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THE ART OF 
 
 PAINTING IN OIL, 
 
 AND IN 
 
 FRESCO: 
 
 BEING A 
 
 HISTORY OF THE VARIOUS PROCESSES AND MATERIALS EMPLOYED, 
 
 FROM ITS DISCOVERY, BY HUBERT AND JOHN VAN EYCK, 
 
 TO THE PRESENT TIME: 
 TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL FRENCH TREATISE OF 
 
 M. J. F. L. MERIMEE, 
 
 SECRETARY TO THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS, IN PARIS. 
 
 WITH 
 
 ORIGINAL OBSERVATIONS 
 
 ON THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF BRITISH ART, THE FRENCH AND ENGLISH 
 CHROMATIC SCALES, AND THEORIES OF COLOURING, 
 
 By W. B. SARSFIELD TAYLOR, 
 
 SENIOR CURATOR OF THE LIVING MODEL ACADEMY, &C. &C. 
 
 LONDON: 
 WHITTAKER & Co. AVE MARIA LANE. 
 
 1839. 
 
iSoo 
 
 '6 S3 
 
 LONDON : 
 GILBERT AND RIVINGTON, PRINTERS, 
 
 ST. John's square. 
 
 
TO 
 
 THE PRESIDENT AND MEMBERS 
 
 THE ROYAL ACADEMY 
 
 Mr. President and Gentlemen, 
 
 The time has at length arrived which I so much 
 desired, and I have now the honour to lay before 
 you, the translation of M. Merimee's History of Oil 
 Painting, &c. 
 
 The duty of translating that valuable work on 
 art, it is not very probable I should have under- 
 taken, but for the friendly advice which I received 
 from several distinguished members of the Academy, 
 and eventually for the kind permission which you 
 a2 
 
IV DEDICATION. 
 
 granted me, to dedicate this work to your Royal 
 Institution. 
 
 This circumstance determined me to undertake 
 the task, for it convinced me that a work on art 
 must possess no small degree of intrinsic merit, 
 with which the Royal Academy would allow its 
 name to be connected. 
 
 Inspired by these considerations, I have given my 
 best attention to this work, and have taken every 
 method that my experience could devise to render 
 it as useful in its new language as it is calculated 
 to be in its original tongue. I have neglected no 
 opportunity of consulting members of this Academy 
 on technical points of consequence in the language 
 of art ; and I have the satisfaction to say, that I 
 have uniformly experienced the greatest attention 
 to my inquiries, and every good feeling for the pro- 
 motion of the object in view. 
 
 Having done all that was in my power to ren- 
 der the translation correct, I have added a rapid, 
 but correct outline of the rise and progress of 
 British art, which I trust will not be without 
 ts use upon the public mind, together with ob- 
 
DEDICATION. V 
 
 servations on the methods and materials generally 
 employed in the English school, and the English 
 theory of colouring exemplified by a chromatic 
 scale. In doing this, 1 was actuated by that love 
 of art which is natural to me, to give a clear view 
 of its true position, — at the same time pointing out 
 to whom, and to what circumstances it owes its 
 present condition. 
 
 Permit me now, Mr. President and Gentlemen of 
 the Royal Academy, to offer you my best thanks 
 for the kindly feeling with which you first excited 
 my attention to this work, and which has continued 
 steadily to its completion. 
 
 With feelings of the highest respect, I am, 
 Mr. President and Gentlemen, 
 Your most obliged and obedient servant, 
 
 W. B. Sarsfield Taylor. 
 
 a3 
 
REPORT 
 
 INSTITUTE OF FRANCE. 
 
 The following pages, by way of preface, are ex- 
 tracts from the report made to the Academy of 
 Fine Arts in Paris, by M. Quatremere de Quincy, 
 the Chairman of the Commission selected by the 
 lloyal Institute of France, to examine the manu- 
 script work of M. Merimee, on this very important 
 subject, and to report thereon. They will be found 
 very satisfactory, coming as they do from men of 
 science and learning, who were eminently qualified 
 to give a just decision upon the merits of any lite- 
 raiy or scientific production. 
 
 THE REPORT. 
 
 " The Commission whom you have selected to 
 examine the manuscript work of M. Merimee, en- 
 A 4 
 
VIU EEPORT OF THE 
 
 titled, ' On Painting in Oil, being an account of the 
 various methods and materials made use of by the 
 professors of that art, from the time of Hubert and 
 John Van Eyck, down to the present day," — have 
 the honour to present to you the result of their 
 observations and their opinions upon this work. 
 
 " The precepts which the author has collected, 
 extended, and developed, with the judicious advice 
 he has offered, are not so much intended to teach 
 this art, as to lay before the artist, the proper mate- 
 rials for painting, and how to make pictures durable. 
 A principal object has been to collect and carefully 
 describe the numerous processes used in oil paint- 
 ing, from its earliest appearance to our own time. 
 
 *' The result of this investigation shows that the 
 older masters of the Venetian and Flemish schools, 
 did not paint as modems do, with pm*e oils, but 
 that they tempered their colours with varnishes; to 
 which must be attributed the state of preservation 
 in which we find their pictures. 
 
 " M. Merimee describes the modes of preparing 
 the different varnishes that are proper to mix with 
 the colours, and also those which are to be used 
 over the picture when finished. He also communi- 
 cates the most exact ideas upon the colouring sub- 
 stances, their preparation, solidity or durableness, 
 
INSTITUTE or FRANCE. IX 
 
 their action, and influence upon each other when 
 combined, the changes from the effects of Hght and 
 air, to which they are hable, and hkewise from the 
 oily substances with which they may be united. 
 He also points out the precautions to be taken for 
 permanently preserving pictures, and the means by 
 which they can be repaired when injured by time. 
 He finishes his work by a theory of colouring, on 
 the principles of natural harmony, 
 
 " The author commences his first chapter by 
 setting it down as an incontrovertible fact, that 
 the brothers Van Eycli were the inventors of paint- 
 ing in oil ; and refutes the assertions of Theophilus 
 and Cennino Cennini on that question. 
 
 " He strongly points out the remarkable fact, that 
 the pictures painted in oil, both in Germany and 
 Italy, in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries are in 
 a better state of preservation, than the major pai-t of 
 the works which were painted at a much later 
 period ; and particularly those painted in the last 
 century. Hence he is of opinion that the process 
 employed in the earlier times of this art has been 
 greatly altered in its descent to us ; and that even 
 the traditionary accounts of this method are very 
 erroneous. 
 
 " The great object of the author appears to be, 
 a5 
 
X REPORT OF THE 
 
 that of bringing to light the primitive processes of 
 painting; for this purpose he has consulted the 
 earlier works on this art, and has examined with 
 the greatest care, many of those pictures which 
 have most successfully resisted the effects of time 
 and exposure ; and he is decidedly of opinion, that 
 these works owe their preservation to particular 
 modes of combining, in a liquid state, resinous sub- 
 stances ; by the use of which the colours were 
 defended from the action of causes that have in- 
 jured or destroyed pictures of much more modern 
 dates. 
 
 " From the commencement of the art, long before 
 the discovery of painting in oil, the employment of 
 varnish for the preservation of pictures from the 
 action of the air was well understood ; yet it is 
 worthy of remark, that not one of the authors who 
 wrote upon this subject at that time, mentions a 
 word of varnish being incorporated with the co- 
 lours, except Armenini, who, in 1587, advised the 
 mixing of resinous substances with the oils in the 
 colouring materials, and even in the preparation of 
 the ground. 
 
 " M, Merimee has closely examined, and analysed 
 with great care, paintings of the earliest dates, 
 and has consulted many of the ablest restorers of 
 
INSTITUTE OF FRAXCE. XI 
 
 pictures ; and hence he is strongly of opinion, from 
 the hardness of the ground, and the brightness of the 
 pictures, that the colours have not only been incor- 
 porated with oil, but also with varnishes, even of 
 that sort called ' hard varnish."' With respect 
 to later works, almost all the pictures from the 
 commencement of the sixteenth century are, as all 
 those of the preceding one, painted on a white 
 ground composed of chalk and size, primed with a 
 couch of drying oil : the artists began their work with 
 transparent colours ; and when they had completed 
 in this way their design and general effect of ckiaro 
 ''scuro, they completed their work with lighter tints, 
 applied with a full pencil, which gave greater 
 relief and consistence to the picture. This was 
 the method pursued by the brothers Van Eyck, P. 
 Perugino. L. de Vinci, Raffael, and Fra Bartolomeo. 
 
 " Another method was practised by Titian and 
 Correggio. They used to lay in the first paintings 
 with size, and to use only resinous liquids and 
 transparent colours in finishing the picture. It is 
 a very remarkable circumstance that the greatest of 
 the colourists have employed these two opposite me- 
 thods, and yet they have produced similar results. 
 
 " ]\I. Merimee is of opinion that the quantity of 
 glazing observable in the works of the Venetian 
 A 6 
 
XU REPORT OF THE 
 
 and Flemish masters is a proof of the employment 
 of varnish in their colours ; but he adds, that we 
 should be well aware of the great disadvantages 
 which are the results of excessive glazing, or of 
 its being unskilfully done ; for we see pictures 
 which appear of a brilliant character when fresh, 
 that in a little time change and become of a dull 
 and darker tone. And it is not a little worthy of 
 observation, that the pictures of Titian, Paul Ve- 
 ronese, and Rubens, which are in the best state of 
 preservation, are those which they painted upon 
 distemper grounds. 
 
 " After having given a general review of the most 
 celebrated artists of the schools of Italy and Flan- 
 ders, M. Merimee comes to the French school, 
 which he dates only from the time of Simon Vouet ; 
 to whose influential example he attributes the small 
 advances that the French school has obtained in the 
 art of colouring. If, by this, it is to be understood 
 that Vouet had the first school, there is proof that a 
 number of very clever pupils were formed under him. 
 It must be admitted, on the other hand also, that 
 before his time France had some very clever artists, 
 without reckoning those who settled there from 
 Italy. If the school of Vouet did not produce 
 great colourists, there would, perhaps, be some 
 
INSTITUTE OF FRANCE. XIU 
 
 degree of severity in extending the effect of such a 
 pretended cause to all the succeeding painters in 
 France ; amongst whom are some to whom no one 
 will deny the title of good colourists. 
 
 " M. Merimee beUeves that he has traced the 
 deterioration of our pictures to have followed as an 
 inevitable consequence of the decay of our school. 
 And adds, that as, since this school has become 
 regenerated, the painters have proved themselves 
 more careful, the colourmen more conscientious and 
 better instructed ; we ought, therefore, to indulge 
 the hope that scientific knowledge, coming to the 
 assistance of art, will bestow upon our pictures a 
 more durable character. 
 
 " The second chapter treats of the nature and 
 properties of the substances used in these compo- 
 sitions ; and after some inquiries into the nature 
 of the ' Atramentum,"' or varnish of Apelles, the 
 author takes a general view of the resinous and 
 bituminous substances of which varnishes are com- 
 posed, and also points out the different sorts of oil 
 employed in painting ; but it is in the preparation 
 of the varnishes that we find a great number of 
 new and valuable ideas, for the discovery of which 
 we are indebted to the author. 
 
 " The fourth chapter, which in itself forms a con- 
 12 
 
XIV REPORT OF THE 
 
 siderable part of the work, relates to the prepara- 
 tion of colours, and belongs properly to what may 
 be termed the chemistry of painting ; and we can 
 bear ample testimony to the extensive and accu- 
 rate knowledge of M. Merimee, who it is evident 
 has selected with judgment from amongst a heap 
 of preparations and receipts, those which he found 
 approach nearest to the simplicity of nature. For 
 it is a remarkable fact, that the most permanent 
 class of colours, are those which have been the 
 slowest of creation in nature's laboratory. 
 
 " The fifth chapter treats of the preparations of 
 the grounds for panels, cloths, and walls. This is one 
 of the most useful parts ; and the methods pointed 
 out by the author, all tend to the preservation of 
 the colours, and the durability of the pictures. 
 
 " The sixth chapter treats of the best method of 
 preserving pictures, and describes the various in- 
 jurious modes in use, for the purpose of giving 
 them as it is pretended a new existence. 
 
 " The seventh chapter is entitled ' a theory of 
 colours, as applied to the harmony of colouring.' 
 After having clearly established this theory, which 
 is founded upon the natural properties of colours, 
 the author proceeds to develop the principles of 
 harmony as applicable to painting, and in so 
 
INSTITUTE OF FRAXCE. XV 
 
 doing he places them upon their natural relations 
 to each other. This part is not capable of analy- 
 zation, and detached extracts would only convey to 
 the mind ideas of it that must be very imperfect. 
 
 " To these the author has added a chapter on 
 fresco, which, though not mentioned in the title of 
 the work, is yet one of great usefulness ; whether 
 we regard it in reference to the employment of 
 this process of late years, or as to its great im- 
 portance during several ages, concurrently with 
 the art of painting in oil. 
 
 " Entrusted with the duty of rendering a faithful 
 account of this work, the Commission are of 
 opinion, that they have carefully pointed out the 
 great utility and advantages, that must result to 
 the art of painting from its publication. 
 
 " The Academy approves of the opinions con- 
 tained in the report, and have directed that a copy 
 of it be laid before the Minister of the Home 
 Department." 
 
 (Signed,) Quatremebe de Quincy, 
 
 (Permanent ) Secretary to the Institute of France. 
 
THE 
 
 AUTHOR'S PREFACE. 
 
 The pictures of Hubert and John Van Eyck, with 
 others of the same period, but by different artists, 
 are now in a better state of preservation than the 
 greater number of those painted in the last cen- 
 tury : the processes used in their execution, having 
 only been transmitted down by tradition, have not, 
 it is very probable, reached our time perfectly 
 pure ; and it is reasonable to suppose that those 
 pictures, that even now surprise us by their bril- 
 liancy after a lapse of three centuries, have not 
 been painted with the same combination of mate- 
 rials, as those which we see evidently impaired, 
 though not painted one-fourth part of that period. 
 
 If it were possible to discover a manuscript of 
 Van Eyck upon the preparation and application 
 of colours, there can be no doubt that the an- 
 
THE AUTHOR S PREFACE. XVll 
 
 nouncement of it would create a considerable 
 degree of eagerness to possess such a treasure, 
 especially amongst those who cultivate the art of 
 painting : this hypothesis does not appear likely 
 to be realized ; but might we not gain the same 
 object if we should be fortunate enough to discover 
 those primitive processes, and modes of painting, 
 by consulting carefully the earlier treatises on 
 that art, and by an attentive examination of 
 those ancient paintings, which have best resisted 
 the numerous causes of decay to which such works 
 are liable ? 
 
 It appeared to me quite possible that this object 
 could be attained, and I therefore determined to 
 undertake those researches of which this essay is 
 the result. If I have not performed all that I 
 wished, or that may be achieved ; still it will be 
 admitted that a commencement has been made, 
 and that 1 have traced out a way in which others 
 may succeed with greater chances of success. 
 
 When a pupil of the French school has attained 
 that degree of experience, which gives him a fair 
 chance of gaining the first prize in the class of 
 painting, there can be no doubt of his capability 
 to make a copy from any picture of his master. 
 Let him then be directed to copy a first-rate pic- 
 ture of the Flemish or Venetian schools, and I am 
 
XVIU THE AUTHOR S PREFACE. 
 
 quite sure he will encounter difficulties which he 
 will be unable to surmount, should he not have 
 been made acquainted with the process used by 
 the colourist whom he wishes to imitate; but if 
 these processes have been shown to him, and if he 
 have been taught the process for increasing the bril- 
 liancy and transparency of his colour, and how to 
 preserve those fine qualities, or to recover them after 
 he may have lost them ; a practical knowledge of 
 those methods may soon be acquired by a young 
 painter, whose eye and hand have already attained 
 to a high degree of correctness and facility ; with 
 such instruction he may then set about to copy a 
 picture of Rubens, Rembrandt, Titian, and Van- 
 dyke, without experiencing any greater difficulties, 
 than he would find in copying a work of his own 
 master. 
 
 Every painter, in the course of his studies, feels 
 in a gi'eater or less degree, desirous of knowing 
 the nature and fitness of the colours he employs, 
 and there are few books that can give him much 
 satisfaction in these respects ; and the Encyclo- 
 pedie^ a work which ought to be the most re- 
 plete with instruction, is that which contains the 
 greatest number of errors. 
 
 Watin''s book, published in 1772, contains much 
 instruction ; this work, which, considering the time 
 
THE AUTHOR S PREFACE. XIX 
 
 it was written, has a good deal of merit, has had 
 a great circulation, and has gone through several 
 editions; and as nothing better appeared, it was 
 reprinted a few years ago. 
 
 M. Tingry, a Genevese professor of chemistry, 
 has wTitten a work in two volumes on the same 
 subject, published in 1803. The author was too 
 well informed to confine himself \vithin the limits 
 which would have been sufficient for a mere work- 
 man ; he undertook with the aid of his own branch 
 of science, to explain the theory also : this work 
 would have been the best that could have been 
 produced at that time, if he had united to the in- 
 formation he possessed, that knowledge which 
 practice only can bestow. If instead of enlarging 
 his book, by borrowing from others what appeared 
 to agree with his own theoiy, he had confined him- 
 self to describing the experiments which he had 
 made and repeated, his book would have possessed 
 higher value. But at all times, the work of Tingry 
 upon the preparation and use of colours and var- 
 nishes, is one of those that may be consulted with 
 the greatest advantage. The two works just cited, 
 are only intended for decorative painting, but there 
 are two others, composed particularly for artists ; 
 the first was published at Rome, in 1813, by M. 
 Marcucci, who had studied painting early in life, 
 
XX THE AUTHOR S PREFACE. 
 
 when, being compelled by circumstances to take 
 a situation in pharmacy, he preserved in this 
 situation his first affection for art ; and to console 
 himself for his disappointment, he collected all that 
 he could in chemistry, of what he conceived would 
 be useful to, or likely to promote, the advancement 
 of the art. 
 
 The work of M. Marcucci is divided into two 
 principal parts ; the first contains the methods of 
 preparing the different materials used in painting ; 
 the other treats of the various methods used in the 
 schools of Florence, Venice, and Flanders, in their 
 most flourishing times. To these are added, the 
 notes of a celebrated restorer of pictures at Rome. 
 Originally led away by the title of the work, 
 I had intended to have translated it, and to have 
 made additions to it where necessary, but I gave it 
 up, as I found it would be requisite to recast the 
 whole of the first part ; yet being the work of one 
 acquainted with chemistry, it should have pos- 
 sessed more useful instruction. 
 
 Doubtless the author has not thought it requisite 
 to bestow all the care upon it of which he was 
 capable. He contented himself with choosing, 
 among divers works, the processes which he thought 
 most likely to succeed, but without trying them 
 himself, as he ought to have done. He may have 
 
THE AUTHOR S PREFACE. XXI 
 
 supposed, that in large cities, where great painters 
 reside, their wants are easily supplied by commerce : 
 this may be true so far ; but it happens some- 
 times that an eminent painter may reside unavoid- 
 ably in a place where such resources are not to be 
 found ; would it not then be of importance that he 
 should have the power of preparing or directing the 
 preparation of whatever his works may require ? 
 
 The second part of the work is the best : it con- 
 tains observations that are highly interesting, upon 
 the operations of the old masters. M. Marcucci 
 rightly judged that it would be most proper to con- 
 sult on this subject a person of great knowledge in 
 the art of restoring pictures. In fact, it is by the 
 process of restoring, that discoveries are made of 
 the various methods of the schools, as well as the 
 particular met hod of each master. 
 
 The second work is that of M. Bouvier, himself 
 a painter, and member of the Society of Arts at 
 Geneva. He published it three years since, under 
 the title of " Manual for Young Artists and Ama- 
 teurs in Painting."" 
 
 In this work, which is the fruit of long expe- 
 rience, the author does not treat of the nature of 
 colours and their preparation, but merely the effects 
 that are produced in the employment of them. 
 
 In treating of the practical method to be used in 
 
XXU THE AUTHOR S PREFACE. 
 
 the various stages of painting, he goes into details 
 that would appear superfluous to those who, being 
 placed under the instructions of a skilfiil master, 
 are therefore acquainted with the various means and 
 resources of art ; but it is chiefly arranged for the 
 use of persons living at a distance from large cities, 
 in which are to be found the best methods of instruc- 
 tion, and every material necessary in the exercise of 
 the art. Even persons who enjoy situations the 
 most favom-able for their instruction, will find in 
 the Manual of M. Bouvier some things of which 
 they were ignorant, and the knowledge of which 
 will be of advantage, relating to the effects of cer- 
 tain colours, and the precautions requisite to be 
 taken in their preparation and emplojinent. 
 
 The artists for a long period either prepared the 
 colours themselves, or else had them prepared under 
 their immediate inspection, as well as the oils and 
 varnishes which they used. This was the business 
 of the pupils at the commencement of their agree- 
 ment, so that, before they began to handle the 
 pencil, they had acquired a knowledge of all that 
 was most proper to give pictures durability. In 
 after times this became changed, and the prepara- 
 tion of the materials became exclusively the busi- 
 ness of traders, who had a stronger feeling towards 
 their own immediate profit, than any regard to the 
 
THE AUTHOR S PREFACE. XXlll 
 
 preservation of pictures. The artists then, no 
 longer learning the nature of their colours, were in- 
 competent to detect fraud, or distinguish the good 
 from the inferior sort, and therefore used such as 
 came to their hand, and even some preferred those 
 which were sold at the lowest prices. 
 
 To such causes may be ascribed the rapid change 
 that has taken place in the greater part of the pic- 
 tures of the last century ; but as it happened in 
 that time that our (the French) school had reached 
 the lowest point in its decline, this would not be a 
 subject of regret to the admirers of art, if the works 
 of Boucher and some other able men had not ap- 
 peared at the close of that age. 
 
 In proportion as the school has regenerated itself, 
 the artists have become more careful ; and the 
 business of preparing colours has become very 
 lucrative : the number of establishments has in- 
 creased, and some of the proprietors have a know- 
 ledge of chemistry, and those who are not acquainted 
 with that science are so convinced of the advantages 
 it bestows, that they educate in it those of their 
 children who are to succeed them in their business ; 
 so that in the next generation there will not be a 
 colour-maker of respectability, who shall not possess 
 a knowledge of chemistry equal to those who pre- 
 pare our medicine. 
 
XXIV THE AUTHOR S PREFACE. 
 
 The principal object of this essay being to show 
 the various methods of painting in oil which have 
 been in use from the time of Van Eyck, down 
 to these days, a full description of what has thus 
 been collected should form the commencement 
 of the work ; and from these researches I have 
 arrived at this conclusion, namely, that the most 
 ancient painters of the Venetian and Flemish 
 schools did not paint, as we do, with pure oils, but 
 that they tempered their colour also with varnish, 
 and to this is to be attributed the great preserva- 
 tion of their pictures. 
 
 I intend, then, to describe the methods of prepar- 
 ing different kinds of varnish, either for mixing 
 with colours, or merely for covering pictures when 
 finished, to give clearness and brightness to the 
 work, as well as to defend it against the action of 
 such substances as would injure the colours. 
 
 In like manner, I intend to lay before the reader 
 the most correct information that I have been able 
 to obtain relative to the colours used by the 
 painters ; the preparation and soUdity of these 
 colours ; their action upon each other when mixed 
 together in various degrees; the alterations to 
 which they are liable from the action of light and 
 air, as well as from the oily substances with which 
 they are combined. 
 
THE AUTHOR S PREFACE. XXV 
 
 Finally, I shall point out the precautions that 
 should be taken for the preservation of pictures, as 
 well as the means to be employed in repairing the 
 injuries to which they are liable. 
 
 It would perhaps be expected, that having de- 
 scribed the processes of the ancient painters, I 
 should point out those to which I would give the 
 preference, but this is not a part of my duty. The 
 modes of operation depend very much upon the 
 greater or less degree of facility which the artist 
 may possess : Rembrandt was obliged to return to 
 his work repeatedly ; he had not the power of 
 painting it all up at once like Rubens : therefore 
 each must choose that method of operating which 
 is most convenient and agreeable to himself. I 
 am bound to give an account of what has been 
 done, but not to lay down rules for the guidance 
 of others. I was of opinion all along, that at 
 the close of a work the special object of which 
 relates to the preparation and use of colours, I 
 should be enabled to explain the theory of colours 
 as applicable to the harmony of colouring. With- 
 out an harmonious arrangement, brightness and 
 transparency of colour cannot produce an agreeable 
 combination to the eye. This most interesting part 
 of painting, has hitherto been treated in a manner 
 altogether empirical. I conceive that the only 
 
XXVI THE AUTHOR S PREFACE, 
 
 way by which its principles can be comprehended, is 
 to found them upon the natural laws of colours. 
 
 Many persons who had been apprised of the work 
 I had in progress, having requested me to add to it 
 some instructions in fresco paintinp^lat first declined 
 to do so, on the ground that I was not sufficiently 
 acquainted with it practically : but afterwards, upon 
 a careful examination of the ancient frescos, and 
 having attentively consulted the best works which 
 describe the processes, I found out the chief cause 
 why the frescos of later times have more the ap- 
 pearance of distemper painting, than resemblance 
 to the fine frescos of older times ; consequently, 
 I have determined to devote a few pages to that 
 species of painting, hoping that they will not be 
 without utility in the arts.^ 
 
 ' It was not until the moment when I had made my prepara- 
 tions for printing this essay, that I was told of the work which 
 M, P. de Montahert was about to publish ; but my occupations 
 did not allow me sufficient leisure to read the whole of that 
 Traite complet de la Peinture. I have only been able to take a 
 cursory view of those parts which relate to subjects of which I 
 have specially treated ; and I have experienced great satisfaction 
 in finding that we have adopted similar views on points of the 
 first importance. M. de Montahert is of the same opinion with 
 me, namely, that the preservation of the pictures by Van Eyck, and 
 others who followed his method, is owing to the employment of 
 varnish in the painting ; and we also agree in thinking that " har- 
 mony" ought to have for its foundation the natural laws of colouring. 
 I consider this opinion as important in aid of mine, coming as 
 it does from an artist who has so deeply examined into every 
 principle of his art. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The translation of M. Merimee's " History of Oil 
 Painting," which I have now the honour to lay be- 
 fore the British public, was originally suggested to 
 me by some very distinguished artists, members of 
 the Royal Academy \ These gentlemen were them- 
 selves well acquainted with that treatise, and de- 
 scribed it to be, as a practical work, of great vahu^ 
 in the arts. The partiality which this account of the 
 book excited in me was further corroborated by 
 the President, and several other members of the 
 Academy, who had the volume in their possession. 
 Finally, having determined to undertake the trans- 
 lation of it, I applied to the Royal Academy for 
 their sanction ; and I received permission from 
 these gentlemen to dedicate it to them in their 
 
 ' Sir Augustus Wall Callcott, Sir David Wilkie, Mr. Etty, Mr. 
 Mulready, Mr. Hilton, Mr. Phillips, and Mr. Cooper. 
 
 a 2 
 
XXVm INTRODUCTION. 
 
 public and collective capacity. Having obtained the 
 opinion and sanction of such competent judges of 
 its merits, I no longer hesitated to commence the 
 translation of the work ; which, after many inter- 
 ruptions from other engagements, I have at length 
 completed. 
 
 Had that work been originally my own, I would 
 not have said much about it ; but as it is the work 
 of another, I may be permitted to state in commen- 
 dation of it, that it has, in its original language, 
 received the approbation of one of the most learned 
 and scientific societies in Europe, — I mean the 
 Royal Institute of France ; and to the Report of 
 the committee of that learned body, I beg leave to 
 refer my readers. 
 
 That M. Merimee, therefore, was fully compe- 
 tent to produce, and has produced, a work highly 
 useful to the arts, there cannot now be any doubt ; 
 and to have done this, it required that he should 
 possess, not only considerable skill and experience 
 as a painter, and accurate historical knowledge, but 
 also extensive experience as a practical chemist. 
 These various qualities M. Merimee possessed in 
 an eminent degree ; and therefore he was peculiarly 
 well qualified for the difficult task which he had 
 undertaken. 
 
INTRODCCTION. XXIX 
 
 Independently of the instructions conveyed to 
 painters, his advice will be found, we think, emi- 
 nently useful to those noblemen and gentlemen 
 who, having valuable collections of pictures, will 
 thus be enabled to superintend the restoration of 
 them ; or at least the possessors of these fine 
 works will be placed more on their guard against 
 the practices of ignorant picture-cleaners, who do 
 so much mischief to the noblest works of art. 
 
 Against the artifices of the inferior sort of co- 
 lourmen, he also gives some excellent advice, and 
 shows us that a great number of good pictures 
 have suffered nmcli, others have been ruined, by 
 the employment of materials made up in a fraudu- 
 lent manner. 
 
 The receipts for manufacturing the colours, oils, 
 and varnishes, of the purest and best kinds, at a 
 moderate expense, will be found very valuable, not to 
 artists and amateurs only, but also to the colounnen. 
 
 That section describing the proper methods of 
 preparing panels, canvases, and walls, is, perhaps, 
 amongst the most valuable in the whole work, as 
 every artist knows that the preservation or destruc- 
 tion of his colouring depends mainly upon the pre- 
 paration upon which the materials are laid. 
 
 The chapter on colouring, and on the harmony 
 a 3 
 
XXX INTRODUCTION. 
 
 of colours, is one of very high interest to colourists* 
 It lays down the principles of harmony, and explains 
 the causes of discords in painting, with accuracy so 
 far as those principles are known amongst French 
 ai'tists. With us these are not new, but are 
 corroborative of the principles deduced long since 
 in this country, from the experiments of Newton 
 on light, which gave rise to the first chromatic 
 scale, as applicable to painting ; which scale was 
 composed by Moses Hairis, in 1776, as our readers 
 will see in the " Original Observations,"" at the 
 close of this work : so that we had the precedence 
 in that respect by above fifty-four years, and yet it 
 is curious that Harris''s chromatic scale, which was 
 published at the time specified, in his " Natural 
 System of Colours,"" seems to have been very little 
 known in London, the very place where he pub- 
 lished it ; and it was almost forgotten, until Mr. 
 Phillips, R.A., introduced it in his course of 
 lectures at the Royal Academy, about twelve 
 years ago. The reasons given in explanation of 
 what are the causes of harmony in colouring are 
 more profound and philosophic in the work of Mr. 
 Harris than in that of M. Merimee, although their 
 general principles agree. 
 
 The information on " Frescos"'"' is altogether new 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXXI 
 
 in this country, and is likely to prove an acquisition 
 to our artists in time, if the nobility and men of 
 fortune, or the directors of public works, demand 
 that it shall be can-ied into operation. It is a 
 splendid art, when properly executed in suitable 
 situations ; and in this climate it would have a very 
 fine effect, if employed for interior decoration. 
 
 With respect to the " Original Observations,"'^ 
 at the close of the volume, they arose in the 
 Author's mind long since, in consequence of the 
 scarcity of sound information, which still exists in 
 English society, with respect to a general and cor- 
 rect view of the rise, progress, and condition of 
 the arts in England. 
 
 An historical sketch is therefore submitted to the 
 public in a chronological form, as the best calculated 
 to give a clear and consecutive view of the whole 
 question of the arts, from the earliest records in 
 England. It will thus be seen at a glance, that 
 the art of painting has not been decidedly natu- 
 ralized in this country for a longer period than 
 seventy or eighty years ; we shall then find that 
 the honours and profits of this profession were, with 
 a very few exceptions, exclusively in the hands of 
 foreigners, the greater j)ai't of whom returned 
 home when they had realized some property, and 
 
XXXll INTUODUCTION. 
 
 then sent over other parties to supply the deniaiul 
 for pictures ; but no attempt had been made to 
 estabhsh a school to instruct the natives, nor were 
 the latter properly encouraged, even when some of 
 them did display good talents. 
 
 It is therefore quite evident, that om* native 
 school of arts did not commence until the time of 
 Hogarth, Hudson, and Reynolds, but it was not 
 properly established until the chartered society of 
 native artists commenced their living model school 
 in St. Martin's Lane, 1760 ; and it only became 
 permanent when the Royal Academy was embodied 
 by George HI., in 1768, (seventy years;) and 
 during that brief period we should think it would 
 be difficult, if not quite impossible, to point out 
 any school of painting which has advanced more 
 rapidly in improvement ; we should also recol- 
 lect, that whatever encouragement our school may 
 have received, is from the private funds of the 
 nobility and gentry of this country, and not at 
 all, as in the continental schools, from the State 
 treasur\% as a remuneration for great works ex- 
 ecuted for the public edifices. Besides, it should be 
 recollected, that the schools of Italy were full two 
 Jiundred years (1260 to 1480) in activity, before 
 they displayed works much above mediocrity, though 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXXlll 
 
 assisted by every sort of encouragement, public 
 and private, and that the highest honours were at 
 that time conferred upon the professors of the arts. 
 
 The northern schools of Europe were still slower 
 in arriving at the power of producing such splendid 
 works, as Rubens, Vandyke, and Rembrandt have 
 left us. It is clear, therefore, that the cases of 
 those schools, and of ours, are not at all parallel : 
 they are by no means analogous to each other ; and 
 therefore the reasoning applicable to one class can- 
 not have the slightest application to the other. 
 And it was from the erroneous idea, that these 
 cases were parallel, that false reasoning was applied 
 to them, and consequently the most erroneous 
 opinions were held, and injurious reflections were 
 freely thrown, not only upon the British School of 
 Art, but even upon the intellectual capabilities of 
 the nation.^ 
 
 The object of the writer of this essay being solely 
 to lay before the British public a plain historic 
 sketch, supported by a few strong facts, to show 
 the state of neglect with which the English artists 
 
 ^ Banks and Flaxnian have shown what British talent can do 
 in sculpture ; so Iiave Rossi and many others now no more. And 
 we have at present some of the ablest sculptors in Europe, native- 
 bred artists. 
 
XXXIV INTRODUCTION. 
 
 had contended so long in their native land, and 
 thereby to disabuse the general mind, of the 
 distorted and erroneous notions which still float 
 indistinctly through society on that subject, to the 
 detriment of native talent, he now feels himself 
 called on to state, that his arguments have no- 
 thing whatever to do with the foreign artists of 
 the present time. The facts regarding those of 
 previous ages ai-e stated merely to prove that there 
 was a bad and unnatural system pursued generally 
 by the English governments of those days, for which 
 the foreign artists were not accountable ; and to 
 show that, whilst every other govermnent in Europe 
 was justly emulous to elicit the native talents of 
 their people, our monarchs and statesmen, with the 
 exceptions stated, were acting directly contrary to 
 those rational purposes. 
 
 At present, however, these matters are greatly 
 altered for the better : there is evidently a good 
 deal of encouragement for pictures, and other works 
 of art, not, to be sure, of the highest class of art ; 
 but in the classes that are encouraged there is, in 
 general, much, very often high, talent displayed : 
 and if our school may have got the character of 
 being more of the ornamental, than of the his- 
 toric, or epic style, this may well be accounted for, 
 
INTRODFCTION. XXXV 
 
 when we see how very small the encouragement is 
 for works of the higher classes of poetic or historic 
 art. 
 
 In Queen Anne's reign there were three good 
 native artists, — the two Olivers and Cooper ; in 
 Queen Victoria's reign there are most probably 
 three thousand artists, most of whom can paint well 
 — many of them are men of very superior talent : 
 this must prove, that so soon as the incubus of 
 neglect or contempt was removed from the native 
 arts, these intellectual pursuits soon sprang into 
 a vigorous existence. 
 
 The chapter on colouring, with the chromatic 
 scale, was quite indispensable to show oui* prior 
 claim to the discovery of the diagi-am, which so 
 clearly points out the inseparable connexion between 
 the prismatic colours of the divided rays of light, 
 and the harmony of colouring as applied to pictures. 
 
 In concluding this introduction to the work, the 
 author cannot omit the opportunity of gratefully 
 acknowledging the kind attention of those members 
 of the Royal Academy, and of the profession gene- 
 rally, who have encouraged him in this somewhat 
 arduous task, which, from its scientific and techni- 
 cal character, required repeated revision. In com- 
 mitting the result of his labours to the public, he 
 8 
 
XXXVl INTRODUCTION. 
 
 trusts it will be found that the work has been 
 executed with fidelity. 
 
 In performing the duty of an historian, he has 
 selected his facts from the most authentic materials ; 
 and having no other object in view but the substi- 
 tution of just ideas for those obscure and erroneous 
 notions which still exist amongst us, to the prejudice 
 of our School of Arts, he cannot suppose he has 
 given cause for any ungracious reflections ; but in 
 the pursuit of truth he would not think of averting 
 the unjust sentence of the illiberal, or of conci- 
 liating favour at the expense of justice. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 An Inquiry into the various methods employed in Oil Paint- 
 ing, from the days of Hubert and John Van Eyck to the 
 present time ; with original observations, &c I 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 On varnishes 4) 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 Of the different substances which enter into the composition 
 of the varnishes 45 
 
 THE BITUMENS. 
 
 Asphaltum, or Bitumen 40 
 
 Amber ;//. 
 
 b 
 
XXXVni CONTENTS. 
 
 THE RESINOUS SUBSTANCES. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Gum animee 48 
 
 Gum copal ih. 
 
 Gum lac 50 
 
 Gum mastic 51 
 
 Gum sandarach ib. 
 
 THE OILS. 
 
 Fixed or solid oils 52 
 
 Linseed oil 53 
 
 Nut oil 54 
 
 Poppy oil ib. 
 
 Method of preparing drying oil 65 
 
 VOLATILE, OR ESSENTIAL OILS. 
 
 Essence (or spirit) of turpentine 58 
 
 Oil of spike 59 
 
 Oil of rosemary ib. 
 
 Petrolium, rock oil, or naphtha ib. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 METHODS OF PREPARING VARNISHES PROPER FOR PAINTING. 
 
 Italian varnish 61 
 
 Flanders varnish 03 
 
 English varnish CO" 
 
 Oil copal varnish ib. 
 
 Picture varnish 80 
 
CONTENTS. XXXIX 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 On tlie use of varnish with the colours 84 
 
 SECTION I. 
 On glazing 8(i 
 
 SECTION II. 
 Effects of air and light upon oils and resinous substances. ... 90 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 The causes of pictures becoming cracked, and the methods 
 of preventing that evil 92 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 ON THE PREPARATION OF COLOURS. 
 YELLOWS. 
 
 Chromate of lead 94 
 
 Mineral x'ellow, chloride of lead 96 
 
 Naples j'ellow 99 
 
 Iodide of lead 103 
 
 The ochres ib- 
 
 Orpiment 106 
 
 Sulphuret of Cadmium 107 
 
 Gamboge 108 
 
 Indian yellow 109 
 
 The yellow lakes 'i- 
 
 b2 
 
xl 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 THE ORANGE COLOURS, 
 
 I'AGi;, 
 
 Orange chromate of lead (sah-chromate of lead) 110 
 
 Massicot (protoxide of lead) ib. 
 
 Minium 1 1 1 
 
 Red orpiment (rea/^«r) 112 
 
 THE REDS. 
 
 Carmine 112 
 
 Cinnabar, or vermilion 117 
 
 Periodide of mercury 120 
 
 Lake 122 
 
 Methods of preparing lake . , 126 
 
 Brown Pink 1 29 
 
 Madder lake 130 
 
 Observations on the foregoing substances 138 
 
 THE VARIOUS QUALITIES OF MADDER LAKE, AND THE 
 SELECTION OF WATER FOR THE OPERATIONS. 
 
 The violet-coloured substances, and the efTect of acidulated 14-1 
 
 water 140 
 
 The precipitation of lake 1 48 
 
 Adulteration of madder lake — Method of detecting the fraud 
 
 The red oxides of iron 150 
 
 PURPLE COLOURS. 
 
 Cassius purple 151 
 
 Tritoxide of iron {purple oxide of iron) 152 
 
 THE BLUES. 
 
 Cobalt blue {arserdate and phosphate of cobalt and alumine) 153 
 
 Egyptian blue, used in ancient times 155 
 
CONTENTS. Xli 
 
 PACK. 
 
 Blue ashes 1 58 
 
 Prussian blue . , . , 
 
 Ultramarine 1G2 
 
 THE GREENS. 
 
 Malachite and mountain green , 170 
 
 Oxide of chrome 171 
 
 Green earth (terra verte) 173 
 
 Verdigris crystallized {acetate of copper) 175 
 
 Scheele's green 170 
 
 Vienna or Brunswick green 179 
 
 BROWNS. 
 
 Asphaltum, or bitumen 181 
 
 Brown from Prussian blue 183 
 
 Brown pink 185 
 
 Raw umber 1 8C 
 
 Cassel and Cologne earths 187 
 
 BLACKS. 
 
 Ivory black 187 
 
 Bone black 188 
 
 Charcoal ib. 
 
 Liege ib. 
 
 Coffee ib. 
 
 Lamp 189 
 
 1 ndian ink ib. 
 
 WHITES. 
 
 Ceruse 201 
 
 Flake white ib. 
 
 Krems white 205 
 
 A method of restoring to the original whiteness the lights 
 
 touched with white lead on ancient drawings 212 
 
xlii CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Oil the preparing and priming of panels, canvasses, and 
 
 walls 214 
 
 Priming on taffety 222 
 
 On priming walls ib. 
 
 An expeditious method of laying in a dead colour upon dis- 
 temper ground 224 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 On the preservation of pictures and the methods used for 
 restoring them 227 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 A theory of the principles of harmony in colouring 242 
 
 A theory of colouring, applied to the harmony of colours in 
 painting, with a chromatic scale 245 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 On fresco painting 271 
 
 The colours and other materials proper to be employed in this 
 branch of the art 279 
 
CONTENTS. xliii 
 
 SUPPLEMENT. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 VAUE. 
 
 Introduction 291 
 
 Observations on the English School of Painting 293 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 Observations on the metliods employed in the English school 
 
 of painting 331 
 
 Sir J. Reynolds's notes, &c 336 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 English theory of colouring, considered practically — with a 
 
 cliromatic scale 349 
 
 Lectures at the lloyal Academy 351 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 A plan for encouraging the cultivation of the grand style of 
 painting in England 362 
 
 List of noblemen and gentlemen who have encouraged, and 
 still patronize, the Arts ib. 
 
 Architectural Society 368 
 
 Institute of Architecture ib. 
 
 School of Design ib. 
 
 Art Union Society 369 
 
 Account of premiums, lectures, &c. at the lloyal Academy., ib. 
 
 7 
 
xliv CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Drawing Academies : — 
 
 The Antique Scliool 3G9 
 
 The Living Model School ib. 
 
 The Painting School ib. 
 
 Mr. Sass's :Y}(\ 
 
 Exhibitions : — 
 
 Royal Academy IJ? 1 
 
 British Institution ib. 
 
 Artists' Gallery ib. 
 
 Water Colour Painting Societies : — 
 
 The old ib. 
 
 — new ib. 
 
 ERRATA. 
 
 Page 34, line 21, /or che si fania, read che si faccla. 
 Page 81, lines 8 and 9, for parts read drachms. 
 Page 182, line 5, &c.for grains read drachms. 
 
THE ART 
 
 PAINTING IN OIL, 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 AN" ENQUIRY INTO, AND OBSERVATIONS UPON, THE 
 VARIOUS METHODS USED IN OIL PAINTING, FROM 
 THE DAYS OF HUBERT AND JOHN VAN EYCK TO 
 THE PRESENT TIME. 
 
 For a long series of years it has been the general 
 opinion, that John Van Eyck was the original dis- 
 coverer of painting in oil. Some learned men have, 
 however, maintained that this art was practise*! 
 long before the era in which that painter lived. But 
 supposing that they could demonstrate the truth of 
 their assertions, still we are not bound to conclude 
 that Van Eyck had any knowledge of whatever at- 
 tempts may have been made in that way before his 
 
 B 
 
2 THE ART 01'" 
 
 time ; and he cannot be deprived of the merit 
 attached to a discovery hke this, so important to 
 the arts. 
 
 One thing, however, is quite clear ; which is, 
 that, in the time of Van Eyck, the arts had made 
 such progress, that the discovery of painting in oil 
 could not have been much longer delayed. This 
 event was in some degree inevitable ; and it is sur- 
 prising that the invention did not take place at the 
 same time, in all those countries where the arts 
 were successfully cultivated '. At that period the 
 
 ' For some time previous to the fifteenth century,* almost every 
 colour now in use was known. Painting on glass was practised 
 with great success ; enamels were fused to be employed for 
 mosaics ; and, by the aid of commerce, the artists could and did ob- 
 tain the Ultramarine, India lake, and Chinese vermilion ; and they 
 likewise understood how to prepare them. Cennino Cennini, in 
 his Treatise on Painting, publislied in 1437, describes a process 
 by which the ultramarine was extracted from lapis lazuli ; and he 
 also mentions the lakes which were extracted from the resin- 
 lacs, or that were prepared from the shearings of wool : and it is 
 from similar shearings of a crimson tint that the species of lake 
 was made, the mode of preparing which has been described by 
 Neri, in his treatise " Del Arte Vetraria." In fact, the varnishes 
 had been in use for some centuries ; and the discovery of distilla- 
 tion had enabled the chemists to produce the volatile or essential 
 oils with which the varnishes, when too viscous, might be diluted, 
 and rendered as liquid as might be required. 
 
