention that it is stated in the Padua MS. already
referred to, on separating the colouring matter,
that
a colourless resin would be left behind, which could
be used for making varnishes. I have prepared
(i) some of the lac dye ground with gum; (2) a
lake prepared by boiling the lac dye with a solution
of soda, filtering and precipitating filtrate with alum;
(3) a lake prepared by boiling stick lac with soda,
filtering and precipitatingwith alum. This lake may
be considered to correspond closely to that used by
the old masters.
Another substance largely used for preparing
lakes is a dye-wood known as verzino, berxillium,
brexillium, brasillium, and Brazil-wood. It has long
been known as a dye-wood, being mentioned in
the book of " Roots," by Rabbi David Kimchi, and
was called by the Arabs albakim or bacam {bakkam).
According to Marco Polo, the best quality grew in
Ceylon. It was afterwards discovered in, and im-
ported from, South America, and it has been sug-
268
gestedthat Brazil takesits name from the fact of this
wood being found there. No wood of this name is

now imported from the East, but similar dye-woods,
known as Sapan-wood, Saunders-wood, and Buc-
wood, are imported from the East, while the name
Brazil-wood is confined to that sent from South
America. The dye-woods are all varieties
different
of Caesalpinia, and probably the dye-woods now
sent from the East are the old verzino or brexillium.
I have prepared a lake from Brazil-wood by boiling
it with soda and then precipitating with alum. This
is probably very similar to the lakes obtained from
this wood by the old receipts.

As a rule, we expect to find that substances in
favour with the old masters for the preparation of
colours would yield permanent pigments ; but this
is not so in the case of Brazil-wood, all these dye-
woods yielding fugitive dyes.
We shall have to consider the question of the use
when we come to treat of the medi-
of fugitive lakes
ums with which the pigments were ground.
The most famous of all red dyes is that obtained
from kermes, a small insect of the same genus as
the cochineal insect, and known as the coccus ilicis,
which found on the prickly oak or ilex round the

is
coasts of the Mediterranean, the best quality com-

269
ing from Arcadia. The female coccus is collected
from the trees, and, as collected, looks like small
scarlet berries, which crush to powder in the hand.
The first mention of this dye occurs in the directions
for the curtains of the Temple (Exodus xxvi. i) ;
and it seems to have been used from the earliest

times for the production of a red dye. Professor
Middleton has shown me some pieces of cloth from
the tombs in Middle Egypt, dating from 300 A.D.,
which he believes to be dyed with kermes, and in
which the colour is perfectly bright and fresh. It
can be traced as a dye through the Middle Ages in
the south of Europe. It was mentioned in a com-
mercial agreement between Bologna and Ferrara
in 1 193 and Florence and Venice were famous for
;
stuffs dyed with it in the fifteenth century.

The Italian name for the dye was grana, from
which comes the English phrase " to dye in grain " ;
and Shakespeare has given his testimony to the

permanency of the dye, when he makes Olivia say
of her complexion, " Tis in grain, sir 'twill endure
;
wind and weather."

Hellot, in his U
Art de Teinture (1701), pp. 244
and 264, says that the figures in the old Brussels
tapestries, two hundred years old, and dyed with this
substance, are perfectly fresh and Berthollet states
;
270
the dye to be quite permanent, in his work on dye-
ing. It continued to be used till the introduction of
cochineal from America in the sixteenth century, by
which was gradually replaced. Apparently Cortes
it
first sent reports of the cochineal insect to Europe

in 1523, and we find that Matthioli mentions it as
quite common in 1549; and in the Padua MS. already
referred to a receipt for lake is given, in which either
grana or cochineal is advised to be used, showing
that at that time cochineal had partly, but not en-
tirely, replaced kermes. It is still used in Persia as a
dye, but no longer an article of commerce. The
is
samples I have obtained were given me by the late

William Morris, who imported it for dyeing his
finest redsfortapestry weaving. Lakeprepared from
it was known as lacca dicimatura di grana da rosato,
and was almost always prepared from the clippings

of the cloth dyed with kermes. I n the receipt quoted
we are directed to take these clippings, which ap-
parently were the loose pieces of wool trimmed off
the cloth before it left the dyer's hands, and could
apparently be obtained by the painters in sufficient
quantity from the dyers. I therefore asked Mr
Morris to dye a piece of cloth for me with kermes,
in order that I might test this method of preparing
the lake.
271
The process of dyeingit was very simple. The
cloth being mordanted with alum containing a little
tartar, and then dyed in a water solution of the
kermes, the whole of the kermes was absorbed by
the cloth. I have boiled a piece of this cloth with
soda, strained off the solution, and precipitated it
with alum. The lake thus prepared does not differ
appreciably from the lakes prepared from kermes
direct.
The first receipt for the preparation of the lake
directly from kermes that we find occurs in the
L'Arte Vetraria, by Neri (1612). This book,
though mainly confined to the preparation of col-
ours for staining glass, contains some receipts in the
seventh book for the preparation of lakes, and in
chapter xix. Neri states that, finding in Pisa "non
occorre Cimatura, non Maestra, " he prepared kermes
lake by boiling the kermes with a solution of alum,
allowing it to stand for some days, and filtering. I
if kermes is boiled with alum in this way,

find that
and allowed to stand, the precipitate of a rose-col-
oured lake is gradually formed. Some receipts also
occur in the Padua MS. for the preparation of a lake
direct from kermes. I have made a lake prepared
by boiling kermes with soda, filtering, and pre-

cipitating with alum.
272
As already stated, few references to lakes pre-
pared from madder occur. It was largely used for
dyeing, and was therefore probably used for the pre-
paration of lakes. Besides references to it in the
MSS. of Eraclius and Petrus de S. Audemar, Theo-
philus refers to a substance called "menesch," which
seems to be a corruption of the Indian name of the
root mnitsch ; and Neri gives a madder lake receipt
in the L Arte Vetraria, book vii., chapter cxviii.
It is hardly necessary to collect examples for its
use as a dye, but, in passing, we may mention that

some of the cloth from the Egyptian tombs, already
referred to, is evidently dyed with madder, the colour
being perfectly preserved. It is mentioned in the
statutes of Marseilles (1287), its cultivation was
much encouraged by the Emperor Charles V. in
Holland, and the curious regulations as to its use
by the greater dyers only, show in how much esteem
it was held.
In my experiments on madder lakes, I have made

use of the preparation known as alizarin.
In conclusion, Iwould like to point out that, with
the exception of madder, the lakes described are
all very similar in tone of colour, I have described
them as rose-coloured lakes, translating by this

word the words roseli, roxita, roxeum, roxaceum,
273 18
—

roseo, rosa, and so on. A receipt given in the Padua
MS. helps us to settle what was meant by the de-
scription "rose-coloured," and to confirm my belief
that the lakes I have made closely resemble those
made during the best period of art. The receipt is
as follows :
" To make Brazil-wood of four colours. — Take

Brazil-wood, and steep any quantity you please (so
that it is more than a third part) in clear water, until
the colour is very red (rosso). Then divide this
colour into four parts. you wish to make a rose
If
colour {rosato), use it pure if you wish it purple
;
{J>avona32o), use lime-water, but the water must be

tepid if you wish a violet colour [violato), add a ley
;
to it and if you desire that it should be of a mul-

;
berry colour (morello), add tartar."

I have stained (i) a piece of paper with Brazil-
wood water, and therefore the rosato colour, which

is a purplish red (2) a piece of paper stained with
;
Brazil-wood water, rendered alkaline with soda, and

therefore of the violato colour.
Even if weincludemadderamongst the lakes they
used, they had evidently nothing which correspond-
ed in tint to the cochineal lakes, or so-coloured mad-
der lakes used by modern artists. This, doubtless,
accounts for the fact which I have been told by ex-
274
—

perts, that modern lakes cannot be used in copying
the old masters.
It may be asked how
the magnificent reds were
produced by means of these lakes. The following
quotation from the Padua MS. throws some light
upon this :
" 7. The mixtures of cinnabar. — The colour of

ripe strawberries is imitated with cinnabar and lake.
Scarlet is made {scarlato) with cinnabar, lake, and
white lead. Blood colour is made with cinnabar and
lake. The red colour on the cheeks of beautiful
flesh is represented with cinnabar, lake, and white
lead."
I have tried some experiments on this point, and
find that very rich crimsons can be obtained by glaz-
ing one of these rather dull purple-coloured lakes
over vermilion, and many rich
robes in the pictures
at the National Gallery can be matched in this
way, though they are usually somewhat browner
in tone. An interesting example of a figure just
ready for such glazing is the St John in the En-
tombment of Christ (790), apparently painted in
red lead.
Examples of the purple lakes themselves can also
be found in many pictures, and in various states of
preservation some very bright (see angel's robe
;
27s
;

some very much faded
in the Botticelli, 275), (see
the Roger Van der Weyden, 664).
The combined red produced by glazing the lake
over vermilion is less likely to alter seriously with
time, because the dulling of the lake is compensated
for by the fading of the lake, and therefore the shin-
ing through of the vermilion. I have found, for in-
stance, that even Brazil-wood lake, used in this way,
produced a fairly durable red.
With reference to the permanence or otherwise
of the lakes described above, Brazil-wood fades in
a few weeks, or on exposure in a south window
lac lake is half gone in a couple of
months kermes ;
is considerably faded in twelve months while under ;
the same tests madders are unchanged. None,

therefore, of these old lakes can be recommended
for reintroduction ; but if a lake is required for glaz-
ing vermilion, some shades of purple madders are
probably better than even kermes.
It is evident from this inquiry that while these
lakes may have been suitable for illuminatingbooks,
they were not suitable for pictures to be exposed to
the light; and while, as has already been explained,
in many cases they have faded, and in other cases
the magnificent deep rich reds consist of a faded lake
over vermilion or red lead, yet there are many other
276
cases where the pure lake has stood perfectly, not
only in oil, but also in tempera. It is difificult, there-
fore, to resist madder
the conclusion that these were
lakes, in spite of the fact that receipts for madder
lakes are almost entirely absent. There are two
possible explanations. One is, that even in Cennino
Cennini's time lakes were manufactured and pur-
chased by the painter, and in fact Cennino Cennini
advises the painter to purchase his lake, and in ad-
dition gives him the bad advice to buy a lake made
from lac, if by this the Indian lac is meant; and
therefore trade processes of making lakes from
madder may have been known which do not appear
in the monk's receipts. The other explanation is
that in many cases the red cloth clippings used may
have been originally dyed with madder, and so a
very pure madder lake would be obtained. In fact,
it is difificult to make a fine-coloured lake from the
madder root direct, and it would be better for the

unskilled worker to use the dyed cloth as the source
of his alizarin or madder extract. There is also the
uninvestigated but unlikely possibility that the ivy
gum lake is permanent. On the whole, I think we
must conclude that a lake from madder was often
used, though possibly unknowingly.
We shall also find on investigating the properties
277
of varnishes that there are methods in oil-painting
of rendering fugitive lakes permanent ; but this is
not sufficient to explain their fine state of preserva-

tion in tempera pictures, or in some cases on illu-
minated MSS. which have been ruthlessly exposed
to light in our modern museums.
CHAPTER XIII
ON THE NATURE AND HISTORY OF VARNISHES, WITH

SOME INTRODUCTORY REMARKS ON THE HIS-
TORY OF THE OIL MEDIUM
With the treatise written by Cennino Cennini we

bring to a conclusion the description of the methods
of painting in tempera, and must now proceed to
an inquiry into the processes adopted by the artists
who painted in oil. Tempera, it is true, continued
in Italy for some time after Cennino Cennini
wrote his treatise but at the very time he was en-
;
gaged in writing, the brothers Van Eyck in Flan-

ders were preparing the way for a complete revolu-
tion in the methods and mediums employed by
artists.
It is true, as we have already seen, that the oil

medium had long been known, but it was now to
assert its superiority over the egg medium and carry
all before it. The consideration, however, of the
279
period covered by the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries must be preceded by a careful inquiry into
the earlier methods of oil-painters. Unfortunately
for this earlier and, from our point of view, most in-
teresting technique, thereis little information,asmost
of the writers we possess, such as Vasari, Borghini,
Armenini, and others, belong to the middle or the
close of the sixteenth century, or to the seventeenth
century, while the most interestingofall, De Mayerne,
wrote in the beginning of the seventeenth century.
Nor do such MSS. of " Secreti " as exist help us very
much. At each period, however, that we have dealt
with, we have had some documentary evidence of su-
preme importance to guide our inquiry. The classi-
cal period is fitly closed by the writings of Pliny; the
mediaeval period is fully illustrated by the monk
Theophilus; and the close of the fourteenth century
and opening of the fifteenth century in Italy, and
more especially the finished product of tempera-
painting, is by Cennino Cennini. In
fully treated
the same waythe technical methods at the close of
the sixteenth century and beginning of the seven-
teenth century, at any rate in the Flemish school, are
most fully dealt with in the interesting MS. left by
DeMayerne. De Mayerne himself was born in 1573
at Geneva, and was trained for medicine in Mont-
280
NATURE & HISTORY OF VARNISHES
pelier and and was appointed one of the
Paris,
physicians ordinary to Henry IV. In 1611,
- in -
James I. invited him to England, and appointed him

his first physician. De Mayerne enjoyed the same
title under Charles I. He died in Chelsea in 1655,
leaving a large fortune. He was a distinguished
chemist, and took a special interest in the technical
processes and materials used in painting, and was in
close friendship with the painters of the Flemish and
British schools. H is portrait was painted by Rubens.
One MS. which he left behind him consists of notes
inhis ownhand, communicationsfrom various artists,
and short treatises, and the whole is entitled, "Pic-
toria, Sculptoria, Tinctoria, at quae subalternarum
Artium spectantia; in lingua Latina, Gallica,ltalica,
Germanica conscripta, a Petro Paulo Rubens, Van
Dyke, Somers, Greenberry, Janson.etc." The whole
has been recently printed and translated by Herr
Berger in the third volume of his Beitrdge sur Ent-
•wickelungsgeschichte der Maltecknik.
Itisfullofinterestinginformation. WefindDeMay-
erne, for instance, trying to persuade Van Dyck to mix
his pigments with a special varnish of his own com-
position, but evidently Van Dyck cannot be bothered
with it, as it does not work freely enough under the
brush. Again, speaking of real ultramarine, for the
281
preparation of which he gives receipts with which we
are already familiar, he tells us that :
" The vertues
of it. It is the diamound of all colours by reason of
his never-fadinge perfectione. It also comforteth the
brayne, and therefore is very proffitable agaynst
and
frensies, vertigo, palpitatio cordis, melancholia,
other sicknesses of the spirits." In many cases he
comments in his marginal notes on receipts given
by artists, giving the results of his own experiments.
The consideration, therefore, of the De Mayerne
manuscript, with some additional information from
other and later writers and MSS., will guide us in
the concluding portion of the chapters on varnishes

and on oil-painting. We
shall, however, begin by
considering the early history both of varnishes and
oil,and shall now proceed to the discussion of the
nature and history of varnishes.
In the chapters on Egypt and on classical methods
of painting, some account was given of the prepara-
tion of varnish es,and a distinction wasdrawn between
what is known as a spirit varnish and an oil varnish ;
and it was also pointed out that we have in the

natural balsams from the tree a natural spirit var-
nish containing volatile oils, which evaporate and
leave the resin behind. It is necessary now to con-
sider the whole question of varnishes more carefully
282
with a view to trying to get some light upon the
methods used by Van Eyck and his school in pro-
tecting the pigments upon the surface of the picture.
In the first place, it is not every resin that can be
used for making a spirit varnish, because many of
the harder resins are not readily soluble, amber, for
instance, dissolving very little indeed in these medi-
ums. It is usually the custom at the present day
to select the harder resins for the making of oil var-
nishes, and the process consists of, in the first place,
fusing the resin and then mixing with the resin the
hot oil. The whole mass is then reheated until a
drop of the varnish drawn from the heated mass re-
mains practically clear. It is also necessary to in-
troduce "driers" into the varnish, such as the oxides
of lead or other compounds of lead or manganese.
The properties of these driers will be discussed
in the chapters on oil-painting. The varnish is
finally diluted with spirits of turpentine. In the
case of some of the softer resins, such as the pine
resins, and mastic and sandarac, there is no need
to fuse the resin first ; they can be dissolved directly
in the oil without previous fusion. When we come
to the consideration of the receipts for varnish-mak-
ingwhich are found scattered through the old manu-
scripts, from the Lucca Manuscript onwards, one of
283
the first difficulties that we find is in identifying the
resins that were used. It is, at the present day,
from which
sufficiently difficult to identify the source
a given resin comes, and there can be no doubt that
in ancient times great confusion existed on this sub-
ject. It is, therefore, a waste of ingenuity to try to
settle exactly what resin was used in a given receipt
from the name given to the resin, and to determine
whether it was mastic, or sandarac, or amber. At
the same time, we have an approximate idea what
resins were available for varnish-making. In the
first place, they had the natural balsams from the
pine, such as Venice turpentine from the larch and

oleo de abezzo from the silver pine and in addition;
they had the resin known as pica greca or gloriat,

which corresponds to our modern rosin, and is left
as a solid residue on heating the pine balsam and
driving off the spirits of turpentine. They also had
—
both masticand sandarac sandarac which has some-
times been mistakenly called juniper resin, but
which isreallyaproductof the Callitris quadrivalvis,
and is found on the Mediterranean coast of Africa,
and apparently was at one time exported in con-
siderable quantities from the port of Berenice (now
Benghazi) on the African coast (not to be con-
founded with the other Berenice on the Red Sea).
284
Ithas been said, in fact, that the name "varnish "
comes from the fact that sandarac was exported from
here. We know that mastic and probably other
resins found in the East were exported to Europe,
and that no very clear distinction
was drawn by the
varnish-makers of the day between one resin and
another. In addition, amber was known and ob-
tained from the Baltic, and it is quite possible that
at any rate occasional parcels of resins from further
east came into the European market. If we make
experiments, then, upon these resins, we find that
pica greca, mastic, and sandarac can be dissolved
directly in hot linseed oil, but amber requires first
to be fused and then the boiling oil added to it. In

addition, we find that the amber forms a very dark
varnish indeed, quite unsuitable for painting, unless
mixed with the very darkest colours it also dries
;
very slowly, and is apt to run upon the picture. In

fact, of all the varnishes it is perhaps the most un-
suitable for painters' use. Many receipts have been

suggested for making pale amber varnish, and pro-
cesses for dissolving at any rate part of the resin
from the amber and so utilising it but so far as my
;
experience goes, these processes are very difficult
and troublesome, and in many cases the paleness of

the varnish is due to the fact that there is little or
285
no amber in it. I am aware that there are var-
nishes on the market which claim to be made of
amber, and which are pale in colour but I am not ;
aware of the methods of manufacture used, and while

it is perhaps possible with the resources of modern
chemistry to make a pale amber varnish, it is highly

improbable that such a varnish could be prepared
in early times, nor, judging by the receipts which
are given in the manuscripts, and which I have
tried, would any such pale varnish result. It is also
highly probable that the name "amber varnish"
was given to trade varnishes which had really no
amber in them, as it was an obvious and pleasant
name to give, amber being well known as a beautiful
substance, and the varnish resembling it in appear-
ance and colour. If, then, we find a receipt for dis-
solving the resin directly in oil, we may assume that
the resin was either pica greca or mastic, or pos-
sibly sandarac but the harder resins are excluded,
;
from theverynatureof thereceipt. The probabilities

are that in most cases the softer resins were used.
The next point to notice is that in many of these
receipts the proportion of resin to gum is very high
indeed. This indicates the use of one of the softer
resins. For instance, it is common to find that to
three parts of oil one of sandarac is to be added
286.
and two parts of pica greca, thus forming a mixture
which is as much resin as oil. Such varnishes would
be very thick, and would require to be thinned by-
means of oil or some other medium before they could
be used, or rubbed on hot. If, however, mastic and
pica greca were the resins selected, they would be
quite pale in colour and even a varnish which is
;
nearly solid from excess of sandarac is not very dark,

and could be used, if diluted. Such receipts are
repeated so often that I think there can be no doubt
that the ordinary varnish used from the ninth till late
in the fifteenth century consisted of a fairly soluble
resin —sandarac or mastic, or both, dissolved in lin-

seed oil, and with the addition, in many cases, of
a considerable quantity of pica greca. We
also find,
however, several receipts in which the pine balsams
are directly used, mixed with oil. A considerable
variety of receipts can easily be quoted, making it
a matter of doubt as to what kind of varnish was
used in practice. In trying, therefore, to arrive at
some conclusion as to what would be the best var-
nish for the painter to select in the wish to preserve
his picture, we must carry out experiments on the
properties of varnishes. We shall then be in a better
position to discuss actual receipts.
First, we ask what varnish would prove the most
287
durable under the test of time ? In the second place,
we have to ask the question, what varnish would
best protect the pigments from the action of air and
moisture ? To deal for the moment with the ques-
tion of durability, modern experience
is in favour
of the conclusion that the most durable varnishes

are those formed from the hardest resins dissolved
in linseed oil. For instance, the varnishes which
are prepared for carriage-building, and more especi-
ally for the outsides of railway carriages, are pre-
pared from the hardest copal or kauri resin, fused,
and then dissolved in the hot oil. These resins may
be considered nearly as hard as amber, and, in fact,
it is a question whether the varnishes prepared from
them are not more durable than an amber varnish.