 In 1781, Dr. Raspe published, in London, a dissertation to 
 prove that the discovery of oil painting was erroneously attributed 
 
 * The celebrated Cinque Cento. 
 
I'AIXTING IN OIL. 3 
 
 artists all painted in distemper, or, as it is com- 
 monly termed, " body colours ;" and they after- 
 
 to the brothers, Hubert and John Van Eyck. In support of his 
 opinion, the author produced an unedited Latin MS., entitled 
 De Arte Phigendi. This work, which appears to have been written 
 by Theophilus, a monk, towards the close of the tenth, or com- 
 mencement of the eleventh ceniury, Dr. Ilaspe brought forward, 
 as proving incontestably that, from a very remote jjcriod, pictures 
 were painted in oil. I have read that treatise with the greatest 
 attention ; and, so far from discovering any proofs to support the 
 learned Doctor's opinion, I have found quite enough to refute 
 that idea, as we shall see presently. 
 
 Theophilus has accurately described a method of making linseed 
 oil, and also a species of varnish composed of this oil and of a re- 
 sinous gum, which appears to have been copal. He then points 
 out the manner in which walls, wood-work, and even statues, 
 ought to be painted j but he does not any where give advice to apply 
 oil painting to pictures. And further, in refutation of Dr. Raspe, 
 we find that Tlieopliilus directs the house-painters by no means to 
 lay on a second couch of colour until the first is completely dry ; 
 and he adds this remarkable passage, that such a method would he 
 loo slow and loo laborious for painting pictures. {Quod in imaginibm 
 diuiurnum et t<ediosum niviium est.) 
 
 Had Dr. Raspe been acquainted with the manuscript written by 
 Cennino Cennini, which was published a few years ago, he, no 
 doubt, would have produced, as undeniable evidence, some passages 
 in the eighty-ninth and some following chapters, in which the 
 author treats particularly on the methods of painting in oil upon 
 walls and u'oodcn panels; a practice which he assures us was very 
 mucli practised in Germany {che Vusu7io molto i Tcdeschi). Yet 
 these passages of the work do not afford any better proofs than 
 those in the treatise by Theophilus: for we know that the brothers 
 Van Eyck painted in oil more than ten years previous to 1437, — 
 the year in wliich Cennini finished his treatise. 
 
 Hubert Van Eyck died in 142<», leaving, in an unfinished state, 
 the pictures in oil, which he had been engaged to paint for a 
 chapel in the Church of St. John, at Ghent. These pictures were 
 B 2 
 
4 THE ART OF 
 
 wards coated their pictures with varnish, which 
 communicated a transparency and brightness to 
 the colours, defending them, at the same time, 
 against the injurious action of the atmosphere. 
 
 The idea of mixing the colours, in the first 
 instance, with varnish, is sufficiently obvious, not to 
 have suggested itself to the human mind ; and it is 
 not unlikely that some artists had already attempted 
 
 completely finished by his brother in 1432. One of these works, 
 representing " The Lamb" in the Apocalypse, was in the collec- 
 tion of the Louvre, previous to 1815. 
 
 It is impossible but that Cennini must have heard a report of 
 pictures being painted in oil by the Flemish artists, whom, in all 
 probability, he confounded with the Germans : hence, not being at 
 all acquainted with that process as used for pictures, but merely 
 the process employed in house-painting and decorating, he de- 
 scribes that method of using it exactly as Theophilus had done 
 several centuries before his time, and as it was practised in his 
 day to paint walls, wood-work, and casts, or other objects of 
 sculpture. He directs that the linseed oil should be reduced to 
 half its quantity by boiling, or by exposure for a sufficient time to 
 the heat of the sun. It is with this viscous oil only that he 
 directs the colours to be tempered ; but he does not give us any 
 idea how the colours might be rendered more liquid, or how to 
 facilitate the drying of the slow dryers; and he then directs that 
 the tints should be put into small pots of glazed earthen-ware, in 
 the same way as practised for fresco painting. It is quite evident 
 that Cennini could never have had practical knowledge of the 
 process which he describes *. 
 
 • Vide the Journal of Ghent, Messager des Sciences et des Arts, in 
 which several articles are inserted, in November, 1823, July, 
 August, and September, 1824. 
 
PAINTIXG IX OIL. O 
 
 to make it available ; but many difficulties were to 
 be surmounted ere a novel method could be fairly 
 substituted for that of distemper, to which they 
 were habituated ; the artists, in fact, not having the 
 requisite information or knowledge of the means 
 by which their efforts might have been successful. 
 
 The varnish in use at that period was of an oily 
 and very viscous nature ; nor did the practitioners 
 know how to render it sufficieptly fluid to mix 
 well with the colours, and thereby render them 
 equally manageable as they are in distemper. Be- 
 sides this, we know that there is a great divei'sity 
 in the action of the oil on various colours ; some of 
 them, for instance, massicot, white lead, and raw 
 umber, give a drying quality to the oils, whilst 
 others, such as lakes, animal charcoal, and bitumi- 
 nous earths, produce quite the contrary effect. The 
 artists of that time, moreover, had not the methods 
 of preparing the oils so as to obviate these difficul- 
 ties, and to cause the drying process to be carried 
 on equally and expeditiously with all the colours at 
 the same time. 
 
 Van Eyck, it appears, was the first to discover 
 
 a remedy for these defects ; and if he may not be 
 
 allowed the honour due to an original discoverer, 
 
 he cannot be denied the merit of having canied the 
 
 B 3 
 
THE ART OF 
 
 preparation and use of colours to a degree of per- 
 fection which has never been surpassed, and to 
 which indeed we have, even now, scarcely arrived, 
 notwithstanding the great advancement of scientific 
 knowledge since that era. In fact, his pictures are 
 in a higher state of preservation than the gi'eater 
 part of those which have been painted two centuries 
 later than his time. 
 
 Biographers, who have transmitted to us some 
 accounts of Van Eyck, give it as their opinion that 
 he was compelled, by necessity, to seek a new me- 
 thod of painting. It is stated by these writers, 
 that the varnish with which he coated his pictures 
 could only be dried by the solar rays. They state 
 further, that in one of these operations the panel 
 on which a picture had been painted was split by 
 the sun's heat ; and that these circumstances deter- 
 mined the artist to try some other means, which 
 would ensure him from the danger of losing, in a 
 moment, the fruits of a long and laborious study. 
 
 Perhaps the truth of this anecdote may be 
 doubted ; but one thing is certain, namely, that 
 the imperfect nature of distemper painting was 
 quite a sufficient motive to cause that artist to make 
 the researches which are attributed to him. 
 
 This painter possessed the art of imitation in a 
 
PAINTI^TG IN OIL. 7 
 
 very high degree. Therefore, to reduce the difficul- 
 ties of manual labour, and to increase the resources 
 of art, were sufficient incitements, it would appear, 
 to inspire him with a desire of obtaining a new 
 vehicle, by means of which the colours, when dry, 
 would preserve the transparency and brilliancy which 
 they possess at the moment of their being applied 
 to the canvass, and which medium, at the same time, 
 would allow them to dry so gradually as to give the 
 artist sufficient time to comliine his half-tints, and 
 produce the effect of those insensible gradations of 
 shade which we see in nature, and producing in art 
 that relief or effect called chiaro ""scuro. 
 
 Thus, as I have already observed, the idea of 
 incorj)orating the varnish with the colour, being 
 the most simple, we may infer that it would natu- 
 rally, in the first instance, occur to the mind of 
 Van Eyck. The object of his researches would 
 have been but imperfectly fulfilled if his colours 
 had been prepared as ours, and, equally liable to 
 dry in, had required the aid of a coat of varnish 
 to draw out their clearness and brilliancy. 
 
 However probable the foregoing suppositions 
 
 may appear, it is not on such a basis that I would 
 
 attempt to establish my opinion ; that is founded 
 
 upon the closest possible examination of ancient oil- 
 
 B 4 
 
8 THE ART OF 
 
 pictures. This examination, which was undertaken 
 purposely to discover the primitive modes of painting, 
 has demonstrated to me that, in the pictures of Van 
 Eyck, as well as those of the painters who followed 
 his method, the colours have not been used simply 
 with oil of a more or less drying quality, but that 
 they were mixed with varnish ; which is the cause 
 of the surprising preservation we witness in so many 
 of the earliest pictures, and which have retained 
 their brilliancy of tone much better than the greater 
 part of those which were painted in the last cen- 
 tury. Having formed my opinion from my own 
 observation of the ancient pictures, I sought for a 
 corroboration of it in the works of different authors 
 who have wTitten on the arts. I have consulted 
 the treatises of Leonardo da Vinci, Paul Lomazzo, 
 Vasari, Gerard de Lairesse, and also the two most 
 ancient wTiters with whose works we are acquainted, 
 Oennino Cennini and Theophilus. I expected to 
 have found in the course of these researches a 
 complete elucidation of the preparations and uses 
 of colours ; but my hopes have not been realized 
 as I could wish. Yet I have not been wholly 
 disappointed ; and I shall lay before the reader 
 all the testimony which I have been able to collect 
 on this subject. 
 
PAINTING IN OIL. y 
 
 We are told that Julius II., who had invited 
 Leonardo to Rome, and had engaged him to deco- 
 rate several walls of the Vatican, had also the 
 curiositv to enter the atelier of this great artist 
 while he was absent. Here, instead of finding, as 
 he expected, designs and cartons for the work, he 
 saw only some chemical apparatus and utensils, 
 which he undersitood were for the preparing of var- 
 nish. " This ariist,"" said Julius, " begins his work 
 where others finish." Mr. T. Sheldrake, an Eng- 
 lish artist, quotes this passage in a memoir uTitten 
 to show the advantages derivable from the employ- 
 ment of varnish in painting ; and he considers this 
 as a proof that Leonardo was in the constant habit 
 of mixing varnish with his colours. 
 
 There would be little difficulty in proving any 
 theory, if we could admit testimony so vague as this ; 
 for the chemical apparatus which the Pope judged 
 were intended for the making of varnishes, might as 
 well have been used for making drying oils, or for 
 rectifying oil of tuqientine, — operations which it is 
 very probable the painters were obliged to engage 
 in personally at those periods, when the fabrication 
 of the materials requisite for the practice of the art 
 did not form, as in om* days, a lucrative branch of 
 industry. 
 
 B 5 
 
10 THE AKT OF 
 
 In his " Traite de Peinture^'' Leonardo da Vinci 
 makes no mention of the use of varnisli, except in 
 cases where the acetate of copper (verdigris) is 
 used. For he observes, that this colour, beinir a 
 soluble salt, it would dissolve in water whenever 
 the picture was washed ; and that is the reason 
 he gives for covering this particular colour with 
 varnish the moment it became dry. 
 
 In another place he proposes an unchangeable 
 varnish for painters, to be composed of amber and 
 nut oil, or simply of nut oil thickened by exposure 
 to the sun. 
 
 In the above extracts there is nothing to show 
 that Leonardo was in the habit of mixing varnish 
 with his colours ; but one of the most ancient 
 authors, who has technically described the process 
 of painting (Armenini de Faenzd)^ and who lived 
 towards the middle of the sixteenth century, leaves 
 no doubt as to the use of varnish. He strongly 
 advises that it should be mixed not only with the 
 colours used for glazing, but also in those of the 
 general painting. He says, 
 
 " After the first painting is completed and quite 
 dry, then commences the operation of retouching and 
 finishing each part with precision ; for this purpose 
 the finest and best ground colours must be used, 
 
PAINTIKG IN OIL. 11 
 
 being prepared quite fresh, as they are wanted. 
 For in this stage of the work, it is usual to glaze 
 the flesh tints, instead of using solid painting with 
 these parts, which have already received a certain 
 degree of finishing. To facilitate the execution of 
 the work, that part of it which is to be repainted 
 must be lightly rubl^ed \\ith the fingers dipped in 
 fine nut oil ; the work is then to be carefully wiped 
 with silk or linen, to take away all that can be thus 
 removed of the oil, which, if allowed to remain, 
 would be detrimental, as it has a decided tendency 
 to give, in time, a yellow tone to the picture. This 
 preparation very nnich facilitates the work, in caus- 
 ing the fresh colours to glide freely over the surface, 
 whereby the most difficult parts of it may be com- 
 pleted with caire. Artists of experience employ 
 but few colours in this stage of the business ; glazing 
 the parts lightly, instead of using solid colour. In 
 this way they c-an obtain much softness and sweet- 
 ness of tone in the flesh tints and draperies. 
 
 " I now revert to the draperies as they are glazed 
 in the ordinary way, though skilful painters dislike 
 this mode, because they do not desire to see the 
 stuffs made of one uniform tint throughout. 
 
 " In operating upon a green drapery, the process 
 we have hinted at is managed in this way. After 
 B 6 
 
12 THK ART OF 
 
 having laid on the dead colour with green, black, 
 and white, in a full and firm manner, some common 
 varnish is then incorporated with yellow lake and 
 verdigris. With this mixture the parts prepared 
 are glazed with a large tool. The same process is 
 used for crimson, yellow, or other drapery, — only 
 mixing the appropriate colours with the varnish \" 
 
 ^ Ma finite che sono tutte le bozze e quelle rascinte : s'incomin- 
 cia di nuovo poi con far piil da sennocon finissimi colori lavorando 
 ogni cosa, e tutta viu di quelli facendo le mestichc mentre si la- 
 vora a poco a poco ; perchiochfi questa volta piii presto si vela che 
 coprano le cose le quali sono gia condotti bene al segno e special- 
 mente le carni e perche egli vi riesca bene si deve prima ungere 
 quel luogo, quando recuoprir si vuole, con ogiio di noce che sia ben 
 chiaro, sottile, nel quale se li bagna dentro due dita e di subito si 
 pone sii quel luogo e caleavisi la pianta della mano col spargcrlo 
 ugualmente per quello spazio ; il che fatto si netta con pezzette di 
 panno lino, perche quando riman mal netto s'ingialliscon i colori 
 con tempo ; e questo porge tal ajuto che egli fa scorrere sottilmente 
 ogni tinta o mestica che se li pou sopra senza, schiffar punto sieche 
 ogni cosa difficile con facilita si esprime. Quivi gli esperti adope- 
 rano le loro mestiche con gran sparmio, auzi (come si e detto) 
 non coprendo ma velaudo sottilmente quel che t sotto ne fan ri- 
 maner dolcissime e morbide le carni e i panni. 
 
 Ma ritorno a i panni che k velare si usano se bene e valenti cio 
 sprezzano perchd troppo gli offende il vederli di un color solo, 
 noudimmo non li vogliamo losciar indietro. 
 
 Se il panno si ha da far verde il modo predetto sar4 che dopo 
 che non verde negro e bianco si sari bozzato, clie sia alquanto 
 crudetto, si giunge poi con verderame un poco di vernice commune 
 e di giallo santo e cosi accompagnato si vien velando tutto ugual- 
 mente con un penello grosso di vajo. . . . Ma se sarS di lacca, si 
 tien con quello il medisimo stile mettendovi dentro della predetta 
 vernice: e cosi si dee fare d'ogni altro quando si ^ per velarli. 
 
PAIXTIXG IN OIL, 13 
 
 Armonini afterwards describes the method of 
 preparing different varnishes. 
 
 The uses of varnish are Hkewise pointed out by 
 Gr. de Lairesse in his Treatise on Painting. He 
 describes how to paint upon the dead colour of a 
 picture ; he tells us that the part intended for 
 repainting should be first moistened slightly by a 
 couch of mastic varnish, mixed with thick oil clari- 
 fied in the sun. 
 
 If the earlier authors have not afforded us more 
 details as to the technical modes of the art, it must 
 be attributed to the various modifications which the 
 process was liable to, from the moment it came 
 into practical use, as it was known at fii'st only to 
 a small number of artists, who kept it to them- 
 selves. Others, who were not acquainted with it, 
 sought to find it out ; and we must admit that they 
 had much difficulty in this respect. The process of 
 painting houses, wood-work, and even statues, was 
 known for several centuries. The methods of making 
 oil varnish was known, as also the volatile oils, by 
 distillation. By these last they were enabled to 
 render fluid the most viscous oils : nothing, there- 
 fore, remained to be done, but to discover a mode 
 of giving a more drying quality to the oils, to coun- 
 teract the effects of certain colours, which are very 
 
14 THE ART OF 
 
 deficient in that quality. Of this we should be 
 fully aware ; and even in acquiring afterwards the 
 knowledge of Van Eyck's process, we should be 
 convinced that this mode had been simplified. 
 
 The most certain way of recovering the primitive 
 process, is doubtless that of examining with atten- 
 tion the earliest pictures in oil, and by consulting per- 
 sons who are habitually engaged in restoring them. 
 We learn from these researches, that the colour of 
 those pictures which belong to the first epoch of 
 oil painting, are mostly of a harder body than those 
 of a later date ; that they resist dissolvents much 
 better ; and that, if rubbed with a file, they show 
 underneath a shining appearance, resembling that of 
 a picture painted in varnish. It is easy to ascertain 
 the truth of these observations ; and when there is 
 no longer any doubt on this point, we may fairly con- 
 clude that the colours of those pictures have not been 
 simply used with pure oil, as those of our days, but 
 with a mixture of varnish, of which some would be 
 found to be of that description which we call " hard 
 varnish." 
 
 By far the greater number of pictures painted 
 from the beginning to the end of the sixteenth cen- 
 tury are painted on wood ; their panels are primed 
 with a couch of prepared plaster of Paris, well 
 
 12 
 
J'AIXTING IN OIL. 15 
 
 ground, and incorporated with animal gluten, — a 
 preparation similar to that used by wood-gilders. 
 This surface was then brushed over with boiled oil, 
 to prevent the very rapid absorption of the colours, 
 an accident which would impede the free motion of 
 the pencils, and render the working of them more 
 difficult. 
 
 There is, at Florence, a picture by Leonardo da 
 Vinci, and also another by Fra Bartolomeo, which are 
 merely dead-coloured ; the outlines are drawn with 
 the pencil, and the shadows afterwards washed in, 
 like a drawing in bistre, with a brown colour, which 
 is found to be bitumen. The method of laying in the 
 picture with a kind of wash of a single tint was, I have 
 no doubt, the practice of Van Eyck, as it was con- 
 stantly followed by the chief painters of the Roman 
 and Florentine schools, — P. Perugino, Raffael, da 
 Vinci, and F. Bartolomeo ; and entirely by the school 
 of the Low Countries, where their primitive method 
 would most likely be preserved for a long period. 
 
 This method, which habituates the eye to trans- 
 parency, and seems on that account more agreeable 
 to colourists, was not yet practised in the Venetian 
 school, except, perhaps, by the first of them who 
 connnenced painting in oil. 
 
 Titian, and his immediate followers, laid in their 
 
16 THE ART OF 
 
 pictures with a body of solid colour. They had, no 
 doubt, ascertained that they could obtain the same 
 degree of transparency by glazing upon their work 
 afterwards. This method also gave them the advan- 
 tage of making all the changes that might suggest 
 themselves as tliey proceeded. Corregio, and the 
 painters of his school, also commenced their pic- 
 tures with a full body of colour, and often in a gray 
 tone of simple black and white. 
 
 Those who adopted this method were rather 
 careless as to gi'ounds upon which they painted. 
 There are, for instance, many pictures of Titian 
 painted upon a red ground ; generally, they are 
 painted upon distemper grounds, made of plaster 
 of Paris and glue. 
 
 We have no doubt that the art of glazing was 
 practised from the commencement of painting. As 
 soon as colours came into use, it must have been 
 perceived that the deepest tints applied in thin 
 glazes, upon those of the brightest tone, produced 
 a new series of tints, which could not be matched 
 by any combination of opaque colours. Even in 
 distemper, glazing was practised : but in oil this art 
 was much more easy ; for in the latter there is no 
 danger of disturbing the ground upon which the 
 glaze is laid. 
 
PVIXTING IK OIL. 17 
 
 The extensive u^e made of glazing by the Flemish 
 and Venetian schcols would go far to prove that 
 they employed a j^reat deal of varnish with their 
 colours. This gla/;ing is remarkable for the uni- 
 formity of its tint, and is scarcely observable, ex- 
 cept upon close inspection ; but it would be quite 
 impossible to produce the same effect with colours 
 incorporated with our drying oils. 
 
 Titian, Corregio, and F. Bartolomeo, are the 
 painters who have made the greatest use of glazing. 
 I have not yet seen a picture of Titian which is not 
 glazed from one end to the other, even in the 
 brightest parts ; and if occasionally we see some 
 parts without it, yet upon a close inspection we 
 shall find that it is because the glaze has been car- 
 ried off in the cleaning. 
 
 Yet we should be awake to the inconveniences 
 resulting from an excessive use of glazing, or from 
 its being done improperly. For it does sometimes 
 happen, that pictures which come from the easel 
 with great brilliancy, become quite altered in a few 
 years : this was not overlooked by the colourists of 
 the second age. They only glazed those parts 
 which, from their natural colour and tone, had no- 
 thing to fear from the bistre-like tint which they 
 must acquire in time. 
 
18 THE AKT OF 
 
 Thus Titian and P. Veronese laid in their pic- 
 tures with solid colour, and very often painted ofi 
 cloth primed in distemper ; but in the latter case 
 they laid their sketches on with water-colours. 
 
 This very expeditious process, which ought to 
 lead from distemper to oil painting, is described by 
 Leonardo da Vinci. I have seen several pictures 
 produced in this manner, which evidently belong 
 to the period when painting in distemper had, in 
 some degree, been given up. I am astonished that 
 no person of our school has ever tried this method ; 
 but I shall endeavour to show the advantages de- 
 rivable from it. 
 
 If the methods used by Van Eyck have been in 
 some measure preserved without alteration, it is, 
 doubtless, in that school of which he was the 
 founder, that we must expect to find them. Otho 
 Venius followed this process two centuries after 
 Van Eyck's time, and transmitted it to Rubens, 
 who practised it without alteration, as would ap- 
 pear from the pictures of both these artists shewing 
 the same transparency, and the same tints, arranged 
 in similar order. The great superiority of the execu- 
 tion in the works of this painter is purely owing 
 to the superiority of his genius. 
 
 Rubens painted most commonly upon panels pre- 
 
PAIXTING IN OIL. 19 
 
 pared in distemper, similar to those of the old Italian 
 masters ; sometimes also, but rarely, he used cloths 
 primed with a light gray ground of oil colour. The 
 pictures of the Luxembourg Gallery are treated in 
 this manner. 
 
 There is a great number of sketches by this 
 master, in which the process described may be 
 distinctly traced. 
 
 The figures being first sketched with black lead, 
 are afterwai'ds gone over with the hair pencil, and 
 the effect is made out by a wash of a brownish 
 colour, of the same kind that is observable in the 
 unfinished pictures already described of Leonardo 
 da Vinci and F. Bartolomeo. 
 
 The lines formed by the colour are fine, yet full 
 of colour ; their perfect continuity proves that the 
 pencil flowed freely on the surface ; the ridges 
 formed by the brush are not effaced ; and full 
 touches of transparent colour, though very liquid, 
 have kept their situations. 
 
 Doubtless it is easy enough to make the pencil 
 flow freely upon a smooth surface lightly moist- 
 ened with oil, and the finest lines may be traced 
 thereon ; but they are no sooner formed than their 
 neatness is gone. If we employ liquid transparent 
 
20 THE ART OF 
 
 colours, they do not remain an instant : as we have 
 applied them, the oil separates, and in a short time 
 the lines become more or less indistinct. 
 
 Rubens has often painted a picture off at once 
 upon very smooth panels. He used very little 
 colour in the shadows, or even in the half-tints ; it 
 is in the light parts only that we find touches of 
 sohd colour. 
 
 If, with the colours now in use, we should 
 attempt to paint a picture up at once upon a similai' 
 ground, we should soon find ourselves stopped by an 
 insurmountable difficulty. The colour would glide 
 over a surface too fine to retain it ; a second at- 
 tempt would obliterate the first ; and we should 
 very soon discover the necessity of beginning with a 
 slight dead colour, and of substituting, for the smooth 
 surface, one somewhat granular, and retentive of 
 the colour. 
 
 If,- by way of explaining the various materials 
 employed, we should suppose that Rubens used 
 very soft and free pencils, — ^therefore more fit to 
 lay on the colours, and cause them to retain their 
 situation, — this will not explain why it is that the 
 oil never separated itself from the most liquid part 
 of the colour. We must, therefore, admit that 
 
PAINTING IN OIL. 21 
 
 Rubens did not paint with colours prepared as ours 
 are, but that he rubbed the surface of his panel 
 with an unctuous substance, which was sufficiently 
 Hquid to allow tlie free movement of the pencil, and 
 at the same time to make the colour adhere to the 
 surface, as well as to prevent the tendency which 
 some of them have to spread farther than they 
 ought to do. 
 
 I have stated that Rubens preserved unaltered 
 the process which he had learned from his master. 
 Yet, when in Italy, he adopted the method of Cor- 
 regio ; painting, like him, every part of his picture 
 with a full body of colour, afterwards merely glazing 
 the shadows, the darkest parts, and the draperies. 
 But on his return home he soon resumed the trans- 
 parent manner of his master. 
 
 Jacob Jordaens did not commence painting under 
 Rubens ; and his method of dead colouring was not 
 like that of the latter, composed of light washes : 
 but his colour is so brilliant and so transparent, 
 that it is not to be doubted he made use of var- 
 nish. 
 
 Van Dyke, who had at first adhered to the 
 manner of Rubens, and had even gone beyond him 
 in the extravagant use of cinabar, changed his pro- 
 cess and his colouring when in Italy : he painted 
 
IZ THE ART OF 
 
 witli a full body of colour, like Titian ; but was 
 more cautious in the use of glazing*. 
 
 After having, like his master, made an inordinate 
 use of Vermillion, he abandoned it for a system of 
 coloviring less brilliant, but more true to nature, — 
 arising, probably, from his painting so many portraits, 
 which brought nature constantly before him. As he 
 had some experimental knowledge of chemistry, he 
 found that the elements of cinabar were not favour- 
 aljle to its stability ; consequently he used it but 
 seldom. It is probable, also, that he recommended 
 to his pupils to be sparing of its application, as they 
 would find in the Venetian red, the brightest tints 
 of the most brilliant carnations. P. Tyssens, one 
 of the most skilful artists of this school, never made 
 use of cinabar ; and a pupil of the latter exceeded 
 his master's instructions so much, that his pictures 
 present little else except a grayish tone. 
 
 Apparently nothing can be more remote from 
 the process used by Van Eyck than that of Rem- 
 brandt, yet he followed that method in his earlier 
 works ; but the vivacity and strength of his ima- 
 
 ' I remember having seen, in the Altieri Palace at Rome a 
 picture by Van Dyke, in which could be clearly traced the trans- 
 ition in the manner of this pupil of Rubens, from that of his mas- 
 ter, to follow that of Titian. 
 
PAINTING IN OIL, 23 
 
 gination made him abandon it, as he no longer at- 
 tached any importance to the executive part. Im- 
 patient to reahze the fine effects that presented 
 themsehes to his imagination, this made him rather 
 careless in the application of his colours : M'hatever 
 he found on his palette, ho turned into use. Then 
 it was that he often used muddy and opaque tints 
 for those that were brilliant and transparent ; but 
 he had too fine and just a sentiment of colouring to 
 admit of his looking upon this species of art but for 
 a brief period, and his first care in making up his 
 palette, no doubt, was to restore the lost transpa- 
 rency by glazing. It is really surprising that a school 
 like this, in which the executive part was not valued, 
 should produce an artist (G. Dow) who looked upon 
 that quality as very essential. The pupils adopted 
 the later manner of their master, which was less 
 careful than the first. In this respect Gerard Dow 
 was an exception, which we cannot account for 
 sufficiently by attributing it to the patient character 
 of that artist, and the slowness of his imagination ; 
 but our surprise will be diminished when we find, 
 that when Dow entered the atelier of Rembrandt, 
 the latter had only begun to be admired, and his 
 works at that time were executed with remarkable 
 care. 
 
24 THE ART OF 
 
 It seems to be the fate of the arts, that their de- 
 cadence begins immediately after they have attained 
 near to perfection. This destiny had been already, 
 in great part, accomplished in Italy, when the chief 
 founder of the French school, Simon Vouet, went 
 thither to study the great masters. Even the tradi- 
 tionary accounts of their process had either been lost, 
 or had been so corrupted, that the practitioners, who 
 had constantly before their eyes the chefs-iToiivres 
 of Titian, of Raffaele, and Corregio, were prodigal 
 of their applause to Joseph Arpino. The greater 
 number of pictures painted at this time were in 
 fresco, and were done from memory, after drawings 
 more or less finished. The result of this was, tliat 
 the artists contracted the habit of painting their 
 easel pictures after a similar fashion, and were no 
 longer capable of painting from nature. By this 
 vicious practice, each painter adopted, without per- 
 ceiving it, certain forms and tints, which they con- 
 stantly reproduced, until all their figures appeared 
 as if done from the same model. 
 
 Such was the state of the arts at the time that 
 Vouet received his education. It is reasonable to 
 suppose that this state of things should have a great 
 influence upon the French school : the style of Vouet 
 has more of elegance than elevation ; he treated 
 
PAINTING IN OIL, 25 
 
 hlstoiy in a more agreeable and just manner than 
 several of liis contemporaries, who enjoyed much 
 celebrity in Italy. He was not a colourist ; the 
 numerous pupils of his school were never distin- 
 guished for that quality, which he himself did not 
 possess. Our historical painters then constantly 
 worked from designs : the only imitators of nature 
 were tliose who painted portraits, animals, or scenes 
 of familiar life ; and it is in this class alone that 
 we can reckon any colourists. If against this asser- 
 tion, the names of Blanchard, P. de Champagne, 
 and La Fosse should be mentioned, it may be 
 answered, that the first studied a long time at 
 Venice, and the second was educated in the Flem- 
 ish school, which was formed by masters who must 
 have preserved the traditionary account of Rubens' 
 methods ; and, finally, that La Fosse is far from be- 
 ing considered a fine colourist. Perhaps he would 
 have carried this seductive part of the art to a high 
 degree of improvement, if he had been obliged, like 
 Iligaud and Largilliere, to paint portraits, or, like 
 Despontes, animals, or Vandermeulen, landscapes 
 and battles, or, like Watteau, scenes of familiar 
 life. He would have equalled the Venetians and 
 Flemings, with whose methods he was well ac- 
 c 
 
26 THE ART OF 
 
 quaintod, if he had been obhged to apply himself 
 constantly to the study of nature. 
 
 It is, therefore, to the established practice of our 
 school, — " painting from drawings," — that we may 
 attribute the want of success in colouring which 
 has attended the efforts of our historical painters. 
 Le Brun was not ignorant of the methods employ- 
 ed by the colourists ; he understood how to in- 
 crease, by glazing, the brilliancy and transparency 
 of colours. His pictures display many specimens 
 of fine colouring ; and I have no doubt whatever, 
 but that he would have been ranked amongst the 
 colourists if he had painted from nature. 
 
 AVhenever the artists cease to take nature for 
 their model, the art itself follows a downward career 
 with a frightful rapidity, that soon brings it to 
 decay, and at last a time arrives when the faithful 
 representations of nature are looked down upon as 
 being incompatible with genius. 
 
 Under this morbid influence, success can only be 
 obtained by a mean submission to the arbitrary dic- 
 tates of bad taste. Then, and for so unworthy a 
 motive, it is that the limits of good taste are in- 
 vaded by sweeping forms, that well may be called 
 hyperbolic curves, with broken lines and different 
 
PAINTING IN OIL. 27 
 
 surfaces united by extravagant touches ; and the 
 execution of the work is pretended to display so 
 much more knowledge in proportion as it diverges 
 farthest from the truth. This is not an exaggera- 
 tion. Cochin, in his eulogy on the works of Chardin, 
 boasts particularly of that sort of execution, whilst 
 he says, — " Painting being an art, that art is carried 
 as much nearer perfection as the means of the artist 
 appear turned from their legitimate object ! " 
 
 Such was the doctrine acknowledged in the 
 French school when Greuze came forward. Brought 
 up under Restout, who taught his pupils that a globe 
 ought to be represented as a polyhedron, Greuze 
 most implicitly adopted that doctrine, and in prac- 
 tice showed that he considered the round cheeks 
 of a young girl, or of infants, as bodies cut into 
 facettes. Yet he has proved decidedly, that with a 
 constancy the most imperturbable, and by never 
 losing sight of the object which he would attain, 
 the artist will at length succeed, whatever round- 
 about methods he may adopt. It is easy to con- 
 ceive the possibility of forming a sphere from a 
 cube, by cutting off its angles indefinitively ; but this 
 is certainly a very tedious method of proceeding. 
 
 Greuze far suqiassed all his contemporaries in 
 the science of colouring, and may be ranked among 
 c 2 
 
28 THE ART OF 
 
 those who have materially assisted in restoring the 
 character of the French school, by bringing back 
 thc! art to its true basis, — " the careful study of 
 nature." 
 
 The following detail of his method is given 
 upon the authority of one who was well acquainted 
 with it. He always, in painting a head, laid it 
 in first with a full body of colour. Afterwards, 
 when he would repaint upon this dead colour, he 
 began by glazing it entirely, and then got in his 
 effect with transparent colours combined with 
 a strong unctuous vehicle, by means of which his 
 pictures dried without absorption. After this pre- 
 paration, which he carried on rapidly, he entirely 
 i-opainted the head, commencing by the lights, and 
 going progressively to the shadows. But as he did 
 not possess great facility, he could not finish his 
 \\'ork in the second operation ; therefore it still 
 appeared only in an advanced state of dead colour. 
 Sometimes he could not get it to his liking for 
 several sittings ; but at last, by following the same 
 mode of operations, he was enabled to produce a 
 work, in which we admire the colouring, without 
 perceiving any traces of the labour by which it was 
 produced. 
 
 Sir Joshua Reynolds, who was contemporary 
 
PAlN'TIXG IX OIL. 29 
 
 Avlth Greuze, was the gi*eatest colourist of his time, 
 and the influence of his talents has in this respect 
 given a tone to the Enghsh school. By profoundly 
 studying the works of Rubens, Rembrandt, and 
 Titian, he was enabled to discover the modes of 
 operating used by these great masters, and to found 
 his own system of execution upon theirs. 
 
 He frequently laid in his pictures like the Vene- 
 tians, with a full body of colour, and sometimes with 
 a mixture of black and white ; he afterwards laid 
 on his colours, and made out his effect with glazing. 
 When this was dry, he repainted it with solid 
 colours, and always finished with glazing. In this 
 way I have seen one of his pupils paint in Italy ; 
 and, with respect to the colour of his work, nothing 
 could be more agreeable. 
 
 Sir Joshua painted with varnishes, and tried a 
 great variety of them : it is much to be regretted 
 that he has not left any notes on this subject. The 
 greater part of his pictures had a most brilliant effect 
 when they came fresh from the easel, but several of 
 them have lost their charming tones — some have 
 faded even in a few years ; others have changed to 
 a greyish tone in consequence of the absorption of 
 the glazing by the sohd colour on which they were 
 c 3 
 
30 THE ART OF 
 
 laid ; many parts have faded from the action of the 
 Ught and air, and some have become brown from 
 the oils and varnishes used having been badly pre- 
 pared. Like P. Veronese, he has often painted on 
 distemper grovmds. There is at Paris' one of his 
 finest portraits, painted on such a gi-ound. At the 
 back of the canvass, and exactly behind the face 
 and head, there is a couch of white and size, which 
 has been applied to absorb the redundant oil, which 
 would have remained in that work, from its having 
 been repainted several times without allowing it 
 each time to become quite dry. 
 
 Mengs also used a mixture of varnish with his 
 colours ; and I understand that his method is still 
 very generally practised at Dresden. Among the 
 modern painters I could mention many others, to 
 show the advantages derivable from the proper com- 
 bination of varnish with the colour, but I prefer re- 
 turning to the older masters who have followed the 
 jjrocess of Van Eyck ; and I shall add, that any 
 artist, by an attentive examination of the pictures 
 belonging to the first period of oil painting, may 
 
 * In the possession of the Prince de Broglio : it is the portrait 
 of " the Marquis of Granby." 
 
PAIXTIXG IN OIL. 31 
 
 convince himself that some of the Itahans have em- 
 ployed oil varnish of a harder description than that 
 used by the P'lemings, for it offers a stronger re- 
 sistance to solvents/ 
 
 We find in Theophilus and Armcnini receipts for 
 the preparation of varnish. The first especially has 
 particularly detailed the preparation of an excellent 
 hard varnish, which has been employed in the early 
 times of art, for it was known some centuries be- 
 fore painting in distemper was abandoned ; but, in- 
 dependent of this circumstance, the great point is 
 to show that they mixed their colour with varnish. 
 Our chemical knowledge, and the advancement made 
 in the preparation of varnish for several years past, 
 justify our belief that it can now be made as fine as 
 any that ever was in use. 
 
 Those who use it at the present time, either on pic- 
 tures, or generally in painting, are not in possession of 
 a method by which it can be employed in the colours 
 without inconvenience ; varnish owing as it does 
 
 ' I have had occasion to examine closely the fine picture by 
 Giorgione which is in the Museum, No. 1011. This work is drawn 
 ir.to wrinkles in several places, which proves that the artist em- 
 poyed an oil varnish, for it is the constant effect of this vehicle to 
 rtn into wrinkles in drying. 
 
 c 4 
 
THK AKT OF 
 
 its fluidity to the essential oil of turpentine, which 
 evaporating quickly, the colours become so clammy 
 that they quite impede the movement of the pencil. 
 Varnish intended to be used with colours, ought 
 not to dry more rapidly than the oil in which they 
 are ground ; and, in place of adding difficulties to 
 the executive process, should give it greater facili- 
 ties. The latter qualities are to be found combined 
 in a substance, of which the invention has been 
 gratuitously attributed to me. I have found it em- 
 ployed in Italy ; and as no person can account for 
 its invention, I presume that it must be very an- 
 cient. It resembles honey in consistency, and is 
 named oglio cotto (baked oil) : it is merely nut 
 oil, baked before a slow fire, and holding in solution 
 as much litharge as it will retain. In using this 
 preparation, the usual method is to mix it with 
 common varnish ; this produces a sort of pommade, 
 in which is combined the greater part of the qualities 
 required in varnish which is to he used with colour. 
 This varnish flows under the pencil like oil, and yet 
 on the palette it holds its place like the colours. 
 This quality is valuable for transparency : no mat- 
 ter how liquid the colours may be that are made 
 by this mixture, they can be freely used, without 
 
PAINTING IN OIL. 06 
 
 the danger of separating or spreading beyond tlie 
 spot where they are placed by the pencil ; — superior 
 in this respect to asphaltum, which, whether it be 
 dissolved in drying oil or oil of turjDentine, is equally 
 clammy and intractable, for it is impossible to keep 
 it on the palette, or yet to spread it sufficiently 
 thin upon any part of the picture, without its run- 
 ning beyond the bounds required ; but when mixed 
 with this varnish, that tendency is prevented, and it 
 becomes as manageable as the other colours. AVith 
 this oglio cotto, which is a true varnish, the imita- 
 tion of Rubens' sketches presents little difficulty ; 
 though this cannot be managed by our ordinary 
 materials. Whenever this oil loses its fluidity, it 
 is owing to the varnish with which it must be com- 
 bined ; for the volatile oil of the latter constantly 
 evaporates, and the colour becoming too thick for 
 use, restrains the freedom of the pencil. It is 
 therefore only useful to those who work with great 
 rapidity, or for the purpose of glazing, which does 
 not require much time. 
 
 There is another preparation which, I believe, 
 was employed in the school of Flanders, and has 
 not the disadvantage of rendering the colour clammy 
 in a short time. It is composed of mastic in grains, 
 and fine wax, dissolved together in white drying 
 
34 THE ART OF 
 
 oil. Prudhon^ a man whose loss is still regi'etted by 
 the friends of art, used it constantly ; ^ and it is not 
 to the use of the medium that we can attribute the 
 cracks that have ruined some of his pictures : they 
 would all have been preserved, like his Psyche, 
 his ZephjTus, and many others, if care had been 
 taken not to varnish them until they were perfectly 
 dry. 
 
 From the small quantity of wax added to the 
 mastic, this varnish resembles one of those de- 
 scribed by Armenini.' In the varnish used by 
 
 ' In the latter years of his life he gave the preference to the 
 varnish of Theophilus, the preparation of which will be described 
 in the chapter on varnishes. 
 
 2 . . . . Alcuni dunqiie pigliavano del oglio d' abezzo chiaro, e 
 
 10 facevano disfare in un pignattino a lento fuoco, e disfatto bene, 
 
 11 ponevano tanto altro, oglio di sasso, gettandovelo dentro subito 
 che essi lo levavano dal fuoco, mesticando con la mano cosi caldo, 
 lo stendevano sopra il lavoro prima posto al sole, e alquanto caldo, 
 sicche toccavano con quella da per tutto egualmente ; e questa ver- 
 nice e tenuta la piu sottile, e piu lustra d' ogni altra che si fania; 
 ioho veduto usarla cosi per tutta la Lombardia da i piu valenti; e 
 mi fu detto che cosi era quella adoprata dal Corregio e dal Par- 
 megiano nelle sue opere, se si pud credere a quelli che li furono 
 discepoli. 
 
 Altri sono che pigliano mastice che sia bianco et lustro, e lo met- 
 tono in un pignattino al fuoco, e con esso vi mettono tanto oglio di noce 
 chiaro che lo cuopra bene, e cosi lo lasciano disfare, tutta via mesti- 
 cando lo assai ; di poi lo colano con una pezza di lino rada in un altro 
 vasetto, e questa suol venir piu lustra se vi, si getta dentro fin che 
 bolle un poco di allume de roccha abbrugiato e tutto in polvere sottile, 
 e di questa se ne pu6 mettere negli azzuri fini, nelle lacche e in 
 
 12 
 
PAINTING IN OIL. 85 
 
 Mengs, mastic is also the chief ingredient. That 
 the l)rightncss of colours is greatly augmented by 
 
 altri tali colori accio si aschiugino piu presto. ..Altri ancora pig- 
 liano tanto mastice quanto sandaracha, e no fanno sottilissime 
 polveri e le coprono con oglio di noce al fuoco nel modo delle 
 altre de sopra, la qual poi collata vi aggiungono un terzo di oglio 
 di abbezzo e lo incorporano con quelle ma vuol bollir j)oco, perciie 
 la vernice verrebbe viscosa : e tutte queste predette vernici, 
 nientre si fanno disfare al fuoco, si mesticano sempre con una 
 piccola bacbetta, le quale poi coperte nel suo vasetto, siconservano 
 longo tempo, con farsi piu purgate, et sottili. 
 
 Translation. — Some painters (says Armenini) prepare their 
 varnish by placing a portion of transparent turpentine (that of the 
 fir-deal) in a vessel, and exposing it to the action of a slow fire; 
 when quite liquified, they mix it well together j then it is taken oft' 
 the fire, and an equal quantity of petrolium (rock oil) is added; 
 these being well incorporated, the liquid is applied to the picture, 
 which has previously been warmed by the sun's heat. Of all the 
 species of varnish, this is considered the lightest and most brilliant. 
 I have seen it used all through Lombardy, and, if we credit the 
 reports of Corregio's and Parmegiano's pujjils, it was employed by 
 those two great masters. 
 
 Other Artists used white and clear drop mastic for this purpose : 
 they poured upon a quantity of this gum sufficient nut oil just to 
 cover it, then they kept stirring it over a slow heat until it dis- 
 solved, and finished by straining it through apiece of smooth cloth. 
 This varnish acquires a greater degree of transparency and bright- 
 ness, if when it has commenced to boil, a little calcined alum is 
 added to it finely powdered. This preparation may be used with 
 ultramarine, the lakes, and all that class of colours, as it causes 
 them to dry very quickly. 
 
 Another method employed, is to take equal parts of mastic and 
 gum sandarac, and dissolve them in nut oil, as described in the 
 preceding process ; when ready, one-third of their bulk of fine 
 turpentine is to be added ; after this the boiling must not be con- 
 tinued a long time, because the varnish would otherwise become too 
 
 c 6 
 
36 THE ART OF 
 
 varnish is allowed by all painters, but it is found 
 that this advantage is only gained at the expense 
 of the solidity of the colouring, which fades in time ; 
 for to its injudicious use is attributed the cracks that 
 appear often in pictures, and which sooner or later 
 occasions their destruction. I have already observed, 
 that the cracks are not always consequent on the 
 use of varnish, but are attributable to other causes 
 which we may control. It is not uncommon to see 
 pictures cracked throughout their surface, although 
 there has not been any varnish employed in their 
 execution : this accident always happens when we 
 employ in succession several couches of thick var- 
 nish upon a picture, of which the surface only has 
 been allowed to dry, and perhaps also the varnish is 
 of bad quality. 
 