They also have the advantage of being lighter in
colour. There can be no doubt as to the greater
durability of the hard resins, such as copal or amber,
dissolved in oil. Next to these in durability come
varnishes prepared with soft resins dissolved in oil ;
while the most easily injured of all are the spirit

varnishes, where the resin has got no elastic oil
mixed with it. In order to bring this matter to an

exact test, I carried out a series of experiments to
see at what point the surface of a thoroughly dried
varnish would break when painted upon glass and
288
then subjected to a scratching pressure from a
blunt steel point. The following figures give the re-
sults of these tests, the pressure being measured
in grammes —
Varnishes made with common rosin
:
and linseed oil, and therefore corresponding to old

receipts, where pica greca alone was used, broke
down under a pressure of 250 grammes. Ordinary
indoor floor and "oak" varnishes, suitable for wood-
work, but not made from the hardest resins, broke
down at 500 to 600 grammes ; while varnishes made
from hard African copals and selected kauri (from
New Zealand) broke down at from 900 to 1200
grammes.
I n contrast to these, spirit varnishes and linseed oil
itself break down with a pressure of 100 grammes,
the one splitting up like glass, the other tearing.

If such varnishes as these are allowed to weather
out of doors, the varnishes from the hard resins
prove the most durable. The only trade " amber"
varnish I tested broke down at 100 grammes.
It is evident, then, that the modern hard copal
varnishes are much the most durable, and would
under severe tests long outlive the varnishes made
according to most of the old receipts, which have
already been briefly referred to. It does not,
however, therefore follow that these old varnishes

289 19
were not durable enough for the purposes of the
artist.
We have seen, for instance, that a pure resin var-

nish of 1500 B.C., made from a soft resin readily
soluble in alcohol, continues to be fresh and bright
although the wood of the coffin is crumbling to
powder. This varnish has of course been preserved
under peculiarly favourable conditions but there is
;
at any rate no evidence that a varnish of oil and

resin or pica greca is not practically indestructible
under favourable conditions, such as when used on
a picture to be preserved with care from injury and
exposure to weather. The severe tests to which
modern varnishes are exposed throw no light on
this question.
I am personally disposed to think, though I know
some leading authorities will not agree with me,
that just as linseed oil alone has proved remarkably
durable, so linseed oil loaded merely with common
rosin will prove even more durable under proper

conditions, such as when laid on a picture panel, and,
while probably becoming covered with fine cracks,
will not necessarily decay further. The matter,
however, requires further investigation.
There is, of course, also another possibility, and
that is, that varnishes made from hard African co-
290
pals were not unknown. Receipts are given which
indicate the use of a hard resin — that is, the resin
is first to be fused and the
oil added and it has ;
usually been assumed that these receipts are for

amber varnish, as the recognised names for amber,
such as glassa and karabe, are used. It is, how-
ever, quite possible that hard copal was not clearly
distinguished from amber, and that in many cases
it may have come in from the East and been used
for varnish-making. In fact, it might be suggested

that the perfect preservation of pictures at certain
periods may have been due to the accidental use of
this resin for varnish-making. We shall, however,
have next to consider varnishes from another point
of view, an inquiry which will on the whole bring
us back to the view that soft resins were from the
beginning largely and freely used in painting what,
for want of a better name, we call "oil-pictures."
Our inquiry will be into the question of the extent
to which oils and varnishes prepared in various
ways will protect pigments from moisture and in-
jurious gases. In order to settle this it is necessary
to use a substance very sensitive to the presence
of moisture and changing in a marked way when
absorbing it.
The two oils used by the old masters were linseed

291
and walnut oil, and later on poppy-seed oil. As
already stated, besides these oils, the materials for
making varnishes were mastic, sandarac, amber,
the balsam of the silver pine, or oleo de abezzo, the
balsam of the larch, and possibly other Eastern
gums. I shall not trouble you with all the learned
discussions as to the nature of the varnishes used.
Receipts exist in plenty, and show that in the earlier
varnishes these substances are dissolved in oil.
Later on, in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries,

spirit varnishes were introduced —
that is, the resins
weredissolvedinturpentine or natural naphtha. The
main between modern varnishes and the
distinction
ancient varnishes is the abandonment of amber,
sandarac, and pine balsams, and resins, for the gums
of the East. The peculiar properties of balsams
will be explained in the course of this chapter. I
may say that what now follows is an investigation

into the capacity of various oils and varnishes of
which brings us to some curious
resisting moisture,
and, venture to think, new conclusions.
I
When we look at the Van Eyck, No. i86 in the

National Gallery, we are at once struck with its
wonderful state of preservation. The reds, probably
produced by glazings of lac, or Brazil-wood, or ker-
mes lake, over a yellow or red ground, seem certainly
292
to have slightly faded and turned brown, when
compared with fresh preparations of the same lakes
made from the old receipts ; but they are in a very
fair and the green on the wife's dress is
condition,
marvellously This green is worthy of
brilliant.
special attention, as it seems to be agreed, among
the authorities on these matters, that it can only
have been produced by a glazing of verdigris, a pig-
ment which we now know to be of a most dangerous
character, turning black, and corroding and destroy-
ing other colours. The oranges in the corner are
apparently painted with orpiment, another danger-
ous colour to use.
With reference to the reds, I have already men-
tioned the three lakes which are most commonly
referred to in old receipts, madder being hardly ever
mentioned. Of these, Brazil-wood is very fugitive,
turning a dirty brownish-red, and fading very much,
if only exposed to sunshine for a few days, Lac
lake, though better than the last, is not a permanent
lake, and kermes, though better than lac, is not a
permanent lake. Unfortunately, these lakes, when
prepared from the old receipts, are so much alike
that it is impossible to identify them on a picture.
Judging, however, by these receipts, one lake is as
likely to have been used as another.
293
In this picture, then, painted early in the fifteenth
century, we probably have verdigris, a notoriously
fugitive pigment orpiment, a pigment very apt to
;
change and a lake which will fade with more or less

;
rapidity,accordingto which of the three lakes above-

mentioned has been used.
It cannot, then, be held that the preservation of
the picture is due to the pigments used, and we must

therefore look elsewhere for an explanation of its
freshness.
If, then, the secret does not lie in the pigments, it
must be in the vehicle, and this leads us to consider

what properties a vehicle must have to produce so
remarkable an effect.
This question is very easily answered.
It has been again demonstrated by Professor
Russell and Captain Abney,in their report on water-

colours (1888), that most fugitive pigments are per-
manent if protected from moisture, and a still larger
number if protected both from air and moisture.
If, then, we can obtain a vehicle which will really
protect the particles of the pigment from moisture,

we may use with safety many pigments that are now
regarded as fugitive.
At this point one is apt to think that the inquiry
is concluded, as we are accustomed to assume that
294
ordinary varnishes and oils do preserve surfaces
from the action of moisture but, unfortunately, if
;
a sufficiently delicate test is applied, this is not found

to be so. The method I have devised for doing this
is to use as a pigment ignited sulphate of copper,
which is of course a very hygroscopic body. If we

grind a little of the ignited sulphate with linseed oil,
and paint it out on a glass slide, we get an enamel-
like white surface, with sometimes a slight greenish
tinge in it.
it remains
If this is placed in a desiccator to dry,
the same in appearance. however, when dry it
If,
is exposed to the air of a room, it gradually turns
green and transparent or, if it is exposed under a

;
bell-jar, beside a dish of water, the change takes

place much more rapidly, twelve hours being often
sufficient. If we now examine the slide under a
microscope, we usually find that no definite crystal-
line formation visible but occasionally, here and
is ;
there, are to be found complete crystals of sulphate

of copper, due apparently to a slow aggregation of
molecules in the colloid linseed oil.
I shall begin by describing the experiments I have
made on linseed oil alone.

The linseed oil of modern commerce differs in
several important particulars from that used by the
29s
old masters. Hot-pressed from the seed, and refined
by the addition of sulphuric acid, it is probably an in-
ferior product. The oil of the old masters seems to
have been cold-pressed, or pressed after having been
slightly warmed, from pure seed, and then refined
by exposure to sunlight and washing with water.
In converting it into boiled oil, various substances
and methods were used, such as exposure merely to
the sun till it thickened boiling with bone ashes and
;
pumice boiling it with ignited sulphate of zinc ^

; ;
boiling with litharge or with white lead, or with

it
umber; or exposing it to the sun in leaden dishes,

or mixed with white lead.
The modern probably in many cases
practice is
similar, salts of manganese having been added to

the list, and such substances as sulphate of zinc hav-
ing been abandoned.
My impression from the study of the old receipts
is that probably in most cases litharge, or white
lead, was used, just as it is most commonly used now.
We have, then, to look rather to the earlier stages
of the preparation of the oil, any serious
to find dif-
ference between ancient and modern practices.

^ The use of this substance is probably accounted for by the fact
that the crude sulphate prepared from the ore often contains mangan-
ese. The pure sulphate has no effect on the oil.
296
—

With a view to finding whether the capacity of
linseed oil for resisting moisture would be improved
by following any of theold methods, I tried the fol-
lowing experiments. I obtained
1. A
sample of ordinary pale drying oil of the best
quality.
2. A bottle of drying oil from one of the leading
firms of artists' colourmen.
3. A
sample of Bell's medium from Messrs Bell
& Co. of Oxford Street. This medium is prepared
,
by cold-pressing carefully sifted seed, and then keep-

ing the raw oil at a temperature of about ioo°C. for
some weeks, until it becomes thick and viscous. This
"fat oil" then thinned with oil of spike for use.
is
4. I obtained some raw oil, cold-pressed from sifted

English seed, which I then refined in the following
manner: —A was filled one-third full with
bottle
salt water and sand, and one-third full of oil, and
was placed in the sun, with a loose cap over the
top, for four weeks. By the end of that time no
more precipitate was formed, and the oil was drawn
off, filtered, and converted into boiled oil by heating
to 100° C. for 120 hours with borate of manganese.
Another portion, after refining, was converted
into boiled oil, by heating strongly for three hours
with bone ashes, adding ignited sulphate of zinc,
297
and allowing it andstand in the sun, accord-
tosettle
ing to an old German
receipt which is quoted by
Eastlake in his History of Oil-Painting. Slides
were painted out with these different oils mixed with
sulphate of copper, and after having been dried in
a desiccator were exposed to moisture. They all
turned green at approximately the same rate, and
repeated experiments did not show that one had
much advantage over another. If a slide is var-
nished with oil after being dry, it of course resists
a little longer; but four layers of such varnishing
only protect the slide for three days instead of one.
As far, then, as these experiments are concerned,
there seems to be no reason to suppose that the pure
oil, sun-refined, has much advantage over the com-
mercial oil, or that the different methods of convert-

ing it into boiled oil exercise an appreciable effect.
Only one point seemed to remain unsettled. It
seemed possible that the old oil, imperfectly pressed,
might be superior to that obtained by the hydraulic
press. In order to test this, I had some fresh seed
pressed, and took samplesduringthe pressing, divid-
ing theoil into three parts. Taking the firstof these,
I refined it, boiled it with borate of manganese, and
tested it. The moisture penetrated through it as
before.
298
These experiments seem to show, then, pretty
conclusively that linseed no matter how pure,
oil,
or how what way it is con-

carefully refined, or in
verted into boiled oil, cannot be depended upon to
protect a surface from moisture. In the course of
these experiments I was struck with the fact that
linseed oil which had been kept for some time, after
it was dry in the desiccator, seemed to resist better
than lately dried oil, when exposed to moisture.

Three weeks was found to make a considerable im-
provement, and two months still further improve-
ment.
When we consider the nature and constitution of
linseed oil, I do not think we need be surprised at
its permeability to moisture. Besides containing
linolein, it also contains considerable quantities of
non-drying fatty acids, which, being unaltered dur-
ing the oxidation of the linolein, must tend to pro-
duce a spongy and porous surface. According to
Allen, the dried film contains free glycerine, which
must not only tend to increase its porosity, but also
to act as a carrier of moisture. Taking these differ-
ent facts into consideration, the passage of moisture
through linseed oil is not surprising.
should like to refer here to a theory which has
I
been recently advanced, that lead driers are injuri-

299
ous on account of the formation of lead
in pictures,
soaps. As far as these experiments are concerned,
we have no confirmation of this and I confess that
;
the theory seems to me a very startling one, in

the light of the fact that the white lead used by
the old masters was prepared by the Dutch pro-
cess, and therefore contained large quantities of
lead hydrate, and of the fact that the oldest receipt
I am familiar with for preparing drying oil advises
that this should be done by boiling with oxide of
lead.
It seemsto me more probable that treatment with
lead salts may remove some of the fatty acids other
than linoleic acid as lead soaps.I do not find, how-
which rises to the surface of ground

ever, that the oil
white lead protects from moisture any better than
ordinary oil.
Walnut Oil
Walnut oil is frequently referred to in the old re-
ceipts, and seems have been largely used by the
to
old masters for painting. Itcanbe prepared by press-
ing the kernels of walnuts after slightly warming
them. The walnuts should be about three months
old. The oil obtained is very pale, and dissolves
white lead freely on boiling, becoming darker in
colour. I prepared a little by boiling the kernels of
300
the walnuts with water, after pounding them in a
mortar, roughly separating the oilwhich rose to the
top, dissolving the oil in ether, filtering, and eva-
porating off the ether. I then converted this oil

into a boiled oil by heating it with white lead.
On testing it with the sulphate of copper, I found

that moisture rapidly penetrated, showing that it is
no better in this respect than linseed oil. As these

were the two oils which were used by the old masters,
the protection of their pigments cannot have de-
pended upon the nature of the oil used.
Resins
In order to test how far pure resins will protect
the sulphate of copper from moisture, I dissolved
them either in spirits of turpentine or in benzol,
ground the sulphate of copper with the solution, and
painted it out on a glass slide. I have not attempted
an exhaustive examination of resins, but have con-
tented myself with a few typical ones, namely, colo-
phony, mastic, Sierra Leone copal, and amber. The
varnishes were all prepared by first fusing the resin,
and then gradually adding the spirits of turpentine
to the fused mass.
The change of appearance on exposing one of the
slides thus prepared to moisture was quite different
301
from the appearance in the case of oil. The surface
became an opaque greenish blue in thecourseofafew
hours in the case of colophony, mastic, and Sierra
Leone copal, but after that there was no further
change. On then examining these slides under the
microscope this appearance was explained. The
whole surface was rough and covered with blue
cones of sulphate of copper, with unaltered white
plains between. Apparently the varnish on drying
became full of small cracks or holes, through which
moisture penetrated, but in itself resisted the passage
of moisture. These holes were so close together as
to give the whole surface a blue appearance when
examined with the naked eye. The one exception
tothiswasthe amber varnish. It resisted the attacks
of moisture for weeks without change. I think, how-
ever, that we may consider that such solutions of
resins protect a surface from moisture sufficiently
well for all practical purposes. The slight change
taking place in the sulphate of copper does not go
any further, and would, I think, be imperceptible in
the case of a fugitive pigment.
I need hardly point however, that such solu-
out,
tions are quite unfit to be used as mediums in place
of oil, and that the surface formed is brittle and not
very durable.
302
Oleoresinous Vehicles
Eastlake, in his History of Oil-Painting, devotes
himself principally to trying to determine what
medium was used by Van Eyck and his immediate
followers. As his book is the most important work
on this subject,and he has devoted immense pains
to investigating all the documentary evidence, the
theory he advances requires specially careful ex-
amination.
Flemish painters
Briefly, his theory is this, that the
ground their colours in oil, that they prepared a
varnish by dissolving a resin, preferably amber, in
oil,andthattheymixed a little of this with the colour.
He claims that such a medium protects the pigments
from moisture, and that it is only necessary in the
case of specially fugitive pigments, such as yellow
lake, verdigris, etc., to increase the proportion of
varnish and diminish the proportion of oil, in order
to effectually lock them up and protect them from
the action of a moist climate. This he calls the oleo-
resinous vehicle; and while this in all probability re-
presents their usual practice for ordinary pigments,
I think he fails to make out that they relied upon
this method in the case of notoriously fugitive pig-
ments. In fact, as far as the sixteenth and seven-
303
;

teenth centuries are concerned, the evidence points
to the use of a pure oil vehicle.
has been shown by Professor Church that even
It
so hard a resin as copal, when dissolved in a volatile

medium, after a year becomes covered with minute
cracks ; that this is also true of copal dissolved in
the usual quantity of oil necessary to make a var-
nish. But he finds that if a copal oil varnish is mixed
with a certain proportion of oil, it forms a surface
which is hard, and therefore preferable to oil alone,
which is soft, but which does not crack. There
seems to be no doubt, therefore, that, apart from
other considerations, the mixture of a resin dissolved
in oil, with oil, produces the most permanent surface.
It remains to be seen whether such a medium has
the quality claimed for it by Eastlake of protecting

the pigments from moisture.
In order to experiment upon this matter, I ob-
tained (i) a very fine sample of a genuine copal var-
nish from Messrs Freeman (2) Mander Brothers, ;
Coburg varnish ; (3) I dissolved Sierra Leone copal

in my own pure linseed oil, and heated it till it be-
came stringy, as directed in the. old receipts ; (4) I
dissolved amber in the same way in the pure oil
(5) I some of the amber varnish, mixed with

boiled
white lead till almost solid, and then diluted it with
304
—

spirits of turpentine. I then prepared slides with
these varnishes mixed with the sulphate of copper,
I compared the slides painted with pure oil with
slides painted with a mixture of oil and varnish, and
with slides painted with the varnish alone. In some
cases the slides, after drying, were varnished with the
mixture that had been used in painting them out.
In making these varnishes, I mixed about one-third
resin with about two-thirds oil. None of these pre-
parations resisted the attacks of moisture. Those
containing varnish resisted a little longer than those
merely containing oil but the difference was prob-
;
ably due to the greater thickness of the protecting

layer.
As far, then, as we can judge by the sulphate of
copper test, Eastlake's theory that an oleoresinous
vehicle will protect a fugitive pigment is not correct.
Itseemed to me necessary, however, to check these
resultsby some experiments made in another way,
and I therefore determined to try whether such me-
diums would protect a fugitive pigment.
In order to reproduce, as near as possible, the
conditions necessary in the case of one of the old
masters, I prepared some Brazil-wood lake according
to one of the old receipts, and, after careful washing
and drying, ground it with the following mediums:
305 20
1. Commercial pale boiled oil.
2. Rowney's boiled oil.