 Several manufacturers of that article, wishing to 
 realize a great profit, do not put in a proportion of ^ 
 mastic sufficient to render it brilliant ; they often 
 substitute the strong oil of tui*pentine, which is 
 much cheaper, and ])roduces for the instant a simi- 
 lar effect, but varnish prepared in this way soon 
 
 thick and clammy. In all these operations, great care must be 
 taken to keep the mixtures constantly stirring with a spatula. 
 These varnishes, when safely kept from the air in proper vessels, 
 become very clear, and acquire by time a finer quality and better 
 substance. 
 
PAINTIXG IN OIL. 
 
 loses its transparency, it dries only on the upper 
 part, a portion of it penetrating under the surface 
 of the colours softens them, and the picture is 
 soon covered with cracks : these accidents happen 
 whenever a couch of colour not dry underneath, 
 is covered by one of a thin consistency completely 
 dry ; the soft portion dilates itself when the tem- 
 perature is raised to a certain height, and the 
 upper surface, not having the power to resist or to 
 follow the expansion of that underneath, becomes 
 soon cracked on the surface, the moment it is ex- 
 posed to any ordinary heat.' 
 
 From these observations we must conclude, that 
 it is highly improper to varnish pictures until they 
 are completely dry. 
 
 That the proper use of varnish is not the cause 
 of the picture becoming cracked is very evident : 
 this injury arises from the varnish having been badly 
 manufactured or improperly applied ; this is proved 
 by the vast number of varnished paintings that re- 
 
 ^ These cracks or gashes are very rarely to be met with in Titian's 
 pictures, yet we do find tliem in his work The Croivning with thorns. 
 They are observable in a place where this Artist has repainted, 
 with a full pencil, upon a part of the picture which had a strong 
 couch of bitumen previously laid on, and which had only dried on 
 the surface. 
 
38 THE AllT OF 
 
 main without any alteration, and also our coaches, 
 and the numerous objects in japanned works which 
 are exposed to every sort of temperature. 
 
 In considering simply what constitutes the true 
 manner of each school, and of the several masters, 
 so far as regards merely their technical process, 
 we perceive that the entire code may be reduced 
 to two points, viz. transparent^ and opaque painting. 
 The former, a most important quality in colouring, 
 has been particularly attended to by the ancient 
 Artists. To gain this essential object, some 
 painters have laid in their pictures with thin washes, 
 and have used but little colour ; others have com- 
 menced with solid painting, and then finished by 
 glazing, which method has produced the most 
 transparent effects ; and thus by different modes 
 obtaining similar results ; for we find that the solid 
 paintings of Titian and Rembrandt are equally 
 transparent with those of Fra Bartolomeo and the 
 Bronzini. 
 
 The changes which are observable in many pic- 
 tures, from their original lustre to a yellowish tone, 
 afterwards caused many Artists to give up the 
 advantages of transparency. 
 
 Sasso Ferrato is an example of this feeling in 
 
PAINTING IN OIL. 39 
 
 the seventeenth century/ and the French school 
 followed the same course towards the middle of 
 the following age. 
 
 In this essay, I think it is sufficiently proved, 
 that the brothers Van Eyck, and the Artists who 
 adopted their methods, used varnish in their paint- 
 ing, and this it was which brought forth all the 
 brightness of their colours, and preserved their 
 works from the injurious action of the atmosphere. 
 
 This process, which the inventor only trans- 
 mitted at first as a secret to a select number of 
 practitioners, and unfortunately, not being com- 
 mitted to wTiting, soon became impaired, and was 
 at last reduced to the mere use of plain drying oils, 
 a method which some schools still practise. 
 
 That the process employed by the Van Eycks, 
 whenever or with whomsoever it may have origi- 
 nated, is less liable to change, than any other known 
 method, is quite evident, and that we may consider 
 it certain, that Kubens adopted it with great ad- 
 vantage to his works ; for one thing is quite clear, 
 which is, that there are many parts of his works 
 which cannot be faithfully imitated by any of our 
 common methods of painting ; yet when wo make 
 
 ' Sasso Ferrato (Gio. Batista Salvicia), born in 1G05, died in 
 1085. 
 
40 THK ART OF PAINTING IX OIL. 
 
 use of a vehicle in which varnish is an ingredient, 
 these difficulties can be overcome. 
 
 But experience alone must determine, whether 
 my observations are just, and if so, how far they 
 may be useful. I shall now proceed to describe the 
 composition of the varnishes, with which the colours 
 may be prepared, in a similar manner to those 
 originally used in the Flemish and Venetian 
 schools. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE VARNISHES. 
 
 Every substance may be considered as a varnish, 
 which, when apphed to the surface of a sohd body, 
 gives it a permanent histre. Drying oil, thickened 
 by exposure to the sun's heat or a fire, is a varnish, 
 and as such has often been employed. It is, how- 
 ever, probable that varnishes, composed of resins dis- 
 solved in oil, have been used in very ancient times. 
 But it is beyond all doubt, that when the arts 
 flom'ished in Greece, the composition of varnish 
 had long been known in India, Persia, and China. 
 It is not then to be supposed that the Greeks were 
 Unacquainted with this art. Yet such would have 
 been the case if we give credit to a paragraph in 
 Pliny, who tells us that Apelles was indebted for 
 his unequalled colouring to the employment of a 
 
42 THE VARXISHES. 
 
 liquid which he calls " Atramentum," with which he 
 covered his pictures when they were finished, and 
 with which substance no other painter was ac- 
 quainted. Pliny observes, "that there is in the 
 pictures of Apellcs a certain effect, that cannot be 
 equalled, and that tone was obtained by means of 
 atramentum^ which fluid he passed over his pictures 
 when the painting was completely finished. This 
 liquid, we are told, brought out all the brightness 
 and fulness of the colours, and also prevented the 
 dust, or other similar substances, from impairing 
 their lustre. It was so transparent, that it was not 
 perceptible until you were very near to it. One of 
 its greatest advantages was, that the brightest 
 colours, under its influence, so far from dazzling 
 the sight, seemed as if viewed from a distance, 
 or through a glassy medium, which imperceptibly 
 lowered the tone of the most brilliant tints, render- 
 ing them more chaste and agreeable to the eye.'" 
 Sir J. Reynolds believed that he saw in this ar- 
 
 1 Unum imitari nemo potuit, quod absoluta opera airamento illi- 
 nebat, ita tenui, ut idipsum repcrcussu claritates colorum excitaret, 
 custodiretque a pulvere et sordibus : ad nianum intuenti demum 
 appareret, sed et tiim ratione magna, ne colorum claritas oculorum 
 aciem offenderet, veluti per lapidem specularem intuentibus 6 
 longinquo, et eadem res nimis floridis coloribus austeritatem occulte 
 daret. — Pliny's Natural History, Book xxv. chap. 10. 
 
THE VARXISHES. 43 
 
 tide a description of the process of that plan of 
 glazing, to which he owed, in a great measure, his 
 admirable system of colouring.^ This glazing aug- 
 mented the brilliant effect of the colours, wliilst, at 
 the same time, they were brought more into har- 
 mony, and rendered more pleasing to the eye. But 
 this was not done with any liquid of a uniform tint ; 
 neither did it prevent the pictures from being in- 
 jured by the dust ; for Pliny positively declares, that 
 no other painter could produce the same effect of 
 colour which Apelles obtained by the assistance of 
 a transparent liquid, supposed to be of a brownish 
 tint, as the term atramentum ^ would imply ; and 
 that this liquid, when appHed to coloured pictures, 
 completely secured them against whatever might in 
 any \\ ay soil or discolour them ; and this can only 
 be understood as applying to varnish. 
 
 ' Refer to tlie note 37 on the poem of Dufresnoy, printed at the 
 end of his discourses. 
 
 ^ The term atramentum is frequently used by Pliny as expres- 
 sive of the fluid and carbonaceous matter of which that substance 
 was composed. From tins it would appear, that not having an 
 exact technical term for it, he had adopted one, of which the 
 general signification meant to describe a liquor of a brownish 
 appearance. 
 
 Copal varnish has this tone : it appears so, at least, when it is 
 in the large vessels ; and, when applied in thin couches, it is so 
 equally transparent, that it does not communicate any colour to 
 the most delicate picture to which it may be applied. 
 
44 THE VARNISHES. 
 
 Reynolds, in adopting that meaning of the above 
 passage, probably did so because he could not be- 
 lieve that the Greek painters were unacquainted 
 with the art of making varnish, which for a long 
 time previously had been used in the eastern coun- 
 tries. He rather supposed that Pliny had not well 
 described, or clearly understood, the method of 
 Apelles. However this may be, even admitting 
 that Apelles had known only the preparation and 
 the use of varnish, it is rational to suppose, that 
 some time latter (suppose in the time of the lower 
 empire) it was no secret to any Greek artist ; and 
 probably from them the Italians became acquainted 
 with it, along with the elemental principles of paint- 
 ing. In the works of Theophilus, already quoted, 
 we find a method of preparing an oil ^•al•nish very 
 well described. The process is remarkable for being 
 the same that is used at the present day for the 
 same sort of varnish, with merely this difference, that 
 the varnish of Theophilus is only a simple solution 
 of resin in pure linseed oil, without the addition of 
 any essential oil to render it more fluid. In fact, 
 at that time it could not have been otherwise ; for 
 the art of distillation, by which the essential oils 
 are prepared, was not known. 
 
 The varnishes have been arranged in three classes. 
 
BITUMEKS. 45 
 
 viz. spirit of wine, (alcohol,) spirit of turpentine, and 
 oil varnish, called " strong," or hard varnish. Al- 
 cohol varnish not being used in oil paintino-, it 
 would be superfluous to describe its preparation, 
 which, besides, does not differ in the process of 
 making from that made with oil of turpentine, but 
 simply in the nature of the resins of which it is 
 composed. 
 
 I shall not take up the reader s time, except upon 
 those sorts of varnish which belong to painting in oil, 
 and either used for mixing with the colours, or em- 
 ployed in covering the surface of the painting when 
 dr\-. But previous to showing the modes of pre- 
 l)aring them, it is but proper that I should describe 
 the materials of which they are composed, — such as 
 the bitumens and resins which form their bases, and 
 the oils in which they are dissolved : — 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 SUBSTANCES WHICH ENTER INTO THE COMPOSITION 
 OF VARNISH. 
 
 BITUMENS. 
 
 These substances, which are unctuous and in- 
 flammable, are dug out of the earth, and in many 
 respects resemble the resins so strongly, that one 
 
46 ASPHALTUM AMBEB. 
 
 might well suspect them of a common origin. Of 
 these, only asphaltum and amber are used in 
 ])ainting. 
 
 ASPHALTUM, 
 
 This substance is a mineral pitch, of a very rich 
 l)rown colour, hard and brittle, forming compact 
 masses. It has a bright glossy fracture, and is 
 easily soluble in oil of turpentine, and in the drying- 
 oils. It then affords a very brown and transparent 
 varnish, but very viscous, and with such a tendency 
 to flow off the palette, that it can hardly be used, 
 unless when mixed with some of the other sub- 
 stances to correct this disadvantage, and fix it in 
 its position.' 
 
 AMBER. 
 
 Yellow amber, called also carabe, or succin, is 
 classed among the resins, because it is found in the 
 earth ; yet it evidently has a vegetable origin. 
 In fact, the forms of the larger pieces clearly indi- 
 cate a substance that has been liquid and flowing, 
 similar to the resins ; and we sometimes find pieces 
 of it in which insects are enclosed, and these inci- 
 dents could only have originated when the amber 
 was in a fluid state. 
 
 1 Vide the articles on browns, in the Chapter on the preparation 
 of colours. 
 
RESINS. 47 
 
 Amber is sometimes opaque, but often as trans- 
 parent as glass; its colour, different shades of 
 yellow : it grows darker by exposure to the air ; 
 very old works in amber being brown, whilst those 
 of a recent date are of a bright yellow tone. 
 
 Amber differs essentially from all the other resins, 
 not only by its superior hardness, which admits of 
 its being cut into various ornaments, but also in its 
 evolving on fusion a volatile acid (succinic), which 
 flies up to the top of the receiver. 
 
 Amber cannot be fused except at a higher tem- 
 perature than that used to dissolve copal. Amber 
 varnish is, of course, very brown, and can only be 
 employed with dark coloiu-s, to increase their 
 strength and transparency : the umbers, for in- 
 stance ; the oxide of manganese ; and all the 
 brown drying colours.* 
 
 RESINS. 
 
 These substances, like the bitumens, are either 
 hard or of a thick consistency ; are very inflammable, 
 insoluble in water, but more or less so in alcohol, 
 
 ' In tlie earliest of tlie Italian receipts, the carabe, or amber, 
 is placed amongst the materials which enter into the composition of 
 varnish. It is possible, however, that they may have confounded 
 the carabe with the copal, which is more fusible. 
 
48 GUM AXIMEE GUM COPAT,. 
 
 aether, or the oils. With the exception of lac, which, 
 like wax, is an animal substance, the resins flow 
 spontaneously from certain trees, and form a viscous 
 juice, which grows thicker and harder on exposure 
 to the air. 
 
 Of resinous substances, we find a great number 
 which do not relate to our subject. I shall, there- 
 fore, confine my attention to those which are proper 
 for the making of varnish. 
 
 GUM ANIMEE. 
 
 Under this name we find resins which do not 
 belong to the same tree. The true gum animee 
 flows from the courbaril tree. In clearness it 
 resembles copal, but it is whiter and more brittle ; 
 yet it will not dissolve in oil of a temperature much 
 lower than that gum, and it is so coloured that there 
 is no advantage derived from employing it in place 
 of copal. It will dissolve in oil of turpentine, but 
 the solution is muddy ; it will become clear in 
 time by depositing the msoluble matter which re- 
 mained in a state of suspension. 
 
 GUM COPAL. 
 
 This is the most brilliant and the hardest of the 
 resins. There are two species of it ; one which flows 
 
GUM COPAL. 49 
 
 from a tree (the eleocarpus copalli/erus of Jussieu, 
 and denominated by Linnoeus urateria Indica) ; the 
 other kind is imported from Spanish America, and 
 is a species oftheshumac {rhus copallinum). Be- 
 sides these two sorts, we find, in the copal of com- 
 merce, certain portions which are nearly the same 
 in appearance, but are fusible at a much lower de- 
 gree of heat.^ The varnish-makers pretend to dis- 
 cover them by their globular forms and superior 
 whiteness. But the difference becomes evident 
 between these two kinds in a preliminary operation, 
 which the copal must undergo to disengage it from 
 an opaque crust, arising probably from the action 
 of water and the atmosphere. Formerly this crust 
 was scraped off with a knife : the present mode of 
 removing it is to steep the gum for two days in a 
 strong lye ; it must then be washed, and dried per- 
 fectly, and when broken up, this impurity evaporates 
 in dust. During this operation, the softer particles, 
 
 ' Reaumur, who has made many experiments in the manufac- 
 turing of varnishes, and who has succeeded in dissolving copal in 
 alcohol and in oil of spike, has remarked that in the copal of 
 commerce all the pieces are not equally soluble. To ascertain at 
 once the quality of these pieces previous to commencing his ope- 
 rations, he tried them on the heated blade of a knife, to ascertain 
 their capability of resisting a change of colour; some parts melted 
 more or less readily, other parts fried like gum ; he rejected the 
 last and only used the fusible portions. 
 
50 I.AC. 
 
 which are always few in proportion to the mass, be- 
 come more soft, and adhere to whatever they touch. 
 We therefore must be careful to put this portion 
 by itself, to be used separately ; because being more 
 easily melted than the other part, it would dissolve 
 first, and, by remaining in this state, too long ex- 
 posed to the action of heat, it would take a reddish 
 tinge, and thus communicate too strong a colour to 
 the varnish. 
 
 Copal is, in general, more transparent and less 
 coloured, though not so hard, as amber ; yet it is 
 not unlikely that copal has been cut into ornaments 
 instead of amber. 
 
 LAC. 
 
 This material, which is incorrectly called " gum 
 lac," is a resinous substance, produced by an insect 
 that had long been considered a winged ant, but 
 which the recent observations of naturalists have 
 classed among the gall insects, like the cochineal 
 and kermes, and thus it has been termed coccus ficus 
 and coccus lacca. The females of this tribe collect 
 in great numbers around the small branches of 
 trees, to deposit their eggs, which they cover with 
 a resinous substance : this is the lac. It is used in 
 making varnish and sealing-wax. The eggs and 
 
MASTIC SAJ^DARACH. 51 
 
 embryo of these creatures, like those of the cochi- 
 neal and kermes, contain colouring matter of a 
 complete purplish crimson.' 
 
 MASTIC. 
 
 This resin distils from a species of lentil tree, of 
 which there is abundance in the isles of the Archi- 
 pelago, and particularly in Scio. This gum is col- 
 lected in the form of drops or roundish grains ; is 
 transparent, and of a light citron colour ; is odor- 
 ous, and softens so far in the mouth that it can be 
 pierced by the tongue, and may be drawn into ribbon 
 threads, &c. It is commonly chewed by the people in 
 the Levant ; and hence its name is derived. Nearly 
 all of it that was collected in Scio used to De sent to 
 the Grand Seignior, and was used in the seraglio. 
 
 Mastic m\\ dissolve at a temperature equal to that 
 of boiling water; but its solution in alcohol is cloudy, 
 which shows that it is imperfectly dissolved ; but in 
 the fixed, and volatile oils, it will dissolve completely. 
 The solution of this resin, with oil of turpentine, 
 forms the common picture varnish. 
 
 SANDARACH. 
 
 This gum, in colour, and somewhat in its fonn, 
 
 * Vide the article " On the preparation of Indian lake." 
 D 2 
 
52 FIXED OR SOLID OILS. 
 
 resembles mastic ; but differs much from it in other 
 points : for instance, it will not soften in the mouth. 
 It is very brittle, and dissolves easily in alcohol, but 
 not in oil of turpentine. Reaumur assures us that 
 he succeeded in dissolving it in oil of spike, after 
 having steeped it in spirit of wine. I have not suc- 
 ceeded in doing so ; though, in several instances, 
 I have found the advantage of mixing alcohol with 
 the essential oils, Sandarach will melt in the fixed 
 oils at a low degree of heat ; but to form a perfect 
 combination, the highest heat is required : the so- 
 lution is then of a brownish colour. 
 
 OILS. 
 
 There are two distinct species of oils, — one sort, 
 viscous and greasy to the touch ; all of this class are 
 called " fixed oils ;" and those of the other class, 
 without adhesiveness, are termed " essential oils." 
 
 FIXED OR SOLID OILS. 
 
 The true nature of these oils was not known 
 until the experiments of M. Chevreuil upon fatty 
 substances developed their combinations. 
 
 This experienced chemist has shown that there 
 are in these oils two distinct substances : to these 
 he has given the names of oleine, and stearine, or 
 
LINSEED OIL. 53 
 
 margarine. These substances, which are not acids 
 naturally, becomo so when combined with metallic 
 oxides. 
 
 With potass and soda, fixed oils form soap ; 
 oxides of lead give them a drying quality, and 
 combine with them so far as to form a paste or 
 unguent. 
 
 All the fixed oils are subject, in time, to become 
 thickened by exposure to the air ; but this operation 
 is more or less active, according to the nature of 
 the oil. Some of them, having naturally a drying 
 tendency, will, in time, become as hard as the driest 
 resinous substances. The linseed, nut, and poppy oils 
 used in painting, are of this description. It is not 
 improbable that others of this class may also possess 
 similar properties, and might be employed in paint- 
 ing with the same advantage as these now in use. 
 I have read in some work that it is possible to ex- 
 tract from the stones of raisins, a drying oil, said 
 to be extremely proper to be employed in making 
 hard varnish. 
 
 LINSEED OIL. 
 
 This oil has the fullest body, and dries better 
 than any of the three oils in use amongst artists ; 
 its colour is a strong yellow, but this effect does not 
 d3 
 
54 NUT OIL POPPY OIL. 
 
 arise from the action of the fire to which the seed is 
 exposed in extracting the oil from it. This colour, 
 in fact, proceeds from the pellicle which covers the 
 grains, and which contains a strong colouring mat- 
 ter soluble in oil. Linseed oil, cold drawn, as used 
 in medicine, is equally coloured with the other sort ; 
 but, like that of wax, this colour is carried off by 
 exposure to the sun. Linseed oil is extensively 
 employed in the manufacture of hard varnish, be- 
 cause it is of a more drying nature, and preserves 
 its transparency better than the other oils. 
 
 NUT OIL. 
 
 When cold drawn, this oil has very Httle colour, 
 and the common sort has even a less tinge than oil of 
 linseed. Some give it a preference for pictures much 
 exposed to the air ; besides, it does not become so 
 dark as linseed oil by the action of the oxide of lead. 
 
 OLIVETTE OR POPPY OIL. 
 
 This is the most colourless, but the least drying, 
 of the three oils. As the poppy plant is much cul- 
 tivated in Flanders, we may suppose that this oil 
 has obtained a preference in the school of the Low 
 Countries, where the poppy is in many places called 
 the olivette. 
 
TO PREPARE DRYING OIL. 55 
 
 Although these oils have a natural tendency to dry, 
 yet this quality is not sufficiently strong to overcome 
 the action of some colours which retard it in various 
 degrees ; — for instance, the lakes, bone or ivory 
 black, and particularly the bituminous earths. But 
 experience, from which this information is derived, 
 has also taught us, that there is a drying power in 
 some metallic oxides, which facilitates the prepara- 
 tion of oils, in a manner that quite overcomes their 
 original difficulty in drying. 
 
 TO PREPARE DRYING OIL. 
 
 From the tendency that several of the oxides and 
 metallized salts have to unite with oils, and thus to 
 render them more drying, has resulted a great 
 many different receipts for the preparation of drying 
 oil. Some recommend sulphate of zinc, calcined 
 verdigris, plaster of Paris, umber, oxide of man- 
 ganese, &c. ; others prefer putting into the oil a 
 crust of bread and a head of garlic. But, in all 
 these preparations, litharge is the chief ingredient. 
 The oxide of lead having the greatest power over 
 the oils, to recommend other substances woidd be 
 superfluous. 
 
 In this process litharge, in the proportion of one- 
 D 4 
 
56 TO PRKPAllE DRYING OIL. 
 
 eighth part, should be reduced to the finest powder ; 
 this condition is indispensable to its perfect solution. 
 
 The vessel containing the oil and litharge is then 
 to be placed on a slow fire, and frequently stirred 
 with a spatula : a considerable quantity of scum is 
 soon formed ; and the ebullition is so great at times, 
 as to make it necessary to withdraw the vase, to 
 prevent the oil running over. 
 
 When the scum has quite disappeared, it is a sign 
 that the oil is in a proper state ; it is then allowed 
 to stand still ; then the litharge which has not 
 combined precipitates, and in a few hours the sur- 
 face of the oil will be covered with a pellicle, which 
 indicates that the operation is complete. 
 
 This preparation is of a brownish colour, which 
 is increased in proportion to the time that it may 
 have been exposed to the action of a strong fire ; 
 it becomes clear when allowed to rest, but is never 
 colourless. By operating at a lower temperature, in 
 a balneum marice (a water bath), or even in mixing 
 water with the oil, and supplying its loss by evapo- 
 ration, an oil less drying is obtained, but less co- 
 loured, which colour grows more faint by exposure 
 to the light. 
 
 A drying oil nearly colourless may be obtained 
 
TO plEPARE DRYING OIL. 57 
 
 by combining linsiJed, or nut oil with litharge, and 
 triturating them together for a considerable time ; 
 this will produce a sort of yellowish creamy sul)- 
 stance, which, being allowed to rest, soon becomes 
 clear ; but if ther^ be not time to wait, this fluid 
 may be filtered through blotting-paper ; it is then 
 transparent, but AV'ith a little colour, which soon 
 goes off" when exposed to the light. 
 
 By letting fall some of the oxide of lead, which it 
 held in solution, this operation may be completed in 
 a few hours. It is evident that the oil in combina- 
 tion with the litharge forms two distinct substances : 
 the transparency of the first is not impaired by the 
 oxide it contains ; the other is a thick substance, a 
 kind of soap, in which even the oil is changed, as if 
 by the alkalies. This matter will be noticed more 
 fully in the chapter on varnishes. 
 
 The chemical affinity of the oils and the oxide 
 of lead is such, that they may be combined by 
 triturating the oil with a leaden muller ; the oil 
 then assumes a gi'ay colour, arising from the solu- 
 tion of the lead ; this mixture being collected in a 
 cup, the metal soon subsides, and the oil, which 
 floats at the top, is very clear and dries better 
 because it holds in solution a portion of the lead. 
 
 Where litharge cannot be had, lead filings and 
 
 D 
 
58 ESSENTIAL OILS OIL OF TURPENTINE. 
 
 pieces of flat lead may be put into a bottle with 
 linseed or nut oil, and frequently shaken ; in a few 
 days this will produce an oil almost colourless, and 
 capable of drying the lakes, as well as the ochres. 
 As the drying oils become fat in a short time, it is 
 best to prepare only a small quantity at once. 
 
 ESSENTIAL OILS. 
 
 This class of oils has very different qualities from 
 the solid oils ; these are thin in consistency, are 
 caustic, odorous, and easily ignite at the near ap- 
 proach of any flaming substance. 
 
 OIL OF TURPENTINE. 
 
 This spirit is much used in oil painting, and in 
 the preparation of varnish. It is prepared, by distil- 
 lation, from the rough turpentine of commerce, which 
 exudes from the pine, larch, and fir trees. When 
 properly distilled, this essence is without colour : 
 when it has an amber tint, it may be rendered 
 colourless, without a new distillation, by merely mix- 
 ing with it a little quick lime in powder, and shaking 
 the vessel with the mixture for some time ; the 
 lime precipitating, carries with it the colouring mat- 
 ter, and when this has quite subsided, the essence 
 will be as clear as water. To hasten the separation 
 
OIL OF SPIKE— ROSEMARY OIL NAPHTHA. 59 
 
 of the lime is easiV done, by filtering the mixture 
 through unsized pa^er. 
 
 i>IL OF SPIKE. 
 
 This oil is dra\\n, by distillation, from a large 
 species of lavender, which is very common in the 
 ancient province of Langiiedoc. It is called " aspic" 
 in commerce. Thii oil is adulterated with oil of 
 turpentine, and it b probable that even the best 
 sort is made by distlling that essence several times 
 with lavender or asjic flowers. Reaumur has suc- 
 ceeded in dissolving copal in it. This oil has more 
 body than oil of turpentine, and from this I infer 
 that Reaumur's varnish ought to be very durable. 
 
 ROSEMARY OIL. 
 
 It is probable that this oil is prepared as the last- 
 mentioned oil. It has not so full a body as the 
 spike oil, and is therefore better calculated to make 
 varnish, and it appears to have a stronger action 
 on copal. 
 
 NAPHTHA, 
 
 Called also volatile oil of petrolium, or " rock oil," 
 is collected among the rocks in Italy and other 
 places. A very strong odour exhales from it, simi- 
 lar to that of turpentine. The Persian naphtha is 
 D 6 
 
60 NAPHTHA. 
 
 greatly celebrated, and much employed in the manu- 
 facture of varnish. It is probable that the ancients 
 made their varnish by dissolving resinous substances 
 in naphtha. When distilled, it is perfectly colour- 
 less ; it may thus be used in the preparation of 
 the varnishes. 
 
 Armenini, in chapter ix. of his book, gives re- 
 ceipts for different sorts of varnish, and describes 
 one, composed of naphtha (oglio di sasso) and of 
 turpentine (ogho di abesso), which, he assures us, 
 was used by Parmegiano and CoiTcgio.' 
 
 Oil of naphtha, as well as those of lavender and 
 rosemary, gives out so strong an odour, that in this 
 respect it makes the use of them rather disagi'eeable. 
 
 In the sixth volume of the Annals of Chemistry, 
 we find a receipt of Monsieur de Saussure's for de- 
 stroying the odour of naphtha, without altering its 
 powers of solution. The same method is equally 
 applicable to other volatile oils, and when so pre- 
 pared, there would be nothing to prevent their being 
 employed in the preparation of varnish.^ 
 
 * See, at page 33, the note relative to the varnish described by 
 Armenini. 
 
 ' This process consists in mixing, by small portions at a time, 
 the sulphuric acid of commerce with oil of naphtha, and then al- 
 lowing this combination to remain in contact for several days in a 
 flask well closed from the air, taking care to shake the vessel fre- 
 
ITALIAN VARXISH. 61 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 TO PREPARE VARNSHES PROPER FOR PAINTING. 
 ITALIAN VARNISH. 
 
 I have already noticed the strong oil prepared in 
 Italy from a very remote period, and which pos- 
 sesses the double ad'^antage of drying well, and pre- 
 venting the flowing ^bout of the most liquid glaz- 
 ing. It is prepared by incorporating, over a slow 
 fire, two parts of liuseed or nut oil, with one part 
 of litharge, ground as fine as possible.^ The mix- 
 ture must be frequer.tly stirred with a spatula, to 
 quicken the operation. The combination is com- 
 pleted in a longer or shorter period according to 
 the quantity of the materials employed. This is 
 ascertained by dropping a small quantity of it on a 
 flag, or other cold surface, when, if it fixes in cool- 
 ing, like tallow, the operation is rightly done ; if not, 
 
 quently. This operation gives a black sediment, or precipitate, 
 which appears to be a combination of sulpliuric acid and tlie 
 odorous principle of the oil. The clear liquor is then drawn off, 
 and the portion of acid with which it is united is removed from it 
 by saturating the liquid with a solution of caustic potass ; or quick 
 lime will do equally well. — Annates de Chemie et de Physique, 1817, 
 tome vi. p. 308. 
 
 * Nut oil gives less colour in this preparation than the oil of 
 linseed. 
 
62 ITALIAN VAENISH. 
 
 then it is clear that the process has been stopped too 
 soon : the oil must again be placed on the fire, and 
 about a sixth part of pure white wax added to it. 
 This is useful in all cases, to give a firmer consist- 
 ence to the preparation. When the wax is entirely 
 incorporated, the mixture is to be thrown on the 
 grinding slab, and it should be ground well with the 
 muUer to prevent any separation, and to cause the 
 parts to be perfectly united. 
 
 In using this oil, some mastic varnish must be 
 added to it, and well mixed upon the palette. This 
 mixture forms a soft pomatum-like substance, which 
 flows freely in the pencil, and which remains in its 
 place, without flowing about. It is therefore proper 
 for glazing ; but the addition of varnish to it is 
 necessary to prevent its frothing under the brush, as 
 it would do hke soap, and this accident would pre- 
 vent the work from being clearly seen. This com- 
 bination is in fact a soap, which, except that it is not 
 soluble in water, has all the other qualities of the com- 
 mon soap formed by the union of oils and alkalies. 
 
 It would, therefore, be better to prepare it in 
 boiling water, as we prepare common soap ; for it is 
 not easy so to regulate the temperature of the fire 
 that it shall not exceed the proper degree, and the 
 heat of boiling water is always the same. As the 
 
TO MAKE FLANDERS VARNISH, 63 
 
 water evaporates, more water must be added; and 
 when the union of the materials is completed, the 
 water remaining at the bottom of the vessel is found 
 colourless, and has a sweetish taste. To this liquid 
 the name glycerine {the saccharine principle of oils) 
 has been given. 
 
 Also, by a long continued trituration, the same 
 combination could be formed, which would have less 
 colour, especially if we use oil clarified in the sun. 
 
 It is of much importance that the litharge be 
 pure ; for, should it contain oxide of copper, this 
 substance would be dissolved by the oil, and would 
 give the varnish a greenish tint. 
 
 TO MAKE FLANDERS VARNISH. 
 
 Dissolve grain mastic in alcohol : this operation 
 is requisite to detach the impurities which are 
 mixed with the resin. The proportion of spirits 
 ought to be sufficient to cover the mastic, and one- 
 fourth part more above its surface. 
 
 The solution must be carried on with a very slow 
 heat : when completed, the liquid is muddy, but it 
 clears very well in a short time ; as the impurity falls 
 to the bottom, this subsidence may be accelerated 
 by filtering the mixture through cotton. 
 
 The preparation being thus freed from all impu- 
 rities, one-eighth part of fine white wax is to be 
 
64- TO MAKE FLAXDERS VARXISH. 
 
 added to it, and the mixture is then to be fused in 
 a balneum marice (water bath); when thoroughly 
 melted, it should be thrown into a bason of cold 
 water, where it is to be worked with two wooden 
 spatulas, care being taken not to let the fingers 
 touch it, for it is so clammy that it would be diffi- 
 cult to remove it from the skin. 
 
 During this operation the alcohol separates from 
 the resin and wax, uniting itself with the water, 
 and the substance becomes more firm by degrees, 
 so that at length it may be handled without the 
 danger of its sticking to the fingers, provided that 
 they are kept wet. The composition is then formed 
 into balls, or rolls, which may be preserved to any 
 period by keeping them from dust. 
 
 The mastic of commerce is sometimes mixed with 
 sandarach ; but it is easy to discover this adultera- 
 tion at the time of working the mixture in the cold 
 water, for the spirit of wine, though weakened by 
 the water, still holds the sandarach in solution ; it 
 carries that resin with it, and this combination, in 
 precipitating, gives the water a milky colour. When 
 this happens, the mixture is to be washed until the 
 water comes away quite clear. 
 
 To make use of this prepared substance, a por- 
 tion of it is to be melted, at a slow heat, in white 
 drying oil, nearly equal parts of each ; when united 
 
TO MAKE FLANDERS VARXISH. DO 
 
 its fitness is to le tried on the palette with the 
 knife ; and if it is found too soft, add the mixture ; 
 if too hard, add t\e oil. 
 
 As this compouid contains drying oil, a pellicle is 
 soon formed on its surface, for which reason it would be 
 adviseable not to 2ielt a greater quantity of it than 
 could be used in a few days, and to keep it under water. 
 
 Or the mastic and oil may also be combined thus : 
 
 Take forty graiis of mastic varnish, made with 
 equal parts of mastic and oil of turpentine ; 
 
 Forty grains of nut, or poppy oil, clarified in the 
 sun ; 
 
 Five grains of acetate of lead in powder: ex- 
 pose them to a ligl.t ebullition in a balneum marice, 
 and then pour the mixture into pure water, and stir 
 it for some time, renewing the water to carry the 
 portion of acetate uot combined. 
 
 If we could get genuine mastic, free from im- 
 purities and adulteration, there would not be any 
 occasion to dissolve it in alcohol ; it could be melted 
 and incorporated at once, and then washed and 
 rendered fine in the cold water. 
 
 We may also, with equal success, dissolve the 
 mastic in clear drying oil. Allowing it to rest until 
 all the earthy particles have subsided, and then 
 drawing it off carefully, add the wax as before. 
 
66 ENGLISH VARNISH OIL COPAL VAIIN'ISH. 
 
 ENGLISH VARNISH. 
 
 When mastic varnish is mixed with drying oil 
 which holds litharge in solution, the mixture soon 
 assumes the appearance of a firm jelly ; which is 
 strong in proportion as a greater quantity of 
 litharge, and a stronger varnish, have been used. 
 
 This substance holds its place on the palette like 
 the colours, never moving from its place. 
 
 The peculiar nature of this mixture makes it par- 
 ticularly useful in glazing, for it flows under the 
 brush with great facility. 
 
 But instead of using brown drying oil, it would 
 be preferable to use that which is prepared without 
 fire. It is also better that the mastic should be 
 of a full body ; for if the essential oil is smaller in 
 proportion to the resin, the drying quality will be 
 less active, and the operations can therefore be 
 carried on in painting, much longer, without being 
 interrupted by the vehicle becoming too thick. 
 
 OIL COPAL VARNISH. 
 
 This varnish has been known a long time, and 
 has, in all probabihty, been used by many of the 
 Italian painters, as, I believe, it was by Fra Barto- 
 lomeo, whose pictures are remarkable for the bril- 
 
OIL COPAL VARNISH. 7 
 
 liancy of their colours. Its preparation is thus de- 
 scribed by Theophilus, in his work already men- 
 tioned : — Put some linseed oil into a new earthen 
 vessel ; then add a sufficient quantity of resin called 
 fornis, ground to an impalpable powder ; the resin 
 resembles very much transparent incense, but its 
 fracture is brighter ; place the mixture on lighted 
 charcoal, and let it digest until it is reduced to one 
 third part ; but great care must be taken that it 
 shall not boil over, or the flame rise high enough to 
 communicate with it, as it would then blaze out 
 instantly, and it would be extremely difficult to 
 extinguish it. Pictures prepared with this varnish 
 are brilliant, and remain without any alteration.' 
 
 ANOTHER METHOD. 
 
 Place around a brazier three or four granite or other 
 stones capable of resisting the action of fire ; upon 
 these supports is to be placed a common earthen ves- 
 sel containing the resin fornis, called by the Homans 
 
 ' Pone oleum lini in ollani novam parvulam, et adde gummi 
 quod vacatur for ins, minutissime tritum, quod babet speciem luci- 
 dissimi tburis; sed cum frangitur, fulgorem clariorem reddit; quod 
 cum super carbones posueris, coque diligenter sic, ut non bulliat, 
 donee tertia pars consumatur ; et cave a flamma, quod periculosum 
 est nirais et difficile extinguitur si accendatur. Hoc glutine om- 
 nis pictura super linit.i lucida fit et decora ac omnino durabilis. 
 
68 OIL COPAL VAR^'ISH. 
 
 glassa ; cover the vessel with a smaller one, pierced 
 with holes in the bottom : lute them together so 
 closely that the vapour may not escape between 
 their joints : the resin is to be stirred with a 
 crooked iron rod, furnished with a handle, and the 
 melting of it carefully ascertained. 
 
 Meanwhile, some linseed oil is to be prepared in 
 another place, and poured, by degrees, in a boiling 
 state on the melted resin, at the moment when it is 
 completely fluid. This state of it can be ascertained 
 by drawing out the iron rod, off which it will run 
 in threads. Stir it well, to assist the incorporation, 
 and let it remain some time longer on the fire ; 
 try it occasionally, by dropping some of it on a 
 piece of wood or stone, to ascertain whether it has 
 a proper consistency. 
 
 The best proportion of the materials to be used 
 is, one part resin, and two linseed oil : when suffi- 
 ciently boiled, take it off the fire, and set it to cool.' 
 
 ' Compone quatuor vel tres lapides qui possent ignem sustinere 
 '\tk ut resiliant, et super ipsos pone ollam rudem, et in earn mitte 
 supra dictum gummi fornis quod Romana glassa vocatur ; et super 
 OS hujus ollae pone ollam niinorem quae habeat in fundo modicum 
 foramen. Et circum lineas ei pastam ita ut nihil spiraminis inter 
 ipsas ollas exeat. Habebis etiam ferrum gracile manubrio impo- 
 situra, unde commovebis ipsum gummi et cum quo sentire possis 
 ut omnino liquidum fiat. Habebis quoque ollam tertiam super 
 carbones positam, in qua sit oleum calidum ; et cum gummi penitiis 
 liquidum fuerit, ita ut extreme ferro quasi filum trahatur, infunde 
 
OIL COPAL VARXISH. 69 
 
 We are not aware what kind of resin Theophilus 
 designates as fortiis and glassa Romana. We do 
 not find these terms in our glossaries ; but every in- 
 quiry proves, that there is not any other resin to 
 which this description would apply. The American 
 copal was not known in the time of Theophilus, but 
 the Italian painters must have been long acquainted 
 with that of India ; and it is from that region that 
 the greatest proportion of the copal of commerce is 
 still brought. 
 
 The two methods described may be successfully 
 employed. And it is worthy of remark, that the 
 proportion of one part of resin, to two of oil, must 
 produce so strong a varnish that it would not be 
 possible to use it without diluting it with an addi- 
 tional quantity of oil. If the text be correct, we must 
 suppose that only a part of the resin was dissolved : 
 for when the whole is to be united, it will require 
 four or five parts of oil to one part of copal. I am 
 also of opinion, that the intention of Theophilus, in 
 directing that the oil should not be boiled, was, 
 
 ei oleum calidum, et ferro commove, et insimul coque ut non bul- 
 liat, et interdum extrahe ferrum et lini modice super lignum sive 
 super lapidem ut probes diversitatem ejus ; et hoc caveas in pon- 
 dere ut sint duae partes olei et tertia gummi. Cumque ad libitum 
 tuum coxeris, diligenter ab igne removens et discoperiens refrige- 
 rari sine. 
 
70 OIL COPAL VARNISH. 
 
 that its ebullition might not become gaseous, and 
 rush out of the vessel. 
 
 Gum copal will neither melt, nor combine with oil, 
 until the latter is at the boiling point. This is the 
 moment of which we ought to take advantage, if 
 we desire to have a varnish very slightly coloured. 
 When the operation is carried on in a glass mat- 
 trass, all the points connected with it may be ob- 
 served with exactness, and in this way it is also the 
 most likely to succeed. 
 
 For this purpose a glass mattrass, with a short 
 neck,' is used ; this is to be filled about two-thirds, 
 with a mixture containing five parts of nut oil and one 
 part of copal, finely powdered. To prevent any risk in 
 approaching the fire, and to manage the process care- 
 fully, the neck of the mattrass must be carefully 
 fastened by iron wire to the end of a long forked stick. 
 Thus prepared, the operator holds the mattrass over 
 a furnace filled with ignited charcoal, without any 
 flame, and care must be taken not to bring it forward 
 too suddenly. When the oil has acquired a heat supe- 
 rior to boiling water, the copal is seen in agitation, 
 ascending to the surface of the liquid ; the tempe- 
 
 * If the neck of the retort was long, the water which is evolved 
 with the other vapours would condense, and, flowing back again 
 into the vessel, would cause those explosions that are always dis- 
 agreeable, if not alarming. 
 
 12 
 
OIL COPAL VARXISH. 71 
 
 rature rises progressively ; the resin ascends in a 
 greater volume ; and vapour begins to leave the 
 aperture of the vessel : by degrees this becomes 
 abundant, and fills all the vase ; the surface of the 
 oil tumifies like milk when about to boil, and it 
 would evaporate in foam if the vessel w^ere not re- 
 moved a little from the fire. This is the moment 
 at which the copal begins to dissolve : the oil, 
 changing to a state of va})our, has acquired the pro- 
 per degree of heat to effect that object, and, by 
 giving gently a rotatory motion to the mass, the 
 white vapours and scum soon disappear, and the 
 fire being seen clearly through the liquid, indicates 
 that the operation is complete.* 
 
 When the copal has not been well ground, some 
 small lumps will appear, which could not be dis- 
 solved because of their size : but this may be done by 
 prolonging the ebullition : the varnish would of course 
 become more coloured by remaining longer exposed 
 to the fire. It would, therefore, be better, previous 
 to the operation, to pass the pulverized copal 
 through a silken sieve, or still better to grind it 
 
 ' When the oil has been exposed a sufficient length of time to 
 the rays of the sun, it no longer tumifies, neither does it give out 
 any scum. Should it have become very viscous, six parts of oil must 
 be added, otherwise the varnish will be too thick for use. 
 
72 OIL COPAL VARKISH. 
 
 well with oil before it is put into the mattrass : 
 this will certainly quicken the operation, and con- 
 sequently the varnish will be less coloured. 
 
 The mattrass might be placed in a sand bath, and 
 allowed to remain there without being stirred until 
 the whitish vapours begin to fill up the cavity, and the 
 oil mounting in foam, it would be in danger of rushing 
 out of the vessel ; but in this case the operation would 
 be much slower, and the fire must be much stronger, 
 to bring the sand up to the degree of heat required. 
 I have tried to produce this combination in a silver 
 vessel, but did not succeed ; for the external air 
 prevented the resin from heating, and it was merely 
 softened, though coloured strongly.* 
 
 It is, therefore, better to employ a mattrass in 
 which the heat is strong, and kept nearly equal ; but, 
 to give more certainty to the operation, I would 
 advise that no more than one or two ounces of copal 
 should be dissolved at a time ; but should it be in- 
 tended to melt several pounds at one time, recourse 
 must be had to the second process of Theophilus, 
 
 1 I am quite persuaded that we should always succeed in dis- 
 solving the copal when reduced to an impalpable powder, if we 
 took the pains to project it in small portions upon the boiling oil, 
 and then waiting patiently until that was dissolved ere we added 
 another part of the powder ; but varnish made in this way would 
 no doubt be a good deal coloured. 
 
OIL COPAL VARXISH. / "3 
 
 which, as I have stated, is the same that is followed 
 at the present day in making oil varnish ; substi- 
 tuting a mattrass of copper, with a wide opening, 
 instead of the two vases luted together at their 
 edges. This mattrass should be furnished with two 
 handles, for the convenience of removing it, and its 
 edge should be surrounded by a ledge, which will 
 form a channel : this is a most useful appendage ; for, 
 without the greatest care in constantly stirring the 
 substance, it foams, rushes forth, and would burst 
 into flame, were it not prevented by this trough. 
 
 With this apparatus five or six pounds of copal 
 may be fused at a time. Some very experienced ma- 
 nufacturers have assured me, that this quantity is 
 the most proper ; they say that if only one pound 
 is used, the varnish imbibes a strong colour, and 
 that only the same thing will occur if ten pounds are 
 used. But I know not why, witii an apparatus pro- 
 perly constructed, we should be unable to dissolve a 
 pound of copal into the best varnish. 
 
 As soon as the copal begins to dissolve, whitish 
 \ apours arise from the neck of the mattrass, which 
 increase abundantly ; it must then be carefully 
 stirred about with a fine iron spatula, to prevent 
 the melting resin from boiling over, and to accele- 
 
 £ 
 
74 OIL COPAL VARNISH. 
 
 rate the fusion by changing the surface. The 
 process is complete when we no longer obsers^e 
 any more pieces of copal floating about, and when, 
 in drawing forth the spatula, the resin runs rapidly 
 in drops, and falls off without forming threads. 
 
 Upon this fused matter the boiling linseed oil is 
 to be poured slowly, stirring it well at the same 
 time to insure its union ; because the temperature 
 of the boiling oil being inferior to that of the melted 
 resin, the latter would lose its fluidity if the oil was 
 poured upon it at once, and their union would be 
 imperfect. 
 
 When this incorporation has taken place, the 
 spatula is drawn out, and some of the liquid is drop- 
 ped on a piece of glass : should the drops be per- 
 fectly transparent, the union is complete ; if cloudy, 
 then the mattrass is allowed to remain on the fire 
 until the drops become transparent ; this soon takes 
 place, but the varnish is of a higher colour. 
 
 -When this operation has terminated, there only 
 remains to be added the oil of turpentine, to give the 
 mixture that degree of fluidity which is desirable : 
 for this purpose the mattrass is taken off the fire, 
 having its orifice well covered with a wet cloth, to 
 prevent the oily vapour from expanding, the odour 
 
OIL COPAL VARNISH, 
 
 of which is very disagreeable ; the mixture is allowed 
 first to cool a little, merely to prevent the volatile 
 oil from becoming ignited. 
 
 The manufacturers of varnish usually dissolve 
 their copal in the open air, to prevent the accidents 
 to which the operation is exposed by catching fire : 
 a single spark from the furnace is sufficient to 
 ignite the vapour, which issues in a large quantity 
 from the mattrass. Whenever this happens, the 
 flame must be stifled by throwing over it a wet 
 cloth, kept ready for that purpose ; but a coverlid, 
 furnished with several folds of cloth, would be still 
 better, for, by its handle, it may be applied in- 
 stantly to the vessel. 
 
 But these accidents could not happen if the 
 fiu"nace was constructed so as to prevent all com- 
 munication between the fire and the vapour, and 
 if they would use a very simple apparatus, which 
 one of the most experienced manufacturers has 
 had constructed, according to an idea which I 
 communicated to him ; the contrivance not only 
 prevents the possibility of the vapour igniting, but 
 the bad smell is also destroyed by it. 
 
 This apparatus is composed of a tin or copper 
 tunnel, about two feet in length, which is inserted 
 into the neck of the mattrass, and the upper end is 
 £ 2 
 
76 OIL COPAL VARNISH. 
 
 closed with iron wire ; the vapours easily pass 
 through, become inflamed, and burn like gas : the 
 neck of the mattrass, into which this tunnel is 
 fixed, is sloped and resembles the neck of a flask ; 
 upon this inclined plane is a tabular opening, 
 stop})cd with a cork, which can be taken out to 
 allow of the resin being stirred with the spatula. 
 
 The same manufacturer using it in the open air, 
 and finding that the wind extinguished the flame, 
 conceived the plan of substituting, for the straight 
 tunnel already mentioned, one of a curved form, 
 which descended near the ground. The fumes 
 condensed in this tunnel ; and, cooling readily, he 
 collected, by distillation, volatile oil of copal, which, 
 ^\hen rectified, may become very useful. 
 
 In this way he obtained the double purpose he 
 had in view, — in preventing accidents from fire, and 
 in destroying the offensive smell. The safety and 
 salubrity of this method, it is hoped, will encourage 
 our varnish-makers to abandon the barbarous me- 
 thod now generally in use, and that they will 
 adopt this apparatus, which may be still further 
 improved. 
 
 It is recommended to use a strong heat in melt- 
 ing the copal. This resin being a bad conductor, 
 the caloric penetrates it very slowly ; and the part 
 
OIL COPAL VAUKISII. 77 
 
 first dissolved gets browner in proportion to the 
 time it is exposed to the action of the fire. Al- 
 ways near the close of the operation, care nuist be 
 taken that the fire be not too strong : too great an 
 elevation of the temperature would cause it to 
 explode ; and for this reason it would be proper to 
 arrange the furnace in such a way as that it may 
 be moderated at will, or, which is not difficult, to 
 have the power of interrupting its communication 
 with the mattrass. The varnish would be less 
 coloured if the copal could be drawn off as it fuses, 
 and then incorporated with the oil. This object 
 would be obtained by means of an ingenious appa- 
 ratus which T'lngry has proposed for a different 
 purjjose, and of which the original idea is to be 
 found in a " Treatise on Varnishes^'''' by P. Bonnani., 
 who states that he had it from a German.^ This 
 apparatus is composed of a cylindrical furnace, 
 either cast or of earthenware, with holes properly 
 arranged around its diameter, to introduce the air 
 required in the combustion. At the bottom of this 
 furnace is an opening of circular shape, in which 
 
 * " Trattato sopra vernice delta communemente ' Cinese,' dai 
 Filippo Bonnani, della compagnia di Gesu." This work has been 
 translated into the French language, and the translation has the 
 rare merit of being faithful to the original text. 
 
 E 3 
 
78 OIL COPAL VARNISH. 
 
 should be placed a crucible of conical form ; this is 
 open at both ends, the upper being intended to 
 receive a lid closely fitted on. 
 
 In this crucible a bag of metallic wire is to be 
 placed, similar in form, but smaller, that it may not 
 touch it in any point ; it is secured by hooks of 
 wire ; this bag is then filled with copal reduced 
 to very small pieces, and directly closed with a lid, 
 which is firmly fixed by means of iron wire, and it is 
 luted by a mixture of argill and sand. 
 
 The crucible, being thus prepared, is so placed in 
 the furnace that its aperture will be exactly in the 
 direction of the opening in which it is fixed ; the 
 furnace is then placed upon a tripod, and the cruci- 
 ble is surrounded with lighted charcoal. The caloric 
 soon penetrates to the copal, which, as it melts, 
 flows down into a vase containing boiling linseed 
 oil, with which it is incorporated by being stirred 
 up with a spatula of iron. 
 
 Whilst the copal is melting, a great quantity of 
 vapour issues from the crucible, and, being drawn 
 towards the air opening in the furnace, would in- 
 flame very quickly, if the communication was not 
 cut off". 
 
 This may be done by a large plate of iron, with 
 an opening in it of the diameter of the crucible, the 
 
OIL COPAL VARNISH. 79 
 
 lower end of which is left outside the furnace, and by 
 directing the vapour in a particular channel. This 
 can be done more simply by covering with wire 
 the air-holes of the furnace, as the ignition will only 
 take place on the outside of the wire. 
 
 As the copal will not incorporate with the oil, if 
 the latter is not actually boiling, care must be taken 
 to have it quite ready ; for the moment that the fur- 
 nace is lighted the copal begins to melt. 
 
 The proport/ion of oil employed must be deter- 
 mined by the species of varnish intended to be 
 made. Four or five parts of linseed oil to one of 
 resin will give a varnish that mixes easily \\ith the 
 colours, and which renders them more full and 
 brilliant without drying more rapidly. If a more 
 quickly drying varnish is required, only two parts of 
 oil should at first be added ; the varnish will then be 
 so thick that it cannot be used ; but, before it cools, 
 two other parts of white drying oil may be added, 
 which must previously be heated to the same tem- 
 perature. 
 
 Finally, should a varnish be required for covering 
 pictures when they are completely dry, only one part 
 of oil is required for two of copal : this should be 
 afterwards diluted with oil of turpentine, sufficient 
 to give it the proper degree of fluidity. 
 E 4 
 
80 PICTURE VARXISH. 
 
 Linseed oil, even when very clear, still contains 
 some mucilage, from which it must be purified 
 previous to the operation : this may be done by 
 exposing it for some weeks to the rays of the 
 sum' 
 
 Drying oil is employed in the varnish which is 
 afterwards mixed with oil of turpentine ; and as 
 that oil must be in a boiling state, some precau- 
 tions ought to be taken to prevent its becoming too 
 highly coloured. It will, therefore, be best to boil 
 it first over a slow fire, with only a sixth part of 
 litharge finely ground, and then filtered ; when it 
 is thus sepai'ated from the uncombined litharge, 
 it may be boiled without danger of its growing 
 darker. 
 
 PICTURE VARNISH. 
 
 The usual method of preparing this varnish is by 
 dissolving mastic in oil of turpentine, adding to it 
 a sufficient quantity of fine turpentine : this pre- 
 paration has a full body, is viscous, and gives bril- 
 
 * The blanching of the oil maybe much accelerated by exposing 
 it to the action of the sun in shallow saucers of porcelain ; five or 
 six days will produce as much effect upon the shallow liquid with 
 extended surface as could be effected in six months upon the 
 quantity contained in a pint bottle. 
 
PICTUHE VARXISH. 81 
 
 liancy to tbe varnish. But I have ah-eady stated 
 it is not durable, from its containing an excess of 
 oil : it only dries on the surface, and this causes 
 the picture to crack ; it would, therefore, be better 
 to omit the turpentine, and to increase the quantity 
 of mastic. The following proportions may be 
 used : — 
 
 100 parts of mastic, 
 
 200 of oil of turpentine. 
 The best mastic should always be chosen for this 
 purpose ; but as the impm-e parts are not soluble in 
 the essential oil, its colour is not injured by them : 
 they naturally separate and descend, leaving the 
 solution transparent ; or it may be filtered through 
 a tunnel with a piece of cotton in it. 
 
 The solution of the mastic may be accelerated 
 by grinding it ; but it dissolves so readily that this 
 may be dispensed with : in fact it melts as soon as 
 the heat reaches the boiling point, and even sooner; 
 and if only the sun's heat is used, you will have 
 a colourless varnish.* Should the above prepara- 
 tion produce too strong a varnish, the addition of 
 
 ' If the solution is to be made by the heat of the sun, it will 
 be requisite to reduce the mastic to a very fine powder, and only 
 to add the spirit of turpentine by small portions, at the same 
 time stirring the mixture with a spatula until they are completely 
 incorporated. 
 
 £ 5 
 
82 PICTURE VARNISH. 
 
 oil of turpentine will give it the consistency re- 
 quired. 
 
 Copal varnish could be used advantageously for 
 the first couch instead of mastic. Its superior 
 solidity will preserve the work from the effects of 
 frequent washing ; and when the picture is per- 
 fectly dry, a fine couch of mastic may be laid on it, 
 which at any time may be removed without in the 
 least endangering the glazing. But many artists 
 object to the use of copal varnish, because it has h 
 slight colour, like amber, and cannot be made as 
 colourless as mastic : yet this is not the fact ; for I 
 have succeeded in doing so by following Reaumur''s 
 method, by dissolving, without heat, the softer copal : 
 it is longer in drying, but is very proper for pic- 
 tures. The method is to add the dissolvent by 
 degrees, adding, each day, some fresh material, as 
 the former portion becomes absorbed. 
 
 Reaumur used oil of spike, which has more 
 affinity for copal than oil of turpentine ; but as that 
 oil is more solid, and evaporates more slowly than 
 the latter, I have only used it to soften the copal, 
 and have finished the operation with the essence in 
 the following manner : — 
 
 I have reduced to powder the softer kinds of 
 fine copal, and have ground it in a mortar of porce- 
 
PICTURE VARNISH. 83 
 
 lain, with a little of the volatile oil of lavender, the 
 purest I could obtain ; the copal is soon softened, 
 and becomes a sort of thick jelly ; I then allow it 
 to remain for a day, stimng it occasionally ; on 
 the following day I added a few drops of turpentine 
 oil, and triturated them together, continuing this 
 treatment until the union was complete, which 
 occupied three weeks in summer. I have also 
 employed aether to commence the solution, and 
 finished as before. 
 
 This operation would be completed in a shorter 
 time by heating it in some degree ; but then the 
 dissolvent must be added drop by drop : for when 
 the solution is nearly complete, should too much 
 oil be added, it will not combine, and even a separa- 
 tion takes place between the oil and the resin ; 
 when this happens, the oil must be drawn off, and 
 returned in smaller portions. I have used the essen- 
 tial oil of rosemary for that of spike, and it ha.s 
 produced an effect much more rapidly in dissolving 
 the copal, particularly if a little spirit of wine be 
 added. The latter oil is more drying, and would 
 be most useful in the preparation of varnish ; but 
 its odour is so strong that few persons like to use 
 it, though, as I have stated before, that pungent 
 smell may be prevented. 
 
 E 6 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 ON THE USE OF VARNISH WITH THE COLOURS. 
 
 Of the four species of varnish, which I have just 
 described, the process for making the copal varnish 
 appears to me entitled to a decided preference :' it 
 gives greater brilliancy and transparency to the 
 colour ; and though it dries slowly enough to 
 allow of the most careful execution, yet it dries 
 completely, and becomes very durable. It is not 
 so firm on the palette as the others; but it may 
 be prevented from running down by adding to it a 
 little mastic, wax, or hard sperm. In the following 
 chapter I shall point out the precautions to be 
 attended to when it is used in glazing. The selec- 
 tion of these varnishes chiefly depends upon the use 
 
 ' It has been already remarked that this is the varnish whicli 
 Prudhon always used during the latter years of his life. His 
 picture of Christ on the cross, in the Louvre, is painted with this 
 varnish ; and we can there judge of the effect it is capable of 
 producing. 
 
ON THE USE OF VARNISH, &;C. 85 
 
 they may be a])plied to, and the peculiar habitudes 
 of each artist in working with colours more or less 
 hquid. 
 
 When it is intended to paint up at once on a 
 very smooth ground, a very viscous varnish must 
 be rubbed over the surface, or the colours will not 
 adhere to it; this ought to be rubbed on with a very 
 stiff brush ; it will give a body to the colour, ren- 
 dering it fine, and preventing a fresh touch from 
 taking off that on which it is laid. 
 
 Should it be required to glaze a great portion of 
 a picture, the varnish must be made liquid enough 
 to flow freely under the pencil, without spreading 
 beyond the place to which it is applied. In such 
 cases a little practice will soon teach us to choose 
 the best for our purpose, observing that it can be 
 rendered more solid by the addition of the copal. 
 
 It often happens that very skilful painters have 
 not any great facility of hand ; some are obliged, 
 as were Leonardo da Vinci, Dominichino, and 
 E-embrandt, to return several times to their work. 
 Those, therefore, who have a similar slowness of 
 execution, should be careful in their commence- 
 ment to use colours of a very drying nature ; for 
 colours that are slow in drying are more liable to 
 be disturbed and altered. 
 
 When the work is not intended to be painted 
 
86 OK GLAZING. 
 
 I 
 
 up at once, and when it is necessary to return 
 several times to the principal parts, there must not 
 be any varnish used in the first painting, and but 
 a small quantity in the next operations. It is in 
 the finishing that all the transparency and brilliancy 
 of the colour is to be brought forward : and, more 
 especially to prevent absorption, to secure the com- 
 plete drying of the colours in the lower as well as 
 the upper couches, it will be found useful to use 
 distemper grounds.^ 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 ON GLAZING. 
 
 The effect produced by the colours used in glazing 
 is such, that it is impossible to produce any thing 
 like it with solid colour; it forms a distinct series of 
 tints, \\athout which it is impossible to represent 
 transparent objects ; it is to this power that oil paint- 
 ing owes its supremacy over distemper painting ; but 
 as it is of great consequence to imitate the trans- 
 parency of nature, so we should be careful so to use 
 our means as not to overlook the advantages de- 
 rivable from the contrast of unglazed colours. It is 
 a fault of the Flemish school that their glazing is 
 
 ' See Chapter V. On the preparation of panels and primed 
 cloths. 
 
ON GLAZING. 87 
 
 sometimes applied in wrong situations, and where, 
 had the colours remained opaque, a better effect 
 would have been produced. Suppose, for instance, 
 a clear water near a rock, or fine bank, it is evident 
 that the opaque bodies should be painted with 
 mat or dull colours, and then the glazing employed 
 in giving transparency to the water would produce 
 a more natural effect. 
 
 Glazing is never rightly performed except when 
 it gives to the picture the effect of coloured 
 varnish. 
 
 To obtain this essential object, the varnish 
 should be well prepared, it should flow freely in 
 the pencil, and not spread beyond its place ; and 
 the colours should be prepared and ground as finely 
 as possible.^ By attending carefully to these con- 
 ditions, such opaque colours as vermillion, the oxides 
 of iron, and even Naples yellow, may be used in 
 glazing, and produce tints that cannot be obtained 
 by any other means. It is always best to glaze as 
 soon as the picture is dry enough to prevent the 
 glazing being absorbed ; it then forms a union with 
 the colours beneath it, and is less liable to be scoured 
 off in the cleaning. This, however, is not always 
 
 ' The perfect trituration of the colours increases their bright- 
 ness and transparency. 
 
88 ON GLAZING. 
 
 possible with some glazings which affect the 
 general tone of the picture, and which cannot be 
 used until it is nearly completed. 
 
 With respect to the glazing on solid colour, 
 which we see so frequently practised in the works 
 of Rubens, and which are the most lasting, they 
 must have been touched on when the colours on 
 which they are laid had become firm enough not t<> 
 be disturbed by the pencil. 
 
 It sometimes happens that the parts to be glazed 
 become too dry, and then the glazing runs off them 
 like water from an oiled surface : when copal var- 
 nish has been used, the work is particularly liable to 
 this accident. In such a case it is best to wash 
 the part with alcohol and warm water, mixing after- 
 wards some drops of alcohol in the glazing, or moi.s- 
 tening the brush in that liquid : this will make the 
 glazing lie on quite smoothly. It would answer 
 equally well to apply at first a very light couch of the 
 drying oil and mastic varnish described at page 81. 
 
 The intention in glazing pictures is to give a 
 natural and agreeable mellowness to the execution 
 of the work. For this reason it is, that those parts 
 of the picture intended to be glazed should be painte<l 
 with firmness in solid colour. It should be borne 
 in mind, however, that softness is not neces.saril} 
 
ON GLAZING. 89 
 
 the result of glazing ; and the pictures of the great 
 masters of the Venetian and Flemish schools give 
 abundant evidence of that fact. In glazing, it is of 
 great importance that we should take into account 
 the change that time occasions in the colours of 
 oil and varnishes. It is, as we shall prove in the 
 next paragraph, quite inevitable that they should 
 take a yellowish tone, of a lighter or deeper shade 
 according to the time they may have been painted ; 
 therefore, such precautions must be taken as will 
 prevent, as far as possible, so great a disadvantage.* 
 For this purpose, when bright parts are glazed, to 
 which even a slight tinge of yellow would be a 
 disadvantage, there should be only the smallest 
 portion of oil used. Besides, the glazing ought to 
 allow for the alteration which this yellow tone will 
 produce in the original colour. For instance, if 
 we wish to glaze a grey shadow upon white, it is 
 better that the violet should predominate than the 
 
 * Several of Titian's pictures are covered with a bistry tint, pro- 
 duced by tlie varnish used in their glazings having turned yellow. 
 Such changes are not observable in the pictures of Fra Bartolomeo ; 
 a fact which proves that the latter employed a better varnish. 
 Neither is the above defect to be seen in the genuine works of 
 Rubens : possibly he may have composed his shadow tints with a 
 mixture of ultramarine lake and Dutch pink : the fading of the lat- 
 ter would balance against the yellow tendency of the oil. 
 
90 ox THE EFFECTS OF LIGHT, &C. 
 
 red, for the mixture of yellow and violet produces 
 the true tint required. 
 
 SECTION 11. 
 
 ON THE EFFECTS WHICH LIGHT AND AIR PRODUCE 
 UPON OILS AND RESINOUS SUBSTANCES. 
 
 In describing the natural properties of oils, I have 
 stated that the various shades of yellow colour arise 
 from a colouring substance, which produces the 
 same effect on wax, and is destroyed by exposure to 
 a strong light ; but wax, after being bleached, re- 
 sumes its original colour if left in a dark place which 
 is badly ventilated. Oils are liable to a similar alte- 
 ration : after being bleached they become rancid ; 
 that is, more or less coloured according to the situ- 
 ation of the places where they have been kept. The 
 whole class of oily substances is liable to this change. 
 Even the resinous bodies which are most free from 
 colour, such as mastic, sandrach, and copal, (which 
 last is the firmest of all,) are found coloured on the 
 surface with a yellowish tinge, which penetrates to 
 a greater or less depth according to the nature of the 
 substance, and the length of time they may have been 
 
ON THE EFFECTS OF LIGHT, &;C. 91 
 
 deprived of the light in a bad atmosphere. Even 
 amber, in time, will take a brownish tone.^ 
 
 This alteration in the colour of those substances 
 ought to be well attended to, and no time should be 
 lost in carefully watching every circumstance con- 
 nected with this tendency to take a yellowish tone, 
 so inherent in all the oils and varnishes. The experi- 
 ments which have been made for this purpose show 
 us, that if we put a couch of oil or mastic on a sur- 
 face of fine white lead, or glass, or white pottery, and 
 then place them apart in a dark situation, where the 
 circulation of the air is confined, and place another 
 portion in a light and airy situation ; in a few years 
 we shall be satisfied that the combined influence of 
 the air and light retards very much the yellowish 
 tendency of the oils and varnishes, and that copal 
 varnish, which is much harder than mastic, preserves 
 its original brightness much longer than the others. 
 It would appear evident from these facts, that the best 
 way of preserving pictures would be to varnish them 
 lightly with copal at first, and when this layer is 
 
 • There is a very striking example of the alteration which oily 
 substances produce upon the transparent, varnished, or oiled paper, 
 used in tracing. In the course of a few years this paper acquires 
 a very dark brownish yellow colour. In such a case it would be 
 well to examine whether some combustion ol the paper has not 
 taken place from the action upon it of the oily substance. 
 
92 ON CRACKS, &C. 
 
 perfectly dry, to lay over them a couch of mastic. 
 In a few years this will become yellow or chilled, 
 and then it may be removed. The copal varnish, 
 being extremely hard, will not suffer by the removal 
 of this covering, but will preserve the picture so 
 well, that even the glazing cannot be endangered 
 in the cleaning. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 OF CRACKS IN THE SURFACE OF PICTURP'.S, AND 
 MEANS OF AVOIDING THEM. 
 
 I have elsewhere observed, that those cracks we 
 so often see in pictures are not always the conse- 
 quences of using varnish, but that they will constantly 
 appear when the lower couches of paint remain soft, 
 at the same time that those on the surface are dry. 
 
 When a couch of thick drying oil is applied to the 
 surface of a primed cloth, the surface of the latter 
 soon becomes dry : when this is painted upon 
 afterwards with flake white, the colour is absorbed 
 immediately, and it will dry so much more quickly 
 because a portion of the oil it contains will leave it 
 to unite with that of the under couch. In such a 
 case, should the atmosphere be warm enough to 
 allow the colour to dilate, the couch of white will 
 
ON CRACKS, SzC. 93 
 
 be rended.' To prevent this state of things, care 
 must be taken to commence the work with colours 
 that dry readily, and not to use bituminous earths, 
 but, instead of these, to employ charcoal black, raw 
 umber, and oxide of iron : if the lakes are used, they 
 should be ground with drying oil, and mixed with 
 the red oxide of iron, massicot, or other colour of a 
 drying nature. 
 
 Many artists make their first painting in trans- 
 parent colour, like a wash. It cannot be denied 
 that this method is favourable to colouring : it was 
 the practice of Rubens and the Flemish school ; 
 yet Titian, Corregio, P. Veronese, and Rembrandt, 
 have commenced their first lays with solid colour, 
 and, with the aid of glazing, have obtained as much 
 transparency as we find in the works of F. Barto- 
 lomeo and Rubens, who commenced with washes. 
 Besides, it must be observed, that the earlier paint- 
 ers who in their first painting pursued an extreme 
 degree of transparency, always worked on panels 
 primed with plaster of paris ; but if, like P. Vero- 
 nese, they painted upon distemper gi-ounds, they 
 need not be afraid of cracks, for the excess of oil 
 would be carried of by the priming of the canvass.* 
 
 ' See in Cliapter VI. " On the Restoration of Pictures," the re- 
 medy for these cracks, when they are not of too long a standing. 
 
 * See, in Chapter V., the article on the method of laying the first 
 painting, or dead colouring, expeditiously upon distemper grounds. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 ON THE PREPARATION OF COLOURS. 
 
 YELLOWS. 
 CHROMATE OF LEAD. 
 
 This colour is found quite perfect in its natural 
 state : that of commerce is an artificial production. 
 In its natiu*al state it has long been kno\vn as " Si- 
 berian red lead."" In 1797 M. Vauqmlin analysed 
 it, and found it to be a combination of oxide of lead 
 and an acidifiable metal, to which he gave the ap- 
 pellation of " chrome," because of the various colours 
 which the different preparations assumed. In fact, 
 the chromate of lead is yellow ; that of mercury, red ; 
 of silver, purple ; and the oxide of chrome is green, 
 and very valuable for porcelain and enamel, because 
 it will resist a very high temperature almost without 
 changing. 
 
YELLOWS. 95 
 
 Red lead, which was the object of M. Vauque- 
 lin's enquiries, has hitherto been found only in Si- 
 beria, and even there it is not common ; so that the 
 laborious research of this learned chemist would not 
 have been of much advantage to painters, if it had 
 not been for the discovery, in France, of a mineral 
 containing a considerable portion of oxide of chrome, 
 mixed with oxide of iron. It has also been found 
 in the United States of America, chiefly in Mary- 
 land ; and it is from Baltimore that the greater por- 
 tion of this substance is exported. The chromate 
 of lead is prepared with this mineral by the union of 
 the acid with oxide of chrome, and at the same time 
 combining potass with the acid ; then decomposing 
 the chromate of potass with soluble salt of lead. 
 
 For this purpose, one half part of the nitrate of 
 potass is to be mixed with one entire part of the 
 earth containing oxide of chrome. This mixture 
 is then to be calcined in a close crucible, and the 
 substance is afterwards to be washed in warm 
 water, filtered, and thi'own into a solution of acetate, 
 or nitrate of lead ; and nothing more is required to 
 complete the operation than to wash the precipi- 
 tate\ In proportion as the chromate of potass 
 is in the neutral state, or that of subchromate 
 
 1 The nitrate of lead produces the finest yellows. 
 
96 MINERAL YELLOW. 
 
 and according as the precipitation is made in cold 
 or warm water, the tint will vary, from a delicate 
 clear yellow to that of orange colour. 
 
 It is not, however, a permanent colour, and is 
 less so in proportion to the oxide of lead it contains. 
 In a few years its brightness goes off, and it becomes 
 like yellow ochi-e ; but when combined with alumine, 
 it continues brilliant for a much longer period. I 
 believe that a mixture of alumine, silex, and chro- 
 mate of lead, will sustain a considerable degree of 
 heat, and that the colour, half vitrified, will be un- 
 changeable. 
 
 MINERAL YELLOW (cHLORIDE OF LEAD). 
 
 This is a combination of lead and chlorine. It is 
 prepared in various ways : the following method by 
 M. Chaptal is one of the oldest on record : — 
 
 Four parts of litharge, reduced to an impalpable 
 powder, are moistened with one part of marine salt, 
 dissolved in four of water. 
 
 It is then formed into a thin paste, and to remain 
 undisturbed until it begins to whiten ; it must then 
 be stirred well with the spatula, to prevent its grow- 
 ing too hard. 
 
 In proportion as the consistency increases, salt 
 is added ; and if it appeal's that there is not sufti- 
 
MINERAL YELLOW. 97 
 
 cient of this ingredient, water must be added to 
 retain the paste in a proper condition. In about 
 twenty- four hours this compound should have be- 
 come well bleached, very compact, and quite free 
 from lumps : but it must still be stirred occa- 
 sionally, to complete the decomposition : it is then 
 to be carefully washed, to deprive it of the soda, 
 which will be found separated from the mai'ine salt, 
 and the white paste must then be placed to drain 
 on a filter. 
 
 When dr}', it is reduced to powder, and exposed 
 in the receiver of a reverberatory furnace, until it 
 assumes the yellow colour required ; this powder 
 is then to be thrown into a crucible which has been 
 brought up to a red heat, and is then returned 
 into the furnace, where it is only allowed to remain 
 until the composition has melted ; thus fused, it is 
 thrown on a plate of iron ; and when cool, it forms 
 a crystalline mass striated transversely. 
 
 I have witnessed in England the following method 
 of producing this pigment : — 
 
 Acetate of lead was first decomposed by marine 
 salt : the chlorine, as in the former instance, was 
 separated from the soda, and formed a new combi- 
 nation with the lead; this chloride of lead was then 
 
08 MINERAL YELLOW. 
 
 carefully washed, and when dry was mixed with 
 a certain quantity of pulverized litharge ; it was 
 then melted quickly in a crucible, and thrown upon 
 a plate of iron ; but according as the mixture is 
 exposed for a longer or shorter time to the action 
 of fire, the shade of colour will be lighter or darker ; 
 the heat is therefore to be kept equal ; the crucibles 
 are heated to red at first, and withdrawn at the 
 same time. 
 
 In the following process bismuth and antimony 
 are used, and should have the effect of rendering 
 the colour more permanent. They are ground 
 a})art, that the proportions may be exactly ascer- 
 tained, which are as follow : — 
 
 Bismuth, 3 parts 
 
 Sulphuret of antimony, . 24 
 
 Nitrate of potass, ... 64 
 This mixture is to be di'opped by degi-ees into a 
 heated crucible ; when dissolved, it must be thrown 
 into a vessel of water, where it is to remain, and 
 must be well stirred for the requisite time. 
 
 It must then be repeatedly decanted until the 
 water has lost all its smell; it is then to be fil- 
 tered, and the oxide thus obtained is a fine powder, 
 of an impure yellow tint. 
 
 An eighth part of this oxide perfectly dry, is then 
 
NAPLES YELLOW. 99 
 
 inixed with one part of muriate of ammonia, and 
 sixteen parts of very pure litharge. 
 
 The fusion is then to be carried on as in the 
 English process : great care must be taken, how- 
 ever, that the degree of heat, and the duration of 
 the process, shall be exactly the same. It is as 
 well to be aware, that the best crucibles will not be 
 able to sustain more than three or four operations ; 
 and also, that they do not stand the heat, if kept 
 exposed to the fire during a longer time than is 
 required to fuse the mixture. Fifty years ago the 
 mineral yellow was not known : it is not so per- 
 manent as Naples yellow, and gi'ows paler in time ; 
 it may be used with the latter colour and with the 
 ochres. 
 
 NAPLES YELLOW. 
 
 The discovery of this colour belongs to high 
 antiquity, even so far back as the earlier working 
 of enamel. The Italians give it the name of Gial- 
 lolino ; Cennino Cennini writes it so : Paul Lo- 
 mazzo styles it Giallolino di Furnace di Fiandra 
 e di Allamagna ; but it is probable that when the 
 French artists began to use this colour, they ob- 
 tained it direct from Naples, where perhaps it was 
 made of a better quality than elsewhere. 
 F 2 
 
100 NAPLES YELLOW. 
 
 There is in the Memoirs of the Academy of 
 Sciences, a. d. 1772, an account of a process 
 communicated by M. Fougeroux de Bondaroy : it 
 is as follows : — 
 
 Proportions to be used. 
 
 Ceruse 12 oz. 
 
 Sulphuret of antimony .... 2 
 
 Calcined alum ^ 
 
 Sal ammoniac 1 
 
 " These materials must all be reduced to powder, 
 then mixed in exact proportions, and placed in an 
 earthen pan covered with a lid of the same material : 
 this pan is then to be placed in a potter''s furnace, 
 where it is to be calcined, first at a low heat, 
 increasing it by degrees, until the vessel has as- 
 sumed a moderately red appearance ; it will require 
 three hours of this calcination before this mixture 
 is properly prepared. 
 
 " The product of this operation will be a fritty 
 substance, of a golden yellow hue ; this frit is then 
 thrown into water, to separate it from whatever 
 salts it may contain ; it is then ground, and its 
 tint becomes much paler." This process has been 
 repeated exactly as directed, but without success. 
 
 M. Fougeroux has translated into the word 
 alum, the Italian expression, which in the receipt 
 
NAPLES YELLOW. 101 
 
 given to him, was doubtless allume di/ecia, thai is, 
 "salt of tartar;" he is also mistaken in naming 
 " sulphurei of antimony" amongst the ingredients, it 
 is the " oxide of antimony" that should be used. 
 
 In a collection of receipts relative to various 
 processes of the arts, printed at Venice, in 1758, 
 is a memoir by Passari on the manufacture of 
 faience ; mention is also made in it of the materials 
 for compounding Naples yellow. According to 
 that author, it is thus prepared : — 
 
 Antimony \ Ih. 
 
 Lead li 
 
 Common salt .... 1 00. 
 
 Tartrate of potass , . 1 * 
 Passeri observes, that by changing the propor- 
 tions, the yellow obtained will be of a more or less 
 golden hue. In four out of the six receipts which 
 he gives, there is no mention whatever of marine 
 salt ; the effect of this salt would be to render 
 the colour more clear, but less rich, because it 
 produces a portion of chloride of lead (mineral 
 yellow), which takes away the golden tint that 
 originally characterises the combination of the 
 oxides of lead and antimony. 
 
 * Allume di fecia. 
 
 f3 
 
102 NAPLES YELLOW. 
 
 In the manufacturing of Naples yellow, it is of 
 great consequence that the lead and antimony 
 should be in the complete state of oxides ; they 
 must be intimately blended together in the grinding, 
 and afterwards passed through a silken sieve ; the 
 mixture is then to be laid in a vessel of unglazed 
 earthenware covered up, and placed in a potter's 
 oven, in the least heated part of it, to prevent the 
 danger of the fusion and de-oxidation of the lead. 
 
 The yellow used in enamel painting, is very 
 similar to Naples yellow ; it is composed of the 
 oxides of antimony and lead; by varying the pro- 
 portions, and also the duration of its exposure to 
 the fire, different shades are produced. 
 
 M. Guimet, to whom the arts are very much 
 indebted for his invention of artificial ultramarine, 
 has sent me a specimen of the yellow of antimony 
 bearing a fine golden tint, more intense than that 
 of Naples yellow, and he is quite satisfied as to its 
 durability. 
 
 It is prepared as follows : — 
 
 Antimoniate of potass, or diaphoretic 
 
 antimony, (carefully washed,) 1 part. 
 
 Pure minium, 2 parts. 
 
 These ingredients must be mixed carefully to- 
 gether, and ground, upon a marble flag, to the con- 
 
IODIDE OF LEAD THE OCHRES. 103 
 
 sistence of a paste ; this paste is then to be dried, 
 reduced to a powder, and exposed to a moderate 
 red heat during four or five hours, taking care to 
 regulate the fire in such a manner as to prevent 
 sit rising to a temperature sufficient to carry oft' 
 the oxygen of the lead and antimony. 
 
 M. Guimet thinks, that the deutoxide of anti- 
 mony and the oxide of lead are alone sufficient to 
 produce as strong a yellow ; it appearing to him, 
 that the potass has no other action in this case 
 than that of completely oxidising the antimony, 
 which process is indispensable to the success of the 
 operation. 
 
 IODIDE OF LEAD. 
 
 This colour, which is not yet much known in 
 commerce, is as bright as orpiment or chromate of 
 lead. It is thought to be more permanent ; but 
 time only can prove its pretension to so essential a 
 (juality. It is prepared by precipitating a solution 
 of acetate or nitrate of lead, with hydrochlorate 
 of potass : the nitrate produces a more brilliant 
 yellow colour. 
 
 THE OCHKES. 
 
 These substances are " hydrates of iron." which 
 F 4 
 
104 THE OCHRES. 
 
 signifies, that they are composed of water and 
 oxide of iron, mixed in various proportions, and 
 sometimes closely combined with various sorts of 
 earth. 
 
 The greater the proportion of clay, the brightei" 
 will be the colour : when there is a portion of argil, 
 the substance feels greasy to the touch, and has 
 more body than those have which are mixed with 
 chalk and silex. 
 
 The yellow ochres become red by calcination : the 
 brown ochres, when pure, produce the finest red. 
 
 The " ochre of ru,"" which is incon*ectly spelled 
 and pronounced " rue," takes its etymology from the 
 old word ru, (ruisseau), a rivulet or brook, probably 
 because that this ochre was found deposited in places 
 formed in brooks of ferruginous waters. 
 
 Exposed to the fire, this substance takes a reddish 
 brown colour, not so brilliant as that of the oxide 
 of iron. This fact proves that it contains some 
 remains of vegetable substances, or bituminous 
 matter. 
 
 Terra di Sienna is a brown oclu-e, which, by 
 calcination, produces only a moderately strong red. 
 This proves that it must contain substances which 
 prevent the development of the violet colour, which 
 belongs to the oxide of iron in its pure state. 
 
THE OCHRES. 105 
 
 Ochres may be prepared artificially, by moistening 
 the rust of iron, and precipitating by the alkalis, 
 solutions of this metal. For instance, in precipi- 
 tating it by the sub-carbonate of soda, or of muriate 
 of potass, of nitrate, of acetate of iron, or persulfate 
 of iron, the most brilliant brown ochres are obtained. 
 If the sulphate of iron is of a low oxidation, the pre- 
 cipitate is olive-coloured, but it soon becomes yellow 
 at the surface by absorbing a greater quantity of 
 oxygen. To extend this operation to all the preci- 
 pitates, it only requires exposure to the air, by stir- 
 ring it up for a sufficient time. The same thing may 
 be obtained in winter quite easily, by exposing it to 
 the action of frost in wide shallow pans : the water 
 passing into the state of ice, leaves a small 
 quantity of air disengaged, which unites with the 
 precipitate, and is sufficient to give it an even 
 yellow tone. 
 
 When bright ochres are required, it will be neces- 
 sary to mix alum, in certain proportion, with sulphate 
 of iron ; the solution is then to be precipitated by 
 lime water.' There exist in the natural state ochres 
 of so very fine a quality, that they require no other 
 preparation than that of being washed ; therefore 
 
 ' But this will require a very large quantity of lime, for water 
 only dissolves one five-hundredth part of it. 
 F 5 
 
106 OKPIMEXT. 
 
 it is scarcely worth while to manufacture them arti- 
 ficially.' 
 
 The permanency of these colours is proved by the 
 state of the old pictures. In a box of colours found 
 at Pompeii, and analysed by M. Count Chaptal, he 
 discovered yellow ochre purified by washing, which 
 had preserved its original brightness. 
 
 ORPIMEXT. 
 
 This colour was known in ancient times ; the 
 Latins called it auripigmentum (gold colour), whence, 
 by corruption, its present name is derived. It is 
 a sulphuret of arsenic, found perfectly formed in a 
 natural state : it is also prepared by artificial 
 means. 
 
 There are two kinds of sulphuret of arsenic, the 
 results of different proportions of these substances 
 in combii^tion. If the sulphur should predominate, 
 
 ' I do not believe that any artificial ochre, composed merely of 
 the oxide of iron, carbonic acid, and water, can have the same per- 
 manency as a natural ochre, which contains, in addition to those 
 enumerated, lime, silex, and alumine, in combination. I have 
 founded my opinion upon what we commonly observe of the action 
 of water and air upon iron ; for we see, on a dry morning, after a 
 rainy day, that the iron tires of carriage- wheels are covered with 
 rust of a clear and bright yellow colour ; in a few days this rust 
 becomes a yellowish brown, and, after some time, it changes to a 
 strong red colour. 
 
SULPHURKT OF CADMIUM. 107 
 
 the product will be a clear and very brilliant yellow ; 
 but should the arsenic predominate, the colour will 
 be orange; and it is then called " red orpiment," or 
 " realgar."' 
 
 Both tlicse species have been in use from the 
 earliest times of painting ; and it is easy to perceive 
 that this colour must not be mixed with white lead, 
 nor with any of those colours into which lead enters, 
 such as massicot, minium, muriate and chromate of 
 lead, and Naples yellow. 
 
 The sulphur in combination with the arsenic, hav- 
 ing less affinity with this metal than for lead, lets it 
 go, and forms a sulphuret of lead of a dark greyish 
 colour.' But oi-piment may be employed alone, or 
 with ochres, and other colours that do not act upon 
 them, as teri'e verte and ultramarine. I have no doubt 
 but that the brilliant yellows, which we see in some 
 ancient pictures, are preparations of orpiment. 
 
 Red orjjiment, as we shall show in its place, is 
 not so permanent as the yellow sort. 
 
 SULPHURET OF CADMIUM. 
 
 Chemists who have prepared this colour say that 
 it does not change. I am not, however, aware 
 
 ' It is probable, that after some time the orpiment takes up the 
 oxygen from the lead. This would be an additional cause for tlie 
 darkening of the tint composed of the two colours. 
 
 f6 
 
108 GAMBOGE. 
 
 whether it has been used in combination with white 
 lead. 1 fear that in such a case the sulphur would 
 quit the cadmium, to unite with the lead. If that 
 should not happen, this would be a most useful dis- 
 covery. It is to be regretted that at present cad- 
 mium is scarce in France ; but it is to be hoped, 
 that as chromate of iron has been discovered there, 
 we shall be equally fortunate with respect to this 
 article. 
 
 We are assured that the sulphuret of cadmium is 
 used in Germany ; and it is to be had here (in Paris) 
 amongst the principal manufacturing chemists. 
 
 VEGETABLE YELLOWS. 
 DROP GUM, OR GAMBOGE. 
 
 This is a resinous gum, which distils from a tree 
 called cambogium or caracapulli, which is a native 
 of India, found principally beyond the Ganges. 
 This gum dissolves readily in water, and makes a 
 most brilliant yellow wash. This colour would be 
 useful in oil painting, — as it resists for a long time 
 the action of strong light, — provided the resinous 
 part could be separated from the other parts. Al- 
 cohol will dissolve the resin, but will attack the 
 colour also ; yet, probably, if the gamboge was 
 powdered, and the alcohol allowed to remain on it 
 
INDIAM YELLOW THE YELLOW LAKES. 109 
 
 for some time, the greater part of the colouring 
 matter would be deposited, and the resin would 
 remain united to the alcohol. 
 
 INDIAN YELLOW. 
 
 For many years past the English traders have 
 furnished us (in France) with a brilliant yellow 
 lake, which is more lasting than the greater number 
 of this class. I have been informed by a learned 
 naturalist, who travelled in that country (Bengal), 
 that this colour is manufactured in Calcutta by an 
 Englishman, who keeps the process quite a secret ; 
 but the traveller has found out that the colouring 
 matter is extracted from a tree, or large shrub, called 
 metnecylon tinctorium, the leaves of which are em- 
 ployed by the natives in their yellow dyes. From a 
 smell like cows' urine, which exhales from this 
 colour, it is probable that this material is employed 
 in extracting the tint of the memecylon. 
 
 THE YELLOW LAKES. 
 
 These are tinctures extracted from various vege- 
 table substances, and joined to a basis, which acts as 
 a mordent, such as alumine, or chalk and alumine. 
 Drop lake is the most permanent of this class : its 
 colour inclines slightly towards the green shade, and 
 is therefore very useful for the brilliant green tints. 
 
1 ] ORANGE CHROMATE OF LEAD, &C, 
 
 In cases where this object would be particularly 
 desired, the colouring matter must be precipitated 
 with acetate of copper ; or this acetate, when preci- 
 pitated, should be tinged with a decoction of wood. 
 It is remarkable that the chrystals of copper are 
 the best for this purjjose that have yet been 
 found. 
 
 ORANGE OHROMATE OF LEAD, OR SUB-CHROMATE 
 OF LEAD. 
 
 This colour is not so bright as the minium and 
 realgar ; but it is more lasting than yellow chrome. 
 The action of the oils is always too great upon the 
 oxides of lead to allow of this colour being quite 
 permanent ; it should therefore be used with caution 
 in those draperies where its changing would not be 
 of much importance. 
 
 MASSICOT (protoxide OF LEAD). 
 
 The substances which are sold in the shops, under 
 the name of massicot, are only ceruse more or less 
 calcined, and are named light, yellow, or gold 
 coloured. Genuine massicot is the strongest oxide 
 of lead (protoxide) ; its colour is a dull orange 
 yellow. 
 