3. My pure oil.
4. The pure oil mixed with amber varnish.

5. The pure oil mixed with copal varnish.
All of these faded when exposed to sunlight, and
apparently faded at the same rate.
To confirm this result,I next rubbed out on two
glass plates carmine ground in pure oil. After the

two plates were dry, I put one away in the dark and
exposed the other to light. At the same time, I
rubbed out on two other plates carmine ground
with pure oil and a little amber varnish, and exposed
one of these to light. The two plates kept in the
dark retained their brilliancy, while the two exposed
to light quickly turned brown at the same rate.
I think that these experiments show pretty con-
clusively thatwhatever method may have been used
to preserve fugitive pigments by the old masters, it
cannot have been that of grinding colours with oil,
and then mixing in a little oil varnish, as supposed
by Eastlake.
In order, then, to solve this problem as to the
nature of the vehicle used to preserve fugitive col-
ours, it is necessary to lay aside the theories of such
writers as Eastlake, and examine carefully such old
306
receipts as are available. This is all the more neces-
sary as the word varnish is used so carelessly by
writers on this subject, for they seem to think that
all varnishes have similar properties, and therefore
it does not matter whether the nature of the varnish
is stated or not. To begin. with the oldest receipts,

we find the varnishes there mentioned are all oil
varnishes. Besides oil, they contain amber, or san-

darac, and Pice Greca (rosin), and later on balsams,
such as Venice turpentine, or oleo de abezzo (the
balsam of the silver pine). Very large quantities of
these balsams were sometimes used. For instance,
in one old receipt a varnish is recommended con-
sisting of three parts Venice turpentine, three parts
of oil, and one part of mastic while in another
;
receipt two parts of Venice turpentine to one part of

oil is given. Such varnishes must be considered
simply as balsams, slightly diluted with oil to make
them flow better and give greater toughness to the
surface. The receipts for these varnishes will be
considered in greater detail later on.
Apparently the first spirit varnishes, by which I
mean in this case varnishes formed by dissolving a
resin or a balsam, or both, in spirits of turpentine or
natural naphtha, were invented in Italy, and thence
found their way back to Flanders, the first home of
307
oil-painting ; but they are not mentioned till the
sixteenth century, and the records that have been
left of the methods used by Van Eyck and his
followers are so scanty, that we cannot speak with
certainty on this point.
The first scientific account that we get of the
methods of the Flemish painters is that given by De
Mayerne, referred to already as our best authority,
a friend of Rubens and Van Dyck. In the receipts
given by him, Venice turpentine is frequently men-
tioned as a suitable substance for the preparation of
varnishes, and he advises that it should be dissolved
either in naphtha or spirits of turpentine, with the
occasional addition of mastic, or with the addition
of a few drops of oil to give it toughness.
Perhaps the most interesting of his receipts is the
one in which he tells how verdigris can be prepared
by dissolving it in Venice turpentine and spirits of
turpentine.
The Italian painters seem to have preferred oleo
de abezzo, as lighter in colour and quicker in dry-
ing and in one of the receipts given in the Paduan
;
MS. (seventeenth century) it is stated that amber

can be dissolved in such a balsam. Apparently, in
the time of Rubens, the custom had grown up in
Flanders of varnishing pictures after they were
308
finished, which was not done in the days of Van
Eyck. Doubtless, therefore, the varnishes men-
tioned by De Mayerne are meant for covering fin-
ished pictures, and the receiptfor preparingverdigris

is not apparently for painting purposes. To carry
down the tradition as to the use of Venice turpentine,
it is only necessary to refer to the canvas of Sir J oshua
Reynolds, in the possession of the Royal Academy,
where the dab of paint labelled gamboge, plus Ven-
ice turpentine, is perfectly fresh, while the dab
labelled gamboge, plus oil, has completely faded.
Sufficient has been said to show the necessity of
investigating the properties of such substances,
though there is no definite evidence that they were
ever used as painting mediums.
I have experimented upon three balsams Venice :
turpentine,^ Canada balsam, and the balsam of the

silver pine. On testing with sulphate of copper, I
found that Venice turpentine completely excluded

moisture. Canada balsam did so for a long time,
several weeks, but seemed to slowly yield. I have
not tested oleo de abezzo in this way. When used
I
I obtained a sample of genuine Venice turpentine with some diffi-
culty in London. Through the kindness of the Curator of the Cam-
bridge Botanical Gardens I obtained some larch balsams from trees
there, and some balsam of the silver pine from the Black Forest.
309
as mediums, the addition of a very little oil, about
quarter of the weight of the balsam, suffices to make
it enough to grind colours in. Hard resins, such
thin
as amber and copal, readily dissolve in them, thus
forming compound varnishes. A good picture var-
nish is copal dissolved in Venice turpentine and
diluted with turps or with naphtha.
The oleo de abezzo is a beautiful pale yellow bal-
sam, and forms a varnish quite equal to mastic, with,
however, a slight tendency to bloom. They are all
brittle when dry, but a very small admixture of oil
gives the necessary toughness.
I find that carmine, ground in Venice turpentine
or in oleo, with a few drops of oil, preserves its fresh-

ness wonderfully. On exposure to sunlight thepurple
bloom quickly goes, but after that the colour remains
strong and good, while becoming a dirty brown and
fading in oil or an oil varnish. I find that if verdigris
in oil be exposed to sulphuretted hydrogen gas, it
turns black in a few minutes, while verdigris in
balsam is only very slightly affected after some
hours.
There another important property revealed by
is
these balsams which requires some explanation. I

find that certain pigments dissolve more or less
readily in linseed oil. For instance, emerald green
310
dissolves slightly, and diffuses through the even
oil
after it is dry. If, for instance, emerald green is

painted over dry cadmium yellow with a layer of
dry oil between, it gradually passes through, and
after a few months attacks the cadmium yellow and
turns it black.
Verdigris is still more soluble. If warmed with
linseed oil it gives a green solution. If verdigris in
oil andcadmium yellow are mixed together, the action
of the verdigris is so rapid that in a few hours the
whole thing has turned black. Now, if instead of oil

these pigments are ground in a balsam, even though
a few drops of oil are mixed with it, this does not
happen. A light green can be made with them per-
fectly well, which, as far as I have tested it, is
durable.
I hold, then, that the experimental evidence is in
favour of the view that these balsams were used

with little admixture of oil, as mediums, in the time
of Van Eyck and his immediate followers. The
point to be noted is that the harder the resin, the
more required to dissolve it and make a fluid
oil is
varnish. Consequently amber was unsuitable for

the preservation of pigments such as verdigris. On
the other hand, for other purposes amber may have
been used. With amber, sandarac, and the balsams,
3"
a whole range of varnishes could be easily prepared,
suitable for different purposes, the first of the series
containing a great deal of oil, the last being nearly-
pure resin. In fact, in some receipts I find the
hot balsams recommended as a varnish by itself
Further evidence that at any rate the greens used
by Van Eyck must have been prepared according
to De Mayerne's receipt, by dissolving the verdi-
gris in Venice turpentine (though given by him for
another purpose), will be considered in the final
discussion of the Van Eyck medium. Probably the
use of balsam was more excessive in the Flemish
pictures than in the Italian pictures meant for a drier
climate.
I have no wish unduly to press the above explana-
tion of the durability of the earlier "oil" paintings ;
but at any rate the experiments described both on the

hardness and toughness of these varnishes and their
protective power will prove for us a guide in con-
sideringmoreof the old receipts which I willnowpro-
ceed to quote. The earliest receipts of the kind are
contained in the Lucca MS. The one described as
de lucide ad lucidas consists of amber, mastic, three
kinds of turpentine, resin, galbanum, myrrh, two
gums, and a little linseed oil, and florae puppli. Such
a varnish would be very stiff and would have to be
312
—

rubbed on to the picture hot. I f the turpentine resins
are first fused and then the amber added before the
oil, the amber would dissolve; if not, and if amber is
meant, it would remain undissolved.

The next two receipts worthy of mention are those
already quoted from the MS. of the monk Theo-
philus.
The first receipt is for the solution of a resin,
probably sandarac, in linseed oil. No proportions
are given and no driers are added, so that the var-
nish would dry very slowly. In the second re-
ceipt the resin which is called glassa (probably
amber) is to be fused, and then the oil added. This
may well be, therefore, a receipt for an amber var-
nish. The next receipt is taken from the transla-
tion by Mrs Merrifield of the MS. of Petrus de S.
Audemar in the collection of MSS. by Jehan le
Begue. The MS. is probably late thirteenth or
early fourteenth century. The varnishes given by
Theophilus are intended to be used in gilding tin,
and similarly the following receipts are for the same
purpose :
" 207. Also as before. —

Mix linseed oil and pine
rosin {pinum), an equal weight of each, and add the
same measure of vernix put these ingredients into
;
a jar and boil them well. Then dip leaves of tin well
313
varnished into it (the jar), and afterwards dry them
in the sun.
"208. Also as above. — Put linseedand the oil
inner bark of the black plum into a new jar, and boil
it well for a short time upon charcoal or upon a
clear fire. Then clean your glassa by weight as

much as you like, and put it into another jar, and
take about half the quantity of alum and of dragon's-
blood, and put it all into the jar, and lastly add a
little rosin [pinum), and melt the whole well to-
gether, and as soon as all the ingredients are melted

add the above-mentioned oil, and, as if you were
making a compound ointment, let them boil well
together, and stir them frequently, and afterwards
dip your nail into the composition and try whether
it is good or not.
" 209. Alsoasbefore. — Collecttwigsofblackplum,

and put them in the sun for a week or a fortnight
and then throw away the outer bark, and take the
inner bark and put it into a rough jar, so as to fill
it. Then take linseed or hempseed oil and pour
into the jar as much of it as it will hold, and heat it
slowly over the fire, until the bark is reduced to
charcoal. Then throw away the bark, and strain the
remainder of the oil through linen, and take resin
and white frankincense and clean the jar well, and
314
^

then put all the ingredients into it again and heat as
long as you please."

The first receipt given here would be almost solid
when cold, but would do quite well to dip the tin
leaves into while hot. In the second receipt the
"glassa" is quite possibly amber, as it is to be fused
first with the pine resin before the oil is added. This
is,ashasbeen already explained.apracticablemethod
of dissolving amber. The third receipt is for a thick-
ened oil to which resin is then added.
In the same collection of MSS. is included one by
Johann Alcherius, written in 1 388. In this only one
receipt for varnish is given, in which "glasse aro-
matique " is to
be fused, and then to one part two
parts of linseed oil are to be added. This is to be
spread with the fingers over dry painting. This re-
ceiptwould do for amber varnish. At the same time,
judging by the name, probably some other resin is in-
tended. The next receipts for varnishes are quoted
from the MS. in the Public Library at Strassburg,
and which is supposed to be early fourteenth century.
The translations given are by Eastlake :
—
" Here I will teach how to make a good varnish of
' Pice Greca and gloriat mean the resin left after heating the
balsam of the pine and driving off the oil of turpentine. This
corresponds closely to what we now call rosin.
three materials —a good superior varnish out of each
of the materials separately. I n the first place, take
I lb. of sandarac or of mastic, whichever you please,
and pulverise it in a clean mortar. Then take 3 lb.
of linseed oil, hempseed oil, or old nut oil, and boil

or
this in a clean vessel, skimming it and taking care,
above all, that it does not run over. After it has been
boiled andskimmed, (throw in and)stirthepowdered
resinlittle by little in the boiling oil thus the powder :
dissolves in the oil. When it is quite dissolved let
the varnish seethe gently with a moderate heat, stir-
ring it continually that it may not burn ; and when

you find that the composition has become thick, like
melted honey, take a drop of varnish on a knife, and,
after suffering it to cool a little, touch it and draw
your finger slowly off; if the varnish strings it is well
boiled, but, if not, boil it better till it strings. Then
take from the fire and suffer it to cool strain it
it ;
through a strong piece of linen, wringing it through

the cloth into a clean glazed vessel, and keep it well
covered for use. Thus you have an excellent and
clear varnish of the best kind.
"And if you wish to makeanother good varnish, as
"
clear and lustrous as crystal, get i lb. of " gloriat
(rosin)from the apothecaries' shops, and (add) twice
the quantity of oil. Let them boil together, and pre-
316
pare this in all respects like the former varnish ; as
soon as it strings it is sufficiently boiled, and is in the
right state."
Similar receipts to this could easily be added from
other MSS. It will be noted that in these receipts
there is no mention of the use of the pine balsams,
but rather of the rosin left after heating the balsam
and driving off the spirits of turpentine there are ;
no instructions to add driers, and that in no case is

the resin dissolved in, or the varnish diluted with,
oil of spike, spirits of turpentine, petroleum, or
alcohol.
Such varnishes would be too stiff, or very difficult
to paint with, if used as mediums without a large
addition of oil, and would dry very slowly, and could
only probably be used by rubbing on hot on the
finished picture. They would not serve, except in
some of the very highly resinous ones, to protect a
pigment from change.
The absence of the mention of spirits of turpen-
tine is very remarkable, as its preparation by dis-
tillation is described by Marcus Graccus in the eighth
century, and the use either of turpentine or petro-

leum in varnish-making occurs in a receipt in the
older part of the Hermeneia. The next MS. to be
quoted, the MS. at Venice known as the Marciana
317
—

MS., reveals a complete change in the nature of re-
ceipts for varnishes.This MS. belongs to the six-
teenth century, probably about the middle. We find
here receipts for varnishes made with Gum Benzoin
and alcohol. These are very weak varnishes, only
suitable for paper.
There is also a receipt for making what is pos-
sibly an amber varnish ; but after completion, we
are directed to dilute it with linseed oil, naphtha, or
spirits of wine, thus corresponding more closely to
the modern oil varnish, though the actual diluents
proposed are of doubtful value. Receipts are also
given corresponding to those with which we are al-
ready familiar, in which sandarac, mastic, and pine
resin are dissolved in linseed oil but among them;
occurs the following, which is more of the nature of

a spirit than an oil varnish :
" Take one pound of mastic, half a pound of olio
petronio (petroleum), and half an ounce of clear nut

oil, and melt them together in a bottle or glass over
a charcoal fire, and strain through an old linen

cloth."
It is to be noted, however, that mastic does not
readily dissolve in petroleum,and that therefore the
question arises whether the translation of this word
is correct. It is much more likely that spirits of tur-
318
—

pentine isintended, though why called ' 'olio petronio"
is difficult to explain, unless it is due to a mistake on

the part of the writer of the MS.
Another receipt is for a varnish of 2 oz. clear nut
oil, I oz. of pine resin, and ^ oz. of mastic, again cor-
responding pretty closely to the receipts we have
already studied. The following, however, is the first
receipt in which olio di abezzo (the balsam of the
silver pine) is mentioned :
" 403. Item. A

varnish of olio di abezzo which
'
'
dries both in the sun and in the shade. Take olio — '
di abezzo,' which must be genuine and not adulter-

ated, and if you wish to know whether it is falsified,
distemper it with nut or linseed oil, or naphtha, heat-
ing both the oils, etc., and spread it on a work, when,
if it is not genuine, it will not dry for a long time,
and then badly, because it is adulterated with tur-

pentine, but if it is genuine it will dry quickly and
perfectly.
"If you desire to varnish delicate works which will
not be exposed to water, but merely to bring out the
colours and show their beauty, distemper the olio di
abezzo as above. But if you wish to varnish more
permanently on works which are intended to resist
water, do notdistemper the olio di abezzo with other
ingredients, but heat it in a vase, melt it, and varnish
319
with it. When you distemper it with linseed or nut
oil, let it be with
which has been exposed to the
oil
sun to evaporate, and the varnish will be much

clearer."
The following receipts, taken from a MS. at
Padua, probably written early in the seventeenth
century, show clearly the introduction of oil of tur-
pentine, spike oil, and naphtha.
A clear andfinevarnish. — Take of clear Ven-
^
"45.
ice turpentine oz. iij., and of odoriferous oil of spike
oz. melt them well together over a slow fire, and
j.,
use the varnish hot, recollecting that if you are

using it on wood, you must first give it a good coat of
glue, or distemper the colour with gum water, in
order that the varnish may not penetrate.
"46. Avarnishwhichhasbeen tried. Take equal —
parts of white mastic and linseed oil, put them into
a new pipkin over a slow fire, and when the oil is hot,
add toit a little olio d'abezzo,' and continue to mix.
'
"47. Another good varnish. —

Take equal quanti-
ties of red mastic well powdered and linseed oil with
a little resin put them over the fire in a new pipkin,
;
stirring the ingredients continually for a quarter of

an hour, when it will be finished.
" 48. —
Another varnish. Take of oglio d'abezzo,
naphtha, and white mastic, all at discretion put the ;
320
whole into a new pipkin over a slowfire, and boil un-
til all the mastic is dissolved; if there is plenty of the
olio di abezzo the varnish will be better.
"49. Avarnish whichdries directly. Takeequal —
parts of boiled linseed oil and white mastic place ;
them over the fire in a new pipkin with a little oglio

di abezzo; let them boil while you can say a credo;
then add to them spirit of turpentine equal in quan-
tity to half the linseed oil, mixing it well with the
other ingredients.
" 50. Another varnish which Put dries directly. —
into a pipkin a proper quantity of mastic cover it ;
with a somewhat greater quantity of naphtha, and

leave the pipkin over the hot coals until the mastic
is dissolved.
"51. A varnish which does not dry immediately. —
Take of white mastic oz. j., of nut or linseed oil oz,
ij., and of oglio di abezzo oz. ss. put the whole into ;
a pipkin, and boil over a slow fire until all the mastic
is dissolved then add a little naphtha at discretion.
;
"52. A
varnish which has been proved to dry in-
stantly. — Take of coarsely pounded white mastic,
oz. j., of spirit of turpentine, oz. j., of naphtham, oz.
j., and of oglio di abezzo, oz. ij. ;
put all the ingredi-
ents into a glass vessel closely covered with paper;
then put a tin pot overthefire.to the handle of which
321 21
——

the glass must be suspended, being secured to it by
a string and put into the tin pot sufficient water to
;
coverthe glass. Boil the water for half an hour, and

until the mastic is dissolved, taking care not to take
out the glass while the water is boiling, as it would
crack.
"53. Anothervarnish. — Let any quantity of oglio
di abezzo, naphtha, and mastic be placed in a pipkin
in the summer and exposed to the sun, and in this
way excellent varnish will be made."
If we now turn to the treatise by De Mayerne, we
find very similar receipts, such as the following :
" Oil of turpentine, 2 oz. ; finest and clearest tur-

pentine (the balsam of the larch), i oz. ; sandarac,
very little."
"Turpentine, i oz. ;
petroleum, 2 oz."
" The best varnish which resists water is made
from siccative oil much thickened in the sun or with
litharge,"
We have found before examples of the thickened
oil varnishes.
He also gives a receipt for an amber varnish which
would, if capable of being made at all, be nearly
black ; and then tells us that the following is "the
true varnish for lutes and violins." The receipt is
lengthy, but can be reduced to the following:

322
I St. The amber is fused and powdered.
2nd. Boil and skim the linseed oil.
3rd. Dissolve in i pint of the oil, 6oz. of the fused

amber.
" This varnish is used cold, and dries only in the
sun.
This is a perfectly practical receipt for amber var-
nish, and corresponds closely to the modern method
of making it in Germany.
He
then goes on to state that the oil " has its fat
removed" by boiling it with a piece of lead or
bread crust, and to each pound a " little nut of
litharge." The oil is thus a drying oil. The varnish,
he says, dries in one day.
He also tells us that he found in the little
Cheirurgie of Paracelsus a receipt for dissolving

amber in "turpentine" (pine balsam). The fact
that amber can be so dissolved has already been re-
ferred to; but such a varnish, while no doubt harder
than a varnish of the "turpentine" alone, is no
longer to be described as an amber varnish.
In his own receipt he adds to the amber, oil of
turpentine first, then nut oil, then the Venice tur-
pentine. Under these conditions the amber does
not, to the best of my belief, dissolve at all.
He also has receipts, with which we are already

323
;

familiar, for dissolving the softer resins in linseed
and for sandarac dissolved in Venetian turpentine,
oil,
and benzoin dissolved in spirits of wine.

He also tells us that the common varnish used
by carpenters consisted of three parts " Greek
pitch " or resin to one part of linseed oil. His
receipt for varnish for leather covered with tinfoil is
also already familiar :

3 lb. linseed oil, i lb. Greek
pitch, I lb. sandarac, i oz. saffron, i lb. aloe resin
and he tells us that the delicate varnishes are made
with petroleum, turpentine oil, and aspic oil (oil of
spike).
Another interesting receipt for what he calls
Chinese varnish consists of linseed oil made drying
by boiling with litharge and umber, i pint asphalt, ;
3 oz. ;
gum lac, 3 oz. ; spiegelharz, 2 oz. ; mastic,
3 oz. ; dragon's-blood, 3 oz. ; oil of turpentine, i pint.
Another receipt for amber varnish requires some

of the oil to be mixed with it before melting. This,
as already explained, if practicable at all, would in-
volve practically decomposing the oil.
In another receipt by Jehan Haitier, the amber
is fused and then mixed with gum lac i lb. of —
amber to \ lb. of gum lac, —
fused, poured out, and
dissolved in a drying oil, and thinned with spirits of
turpentine.
324
In addition to these receipts he has some inter-
esting receipts for preparing transparent pigments

by grinding lake in oil of turpentine and mixing in
Venice turpentine and boiling, and for dissolving

verdigris in Venice turpentine. These receipts are
for colouring foil for artificial jewels (doublets) and
for varnishing gold.
He also describes a beautiful green varnish of
verdigris, yellow lake, linseed oil, and turpentine
varnish. This dissolving of verdigris in Venice tur-
pentine has already been referred to.
The conclusion, then, that we can come to from

these receipts is that the older varnishesconsisted of
sandarac and pine resin, and, later, mastic dissolved
in linseed oil, the proportion of resin to oil being in
many cases very high; that these thick varnishes
were rubbed on hot with the hand that amber ;
varnish was also known, but must have been very

dark in colour, and also varnishes in which the amber
was dissolved in pine resin that the use of oil of
;
turpentine, spike oil, petroleum, and alcohol in pre-

paring varnishes is not mentioned till the sixteenth
century, and it is only then that the use of pine
balsams is frequently mentioned and it is only at ;
the beginning of the seventeenth century that re-

ceipts for preparing lake with, and dissolving verdi-
32s
gris in, pine balsam are given. When wecome tocon-
sider the evidence as to the methods of oil-painting
in the next chapter, we shall find that either grind-
ing in pure oil or, after grinding in oil, the addition
of a little varnish is all that is ever mentioned. It
must, therefore, be plainly stated that no definite

documentary evidence exists for the method of
painting the Van Eyck pictures which I have sug-
gested and will again discuss later on. On the other
hand, certain curious receipts are to be found in
early seventeenth-century MSS., which may be the
remnants of an older tradition.
CHAPTER XIV
THE HISTORY OF THE OIL MEDIUM
Having dealt fully with varnishes, we can return to

the history of oil-painting. As I have already stated
in the chapters dealing with painting in classical
times, the first mention of drying oils is made by
Pliny and Dioscorides, Pliny describing the prepa-
ration of nut oiland Dioscorides adding to this the
preparation of poppy oil but there is no indication
;
here that the use of such oils as mediums was under-

stood. In the sixth century Aetius, as already stated,
describes the preparation of linseed oil, and tells us
that such oils can be used for varnishes, while in the
Lucca Manuscript of the eighth century the first re-
made by dissolving resins in oil
ceipts for varnishes
appear. These receipts for varnishes have already
been considered. Up to this age there is no sugges-
tion that oil could be used as a medium for painting,
and it is not until we come to the manuscript of
327
—
Theophilus —which is supposed to be of about the
eleventh century, the actual copy in the British Mu-
seumhavingbeenwrittenin the thirteenth century
that the use of oil as a painting medium is first men-
tioned. I n chap. XX. which has already been quoted
,
(Hendrie's translation), Theophilus says " If you :
wish to redden panels, take linseed oil, which you

make in this manner —
Take linseed and dry it in a
:
pan over the fire without water, then put it in a mor-

tar and press it with a pestle until it becomes a very
fine powder place it again in the pan and pour a
;
little water upon it, then make this very hot. After-
wards fold it in a new cloth, and press it in a press

in which olive and poppy and walnut oil are accus-
tomed to be pressed, and this is done in the same
manner. After this lightly grind minium or cinnabar
upon the stone without water, and paint over the
doors or tables which you wish to redden with a
pencil, and you will dry them in the sun. Then paint
them again, and again dry them. At last cover them
over with that gluten which is called varnish, and
which is made in this manner." Then follow two
receipts for making varnishes. In chap, xxvii., again,
Theophilus tells us all ground
sorts of colours can be
and laid upon woodwork with the same kind of oil,
but only things which can be dried in the sun, "be-
328
HISTORY OF THE OIL MEDIUM
cause each time that you have laid on one colour
you cannot place another upon it until it first has
dried, which for figures is excessively long and tedi-
ous." It is evident from this account that the pre-
paration and use of linseed oil were understood at
the time of Theophilus ; but there is no suggestion
here for either purifying and bleaching the oil or

preparing a boiled or drying and it is
oil from it,
evident that he found the oil slow-drying. Such a

raw linseed oil which had not been purified would
dry slowly, and to anyone who was accustomed to
painting with such mediums as gum, egg, or glue,
this process of drying would seem insufferably te-
dious. At the same time, it is not generally known
that the oil in which the artists' colours of to-day
are ground is a purified but raw oil, and no driers
are added, so that the rate of drying which is con-
sidered necessary by the modern artist would have
been regarded as tedious in the times of Theophilus,
the artist now wishing, of course, to paint into the
wet surface from day to day.
The next manuscript which has a receipt for the
use of oil is by Eraclius. This receipt is for the pre-
paration of a drying oil, and is taken from Mrs
Merrifield's translation, vol. i. p. 232, receipt 29,
"How oil is prepared for tempering colours" " Put
:
329
a little quantity of lime into oil, and heat it, con-
tinually skimming it ; add ceruse to it, according to
the quantity of oil, and put it in the sun for a month

or more, stirring frequently ; and know that the
longer remains in the sun, the better it will be.
it
Then strain and keep it and temper the colours with

it." This receipt would produce a very satisfactory
drying oil. In the first place, the treatment with lime

would remove moisture and acidity in the second ;
place, the long exposure to the sun would remove

impurities and bleach the oil, and at the same
time thicken it to a certain extent and increase its
rate of drying, while the presence of the white lead
would make it into a rapidly drying oil. Thisoil, then,
would be pale, somewhat thick, and quickly drying.
It would have, however, one objectionable feature,
and that would be the presence of a considerable

amount of dissolved lead.
In the manuscript of Petrus de S. Audemar (Mrs
Merrifield) there are several references to the use of
oil as a medium for painting, the references being
introduced as was recognised as an alternative
if oil
medium. This manuscript, supposed to be of about

the thirteenth century, is included in a whole set of
manuscriptsin the Paris. Library by Jehan LeBegue,
which were written out by him in 1431.
330
In addition to these and other references in MSS.
of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries to oil-paint-
remarkable series of accounts existing
ing, there is a
in England in connection with the painting both at
Westminster and at Ely Cathedral, of the thirteenth
and fourteenth centuries, which show clearly that
some kind of painting in oil was commonly prac-
tised in England at that time.
These accounts referred in many cases to the
Painted Chamber at Westminster, and show that
it was customary to buy oil and also to buy var-
nish, both red and white varnish being referred

to. Similar records are found at Ely Cathedral,
showing that in England, at any rate, the use of
linseed oil for painting on a large scale was quite
common in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.
To take one account dealing with the Painted Cham-
ber,we find the following items: " To Reymund for
17 pounds of white lead, ii.to the same for
s.x.d. ;
16 gallons of oil, xvi. s. ; same for 24 pounds of

to the
varnish, xii. s. ; to Hugo le Vespunt for 1 8 gallons
of oil, xxi. s. ; to Reymund for 1 00 leaves of gold,
iii. s." There are also in these accounts the mention
of large quantities of eggs, which certainly suggests
that themethod of painting must have been in some
way partly tempera and partly with linseed oil.
331
To come now to the fifteenth century, Cennino
Cennini, from whom we have already quoted, refers,
as we have seen, to the use of linseed oil. In chap.
Ixxxix., " How to paint in oil on walls, panel, iron,
or whatever you please," 78 of Mrs Herring-
p.
ham's translation, Cennino Cennini says " Before :
we proceed further, I will teach you to paint in oil
on walls or on panels, which is much practised by

the Germans, or in the same way on iron or stone ;
but we will speak first of walls." In chapter xc,

" How to begin painting on walls," he tells us to
prepare the surface with a medium consisting of

glue, egg, and the juice of the fig-tree. This is
before beginning to paint with the oil. Then for
painting he tells us to take 3 or 4 lb. of linseed

oil, and boil the oil until it is reduced to half the
quantity ; and when the oil is required as a mor-
dant for attaching gold leaf, to each pint of such
thickened oil i oz. of vernice liquida is added.
This oil of Cennino Cennini's resembles very close-
ly the oilwhich is prepared to-day for lithographic
inks,and would be somewhat deep yellow in colour,
and thick like a varnish, but would not necessarily
dry very quickly, as no driers had been introduced.
Eastlake dwells upon the use of sulphate of zinc
or white vitriol as a drier. The first receipt appar-
332
ently in which this is mentioned is in the manuscript
known as the Strassburg Manuscript, and which
is supposed to be of the fifteenth century. This
writer advises that oil should be boiled with cal-
cined bones and white vitriol. It is important to note
that the white copperas or sulphate of zinc of this
time was impure and contained a certain amount
of manganese. Pure dried sulphate of zinc has
very little effect on the drying qualities of linseed
oil, although, as hygroscopic, it may tend to re-
it is
move moisture ; but the impure white copperas of

early times, containing manganese, would prove a
—
very useful and valuable drier in fact, the oil so
prepared would correspond in properties to the
manganese drying oils of the present day, and would
have the advantage of not being acted upon by im-
pure air owing to the absence from it of lead com-
pounds in solution.
In this MS. directions are given for grinding
colours in oil. It is advised that the colours should
be ground stiffly, and that a little varnish should be
added to each colour after the grinding is finished.
It is evident from these quotations that, though in
the case of the last one (the Strassburg Manuscript),

it is possible that the information may be contem-
poraneous with or subsequent to the methods of the

333
Van Eycks, the older descriptions prove that paint-
ing with oil was understood long before the brothers
Van Eyck began to paint pictures. The reference in
Cennino Cennini to this being the German practice
in painting is of great interest,and shows that there
must have been a northern tradition, German, and
also evidently English, and probably therefore Flem-
ish, for painting with oil medium, quite distinct from
the tempera tradition which we find in Italy. It is

therefore rather difficult to understand the import-
ance given to the brothers Van Eyck in the history
of oil-painting, an importance which it may be re-
marked is very largely due to Vasari's statement in his
Lives of the Artists, and it is remarkable that on
the tombs of the Van Eycks there was no mention
made of their having been the first to discover or
make use of oil as a medium in painting.
We shall, however, next consider Vasari's ac-
count in Lives of the Artists of the discovery of this

process. Of the two brothers Van Eyck, Hubert
Van Eyck was the younger and Jan Van Eyck the
elder brother, and of the two painters Jan Van
Eyck is the more famous but if any invention
;
was made at all, it must have been by the younger

brother, Hubert, and not by Jan. Vasari, in the first
edition of his work, does not even mention Hubert,

334
whose name appears for the first time in the second
edition. The passage taken literally ascribes the
honour to Hubert, but the words are brief, and the
older, more important sentence remains unaltered.
The statement made by Vasari is taken from
Vasari's life of Antonello da Messina. He states :
" The mode of painting in tempera which had been
adopted by Cimabue about the year 1250 was fol-

lowed by Giotto and those succeeding masters who
had hitherto occupied our attention, and it still con-
tinued to be the only method for painting on wood
and cloth." He then goes on to state that artists
were aware that this medium had many disadvan-
tages, and that the experiments to invent a better
process had not been a success, neither by using
liquid varnish nor other kinds of oils mixed with
the tempera vehicles.
This sentence shows that emulsions of oil or var-
nish with the tempera had been tried. He mentions
that among those who tried this experiment were
Alesso Baldovinetti, Pesello, and others. Herr
Berger has recently brought many arguments to-
gether with a view of trying to demonstrate that the
medium used by Van Eyck was probably an emul-
sion of tempera with oil, and, as I shall show ulti-
mately, I have come to the conclusion for quite other
335
reasons that the use of such an emulsion is not im-
possible as an explanation of certain of his effects,
so that this reference by Vasari to attempts to use
an emulsion before Van Eyck are not without in-
terest.
He then goes on to state that while things were
in this state, it happened that Giovanni of Bruges,
a painter of Flanders, began to try experiments with

different kinds of colour, and, being fond of alchemy,
tried different oils for the composition of varnishes
and other things. H e then states that on a particular
occasion, having finished a picture and finally var-
nished it, and placed it in the sun to dry,
it split, and
decided him to try and invent a new

this finally
medium. " And being not less dissatisfied with the
varnish than with the process of tempera-painting,
he began to devise methods for preparing a kind of
varnish which should dry in the shade, so as to avoid
placing his pictures in the sun. Having made ex-
periments with many things, both pure and mixed
together, at last he found that linseed and nut oil
were more drying than all the rest. These, there-
fore, boiled with other mixtures of his, made him the
varnish which he, nay, which all the painters of the
worldhad longdesired. Continuinghis experiments
with many other things, he saw that the immixture
336
of the colours with these kinds of oil gave them a
firm consistence, which, when dry, was proof against
wet, and moreover that the vehicle lit up the colours
so beautifully, that it gave a gloss of itself without
varnish. ..." This account by Vasari has, as might

be supposed, been discussed and rediscussed over
and over again. At the same time, I think that pos-
sibly too much attention has been paid to it. It was
written about one hundred years afterVanEyck,and
it is quite obvious on the face of it, from the infor-
mation we have already collected, that this romantic

account of the invention of oil-painting is not based
upon fact. Not only wasthe use of linseed oil known
before Van Eyck, but, as we have shown, the puri-
fication of the oil and bleaching it in the sun, and
the preparation from it of a drying oil and of a thick-
ened oil of the nature of that used for lithographic
work, was well understood. The only possible new
invention in the preparation of the oil that can have
been made in the fifteenth century is the use of im-
pure sulphate of zinc, as stated in the Strassburg
Manuscript. Thepreparationofmanydifferent kinds
of varnishes from these oils was also understood. It
will also be noted that the account given by Vasari
is distinctly vague. He states that these oils, boiled
with other mixtures of his, made him the varnish
337 22
:

which painters had long desired. Now, if weturn to
Vasari's account of technical processes, we find that,
when dealing with the subject of oil-painting, he first
of all repeats briefly his statement that Giovanni of
Bruges was the inventor of oil-painting, and then
proceeds to tell us howoil-paintingshould be carried
out
" I must now explain how to set about the work.
When the artist wishes to begin, that is, after he
has laid the gesso on the panels or framed canvas
and smoothed it, he spreads over this, with a
sponge, four or five coats of the smoothest size,
and proceeds to grind the colours with the walnut
or linseed oil, though walnut oil is better, because
it yellows less in time. When they are ground with
these oils, which is their tempera, nothing else is

needed, so far as the colours are concerned, but to
lay them on with a brush." " Vanno poi maci-
. . .
ando i colori con olio di noci o di seme di lino (benche

il noce 6 meglio perche ingialla meno) et cosi
macinati con questi olii che e la tempera loro, non
bisogno altro quanto a essi che distengergli col'
penello."
I quote the Italian text here, because Herr
Berger, in his Beitrage, vol. iii., interprets this as
meaning that the oil was emulsified with a tempera
338
medium. It is evident, therefore, that whatever the
Van Eyck medium may have been, Vasari in his
day understood that the process of oil-painting con-
sisted simply in the grinding of the colours in oil
and the using of them without any other addition.
At the same time, there is a suggestion in his account
of the invention of his having had an impression
that Van Eyck's method was somewhat different
from this, since he talksabout his boiling theoilste;?^
other mixtures, and that he wishes to suggest this,
without being able himself to tell us what this other

mixture was. It is, of course, possible that he wishes
to conceal his knowledge but it is, I think, more
;
probablethat hewashimself uncertain on the matter,

and that therefore time and attention spent in care-
fully weighing the words of this account are time
andattention thrown away. I do not, therefore, pro-
pose to discuss the little differences between the ac-
count in the first and second editions, as they do not
throw any further light on the matter.
Vasari tells us that the fame of this invention hav-
ing spread throughout Italy, and a picture having
been sent to Alphonso I. at Naples, it attracted
great attention. " At this time one, Antonello da
Messina, a person of intelligent, active spirit, and
very sagacious, moreover, in his profession, having
339
many years in Rome, and hav-
studied drawing for
ing happened to go to Naples and heard of the
above-mentioned picture, he went to Flanders and
learned the secret from Giovanni that he took this
;
secret to Venice and taught it there to a certain

Maestro Domenico.and from thence the knowledge
spread to other painters in Italy." This account has
been discussed and rediscussed, but it is unneces-
sary for us to dwell upon it here, as there can be no
doubt that the introduction of oil-painting in Italy
came through many roads,many of the leading
artists who followed Van Eyck themselves going
to Italy and painting pictures there.
Probably the most we can say is this, that while
the use of oil for painting had been understood in
Germany, in Flanders, and in England, it had not,
in spite of Cennino Cennini's description of it, been
seriously adopted in Italy, and that such experi-
ments as had been made in this direction had not
proved successful, and that it was not until the
magnificent pictures of Jan Van Eyck were actu-
ally seen by Italian artists that the revelation of
the possibilities of this medium came home to them,
and that it rapidly replaced tempera as a means of
painting.
It must be remembered that it is not enough
340
for a medium to have been proved to work. A
chemist might to-morrow bring out some new
painting medium which involved a somewhat differ-
ent technique from that required in oil-painting, and
it might possibly be superior to oil in many ways,
yet he would find it difficult to persuade artists to
use it, because, having already become familiar with
the possibilities of oil, and having learned by long
use and practice how to obtain from it certain re-
sults, they would be almost certain to reject the new
medium, not because of faults in it, but because

they themselves were incapable of using it effici-
ently. It would require a striking object-lesson to
bring home to them the fact that the medium itself
was an improvement on the mediums they already
knew, and the defect lay in their own clumsiness in
using it. After the Italian artists had once seen a
picture by Giovanni, they would at once realise
that oil had possibilities which were not to be found
in the tempera medium, and they would be pre-
pared to make the necessary effort to learn its use;
and having once seen its possibilities as shown by
Giovanni, being themselves artists, and of great
technical skill, they would soon learn to imitate his
effects. It is, therefore, probably safe to say that
while the invention of oil-painting cannot for a mo-
341
ment be ascribed either to Hubert or Jan Van Eyck,
tothem we may give the credit of having first pro-
duced great pictures in the new medium, and of
having, through their pictures, converted the Italian
artists to its use.
In this discussion I have assumed the Van Eycks'
method of painting to be essentially painting in oil,
and not something else. This may be taken as a

rough-and-ready working assumption, but, at the
same time, it may require to be seriously modified
before we finally accept it as proved.
An interesting description of the methods of
painting adopted by Van Eyck is to be found given
in verse by a Flemish painter. Van Mander, who
treats the whole subject poetically in his work, Den
Grondt der Edel vry Schilder- Const. Van Mander
himself was a painter, and his son and grandson after
him, though, judging by a picture by his grandson,
which I have seen, the methods of Van Eyck had
not been successfully handed down through the
family, as it is in far from good condition.
" Our predecessors," he says, among whom he
includes Van Eyck, "were in the habit of spreading

a white ground over panels, more thickly than we
do they then scraped the surface as smooth as pos-
;
sible; they also used cartoons, which they laid on the