 In the preparation of minium the load is calcined 
 ill a reverberatory furnace ; this process gives a 
 
MINIUM. Ill 
 
 mixture of massicot and lead ; these are separated 
 by washing and trituration ; the massicot being 
 much hghter remains suspended in the water ; it 
 is drawn off, and left to settle ; the depositmu 
 which it then forms is collected and dried, and this 
 is the true massicot. But it is not to be had in 
 our colour-shops ; it can only be procured from the 
 red-lead manufacturers. It may be employed with 
 advantage in preparing the drying oils ; it produces 
 the same effect as litharge when very finely ground. 
 It may also be employed as a colour : its tint is 
 not brilliant ; but as it is a better drier than white 
 lead, it may be substituted for it in mixing with 
 colours which dry with difficulty, as the lakes and 
 the bituminous earths. 
 
 MINIUM. 
 
 A higher degree of oxidation transforms the mas- 
 sicot into minium. On a large scale minium is pre" 
 pared by calcining massicot in reverberatory fur- 
 naces ; it becomes first of a dark orange colour, 
 then purple, but this last tint disappears on its 
 cooling ; when at this point, the doors of the fur- 
 naces are closed, but not hermetically, so as to 
 allow of a little air entering. The massicot cools 
 very slowly ; and, as it absorbs the oxygen of the 
 
112 RED ORPIMENT CARMINE. 
 
 air, it becomes of a strong orange colour, and 
 grows finer in proportion to the slowness of its 
 cooling. 
 
 If, instead of massicot, we calcine ceruse, a 
 peculiar red, called " mineral orange," is obtained, 
 it is a minium, but of a tint more pure and brilliant 
 than any of its class. ^ 
 
 RED ORPIMENT (rEALGAR). 
 
 We have seen, under the head " Orpiment,"" that 
 when the metal predominates, the sulphur is of an 
 orange colour, and it is less permanent than orpi- 
 ment : for in pictures of flowers, where it has been 
 used, it seems to have absorbed the colours of the 
 ground. Perhaps this would not have happened had 
 the ground been of a colour which did not contain 
 any lead ; such as yellow ochre, for instance. 
 
 THE REDS CARMINE. 
 
 This rich crimson is a combination of the most 
 
 ' Minium was known to the ancients under the appellation of 
 cerusa usta. It was amongst the pigments employed in the early 
 times of oil painting; but they soon found that the colour faded. 
 It has come under my observation to mark the action of the light 
 directly upon this colour. At one of the exhibitions I noticed a 
 picture, some drapery in which was painted in minium, and in a 
 few days the tone was much injured by the sun's rays. 
 
CARMINE. 113 
 
 brilliant portion of the colouring matter of cochineal 
 united to some animal matter fixed upon an acid 
 basis. ^ 
 
 There are various ways of preparing this colour, 
 and many receipts have been published ; but all these 
 are resolved into the three following methods : First 
 process. A pound of cochineal, in powder, is boiled 
 in river or rain water, and to dissolve the colouring 
 matter four or five drachms of subcarbonate of 
 soda and potass are added ; this liquor having 
 boiled for a quarter of an hour, eight or ten 
 drachms of alum in powder are thrown into it, and 
 it is stirred well with a spatula or large brush ; the 
 vessel is then to be taken from the fire, and allowed 
 to remain quiet for half an hour ; the liquid is 
 then drawn off^ clear into very clean saucers, and 
 well covered up, to prevent dust getting in ; at 
 the end of seven or eight days, the water being 
 drawn ofi", the carmine is found deposited at the 
 bottom of each saucer, and when dry is fit for 
 use. 
 
 The second method. — I have seen carmine pre- 
 
 ' MM. Pelletier and Caventou have made a course of experi- 
 ments upon cochineal, by which they have been enabled to separate 
 the colouring matter in a pure state from the grosser parts. To 
 this they have given the name of carmine. — Annals de Chimie et 
 de Physic, torn. viii. p. 250. 
 
114 CARMINE. 
 
 pared very quickly as follows. Though the operator 
 thought he had the power of keeping the secret, by 
 disguising some of the materials employed, but in 
 describing that which passed before my eyes, it 
 will not be difficult to supply those details which it 
 was intended to hide from me. 
 
 A pound of ground cochineal was put into a cop- 
 per vessel well tinned ; after boiling for a quarter 
 of an hour, two drachms of a substance resembling 
 cream of tartar were added to it, which caused a 
 strong effervescence ; * the vessel was then taken 
 off the fire, and the mixture immediately filtered 
 through a silken sieve ; after this liquid was drawn 
 off clear, another liquid was thrown into it, in which 
 a little carmine had been infused (no doubt to dis- 
 guise its true colour) ; this addition immediately 
 chanjTcd the colour of the decoction from a dull 
 crimson to a bright blood colour ; the mixture was 
 then twigged for some minutes with a little broom 
 of fine osier twigs, and passed through a filter of 
 close linen ; the carmine remained on the filter ; 
 and I took some for trial, which I found very good. 
 
 It appeared to me that the liquor which was 
 thrown on the decoction of cochineal contained 
 
 ' This might liave been the acidulated oxalate of potass ; tliat 
 is, salt of sorrel. 
 
CARMINE. 115 
 
 nitro-muriate of tin, which instantly changed the 
 crimson of the cochineal to scarlet. I think it 
 also contained alum ; and as the union of these 
 two salts produced a whitish tint, which would 
 have discovered the solution of tin, a little carmine 
 was added to the mixture, to disguise it. 
 
 Third method. — A pound of ground cochineal is 
 init into a vessel containing four or five quarts of 
 river water ; to this is added three drachms of 
 subcarbonate of potass ; effervescence accompanies 
 the boiling, which is reduced by the addition of a 
 little fresh water, and stiiTing it well with a brush ; 
 after an ebullition of some minutes the vessel is to 
 be taken off the fire, and placed upon a table in a 
 slanting position, to allow the wash or liquid to be 
 readily drawn into another vessel ; six or seven grains 
 of alum in powder are then thrown into this decoc- 
 tion, and it is stirred up with the brash to accele- 
 rate the dissolution ; the colour soon changes and 
 becomes of a deep red, — this is what manufacturers 
 term the return of the carmine ; in about a quarter 
 of an hour the carmine is completely deposited at 
 the bottom of the vessel, and the wash is as clear 
 as if filtered ; it holds in solution the colouring 
 matter and a little alum ; it is then decanted into 
 a vessel of equal size, which is set on the fire, 
 
116 CARMINE. 
 
 adding to the mixture three and a half gi'ains of 
 isinglass dissolved in water and passed through a 
 sieve ; the whole must be well stirred with a brush, 
 and then allowed to remain perfectly still until the 
 first appearance of ebullition ; at this moment the 
 carmine is seen mounting to the surface of the liquid, 
 and a coagulum is formed, as in clarifying with 
 white of egg ; the vessel is then removed from the 
 fire, and the mixture is stirred for some short time 
 with a brush ; and in twenty minutes, or at the 
 farthest half an hour, the carmine is found deposited 
 at the bottom of the vessel ; it is then decanted, 
 and the depositmn is thrown upon a filter of fine 
 linen : the isinglass should be cut small, and 
 steeped in water for a night ; it swells, and is easily 
 reduced to a jelly by trituration in a porcelain or 
 glass mortar ; some boiling water is then thrown 
 upon it, and it melts instantly. 
 
 The above receipt, which is the best I am 
 acquainted with, is to be found in several places ; 
 but, instead of isinglass, white of egg diluted with 
 water is prescribed ; and some advise that the 
 yolk also should be beaten up with it. 
 
 Carmine is seldom used in oil painting, except 
 by those who paint flowers. It is a brilliant co- 
 lour, but it does not long resist the action of a 
 
CINNABAR. 117 
 
 strong light ; it is principally used in water colour 
 drawing, and to colour artificial flowers ; it is adul- 
 terated sometimes by vermillion, but this fraud is 
 easily detected by dissolving it in a solution of am- 
 monia, which only acts upon the carmine ; this 
 produces a very bright red ink, which is fit for use 
 when the smell has gone off. The remains of the 
 cochineal left after the operation are used in making 
 lake. 
 
 CINNABAR. 
 
 This is also called vermillion, from the Italian 
 word vermiglio (little worm), given to the kennes 
 {coccus ilicis), which was used as the scarlet dye 
 before the discovery of America introduced the 
 cochineal. 
 
 Cinnabar is composed of mercury and sulphur 
 (sulphurct of mercury) very intimately combined. 
 It is found naturally formed in the quicksilver mines ; 
 but that which is used in painting is an artificial 
 production. In Germany and Holland cinnabar is 
 prepared by dissolving one part of sulphur, and 
 adding to it gradually five or six parts of mercury ; 
 the mixture becomes black, takes the name of 
 ethiops, or black sulphuret of mercury ; this sub- 
 stance is then reduced to powder, and sublimed in 
 
118 CINMABAR. 
 
 appropriate vessels, when a crystallized mass is thus 
 obtained, composed of bright filaments of a violet 
 tint ; by trituration it becomes of a scarlet colour. 
 
 But the mere grinding will not be sufficient to 
 give a bright tone to the cinnabar ; various methods 
 are employed for that purpose, which are not gene- 
 rally known. Some manufacturers grind these in- 
 gredients up with plain water or with urine, and 
 afterwards boil it for some time ; others treat it 
 with nitric acid ; but it does not hap})en that any 
 of the methods hitherto employed for heightening 
 the colour of cinnabar, obtained by sublimation, give 
 the same brightness as the Chinese vermillion, which 
 appears to be prepared in the moist manner. 
 
 Bacholz has obtained some cinnabar of a very fine 
 description by digesting the following mixture in a 
 sand bath, — one part of flour of sulphur, four parts 
 of mercury, and three of potass, dissolved in six pints 
 of water ; this compound first forms black sulphur, 
 and, when the digestion is prolonged, the red colour 
 developes itself. The operation could be much 
 shortened by only adding the solution of potass in 
 small portions, to give to the mixture the consistency 
 of thin paste, and supplied as may be required by 
 ^evaporation, and this, as well as the combination, are 
 facilitated by being stirred constantly by a glass tube. 
 12 
 
CINNABAR. 119 
 
 It is not required to have a precise quantity of 
 potass ; a greater portion than may be required 
 of this hquid is placed near the vessel, and used 
 with a s])Oon as occasion may require. By this 
 process several pounds of mercury may be converted 
 into Vermillion. The longer the heat of the fire is 
 kept up, the more strongly the colour will take the 
 carmine tint. If it be requisite to have it of a 
 clear shade, the fire must be moderated immediately 
 as the colour begins to develope itself. 
 
 It is very injurious for those employed, to inhale 
 mercurial vapours ; for which reason this operation 
 should be performed only in a place where the 
 chimney has a good current of air ; * there also 
 should be fixed to the tube of glass with which the 
 mixture is stirred a staff sufficiently long to hold at 
 good distance from the vessel ; in the same way 
 the spoon should be lengthened with which the 
 potass is added. 
 
 When the colour has attained the shade re- 
 quired, the Vermillion is thrown into a small vat or 
 tube full of water, and it is washed until all the 
 
 ' For this purpose the apparatus contrived by M. d' Arcet ought 
 to be employed. It was at first used in the workshops of the 
 metal gilders, to secure the workmen from the dangerous action of 
 the mercurial vapour. 
 
120 PERIODIDE OF MEKCUIIY. 
 
 sulphuret of potass is caiTicd off. The advantages 
 derived from this proceeding are, that it produces 
 in a short time vermillion finely prepared, and of 
 the particular shade required. 
 
 From the striking resemblance which the coloui-s 
 thus prepared bear to the vermillion of China, both 
 in tint and fineness of grain, I am of opinion that 
 the method used by the Chinese in the preparation 
 of cinnabar is not very different from that which I 
 have described. 
 
 PEBIODTDE OF MERCURY. 
 
 Iodine, which is one of the elements of this co- 
 lour, is a simple substance as combustible as oxygen ; 
 it was discovered about eighteen years since (from 
 ] 8.S0), in treating with sulphuric acid the sea- water 
 of the soda of Varec. The name iodine is derived 
 from the beautiful violet colour which this substance 
 takes when it is in the state of gas. 
 
 At the common temperature it is solid, and has 
 a metallic lustre resembling black lead ; it vola- 
 tilizes at the temperature of boiling water. Com- 
 bined with the deutoxide of mercury it takes a 
 scarlet colour brighter than vermillion. T made 
 .several trials of its solidity some yeare ago, and 
 found that in a few months it became yellow ; but 1 
 
PEHIODIUE OF MERCURY. 121 
 
 ]»ave been assured that other essays made since 
 have proved more satisfactory : perhaps the colour 
 which had been sent to me had not been carefully 
 j^repared. I have subsequently made a trial, which 
 remained for eighteen months with only a trifling- 
 alteration ; but so short a time is insufficient to 
 prove its lasting qualities. In England this pig- 
 ment is sold under the name of scarlet lake, and is 
 used chiefly in water-colour painting. The follow- 
 ing process is the best known to me for preparing 
 this colour : — Iodine and zinc (forming iodide of 
 zinc) are first to be combined ; for this purpose 
 the zinc nuist be finely powdered, either by throw- 
 ing it into water when it is melted, or by levigating 
 it in a mortar until it loses its cohesion and can be 
 easily divided. 
 
 The powdered zinc must then be put into a 
 mattrass with the iodine and distilled water, and, 
 by help of a moderate heat, the iodine will com- 
 bine readily with the zinc, and forms with that 
 metal an iodide, which is then filtered. 
 
 Perchloride of mercury (corrosive sublimate) is 
 then dissolved in distilled water ; the two liquids 
 are then mixed, and immediately a large quantity 
 of precipitate is formed ; this deposit is washed first 
 with distilled water, and afterwards with filtered 
 
 G 
 
122 THE LAKES. 
 
 river water. The working of this colour is of the 
 greatest consequence, and must be done with pe- 
 euUar care. It is probable that the portion of this 
 colour with which I made the first essay, and which 
 lost its colour so soon, may not have been suffi- 
 ciently or skilfully worked. 
 
 THE LAKES. 
 
 This name was originally given to designate 
 merely the purplish colour called crimson, and 
 when employed alone it always bears that appella- 
 tion ; but in its more extended sense it is applied 
 to all colours prepared by combining a colouring 
 matter or tincture with a basis which is commonly 
 alumine : hence we have yellow, green, or violet lake. 
 
 The term itself appears to be of Indian origin. 
 It is probable that the first lakes used in Europe 
 came from India, and were made from the resinous 
 lac so abundant in that country, which yields a 
 puqjle colouring matter at present very essential in 
 painting, because in many respects it takes pre- 
 cedence of cochineal. 
 
 It was first imported into England, where it is 
 called, in commerce, lac^ or lac dye.^ The people 
 
 ' See page 51, — the article on gum lac. 
 
THE LAKKS. 12;) 
 
 of India collect this resin, bruise it, and then boil 
 it in water slightly alkaline, which separates the 
 colouring matter ; the solution is then precipitated 
 with alum, and is formed into cakes and dried. 
 This is the way in which it is imported. 
 
 The colour of Indian lake has not so much bril- 
 liancy as that of cochineal ; but it appears to be 
 more lasting, if we may judge from the superior 
 solidity of its tint. It is, therefore, probable that 
 the lakes of an inferior brightness, which were used 
 in the earlier times of })ainting in oil, and which 
 are so well preserved, were brought from India ; 
 though, in very early times, the manufacture of this 
 colour was well known in Italy, of which we have 
 evidence in the ancient writers, Cennino Cennini, 
 Armenini, and Paul Lomazzo. Neri, who pub- 
 lished his work " DeW Arte Vetraria,'''' in 1612, has 
 described the methods used in his time for pre- 
 jiaring lakes of Brazil wood, of kermes, and of 
 madder. 
 
 The lake of Brazil wood is very bright, but is 
 not very lasting, I am led to believe that in the 
 picture of the Entombing of Christ, by Titian, the 
 draper}' of Joseph of Arimathea has been painted 
 with lake of Brazil wood ; for we cannot suppose 
 G 2 
 
124 THE LAKES. 
 
 that Titian would have preferred a dull to a bril- 
 liant tint, where the harmony of the picture would 
 not have been injured. Indeed, the brilliancy of 
 that work would have been increased, if the colour 
 of that drapery had displayed the brightness of our 
 finest lake. 
 
 The kermes, mentioned by Neri amongst the 
 number of colouring substances used in the pre- 
 paration of lake, is a gall insect of a globular form, 
 that attaches itself to a species of small oak, which 
 is very common in the south of France and in the 
 central parts of Europe. 
 
 Previous to the discovery of America, the kerme^ 
 was used in dyeing purple and crimson ; and the 
 oldest pieces of arras tapestry, in which the red 
 colours still retain much of their original brightness, 
 owe that advantage to the durability of the kermes 
 dye : hence it may be inferred that a fine lake 
 might be obtained from this substance. I have 
 tried it without success, having obtained, by the 
 experiment, only a dull crimson ; I have not, how- 
 ever, tried either of Neri's methods. The second 
 of them, which consists in dissolving the colouring 
 matter of kermes in weak spirits of wine, holding 
 in solution a small quantity of alum, and then pre- 
 
THE LAKES. 125 
 
 cipitating the colour by a strong solution of alum, 
 ought to produce a very brilliant purple lake.* 
 Tlie use of cochineal, as a dye-stuff, could not have 
 
 * The following is Neri's process : — 
 
 Take some weak brandy; the first portion which comes over in 
 the distillation is to be preferred ; put it into a bottle with a 
 pound of finely-powdered alum ; into this solution put one 
 ounce of kermes in powder finely sifted ; stir them up well ; and 
 allow the infusion to remain four days, and then decant the 
 liquid. 
 
 Next dissolve four ounces of alum in plain water ; pour this 
 alum water into the vessel containing the tincture of kermes, 
 and then pass it through a filter ; should the water, after passing 
 through the filter, appear tinged with colour, it must be passed 
 through a second time, then it will come away colourless. 
 
 Here follows the original text, as it may be agreeable to some 
 of our readers : 
 
 Piglia acqua vite di prima passata ; e in un fiasco di essa metti 
 libbra una di allume di rocca bene polverizzato che vi si disfFaccia 
 tutto, poi metti oncia una di Chermesi polverizzato e tamigiato 
 come sopra in tutto, e per tutto, e tutta questa materia sia in 
 boccia di vetro con collo largo, e agita bene il vaso, che 1' acqua 
 vite si colorira maravigliosamente, lassa stare per quattro giorni, 
 poi vota questa materia in una catinella pulita invetriata poi 
 piglia onci6 quattro di allume di rocca e solvilo in acqua com 
 mune e questa buttalla soppra la catinella de acqua vite tinta di 
 Chermesi, e questa buttalla sopra la calza, che stia sospesa sopra 
 una catinella, come si e detto nell' attra Lace© con la cimatura, 
 I'acqua vite colora della calza, equanda passasse alquanto colorita, 
 falla passare un' altra volta che passera chiara ; questa Lacca si 
 cavi della calza, con mestolini di legno puliti, e si metta a seccare 
 in pezze de lino sopra mattoni come I'altra Lacca in tutto, e per 
 tutto, che si aver^ lacca di Chermesino bellissima, con poca fatica 
 e in maggior quantity assai, tutto provato in Pisa. — Neri deW Arte 
 Felraria, chap. cxvi. 
 
 G 3 
 
12G THE 1,AKES. 
 
 been known to Europeans until after the conquest 
 of Mexico in 1520; for the invaders at first thought 
 of nothing but exploring the gold mines, regardless 
 of the productions that would be useful in pro- 
 moting the industry and solid wealth of their 
 country. When, therefore, we see brilliant purple 
 draperies in pictures of the fifteenth or early in 
 the sixteenth century, it is reasonable te suppose 
 that these were produced by madder lake, which, 
 of all the vegetable colours, is the most durable. 
 This species of lake was known to the ancients. 
 Pliny tells us that the purpurissimum was prepared 
 by staining with madder a white earth called crefa 
 argentaria. Count Ohaptal having been, in 1809, 
 engaged to analyze some colours found at Pompeii, 
 discovered one of them to be of a fine rose carna- 
 tion. He soon perceived that it was a lake, exactly 
 like the rose tints of our painted muslins ; and he 
 concludes that this antique colour was extracted 
 from madder. 
 
 Methods of preparing the Lakes. 
 
 The manufacturers commence this process by 
 preparing that which is called " the white body of 
 lake," which is composed of a paste of pure alumine, 
 or of alumine and chalk, upon which the colouring 
 
THE LAKES. J 27 
 
 matter being thrown, fixes itself in a manner more 
 or less durable. 
 
 To prepare this paste, a quantity of alum is to 
 be dissolved in water ; and this solution is then 
 precipitated by subcarbonate of soda or potass,' 
 in the proportion of three parts of good potass 
 to five of alum : it is easy to ascertain whether 
 the whole of the alumine is precipitated without 
 an excess of alkali ; when the precipitate has fallen 
 to the bottom of the vessel, some of the clear liquid 
 should be dra^^'n off into two glasses; into one of 
 these is thro\Mi some drops of a solution of potass, 
 and into the other a little alum water ; if the pre- 
 cipitation is perfectly formed, no other subsidence 
 \\\\] take place in either of the glasses ; when the 
 sediment is fonned, the liquid is to be drawn off, 
 and the deposit is to be washed with a great 
 quantity of water, until at last it comes off with- 
 out smell ; it is then extended upon a filter of 
 linen to drain, and when it is of the consistence of 
 soft paste, it must be mixed with a warm decoction 
 of cochineal, which colours it more or less strong, 
 according to the quantity of colouring matter con- 
 tained in the decoction ; it only now remains to 
 
 ' Soda is preferable for this purpose. Four parts and a half 
 of this material are required to saturate five parts of alum. 
 
 G 4. 
 
128 THE LAKES. 
 
 separate the lake from the surplus Hquid, to wash 
 and strain it through a filter, to put it into forms, 
 and dry it in the shade. 
 
 As it happens that in the preparation of caniiine, 
 only a small quantity of the colouring matter is 
 drawn off, and as the decoction from which it is 
 extracted is still full of colouring matter, there is 
 not any occasion to make a decoction of cochineal 
 expressly for the purpose of making lake, as the 
 residue of that used in the preparation of carmine 
 will answer the purpose. This process is founded 
 upon the particular affinity in alumine for vegetable 
 and animal colouring matter ; it is well knoMTi that 
 aliun is one of the best mordents in the dyer's 
 ti-ade. Alumine also serves as a basis for other 
 colours as w-ell as crimson : — for instance, in 
 making yellow lake, it is only necessary to fix the 
 colouring matter of woad, quercitron, Persian ber- 
 ries, &c., upon alumine, or on an aluminous base. 
 
 It is of the greatest consequence, that in the 
 preparation of yellow lakes the alum should be 
 pure ; for a very small portion of iron is sufficient 
 to injure the colour ; and that metal exists in the 
 greater part of the alum of commerce. As for the 
 common lakes from French berries, pure alumine is 
 not used : the white body of these is only fine chalk, 
 to which a little alum is added. 
 
BROWN PIXK. 129 
 
 Alum bv itself will form a precipitate with the 
 vegetable decoctions : as, for instance, a very strong 
 precipitate may be obtained by adding alum water 
 to a decoction of woad ; but it will also precipitate 
 the mucilaginous and gummy matter, which this 
 vegetable contains abundantly. 
 
 BUOWN PINK. 
 
 The drops made from English berries are dis- 
 solved with a strong decoction of the berries of 
 Avignon {ramnus infectorius) : the mixture is fil- 
 tered, and to it is added a solution of the sub- 
 carbonate of soda, one-fourth the weight of the 
 berries ; the tincture is then precipitated with a 
 solution of alum, in such proportions as that the 
 alkali shall not be more than half-saturated ; it 
 must then be left undisturbed for twenty-four 
 hours ; the liquid must then be drawn off, and as 
 it still contains much colouring matter, a snialler 
 quantity of alkali to be added, and it is again pre- 
 cipitated with a similar proportion of alum ; the 
 precipitate is then washed, to carry off the salts. 
 
 In this process it is clear that one of the essen- 
 tial points is, that the alkali shall predominate. It 
 is owing to this circumstance that the yellow co- 
 lour of the Avignon berries is turned to brown. By 
 G 5 
 
130 MADDER LAKK. 
 
 this process there can be obtained from yellow 
 wood or quercitron bark a brown pink, which will 
 be more lasting than the former. 
 
 To the drops mentioned may be given a green 
 colour, by using a solution of copper instead of 
 alum ; and I have observed that the mordents from 
 copper render the colours more lasting. In general 
 yellow lakes have little soHdity ; this is evident iu 
 many of the Flemish pictures, where the foliage has 
 become blue from the yellow lake, with which the 
 ultra-marine was mixed, having faded. Rembrandt 
 made much use of this brown sort of pink : the alte- 
 ration made by time, in the colour when used in 
 a full body, would not be observable ; and there is 
 some advantage in using vegetable colours in the 
 shadows, which lose part of their richness by the 
 action of the air, and also because they are trans- 
 parent, and cannot become black by time ; and if 
 mixed with colours which have a tendency to become 
 darker by time, they mitigate it very much. 
 
 MADDER LAKE. 
 
 This colour is not only the most lasting of all 
 those obtained from colouring matter, but it also 
 affords us the purest retls. I have already stated 
 tliat it was known to the ancients, and that it was 
 in use in the fifteenth century. To prepare this 
 
MADDER LAKE. 131 
 
 lake, Neri tells us " to stain, with madder, some 
 fleeces of wool, and, when they are properly satu- 
 rated, to boil them in a lye, and then to precipitate 
 the colouring matter with alum." 
 
 I believe there must be some error in this 
 description, for the purple colour of the madder 
 is very little soluble by mild alkalies. It must bo 
 done in another way ; that is, by dissolving with 
 alum water, the colouring matter of the tincture, 
 and then precipitating it ^vith an alkali. By this 
 means I have obtained lake of a very bright colour. 
 I am also of opinion, that in employing caustic 
 potass the fleeces would be dissolved, and with them 
 the colouring matter.' 
 
 After the introduction of cochineal amongst us, 
 the cannine, and the fine lakes which were obtained 
 from it, caused the use of madder lake to be aban- 
 doned, because of its presenting greater difficulties 
 than the former in the manufacturing process. It 
 therefore remained without notice until a.d. 1754, 
 when Margraaf discovered a process, which lie 
 
 ' I have reason to believe, that if the operation of washing tlie 
 tinctured wool, was done with the acidulated water, the alkaline lye 
 would eventually dissolve the colouring matter ; but more readily 
 with the assistance of heat. 
 
 G 6 
 
132 MADDER LAKE. 
 
 published some years after, and which has since 
 been inserted in the Encyclopcedia. 
 
 This method consists in exti'acting, by means 
 of alum, the colouring matter of the madder, then 
 pi'ecipitating it with sub-carbonate of potass, and 
 washing the precipitate with boiling water, to 
 separate it from the tan-coloured matter with 
 which it is combined, and which spoils the coloui'. 
 For the proper washing of the madder, Margraaf 
 lays it down as an indispensable rule that the water 
 should be distilled, but this would prevent his pro- 
 cess from being executed on a large scale ; but 
 water slightly alkaline may be used, instead of dis- 
 tilled water, as it will dissolve the greater portion 
 of the fawn-coloured matter, without sensibly 
 attacking the purple colour. I have tried it, and 
 have succeeded in preparing, by this method of 
 clearing it, a very fine lake of a blood colour ; and 
 1 am persuaded that it may be obtained of a still 
 finer quality. I have not followed up this experi- 
 ment, because, by the following method, I have the 
 means of preparing lake of a pure red, which pre- 
 sents no other difficulty than the neces.sity of using 
 a very great quantity of water. 
 
 This mode is founded upon the degrees of solu- 
 
MADDER LAKE. 133 
 
 bility in the colouring matters, which in the madder 
 are united to the purple tint, and from which 
 it must be detached ere a pure colour can be 
 obtained. 
 
 There are two of those quite distinct ; one is the 
 fawn, the other the violet colour. 
 
 The first-, which is the most abundant, dissolves 
 readily in water, especially if it be alkaline water. 
 The purple colour is not sensibly affected, even 
 when warm, by the alkaline sub-carbonates, and 
 it is soluble in alum water : these results point out 
 the means of separating the pure red from the 
 fawn colour, by which it would be tarnished. 
 
 When the madder is boiled in water strongly 
 impregnated with sub-carbonate of soda, it will 
 give out a great quantity of colour, of as intense a 
 brown as a strong decoction of coffee, and which 
 does not appear to contain any purple tincture, for 
 alumed cotton steeped in it takes only the nankeen 
 dye. 
 
 If this is passed tlrrough a filter, the water still 
 retains much colour ; by continuing to wash it, the 
 water comes away clear at last, but it requires a 
 prodigious quant ity of water before this appearance 
 takes place. At this point, if warm water be em- 
 
134 MADDER LAKE. 
 
 ployed, it will still dissolve a large portion of the 
 fawn-coloured matter. 
 
 In proportion as that substance is dissolved, and 
 can-ied off by the water, the filter assumes a violet- 
 coloured appearance as well as the madder. Water 
 acidulated with muriatic acid dissolves this colour, 
 and changes it to the dull orange tone it had before 
 it was washed. The liquor which at this time filters 
 from it is of a clear yellow, and alkali precipitates 
 from it a dull violet colour, similar to that which 
 cotton takes in a madder vat when a solution of 
 iron is used as a mordent instead of alum. 
 
 In this precipitate the violet colour is fixed upon 
 a calcareous base, derived, no doubt, from water 
 used in washing it, and even from the madder. 
 
 After two or three repetitions of throwing upon 
 the filter some more acidulated water, the liquor 
 which runs off will cease to contain any more cal- 
 careous matter, and scarcely any precipitate takes 
 place with the alkalies ; but its yellow colour 
 becomes changed into crimson, of a tint more or 
 less deep and brilliant. Alum throws down a violet 
 precipitate. 
 
 If, when as much as possible of the fawn and 
 violet-coloured tints have been carried off by wasli- 
 
MADDKIl LAKE. 135 
 
 ing, a warm solution of alum is thrown upon the 
 madder, in a short time you will perceive the fil- 
 tration coming away of a bright scarlet colour, 
 from which the alkalies precipitate a rose-coloured 
 lake, more or less deep in proportion to the alum 
 employed. 
 
 It is not requisite that the alum water should be 
 warm ; but if used cold, it will require twenty-four 
 hours at least to dissolve all that is soluble of the 
 purple matter. 
 
 The washing will not carry off all the impure 
 matter ; besides, they are soluble in alum water. 
 This is the cause why the first filtration gives the 
 most brilliant lake ; and if the filtrations are 
 arranged in succession, as drawn off, the last one 
 will be the palest, and most affected by the fawn- 
 coloured matter. 
 
 From this view of the process, it would appear 
 that nothing could be more easy than to prepare, 
 on a large scale, fine madder lake, and that it only 
 required to set up a filter of sufficient dimensions 
 to admit of a great quantity of fine madder to be 
 washed at the same time, to separate it from the 
 different substances by which its brilliancy would 
 otherwise be very much diminished. 
 
 But we should be stopped very soon by a diffi- 
 
ISiy MADDER LAKE. 
 
 eulty, against which it is of importance to be pro- 
 vided. Madder contains such a quantity of gummy 
 and saccharine matter, that the first wash from it 
 forms a sort of jelly. If it be not diluted by agi'eat 
 quantity of water, the drainage becomes slack in 
 proportion as the water cools, and the filtration 
 finally ceases altogether. 
 
 The stoppage may be prevented by throwing tlie 
 decoction upon a fine cloth, and expressing the jelly 
 by twisting the cloth hard ; when this mucilage is 
 squeezed out, the cloth is opened, and boiling water 
 thrown upon it, which also is wrung out in the same 
 manner. Two \vashings seem sufficient to cai'ry off' 
 all this impurity, and the filter will then permit the 
 liquor to run freely.^ Besides, it can be arranged 
 so, that the water shall penetrate all parts of the 
 madder under strong pressure, by the following 
 apparatus : a vat of deal should be prepared, in 
 size proportioned to the quantity of madder to be 
 washed, but rather broad in proportion to its 
 depth ; at the distance of nearly two inches from 
 the bottom an osier hurdle should be placed, and 
 covered with a felt, or cotton cloth ; the shape of 
 
 ' At this period, if the madder be diluted in water acidulated 
 by muriatic acid, the flowing of the liquid will be accelerated. 
 
MADDER I,AKE. lo7 
 
 this basket-work should be exactly fitted to the 
 sides of the vat. 
 
 Upon this species of diaphragm is to be placed 
 a couch of madder, which ought not to be more 
 than seven or eight inches in depth ; for the washing 
 will be less difficult if the water has only a thin 
 body to penetrate. 
 
 To keep the madder in position, it must be 
 co\ered with a second diaphragm, composed as the 
 first, and with a border of some fine stuff, which will 
 allow the water to pass quite free ; this second 
 osier flat must be firmly fixed by cross pieces of 
 wood, retained in their places by wooden pegs ; it 
 is upon this surface that all the pressure of the 
 water rests. 
 
 At the top should be placed a stop-cock, to let 
 the water flow ; another should be placed at the 
 bottom of the vessel, to allow of the water being 
 draw^n off", when the washing of the madder is 
 completed. 
 
 The water is to be introduced at the bottom of 
 the vat, by means of a leaden pipe, with a diameter 
 of five or six inches ; and the aperture at the top, 
 by which it is drawn off, should be in proportion 
 to the quantity admitted below. The leaden tube 
 is made to descend from a reservoir, placed as high 
 
].*J8 MADDER LAKE. 
 
 a})ove the vat as the localities will admit, and the 
 pressure may require. 
 
 We know that the specific gravity of liquid is 
 in the ratio of its base multiplied by the height of 
 the column ; thus whatever may be the diametei* 
 of the vat, each grain of madder will be pressed 
 by the small column of water contained in the tube, 
 with equal force to what it would give, were the 
 tube of the whole diameter of the vessel : the wash- 
 ing conducted in this manner, is completed in a 
 shorter time than the other, and with a smaller 
 quantity of water. 
 
 There must be a small tube in this apparatus, 
 from the bottom of the vat, to extend upward 
 above the upper spigot ; it may be of glass, and is 
 intended to let off the air when the water is ad- 
 mitted into the vat. 
 
 Observations. 
 
 The sulphuric and muriatic acids, when diluted 
 with water, do not sensibly affect the fine red 
 colour of madder ; they therefore may be em- 
 ployed to separate the brown colour with which 
 it is tarnished. By boiling madder in water tinc- 
 tured with sulphuric acid, the mucilage is converted 
 into a saccharine substance ; this prevents the 
 
MADDER LAKE. 1*39 
 
 filters from being choked up in the operation of 
 washing the colour, but it does not shorten the 
 operation ; at all times the acids act upon the 
 red colour of madder, in a way tkat may be turned 
 to account. Lakes prepared by acid washes ap- 
 proach much nearer to the scarlet than the crimson 
 tint, and therefore are preferable in the carna- 
 tions. 
 
 The process just described, requires a great 
 deal of water and much time. M. Robiquet has 
 described another method, in the Dictionnaire 
 Technologique^ and in Les Annale& de Physique et de 
 Chimie : by means of this process, a very fine lake 
 may be prepared in a few hours ; the process 
 consists in steeping the madder in four times its 
 weight of water, and in macerating it well for 
 ten minutes, then submitting it to the action of 
 a powerful press ; the first wash is set aside, to 
 enable the operator afterwards to separate the 
 colour from the coagulated matter, which forms 
 in a very short time ; the mass is then subjected a 
 second and a third time to the action of the press : 
 these three washings complete that part of the pro- 
 cess ; the madder, however yellow it may have been, 
 has at this period assumed a dark rose colour ; 
 in this state it is exposed to tJie action of alum 
 
J 40 MADDER LAKE. 
 
 water, for which purpose it is again steeped in 
 five or six parts of water, to which half a part of 
 pounded alum is added ; this mixture is heated 
 gently, and macerated .for two or three houre; it 
 is next poured out upon a fine cloth, then put 
 under the press ; the whole of the washings are 
 then filtered through paper, and precipitated by 
 a weak solution of the crystals of soda, but care 
 must be taken not to add so much of it, as to 
 precipitate all the alumina at once; it would be 
 well to divide the quantity into three portions, and 
 thus obtain three precipitates, each of the two 
 latter decreasing in strength of tint, the first 
 drawn off being strong in proportion as it has 
 been a longer time kept agitated; the precipitate 
 being complete, nothing more is to be done but 
 to wash it, by merely decanting it, until the water 
 comes off" quite clear. 
 
 M. Robiquet has performed these operations 
 before me, and the lake produced, which I saw 
 made, was of a very fine quality. I endeavoured 
 since then to repeat the experiment which I had 
 witnessed, but not having a press of great power 
 to assist me, I did not succeed in disengaging the 
 fa\\Ti-coloured matter even after six washings, and 
 the lake I obtained was not of a pure rose colour. 
 
MADDER I.AKE. 141 
 
 The process of M. Robiquet appeared to require 
 some modification. In the first place, the mu- 
 cilaginous liquid, extracted by great pressure, 
 contains evidently a quantity of fine colour, which 
 it would be difficult to separate from it, while on 
 the contrary the alkaline decoction, which I prefer, 
 does not contain any appearance of colour ; then 
 again, his manner of washing does not carry off 
 so much of the buffy matter, as the repeated ablu- 
 tions I have used, as appears from this, that if 
 the whole of the tincture prepared by the alum 
 water is precipitated, the lake so produced will 
 be impure. 
 
 But to conjoin both of these modes, would be 
 I think an advantage, and I should commence 
 by boiling the madder in a solution of the sub- 
 carbonate of soda, and then by the pressure to 
 accelerate the \\ ashings : I have succeeded in pre- 
 paring, in the space of two hours, a small quantity 
 of very fine lake, by spreading the alkaline de- 
 coction upon a fine cloth, and then twisting it 
 firmly for a moment, then opening the cloth and 
 throwing on the mixture some hot water; after 
 eight of these washings repeating the pressure, I 
 have used the cold acidulated water of chloric acid, 
 and afterwards pure water ; some fine colour no 
 
142 MADDER LAKE. 
 
 doubt has escaped through the cloth, but this may 
 be collected by allowing the water to deposit this 
 matter. 
 
 The same chemist has published another method, 
 which is foiinded on the principle, that the purple 
 colour of the madder cannot be altered by the 
 concentrated sulphuric acid, unless at a high tem- 
 perature ; the acid carbonizes the brown extractive 
 matter, and renders it insoluble, it only then re- 
 mains to remove the acid by repeated washings. 
 
 The great difficulties in this process, as the 
 author acknowledges, arise from not knowing the 
 proportion of acid to be used, and this can only 
 be found by repeated and cautious experiments : 
 of two attempts which I made, neither was suc- 
 cessful ; in the first of them much of the colouring 
 matter was destroyed ; and in the second, even 
 with repeated washings, I could not remove the 
 brown colour which had not been completely car- 
 bonized. 
 
 I have substituted the hydrochloric for the sul- 
 phuric acid, I only used enough to attack the fibrous 
 and mucilaginous substances; the ablution required 
 as much time as in the former method, but the 
 lake produced was much brighter than that pro- 
 duced with the sulphuric acid ; it appeared to me 
 
MADDER LAKE. 143 
 
 that the degree of heat sufficient to convert the 
 soHd matter into a gummy state could be made 
 useful : this conjecture has been justified by expe- 
 rience, the alkaline decoction is no longer trans- 
 formed into jelly, and the washing is no longer 
 impeded by the filter being choked up. 
 
 The Qualities of Madder. 
 
 The madder known in commerce as " extra-fine," 
 which is composed only of the woody part of the 
 root, is that from which the best lakes are produced, 
 and in the greatest quantity. 
 
 In those districts where it grows spontaneously, 
 or where it is produced by cultivation, the roots, 
 when fresh, may be used with great advantage. 
 After being well washed, they should be sliced up, 
 and bruised in a wooden or marble mortar, and 
 then boiled in a solution of sub-carbonate of soda, 
 after which the washing process is carried on as 
 described. 
 
 The waters to he chosen. 
 
 In the choice of water the softest is the best ; 
 and where it happens that one has only at command 
 water containing calcareous salts, these must be pre- 
 cipitated by a little soda or potass, for the alkaline 
 
 12 
 
144; MADDER LAKE. 
 
 carbonates do not dissolve the purple tint of the 
 madder ; after this, boiling water should be used, 
 which will carry off a great portion of the buffy 
 matter. Of course the operation would be short- 
 ened by commencing to wash with boiling water. 
 
 Upon the violet-coloured substance, and the action of 
 * the acidulated water. 
 
 The violet-coloured matter is the least abundant 
 of the colouring substances contained in the madder. 
 It is not soluble even in warm water ; but as it is 
 soluble in alum water, and as it is proper to sepa- 
 rate it, this operation can easily be done by water 
 lightly acidulated by hydrochloric acid, which does 
 not produce any visible effect on the purple 
 matter.* 
 
 The perfect resemblance of this colour to that 
 which the mordent, "acetate of iron," gives to cotton 
 cloth, may induce the belief that this is owing to 
 the iron pestle used in pounding the roots of the 
 madder ; but the same violet-coloured scum is found 
 when the roots are fresh gathered, and bruised in 
 a mortar of porcelain, without any instrument of 
 
 * It will dissolve a part of it, and change the tint of the lake to 
 an approaching scarlet, which proves that it is intended to have a 
 crimson lake ; the acid wash must not be used. 
 
MADDER LAKE. 145 
 
 iron being used. It may be obtained in sufficient 
 quantities, and pure, by steeping the dry roots in 
 water ; in a few days the water, strongly charged 
 with brown extractive matter, is covered with a 
 peUicle of a violet colour. This can be easily sepa- 
 rated from the water ; if fresh water be added to 
 the madder, a similar appearance soon takes place :* 
 continuing this treatment, a sufficient quantity of 
 this colour will be collected to allow of exami- 
 nation.' 
 
 It is so liable to the action of acids, that alum 
 changes it immediately into a dull orange red : the 
 hydrochloric acid turns it to an orange yellow. 
 
 The effect of the acidulated water is not re- 
 stricted, however, to dissolving the violet-coloured 
 matter ; it also renders more soluble in pure water 
 the other colouring matters contained in madder ; 
 for when, after washing for a long time, the buflFy 
 matter is supposed to be can-ied off, and then, 
 after the acidulated water is used, plain water 
 be applied, this water will run off the filter more 
 coloured than it did before the acid was used ; and 
 if hot water be employed, a great quantity of purple 
 
 ^ It may be that this substance is produced by fermentation, 
 but at all events it must be got rid of, as it would, in such a case, 
 have tiie same efTect in tarnisliing the lai<e. 
 
146 MADDER LAKE. 
 
 fec'doe will be dissolved ; and if a piece of cotton 
 clo'.h be placed under the filter, it will soon be seen 
 tin-.ed with a bright rose colour. I have thought 
 it iiy duty to mention these particulars, as they 
 may lead to some useful result in the art of 
 dyting. 
 
 On the 'precipitation of Lake.. 
 
 For this purpose, the sub-carbonates of soda or 
 potass may be employed ; if the latter, it should be 
 exposed to the air long enough to allow it to absorb 
 thf! quantity of carbonic acid with which it might 
 be saturated by its contact with the atmospheric 
 action. When the caustic alkali is used, the lake 
 is very dark when dry, and is also very hard, re- 
 sembling enamel in its fracture ; finally, when re- 
 duced to powder, it is very pale. On the other 
 hand, when the alkali is much carbonized, the lake 
 has not much intensity, is brittle in the fingers, 
 but when ground with oil or gum it becomes much 
 stronger. 
 
 Lake may also be precipitated with borate of 
 soda: this precipitates only a portion of the alu- 
 mine; and this is useful, particularly when the 
 washing has not been carried on to its full extent. 
 I have obtained by this means very good lake. 
 
MADDKU LAKE. 147 
 
 which had been only two days exposed to the 
 washing process ; I had only precipitated one-half 
 the alumine solution: this lake was glossy and 
 nearly black when dry, and when ground in water 
 it remained pulverulent ; combined with oil, it had 
 great intensity. 
 
 Whatever kind of alkali is used in precipitating 
 the purple substance of the madder, it will be 
 better not to throw down the whole of the colour- 
 ing matter ; the portion of buff colour which has 
 been detached by the alum, remains floating in 
 the liquid, and the precipitate is fine in proportion 
 to the smallness of its quantity. Thus by dividing 
 the precipitates, various sorts of lake are obtained, 
 the intensity and brilliancy of which, after the first 
 or second washing, decrease considerably, but which 
 are very useful in places where the bright reds are 
 not required. 
 