342
•rH.
i'^^''^w'h
UNFINISIlKIl PICTURE CV JAN X'AN K\CK (aNTWKRP)

Ihaz.'ini^ ,in JoUit:: •t^'-V,' panel, z^'itJl blut: OJ ^ky painted ill
smooth white ground and sat down and traced them,
first rubbing in directly over the picture or drawing.
They then drew in the design beautifully with black

chalk or pencil. But an excellent method which some
adopted was to grind coal black finely with water,
after which they drew in and shaded their designs
with all possible care ; they then delicately spread
over the outline a fine priming." This description
of the way in which the earlier oil-painters set about
making a picture is of great interest, and on the
unfinished Van Eyck in the gallery at Antwerp, of
which an illustration is given on p. 342, we see
upon a white panel a most elaborate, complete, and
detailed drawing, so that every detail of the picture
has been settled before the laying on of colour takes
place at all. There is no suggestion to be found in
Van Mander that any particular medium other than
oil was used by Van Eyck and his followers, and this
work of Van Mander is the nearest that we have

to the time of Van Eyck, and consequently the most
likely to describe accurately the methods used by
him, although, as the date is 1604, it is possible that
some had been already forgotten.
of his processes
Before considering in detail what the method
used by Van Eyck probably consisted of, it is neces-
sary to go a little further forward. I have already
343
:

quoted from Vasari his account of the preparation
of colours in oil. I n a later document which has been
translated by Mrs M errifield, and of which the author,

Giovanni Batista Volpato, was born in 1633, and
which consists of an imaginary dialogue between
two artist's apprentices, directions are given first of
all for preparing and priming of the canvas (which
will be dealt with separately), and then for grind-

ing of the colours in oil (vol. ii. p. 738). The two
apprentices are supposed to be engaged in drink-
ing wine together, and the one asks how colours are
ground the other replies that white lead, verdi
;
eterno, indigoand all other blues, are mixed with nut

and other colours with linseed oil. There is here
oil,
no suggestion that it is necessary to mix any other

medium with the colours than linseed oil.
The directionsare based on the teaching of Ar-

menini da Faenza and Raffaello Borghini, both of
the sixteenth century. It is true that Armenini, in
his directions, suggests the addition of varnish to the

lakes, but merely in order to hasten their drying,
and not for any other object and that Borghini, in
;
h.\s II Riposo (1584), advises the addition of varnish
to the ground colours in the following sentence

"Sopra cui calcando il cartone, odisagnando,e dan-
do i colore, temperati con olio di noce o di linseme
344
(ma meglio fia di noce, perche e piu sottile, e non
ingialla i colori, ne' quali fia bene mescolare cui poco
di vernice) conducerete con diligenza a fine I'opera
vostra, la quale non accadera verniciarla," and also
in one receipt, to the priming but all the evidence
;
tends to show that, in the sixteenth and seventeenth

centuries,oil-paintingwas understood to mean paint-
ing with pigments ground in linseed oil or nut or
poppy oil, and that, while the addition of varnish is
suggested from time to time for various reasons,
there is no evidence that the addition of varnish
was considered as a necessary part of the painting
process.
These remarks are necessary because the views
thathave been taken on this subject are influenced
by Eastlake's History of Oil-Painting. Every pos-
sible quotation that can be brought together is
brought together by him in the brilliant special
pleading in which he tries to prove that the addi-
tion of varnish was regarded as an essential part of
the painting process by Van Eyck and those that fol-
lowed after him. One of these quotations has been al-
—
ready given the Strassburg Manuscript in which —
the addition of a few drops of varnish is advised; but
if Eastlake's account of this matter is read critically,
it will be obvious that there is really no evidence
345
that the addition of varnish was regarded as an essen-
tial part of the painting process — in fact, in order to
try and prove that Van Dyck used such a medium, he
quotes from a manuscript of unknown origin which
is really of no authority at all, and which describes
the preparation of megilp, and states that Van Dyck

mixed his dry pigments with this, in direct contra-
diction to De Mayerne's statements.^
To
continue the consideration of late sixteenth
and early seventeenth century painters. have a We
good deal of information about the methods adopted
by Rubens, owing to The Maxims of Rubens, by
Descamps, his own letters, and the notes by De
Mayerne.
Rubens seems to have painted on white grounds,
and on these, according to Descamps, painted with
transparent shadows and solid lights. He preferred
1 There is one interesting reference to the use of amber varnish

as a painting medium by De Mayerne, where he tells us that amber
varnish (the preparation is described), one part to nut oil two parts,
isrubbed over the dead colouring with a sponge, and then painted
into,by Italian artists. This receipt comes through several hands,
and though possibly used by some, does not shake the accumulated
general evidence as to the use of oil in the usual way. It is, how-
ever, of further interest as agreeing with the practice of the P.R.B.
to be described later. The amber varnish already containing oil,
and then further diluted with oil and rubbed on thin, would not much
darken the picture or have much protective value.
346
—

tohave his pigments first ground in oil of turpentine,
and must probably have mixed them with his me-
dium as he went along. The powder colours sold
by artists' colourmen to-day have usually been so
ground. In painting, he dipped his brush in oil of
turpentine.
" M. Rubens, N. B. —To make your colours spread
easily and consequently unite well, and ever retain
their freshness —as in the case of blues and indeed
all colours —dip your brush lightly from time to time,
while you paint, in clear essential oil of Venice tur-
pentine, distilled in a water bath ; then with the same
brush mix your colours on the palette " {vide De
Mayerne).
Apparently also quoting from Rubens, De May-
erne advises mixing smalt with varnish and laying
it on quickly. The difficulty of using these blues in
oil has already been discussed. Again he says :
" Rubens, N.B. —

Turpentine intime becomes arid
(as the essential oil of turpentine or the petroleum
evaporates) and is not proof against water. The
best water-resisting varnish is made with drying oil
much thickened sun without boiling at all."
in the
Thisis apeculiarly bad receiptof Rubens, as the oil
would darken and fail to protect the pigments under-
neath. There is no evidence, in spite of Eastlake,
347
that this thickened oil was Rubens' medium. His
pictures are, therefore, straightforward oil pictures,
as even if he used this thickenedoil it would not have
the mechanical or chemical effect of a dissolved resin.

The practice of Van Dyck, from the conversa-
tion recorded with De Mayerne, whom he refers to
as " Sir Anthony Vandyck, Knight, a very excellent
painter," was to paint in oil, but sometimes to lay on
blue and green with gum water, first rubbing on
garlic and thin varnish on the top. It is also evident
from the letters of Rubens to Sir Dudley Carleton
and to Peiresc, that he was accustomed to put his
finished pictures out in the sun, and, when they had
yellowed, to bleach them in this manner.
On the whole, therefore, the evidence from the
records of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries
is in favour of the view that by painting in oil was
understood exactly the same process as is used to-
day, and that the introduction of varnish into the

medium was possibly always done by certain artists,
or occasionally done in the case of certain pigments,
but there was no generally accepted understanding
that the introduction of the varnish was of essential
importance in producing permanent works in oil.
It is inconceivable, for instance, that Vasari, with
his enormous experience both as a painter and his
348
knowledge of the history of art, would tell us so
clearly that when the pigments are once ground in
oil nothing else is needed, if it had been considered
essential to add to the oil medium anything further.

The Strassburg Manuscript, which has already been
quoted, certainly advises the addition of a little
varnish to each colour, but gives no reason for

these additions, and is not necessarily of first-class
authority in studying the methods of the Flemish
school. Many receipts are given for the preparation
of varnishes, but thereis no proof that these were
be mixed with the colours, while Van

necessarily to
Mander is silent on the subject. The reference to
using varnish with greens, and also lakes, by Ar-
menini, cannot be taken as conclusive evidence,
especially as his reason for introducing it into the
lakes is merely to make them dry quicker, so that the
Strassburg Manuscript and Borghini stand alone.
We must therefore come to the conclusion that the
addition of varnish was not considered essential.
The attempt by Herr Berger in his recent book to
prove that Van Eyck used some special emulsion
of a tempera medium with oil, also breaks down as
far as the evidence from books and manuscripts is
concerned. The one or two references to such mix-

tures in the older manuscripts, and the statement
349
by Vasari that the attempt to use such a mixture
by an Italian artist had failed, cannot be set against
the negative evidence in the other direction.
It may be objected, on the other side, that, with
the exception of the Strassburg Manuscript, all the
other evidence quoted belongs to the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries, and that it is quite possible
thatby that time the special methods used by Van
Eyck had been forgotten. This view is very much
strengthened by an examination of the pictures
painted in the Flemish school from Van Eyck on-
wards.
Towards the close of the sixteenth century and the
beginning of the seventeenth, it is quite obvious that
some technical method has been lost, the pictures
being in a very bad state of preservation when com-
pared with the Van Eyck standard and while it ;
may be claimed that, on the whole, the pictures of

Rubens are in good condition, there can be no doubt
that those by Van Dyck are very far from being in a
satisfactory state. It is also of special significance
to note that one of the marked features of the early
oil-paintings is the magnificent greens to be seen
in the drapery, and these greens, in Van Eyck's
pictures, are as bright as possible. a marked
It is
characteristic of the Dutch painters of the close of

350
the sixteenth and of the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries that their greens are fugitive, and have
faded to dull browns and dingy greys in a very
large number of cases. This distinctly suggests
either a change in the pigments or a change in the
method of using them. Those who hold, therefore,
that Van Eyck and his immediate followers had
certain methods which resulted in their pictures
having a higher standard of durability than those
that followed after them have certainly a great deal
in their favour. We may take however, as suffi-
it,
ciently proved by the quotations from Vasari and

others, that in the sixteenth and seventeenth cen-
turies there was no special medium used beyond
ordinary and that where varnish happened to be
oil,
introduced it was due more to accident than to a

definite plan, while, on the other hand, the finished
pictures were probably, in most cases, varnished.
Pigments of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth

Centuries
During the period we are now considering, from
the time of theMS. by Cennino Cennini to that of
De Mayerne, a few changes had taken place in the
pigments used by artists, though on the whole the
pigments in use remained very much the same.
351
Cennino Cennini only mentions two blues, real
ultramarine and the copper carbonate or azurite,
the blue copper ore, which was also used in the time
of Pliny. He makes
no mention of a copper frit
like the old Egyptian blue, and, judging- by the
absence of its mention here and in earlier MSS., its
manufacture seems to have died out. On the other
hand. Professor Middleton tells us in his work on
illuminated manuscripts that he has often recog-
nised it in initial letters, so that it is possible it was
still known, though not mentioned by Cennino
Cennini.
In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, how-
ever, there are frequent references to " smalt."
Borghini, for instance, in his II Riposo, published
in 1584, speaks of an azzurro di smalto, which he
tells us a glass.
is
It is also mentioned by Lomazzo, whose treatise

was translated into English by the physician
Haydock, under the title, "A Tracte containing the
Arts of Curious Painting, Carving, and Building,
written first in Italian by Paul Lomaticus, painter
of Milan, and Englished by R. H., student of

Physicke, 1 It is also mentioned by Leonardo
598."
da Vinci and by De Mayerne and others.
This pigment seems to have come from Germany.
352
The modern smalt was a glass prepared in
Germany, which owed its colouring matter to cobalt.
We have already seen that while cobalt was used
from the earliest times to make a blue glaze, copper
was also used, and the copper frit was prepared for
a pigment. As I have shown, there is apparently
a gap when such were unknown, and then in
frits
the sixteenth century smalt appears as a well-

known pigment, but whether prepared with cobalt
from the beginning instead of copper seems to be
unknown, though ultimately becoming certainly a
cobalt blue. It was difficult to use in oil-painting
from its coarseness and glassy, gritty nature, and

consequently was sometimes put on with size, or
dusted on dry. If size was used, it was the uni-
versal custom to rub over the surface of the oil with
garlic. This, to judge by long tradition, ensures a
successful binding of the two media together.
Besides these blues, there can be little doubt that
other artificial copper blues began to appear in the
market.
Many receipts are given in the MSS. already
repeatedly referred to for "artificial azures." To
discuss these receipts in detail would be unprofit-
able,but they can be classified into receipts for the
preparation of blue by the action of a chloride on
353 23
verdigris under a gentle heat ; by the action of
vinegar, and sometimes other ingredients, on plates
of silver, dissolving out no doubt the alloyed copper;
and by the action of lime and salammoniac on copper
salts, and into receipts that would by no possibility
give a blue at all.
This lime receipt was the basis of a very consider-

able manufacture of a blue made in England known
as blue ashes, lime blue, copper blue, and mountain
blue. This English process consisted of precipi-
tating copper sulphate with potassium carbonate and
grinding it with lime and salammoniac, thus copy-
ing closely the medieval receipts.
In De Mayerne's MS. there are frequent refer-
ences to cendre d'azur or beis. How far this blue
was still the native carbonate of copper or the
artificial variety it is of course difficult to say, though
doubtless a microscopic examination of the surface
of a picture would make it possible to identify the
ground mineral. Whether this manufacture is still
carried on in England I am unable to say. The
blues with which modern artists are familiar are all
of much later invention.
Prussian blue and its variations, such as Antwerp
blue, was invented in 1720. Cobalt and cerulean
blue and artificial ultramarine are all comparatively
354
recent inventions of modern chemistry. The oil-
painters of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries
were much hampered by the difficulties in handling
the blues which were then available.
In greens nothing new was discovered, but it is
evident from De Mayerne that the Flemish painters
of his time made their greens usually by mixing blue
with yellow lake. They seem to have had the ut-
most confidence in the yellow lakes, which could
never have been used except for illuminating in the
time of Van Eyck, with the disastrous result in the
fading of their greens, which is so marked a feature
of Flemish and Dutch pictures of the late sixteenth
and seventeenth centuries.
De Mayerne says, must be glazed on
Verdigris,
by and protected with varnish. The receipts
itself
for verdigris dissolved in balsam which he gives are

not intended for use by painters, though possibly the
last ofan old tradition. The protection by varnish
on top would be of little or no value.
The only other pigment of importance which be-
gins to appear above the horizon is asphaltum. De
Mayerne does not give it in his list of pigments for
painting in oil, which I shall shortly quote in full,
but mentions it elsewhere in his MS., and describes
how to dissolve it in oil.
3SS
;

Lomazzo it was used to give
states (1584) that
brightness to light and chestnut hair and in the ;
MS. at the library in Padua, from which some re-

ceipts for varnish have already been quoted, and
which is either late sixteenth or early seventeenth
century, it is stated that it is to be used for shadows
in flesh, mixed with umber and burnt terre verte
while it is frequently referred to by later writers.
Eastlake is of the opinion that it was freely used
by Flemish painters, and according to Mrs Merri-
field the picture restorers hold that it was freely used
in Italy for glazing. It must be remembered, how-
ever, that Eastlake wrote when the asphaltum craze,
which has ruined so many of the pictures painted in
his time, was in full swing, and that the opinion of
picture restorers is not of great value. There is no
evidence of any special precaution being taken in
its preparation, and it is probable, therefore, that if
freely used the same results would have followed as

followed later. If strongly baked it becomes harm-
less, but at the same time loses all its finest character-
istics.
Marcucci, however, gives a receipt which is very

similar toone given in Riffault's Colours for Paint-
ing, inwhich the bitumen is dissolved in Venice tur-
pentine. This, it will be remembered, was suggested
356
—

by me as possibly the varnish used by Apelles.
Whether bitumen so treated loses its property of
flowing is worth trying.
The palette given by De Mayerne is as follows :
White lead, black chalk (lampblack, coal-black,

black of vine charcoal on the margin), lac, vermilion,
English brown, yellow ochre (Prussian ochre, very
beautiful), yellow lake, massicot, smalt, cendred'azur,
ultramarine, umber, green earth {^probably terre
verte, possibly a copper green ore), verdigris (for
glazing only), minium (red lead, condemned as fugi-
tive), indigo (no use in oil). The other lists of pig-
ments quoted by him are very similar, and if the
"lac" is a madder and the verdigris dissolved
lake,
in varnish, are very good except for the fatal intro-
duction of the yellow lake.
The Preparation of Grounds

The early oil pictures, like the tempera pictures,
were painted on panels carefully coated with pure
white gesso. This gesso was evidently prepared so
as to be either non-absorbent or very slightly absor-
bent, and on this the drawing of the picture was
made. This is clearly shown in the unfinished Van
Eyck in the Antwerp
Gallery, of which a reproduc-
tion is given at p. 342. In this picture the blue sky
357
—

has been painted in, but the rest consists of a very
fine drawing on the white gesso. Over this, accord-
ing to Van Mander, a thin flesh-coloured priming,
through which the drawing could be seen, was pass-
ed. This priming was of oil. The introduction of
canvas made of course the gesso priming unsuit-
able, as it would be apt to crack off when the
canvas was rolled up, and would be easily caused
to peel off by exposure to damp from the back of
the canvas.
Nevertheless, if picture restorers are to be believed,
such gesso primings were long used after the intro-
duction of canvas, and were usually treated with a
sufificientproportionof sizeto make them non-absor-
bent. Such primings have been reintroduced again
by the G. F. Watts. They give the advan-
late Sir
tage of a purewhite background to the picture, which
is unaffected by time and age, but have obvious dis-
advantages for a climate like ours. From the

accounts left of the methods of priming adopted in
the sixteenth century, it is evident that there was no
consistent plan.
To deal first with the statements made by Vasari
in his technical introduction to the Lives of the
Artists, we find the following, which has been parti-
ally quoted already :
358
"

" How to prime the panel or canvas
" I must now explain how to set about the work.
When the artist wishes to begin, that is, after he
has laid the gesso on the panels or framed canvases
and smoothed it, he spreads over this, with a sponge,
four or five coats of the smoothest size, and pro-
ceeds to grind the colours with walnut or linseed
oil, though walnut oil is better, because it yellows
less with time. When they are ground with these
oils, which is their tempera (medium), nothing else
is needed, so far as the colours are concerned, but
to lay them on with a brush. But first there must
be made a composition of pigments which possess
seccative qualities, as white lead, driers, and earth
such as used for bells, all thoroughly well mixed
is
together and of one tint, and when the size is dry

this must be plastered over the panel and then beaten
with the palm of the hand, so that it becomes evenly
united and spread all over, and this many call the
'
imprimatura (priming). '
This translation is quoted from the edition of

Vasari on Technique, by Louisa S. Maclehose, ed-
ited by Professor Baldwin Brown. It will be noted
here that the gesso ground on panel or canvas is
rendered non-absorbent by means of size. On this
is spread a priming.
359
—

Then follows another receipt for preparing canvas
alone, which is as follows :
" Painting on canvas
"In order to be able to convey pictures from one

place to another, men have invented the convenient
method of painting on canvas, which is of little
weight, and when rolled up is easy to transport.
Unless these canvases intended for oil-painting are
to remain stationary, theyarenotcoveredwith gesso,
which would interfere with their flexibility, seeing
that the gesso would crack if they were rolled up.
A paste, however, is made of flour and walnut oil,
with two or three measures of white lead put into it,
and after the canvas has been covered from one side
to the other with three or four coats of smooth size,
this paste is spread on by means of a knife, and all
the holes come to be filled up by the hand of the
artist. That done, he gives it one or two more coats
of soft size, and then the composition of priming. In

order to paint on it afterwards he follows the same
method as has been described above for the other
processes."
This receipt is curiously complicated, with thefirst
treatment with white lead, oil, and starch followed
up by size, and then a final white lead priming.
360
There is some doubt as to the nature of the " earth
for bells " referred to.
It isimpossible to say from this account whether
the oilpriming was dark in colour. It contained an
unknown amount of white lead, and of "the earth
used for bells " (" terre de campani "). This mould-
ing clay or earth may have been of the nature of
a white china clay.
Giovanni Battista Armenini was born in Faenza
about 1530, and was trained as a painter, but ulti-
mately became a monk. In 1586 his treatise, De'
veri Precetti della Pittura, was published. He
states that before sizing, the holes in the canvas
can be filled up with flour paste and one-third
white lead, and that the canvas should be sized both
back and front. This is apparently, therefore, differ-
ent from Vasari's statement, though it looks sus-
piciously like the same receipt incorrectly described
either by the one author or the other. The priming
is to be composed of white lead, giallorino, terra
de campani, or of verdigris, white lead, and umber.