 Although alum has a great affinity for the rose- 
 coloured portion of madder, yet it will only dis- 
 solve a part of it at a time, and I have not 
 succeeded in concentrating, by evaporation, that 
 solution to give it strength sufficient to make r"ed 
 ink ; it is also difficult to produce lake of a pure 
 and intense red from madder. The only method 
 I know for this purpose, is to draw off the poiiion 
 h2 
 
148 MADDER LAKE. 
 
 of alumine which is in excess: caustic soda has the 
 power of dissolving the alumine wthout touching 
 the colour; it only changes it to a cnmson, but that 
 tint is destroyed by washing in ptre water: with 
 the washing containing the buffy matter of the 
 madder, and a very small portion cf bright colour, 
 it is easy to prepare brown lake, which may be 
 used as the yellow lakes. These vaters may thus 
 be rendered useful, by collecting ir. one vessel the 
 alkaline waters, and the acids in another, to which 
 should be added the residuum of the solutions 
 obtained by the alum not completely precipitated: 
 the clear parts of these waters are to be drawn off, 
 and one is to be precipitated by the other. They 
 are then washed until the water comes clear away ; 
 this will cany off, along with the salts, a portion of 
 the gummy matter remaining in the precipitate. 
 
 On the adulteration of Madder^ and the means of 
 detecting the fraud. 
 
 We have shown that in the ordinary preparation 
 of lake, the method is to form an aluminous paste 
 called " the white body," which is afterwards 
 coloured with the tincture. 
 
 This points out a ready way of adulterating the 
 lake of madder, since only a little of the tincture 
 
MADDER LAKE. 149 
 
 is required to give a rich appearance to a sub- 
 stance, that on trial would be found very weak and 
 pale ; it is then to be feared that some manufac- 
 turers would yield to the temptation of adultera- 
 ting the lake, were it only to make up for a failure 
 in the process. I have too much reason to believe 
 that this apprehension is well founded. I have 
 boiled, in pure water, lake bought in England \ the 
 purity of which I suspected from its intensity and 
 crimson tint: the water carried off part of the 
 colour, and plainly discovered the fraud ; but had 
 the trick been better done, this method would not 
 have detected it. 
 
 The true colour of madder lake is that of the 
 finest red of our printed cottons : if it look crimson, 
 there is reason to fear that it has been mixed with 
 some other substance ; yet when in separating the 
 buffy matter, there is employed towards the close, 
 some alkaline water, the lake has a tint of crimson, 
 even after the washing with acidulated water has 
 ceased. 
 
 When the purity of madder lake is still doubtful, 
 it is better to employ such tests as will enable us 
 
 • I have had samples of lake sent me from Berlin, under the 
 denomination of " carmine madder," and which evidently owed 
 their brightness to the tinctures of cochineal. 
 
 H 3 
 
150 RED OCHRES. 
 
 to judge, whether it contains any other colouring 
 matter. The alkaUne carbonates do not dissolve 
 the colouring matter contained in the madder 
 roots; for a good reason, they cannot affect it 
 when combined with alumine. 
 
 If therefore a small portion of the lake to be 
 essayed, is boiled in a weak solution of carbonate 
 of soda, and then tlirown into a filter and well 
 washed ; if after this it has lost its brightness, 
 and if the alkaline water of filtration is coloured, 
 there is good reason to suppose that, the colour has 
 been adulterated. 
 
 RED OXIDES OF IRON. 
 RED OCHRES. 
 
 The ajipellation of brown red, which has been 
 given to the red oxide of iron, is quite correct; it 
 is in fact a red colour somewhat lowered by a tint 
 of brown. 
 
 We often find this colour ready formed by 
 nature ; if by some means the water is evaporated 
 which was in combination with the oxide of iron, 
 the latter becomes hydrate of iron, and changes to 
 the red colour. 
 
 The rust of iron offers an example to us of this 
 change of colour : this rust, which is at first of a 
 
PURPLE COLOURS. 151 
 
 yellow ochre tint, turns brown on exposure to the 
 air, and in time becomes red. 
 
 The greater part of the bro^vn red used in paint- 
 ing, is made from yellow ochi'e calcined ; it is 
 supposed that on the purity of the ochres depends 
 the brightness of the red thus obtained. Very 
 fine brown red is also made by calcining sulphate 
 of iron. Commerce has long supplied the arts 
 with this colour, which is made from sulphuric 
 acid, prepared by the decomposition of sulphate of 
 iron : the residuum is a red oxide, more or less 
 violet according as the action of the fire has 
 been more or less prolonged. This colour is not 
 only valuable for its lasting qualities, but also for 
 the fine carnation tint which it produces with 
 white : and we perceive in the works of Titian, 
 Vandyck, and others, who have approached nearest 
 to nature, that it is very much employed. 
 
 PURPLE COLOURS. 
 
 Painters usually mix blue and lake to make this 
 colour, but we see in the article on lakes that it 
 may be prepared differently. From purple of 
 cassius, violet tints may be obtained, less brilliant, 
 but more lasting than those from the lakes. 
 H 4 
 
lo2 PURPLE OXIDE OF IRO«J. 
 
 This purple of cassius is a eomMnation of the 
 oxides of gold and tin : until lately it had been used 
 only in works of enamel ; but by combining it with 
 alumine, and calcining it in the same way that is 
 practised with cobalt, a violet coloir will be pro- 
 duced, which is found very useful in oil. I have 
 given it a test, and found that though exposed a 
 year to the action of the sun"'s rays, no sensible 
 change took place. 
 
 Purple of Cassius is prepared by mixing together 
 weak solutions of muriate of gold ani muriate of tin. 
 
 The gold is first dissolved in nitro-muriatic acid, 
 and the solution evaporated almost to crystallization, 
 to disengage it from the excess of acid, which 
 would discolour the precipitate ; this saline mass 
 is again dissolved in distilled water, and then mixed 
 with a solution of protoxide of tin. The mixture is 
 now a violet colour, and remains a long time without 
 precipitation, but a single drop of the sulphate of 
 iron causes an instantaneous precipitation. 
 
 The precipitate being well washed, is mixed with 
 alumine in a state of jelly, and then calcined. 
 
 TRITOXIDE OR PURPLE OXIDE OF IRON. 
 
 Iron at the highest point of its oxidation takes 
 
BLUES. 153 
 
 the violet tint: the colour is dull but permanent, 
 and except the purple of cassius just described, it 
 is the only purple that can be used in fresco. 
 
 BLUES. 
 
 COBALT, AESENIATE AND PHOSPHATE OF COBALT, 
 AND ALUMINE. 
 
 The high price of ultramarine, and the fading 
 nature of the other blues, made it an object with 
 artists to obtain a colour cheaper than that drawn 
 from lapis lazuli, and equally bright and lasting. 
 This important discovery was made by M. Thenard, 
 in 1802 ; he had been directed by Count Chaptal, 
 then minister of the interior, to attend to the 
 interests of the artists, and to make such researches 
 in and experiments for the improvement of colour, 
 as might be required of him ; he succeeded in 
 obtaining a bright and solid blue, by calcining a 
 well-combined mixture of alumine, with crystals of 
 cobalt. The arseniate, the borate, or the phos- 
 phate of cobalt may be employed ; but the latter in 
 preference, for it produces the purest colour. The 
 arseniate has always a sort of violet tinge, more 
 visible by lamp-light than by day. These blues 
 are thus prepared. ' Take of the mineral cobalt of 
 
 ^ See Thenard's Chemistry. 
 H 5 
 
154 BLUES. 
 
 Tunaberg, which is composed of <obalt, arsenic, 
 iron, and sulphur ; after being pilverized, it is 
 calcined until the vapours of arsenij are quite dis- 
 sipated; it is then dissolved by an txcess of nitric 
 acid ; the solution is then evaporatei nearly to dry- 
 ness, the residuum is then dissoved in boiling- 
 water ; this liquid is then filtered t( separate from 
 it a portion of arseniate of iron, whch is deposited 
 by this operation ; the clear liquor is then treated 
 with a solution of the sub-carbona:e of soda, and 
 sub-pliosphate of cobalt is obtained. 
 
 The precipitate being well washed, is taken from 
 the filter, moist, and mixed as well is possible with 
 eight times its weight of alumine jelly; that is in 
 the state in which it is found ; wiien after being 
 precipitated from a solution of alim by an excess 
 of ammonia, it is well washed with ^ery pure water, 
 and passed through a filter. The mixture inti- 
 mately blended, is then to be dri<;d ' ; when hard 
 enough to be broken, it is put into a crucible, 
 covered up, and heated by degrees to a cherry red. 
 leaving it in the same temperature for half an 
 hour ; the crucible may now and then be uncovered 
 cautiously, to remove a little of the colour foi- trial ; 
 
 * When dried in the open air, it is more brilliant than when 
 dried upon the stove. 
 
EGYPTIAN BLUE. . 155 
 
 when the pro])er tone is developed, the crucible is 
 to be withdrawn : the greatest care must be taken 
 that not a particle of organic matter shall fall into 
 the mixture, as it would carbonize, and combine 
 with a portion of the metal. If instead of phos- 
 phate of cobalt, arseniate was used, the proportion 
 of alumine must be doubled, or sixteen parts of 
 alumine to one of cobalt. These crystals may be 
 equally obtained by treating the mineral cobalt by 
 nitric acid, as we shall show, and by using a solu- 
 tion of arseniate of potass, instead of that of the 
 phosphate of soda. 
 
 EGYPTIAN BLUE (uSED BY THE ANCIENTs). 
 
 This colour, which is very brilliant, is frequently 
 found on the walls of the temples in Egypt, and also 
 on the cases enclosing the mummies. The same 
 colour is found in the ruins of some ancient edifices 
 in Italy, and even some of it has been disco\'ered in 
 the state it was made bv the manufacturers for the 
 painters in those remote times. 
 
 Count Chapital analysed some of it, found in 1809, 
 
 with several c»ther colours, in a shop at Pompeii. 
 
 He found that it was blue ashes, not prepared in 
 
 the moist mamner, like that which the paper-stainers 
 
 H 6 
 
156 EGYPTIAN BLUE. 
 
 use, but by calcination. He considers it a kind of 
 frit, the semi-vitreous nature of which renders it 
 proof against the action of the acids and alkalies at 
 a moderate temperature. 
 
 Some years later, Sir H. Davy employed himself 
 in Italy by making researches to ascertain the pre- 
 parations of the colours used by the Greeks and 
 Romans ; and he obtained similar results ; and 
 further, by employing the synthetic method, he ob- 
 tained a colour similar to that of the ancients, by 
 exposing to a strong heat, for two hours, a mixture 
 of fifteen parts carbonate of soda, twenty parts of 
 powdered flints, and three parts of copper. He 
 thinks this is the blue described by Theophrastus, 
 who has ascribed the discovery of it to a king of 
 Egypt, and that it was manufactured at Alexandria. 
 
 Vitruvius, who calls this blue cwruleum, informs 
 us that the art of making it was brought by Ves- 
 torius from Egypt to Puzzuoli, and that it was 
 made by calcining, in a potter"'s furnace, balls made 
 of sand, filings of copper, and flos nitri (carbonate 
 of soda).' I am inclined to believe, that the Vene- 
 
 ^ Arena enim ctim nitri flore conteritur ade6 subtiliter ut 
 efficiatur quemadmodiiin farina et aeri cyprio limis crassis (ut 
 scobis) facto immixtu conspergitur ut conglomeratur. Deindd pilae 
 manibus versando efficiuntur, et iti coUigantur ut inarescant. Eae 
 
EGYPTIAN BLUE. • 157 
 
 tians, who were so skilful in enamelling, knew how 
 to prepare the Egyptian blue. Neri, in his treatise 
 Deir Arte Vetraria, describes different degrees of 
 oxidation of copper, which gives these different 
 colours, viz. red, green, and blue, and the color 
 Arahico detto Turchino. 
 
 I imagine that Paul Veronese has employed this 
 sort of blue in many of his pictures in which the 
 skies have become green. The blue ashes, as we 
 prepare them, would have experienced this change 
 in a few weeks ; while the Egyptian blue, which 
 has remained almost without alteration as employed 
 in distemper painting, would not for a long time 
 become affected by the action of oil. Had Paul 
 Veronese employed our blue ashes, he would soon 
 have discovered their want of solidity, and would 
 not have exposed his works again to similarly in- 
 jurious changes. 
 
 Although it appears to me that this colour ought 
 not to be employed in oil painting, yet it is much 
 to be wished that we could recover the method of 
 
 aridse componuntur in urceo fictili : urceus in fornace ponitur, 
 \tk ut aes et ea arena, ab ignis vehementia confervendo cum 
 coaruerint inter se dando et accipiendo sudores, A proprietatibus 
 discedunt, suisque rebus per ignis vehementiam confecta cseruleo 
 rediguntur colore. — Vitruvius, book vii. chap. ii. 
 
1 58 BLUE ASHES. 
 
 making it, as in distemper and deorative painting 
 it would be of great utility/ One remarkable effect 
 of this colour is, that by lamp-light t appears some- 
 what greenish, whilst by day it shiies with all the 
 brightness of azure : cobalt, on tlie contrary, be- 
 comes violet by artificial light. 
 
 BLUE ASHES. 
 
 This is a precipitate of copper, combined with 
 water (a hydratcd carbonate) : it is -nther natural or 
 artificial. It is only employed in decorative paint- 
 ing ; and turns green after some time when used 
 in distemper. The same effect will be produced on 
 it in a few days, if ground up in oil 
 
 In preparing this colour they b3gin by making 
 what are called "green ashes,"" ly precipitating, 
 by carbonate of potass, a solution of sulphate of 
 
 ' In Erdman's Journal de Chimie, Leipsb, 1822, the author 
 assures us that he had succeeded in obtainiig the finest blue, by 
 means of glass coloured by copper green. This substance wa.s 
 reduced to powder, then mixed with nitrate of potass, and then 
 submitting the mixture to a heat not strong enough to melt it; 
 when it has combined intimately, the colour l.as become blue; but 
 if fusion had taken place, the matter would have been green. 
 
 One thing is surprising ; it is that the spungy mass does not 
 contain any more alkali in a free state, and k hardly touched by 
 the acids. When it is finely ground, it produces a brilliant celestial 
 blue. 
 
 12 
 
BLUE ASHES. 159 
 
 copper. The manner of doing this is very im- 
 portant : if the temperature be too high, the pre- 
 cipitate becomes crystaUized in large grains Hke 
 sand ; if it be too low, the precipitate is pasty, and 
 too pale ; and during the operation, should the heat, 
 from being too elevated, become very low, one part 
 will be found lieavy and granular, the other will 
 be pale and light. 
 
 This carbonate of copper is converted into blue 
 by mixing it with lime and sal ammoniac thus : take 
 twenty-four pounds of this precipitate, well washed 
 and filtered, two pounds of good quick-lime, and 
 about ten ounces of sal ammoniac ; the lime is then 
 to be slacked to a milky consistency, and made very 
 smooth ; the sal ammoniac, reduced to powder, is 
 then added to it, and they must be well stirred, to 
 unite them properly. It is allowed to cool as much 
 as possible previous to mixing with it the carbonate 
 of copper ; for during this operation the temperature 
 rises considerably, and should it reach to twenty- 
 five degrees the hydrate would be decomposed, and 
 a black oxide would be formed, instead of a bright 
 blue. Either we should have a grey, or a bluish 
 grey colour. The mixture is allowed to settle fur 
 twenty-four hours, and is then washed in plenty of 
 water. 
 
160 PRUSSIAN BLUE. 
 
 PRUSSIAN BLUE. 
 
 This colour takes its name from the country 
 wherein it was discovered by accident in 1704. It 
 happened that a manufacturer named Diesbach was 
 engaged in precipitating a solution of alum, to pre- 
 pare the white body (as the basis of lake) to be 
 coloured with a decoction of cochineal, employed 
 for that purpose some potass which had been given 
 him by Dippel, and upon which the latter had 
 several times rectified animal oil ; but, to the 
 astonishment of the operator, the precipitate, which 
 should have been white, became blue.^ Dippel 
 being made acquainted with the phenomena, applied 
 himself to examine all the circumstances connected 
 with this strange appearance, and at last he suc- 
 ceeded in reproducing the new colour at his pleasure. 
 The method of preparing the colour, which was 
 kept secret by the inventors, was an object of re- 
 search for many years among the chemists. In 
 1 724, Woodward, who was a member of the Royal 
 Society of London, published the following process, 
 
 * There is no doubt but that the alum employed by the manu- 
 facturer on this occasion, was like the Liege alums mixed with 
 sulphate of iron : and it is to the presence of this metallic salt, 
 that we must ascribe the sudden developement of the blue 
 colour. 
 
PRUSSIAN BLUE. 161 
 
 which has been for a long time the only one in 
 use : — 
 
 Some dried ox-blood and potass are mixed to- 
 gether and calcined ; as soon as the vapours have 
 ceased, and the substance has become of a dark red, 
 it is thrown into water and boiled, to hasten the 
 solution of the salts it contains. With this liquid, 
 clarified by rest or filtration, is precipitated a solu- 
 tion of sulphate of iron and alum ; the precipitate 
 is then purified by hydrochloric acid and repeated 
 washings. At the present time, instead of the 
 Prussian lye, the crystals drawn from it, and called 
 prussiat of potass, are used. This salt is a triple 
 combination of Prussic acid, potass, and a little 
 iron : the solution being much more pure than the 
 lye in which it crystalhzes, the blue should be, and 
 is in fact, much more brilliant. If this colour pos- 
 sessed solidity, it would be one of the greatest 
 utility : it has intensity, flows freely in the pencil, 
 and is a good dryer ; but it loses its brightness, 
 becomes greenish and grey when exposed to a 
 strong light : therefore it never can be used to 
 make green tints of a brilliant and durable nature. 
 In the article on browns we shall show, that Prus- 
 sian blue, exposed to a strong heat, becomes an 
 excellent brown. When Prussian blue is prepared 
 
162 LiLTllAMARIXE. 
 
 with proto-sulpiiate of iron, the precipitate is first 
 of a dirty green, and only becomes blue by contact 
 with the air. It must therefore be well stirred ; 
 and when the blue is developed, it is washed by 
 decanting or filtration. When the sulphate of 
 potass is carried off by washing, the colour is 
 soluble in water, and holds the same quality when 
 dry ; but this will not be the case if alum has been 
 added to the sulphate of iron, or is contained 
 in it. 
 
 ULTRAMARINE. 
 
 This substance, which is one of the most brilliant 
 colours of the palette, is also one of the most last- 
 ing. It is produced from lapis lazuli (lazulite), a 
 hard species of stone, found in Persia, China, and 
 Great Bocharia, The stone is not uniform in its 
 colour ; it often has white veins like marble, and is 
 sprinkled with points and veins of a golden lustre. 
 There are also ferruginous pyrites in it ; that is, 
 combinations of iron and sulphur. Having chosen 
 portions of this stone most free from veins and py- 
 rites, it is only requisite to reduce it to an impal- 
 pable powder, when it forms a fine blue colour. 
 Probably this was the original mode of preparing 
 it before the discovery of the process by means of 
 
ULTRAMARINE. 163 
 
 which the colour is separated ffrom other matter 
 which would taruish it. 
 
 The lazulitc is first broken intto small pieces, to 
 give an opportunity for cutting; away, \\ith steel 
 scissors, the white veins that may be found ; all 
 the parts that are of a fine colouir must then be puj 
 into a crucible, and brought to a red heat ; and 
 when the matter is in this state, it is to be thrown 
 into cold water. 
 
 As the lazulite will sustain a. red heat without 
 changing colour, the object of the operation is to 
 facilitate the trituration of the sitone. The pieces 
 are then taken out of the water,, then pounded in 
 an iron mortar, passed through ai sieve, and ground 
 with water upon porphyry or glaiss : a strong tena- 
 cious paste is thus formed ; this is dried, and pro- 
 duces a blue powder, more or lesis tinged with grey, 
 according to the quality of the sttone. This powder 
 is then intimately blended with an equal weight of 
 resinous paste, composed of new wax. Burgundy 
 pitch, gum mastic, turpentine, and linseed oil, in 
 such proportions, that when the powder is com- 
 bined with it, the paste shall sitill continue pliant 
 and manageable. This mixture, of course, must be 
 united by heat, and the melted nnass is then thrown 
 
164 ultra:marine. 
 
 into a dish full of water. It is kneaded at first 
 with two spatulas of wood, and with the hands 
 when it is cold enough for that purpose. It is formed 
 into rolls, which are put into a vessel full of water, 
 where they must remain fifteen days, renewing the 
 water occasionally : this process causes a fermenta- 
 tion, by which the oxide of iron from the decom- 
 posed pyrites adheres still more closely to the 
 mastic, in the same degree that the blue powder of 
 the lazulite separates from it. The paste is then 
 pressed in a close vessel of water, when the ultra- 
 marine exudes, and colours the water. 
 
 The first issue of the colour is the most brilliant : 
 for this reason the products are divided into three 
 or four different classes, or grades of strength ; but 
 when no more colour can be gained by cold water, 
 another issue can be obtained with the aid of warm 
 water. When at length nothing further can be 
 procured in this way, the addition of a little soda 
 to the mastic will draw out what is called the ashes 
 of ultramarine, which is a mixture of a small por- 
 tion of the mass, a little oxide of iron, and a small 
 portion of the colour, forming a grey, of a more or 
 less bluish tint. The ultramarine is then washed 
 in boiling water, which carries off a little of the 
 
ULTIIAMARINE. 165 
 
 resinous matter mixed with it, and which lowei-s 
 the brightness of its tone. 
 
 Although this colour can sustain a red heat 
 without losing any colour, yet it may be destroyed 
 by acids, which give the means of ascertaining its 
 purity in the following manner: a pinch of this 
 colour being put into a glass, and some nitre 
 thrown upon it, the blue colour is destroyed in 
 a moment, only an earthy matter remaining, of 
 a yellowish grey colour, and the appearance of jelly. 
 Neither cobalt nor Prussian blue are changed by 
 the acids, so that, when ultramarine is adulterated 
 Ijy one of these articles, the fraud is easily disco- 
 vered. A solution of indigo is not bright enough to 
 tempt any one to use it in the fabrication of ultra- 
 marine ; but should it be attempted to jheighten 
 the tone of ultramarine by this substance, the sul- 
 phuric acid will soon discover it, as this acid does 
 not act upon indigo. 
 
 It M'as believed for a long time that ultramarine 
 owed its colour to iron ; but MM. Clement and 
 Desormes, having had a great quantity of lazulite at 
 their disposal, have, by repeated washings and purifi- 
 cations, succeeded in preparing ultramarine quite 
 free from iron, and have found it in the proportion of 
 twenty-two parts to one hundred of soda, a circum- 
 
166 ULTRAMARINE, 
 
 stance not at all suspected. On the other hand 
 it has occurred, that in demolishing some furnaces 
 employed in making soda, by means of decomposing 
 sulphate of soda, some of the earth was found im- 
 pregnated with a light blue, pieces of which earth, 
 coloured in like manner, were sent to M . Vauquelin 
 in 1814. He found, on analysing them, that the 
 resemblance to ultramarine was so strong, that he 
 no longer doubted the possibility of imitating nature 
 in producing that fine colour. To realize these 
 hopes soon, it was only required to give a stimulus ; 
 for in the present advanced state of science this 
 discovery could not have been verj' long delayed. 
 This encouragement has been afforded by the So- 
 ciety for Promoting Discussions in Science. They 
 offered a premium of 6000 francs (£500 sterling) 
 to any one who should succeed in making ultrama- 
 rine, by artificial means, equal in every respect to 
 that made from lazulite. The problem has been 
 completely solved by M. Guimet, formerly a stu- 
 dent of the polytechnic school, and at present com- 
 missary of powder and saltpetre to the govern- 
 ment. 
 
 Tlie ultramarine he has made, is identically the 
 same in appearance and all other qualities as 
 that manufactured from lapis lazuli. There are 
 
ULTRAMARINE. [67 
 
 epochs, when certain discoveries are, as it were, 
 become ripe for action, so that they are developed 
 in different places at the same time ; such a cir- 
 fumstance has happened with respect to the new 
 ultramarine. At the very time that M. Guimet 
 found out this new method, M. Gmelin, professor 
 of chemistry at Tubingen, was engaged in a similar 
 discovery, and with very similar results. 
 
 The announcemoit of M. Guimet's success de- 
 prived JNI. Gmelin of that priority of claim and 
 reward, which he had good hopes of obtaining; he 
 determined to establish his claim to orioinalitv of 
 invention, by publishing the following account of 
 the process. 
 
 You must begin, says the professor, by preparing 
 hydrate of silex and alumine ; the firet in melt- 
 ing together some well-pulverized quartz, with four 
 times its weight of the carbonate of potass ; then 
 dissolving the melted mass in water, and precipi- 
 tating it with muriatic acid. 
 
 The alumine is made by precipitating pure alum 
 with ammonia, these precipitates should be care- 
 fully washed with boiling water. After this is 
 done, the quantity of dry earth in each of the two 
 hydrates must be determined, by bringing to a red 
 heat a certain portion of each of the moist precipi- 
 
168 tTLTUAMARINE. 
 
 tates ; the hydrate of silex which he has employed 
 in every hundred parts, contained fifty-six, and 
 that of alumine three hundred and twenty-four 
 parts of hydrated earth : dissolve warm, in caustic 
 soda, as much silex as it will retain, and fix upon 
 the quantity of dissolved earth to be used ; take 
 twenty-two parts of the latter, a quantity of 
 hydrate of alumine, which contains seventy parts 
 of dry alumine ; this is added to the solution of 
 silex, and the whole evaporated together, stirring 
 it constantly until it becomes a dry powder. 
 
 This combination of silex, alumine, and soda, is 
 the basis of ultramarine. This should now be co- 
 loured with the sulphuret of sodium, which is made 
 as follows : — 
 
 Into a Hessian crucible, with a close cover, is to 
 be put a mixture containing two parts of sulphur, 
 and one of carbonate of soda hydrated ; this is 
 heated by degrees until it attains a moderate de- 
 gree of redness ; the mass, being in a state of 
 fusion, this mixture is thrown into it by slow de- 
 grees ; as the watery vapours cease, another portion 
 is added ; having kept the crucible in a moderately 
 red heat for an hour, it is taken from the fire and 
 allowed to cool ; it now contains ultramarine, mixed 
 with an excess of sulphuret of sodiimi ; the latter 
 
UtTRAMAKIXffi, 169 
 
 is separated by water ; if there bte excess of sulphur, 
 it can be carried off by a mod(erate heat : should 
 all the parts not be equally c;oloured, the finest 
 of these can be separated fromi the rest by wash- 
 ing the mass in water, after being finely pow- 
 dered. 
 
 This process, which I have extracted from the 
 Annales de CMmie et de Physique, tome xxxvii. p. 
 411, has been repeated by several of our chemists, 
 and with success ; but the coloiur obtained was not 
 so brilliant as it ought to be : f(br the mass of frit 
 drawn from the crucible was noit of an equal tint ; 
 some parts being pale, others imtense and of differ- 
 ent shades, some inclining to the greenish, others to 
 the violet tint. This process, therefore, decidedly 
 requires some modification : as the mixture of the 
 materials was evidently unequial. Perhaps this 
 might be better accomplishedl after taking the 
 mixed mass from the crucible, then reducing the 
 different shades of ultramarine) to a fine powder, 
 and subjecting it again to the action of the fire 
 in a close vessel. 
 
 Whatever imperfection may appear in this pro- 
 cess, it is my duty to give it pulblicity, as I am per- 
 suaded that it will not fail to afffbrd the best results 
 to those who will persevere in carrying it towards 
 I 
 
170 GREENS. 
 
 that degree of perfection of vvhich I think it 
 capable. 
 
 GREENS. 
 
 Besides the green tint compostd from the sim- 
 ple union of yellow and blue, jhere are others 
 formed either by nature or by ciemical combina- 
 tions, such as malachite, oxide (f chrome, green 
 earth, mountain, Scheele's and Venna green. 
 
 MALACHITE, AND M0UNTA;N GREEN. 
 
 These two substances are carb')nates of copper : 
 the first is found in solid massei, formed by the 
 constant dropping of water saturated with carbonic 
 acid, and holding in solution the oxide of copper. 
 The carbonate is thus formed in bulbous masses, 
 the shades are more or less intense, but always of 
 a bright green. 
 
 The hardness, as well as soliditv of the malachite, 
 is sufficiently demonstrated by the great number of 
 valuable objects which for ages hive been wTought 
 in this material, and which have not lost any of 
 their lustre. It is not unlikely, that from the com- 
 mencement of painting it has been ground up and 
 used as a colour. 
 
OXIDE OF CHROME. 171 
 
 Mountain green, in like manner, is only a car- 
 bonate of copper, and being found naturally formed, 
 in the state of a fine powder, the artists have 
 always had it ready prepared to their hands, and 
 no doubt soon took advantage of it. We see, in 
 the most ancient miniature pictures, green in a 
 perfect state of preservation, which evidently are 
 the natural carbonates of copper. 
 
 It is prepared artificially, by precipitating, with 
 the sub-carbonate of soda or potass, a solution of 
 copper ; the result of this is an opaque colour, of 
 a greyish or pale tint, which is used in decorative 
 painting. It is not near so bright as the natural 
 carbonate of copper : but it is probable that it could 
 be obtained quite similar to it, if the carbonic acid 
 could be combined with the oxide of copper in any 
 other way than by the double decomposition of the 
 carbonic alkalies and the solutions of copper. 
 
 OXIDE OF CHROME. 
 
 This pigment exists perfectly fonned in a natural 
 state ; but hitherto it has been found in such small 
 quantities that the supply is not sufficient for the 
 demands of art. That commonly used in paint- 
 ing is an artificial production, which is obtained 
 from the decomposition of chromate of mercury by 
 i2 
 
172 OXIDE OF CHROME. 
 
 the action of heat.^ For this purpose :he chromate 
 is placed in a small graduated retort, vhich is filled 
 with it in the proportion of from two-tlirds to three- 
 quarters of the vessel's dimensions ; liiis is placed 
 in a reverberatory furnace, to the n'ck of which 
 a tube is attached, and to the outer enl of this tube 
 is fixed a sleeve, or bag of linen, whiih is plunged 
 into water to facilitate the condenation of the 
 mercury as it volatilizes. By slow degrees the retort 
 is brought to a red heat ; the chroma-e of mercury 
 is then decomposed, and changed into oxygen, mer- 
 cury, and oxide of chrome ; the oxygen disengages 
 itself in the state of gas ; the mercury passes across 
 the linen, and condenses ; the oxide cf chrome re- 
 mains in the receiver ; and, after a sirong heat of 
 three quarters of an hour longer, the operation may 
 be considered complete.* 
 
 M. Delasaigne has discovered a process more 
 facile and economic than the preceling for pro- 
 ducing this oxide of a fine green eobur, and of a 
 uniform intensity. His method consists in calcin- 
 ing, in a close crucible, and at a red heat, equal 
 
 ' The chromate of mercury is prepared by a double decomposi- 
 tion simihir to that of the chromate of lead ; tiat is, by precipi- 
 tating by tlie chromate of potass a soluble merctrial salt, such as 
 the proto-nitrate of mercury. 
 
 * See Tlienard's Chemistry, vol. ii. 
 
GREEX EARTH. 1 73 
 
 parts of chromate of potass and of sulphur ; then 
 to wash with lye the greenish mass produced, to 
 dissolve and «arry off the sulphate and sulphur of 
 potass formec by the operation : the oxide of chrome 
 then precipitates, and is obtained pure after many 
 washings. lb is not requisite that the chromate of 
 potass should be crystaUized, to take from it by 
 these means :he oxide of chrome. M. Delasaigne 
 has succeedei equally well in producing as fine a 
 colour, by calcining with the sulphur produced by 
 the evaporation, given out by the solution of chro- 
 mate of iron, heated with nitre, and which iron he 
 had previously saturated with the weak sulphuric 
 acid, to precipitate the silex and alumine which 
 are often combined with that metal.' 
 
 The oxide of chrome is chiefly used in enamel 
 painting. It may be employed in oil ; and if this 
 but seldom happens, it must be attributed to the 
 high price of the colour, and also because it has not 
 much brilliancy ; yet it has more body than any 
 other of the green colours ; and this is sometimes 
 an advantage. 
 
 GREEN EARTH, 
 
 This substance, which is found on Monte Baldo^ 
 in the vicinity of Verona, is an unctuous earth of a 
 
 ' See Annales de Physique et de Chimie, tome xiv. p. 301. 
 
 i3 
 
174 GREEN EARTH. 
 
 pure green tint, which gi"ows darker when mixed 
 with oil. Klaproth, who analyzed i:, found that it 
 contained of 
 
 Silex, 53 parts. 
 
 Oxide of iron, ... 28 
 
 Magnesia, 2 
 
 Potass, 10 
 
 Water, 6 
 
 99 
 
 The green earth of Cyprus, which he has also 
 analyzed, is composed of the same elements, differ- 
 ing little in their proportions. There are other 
 green earths, called by the mineralogists chlorites, 
 which differ from the latter in this respect, — that 
 they contain alumine, but no potass. Green earth 
 is often mixed with veins of bro\ATiish or redish 
 ochre, which, of course, ^vill affect the colours ; 
 but there are pieces found of one equal and bright 
 tint; these, therefore, have the preference. Rubens 
 has availed himself much of this colour, not in his 
 landscapes only, but also in his carnation tints in 
 his figures of a dead Christ. It is evident that much 
 of the glazing is done with terre vert : it is, in fact, 
 most useful in glazing ; because, having only a thin 
 substance, it can be rendered pale by a small portion 
 of white, but in the end it becomes darker by the 
 
CRYSTALLIZED VERDIGRIS. 175 
 
 concentration of its molecules. We see, in the 
 greater part of Alexander Veronese's ^ works, some 
 demi tints, which are too green, and which certainly 
 were not so originally ; it, therefore, must be used 
 with great caution.^ 
 
 V 
 
 CRYSTALLIZED VERDIGRIS, OR ACETATE OF 
 COPPER. 
 
 This substance is combined of acetous acid and 
 oxide of copper, to which the chemists have given 
 the above appellation. It is prepared by dissolving 
 verdigris * in distilled vinegar, evaporating it, and 
 then crystaUizing the solution. 
 
 The painters, who lived at the time when the 
 
 ' As an instance, we refer to his picture of the Death of Cleo- 
 patra, in the Louvre. 
 
 * It should be ascertained beforehand, whether a mineral colour 
 will, in time, become darker than when first laid on the picture. 
 To ascertain the fact, it is only requisite to put a drop of oil upon 
 one of these colours in their natural state; and if the tone this 
 gives to it should be more intense than that which it acquires by 
 being ground up, it may fairly be concluded that it will attain 
 to the same degree of strength whenever, having completely dried, 
 its molecules shall have re-united as closely as it is possible. 
 Umber, terra siena, and terra verte, are of this class. 
 
 ' The verdigris of commerce is a sub-acetate of copper, that is, 
 a salt in which the oxide is in the largest proportion. It is pre- 
 pared by exposing plates of copper to the action of the vapour 
 exhaled from vinegar. At Montpelier and Grenoble were formerly 
 the chief manufactoriies of this article. 
 
 I 4 
 
176 scheele's greex. 
 
 arts were restored in Italy, used this colour ; and 
 Leonardo da Yinci, in his Treatise on Painting, 
 chap, xcix., advises the application cf varnish to 
 the surface of that colour as soon as it is dry ; 
 because, being a soluble salt, it would be carried off 
 whenever the picture was washed. This colour, 
 when ground in oil varnish, is not soluble in water, 
 but its only use is in glazing. The bright greens 
 seen in some old pictures are made by glazings of 
 verdigris. Yet it is probable that the ancients 
 knew Scheele's green, the arseniate of copper. 
 
 scheele"'s green. 
 
 The following process for making this colour has 
 been published by its discoverer : — 
 
 Dissolve two pounds of sulphate of copper in 
 eleven pints of pure (warm) water, in a copper 
 vessel ; then melt separately, also in warm water, 
 two pounds of potass and eleven ounces of white 
 arsenic pulverized ; when dissolved, the liquid is 
 to be filtered and changed into another vessel ; the 
 warm arsenical solution is then thrown upon the 
 sulphate of copper, only adding a little at a time, 
 stirring it constantly ; when properly combined, 
 the mixture is to be left quite still for some hours, 
 and the colour is precipitated ; the clear liquid is then 
 
scheele's greex. 177 
 
 decanted ; upon the residuum some pints of warm 
 water are thrown ; this is to be well stirred ; it is 
 allowed to settle, and is then decanted ; having 
 in this way washed the precipitate three or four 
 times, it must be passed through a filter, and when 
 sufficiently firm it is put into shape and dried 
 upon unsized [rnper. 
 
 The above quantity should produce one pound 
 six ounces of dry colour. 
 
 By this process, however, we are not certain of 
 obtaining the same shade of colour ; because the 
 potass of commerce does not always contain the 
 same quantity of alkali. In such a case there 
 would be a waste of either sulphate of copper or of 
 potass and arsenic. 
 
 To make the results more certain, and not to lose 
 any of the materials, the acid of arsenic and the 
 sulphate of copper must be combined. For that 
 purpose the arsenic should be reduced to powder ^ 
 and dissolved in a sufficient quantity of water ; 
 the solution is then to be mixed with a sufficient 
 
 ' Arsenic being a very dangerous and active poison, the pre- 
 caution should be used of grinding it in water, to avoid being 
 exposed to the chances of respiring some of the finer particles of 
 its dust. 
 
 I 5 
 
178 scheele''s green. 
 
 quantity of the sulphate of coppe-, one part of 
 arsenic to ten of sulphate ; this will not make any 
 precipitate ; some carbonate of soda or of potass is 
 then dissolved ; a very small portion of the arse- 
 nicated copper is then to be put iito a glass, and 
 precipitated by one or other of tin two alkalies ; 
 the result will show whether the shrde of colour is 
 that required ; if it be too yellow (vhich it will be 
 if the proportion of ten of arsenic jo one hundred 
 of sulphate be exceeded), a fresh sdution of pure 
 sulphate of copper is to be added ; tli; operation may 
 be carried on either in a c old or warn state ; if the 
 former, the colour will be more pale ; if carried on 
 to a high temperature, the precipitate will appear like 
 sand, and it then crystallizes ; if ciustic alkali be 
 used, the colour becomes very dark md dries hard ; 
 it sometimes happens that this coour is required 
 to be of the greatest intensity.^ 
 
 In place of soda or potass, the presipitate may be 
 made with lime water ; but it requiies a very gi'eat 
 quantity to precipitate completely the arsenicated 
 solution, but the precipitate will be equally fine. 
 
 ' Prepared by this method, Scheele's green las a glassy fracture, 
 and is difficult to grind ; but if it be soaked in water and after- 
 wards allowed to dry gradually in the air, it vill split into small 
 pieces, and then it can be triturated much mere readily. 
 
VIENNA grf:en. 179 
 
 VIEXNA GREEN. 
 
 For many years past there has been a very 
 brilliant greei from copper, known in commerce 
 by the name )f Vienna, Brunswick, or Sweinfurth 
 green. 
 
 M. Broconrot, having analyzed it, has succeeded 
 in preparing it in the following manner : — 
 
 Six parts of sulphate of copper are to be dis- 
 solved in a snail quantity of warm water ; then 
 boil six parts of the white oxide of arsenic, and 
 one part of potass ; mix this solution by slow 
 degrees with the first, until the effervescence is 
 quite gone off; it soon forms a yellow precipitate, 
 rather dirty, ^eenish, and very abundant ; three 
 parts of acetous acid are then to be added, so as to 
 allow a trifling excess discoverable by the smell; by 
 slow degrees the volume of the precipitate diminish- 
 es, and in a few hours it spontaneously forms a deposit 
 at the bottom of the liquor (which is quite disco- 
 loured) a powder of a fine green colour, and slightly 
 crystalline ; the floating liquor is then decanted, 
 and the precipitate is carefully washed. 
 
 Dr. Liebig lias published another process, here 
 subjoined, which gives the same result. 
 
 Some distilled vinegar is to be put into a copper 
 I 6 
 
180 VIENNA GREEN. 
 
 saucepan, and, being heated, one part of verdigris is 
 to be dissolved in it ; to this is added a watery solu- 
 tion of one part of white oxide of arsenic ; these form 
 a precipitate of a dirty green tint, which, for the 
 beauty of the colour, must be got rid of; for this 
 purpose an additional quantity of vinegar must be 
 added, until the precipitate is again dissolved ; the 
 mixture is then to be boiled ; a new precipitate is 
 formed in granular crystals of a beautiful green 
 colour ; the liquid is then drawn off, and the colour 
 carefully washed. 
 
 If the floating liquor should still contain an ex- 
 cess of copper, some arsenic is to be added ; if only 
 arsenic, then acetate of copper ; or if it contains 
 an excess of acetous acid, this \vill serve to dis- 
 solve more verdigris. 
 
 Instead of dissolving verdigris in vinegar, crys- 
 tallized verdigris will do as well, dissolved in water. 
 The colour prepared in this way has a blueish shade : 
 if it is required to be more yellow, the arsenic must 
 be increased. It might also be desirable that it 
 should be of a deeper hue : for this purpose a pound 
 of potass must be dissolved in water ; add to this 
 ten pounds of the colour obtained as above, and 
 heat the whole over a moderate fire. The colour 
 will soon be observed to grow darker, and take the 
 
BROWNS. 181 
 
 required hue : if boiled too long, it comes near the 
 tint of Scheele's green, but always is superior to it 
 in beauty and brightness. The alkaline liquor 
 which remains after the operation may be used in 
 preparing Scheele's green. 
 
 BROWNS. 
 
 Asphaltum, or bitumen, is a species of pitch, or 
 mineral oil become solid. Bitumen is collected on 
 the surface of the lake Asphaltites, (the Dead Sea,) 
 and is called " Jews' pitch ;" but the greater part 
 of the asphaltum of conunerce is derived from liquid 
 asphaltum, which is evaporated to dryness. The 
 bitumen is of a fine black tint in its fracture, is 
 easily pulverized, and its powder is brown. It is 
 not ground — it is only melted, and a fine brown 
 colour is thus obtained, of the greatest transpa- 
 rency ; but it retards the drying of oils, and the 
 drying quality must be increased as much as pos- 
 sible. There are two modes of preparing bitumen : 
 a thick varnish is first made by dissolving it in 
 oil of turpentine ; this does not require much 
 heat, and even, in time, will dissolve when cold. 
 This varnish is so thick that it cannot be used 
 without mixing it with the emplastic oil of Italy, 
 or mastic varnish : this prevents its flowing off 
 
182 BROWNS. 
 
 the palette. This is the manner in which the 
 Enghsh and the ItaUans prepare bitimen. 
 
 It may also be prepared in the following 
 manner : — 
 
 Venice tui'pentine, . . .15 grains. 
 
 Gum lac, 60 
 
 Asphaltum, 90 
 
 Drying oil, i40 
 
 White wax 30 
 
 The gum lac is first dissolved in tie turpentine by 
 adding fifteen grains at a time, and allowing it to 
 melt before the other portion is added; the asphal- 
 tum is then to be mixed in like manner, by degrees ; 
 the linseed oil, having been heated rear to the boil- 
 ing point, is also by degrees mingled with the rest ; 
 the wax is then added. Before the mixture cools, it 
 should be thrown upon the stone, and well worked 
 with the muller and knife. Thus prepared, the bi- 
 tumen will dry in one day equal to flake white ; but 
 as a skin will form on the surface of the mass, this 
 must be prevented by putting it into a tin cylindrical 
 vessel, covered with a disk of the exact diameter of 
 the interior. By pressing this disk, in which is a 
 smaU hole, the bitumen oozes out, and then the hole 
 is closed with a wooden peg, so as to prevent the 
 air from coming in contact with the surface of the 
 
 12 
 
liROWK OF PIJUSSIAN BLUE. 183 
 
 liquid. In this ^^ay it may be preserved soft for a 
 long time.' 
 
 A greater degree of solidity would be given to 
 the bitumen if it were dissolved in amber varnish : 
 sixty grains of tliis varnish should be substituted 
 for turpentine. The gum lac will dissolve readily 
 in the varnish. 
 
 BROWN OF PRUSSIAN BLUE. 
 
 M. Bouvier has published a process, by means of 
 which Prussian blue may be converted into brown, 
 or black, by intense heat. This brown has all the 
 transparency of asphaltum, with this advantage, 
 that it dries quickly, and is permanent. 
 
 M. Bouvier's process is, to place upon a clear 
 fire a large iron spoon ; when it is red hot, put into 
 it some pieces of Prussian blue about the size of a 
 small nut ; these soon begin to crackle, and throw 
 
 * Some years ago, an Englishman proposed the employing of 
 syringes made of tin, or of copper tinned, to preserve from injury 
 certain colours, — such as the lakes and Prussian blue, which soon 
 undergo an unfavourable change in the bladders. And the 
 " London Society for the Encouragement of the Arts" rewarded 
 the proposition with a silver medal and a purse of ten guineas. 
 Yet it is not very probable that many English artists have adopted 
 that expedient. See The Journal of the Arts, Manufactures, &c. 
 No. 269, p. 280. Oct 1824. 
 
181; BROW>J OF PRUSSIAN BLUE. 
 
 off scales in proportion as it grows hot ; remove 
 the spoon, and let it cool : if allowed to remain too 
 long on the fire, the right colour will not be ob- 
 tained : when the colour is crushed small, some of 
 it will be found blackish, and the rest of a yetowish 
 brown : this is quite as it should be. 
 