The first receipt is same as Vasari's.
evidently the
The and umber in the second
additions of verdigris
receipt are as driers, and the amount added may
have been very small, so as merely to tint the white.
He himself advises a priming of a light flesh or flame
361
— —

colour, which he brings about by the addition of
varnish. He states that pictures with dark grounds
ultimately darken, and that the oil in the ground
darkens and sullies the colours, and therefore those
who wished to prevent change made their grounds
of white lead with one-sixth part varnish and a little
red.
With these receipts may be compared those given
by De Mayerne :
"After spreading your canvas on a frame, give

it some glue or scrap of leather of size. . . . When
the glue is dry, prime quite lightly with brown-red
or dark English-red. Leave to dry; smooth with
pumice stone. Then prime with a second and last
layer with white lead, carefully chosen charcoal,
small coals, and a umber, that it may dry more
little
quickly. A third layer may be given, but two are

sufficient."
This would doubtless produce a grey priming.
It is evident from the introduction of moulding clay
by Vasari, and the use of a red-ochre clay by Wallon,
who supplied this receipt, that there was some fear
of a pure white lead priming, at any rate in direct
contact with the size.
Abraham Latombd of Amsterdam supplies this

receipt :
362
" Canvases must first be glued with calf- or goat-
skin glue the whole artifice consists in this. For if
:
the glue is too strong the canvas easily splits and

tears. After putting the glue on the canvas, lay it
while still damp on marble, flatten with the rubber
all joins and knots; then let it dry. Then prime
with white lead and a little umber. One priming
is sufficient, but if you give two layers the canvas
will be more even. In painting landscapes let your

priming be very light in colour."
De Mayerne comments on this that he found the
colour separated from the canvas in a picture by this
artist which had been hanging on a damp wall. He
therefore objects to size and also to umber.
I n another part of the MS., which contains the re-
ceipt of "the little painter of M. de St Jehan," after

sizing we are directed to prime with bole, ^ lb., and
umber, 2 oz. grind with oil. When dry, prime with
;
I lb. white lead to i oz. umber. This would give a

light grey priming.
It is evident from all these receipts that the canvas
was first prepared with size ; that sometimes the
holes were up with flour paste and white lead,
filled
and oil (some obscurity here)

or flour, white lead, ;
that the priming was white lead with a drier like

umber, and sometimes varnish, either mixed with
363
a clay-like substance (Vasari, Armenini), or under-
laid with a priming of a clay-like substance (bole,
De Mayerne) ; that the priming was white, light
grey, or brightly tinted, of a flame-colour; that
Armenini regarded the white as of great import-
ance. It also seems that white lead and oil alone
in direct contact with the sized canvas was not con-
sidered safe. Some modern receipts consist of mix-
tures of white lead and china clay, probably a very
sound practice.
In later times darker and darker grounds were
used, so that we have a transition from the pure
white gesso ground on panel of Van Eyck to dark
grounds on canvas. How far the colour of the
ground ultimately affects the brilliancy of the picture
must, I think, still be regarded as an open question,
though I am disposed to favour the view that it is
—
of importance that, in fact, the translucency of a
painted surface gradually increases, and therefore it
isaswell to havenothing below white but white,while
in the shadows, as the oil darkens, the increased
translucency will tend to correct this, because of the
white panel below. The whole matter requires,how-
ever, careful testing by experiment. To look for a
moment at some recent pictures : in spite of the ruin
caused by asphaltum, the high lights in Wilkie's pic-
364
tures and bright colouring are remarkably fresh and
brilliant, at any rate in his earlier works, most of
which are painted on a white panel. His best un-

finishedpicture,forinstance,inthe Scottish National
Gallery, is a large panel with a beautiful white sur-
face,on which the whole scheme has been sketched.

On this a few heads are already painted in, and are
completely finished, and as fresh and brilliant as
when first executed, and are presumably free from
the asphaltum with which he ruined most of his work.
The mastic varnish he used so freely as a medium
along with oil has in many cases resulted in fine
square cracking, but seems to have done no other
harm. The Pre-Raphaelite Brethren were also in
favour of white grounds (Mr Holman Hunt's Pre-
Raphaelite Brotherhood), and their pictures, to be
again referred to, are in splendid preservation.
Having now got a clear conception of the materi-
als used by painters in the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries, the question recurs whether the earlier

" oil " pictures by Van Eyck and his followers were
not really painted in a somewhat different medium,

although the evidence from MSS. does not support
this view. We
have already demonstrated by means
of experiments, in the first place, that spirit varnishes
are brittle and much less durable when subjected to
36s
mechanical injury than varnishes made with oil, and
that of thoseoil varnishes the most durable are those
made with the hardest resins, while oil varnishes

made with mastic or with the resin of the pine, or
probably even with sandarac, are not nearly so tough
and hard as those from copal and possibly the genu-
ine amber varnish. We have further demonstrated
that it is a mistake to suppose that oil, whether raw,
boiled, or specially thickened, is not permeable to
moisture, and that oil varnishes are subject to the
same defect ; while the only varnishes which really
exclude moisture, and so protect the pigments from

change, are either spirit varnishes, or the balsams
produced direct from the tree. We
are thus on the
horns of a dilemma, because if we wish to paint a
picture with fugitive pigments, we should have to
use as a medium some such material as Canada
balsam or mastic dissolved in turpentine, such a
picture being very easily injured mechanically, the
brittle surface cracking away, though, on the other
hand, there is no reason to suppose that it would not
resist for a long time a chemical change. In this
matter tests out of doors are probably quite unsatis-
factory, asmost varnishes are subjected to conditions
which are very different from those within a building,
and it is at any rate very probable that a pure resin
366
is in itself very durable, and would remain for hun-
dreds of years without change. This, in fact, is fairly
well proved by the balsam varnishes found upon the

coffins of the XlXth dynasty. But such a picture
would be so fragile that even if painted on panel it
could not be trusted to stand for any great length
of time.
On the other hand, if we wish to prepare the
picture which would have the surface which would
stand best against mechanical injury, we should
make use of a varnish from the hardest resins, dis-
solved in oil, such as copal or kauri. In doing this
we should have thrown away the protective value
of the varnish for the pigment beneath ; and as the
harder the resin, the larger the amount of oil required
to keep it, so the further we depart from the soft
resins, the less will the varnish protect the pigments
below.
This dilemma was solved by the older coach-
painters by laying in the colours, for, let us say,
a crest or coat-of-arms painted on the coach,
with a large quantity of turpentine, so that the
colours dried dead upon the surface these colours
;
were then protected by means of a spirit varnish

which was laid on and rubbed down more than
once, and then over this spirit varnish was laid an
367
oil copal varnish, in order to protect the brittle
spirit varnish beneath. When it is remembered
that the coloured coat-of-arms on a coach is con-
stantly exposed out of doors to sun and air and
all kinds of ill-usage, it is remarkable how well it
lasts. Few pictures could stand long such severe
treatment.
It is therefore possible that the earlier oil-painters
understood this, and made use of some such complex
process, and I have myself suggested this among
other possible explanations. If, for instance, we took
a wooden panel, and, having coated it with gesso,
proceeded to paint upon it in tempera our solid
colouring, and then laid on our transparent colours
ground in spirit varnish, and finally, when the pic-
ture was dry, varnished it with a hard copal carriage
varnish, we should certainly produce a work which
in some ways would be very permanent.
When I first suggested the idea to Mrs Herring-
ham, she made the objection that the hard oil varnish
on the top would necessarily yellow with time, and
that the clearness of the whites in Van Eyck's pic-
tures made it highly improbable that such a pro-

cesshad been used, and this objection is, I think, a
sound one.
A certain amount of further light, however, is
368
thrown upon the matter by an inquiry into the mag-
nificent greens which are to be found in Van Eyck's
draperies. We have already considered the pigments
which were available at his time, and if the attempt
is made to imitate one of his greens by means of a
mixture of the known blues and yellows of his time,

itwill be found quite impossible in fact, there is only
;
one green that I know of which was known at his time,

and which he could have used, and that is verdigris.
Verdigris, when ground in oil, is a comparatively
insignificant pigment, and the only way to get the
full splendour out of this pigment is to dissolve it in a
spirit varnish. If, for instance, we boil up verdigris

with Canada balsam or Venice turpentine, or any
other of these liquid pine balsams, it dissolves and
forms perhaps the most beautiful transparent green
which can be in any artificial way produced. Such
a receipt for preparing green is given by De Mayerne,
as we have already seen.
be noted that verdigris is supposed
It is also to
to turn black in oil, and it seems really to deserve

this reputation. Professor Church, in his book on
pigments, for instance, states that verdigris turns
black in oil.
prepared some of De Mayerne's green, and

I
Professor Baldwin Brown compared it, when mixed

369 24
with orpiment and yellow ochre, with the greens in
the Van Eyck at Ghent, and his opinion was that it
matched them fairly well, though they were even
brighter than my preparation. We may therefore at
once put aside the possibility of these greens of Van
Eyck's being composed of mixtures of the blues and
yellows of his time.
This compels us to the conclusion that, in so far as
his greens were concerned, he must have dissolved
verdigris in Venice turpentine or some similar bal-
sam, and used it upon the picture.
In the light of these experimental facts, if we were
trying to-day to devise a process for painting a pic-
ture which should be of the greatest permanence
with fugitive pigments and without any reference to
such technical difficulties as might be involved in
using the medium, or doing all that a modern artist
requires for his method of painting, I think it is evi-
dent that we should have to adopt a compromise,

and should have to aim at a medium which, while
it contained a large proportion of resin, so as to
preserve the pigments prepared with it, did not

contain so large a proportion as to make it too
easily injured mechanically. Such a medium has
been recently experimented with by the Hon.
Neville Lytton, and was suggested to him origin-
370
ally, I by Mrs Herringham,^ and consists
believe,
of two parts of Canada balsam to one part of mastic
varnish, and one part of an amber varnish which
would consist probably, of course, of oil. With this
medium emulsified with water he finds it possible
to paint, but has not, however, actually ground his
colours in this medium, but mixed it with the ordi-
nary oil colours.
Ihave myself ground colours in this medium,
and have found that when dry it forms a suffi-
ciently invulnerable coat against injurious gases

and moisture. White lead, for instance, ground
in this medium, and then protected by a thin var-
nish of it on the top, remains white when plunged
into sulphuretted hydrogen gas, while, when ground
in oil, it is immediately blackened. We have there-
fore in this medium a compromise which may be
regarded as in the direction of what we require.
On the one hand, the resins used are soft, and there-
fore such a medium would not test very high upon
the varnish-testing machine, but at the same time
it might be quite tough and hard enough to stand
the conditions to which the picture is usually ex-

' Mrs Herringham writes me that she obtained the receipt from
an old picture restorer, and has used the medium mixed with dry
pigment and a little drying oil, or even, she believes, without oil
and finds it lends itself to a Van Eyck style of brush work.
posed. On the other hand, it would protect the pig-
ments to a great extent, if not so completely as a
pure balsam, from chemical action.
In the receipts for varnishes which have been
quoted, it will be noted that with the occasional ex-
ception oftwo receipts, apparently for amber varnish,
the proportions of resin to oil are very high while in ;
the early receipts of the seventeenth century, oil dis-

appears as a constituent altogether, and a diluting
medium like turpentine or petroleum is found in-
stead, so that we may say that the character of

ancient varnishes was to have a very high percent-
age of resinous matter as compared with oil, and to
utilise for this purpose the softer resins. This char-

acteristic prevails in the French varnishes to-day.
Ihave already pointed out that it is highly improb-
able that amber varnish was ever seriously used in
painting. It is dark it is a bad drier, and it runs on
;
the picture ; it has, in fact, all the worst faults that

a painter's varnish could have, and it is also highly
probable that the ordinary amber varnish bought
from the shops was not made from amber at all.
I think that there is this to be said in favour of
Eastlake's theory, that, while the evidence in favour

of the use of varnishes in painting collected by him
is of the thinnest, yet that he was more or less on
372
the right lines, but owing to his wish to use hard
resin, if he directs the attention of the
possible,
reader the wrong way, because the harder the resin,
the larger proportion of oil and the less the chemical
protective value of the medium.
We have to search in the other direction, as the
earlier habits of oil-painting consisted in using a
very large proportion of such soft resinous material
as Venice turpentine, and resins such as mastic and
sandarac, rather than utilising a larger proportion of
oil with the harder resins. It is quite easy to under-
stand how such a method might gradually get modi-

fiedalmost unconsciously by the artist. The pictures
of the time of Van Eyck are painted with a minute
accuracy and exactness which require certainly a
medium which will lie where the brush has placed it,
but does not necessitate great freedom of working, or

the working of one colour into another being carried
out.^ As the use of oil mediums became morefamiliar,
and as their possibilities were realised, it would be
found convenient to diminish more and more the
addition of resinous material, and to approach more
and more nearly to the pure oil. Yet, at a time when
the chemistry of these things was not understood,
Another argument in favour of this view is the curious raised

surface of the dark portions in the early '
oil ' pictures.
373
such changes would be made without realising their
full significance, so that a writer of the sixteenth
century who had already got familiar with the idea
of a pure oil medium would naturally ascribe such a
medium to the earlier painters, although, it has al-
ready been pointed out that Vasari seems to have
had some doubts, from his cautiously ambiguous
statement. 1 1 is evident that, up to the introduction of
oil-painting, the tradition of hundreds of years, if not
still longer periods, lay behind painting in tempera
and every part of the process had been thoroughly

worked out and understood but from ; the introduc-
tion of 'oil ' at the beginning of the fifteenth century,
we seem to see the beginning of a breaking
away
from tradition while, when wecometothesixteenth-
;
century writers, it is already evident that rules have

disappeared, whether we consider their accounts of
pigments, of mediums, or of the preparation of the
ground on which the painting is to be done. The
many experiments tried by Leonardo da Vinci and
the information in the De Mayerne MS. may be
taken as a further proof of this while, by the time
;
we come to the later seventeenth century, pictures

are becoming less and less durable and are suffer-
ing more from changes due to time. The intro-

duction of oil-painting was like the Reformation.
374
It broke away from tradition and left each painter
more or less free to follow his own devices. We

must therefore not be surprised if it is difficult to get
accurate information as to earlier methods in the
breaking up of this traditional school.
The further question remains how far the Van
Eycks are really to be regarded as tempera pictures.
Ifwe believe the solid painting to be done in tempera
and the pigments to be glazed in oil or varnish on
the top, we have to explain the fact that these glazed
pigments have not scaled off. It has already been
noted that the tempera pictures of the Italian school
were varnished, and that this varnish is in most cases
peeling off and disappearing, leaving the picture be-
neath uninjured. We should therefore have expect-
ed something of the same kind to happen with the
Van Eycks. The only answer to this is, I think,
that to a certain extent an emulsion was made use of,
at any rate in some stage of the painting. The ex-
periments that I have made myself with an emul-
sion of Canada balsam and white of egg prove that
this is a medium which works freely under the brush,
and has none of the stickiness which the highly
resinous medium would otherwise have; while, if the
amount of egg introduced is not too great, the final
surface is hard and transparent — a result which I
375
certainly did not expect. There would be no diffi-
culty with this medium in laying
on firm touches
with the brush, which would remain in position.
On the other hand, it dries, of course, much more
quickly than an oil medium alone would do. The
experiments made by Herr Berger on such emul-
sions may here be considered. It is unfortunate
that, in his anxiety to prove that such mediums
were used by Van Eyck, he presses unduly the
meaning of various quotations ; but if allowance
is made for this, his experiments on these emul-
sions will be found of considerable interest, and
worthy of study. It has already been noted that
white of egg emulsifies a Canada balsam medium,
thus making it easy to manage, and therefore it
is quite possible that the difficulty of using a sticky,
resinous medium was overcome by emulsifying it
with white of egg. If this was done, the earlier
part of the picture might be painted in pure egg, the

emulsified medium used above this, and possibly
finished with pure varnish. In this way the danger
of the scaling off of the varnish from the tempera
beneath would be removed, as each stage of the
picture would be firmly attached to the next.
There are, however, other points to be considered
when we are discussing the relative merits of a highly
37^
resinousmedium with pure oil. I have recently ex-
amined very carefully some surfaces painted by me
some fifteen years ago, of white lead and zinc white
mixed with oil, and with oil and copal varnish, and
with oil, copal varnish, and turpentine. The results
of this examination were to show that in the case
of white lead the tone had fallen very consider-
ably, owing, evidently, to chemical action upon the
white lead itself In the case of the zinc white, the
painting, which consisted ofoil and copal varnish,
had perfectly kept its colour, after being washed with

a sponge and a little water, while the zinc white,
ground with oil, without copal varnish, had very
much lowered in tone. To the eye there seemed to
be a general greyness upon the surface but when ;
examined under the microscope, it was evident at

once that this lowering in tone was simply due to
dirt, for the whole surface of the oil was micro-
scopically rough, and the dirt collected in the little

microscopic hollows, and apparently had become at-
tached to the oil itself, so that no ordinary washing
could remove it, the only possible method of clean-
ing being the use of an alkali, which will clean off
the top skin of oil as well. On the other hand, the
surface painted with oil and copal varnish, although
the roughest brush-work had been used, was, when
177
examined under the microscope, smooth and glossy,
and provided no refuge for dust and dirt. It has
not
been sufficiently realised that the lowering in tone
of
oil pictures largely due to the collection of dust
is
on the porous surface of the oil, and the attachment

of this dust firmly to the oil surface. The fact
that
the introduction of a varnish like copal varnish into
the oil prevents this from happening is, I think, of
the utmost significance. We
have here, therefore,
another argument in favour of a highly resinous
vehicle. It is difficult to resist the conclusion, when
we consider the surface appearance of the early oil
pictures and their condition of preservation, and
the brilliant greens which are untouched by time
(the probable nature of which have already de-
I
scribed), that the medium used by them was a

highly resinous one, though it further involved
use of the softer resins; and that probably, the im-
portance of this highly resinous medium not being
realised, was gradually allowed to be diminished
it
more and more, and at last finally was only added by

certain artists, or to certain pigments, without any
particular reason, the varnishing of a picture being
taken to replace the use of a resin in the oil. Such
varnishes were, necessarily, insufficient to protect
the pigments from the action of moisture or injurious
378
gases, and if prepared, as described by the i6th- and
17th-century artists, would quickly perish and leave
the surface of the picture beneath exposed to the dirt.
This is not the place to discuss the condition of
modern pictures, or the methods of painting adopted
by modern artists, but one or two remarks on the
subject may be allowed.
The difficulty is to obtain a medium which is
sufficiently durable in itself and will sufficiently

protect the pictures,and yet allow the free handling
required by the modern artist, and painting over
and painting in.
All evidence is in favour of the importance of start-