 M. Bouvier states that this pigment can only be 
 obtained from the genuine Prussian blue in common 
 use. He states, that he " never succeeded in mak- 
 ing it with that sort which is manufactured in Eng- 
 land." Thus it would appear, that to make the 
 operation certainly succeed, blue must be employed 
 in which there is much alumine. That of English 
 manufacture, which is darker than ours (in France), 
 consequently contains but little of this substance : 
 when completely calcined, the English blue only 
 produces a sort of orange colour, which is, in fact, 
 very transparent and intense. Another condition 
 requisite to the success of the operation is, that the 
 heat ought to be at once carried to the exact point 
 required. This is easily done by using proper 
 caution. Instead of commencing the process by 
 heating an iron spoon, the bits of colour may be 
 placed on a plate of iron, and the plate laid upon a 
 quick fiire ; they sometimes give out flame, and 
 
BROWN PINK. 185 
 
 always grow red along with the plate ; when taken 
 off the fire, they are left until they cease to emit 
 smoke, and the blue colour has disappeared. 
 
 If the blue is calcined in a close crucible, a black 
 is formed, which will be found very useful, as it 
 dries well. 
 
 BROWN PINK. 
 
 This colour, as we have stated at page 143, is 
 made by precipitating, with alum, a decoction of 
 French berries (rhamnus infectorius) in such a way 
 as that the alkali shall not be saturated. This co- 
 lour would be more lasting, if, instead of the berries, 
 yellow wood, quercitron, and holly bark, for instance, 
 were used ; and still better would be the husks of 
 nuts,' which produce a very lasting brown colour. 
 
 Mixture may also be made, in whatever propor- 
 tions are most agreeable, of woad, madder, and 
 husks of nuts ; and instead of using alum to preci- 
 pitate the decoction, the acetate or sulphate of 
 copper should be used, which, as we have already 
 observed, is the best mordent for giving stability to 
 the colours. Bones, or ivory half calcined, produce 
 
 * The husks of nuts contain some portion of starch : for this 
 reason it would not be proper to employ boiling water for the 
 purpose of extracting the colour. 
 
186 UMBER. 
 
 very transparent browns, and are lasting, but are 
 the worst driers possible. 
 
 UMBER. 
 
 Some mineralogists have confounted this earth 
 with that of nocera in umbria, which is bituminous 
 and inflammable, like those of Oassel and Cologne. 
 It resists the action of fire like the )chres. It is 
 brought from the Isle of Cyprus, anc is known in 
 commerce as Turkish or Levant umler. Its colour 
 is an olive brown, which becomes mu'sh darker, and 
 of a warmer tone, when it is calcinec. It is prin- 
 cipally composed of the oxide of maiganese, oxide 
 of iron, silex, and alumine. This coour has much 
 body, and dries rapidly, especially after it has been 
 calcined. It grows darker by time ; but this is not 
 a reason for setting it aside : this disadvantage 
 may be obviated by mixing it with colours which 
 grow paler by the action of light such as the 
 brown, pinks, &c. 
 
 Some painters have painted on grounds primed 
 with umber,* but it has penetrated tlirough the 
 lighter parts of the work. 
 
 1 There are several of Poussin's pictures painted on umber 
 grounds. That fine series, " The Seven Sacrtments," is clearly 
 amongst the number. 
 
BLACK. 187 
 
 CASSEL AND COLOGNE EARTHS. 
 
 These arc bituminous earths, originating as it 
 is supposed from the decomposition of wood ; the 
 mineralogists have also given them the name of 
 lignites. The Cassel earth has the greater quan- 
 tity of bitumen, and has a rich tone of colour, but 
 it loses this in some measure by exposure to the 
 light. I remember to have seen a head, the brown 
 hair of which had been painted with a mixture 
 of white, and this brown for the light ; yet this 
 part was darker than that part painted solely with 
 it unmixed, the white having fixed the colour. 
 Another serious inconvenience in the bituminous 
 earths, is their retarding the drying of the oils ; 
 therefore when employed, they must be ground 
 with the strongest drying oils ; and to compensate 
 for their growing lighter by the action of the air, 
 they should be mixed with colours that are per- 
 manent, such as umber, charcoal black, and oxide 
 of iron. 
 
 BLACK. 
 
 The blacks used in painting, are generally made 
 from animal or vegetable carbon ; but fossil black 
 is also used. 
 
 Ivory black is also formed by calcining the parings 
 
BLACK. 
 
 of that substance, left by the workmen^ tools ; it 
 is very deep in tone, and transparent. lone black, 
 carefully prepared, differs little from the last ; it is 
 a little warmer in tone, and may be nade quite 
 brown, if the carbonizing is stopped ere it is com- 
 pleted ; this brown is very transparent, lut it must 
 be ground in drying oil, or it will not dn. 
 
 Charcoal black has less intensity thai ivory or 
 bone, and is less transparent ; and tie tints it 
 produces are rather blueish. It is prq^ared by 
 calcining in a close vessel, the shells anc husks of 
 peaches, apricots, nuts, the cuttings of vines, and 
 other young woods ; there is not much difference 
 in the tints of these various sorts ; tiat which 
 grinds the finest, is to be preferred. In this 
 respect, the preference is due to the liege char- 
 coal, which is easily ground ; whilst charcoal from 
 peach stones, vines, and most sorts of wood, are 
 on account of their elasticity, difficult tc reduce to 
 the tenuity of the other colours. 
 
 Liege black is prepared by calcining il in a close 
 crucible, and then washing it in boiling- water, to 
 carry off the soluble salts which it contains. 
 
 In a similar way is prepared the cofee black, 
 from the husks of coffee ; its properties are similar to 
 the last, it is strongly recommended by M. Bouvier 
 in his " Manuel de Peinture.'''' 
 
INDIAN INK. 189 
 
 It has been said that black of smoke, or lamp 
 black, produces injurious effects in oil. I have 
 not experienced it, but I am certain that this 
 black, when well calcined and washed, may be 
 employed without danger, yet we should be aware 
 that all the blacks from smoke do not produce 
 the same effect, for they differ very much in 
 quality ; lamp black is the most intense, and the 
 lightest ; that from coal sfhoke is much heavier 
 and coarser ; it contains a large quantity of am- 
 monia. 
 
 Smoke, or lamp black, is the basis of Indian 
 ink, and though it belongs exclusively to water 
 colours, yet perhaps it would be acceptable, if I 
 should describe a method of preparing it of a very 
 good quality. 
 
 INDIAN INK. 
 
 The best of this manufacture, has a shining 
 black fracture; its body is finely compact, and 
 homogeneous when rubbed with water ; there is not 
 the least appearance of particles, and when diluted 
 in much water, there is not any precipitate formed ; 
 when dry, its surface is covered with a pellicle of 
 a metallic appearance ; when dry on the paper, it 
 will not yi«eld to the action of water, yet it will give 
 
190 INDIAN INK. 
 
 way at once to that action, when it has been used 
 and dried on marble or ivory, wHch proves that 
 the alummed paper forms a stroig combination 
 with the ink. 
 
 Nothing is positively known of the method of 
 prepai'ing it, except what Duhaldehas told us in 
 his '■'•History of Chinay The receipt which he 
 
 • M. Julien, assistant librarian at the Instiute of France, has, 
 with much diligence and care, examined the Clinese Encyclopediae, 
 yet he has not been able to discover any recent given in so much 
 detail as that published by Father Duhalde. He has, however, 
 found several useful papers, which, I think ought to be made 
 known. 
 
 From these documents we learn, that the nk of Nan- King is 
 the most esteemed ; and amongst the differen sorts imported into 
 this country, we find those of the finest quility are made with 
 lamp black of the oil of Sesame ; with which an combined camphor 
 and the juice of a plant called Houng hoa (Uhiscus rosa sinerisis), 
 to give it brightness of tone. 
 
 This lamp black is obtained by means of one hundred lamps, 
 over which a large plate of thin iron is suspaided, to collect the 
 smoke, and prevent its dispersion. From ths plate the smoke is 
 removed by sweeping it with a feather brush 
 
 In another Encyclopedia, entitled " Thim-hung-haTve," Vol. 
 iii. p. 44, we find that one-tenth part of the nk manufactured in 
 China is made with lamp black, prepared witl oil of the Toung tree, 
 pure oil, or.the fat of pork. The remainde* is made with lamp 
 black from the red pine or the fir deal. 
 
 One active careful person can collect the olack from two hun- 
 dred lamps ; but if it be collected slowly, it tecomes burnt. 
 
 The common ink is made with black prejared in the following 
 manner : — 
 
 After having extracted the resinous mater from the pine or 
 
INDIAN INK. 191 
 
 has given, as taken from a chinese book, is as 
 follows : — 
 
 The makers of this ink take some of the plants 
 hohiang and kansang, the cloves of tchu-yia- 
 tsao-ko, and the juice of ginger ; these are to be 
 boiled in water, the decoction clarified, and then 
 evaporated to a thick consistency : ten ounces of 
 
 deal trees, there remains only the lighter parts. The ink made 
 with the lamp black of this wood loads the pencil, does not flow 
 readily on paper, nor is it perfectly soluble. 
 
 When it is intended to extract the resinous sap from the pine, 
 a hole is dug at the foot of the tree ; an incision is then made in 
 the stem ; near to this a lamp is placed ; the wood grows warm by 
 degrees ; and in a short time all the juice of the tree flows out 
 through the incision. 
 
 The pieces of pine to be burned for lamp black ought to be 
 small, and about half a yard in length; the apparatus for collect- 
 ing the soot is a long cage made of trellised bamboo, similar to the 
 roof or awning put up by the sailors as a shelter from the sun ; it 
 should be sixty cubits in length (thirty yards), both the interior and 
 exterior are covered with large paper ; when it is prepared they 
 set up several partitions, leaving an opening for the passage of the 
 smoke ; the floor is laid with earth and bricks ; the fire is allowed 
 to burn for several days, and when a certain quantity of the 
 wood has been consumed, they go into the bamboo cabin to collect 
 the soot. 
 
 As soon as the fire is lighted, the smoke soon penetrates from the 
 first partition to the last ; the smoke which fixes on the ceilings of 
 the two most remote divisions gives the lightest and softest black ; 
 that of the centre chamber is heavier and inferior in quality, — it 
 is used in making common ink ; whilst that which forms in the 
 first and second from the entrance is too coarse for ink-making, — 
 it is sold to printers, warnishers, and house-painters. 
 
192 INDIAN INK. 
 
 this electuary is then mixed with four ounces of 
 size, made from asses' skin parchment ; this mix- 
 ture is then incorporated with ten ounces of smoke 
 black, and then the whole is wrought into a fine 
 paste, which is put into moulds ; these are covered 
 up in the ashes, where they remain a longer or 
 shorter time according to the season. 
 
 P. Duhalde, being aware that all the plants men- 
 tioned in this process, except the ginger, are un- 
 known to our botanists, saw at once that his 
 receipt would be useless, unless he could give some 
 means of substituting, for the Chinese plants, those 
 of our own country which are most analogous to 
 them. He therefore, on this subject, made dili- 
 gent inquiries, the result of which he has published ; 
 we learn from the author, that the pods called 
 tchu-yia-tsao-ko are produced by a bush or shrub, 
 and resemble those of the caroub bean, except that 
 they are smaller, and nearly round. The Chinese 
 plants inclose cells filled with a pulpy substance, 
 of a pungent and unpleasant flavour. 
 
 Ho hiang is, according to the Chinese dictionary, 
 an aromatic medicinal plant, to which are attri- 
 buted the same qualities, as belong to the sou ho ; 
 another plant from which is extracted a balm 
 similar to liquid storax. 
 
IXDIAX IXK. J 93 
 
 Finally, the Kan-sung is a plant used in the 
 composition of perfumes, and is pleasing to the 
 taste. 
 
 The processes used in the arts, are always diffi- 
 cult to describe ; yet, even though we should he in 
 possession of the plants employed by the Chinese, 
 it may be doubted whether we should quite succeed 
 in imitating their ink on the first attempt. 
 
 The pods which resemble the caroub, appear to 
 me to belong to the mimosa.' The harshness of 
 their scent is a sufficient indication that they contain 
 much of the astringent principle : how is it, then, 
 that their decoction does not precipitate gelatine ? 
 have not these vegetable juices need of a new clari- 
 fying process ? 
 
 P. Duhalde speaks of the alkaline properties of 
 the ink ; how then shall we reconcile that with the 
 gallic acid, contained in juices of the astringent 
 plants ? There must therefore be some omission, 
 for the alkaline principle could not exist, or at 
 least no one has yet, by any known means, been 
 able to saturate the acid contained in the vege- 
 
 ' This, probably, is the mimosa indica ; the pods of which are 
 used in the process of dyeing, and have been for some years 
 imported into Europe. In France they are known under the 
 name o(babla; their decoction gives only one precipitation, not 
 very abundant in the solution of gelatine. 
 
194 INDIAK INK. 
 
 table decoction ; and, it may be added, that this 
 Chinese ink may be dissolved in vinegar, without 
 forming any precipitate. 
 
 However imperfect this description may be, it 
 nevertheless points out the way to us, by informing 
 us that the Chinese do not use any pure size in the 
 manufacture of their ink, but that they add some 
 vegetable juices, which give the ink greater bril- 
 liancy, and fix it more firmly on paper. 
 
 In fact, if fine lamp black be intimately combined 
 with pure gelatine, it produces an ink of a fine 
 black tint ; but in its fracture it will not be glossy, 
 neither will it be indelible on paper, like the good 
 Chinese ink, with the disadvantage of being af- 
 fected by the frost in winter. 
 
 Here then we have obtained two important 
 points : namely, that it is indispensable, that the 
 ink shall be fluid in winter as well as summer ; and 
 also that it shall resist being washed off the paper. 
 The first of these qualities can be easily obtained. 
 For the purpose of making such an alteration in 
 the gelatine, as will ensure its fluidity to equal that 
 of gum ; it only requires that the ebullition should 
 be carried on to an elevated temperature; but as 
 the caloric would in this action form an ammonia- 
 cal soap, which attracts the moisture of the atmo- 
 
IXDIAX IXK. 195 
 
 sphere ; it would be preferable to employ a process. 
 by which the starch or gelatine may be changed 
 into a gummy and saccharine substance. This 
 method consists in boiling this starchy matter in 
 water, acidulated by sulphuric acid, and afterwards 
 saturating the acid with chalk. 
 
 To render the ink insoluble on paper, it is re- 
 quisite to mix with the animal size some juices of 
 astringent vegetables, so carefully combined, as 
 not to occasion any precipitate. 
 
 The infusion of nut galls into a solution of gela- 
 tine, will cause an abundant precipitation, which 
 will unite in a resinous, elastic, and brilliant mass. 
 This compound, which is insoluble in water, can 
 be dissolved by ammonia (hartshorn), and in a 
 greater quantity of gelatine. The ammoniacal 
 solution of this precipitate is very brown, but 
 transparent ; and when dry it will not dissolve in 
 water. 
 
 The resinous matter dissolved in gelatine, is still 
 soluble in water after it has been dried, but it 
 dissolves much slower than pure gelatine. It is 
 therefore to the action of the tannin principle on 
 the animal gluten, that we must ascribe the fixed- 
 ness of Indian ink upon paper. 
 K 2 
 
196 IKDIAN IKK. 
 
 The size prepared from parchment made of asses' 
 skin is considered the best, though it is not evi- 
 dent at first sight on what account it should have 
 the preference so decidedly ; and I must state, 
 that having tried, by way of experiment, to convert 
 asses' skin into size, by passing it through lime, 
 I have only at last succeeded in dissolving it, by 
 steeping it for several days in lime water. 
 
 The Chinese attribute to this animal gluten 
 some peculiar medicinal qualities, and it may be 
 that this idea influences them in preparing it with 
 particular care. I have seen some of this size 
 which was very transparent, but I have not been 
 able to procure a portion, to compare it with that 
 made from offal of oxen, &c. 
 
 The best size is that sort, which, when steeped 
 in water, only swells without dissolving ; this 
 species is very rarely found for sale, but in place 
 of it, the Flanders size is the next best. 
 
 After having steeped this substance for several 
 hours in water, about tlu-ee times its weight, which 
 has been acidulated by a tenth part of sulphuric acid ; 
 that part of the water is to be drawn off which con- 
 tains the portion of size which is too soluble, and this 
 must be replaced by an equal quantity of water, 
 
INDIAN IKK. 197 
 
 slightly aciclurated. The size is then to be boiled 
 for an hour or two, and the ebullition brings it to 
 such a condition, that it will not when cold return 
 to a state of jelly. 
 
 The acid should then be saturated with powdered 
 chalk, with which it is combined by a little at a time, 
 vnitil the resistance of paper shows that the satu- 
 ration is sufficient. The mixture is then filtered 
 through paper, and it passes quite transparent. 
 
 About one quarter of this size is then to be taken 
 away, and upon it should be thrown a solution of the 
 concentrated essence of nut galls ; the gelatine then 
 precipitates, and becomes the elastic resin-like sub- 
 stance already mentioned ; this matter is then to be 
 washed in warm water, and dissolved in clarified 
 size ; it is again filtered, and it is allowed to draw 
 near to the proper state, for the purpose of in- 
 corporating it with the lamp black, that too much 
 time may not be lost, in waiting until the paste 
 has acquired the proper consistence requisite for its 
 being moulded. 
 
 The astringent principle contained in vegetable 
 juices, will not form a gelatine precipitate, when 
 the acid contained in it has been saturated. Nut 
 galls, or any other vegetable containing much of 
 the astringent principle, may then be boiled with 
 K 3 
 
1.98 INDIAN INK. 
 
 magnesia, or lime ' ; and then mixed with the fil- 
 tered decoction of the size, there will not be any 
 precipitation ; and the size thus prepared will be so 
 much less soluble when dry, in proportion to the 
 quantity it may contain of the astringent matter. 
 
 It is only by cautiously proceeding, that we can 
 ascertain the most just proportion of the astrin- 
 gent matter, which ought to be combined with 
 the size. 
 
 By whatever mode the excipient is prepared, 
 for being mixed with the black pigment, it must 
 be equally well clarified, by washing it in plenty of 
 water, until it leaves no sediment ; whenever this 
 takes place, there is nothing more required, than to 
 concentrate its substance to the proper degree of 
 consistency, by evaporation. 
 
 It is also by proceeding cautiously, that we can 
 ascertain the relative proportions of black and size, 
 since that size may be more or less strong : but 
 we shall succeed in this object without difficulty, 
 by making the two following trials : — 
 
 With a pencil, apply a light wash of ink upon 
 a slab of porcelain, and with a pen put some 
 
 ' I believe this ink would be very good ; but it has not that 
 property of the China ink, of dissolving in vinegar. 
 
INDIAN INK. 199 
 
 writing on paper ; if the ink on the porcelain 
 shines, this is a proof that it has sufficient size in 
 it ; and if, after it is dry on the paper, it cannot be 
 washed off by water, it is clear that there is not 
 too much size in the composition. 
 
 The Chinese use wooden moulds to form their 
 ink paste, but these moulds may be made very well 
 of potter s clay, baked ; and when they have not 
 been half vitrified by the fire, they will adhere to the 
 tongue. In this state they absorb a portion of the 
 moisture in the paste, and this facilitates the dis- 
 charge of the moulded ink, in a short time after 
 having been compressed in the mould ; the sticks 
 of ink are afterwards covered up in the ashes, to 
 prevent their becoming split in the dicing ; and 
 the moulds may be dried in the sun, or on a stove; 
 and if the pores of the latter, after a long service, 
 should cease to absorb the humidity, they should 
 be boiled in a wash of caustic lye, and then dried 
 as usual, or exposed to a red heat. 
 
 The quality of the lamp black has a gi-eat in- 
 fluence upon the quality of the ink'. We have 
 seen in a note at the beginning of this article, that. 
 
 ' The pellicle skin of metallic appearance which forms on the 
 surface of Indian ink, when drying, is chiefly owing to the lamp 
 black in its composition. 
 
 K 4 
 
200 INDIAN INK. 
 
 the black of which the "Imperial Ink" is made, 
 consists of extremely light lamp-black ; in the 
 preparation of which great care is taken. For 
 this purpose, a metal stove may be employed; 
 into this stove, a lamp with many burners must be 
 placed, and surmounted with a large plate of iron ; 
 the opening of the stove should be so arranged, as 
 to allow the combustion of the lamp to produce as 
 much smoke as possible : and for this purjjose, 
 various oils and fatty substances are tried, to as- 
 certain which will best suit this purpose. 
 
 In China, the finest lamp black is prepared from 
 the oil of girgelin, which we are assured is the 
 oil of sesame. 
 
 M. Proust, in the analysis which he made of 
 some Chinese ink of the finest quality, found two 
 per cent, of camphor in it. This substance is also 
 pointed out in a receipt, to be found in the Chinese 
 Encyclopedise. From this information, I mixed a 
 little camphor in the ink which I made, and I 
 soon found the good of this addition. When the 
 ink in which it was mixed, was in a state of paste 
 sti-ong enough to be moulded, I have pressed it 
 with the fingers slightly touched with oil, and it 
 did not adhere in the slightest degree; in this 
 state, it took perfectly the impression of the seal, 
 
WHITE LEAD. 201 
 
 and this facility of moulding, I attribute entirely to 
 the camphor. 
 
 WHITE LEAD. 
 
 The only white now used in oil painting, is a 
 combination of prot-oxide of lead and carbonic 
 acid ; it is called in chemistry " the sub-carbonate 
 of lead." From the various modes of preparing 
 it, arises a very great diversity in the qualities ; 
 these are known by the names of ceruse, flake 
 white, krems white, and silver white. 
 
 The ceruse made in Holland has long had the 
 reputation of being the best in that class of whites. 
 It is not a very clear white, and is therefore used 
 chiefly in house painting, and in priming cloths for 
 pictures : it is often mixed with chalk. The Ger- 
 man ceruse contains a large proportion of the sul- 
 phate of barytes, but the Dutch ceruse pf the first 
 quality is pure.' 
 
 Flake white is brighter than ceruse ; it would 
 even equal that of krems, if proper care was em- 
 ployed in its fabrication. It has the great advan- 
 tage of not being liable to adulteration : it is called 
 by the colourmen " common white." 
 
 ' These ceruses also contain acetate of lead, metallic lead, and 
 ammonia. 
 
 K 5 
 
202 WHITE LEAD. 
 
 These two species of white are prepared by ex- 
 posing plates of lead to the action of vinegar steam 
 and carbonic acid. For this purjjose, earthen ves- 
 sels, either glazed or hard baked, are employed ; 
 slips of wood are laid across these, and the lead in 
 plates, or spiral forms, is placed upon them, so as 
 not to touch the liquid which fills the bottoms of 
 the vessels. These pots arc then ranged in lines, 
 close together, upon a bed of stable dung. Other 
 lead being placed as tiles upon those pots, some 
 planks are laid over them; on these are placed 
 another layer of dung, and on this another range of 
 pots is placed, covered with lead in like manner ; 
 and thus it proceeds until the pile is six or eight 
 feet high, as the localities may permit. To prevent 
 the heat from becoming too powerful, openings are 
 reserved in the layers, at proper distances, through 
 the mass. These are usually closed, but opened 
 occasionally to examine the temperature : when 
 that is too high, a current of air is allowed to pass 
 through, until the heat is brought down to the 
 standard required, which should not exceed thirty- 
 five or forty degrees at the most, unless it may be 
 towards the close of the operation, when it is^ only 
 required to dry the carbonate which has been 
 formed. 
 
WHITE LEAD. 203 
 
 In about six weeks the pots are removed, and 
 the lamine which cover them have become hard 
 flakes, which, without further preparation, is the 
 flake white of commerce. The spirals are unrolled, 
 and flakes of a smaller and more brittle nature are 
 drawn from them. These are ground in water, under 
 horizontal grinders ; the produce is then washed, 
 and allowed to settle ; the water is drained off", until 
 the deposit has acquired a thick consistency ; it is 
 then put into conical pots, and dried for use. 
 
 This is the way in which the Hollanders prepare 
 their ceruse. Its want of brightness arises from a 
 small portion of the metal not being thoroughly 
 oxidized, and also from the use of litter, which 
 throws out vapours, by which the oxide is darkened 
 as it is formed. This disadvantage may be obviated 
 by using moistened straw, or common tan, for the 
 couches : the flakes will then have a brilliant 
 whiteness\ 
 
 The following experiment, made in my presence, 
 several years since, will show how the operations 
 are conducted in Holland. It proves, that vinegar, 
 of itself, will not convert the lead into carbonate, 
 and that the carbonic acid must be combined with it. 
 
 ' To facilitate the fermentation of the straw, it must be wetted 
 with warm water. 
 
 K 6 
 
204f WHITE LEAD. 
 
 A vessel of common vinegar is placed under a 
 glass bell ; plates of lead are then laid over the 
 vinegar, in such a way as to allow the vapour of the 
 vinegar to have free access to every part of its sur- 
 face ; the bell is then carefully luted to the surface 
 on which it stands. 
 
 A similar apparatus was then prepared, but to 
 the vinegar were added some bits of calcareous mar- 
 ble, which, in decomposing, produced carbonic acid 
 gas. The two bells were thus exposed to the same 
 temperature of thirty or thirty-five degrees for a 
 month : at the end of that time, the leaden plates 
 inclosed under the glass with the pure vinegar 
 were covered with a crystalline and transparent 
 couch of acetate of lead, without a particle of the 
 carbonate ; whilst, under the other glass, the plates 
 were found covered with a couch of various thick- 
 ness ; the upper plates, placed horizontally, were 
 more than half converted into carbonate of lead : 
 it was soft, because the moisture could not evapo- 
 rate. There is no doubt, that if it had dried in this 
 state, it would have formed compact flakes, such as 
 are sold in the shops. We collected the whole 
 upon paper, and it did not yield in brightness to the 
 finest krems white. 
 
 Thus it would appear, that in the operation just 
 
KllEMS WHITE. 205 
 
 described the carbonic acid is furnished by the stable 
 Utter. 
 
 The carbonate, when just formed, is soft ; and it 
 is, no doubt, to dry it completely, that the pots are 
 left so long in the dung-heap. 
 
 KREMS WHITE. 
 
 The addition of a substance to furnish carbonic 
 acid is quite requisite in this preparation ; . but the 
 heat of a stove is substituted for that of stable 
 dung. The leaden plates are exposed in this pro- 
 cess to the united vapours of vinegar and carbonic 
 acid gas in deal boxes, the bottoms of which are made 
 secure from leakage by varnish, or some resinous 
 liquid. The leaves of lead are about the thickness 
 of a line,' are arranged, in the form of chevrons, 
 upon lath, supported by a stronger piece of wood 
 placed across the interior of the box. The leaves 
 are isolated from each other, and distant from the 
 surface of the vinegar about tliree inches. 
 
 To produce the carbonic acid, the union of which 
 is requisite in making white lead, a certain propor- 
 tion of the lees of wine, or tartaric acid, is added to 
 the vinqgar. The same effect may be produced by 
 marble, as already stated. 
 
 ^ One-twelfth of an inch. 
 
206 KREMS WHITE. 
 
 The boxes are then closed, and placed upon a 
 square tube containing warm air. This is carried 
 around the workshop, and brings the temperature 
 up to thirty degrees, but must not go beyond this 
 point, otherwise the vinegar would evaporate too 
 rapidly, and much of it would be lost. 
 
 In about fifteen days the boxes may be opened, 
 and if the process has been well conducted, a quan- 
 tity of carbonate should be collected equal to the 
 quantity of metal employed.^ 
 
 But as the white lead obtained by this operation 
 has not the hardness of that obtained by the Dutch 
 method, it need not be ground, and is made ex- 
 tremely fine by a very simple apparatus. This is 
 composed of a large box, divided into nine compart- 
 ments, decreasing in depth ; the flakes are put into 
 the highest division, being separated from the metal 
 that has not been attacked ; water is then turned 
 on from a reservoir placed above the case, and the 
 mass is well stirred with a stick. The water soon 
 flows over, and runs into the second division, then 
 into the third, and so on to the ninth. 
 
 It is supposed that the particles of white drawn 
 off" })y the water are finer in proportion to ihe dis- 
 
 ^ The carbonate of lead contains very nearly 16 per cent, ot 
 carbonic acid. 
 
KREMS WHITE. 207 
 
 tance they have been carried ; therefore the deposits 
 in the lowest divisions are of the best quality. 
 The divisions are then emptied of their contents 
 into large vats ; the white subsides in a little time, 
 and, when drained of its liquid, is put into porous 
 earthen vases, the square shape of which it retains 
 when dry. This drying takes place in the same 
 stove where the metal was converted into white 
 lead. 
 
 Krems white is the brightest white that is used 
 in oil : it has rather less body than flake white, 
 because the particles are much finer : an equal 
 weight of krems will cover a much greater space 
 than flake white. When newly prepared, it gives 
 out a strong smell of vinegar. 
 
 The Society for Encouraging National Industry, 
 (in France,) on its formation, offered a prize for the 
 most complete mode of making the ceruses. The 
 conditions were, that it should be economic, and 
 that it should produce a white equal to the best 
 white of commerce. 
 
 After eight years of experiments, the prize was 
 gained by MM. Brechoz and Le Sueur, who were 
 then established at Pontoise. The samples they 
 produced were equal to the finest krems white, and 
 the commissioners charg-ed with their examination 
 
208 KREMS WHITE. 
 
 were of opinion that it was prepared in a similar 
 manner. The result has proved that they were 
 corrtct in this opinion, as MM. Cadet de Gassicourt 
 and Marcel de Serves have communicated the fol- 
 lowiiig process, which is used in the Austrian 
 factories.^ 
 
 The process thus discovered by the aid of the 
 Soci(!ty, has been much improved in a large esta- 
 blishment formed at Clichy. 
 
 The mode of making the white is quite different 
 in this process from what it is in the methods just 
 descHbed. The ceruse is prepared very quickly, 
 by forming a precipitate, with carbonic gas, in a 
 supersaturated solution of prot-oxide of lead. This 
 solution is prepared by agitating, in a cold state, 
 litharge and distilled vinegar ; when this mixture is 
 sufficiently concentrated, it is passed through a 
 current of carbonic acid gas, which unites with the 
 greater portion of the dissolved oxide of lead ; the 
 precipitate is collected, washed carefully, and then 
 dried for use. The liquor floating on the top is 
 vinegar, still holding in solution some prot-oxide of 
 lead, which, being charged with more litharge, gives 
 a similar precipitate, having lost nothing of its 
 
 ' See the bulletin Be la Societe d' Encouragement (eighth year). 
 
KREMS WHITE, 209 
 
 power. The carbonic acid employed is drawn from 
 ignited coals, and, ere it is used in the solution, it 
 is washed in a large quantity of water, by which 
 means it deposits completely a quantity of ashes 
 and oily hydrogen gas along with it, which would 
 blacken the ceruse. The ingenious apparatus con- 
 trived to produce the precipitate are the sole pro- 
 perty of the inventors, who only have a right to 
 make them public. Besides, it would be very diffi- 
 cult to give a clear notion of this machinery without 
 going at a great length into detail ; but as aiiists 
 may happen to be in places where it would be im- 
 possible to procure fine white lead, perhaps it 
 would be useful to offer a mode by which, in a few 
 days, they may produce a quantity sufficient for their 
 purposes, — supposing always that they will ha\'e at 
 their command, vinegar, and litharge, or even lead. 
 The operator must, in the first place, distil the vine- 
 gar ; afterwards supersaturate it with oxide of lead, 
 by combining it with litharge : if the litharge be bad, 
 or contains copper,' it will then be better to convert 
 the lead into massicot, which is easily done by cal- 
 cining it in an iron vessel. The saturation should 
 
 ' But the copper, not being precipitated by the carbonic acid, 
 will remain in the solution ; from which it may be precipitated in 
 its metallic state by means of iron. 
 
210 KREMS WHITE. 
 
 be made in a little barrel of white wood, with an 
 axis through its centre ; to this a handle is fixed. 
 By turning this apparatus for a short time, a super- 
 saturated solution is obtained ; this is decanted, 
 and, when cleared by rest, it is put into a deep 
 vase. 
 
 To form the precipitate caused by the combina- 
 tion of the carbonic acid, this acid is to be disen- 
 gaged from the chalk by sulphuric acid. 
 
 For this purpose some chalk must be prepared 
 by washing, and a deep vessel about quarter 
 filled with it ; this should have two tubes, but if 
 these may not be had, a vessel may be used with 
 a wide neck, large enough to admit a large cork 
 pierced with two holes ; into one of these the 
 beak of a tunnel is introduced ; to the other is 
 adapted a crooked tube of glass, the other extre- 
 mity is to be plunged to the bottom of a flagon 
 containing full three parts of water ; this flagon is 
 closed, like the first, with a large bung, pierced 
 with two holes ; through one of these the tube 
 passes ; another curved tube is fixed to the other 
 aperture, and descends to the bottom of the vessel 
 containing the solution ; this is called " Waulfs 
 apparatus ;" the intermediate flagon of water is 
 intended to wash the gas, and to disengage it from 
 
KREMS WHITE, 211 
 
 any sulphuric acid which it may contain ; the tubes 
 and the tunnel should be so closely luted, that the 
 gas may not escape but by the tubes ; flour paste 
 and paper will be sufficient luting. 
 
 The apparatus being thus prepared, some sul- 
 phuric acid is then passed through the tunnel ; the 
 acid must be mixed with ten or twelve times its 
 weight of water ; and when the gas begins to 
 escape by the mouth of the tunnel, this must be 
 closed by a sort of piston, formed by folding linen 
 or cotton round a glass or wooden cylinder ; the 
 tunnel may then be filled with weak acid, and easing 
 the piston occasionally, some of it may be let fall, 
 and the tunnel again closed ; the gas soon disengages 
 itself, passes across the water of the flagon, whence 
 it becomes purified, thence it enters the vase con- 
 taining the saturated acetate of lead, and forms a 
 fine white precipitate, which is the carbonate of 
 lead ; the liquor is then shaken to accelerate the 
 combination, and this is continued until the car- 
 bonic acid ceases to form any more precipitate ; it 
 is left to settle, the floating liquid is poured off ; 
 this is vinegar still holding in solution a great 
 quantity of oxide of lead, which may again be 
 saturated, and a new precipitate obtained; the pre- 
 ci})itate is to be washed in a large quantity of water, 
 
212 KREMS WHITE. 
 
 and allowed to make a deposit ; this is collected and 
 dried for use. All this may be properly done in 
 eight days. 
 
 White lead is used only in oil painting, and even 
 then it becomes blackish ; and would at length 
 return to the colour of its dull metallic state, if it 
 were not preserved by a couch of varnish from the 
 action of hydro-sulphureous vapours, which float 
 constantly, more or less, in the atmosphere. 
 
 White lead should, therefore, never be used in dis- 
 temper painting. There is a signal instance of that 
 kind of alteration of which I have just spoken, in 
 the ancient collections of design retouched with 
 white, in the lights ; these parts have become black 
 in those drawings where lead has been used. Luckily 
 M. Thenard has found out a method of restoring 
 them to their original whiteness, though darkened 
 by contact with hydro-sulphureous vapours. That 
 eminent chemist was consulted some years ago upon 
 the means of restoring to their original whiteness 
 the black spots which had formed upon a valuable 
 drawing, by the changing of the white lead. He 
 had just terminated his experiments upon the 
 oxygenated water, of which he was the discoverer. 
 Among the various uses of that water, he had 
 ascertained its power of instantly converting the 
 
KREMS WHITE. 213 
 
 sulphuret of lead into sulphate of lead, which is 
 white. He soon applied it practically ; and touched 
 upon the black spots of the drawing with a pencil 
 dipped in weakly oxygenated water, ^ and immedi- 
 ately restored it to its primitive state, without in 
 the least altering the brownish tint of the paper.^ 
 
 ' Water, which in its natural state contains a volume of oxygen 
 equal to itself in bulk, may be made to. contain as much more, — 
 that is, two volumes of oxygen to one of water. 
 
 ' See the Annales de Chimie et de Physique, vol. xiv. page 221. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 ON THE PREPARATION AND GROUNDS OF PANELS, 
 CANVASSES AND WALLS. 
 
 From the time that the restoration of the arts in 
 Italy commenced, down to the days of Raffael, 
 panels were always used for painting on, except 
 when the works were to be fixed to a particular 
 place. Canvasses united the advantages of cheap- 
 ness and easy removal. The latter, therefore, 
 gained a preference ; and after RaffaeFs time 
 they no longer painted large pictures on wood in 
 Italy. 
 
 In the Low Countries the use of panels continued 
 much longer. Even in the time of Rubens there 
 was, at Antwerp, a celebrated manufactory, where 
 the panels were prepared of great dimensions ; but 
 after the death of the chief artist of the Flemish 
 
PREPARATION AND GROUNDS, &C. 215 
 
 school, the artists painted only easel pictures on 
 wood. 
 
 The Italians preferred poplar wood for this pur- 
 pose. In Flanders oak was used ; as it is very sel- 
 dom injured by worms. 
 
 It is natural to suppose, that panels composed 
 of several pieces glued together, might become dis- 
 united, by the changes arising from dryness or 
 moisture, to which pictures are always more or 
 less subject. To prevent these accidents, very 
 great care was taken in the earlier times, but 
 latterly these precautions were neglected ; bands 
 of linen were glued upon the joining, and even 
 occasionally they covered the entire surface of the 
 panel with black tanned leather ; the glueing on 
 of linen bands, is attributed by Vasari to Marghe- 
 ritone, who lived in the twelfth century, but it was 
 known before his time, for the practice is described 
 in Theophilus'' treatise, De arte Pingendi ; it was 
 probably brought into Italy by the Greeks. 
 
 Theophilus informs us, that the planks or boards 
 of which the panels were composed, were prepared 
 by a tool used by vat makers, probably the rabet 
 plane ; these planks were then cemented at their 
 edges, by a glue made from cheese, the manner 
 of making which he describes ; and he assures us, 
 
216 PREPARATION AND GROUNDS OF 
 
 that thus united, neither moisture nor dryness 
 could separate the joints. This remarkable fact 
 has been verified by experience, which clearly 
 shows the superiority of this method of glueing,' 
 and may be useful to artists. It is done in the 
 following manner : — 
 
 Take some fresh cheese made with rich creamy 
 milk," triturate and wash it in warm water, until 
 all the soluble part is carried off by the water ; 
 this may be operated in a sieve or a linen cloth, 
 through which the cheese is afterwards pressed to 
 get rid of the water ; when quite drained, it 
 crumbles like stale bread ; it is then dried upon 
 
 ' To prove the fact, some prepared boards have been exposed 
 to the alternations of rain and sunshine for some weeks ; one 
 portion was jointed with the ordinary glue, and the other with the 
 glue of cheese. The first-mentioned gave way in the joints after 
 the rain and sun had acted upon them ; but the latter remained 
 quite firm and undisturbed. 
 
 * Here follows the original text of Tlieophilus : — 
 
 " Caseus mollis de vacca minutatim incidatur et aqua calida in 
 mortariolo cum pila tamdiu lavetur, donee aqua multoties infusa 
 puru ind6 exeat. Deinde idem caseus attenuatus manu mittatur 
 in frigidam aquam donee indurescat. Post hoc teratur minutis- 
 sim(> super ligneam tabulam sequalem cum altero ligno, sicque 
 rursum mittatur in mortariolum, et cum pila diligenter tundatur 
 addita aqua cum viva calce mixta donee sic spissum factum sit 
 ut sunt feces. 
 
 " Hoc glutinae tabulae compaginatae, postquam siccantur ; ita 
 sibi inhaerunt, ut nee humore nee calore disjungi possint. 
 
 12 
 
PANELS, CANVASSES, AND WALLS. 217 
 
 unsized paper, and in that state will keep fresh a 
 very long time. 
 
 This material, which is cameum^ mixed witi a 
 small proportion of butter, is not soluble in water, ex- 
 cept by the addition of quick-lime ; but by triturating 
 this mixture, it becomes transformed into a very 
 viscous sort of cream, which can be diluted vith 
 water to the consistency required for the work. 
 It dries quickly, and when quite dry it cannot 
 again be dissolved ; therefore, no more should be 
 prepared than can be immediately used. This is 
 probably the cause why the use of it has bc^en 
 abandoned ; but at all times a solid advantage is 
 worth the trouble and difficulties of its preparation 
 and use ; besides, those difficulties would be greatly 
 diminished by keeping, in a well-closed vessel, some 
 powdered quick-lime to mix with the causeum at the 
 moment of trituration : a little use of the muUer will 
 be sufficient for that purpose. It would be still better 
 to soften the causeum in v\arm water, and for ex- 
 pedition' sake, the two substances should be kept 
 in a close vessel, being previously mixed dry in the 
 
 ' In England (says M. Meriniee) there is an article sold under 
 the name of " Vancouver's cement." It is a whitish powder made 
 up in small parcels. This cement is nothing more than fine 
 lime and causeum, or else the white of e^g dried and finely pul- 
 verized. 
 
218 PREPARATION AND GROUNDS OF 
 
 right proportion, and reduced to a fine powder ; 
 this will give great facility to the trituration. 
 
 The panels were anciently primed with chalk, dis- 
 solved in animal size ; it is the same preparation 
 which is still used by the wood gilders in preparing 
 their frames and other work. Plaister ground is 
 preferable to chalk, and the term iiigessare " to 
 cover with plaister," is used by the Italian authors, 
 to describe the application of distemper grounds to 
 panels. 
 
 I have had occasion to analyse a portion of the 
 ground of a picture by Titian, painted on wood ; 
 this ground was composed of plaister of Paris, with 
 starch, and paste, but no glue or size, flour paste be- 
 ing used instead of gelatine. There has also lately a 
 curious fact been discovered, namely, that a couch of 
 distemper, which covered the envelope of a mummy, 
 was composed of plaister mixed with animal glue. 
 
 In the commencement of the art the canvasses 
 were prepared like the panels with distemper grounds ; 
 and it has already been stated, that generally the 
 pictures of Paul Veronese were painted upon such 
 primed cloths. 
 
 The practice now is, to prime the cloth with oil 
 colour, changing the mode according as the canvass 
 is of a closer or more open texture. When the 
 
PANELS, CAXVASSES, AND WALLS. 219 
 
 canvass is very open, and lets the colour through, 
 it must be saturated with size made of glove 
 parings, laid on with a large palette knife or 
 trowel, the edge of which should be blunt, and as 
 straight as a rule, that the couch of size may be 
 laid as evenly as possible ; when the priming is 
 quite dry, it must be rubbed with pumice stone, to 
 make it free from lumps ; then with the knife, a 
 couch of ceruse is applied ; when dry this is also 
 pumiced ; a second couch is then put on, and 
 sometimes a third, to obtain a perfectly even 
 surface. 
 
 Formerly, the first priming was made with dark 
 red, mixed with umber, or with pure umber ; and 
 some sixty years since, it was supposed that the 
 drying of this colour would be quickened by mixing- 
 it with litharge ; but it has been discovered that 
 pictures painted on these sorts of preparations, in 
 a few years have their surfaces covered with a 
 multitude of little grains like sand ; and thus 
 proving that the litharge was badly prepared.' 
 
 At the present day, the artists are more careful 
 in such essential matters ; and the colourmen, 
 
 ' Had the litharge been very finely ground, that evil effect 
 rould not have occurred. 
 
 L 2 
 
220 PREPARATION AXD GROUNDS OF 
 
 for their own sakes, are excited to prepare their 
 canvasses with more attention, for any negli- 
 gence in these essential matters would ruin their 
 trade. 
 
 Cloth for priming without sizing, ought to be of a 
 closer and more even texture ; in this respect ticking 
 is peculiarly advantageous ; for though at present it 
 is not to be had of a much greater v^idth than two 
 yards ; yet if the manufacturers found a demand for 
 it, they, no doubt, would make it up to any reason- 
 able dimensions. If the cloth is not sized, it will 
 require three or four couches of colour to ensure an 
 even surface ; and before a new couch is applied, 
 time must be allowed, for the former to dry hard 
 enough to be rubbed with pumice ; this is the 
 reason why cloth requires, in preparation, two or 
 three months in summer, and five or six in the 
 winter season. 
 
 The time required for priming, may be short- 
 ened very much, by making the first and second 
 couches with distemper ; and as soon as they are 
 quite dry, and pumiced into an even surface, let 
 the last couch be merely oil, which has become 
 viscous by exposure to the air ; this will penetrate 
 the distemper, and render it quite pliant. By the for- 
 mer method, much time is required to dry the cloth. 
 
PANELS, (;axvasses, axd walls. 221 
 
 But by this mode, as soon as the oil is absorbed, they 
 may be rolled up like waxed cloths, with perfect 
 safety. ' As the pliancy of these cloths depends 
 upon the . complete union of the oil with the dis- 
 temper, the absorjjtion would be greatly facilitated 
 by using a very weak size, mixed with a little oil, 
 and a good quantity of mucilage of linseed meal, 
 or the latter mucilage alone will do if well boiled. 
 