ing from a pure white and working up to dark, of
painting directly and finally with as few over-paint-
ings as possible, and using a vehicle with at any rate
a considerable percentage of a hard resin in it. Such
a medium would unfortunately be rejected by the
artist of to-day, in most cases, as unfit for his work,
and he would also in most cases object to painting
on a white ground and putting each touch of pig-
ment finally in place. We are not discussing here,
we must remember, the aesthetic aim of modern art,
or the technical conditions necessary to produce a
Corot, but simply the problem of producing a good
painting job.
379
We have seen that Wilkie painted directly and
finally on a white panel, and that in spite of his
introducing varnish in the worst way —
that is,
mixing a spirit varnish with the oil on the palette,
and using asphaltum—his pictures have benefited
in certain respects.
Another problem which troubles the modern
artist is the occasional cracking of his pictures.
The Van Eycks are covered with very fine cracks
which do not matter, and many of the later oil-
paintings have cracked badly and had the cracks
plastered up by the restorer (as, for instance,
Titian's Bacchus and Ariadne in the National
Gallery), but many have remained in very perfect
condition. The bad effects of asphaltum, which de-
stroyed so many early Victorian pictures, is also
thoroughly recognised.
But there still remains the fact that many modern
pictures crack badly though no such substance has
been used. I have made many experiments without
coming to a final conclusion. I have, for instance,
accurately measured the contraction and expansion
of canvas under changes of moisture in the air, and
find very considerable. These movements are
it
bound ultimately to crack all oil-pictures, but the

cracks may not be so marked as to spoil the pic-
380
MICRO-PHOTOGRAPH OF SECTION THROUGH CRACKED PICTURE
MICRO-PHOTOGRAPH OF SURFACE OF CRACKED PICTURE

tures. have also had the opportunity of examin-
I
ing many modern cracked pictures, and have ob-

served both the appearance of the surface and of a
section through the crack under the microscope.
The accompanying illustrations are microphoto-
graphs of such a surface and section.
It will be noted that the crack is not V-shaped,
but isa canal with straight sides revealing the

ground, underneath which is in no way disturbed.
It is difficult to believe that this could be caused by
a shrinking of the upper painting when once it was

dry, as such a shrinking would either tear or stretch
the priming, and seems more probable that it is
it
due to an expansion of the under layers due to

chemical changes going on in the not thoroughly
dry oil. There is good evidence to suppose that the
sixteenth- and seventeenth-century practice was to
give the priming and each subsequent coat of paint
plenty of time to dry, to scrape or rub down the
surface, and to expose it to the sun.
Probably, therefore, hasty painting on a priming
not thoroughly dry, or over painting which, while
hard and therefore not mixing with the new paint,
is not really dry, are the principal causes of this
cracking.
But the most striking pictures of modern times,
381
from this point of view of producing a permanent
job, are the early " Pre-Raphaelite " pictures, by
Millais and Holman Hunt. These pictures give
every indication of lasting for hundreds of years
without change.
On page 226 of Pre-Raphaelitism and the Pre-
Raphaelite Brotherhood, Mr Holman Hunt says:—
"The process may be described thus Select a pre-
:
pared ground originally for its brightness, and

renovate if necessary with fresh white when first
it comes into the studio, white to be mixed with a
very little amber or copal varnish. Let this last

coat become of a thoroughly stone-like hardness."
(It will be remembered that Armenini introduces
varnish into the priming. Most modern pictures
probably crack because the priming or underpaint-
ing has not thoroughly finished hardening, whether
put on by the artist's colourman or by the artist.)
" Upon this surface complete with exactness the out-
line of the part in hand. On the morning for the
painting, with fresh white (from which all super-
fluous has been extracted by means of absorbent
oil
paper, and to which again a small drop of varnish

has been added) spread a further coat very evenly
with a palette knife over the part for the day's
work, of such consistency that the drawing should
382
—
faintly shine through. In some cases the thickened
white may be applied to the pieces needing brilliancy
with a brush by the aid of rectified spirits.(See
Van Mander's account of Van Eyck's methods.)
Over thiswet ground the colours (transparent and
semi-transparent) should be laid with light sable
brushes, and the touches must be made so tenderly
that the ground below shall not be worked up, yet
so far enticed to blend with the superimposed tints
as to correct the qualities of thinness and staininess
which over a dry ground transparent colours used
would inevitably exhibit. Painting of this kind
cannot be retouched, except with an entire loss of
luminosity."
Again, on page 324 of the second volume,
Holman Hunt, says:
Millais.in conversation with
"Why, my picture of Lorenzo and Isabella is as
pure and clear as any German work. You say we
happened to be very lucky in our plan of painting
in one coat on an absolutely white ground and
With copal varnish." (The italics are mine.) He
then goes on to the fortunate fact that his pigments
were prepared by Field.
From these two accounts we get a complete pic-
ture of this method of painting a white ground, a
:
single painting on it, and the introduction of copal.

383
The ingenuity of the process lies in the fact that by
painting with oil on copal you get rid of the trouble
of a sticky copal medium, and yet work it in suffi-
ciently to help in hardening and preserving the sur-
face. Whether such methods can be used by the
painter of to-dayI do not know that he is not —
thoroughly enough trained in the technical handling
of his medium I sometimes suspect. Each school of
painters and their admirers have their own conven-
and claim to be true to
tion for interpreting nature,
nature, and regard users of other conventions as
swindlers, for whom hanging is too good. We are
here discussing good, durable, honest painting jobs
which will last uninjured for hundreds of years, if pro-
perly looked after, and among these must be placed
the early pictures of the P. R. B. The slowness with
which those pictures were necessarily painted, and
the fact that so many were largely painted out of
doors, would help to make them permanent.

all
In conclusion, it may be asked of the author of
this book, how, he were asked to paint a picture

if
to last, let us say, five hundred years, he would set

about it ?
My reply is, that I should first select a thoroughly
seasoned panel and coat with gesso according to

it
Cennino Cennini's directions, and protect the back

384
edges with oil-paint. The gesso ground should
ion-absorbent, but not shiny with size. On this
el I would draw my and then prime

picture,
1 oil after the directions of Van Mander. Then,
ing a selected group of pigments, principally
th-colours, I would grind them in linseed oil con-
lino- some copal oil varnish, about two of oil to
of varnish. There would be no necessity to use

;resins or balsams if the pigments were wisely
;cted. I would not grind the pigments in oil and
n use the varnish as a medium, as this produces

qual mixing. (No modern artist would paint in
h a medium, I may say in passing.) With these
ments I would paint with the minute care of Van
ck or one of the Pre- Raphaelite Brotherhood,
ing each pigment where it was wanted, with no
[itingout,and after the first painting I would give
panel a week to dry in a bright light near a win-
\i before the next painting. As far as possible I
lid reduce the number of paintings laid over each

er, and I would take care that where paint had
)e laid over paint I was working from light to
k and that the final surface of the picture was
)oth and even, with the shine of the varnish
iium. Such a picture might not please as a work
.rt, but —
it would last for ever.
385 25
A LIST OF BOOKS OF REFERENCE
The following list of books is intended to serve as a guide to
further study and research in addition : to the works cited by
myself,it comprises, and brings together
into one view for con-
venience of reference, most of the works cited by Sir Charles
Eastlake, Mrs Merrifield, and Herr Berger, and it includes the
leading authorities on the epoch of the Van Eycks and the
question of the discovery and development of Oil Painting; but
it makes no claim to consideration as a complete bibliography,
more especially in regard to recent writings. It is arranged
chronologically for the most important MSS. and books that are
contemporary, or nearly so, with the periods covered by my
book ; and alphabetically for later writers and writings. I owe
the suggestion of its comprehensive purview to the General

Editor, Mr S. H. F. Capenny ; to whom I am further indebted
for good offices in the work of its compilation and revision.'
Theophilus, c. 300 B.C. Ilepi At^tov, ed. Gk. and Eng., J.

Hill,
1774-
ViTRUVius, c. 40 B.C. De Architectura, ed. Valentin Rose,
1899.
Plinius, c. 70 A.D. Historia Naturalis, ed. Carl Mayhoff,
1906.
DioscoRiDES, c. 100 A.D. Materia Medica, ed. Kiihn, 1829-30.
386
LIST OF BOOKS OF REFERENCE
'>yri Graci, c. 300 to 400 a.d. (Tom. II., Papyr. 10), ed.
C. Leemans, 1885.
nus Amidenus, c. 5th to 6th century. De Re Medica.
TLUS Aegineta, 6oo a.d. De Re Medica Libri Septem.,
c.
Eng. trans., F. Adams, 1844-47.

i many brief references in Plutarch and other classical
authors.
:ca MS., c. 8th century. Cathedral Library, Lucca. Com-

positiones ad tingenda musiva, pelles et alia, ed. Muratori,
Antiquitates Italica, ii. (pp. 364-387), 1739.
EOPHiLus, c. nth or 12th century. Schedula Diversarum
Artium, ed. Lat. and Fr., L'Escalopier, 1843; Lat. and
Eng., Hendrie, 1847; Lat. and Ger., Ilg, QueUenschriften,
vii., 1874, new ed. 1888. Noticed in 1774 by Lessing
in his " Vom Alter der Oelmalerei aus dem Theophilus
Presbyter"; and in 1781 by Raspe, who published the
book from the Cambridge MS., now in the British
first
Museum, in his Critical Essay on Oil-Painting.

'ppa Clavicula, c. 12th century. Ed. Sir T. Phillipps,
Bart., ArchcRologia, xxxii., 1847.
'er Sacerdotum,
c. 13th century. Ed. Lat., Berthelot, La
au Moyen Age, i., 1893.
chimie
ACLius (Heraclius), c. 13th Century. De Coloribus et
Artibus Romanorum, ed. Raspe, 1781; Lat. and Eng.,
Mrs Merrifield, Ancient Practice of Painting, 1849; Lat.
and Ger., Ilg, Quellenschriften, iv., 1873.
TRUS de St Audemar (Pierre de St Omer), c 13th
1^7
century. De Coloribus Fadendis, ed. Lat. and Eng.,
Mrs Merrifield, 1849.
Alcherius (or Archerius), Johannes, c. 14th century. De
Coloribus Diversis Modis Tractatur; and De Diversis
Coloribus: ed. Lat. and Eng., Mrs Merrifield, 1849.
Le BfeGUE, Jehan, c. 15th century. Tabula de Vocabulis
Synonymis et Equivocis Colorum ; Experimenta de Colori-
bus, etc. ed. Lat. and Eng., Mrs Merrifield, 1849.
:
Anonymus Bernensis, c. 12th to 14th century. Ed,, Lat. and

Hagen, Quellenschriften, vii., 1874.
Ger.,
Sloane MS. No. 1754, c. 14th century. Tractatus de Colori-
bus Illuminatorum seu Pidorum, Lat. and Fr. British
Museum.
Account Rolls of Westminster and Ely Cathedrals, 13th and
14th centuries. Some examples in Eastlake's Materials
for a History of Oil-Painting (pp. 48 to 58), 1847.

Naples MS., c. 14th century. Ed. Ital. and Fr., Salazaro,
1877; Fr. trans., Le Coy de la Marche, "L'art
d'enluminer,'' Gazette des Beaux Arts, 1885-86.
Strassburg MS., 15th century. Formerly in Public Library,
Strassburg (burnt, April 1870). Eastlake's MS. copy in
National Gallery Library is published in Herr Berger's

Beitrdge, iii., 1897.
Cennini, Cennino, isth century. Three original MSB.; one
in the Vatican two Florentine MSS. Many editions and
;
translations have been published: ed. Tambroni, 1821;

Eng. trans., Mrs Merrifield, 1844; Fr. trans., Mottez,
1858; ed. 1859; Ger. trans., Ilg, Quellen-

Milanesi,
schriften, i., 1871, new ed. 1888; but the latest and best
is by Mrs Herringham {The Book of the Art of Cennino
Cennini, 1899).
388
.1ST OF BOOKS OF REFERENCE
meneia of Mount Atkos, c. nth to 17th century. Com-
piled by Dionysios; French translation, by Dr Paul
Durand, in Didron's Iconographie chritienne, 1845 Ger ;
trans., Schafer, 1855; Eng. trans, (of second part only),

Stokes, 1886.
ignese MS., 15th century. Segreti per Colori, ed. Italo-
Lat. and Eng., Mrs Merrifield, 1849.
:iana MS., i6th century. Secreti Diversi, ed. Ital. and
Eng., Mrs Merrifield, 1849.
lan MS., 17 th century. Ricetti per far ogni sorte di Colori^
ed. Ital. and Eng., Mrs Merrifield, 1849.
lato MS., 17th century. Mode da tener nel Dipinger, ed.
Ital., Baseggio, 1847 ; Ital. and Eng., Mrs Merrifield,
1849.
sels MS., 17th century. Recueuil des essaies des merveilles
de la peinture, de Pierre Lebrun, peintre, 1635, ed. Fr.
and Eng., Mrs Merrifield, 1849.
Mayerne MS., 17th century, Sloane MS. No. 2052, British
Museum. Pictoria, Sculptoria, Tindoria et quce sub-
alternarum artium spectantia, 1620, T. de Mayerne, ed. Fr.
and Ger., Berger, Beitrage, iv., 1901.
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Vasconcellos, Joaquim de. Francisco de Hollando. Vier
Gesprdche iiber die Malerei gefiihrt zu Rom 1538.
Originaltext mit Uebersetzung, Einleitung, Beilagen und
Erlduterungen. Quellenschriften, new series, ix. Wien,
1899.
Vergnaud, a. D. See Riffault.
Verri, C. Saggio elementare sul Disegno . . , con alcune
Avvertenze sull' uso de' colori ad olio. Milano, 1814.
VxBERT, J. G. La science de la peinture. Paris, 1891.
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intonaco Greco-Romano. Parma, 1885.
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INDEX
Abacus, 86. Antonello da Messina, 335, 339.
Abney, 212, 213, 294. Apelles, varnish of, 74-77.
Acacia, 6, 17, 21. Appianum, 60.
Account of Van Eyck's method Aristides, 61.
by Van Mander, 342-343. Armenian bole, 196, 202.
jEthelwold, 247. Armenini, 280, 344, 349, 361,
Aetius, 65, 143, 327. 364, 382.
Agrippa, 80. Arsenic sulphide. See Orpi-
Aidan, 247. ment.
Albakim, 268. Arte Vetraria, 272, 273.
Albert! on fresco, 133-142. Arts and Crafts of Ancient
Alcherius, 144, 256, 259, 265, 315. Egypt, 18.
Alcohol, 27, 29, 30, 70, 72, 317. Arzica, 208, 220.
Alcuin of York, 246. Aspertino, Amico, 135.
Alembic, 71. Asphaltum, 73, 75, 324, 355, 356,
Ahzarine, 254. 357, 364-
Alkanet, 58. Assafetida, 263.
Aloes, 203, 266, 324. Atramentum, 75.
Alphonso I., 339. Auripetrum, 203.
Altamira, 2. Auripigmentum, 219.
Alum, 45,254, 259, 260, 262, Azures, artificial, 353.
263, 265, 268, 314. Azurite, 42, 208.
Alumen, 45. Azzurro Oltramarino. See Ultra-
Alumina, 25, 254, 265. marine.
Amatisto, 124, 127, 207, 215, 236. Azzurro della Magna, 124, 208,
Amatorius, Plutarch, 68. 226.
Amber, 28, 284, 288, 291, 292, di Smalto, 352.
301, 307, 312, 313, 315.
varnish, 285, 286, 289, 304, Bacam (Bakkam), 268.
306, 313, 322, 323, 371, Baldovinetti, Alesso, 335.
372. Baldwin Brown, 22, 359, 369.
435
Balsam, 7, 30, 56, 287, 311, 317, Blue, ultramarme, 47-48, 126,
323, 355, 366-7, 369- 132, 145, 146, 171, 208,
Canada, 31. 56, 309, 366, 369. 243, 352, 354, 357-
371- preparation of, 229-234.
pine. See Balsam. Bole, 197, 198, 363.
Bazzio, 117. Bolognese MS., 220, 261.
Beeswax. See Wax. Bone ashes, 296, 333.
Beis, 354. Book of Kells, 246.
Bell earth, 359, 361. Books of Hours, 249, 250.
Bell's medium, 297. Borghini, Raffaello, 280, 344,
Berenice, 284. 349, 352.
Berger, Ernst, 22, 58, 92, 281, Botticelli,Sandro, 174, 276.
33S> 338, 349. 376. Branchi, 226.
Bernensis, 144. Brasillium. See Brazil wood.
Berthelot, 72. Brazil wood, 147, 254, 259, 267,
Biacca. See White lead. 268, 269, 274, 276, 293,
Bianco sangiovanni, 117, 119, 305-
122, 123, 127, 130,
124, Breuil, Abbe Henri, 2.
13s, 208,224, 236, 241. Brixillium, 259-260. See Brazil

Bilfrith, 247. wood.
Bitumen. See Asphaltum. Broom, 266.
Black, 124, 127, 137, 357. Buckthorn, 266.
bone, 46. Bucwood, 269.
chalk, 3, 208, 234, 357. Butea, 267.
charcoal, 26, 27, 46, 362. Byzantine manuscripts, 246.
coal, 357, 362.
lamp, 46, 170, 208, 234, 251, Cadmium yellow, 137, 311.
3S7-. Caeruleum, 60, 67.
mixed with glue, 66. Callitris quadrivalvis, 29, 284.
peach kernels, 208. Canada balsam. See Balsam,
vine leaves, 46, 208, 234, Canada,
357- egg emulsion, 375, 376.
Blue mixed with size, 227. Canvas, 338, 359-363.
cerulean, 354. Carleton, Sir Dudley, 348.
cobalt, 19, 132, 137, 229, 236, Carmine, 165, 168, 169, 306.
354- Carthamus tinctoiius, 32.
copper, 19, 42, 43, 132, 146, Cauterium, 51, 55.
227, 228, 229, 236, 353, Cendre d'azur, 354, 357-
354. Cennini Cennino, 11,81, 107, 123,
Egyptian, 3, 5, 23, 24, 44, 95, 130, 132, 135, 136, 148,
132, 229, 352.. 172-177, 204, 251, 277,
Prussian, 354. 280, 332, 334, 340, 351.
436
INDEX
Cennini Cennino, on fresco, 113. Copper See Blue copper.
blues.
on medium, egg, 242-244. See Green copper.
greens.
on oil-painting, 238-241. Cornelius Jansen, 219.
on varnishing, 236-237. Cortez, 45, 271.
pigments in, 207, 234-236. Crimson lake, 25.
preparation of panels, 187- Croton tinctorium, 170, 267.
201. Curcuma, 266.
preparation of ultramarine, Cyanos, 23.
229-234.
Cerulean blue, 354. De Mayerne, 214, 219,266, 280-
Ceruse. See White lead. 282, 308, 309, 312, 322,
Oestrum, 51. 346-348,352,354-355,357,
Cheese glue, 157, 158. 362-364, 369, 374.
Cherry tree gum, 165. Didron, 108, 109, ni.
Chevreul, 106, in, 123, 130. Dioscorides, 36, 65, 327\
China clay, 364. Distillation, 70-72.
Chinese vermilion. See Ver- Donner, 52.
milion, Chinese. Doublets, 325.
Chromium green. See Green Dragon's-blood, 46, 47, 203, 204,
chromium. 207,215,314,324.
Church, Sir A. H., 213, 235, 304, Driers, 283, 359.
369- Duccio di Buoninsegna, 173.
Cimabue, 173, 335. Dyes, 6, 24, 25, 44, 45, 253.
Cinabrese, 117, 124, 126, 127,
207-208. Eastlake, 52, 174, 266, 298, 303-
Cinnabar, 4, 5, 42, 112, 124, 161, 30S> 31S' 332, 345. 356,
170, 207, 209, 210, 275, 372.
328. Egg medium, 7, 8, 9, 10, 21, 66-
Citron bark, 147. 69, 78,81, 113, 125, 127,
Cleopatra, 73. 129,157,173,198,239,242,
Coach painting, 367. 243, 329, 331-332, 368.
Cobalt, 24, 353. shells, 265.
blue. See Blue cobalt, Egyptian blue. See Blue, Egyp-
green. See Green cobalt. tian,
Coccus ilicis, 269. green. See Green, Egyptian
lacca, 267. wax portraits, 53.
Cochineal, 45, 255, 263, 271. yellow, 24.
lakes, 274. Elasippus, 61.
Coire, 195. Ely, old accounts, 331.
Copal, 28, 288, 289, 291, 301, Emerald green, 311.
302,304,367. Emulsion of Canada balsam and
varnish, 306, 377, 382 egg, 375, 376.
437
Encaustic, 49, 60, 80. Geber, 209.
Eraclius, 144, 255-257, 273, 329. Gerlich, loi.
Erechtheion, 80. Gesso, 26, 27, 28, 157, 158, 159,
160, 184, 185, 186, 189,
Ficus, 267. 190, 191, 192, 193, 194,
Fig tree juice, 66, 125, 127, 242, 338, 358, 360, 368.
243, 332- Giallelino, 216. See Giallerino.
Fish glue, 107, 144, 170, 252. Giallerino, 124, 127, 208, 216-
Flour paste, 360, 361, 363. 218,361. See a/jtf Naples
Folium, 168, 169, 170, 252. yellow.
Fornis, 161, 162. Gilding, 195, 197-199, 249, 250,
Fra Angelico, 148, 174. See also Gold leaf,
Filippo Lippi, 174. for manuscripts, 202.
Fresco, Alberti on, 133-142. Giotto, 119, 173, 175, 335.
analysis of, 102. Giuliano, 176.
buon, 81, 82-84, 86. Glassa, 162, 291, 313-315
by Cennino Cennini, 113- Glasse aromatique, 315.
127. Gloriat, 284, 316.
Byzantine, 110. Glue, 7, 21, 26, 28, 49, 66, 69,
Egyptian, analysis of, 21, 22. 157, 159, 160, 166, 187-189,
experiments on, 93, 94. 239, 253, 329, 332, 355,
Greek, 40, 82. 363-
lime for, 114. cheese, 157, 158.
modern practice, 136-138. parchment, 196, 249, 252.
Mount Athos, no, in. Gluten, 161, 165, 328.
pigments for, 124. Glycerine, 299.
polishing of, 92. Gold, 17, 166.
sand for, 1 14. burnishing of, 200, 201, 249.
Theophilus on, 112. leaf, 66, 163, 204, 221, 249, 331.
use of glue, 91. mines, 17.
Vasari on, 128-129. paint, 249, 250.
Frescoes, Knossos, 3, 83. size, 196, 201.
Pompeian, 34-43. 95; 102, 103, Gozzoli Benozzo, 174.
106, III, 130. Graffito, 51.
Frits. See Blue and green Graines d' Avignon, 266.
Egyptian. Grana, 263, 265, 270. See also
Kermes.
Gaddi, Agnolo, 119, 17 5, 176. Greek and Roman Methods of
Galbanum, 312. Painting, 84.
Gamboge, 309. Greek painting on marble, 82.
Ganosis, 82, 98, loi. pitch, 324.

Garlic juice, 196, 227. schools of painting, 38.
438
INDEX
Greek varnish, 70, 74, 75, 76. Illuminators' guilds, 248.
wall-painting, 84, 104. // Riposo, 344, 352.
Green chromium, 133, 137, 236. Indian ink, 251.
cobalt, 137, 236. red, 137.
earth, 357. Indigo, 46, 60, 133, 243, 357.
Egyptian, 23-25. Infusorial earth, 45.
salt, 167, 170. Ink, 66, 170, ^51.
Spanish, 165, 167, 168, 170. Intonaco, 114, 138.
See Verdigris. Iris, sap of, 167.
Greens of Van Eyck, 360. Italian Antiquities, by Mura-
Guevara, 133. tori, 143.
Gum arable, 7, 17, 21, 22, 66, Ivory black, 235.
69,129,164,167,170,250, Ivy juice, 257-258, 267, 277.
251, 252, 253, 257, 261,
3?9- Jaune de Naples, 216, 218.
benzoin, 318. John, 24, 25, 44.
cherry, 165, 170. Juniper resin, 284.
lac, 324. See also lac. Justmian, 81.
plum-tree, 171.
Gypsum, 25, 26, 44, 159, 195, Kv^KOJ, 32.
254, 259. Karabe, 291.
Kauri, 28, 288, 289, 367.
Hasmatite, 19, 127, 207, 215. Kermes, 45, 147, 254, 270-272,
Haitier, Jehan, 324. 276.
Hawara, 32, 37, 52. Kimchi, 268.
Haydock, 352. Knossos fresco, 3, 17, 83.
Heaton, 83. , Kublai Khan, 210.
Hellot, 270.
Hempseed oil, 314, 316. Lac, 124, 267, 268, 277.
Hermeneia, 108-111,317. Lacca di cimatura, 271.
Herringham, 174, 243, 332, 368, Uart de I'einture, 270.
371- Lake crimson, 25.
Holbein, 221, 251. madder, 24-26, 148.
Holman Hunt, 212, 365, 382. yellow, 24, 44, 147, 221, 303,
Honey, 45. 355, 357-
Hoogstraten, 266. Lapis amatisto, 200.
lazuli, 47, 48, 132, 145, 171,
laia, 51. 229-234.
Ilex, 269. Lazur, 113.
Illuminated Manuscripts in Lead oxides, 43.
Classical and Medicsval protoxide, 216.
Times, by Middleton, 249. soaps, 300.
439
Lead sulphate, 226. Marble, polishing of, 100, loi.
Le Bfegue, 144, 145, 146, 172 Marco Polo, 210, 268.
259, 266. Marcus Graccus, 317.
Leonardo da Vinci, 352. Marcucci, 356.
Lethaby, 90. Mardana MS., 317.
Lichen, 254. Massicot, 217, 357.
Light red, 137. Mastic, 29, 74, 134, 141, 283-
Lime for fresco, 114. 286, 292, 302, 307, 312,
white, 130, 137. 316, 318, 320-325, 366.
Lindisfarne Abbey, 247. Matthioli, 271.
Linen for panels, 189, 191, 194. Medium, Bell's, 297.
Linseed oil, 18, 29, 30, 65, 135, egg. See Egg medium,
160-162, 164-165, 171, gum, from Thebes,
gall 68.
201, 239-241, 285, 297, Egyptian, 21.
299. 304, 312-316, 318- Greek, 38, 63.
319, 321, 324-325, 328- size, 131,243.
330, 331-333. 335-338, Mediums, properties of, 49.
359, 366. volatile, 74.

Litharge, 214, 215, 296, 324. Melian white, 60.
Litmus, 254. Menesch, 273.
Lomazzo, 352, 356. Merrifield, 138, 144, 172, 195,
Lucca manuscfipt, 107, 143-144, 203, 215-216, 226, 256,
171, 209, 283, 312, 327. 259 313, 329, 344, 356.
Lutecium Belgicum genuli, 216- Michael Angelo, 131-133.
217. Middleton, 25, 186, 202, 249,
Lytton, Hon. Neville, 370. 270, 352.
Millais, 382.
Madder, 44, 147, 254-255, 273- Minium, 44, 124, 161, 165, 166,
274, 276. 168, 170, 207, 214-215,
lakes. See Lake madder. 217,328,357-
Maestro Domenico, 340. Mistletoe juice, 65.
Malachite, 42, 208. Monaco, Prince of, 2.
Maltechnik des altertums, 58. Morris, William, 45, 221, 271.
Mander, Van, 342, 343, 349, 358. Mount Athos, 108-123.
Mander's account of Van Eyck's fresco, 108-111.
method, 342-343- Mullers, prehistoric, 4.
Manganese borate, 297, 298. Muratori, 143.
compounds of, 41, 144, 333. Murex, 6, 44, 45, 251, 254.
Manuscripts, gilding of, 202. Myrrh, 312.
Mappa Clavicula, 144.
Marble dust, 88, 95, 102, 131. Naphtha. See Petroleum.
Greek painting on, 82. Naples yellow, 127, 208, 218, 236.
440
INDEX
Neri, 272, 273. Papyrus, 17, 26, 31. 32, 245-
Nitrum, 57, 59. ash, 58.
Nut oil, 316, 319, 323, 336. Paracelsus,' 323.
Parchment shavings, 188.
Ochre, 3, 17, 41, 86, 112, 115, glue. See Glue, parchment.
124. Persian berries, 147, 254
Prussian, 357. Pesello, 335.
red, 19, 23-24, 127, 207-208. Peter of St. Audemar, 144, 203
yellow, 19, 23, 27, 127, 136- 256, 258, 273, 313, 330.
137,208,216,236,357. Petrie, Flinders, 4, 18, 25, 32, 37,
Oil, boiled,
296-298, 306. 52-53-
emulsion, 335. Petroleum, 29, 31, 70,72-73, 292,
linseed. See Linseed oil. 317-322, 347, 372.
medium, introduction, 279- Pica greca, 284, 286, 287, 289,
281. 307-
olive. See Olive oil. Pictures," Pre-Raphaelite," 382-
-painting after Van Eyck, 384-
343-35 1- Pietro Cavallini, 173.
Cennino Cennini on, 238- Pigments, ancient, 205-207.
241. in Cennino Cennini, 207-236.
early history of, 327-334. for fresco, 124.
pictures, cracks on, 381. Knossos, 3.
darkening of, 377-380. Roman, 40-48.
poppy. See Poppy oil. of sixteenth and seventeenth
walnut. See Walnut oil. centuries, 351-357-
Oleo di abezzo, 284, 292, 307- Pine balsam. See Balsam.
309, 310, 319-322. silver, 292.
Olive oil, 18, 74, 161. Pisano, Niccolo, 173.
Orpiment, 42, 60, 124, 208, 219, Pistacia lentiscus, 2<).
220, 243, 293. Plaster, Egyptian, 21.
Greek, 82.
Pacheco, 136. Knossos, 3.
Paduan MS., 264, 268, 271, 272, Mount Athos, 108-109.
274, 275, 308, 320, 356. of Paris, 195.
Painter of M. de St. Jehan the polishing of, 94.
Litde, 363. Roman, 93.
Palettes, prehistoric, 4. Pliny, contents table, 59.
Palomino, 136. on distillation, 72.
Panels, 157, 158, 184-185, 338, on e.%% medium, 67.
359- on fresco. 87.
preparation of Cennmo on resins, 74.
Cennini, 187-201. on varnishing, 75, 76, 77.
441
Pliny on vermilion, 97. Red lead, 5, 43-44, 170, 214, 251,
on wall-painting, 85. 276, 357-
on wax for walls, 80. light, 137.
on wax-painting, 60, 61, 62. ochre, 3. See Ochre, red.
preparation of wax, 57. Venetian, 137.
Plum-black, bark, 203, 314. Remiel, 251.
-tree gum,165. Resins in Pliny, 74.
Plutarch, 68, loi. Reynolds, Sir Joshua, 309.
Pompeian frescoes, 34, 102, 106, Rhamnus catharticus, 266.
130. Riffault, 356.
Poplar wood, 187. Risalgallo, 208, 220.
Poppy oil, 65, 161. Rosato, 261.
Pose, 112. Rosin, 29, 284, 289, 307, 313,
Praxiteles, 61. 314-
Preparation of grounds, 357, Rossetta, 119.
365- Rubens, 266, 346-348, 350.
" Pre-Raphaelite " pictures, 382- Russell, 23-26, 212-213, 294.
384-
Primmg, 359-364. Saffron, 164, 203, 208, 220, 243,
Procopius, 81. 254, 266, 324.
Protogenes, 67. St Cuthbert, 247.
Prussian blue, 354. Mark's library, Venice, 72.
Pterrotarpus draco, 216. Medard, 55, 56, 106, in, 123,
Punic wax, 57-59. ISO-
Purple, royal, Tyrian, 6, 44, Salt, green. See Green salt.
66. Sandal wood, 147.
Purpurissum, 60, 67. Sandarac, 29, 31, 283, 284-286,
Puteoli, 23. 292, 307. 311, 3I3> 316,
318, 324-
Quartz, glazed, 5. Sandyx, 67.
Quellenschriften fiir Kunstge- Sapan wood, 269.
schichte, 144. Saunders wood, 269.
Quercitron bark, 254. Shellac, 267.
Quicksilver, 5. Siennas, raw, 41, 136, 137.
Sil atticum, 255.
Raphael, 235. Sinopia, 121, 124, 127, 208,
Raspe, 256. 236.
Reade, Charles, 204. Size. See Glue.
Realgar, 208, 220. Sloane MS., 144.
Red, English, 362. Smalt, 132, 229, 347, 352, 353,
Indian, 137. 357-
lakes, 147. Soap, 134, 13s. 142-
442
INDEX
Spanish green. See Green, Umber, 137, 324, 356, 357, 361,
Spanish, 362, 363.
leather, 203.
Spiegelharz, 324. Van Dyck,2i9, 281,346,348,350.
Spike oil, 317, 320, 324. Eyck, durability of pictures
Spirit varnish, 29. by, 292-294.
Sirass6ur£- MS., 144, 315, 333, his probable medium, 365-
337, 345. 349> 35°- 376.
Stucco lustro, 135. Vasari's account of, 334-
Succus, 113, 165. 342.
Symeon, 248. Eyck's greens, 369.
Varnish, Chinese, 324.
Tails of synonyms, 266. copal, 368.
Taddeo Gaddi, 119, 175. Egyptian, 28-31.
Tambroni, 215. Greek, 70-77.
Tannin, 170. old receipts for, 313-326
Tempera. See Egg medium, 9. on priming, 382.
Terebinth, 74. saffron-tinted, 164.
Terra de campani, 361. for tinfoil, 324.
Terre verte, 41, n8, 119, 124, for violins, 204.
127, 137,222,356. yellow, 203.
Thebes Manuscript, 68. Varnishes, Old, general, dis-
Theophilus on fresco, 1 12. cussion of, 282-287.
on gold leaf, 163. as protecting old pigments,
on illuminating books, 165- 292-294.
169. testing hardness, 288-291.
on oil and varnish, 160-162. tests for moisture penetration,
on panels, 157, 160. 295-312.
Theophrastus, 23, 24, 35, 40, 209. Varnishing, Pliny, "JT.
Tinfoil, 164, 202, 203. Apelles, 77.
Titian, 380. Vasari on fresco, 128-129.
Tragacanth, 129. on oil-painting, 338.
Traquair, no. Vasari's account of Van Eyck,
Travertine, 128, 135, 265. 334-342.
Turner's yellow, 217. Vellum, 167, 247.
Turpentine, 29, 31, 69-72, 283- Veneda, 113.
284, 292, 301, 312, 317, Venetian red, 137. Also see
320, 321-323, 347, 366- Ochres, red.
367, 372. Venice turpentine, 29, 31, 56,
284, 307, 308-310, 313,
Ultramarine. See Blue ultra- 320, 323, 325, 356, 369-
marine. 370, 373-
443
Verdaccio, 117. Watts, Sir G. F., 358.
Verde azzurro, 208, 222. Wax, 52-
7, 20, 22, 30, 38, so, 51,
eterno. Also see'Vtidigns,22 2. 56,61-62,69,78,107,134,
terra. Also see Terre verte, 141, 144. 171-
118, 119, 124, 127, 208, on marble, 100, loi, 104.
222, 236. portraits, Egyptian, 37, 53.
Verderame, 124, 208, 222. preparation of, from Pliny, 57,
Verdigris, 5, 44, 168, 170, 201, 58.
208, 222-223, 252, 293, Punic, 57-59.
308,310-311, 325, 355, for walls, 80, 97-99.
357, 361, 369- Weld, 44, 147, 221, 254, 266.
Vermilion, 42-44, 95, loi, 137, Westminster old acccounts,
144, 170, 175, 209, 211- 331.
213, 251, 276 Weyden, Van der, 276.
Chinese, 210-211. White earths, 42, 45.
protection of, 97- lead, 5, 43, 60, 124, 126, 165,
Vernice liquida, 240, 242, 332. 168, 170, 20I, 208, 215,
Vernix, 313. 224-226, 275, 300, 331,
Verrocchio, Andrea, 195. 357, 359-360, 361-363,
Verzino, 268. 364-
Vinegar, 5, 43, 44. Whiting, 249.
Violets, 255, 257. Wiegmann, 86.
Viridian, 133, 137. Wilkie, 364, 380.
Vitruvius on fresco, 88-91. Willowwood, 187.
on vermilion, 97. Winckelmann, iii.
Volpato, 344. Woad, 44, 46, 254.
Volteranno, 189. Wood ashes, 259, 264.
Wadi Maghara, 17. Yellow cadmium. See Cadmium

Nasb, 17. yellow.
Wall-painting, Egyptian, 22. Egyptian, 24.
Greek, Roman, 79-84. lake. See Lake, yellow,
Wallon, 362. ochre. See Ochre, yellow.
Walnut oil, 18, 65, 161, 300-301,
338, 359-360. Zafiferano, 208, 220.
Ward, J., on fresco painting, 136- Zinc sulphate, 296, 332-337-
138. white, 226.
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CORNELL

tine Cornell University Library.

There are no known copyright restrictions in

the United States on the use of the text.

THE MATERIALS OF THE

A. P. LAURIE, M.A., D.Sc.

SEVEN REPRODUCTIONS IN COLOUR

PRINTED BY NEILL AND CO., LTD., EDINBURGH

SIR ARTHUR HERBERT CHXJRCH, K.C.V.O., F.R.S.

" I GIVE YOU THIS ADVICB, THAT YOU EN-

EVEN IF YOU BE NOT WELL PAID, GOD AND

Cennino Cennini, chapter 96.

prove of interest to the general, though cultured,

be found in the book for many

and I must thank Mrs Herringham and Messrs

mann for permission to photograph their repro-

authorities to reproduce pictures in our public in-

those who are engaged in studying the history of

3. CLASSICAL METHODS : INTRODUCTION . .

5. CLASSICAL METHODS : THE WAX MEDIUM . .

8. THE FURTHER HISTORY OF FRESCO-PAINTING . I06

9. THE MANUSCRIPT OF THE MONK THEOPHILUS 1 43

11. ON THE PAINTING OF ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPTS 245

12. ON THE PREPARATION OF THE LAKES USED BY THE

REMARKS AND THE NATURE AND HISTORY OF

14. THE HISTORY OF THE OIL MEDIUM, CONTINUED

Palaeolithic Drawing, Altamira 2

Photograph of Portrait from Hawara .

Painting in Melted Wax . . ... 56

Picture painted in Melted Wax . . . . .62

" Rape of Helen," by Benozzo Gozzoli . . -213

Unfinished Picture by Jan Van Eyck . .

I Sth Century German "Oil" Painting .... 360

Micro-Photographs of Section and Surface of Cracked

The use of pigments for ornamental purposes is

to his hand many of the necessary materials.

living in palaeolithic times, has left us a record of

fine plaster was laid in coats, the first about half-an-

existed between Crete and Egypt when this palace

applied, they evidently required to be rubbed down

and metallurgical discoveries. For instance, the

MATERIALS OF PAINTER'S CRAFT

covery that certain herbs could be used to dye tex-

mordants to fix these dyes, would naturally lead to

torictimes that complex decorative schemes could

at the beginning of things. It is evident, therefore,

that in looking into the history of the painter's ma-

another aspect ; for, while leading on the one hand

and most perfect product which was possible with

different from that incommonuse may long be known

It is also probable that they were influenced in de-

parting from the egg medium by two considerations.

desire to get transparent, brilliant, glazing colours

actually dissolving them in the hot varnish, and lay-

its great possibilities of expression lead to the com-

while the subject of the materials used by the painter

be found in the receipts for preparing a pigment or

of the world's history. The mere statement, in a re-

dry and mechanical side of the painter's art, we

cult to understand, and at the end of all the light that

he knew intimately how to prepare his panel, how to

mechanical operations to be performed for him by

humbler and the higher duties of the artist has been