 This species of ground may be made in four or 
 five days, which will economise the time consider- 
 ably. It is even pretended that a picture may be 
 commenced immediately upon one of these grounds 
 when fresh prepared, and that the colours will 
 change much less than they do when used on a well 
 dried ground ; but such is not my opinion : for the 
 viscous oil used in the ground, and to which the 
 cloth owes its pliancy, dries but slowly. Hence the 
 colours, being left too long exposed to the chemical 
 action of the oil, are likely to undergo a change. 
 I would therefore advise, that if circumstances 
 compel artists to paint on such a ground when 
 fresh, they would do well to apply a strong couch 
 
 ' M. Rey is the first of our colourmen who has adopted this 
 method. He gave to his primed cloths the name of absorbent 
 canvasses ; and they liave preserved their pliancy for several 
 years. See Le Bulletin de la Societe d' Encouragement, (fiftli 
 year). 
 
 l3 
 
222 PREPARATION OF 
 
 of white chalk with a httle size in it, to absorb the 
 excess of oil ; but it would, in such a case, be 
 still better to paint on a distemper ground. 
 
 PREPARING A GROUND ON TAFFETY, 
 
 ^Vhen pictures on this substance are to be placed 
 under glass, its surface must be prepared as waxed 
 cloth. For this purpose, some fine ceruse must be 
 ground in fat oil, with which a little pure wax should 
 be incorporated. Two couches of this mixture will 
 be a sufficient preparation ; and the taffety will pre- 
 serve its pliancy for many years. 
 
 Painting on copper has been given up for some 
 years. The preparation of it is not difficult ; it 
 must be finely pumiced to make the priming adhere 
 to the surface ; and to make it more permanent, it 
 should be covered with copal varnish. 
 
 PREPARING GROUNDS ON WALLS. 
 
 Walls are rarely built with stone of a texture 
 fine enough to admit of being painted upon. This 
 is the chief reason why the cupolas and other paints 
 of buildings must be covered with a couch of plaister, 
 or cement, to prepare them for paintings in fresco. 
 When the ceiling is perfectly dry, several primings 
 of boiling linseed oil are to be laid on in succession ; 
 
GKOUXDS ON WALLS. 22o 
 
 after these a course of ceruse, or other colour 
 suitable to the purpose, completes the ground ; the 
 usual coating is quick lime and sand, or brick dust ; 
 it is as durable as stone, if well prepared, but if 
 the workmen are not careful, the best materials 
 will produce but indifferent mortar, an oily cement 
 would, of course, be preferable ; this can be made 
 by quick lime and fat linseed oil, cemse, and sand ; 
 it is of no importance what the cement may be for 
 mosaic, which is composed of powdered marble, 
 quick lime, and linseed oil ; the oil and lime form a 
 paste extremely glutinous, and which flows too 
 freely, unless the oil is very viscous, and then the 
 cement will be sufficiently firm and manageable, but 
 however freely it may flow about, yet in a few days 
 it will become quite fixed ; and it is all the better 
 for having been mixed for some time. - 
 
 Instead of boiling oil, for saturating the mortar, 
 I should prefer using a mixture of drying oil and 
 wax, such as was employed in the cupola of St. 
 Genevieve. 
 
 Having heated the wall by a heater armed with 
 a reflector, the composition should then be applied 
 warm, and to make it penetrate deeper the heat 
 must be keptiip, until the ground ceases to absorb 
 the oil. 
 
 l4 
 
224 DEAD COLOUKIXG 
 
 With this preparation there is no danger of the 
 colours being absorbed, or of being injured by 
 humidity ; and it is equally good for the plaister, as 
 it prevents the formation of saltpetre. * 
 
 AN EXPEDITIOUS METHOD OF DEAD COLOURIXG 
 UPON GROUND PREPARED IN DISTEMPER. 
 
 I shall now give a detailed account of the rapid mode 
 of laying in a picture on distemper grounds, as it was 
 practised by P. Veronese, and by other eminent 
 painters previous to his time. At that era, when 
 the artists began to leave distemper, for oil painting, 
 this mixed process may be considered as the passage 
 from the old to the new state of pictorial art. The 
 cloth or panel being properly prepared for distemper 
 painting, the dead colour is to be laid on with water 
 colour and a little size ; to which may be added a 
 small portion of oil, or the emulsion of nuts, or 
 poppy seeds ; neither white nor opaque colours 
 should now be used ; it is better to employ water 
 colours only ; alterations in the design can be 
 
 ' MM. D'Arcet and Thenard, who directed the works in the 
 cupola of St. Genevieve, have composed the couch (laid over the 
 plaister) with one part of wax and three parts of boiled oil, with 
 one-tenth of its weight of litharge. See the Memoir on the Em- 
 ployment of Oily Substances, published in the Annales de Chimie 
 et de Physique, Vol. xxxii. page 24. 
 
0\' DISTEMPER GROUNDS. 225 
 
 made with a wet sponge, but the ground must not 
 be disturbed ; therefore, to prevent this, the ground 
 should be mixed with a size which, when dry, could 
 not be disturbed ; causeum should, therefore, be em- 
 ployed in preference, mixed with a very small por- 
 tion of oil or oily emulsion, that the gi'ound may 
 the more readily absorb the oil/ 
 
 Those who have painted in distemper well know 
 how freely this species of colour flows in the pencil ; 
 the laying in of the subject is, therefore, completed 
 with more facility than it can possibly be in oil ; 
 and it is equally manageable in making corrections, 
 in careful execution, and management ; and it is 
 easy to make any alterations that may be thought 
 requisite. 
 
 Should oil colours be afterwards used in the finish- 
 ing, the oil will be immediately absorbed, so that it 
 will be difficult to extend the colours. To prevent this 
 inconvenience, a couch of white drying oil should be 
 passed over the work ; this, of course, will soon be 
 absorbed, but it will be sufficient to prevent a new 
 absorption, and the colours will then flow freely. 
 
 * Prepared plaister of Paris does not allow of being finely tem- 
 pered with water ; therefore, in such cases it would be better to 
 brush over the back of the canvass with a couch of ground chalk 
 and weak size. 
 
 L 5 
 
226 DEAD COLOURING, &C. 
 
 Afterwards, further absorption may be prevented 
 by passing a strong varnish over any part that it 
 may be desirable to repaint. 
 
 This method offers not only the advantages of 
 greatly economising the time, both in the prepara- 
 tion of the canvass and in the laying in of the pic- 
 ture, but it renders the coloui-s more brilliant, and 
 less subject to change ; for cloths primed in the 
 ordinary way retain the oil of the colours between 
 the ground and the last couches of paint, and thus 
 remain a long time without drying, and finally react 
 unfavourably on the colours ; whilst on distemper 
 grounds the superfluous oil is carried into the back 
 of the canvass, or the interior of the wood if the 
 ground has been laid on a panel. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 ON THE PRESERVATION OF PICTURES, AND THE 
 METHODS USED FOR RESTORING THEM. 
 
 I HAVE already mentioned the influence that Hght 
 and air have upon colours, oils, and varnishes. 
 There are very few colours that will not be greatly 
 changed by the direct and continued action of light ; 
 therefore pictures must not be exposed, except for 
 a short time, to the action of the sun*'s rays. 
 
 It is equally true that the oils and fatty sub- 
 stances take a yellowish tone, more or less dense in 
 proportion as they are placed in the shade, and in 
 situations where the air is bad. Hence it is obvious, 
 that the best situations for preserving pictures are 
 well ventilated halls, lighted from a northern aspect. 
 
 The varnish also with which such works are 
 covered, assumes a yellowish tone, and loses its 
 transparency in a longer or shorter period. When 
 l6 
 
228 PRESERVATION AND 
 
 this goes so far as to injure instead of serving the 
 picture, it must be removed, and another substi- 
 tuted for it, — an operation of httle difficulty if the 
 varnish is of the ordinary kind, composed of mastic 
 dissoh'ed in oil of turpentine. But some artists hav- 
 ing employed oily varnish, such as copal for instance, 
 it becomes a difficulty to remove it ; yet in every 
 case, even where the softer varnish is to be removed, 
 great caution must be used to prevent injury to the 
 glazing. 
 
 The common method of removing the varnish is 
 by rubbing the surface with the ends of the fingers, 
 previously dipped in some resinous powder. By 
 continuing this rubbing for some time, the \'aniish 
 will give way, and may soon be completely removed. 
 To prevent the epidermis of the fingers from being 
 carried off by this process, fine fish skin is much 
 employed. In either case the dust ought to be 
 frequently wiped off, to ascertain that the picture 
 is not receivmg any damage. 
 
 The other way of removing the varnish is by 
 applying a mixture of alcohol, spirit of turpentine, 
 and oil, in the following manner : take a little bag 
 of cotton in each hand ; one of these is to bo dipped 
 in the above mixture, the other in pure oil. The 
 operation is to be commenced by rubbing with oil 
 
RESTOUATIOX OF PICTURES. 221) 
 
 the part to be deprived of its varnish ; the spirituous 
 mixture is then apphed, and the varnish dissolves 
 rapidly : for this reason the rubbing must be con- 
 tinued only for a few seconds, and then the action 
 should be stopped by the application of the oil. 
 Without this precaution, there would be a danger of 
 disturbing a part of the colour ; and the bag hold- 
 ing the dissolving liquid should also be looked at 
 every moment, to observe whether it has attacked 
 more than the varnish ; and as the power of dis- 
 solving the varnish depends upon the quantity of 
 alcohol employed, it would be better to use too 
 little of it at first, rather than, by making it strong, 
 endanger the painting. 
 
 To restore pictures to their original freshness 
 does not present any great difficulties when they 
 only suffer from the varnish having become dark by 
 time ; but when, after a long course of years, they 
 have been exposed carelessly to the action of unfa- 
 vourable circumstances, — when the canvass is rent 
 or half -rotten, when the joints of the panels are open, 
 and the colour is ready to fall off by the slightest 
 touch, it would seem as if they were then past 
 all cure. Yet, however great and imminent their 
 destruction may appear, there is a method of saving 
 them, by taking the picture off its ground, and 
 
230 PRESERVATION AXD 
 
 laying it on a new canvass : this is called " lining 
 the picture." 
 
 It is requisite to put a new cloth to the back of 
 the picture when the latter is cut or torn, or even 
 when the edges are so much worn as that they will 
 not bear to be again nailed on the stretcher. In 
 such cases it is probable that the picture may 
 adhere firmly to the canvass ; of course, it will be 
 quite sufficient to glue the new cloth to the back 
 of it. 
 
 In each case the operation is commenced by 
 pasting some paper on the surface of the picture, 
 that it may be handled without danger ; and some- 
 times it is requisite to paste several sheets of thin 
 tissue, one above another. If the old cloth is to be 
 removed, it is of the first importance that the 
 paper should adhere closely to the surface ; there- 
 fore gauze paper is first to be pasted on, and this 
 lets the air through so easily, that then there is a 
 complete adhesion. 
 
 Should the picture be very dry, it will be proper 
 to apply beneath, several couches of oil, mixed with 
 a little spirits of tui-pentine ; this will penetrate 
 the dry mass, and secure the parts which are 
 ready to drop off; but as the paste will not adhere 
 to a greasy surface, it will be requisite, after having 
 
RESTORATION OF PICTURES. 281 
 
 well washed the picture, to apply a weak solution of 
 soda or potass, to remove the greasiness. The best 
 paste which is employed in this operation is made 
 with equal parts of Flanders paste and fine barley 
 meal. This mixture is preferred to that made of 
 wheaten flour, as it keeps much longer soft, and is 
 not so liable to crack. The paper should be very 
 thin, and also very even and smooth, with little, size 
 in it. 
 
 Having thus securely fixed the picture, the 
 operators next proceed to remove the old canvass ; 
 this will not be difficult, should it have been pre- 
 pared with paste previous to the priming. It will 
 be sufficient, in that case, to moisten it with a 
 wet sponge ; the paste will soon dissolve, and the 
 cloth can be easily removed. But if there is nt) 
 paste under the priming, then the cloth must be 
 removed by pumice stone or a fine file. 
 
 For the re-lining, the usual method is to strain a 
 new and strong cloth of an even surface upon the 
 stretcher, to rub it down smooth with pumice stone, 
 and then to give it an even couch of paste, a similar 
 couch is then to be applied to the back of the pic- 
 ture after it has been freed from all inequalities ; it 
 is then to be placed carefully upon the cloth, taking 
 cai*e to press it so gradually as to expel the air 
 
232 PRESERVATION' AND 
 
 that would otherwise remain, and render the surface 
 uneven ; the pressure should be from the centre to 
 the edges; when the paste is nearly dry, a smooth- 
 ing iron should be passed over the surface ; it must 
 not be hot enough to endanger the picture, but 
 sufficiently warm to melt the gelatine contained 
 in the paste, which will thus be driven into all the 
 fissures, and it securely binds the parts that are 
 likely to scale off. The advantage of this operation is 
 to render the surface of the picture even ; the iron 
 must therefore be passed over several times, begin- 
 ning always at the edge, where the moisture remains 
 longer on account of the frame impeding the action 
 of the air ; the picture is then to be placed in a dry 
 room for some days, and nothing more is required 
 than to detach the paper which had been pasted on 
 the front of the picture ; this must be done with a 
 wet sponge. 
 
 In this operation, care must be taken that the 
 dampness shall not raise the edges of the painting ; 
 this disadvantage would be obviated, by first pasting 
 upon the edges of the frame some bands of paper, 
 which would extend a little way on the surface of 
 the picture. 
 
 It frequently happens, that when the paper is 
 removed, some impressions of the margins of the 
 
RESTORATION OF PICTURES. 2S'S 
 
 paper remain on the surface of the picture, espe- 
 cially if the paper employed was of a strong kind ; 
 to get rid of these marks, it is requisite to paste 
 some fresh paper, of a very thin and fine texture, 
 over the picture, taking care that the new sheets 
 shall be so laid on, that the middle part shall 
 cover the old traces ; and, in passing the iron over 
 them, it should only be used above the part to be 
 rendered smooth. 
 
 If the canvass be but slightly injured, it may be 
 repaired without relining the picture, by fixing to 
 the back of the injured part several stripes of 
 gauze, to be placed one above another, with a 
 strong cement composed of ceruse, and very fat 
 oil ; then place upon the part, a piece of marble or 
 board, with a weight to keep it even, and allow 
 it to remain so for a day or two. 
 
 Should the picture happen to be on a panel, 
 the same process of cartooning the surface with 
 gauze and paper must be employed ; when this is 
 quite dry, the picture is to be laid flat upon a very 
 smooth table, and by means of a tenon saw pro- 
 perly mounted, to prevent its edge from penetrating 
 to the picture, the panel is then to be sawed into 
 little squares, which are easily removed with a 
 chisel ; in this way the picture is gradually ap- 
 
234 PRESEJIVATION AND 
 
 proached without clanger; and, then by the use 
 of a fine plane and files, the wood can be reduced 
 to so thin a state, that by moistening it with a 
 sponge, it can be easily removed, and the original 
 distemper ground is thus uncovered ; this ground is 
 also to be removed, as it is commonly full of cracks ; 
 the re-lining is then to be completed as already 
 described. 
 
 But when a panel is only damaged in some 
 places, if the wood be sound, and the painting is 
 partially in danger of scaling off, these local inju- 
 ries may be remedied, without taking off the pic- 
 ture, by merely spreading over the bad parts 
 some hot strong glue, which will penetrate through 
 the cracks, and under the scales ; when the size 
 has set, all that remains of it on the surface is 
 to be removed, and paper is to be pasted on the 
 part with thin paste, when dry a warm iron is 
 pressed over it ; this softens the size evenly under 
 the loose parts, and makes them adhere solidly to 
 the ground ; with the glue an eighth part of white 
 drying oil should be combined ; this would render 
 the parts less accessible to humidity. ' 
 
 ' It must appear rather extraordinary that the oil should com- 
 bine with the size, yet experience constantly proves that this 
 combination does take place, and that this mixture gives a better 
 resistance to both the alternatives of dryness and moisture. 
 
RESTORATION OF PICTURES. 235 
 
 When a panel is split or warped, the remedy is 
 to glue at the back of it a sort of gi-ating, made of 
 deal ; this is only glued in those parts which are in 
 the direction of the grain of the panel ; the cross 
 bars are kept in their places by grooves made in 
 their thickness ; these are not glued on the panel, 
 for they could not solidly adhere to it ; but they 
 serve by their pressure to sustain the surface, so 
 as to prevent any further tendency to depression 
 or warping. 
 
 The removal of a picture from a wall, is not 
 attended \vith greater difficulties, except that it 
 cannot be approached at the back as in other 
 eases. When the front of the picture is properly- 
 cartooned, a groove is to be made in the surface of 
 the wall around the picture, large enough to allow 
 of a chisel being admitted, to detach the cement 
 on which the picture is painted from the wall ; 
 this plaister is not more than from two to three 
 inches in thickness ; it is easily separated from the 
 wall, and adheres closely to the picture. 
 
 As the cement separates from the wall, the pic- 
 ture is rolled on a large cylinder, to be removed ; 
 the cement adhering to the picture, is then to be 
 can-ied off by the help of a chisel, and is an opera- 
 tion requiring much patience and great skill. 
 
236 PRES^ERVATION AND 
 
 Should the picture have been painted upon the 
 stone, without the intervention of mortar/ it still 
 may be taken off in the same way that trees are 
 barked, with the aid of a chisel indented like a 
 saw, and whetted in such a way that its edges will 
 slowly penetrate the edge of the wall. 
 
 When a rehned picture is to be placed in a 
 situation exposed to dampness, an oily mordent 
 must be used, instead of our compound of paste 
 and size ; it is similar to that used by the gilders. 
 Several pictures in the Musee (Louvre) have been 
 thus relined successfully ; the adhesive matter is 
 composed of thick linseed oil, slowly simmered over 
 the fire, and ground with ceruse, and a small por- 
 tion of minium, very finely incorporated together ; 
 then with a firm brush or the knife, an even couch 
 is to be spread over the lining, and over the back of 
 the picture ; in a short time the paste sets, and this 
 moment is the proper time to lay the picture on the 
 canvass, and by careful pressure to unite their sur- 
 faces. The taking off, and relaying the picture 
 being completed, it now remains to clean it up, 
 and to retouch the parts that have been injured. 
 
 ^ The cieling of St. Genevieve's Church is painted upon the 
 stone, which is prepared merely with a couch of oil combined with 
 resin and wax. See the article, Priming on Walls. 
 
RESTORATION OF PICTURES. 237 
 
 For the first of these purposes, which is a very 
 deHcate operation, various means are employed, 
 which succeed in the hands of an experienced 
 artist, but are ratlier dangerous when attempted 
 to be used by the ignorant persons, who too often 
 undertake this nice work. 
 
 It would be quite an error to suppose that the 
 alkali and soaps can be safely employed in this 
 operation, even though their strength may be very 
 nuich attenuated with water. Even the latter, used 
 in its simplest form, does much mischief to pic- 
 tures : when very dry, it can dissolve certain co- 
 lour, and, penetrating through the cracks, it aug- 
 ments the aridity of the paint, and tends to detach 
 it from the ground. The better way to begin is by 
 impregnating the picture with oil unto saturation ; 
 and for this pui*pose the Flemings use poppy oil, 
 but nut oil is equally good on these occasions, or 
 even linseed oil, as it bleaches equally as well as the 
 others when exposed to the action of light. The 
 surplus of the oil which has been laid over the pic- 
 ture penetrates the dry colour, and adhering to the 
 canvass, firmly secures the parts which are scaling 
 oft'.' 
 
 ' For this purpose oil thickened by exposure to the air has 
 been used with success, when tempered with a little oil of tur- 
 pentine. 
 
 12 
 
2*38 PRESERVATION AND 
 
 Ater ths las been done, the picture may safely 
 be wished vilh the alkaline solution. I have seen 
 even the lla<k soap used with success on these 
 occa-sons, dtlough it is very corrosive ; but it was 
 neutialized b; being mixed with a proper quantity 
 of oi, whith prevented its acting on the colours. 
 It is illowd .0 remain for some days on the pic- 
 ture, but p'otuces no other effect than by merely 
 softeiing tie old soiled crust of varnish : this is 
 then to be wished off with a sponge, and the pic- 
 ture s thei found to be almost completely cleaned. 
 This procejs is always dangerous when attempted 
 by igioran, ;)ersons. The alkaline solution, and 
 even ^oap, vil carry off, in a great degree, the old 
 varniUies, particularly when they have become 
 rancil, as they will then unite with those sub- 
 stances. 
 
 When tie crust has not been thus removed 
 from the follows and marks of the canvass, care 
 must be taten not to rub the part much with either 
 brusl or syoDge, because that would endanger the 
 remoral of iome of the colours near it ; but the tine 
 fish akin mis: be used with great caiition. A tooth- 
 pick vill sometimes serve very well for this purpose, 
 or sonetimes a finely pointed steel blade. 
 
 In the commencement of this art icle it has been 
 
llESrORATION OF PICTURES. 239 
 
 ^shown that the varnish can be remo-ec by a nix- 
 tture of alcohol, spirits of turpentine, aicoil. This 
 \will also serve io clean the picture ; hitthe cloice 
 (of the material should be determined bUhe a.'tual 
 (condition of tie picture : for instance shoud it 
 Ihave been done with white of egg, this an ony be 
 iremoved by witer ; but if oily variisi, such as 
 ccopal, has beei used, it will be veiy difficult to 
 n-emove it. For this purpose, it mist be rubbed 
 (over with spirit, of turpentine and ol, or ewin at 
 ttimes with weai alcohol, holding in sduion a little 
 jpotass : the fish skin will then remove r. 
 
 When the picture is cleaned comjlttely, b will 
 tthen be time r,o examine and repai? Ihe in;uries 
 >which it may have sustained. The hdes, if any, 
 nnust be filled up with ^lue, or size, ani vhite (halk, 
 siuch as the gilders use. This stoppiig must be 
 li)rought even with the surface of tie picture. 
 Should the canvass be bare in parts, this subscance 
 nnust be laid on it thinly, and a bit of amilar can- 
 wass pressed upon it, to give it the impression 
 sjimilar to that which is under it. Vhen these 
 p)arts are settled, the retouching with olour is the 
 niext consideration. For this purpsB it is the 
 p)ractice of the greater portion of the restorers, or 
 '" picture cleaners," as they are sometimes called, 
 
240 PRESERVATION AXl) 
 
 to apply a thin couch of varnish to the picture pre- 
 viously. This is done to bring out the original 
 tone of the picture, as a guide to the new tints : 
 hence it must happen, that in taking the varnish 
 off at a future time, the repainting which lies over 
 it will also be removed. I think a better mode is 
 to prepare for retouching by rubbing a little oil on 
 those parts. This Avill equally bring out the colour of 
 the picture. The oil is then to be wiped clear away ; 
 the colours become duller, but are bright enough to 
 guide the operator ; they seem paler, because they 
 are not varnished. This is not a disadvantage, 
 because oil colours deepen in tone when dry ; there- 
 fore the tints ought to be kept lighter than those of 
 the original painting, that when dry they may come 
 to the same tone exactly. Besides, as it is most 
 difficult to imitate the tints of the old pictures, ex- 
 cept by glazing, it is decisive that the repainting 
 should be kept brighter. 
 
 But of all the accidents to be met with in the 
 process of restoring pictures, to remedy the cracks 
 presents the greatest difficulty, and the restoration 
 is not often practicable when the cracks take place 
 in very old pictures. The parts so separated can- 
 not be brought together : filling up the spaces with 
 colour is all that can be done ; but if the picture 
 
RESTORATION OF PICTURES. 241 
 
 lias only been painted a few years, and not tho- 
 roughly dry, it is possible to bring the separated 
 parts together. For this purpose it will be suffi- 
 cient to remove the varnish entirely, and lay the 
 pi(!ture quite flat : in time the parts will dilate, 
 and finally unite so well that the cracks will totally 
 disappear. • 
 
 From the above it is pretty clear, that it is run- 
 ning a great risk for any one to attempt cleaning 
 a ))ieture who has not had good experience of the 
 proper methods to be used. It would, no doubt, 
 be better that a clever painter should perform these 
 operations with care, since he would best under- 
 stand the merit and value of the work ; but pre- 
 viously to undertaking such a task, he should make 
 trials upon a sort of pictures, that if he spoiled them 
 it would not be regretted ; and whatever success he 
 might have, he should not believe, that he could 
 succeed in all cases ; for those who have occupied 
 th<>mselves for many years in such restorations 
 should not flatter themselves with the notion that 
 th('y have overcome all the difficulties. They should 
 always cautiously proceed to try some of the unim- 
 portant parts of the picture, and adopt that process 
 of cleaning which they find most desirable. 
 
 M 
 
242 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THEORY OF THE PRINCIPLES OF HARMONY IX 
 COLOURING. 
 
 The greater part of the wTiters who have treated 
 on this subject have felt, that to inspire their 
 readers mth confidence, their precepts ought not 
 to be fixed arbitrarily, but merely deduced as conse- 
 quences of the natural arrangement of colours. 
 
 Paul Lomazzo, the most ancient of these authors 
 with whom we are acquainted, commences his 
 chapter " On Colours'" by stating his ideas as to 
 their physical properties, and the manner in which 
 they are generated ; but his theory is not calculated 
 to support the doctrine which he has deduced from 
 it.' 
 
 * " Tliere are," says Lomazzo, " seven colours ; of these the two 
 extremes (the black and white) seem to be as the parents or gene- 
 rators of the series. The five central ones (i cinque mezzani sono, il 
 
THEORY OF THE PRINCIPLES, &€. 24') 
 
 Rubens is said to have written an essay in the 
 Latin language, entitled De Lumine et Colore. This 
 manuscript was, it appears, about fifty years ago in 
 the library of M. Von Parys, a canon of Antwerp, 
 who was a descendant of that great painter/ I do 
 not know what has become of it, or why it remains 
 unpublished to the present day. The properties 
 which llubens attributes to colour are not exactly 
 conformable to sound physical principles ; but 
 should he have laid down some rules of harmony, 
 there- can be no doubt that they would be deduced 
 from accurate observations. 
 
 Gtrard de Lairesse has, in his essay on painting, 
 gone very much into detail on the harmony of 
 colours ; but his views of the subject are too 
 empirical. 
 
 Mf^ngs, who has with more clearness explained 
 the jjrinciples of harmony in painting, establishes 
 his views upon the true physical principles ; but as 
 
 pallida, il rosso, il purpurea, e il verde). Thus he has announced five 
 colours, and he has enumerated only four, leaving out of his reck- 
 oning Loth blue and yellow ; for we cannot suppose that by pallido 
 he means yellow; and what he has added upon the generating of 
 colouri is quite absurd. 
 
 ' It was from the Canon Van Parys himself, that I heard of 
 this treatise ; and he promised me that I should see it. I have 
 to repnach myself for not having urged the Canon to keep his 
 promise. ■ ' 
 
 M 2 
 
244 THEOUY OF THE PIIINCIPLES, &C. 
 
 he supposed that all painters understood this, he 
 has neglected to elucidate his theory by any 
 demonstrations. 
 
 That theory is now established, so far as paint- 
 ing is concerned, under the term colorization, or 
 the combination of colours. 
 
 Although the greater number of scientific persons 
 regard it as a demonstration, that the colours which 
 are produced by the decomposition of the rays of 
 light are not reducible to three, and that each co- 
 loured ray, as it proceeds from the prism, presents 
 H simple indecomposible colour, they are of the 
 same opinion with painters as to the results derived 
 from the mingling of these rays, as, for instance, by 
 uniting a blueish portion of one spectrum with a red 
 portion of another spectrum, aviolet colour is formed. 
 ( )range and green are formed by other binary mix- 
 tures, but they have not explained how it is that a 
 compound colour should produce upon the organs 
 of vision the same sensation as one simple co- 
 lour. However this may be, and regarding them 
 merely as to the sensations which they produce 
 ui)on the eye, and without reference to their 
 physical properties, I do not find my opinions 
 opposed to those of men of science in this theory 
 of colouring. 
 
THEORY OF COLOUIUXG. 24." 
 
 THEORY OF COLOURING. 
 
 Although painters usually have arranged on their 
 palettes a good many pigments of various deno- 
 minations, yet they do not always seem to know, 
 that thi'ee simple colours (yellow, red, and blue) 
 can, by proper combination, be made to produce 
 that great variety of tones and colours that we find 
 in nature. 
 
 United in pairs, these three primitive colours 
 give birth to three other colours, as distinct and as 
 brilliant as their originals ; as thus, the yellow, 
 mixed with red, gives the orange ; the red and blue, 
 violet ; and the green is obtained by mixing blue 
 and yellow, and, according to the preponderance of 
 one or other colour in the mixture, will the tint 
 incline towards that colour ; and as these propor- 
 tions are graduated, we pass progressively from one 
 colour to another, and from whatever point we 
 begin, we return to it. 
 
 This being the case, we ought to consider the 
 chromatic scale as a circular zone, upon which, at 
 equal distances, should be placed the three primi- 
 tive colours, — the intervals between these being- 
 occupied by the colours formed from their unions, 
 softly gliding into each other, so as to leave their 
 M 3 
 
246 THEORY OF COLOURINCx. 
 
 point of junction scarcely, if at all visible. It Is 
 not easy to determine with certainty what number 
 of tints may be produced in this manner. The 
 more the eye is accustomed to these exercises, the 
 more easily will it discover the divisions or grada- 
 tions ; but even those who have little experience 
 do not mistake orange for red, or blue for violet, 
 &c. ; but they may, and do confound, under the 
 generic term red, both crimson and scarlet, althougli 
 there is as much difference between them as between 
 red and orange, the yellow and green, or any two 
 of the six colours. 
 
 It is clear, then, that the chromatic scale is com- 
 posed of six distinct divisions, namely, yellow, 
 orange, red, violet, blue, and green. 
 
 These may be subdivided into an almost endless 
 variety of tints, according as the will of the artist 
 may direct the predominance of one or other of the 
 primitive colours in his tints. He makes therii in- 
 cline to the yellow, red, or blueish hue, which gives 
 all the varieties of the orange, violet, and green. 
 
 Ne^vton was, I beheve, the first who observed the 
 circular arrangement of the chromatic scale, from 
 certain affinities which are known to exist between 
 musical sounds and colours. He conceived that the 
 similitude extended much farther, and, by analogy, 
 he divided the scale of colours into seven parts or 
 
THKOllY OF COLOURING. 247 
 
 spates, similar to tlic gamut ; but finding only six 
 distinct terms in the language that he could appro- 
 priate to this purpose, he was obliged to denominate 
 as " indigo" the intermediate colour between blue 
 and violet. 
 
 This arrangement of the colours gave rise to an 
 important circumstance in painting, which was, that 
 by mixing together the primitive and secondary co- 
 lours a complete discoloration is effected. 
 
 In fact, so long as the combination of the primi- 
 tive colours is restricted to only two of them, the 
 product is then as brilliant as the colours of which 
 it is composed ; but the instant that the third 
 colour is combined with them, the mixture becomes 
 dark, and in case that neither of the three colours 
 predominate, the tint produced will be a neutral 
 gray, and, of course, will be quite colourless and 
 more or less dark, according to the intensity of the 
 colours employed. 
 
 But in the chromatic circle the arrangement 
 is such, that the colours diametrically opposed to 
 each other always offer the union of the three 
 primitive colours, if one be simple, the other is a 
 compound of two, they are always reciprocally 
 complementary. As, for instance, yellow is opposed 
 by purple, which is compounded of red and blue ; 
 M 4 
 
248 THEORY OF COLOURING. 
 
 opposed to red we have gi*een, a mixture of blue 
 and yellow ; and orange, composed of red and yel- 
 low, is the opposite to blue. 
 
 Nature points out to us these oppositions in the 
 various phenomena of the decomposition of light : 
 as, for example, in the coloured circles, naturalists 
 have observed that the colours reflected, and those 
 directly transmitted, are complementary to each 
 other, and discoloration takes place the moment 
 they become united.^ In the variety of colours 
 presented by the polarized light, the ordinary and 
 extraordinary images are exactly in complementary 
 opposition to each other." Each colour is not 
 
 ' If a glass, which is slightly convex, be placed against a flat 
 glass, and both are pressed together, the pressure causes the ap- 
 pearance of various coloured circles in the air confined between 
 those substances. These tints have their common centre in the 
 point of contact; and in proportion to the strength of the pressure 
 will the number of circles increase. But they grow weaker as 
 they recede from the centre, until they gradually disappear. 
 
 In examining these circles by looking through the glass, they 
 still preserve their colours : but the colours on each side are 
 different, and are the complements of the preceding circles. 
 As, for instance, those of the first ring, viewed by reflection, are 
 in the following order : — blue, white, yellow, and red orange ; 
 whilst the same ring, viewed by transmission, produces the red 
 orange, black, violet, and blue. 
 
 2 When we look at a luminous point, through a double reflect- 
 ing crystal, we perceive that one of the two images which pre- 
 sent themselves is moveable ; and on turning the crystal in the 
 same place, this image follows the motion, and turns round the 
 
THEORY OF COLOURING. 249 
 
 only susceptible of a degradation of tint in its com- 
 bining with another colour, but may also be made 
 lighter or darker. This modification of brightness, 
 or intensity, is called the degradation or lowering of 
 tone, or of the chiaro ''scuro. For in proportion as 
 the colours become brighter, they approximate to 
 
 other image. To this moving figure has been given the epithet of 
 " extraordinary," as opposed to that which is fixed, and which 
 obeys the ordinary laws of refraction. 
 
 With regard to the polarization of light, it is a natural and 
 peculiar quality with which that body is endowed, under certain 
 circumstances and conditions, either by reflection or refraction. 
 To give an explanation of this phenomenon, it will be sufficient to 
 remark, that any ray of light which is reflected upon a crystal, and 
 forms with it an angle of 35° 25', does not comport with a direct 
 luminous ray ; for it does not give any reflection when it falls 
 upon a crystal properly placed for it, and it does not further 
 divide in its passage through a double reflecting crystal, in a 
 certain position. This ray is polarized ; and the qualities described 
 niay serve to distinguish it from a natural ray of light. 
 
 Those peculiar properties are not the only ones that develop 
 polarized raya ; for they can further display very lively colours 
 and numerous shades of difference, which the natural rays never 
 show. These colours develop themselves more especially when a 
 polarized ray traverses thin plates of certain crystals, such as mica, 
 sulphate of lime, rock crystal, &c. 
 
 To ascertain this fact by experiment, it will be sufficient to place 
 a thin plate of any one of these substances, across the direction of 
 a polarized ray, and then to look at it with an achromatized prism 
 of Iceland spar, both the images will then be coloured ; and it is 
 their various shades that are always complementals : for in su- 
 perposing them, a complete absence of colour is perceived in the 
 parts thus treated, at the same time that the rays close to them 
 still retain their colours. 
 
 M 5 
 
250 THEORY OF COLOUUIXG. 
 
 white ; and as their intensity augments they ap- 
 proach to black. Therefore, in the arrangement 
 of the chromatic scale, we may place white in die 
 centre of the circular zone, and black on che 
 exterior line, and then lower the tones from the 
 brightest to the most intense shades.* 
 
 Both black and white are for painters very essen- 
 tial materials in colouring, as with them all the co- 
 lours are gradated, being either raised or lowered 
 in tint, to express the effects of light or shade in 
 all their gradations. But considered in an abstract 
 sense, these two pigments are not true coloure ; 
 the proof of this is, that if m the purest mass or 
 surface of white, the eye can discover the ver}' 
 slightest indication of colour ; then the white is no 
 longer pure. We should also observe, that the 
 finest of our whites will appear grey when opposed 
 to the briUiant light reflected from a bright co- 
 loured substance ; such, for instance, as burnished 
 gold which is yellow, or chains of other coloured 
 metals. But if we could obtain red, yellow, and 
 l)lue as luminous, as these reflections thrown ott 
 
 1 It must, however, be observed, that all tlie colours cannot be 
 so lowered down; the yellow, for example, is essentially bright; as 
 are also tlie orange, red orange, &c. There is, therefore, only 
 a part of the chromatic scale that can be brought down to the 
 black shade. 
 
THEOKY OF COLOURING. 251 
 
 l)y those brilliant coloured bodies, we should be 
 onibled to compose a white, that in vividness would 
 cjute surpass the most brilliant whites of our pa- 
 let:es. 
 
 As to the black, every young pupil in painting 
 kn)ws how to produce it of all grades, with prus- 
 ^ian blue, lake, and brown pink. But if a pure 
 bkck may be obtained, by means of the three pri- 
 mbive colours of the greatest intensity ; and if 
 in mixing these colours of the lightest tints, the 
 e.oiipound resulting from it should approach to 
 wlite, we then have an argument in proof that 
 bkck and white are not true colours, although 
 they are essential materials for colouring ; and we 
 mi^ht fairly assert, that in fact the mixtures were 
 only greys, one of tliem being extremely cleai', and 
 the other extremely dark. 
 
 The cliromatic scale includes only the brilliant 
 hues of colour. These of a lower and imperfect 
 toie, are much more numerous, though still go- 
 verned by the same laws ; but, it must be luider- 
 istood, that the distinct resemblances grow weaker, 
 emctly in proportion, as the changes in the colours 
 ar} made stronger. To explain this more cleai'ly, 
 suppose we place a chromatic scale at the entrance 
 M 6 
 
252 THEORY OF COLOURING. 
 
 of a dark recess, and gradually move it into the 
 shade, it will be seen that the distinctions between 
 the colours, become more feeble as they approach 
 obscurity. 
 
 With respect to what has been stated, as to the 
 binary mixtures of the primitive colours being 
 equally brilliant, as the original elements of which 
 they are compounded ; that is only the case, as 
 regards the combinations formed by nature, not in 
 the combinations of our pigments ; as, for instance, 
 the orange, minium, and some of the natural green 
 tints, are much more brilliant than any combination 
 which we can produce with green and blue, or 
 yellow and red. Or, if we combine two luminous 
 coloured rays, and throw them on the same point, 
 we shall then produce a colour as bright as the 
 elements from which it may be formed. 
 
 Having thus stated the theory of colouring, as 
 founded upon the natural properties of colour ; I 
 shall now endeavour to deduce from it the princi- 
 ples of harmony, as applicable to painting ; and by 
 this means, fix them upon their true foundation. 
 
 Harmony, as its etymology implies, awakens in 
 our minds the ideas of relationship, union, and 
 accordance ; this term may therefore be api)lied 
 
THEORY OF COLOURING. 253 
 
 to every portion of the art ; but in this instance 
 we are only to treat of harmony, as connected with 
 colour and clair obscure. 
 
 In a picture, the harmony of its colouring is 
 always attended by that of its chiaro ''scuro ; the 
 latter, it is true, can exist independent of colour, as 
 we see in seppia or chalk drawings, engravings, 
 &c., which are pictures without colour ; it is pro- 
 per, therefore, to examine separately these two 
 species of harmony. 
 
 Musical harmony is founded upon the strict 
 observance of certain intervals, fixed by nature 
 between sounds, and so unchangeable, that the 
 slightest infringement of this law, will offend a truly 
 musical ear. 
 
 In painting, although the combination of its 
 colours is governed by positive laws, yet harmony 
 does not result from certain fixed spaces between 
 the tints, neither does a shade higher or lower 
 between them, injure the harmony of a picture. 
 Indeed, if this were the case, a picture would be 
 like some sort of musical instruments, reduced to 
 a state of discord very soon, on account of the 
 alterations which inevitably take place in the tones 
 of the colours. 
 
 A picture is said to be " harmonious,"''' when it 
 
2')4i THEOllY OF COLOURING. 
 
 presents to our senses an arrangement of light, 
 shade, and colours agreeable to the eye ; and it 
 is pronounced " discordant," when in some parts 
 it offends the sight by strong ill-judged opposi- 
 tions. But as we judge definitively of harmony 
 according to our sensations, we must recollect that 
 these depend not only upon our peculiar organiz- 
 ation, but still more upon the state of these organs 
 at the moment of receiving the impression. Thus 
 the light is painful to us, as we meet it on coming 
 out of a deeply obscured place ; but it is agreeable, 
 and we bear it very well, when we are exposed 
 to its increase by slow degrees : precisely in the 
 same degree would the opposition of brilliant co- 
 lours offend the eye, if there was not at hand some 
 vacant space or quiet colours, whereon the sight 
 could repose ; and then the brightest and richest 
 colours would convey agreeable sensations, if they 
 were gradually unfolded to our sight ; our eye.s 
 regard with pleasure the golden and the purple 
 clouds, which often accompany the rising and the 
 setting sun ; and yet there is no comparison will 
 hold between the brightness of these splendid tints, 
 and the terrestrial materials of our pallettes. 
 
 After having shown that the colours must not 
 offend the eye, and that the intervals between the 
 12 
 
THF.OllY OF COLOUIIINC. 255 
 
 tints, and the tones are correct, still these will not 
 be sufficient in themselves to produce harmony; 
 and the great object of the art, which is to give 
 pleasure to the mind, will not be attained if the 
 artist is content with giving merely a tame unof- 
 fending subject, dehcately handled, and in placing 
 before the public a monotonous gradation of light, 
 shade, and colour. 
 
 Harmony in painting is therefore the result of 
 ati arrangement of positive colours and tints, which 
 attract the eye, and fix its attention hy a judiciously 
 managed succession of repose and opposition. 
 
 Powerful oppositions are so far from injuring 
 the harmony of the composition when judiciously 
 managed, that they give to it great animation ; but 
 when the colours are very powerful, the eye re- 
 quires ample quiet spaces near them to repose 
 upon, and obtain relief from the strong impressions 
 made upon it. 
 
 According as the colours are more or less bril- 
 liant, and the intervals between them are greater 
 or less, and also according to the management of 
 the chiaro ''scuro, will the harmony of the work take 
 its character, and be distinguished by the terms 
 soft or mellow, powerful, dark, or brilliant, &:c. 
 One of the greatest difficulties of the art, is to 
 
256 THEORY OB' COLOURING. 
 
 make the harmony of colour in the picture accord 
 exactly with the subject ; in this point some, even 
 of the great painters, have occasionally failed, 
 for it is so natural to feel preferences for certain 
 colours, and certain modes of opposition, that un- 
 known to himself, the artist reproduces them in his 
 works, whatever may be the nature of the subject. 
 Rubens for instance, has placed the same bril- 
 liant draperies in the pictures of "the adoration 
 of the magi," and of "the crucifixion." Would 
 it not have produced a grander effect, if in such 
 gloomy scenes he had used colours of a graver 
 character, such as we see in the great works of the 
 Italian school 1 
 
 In nature we are presented with examples of every 
 species of harmony, and many also of discord ; but 
 the latter are most frequently the work of human 
 hands, as we see in the choice of colours for clothing, 
 which are often of the most discordant hues and 
 fantastic combinations ; and especially those of the 
 soldiery, which are probably calculated to be seen 
 at a distance ; or looking at a number of persons 
 in motley dresses of gaudy colours strongly opposed 
 to each other, reflecting the light which falls uni- 
 formly upon them. This spectacle offers no point 
 of harmony ; but should the same mass become 
 
TIIEOKY OF COLOURIXG. 257 
 
 harmonious by a particular disposition of the Hght 
 and shade, the harmony so produced would not, 
 in that case, arise either from the choice of subject, 
 or the arrangement of colours ; it must be en- 
 tirely attributed to the light and shadow, which 
 have the marvellous power of rendering harmo- 
 nious and reducing to order the most discordant 
 colours. 
 
 Our eyes are affected in a different manner by 
 each of the colours. 
 
 Yellow, which is the brightest of them, reminds 
 us of some effects of the sun. 
 
 Red produces a very lively impression upon the 
 organs of vision ; as also do in different degrees the 
 various tints in which it predominates. The ver- 
 milion or scarlet is the most attractive, as it unites 
 to the Hveliness of the red a little of the brightness 
 of the yellow. 
 
 Blue, the most intense of all the colours on the 
 chromatic scale, possesses neither lightness nor 
 vivacity ; it is the coldest of the three original 
 brilliant colours. 
 
 Green, which holds a middle station between the 
 light and the dark, produces a refreshing effect 
 upon the eye, which increases when it is made 
 lighter by the addition of more yellow. 
 
258 THEORY OF COLOITKING. 
 
 Thus we find, by analysing the chromatic scale, 
 that one portion of it is composed of clear and vivid 
 colours, and another part contains those tints that 
 are of a cold and grave colour. 
 
 However, the character of each colour changes 
 in proportion as it happens to be used of a darker 
 or lighter tone. Light blue or violet are lively 
 colours, but are quite different when of a dark hue. 
 The addition of black would carry the alteration 
 still lower by rendering them of a gloomy cast. 
 
 In lowering the tones of colours, it is always in 
 the medium tones that they have the greatest 
 lustre ; and it is not by the addition of white that 
 the colours can be rendered more brilliant : this 
 produces upon bright clear colours the same effect 
 that black does upon dark ones. 
 
 In some pictures, even of those by the great 
 masters, we not unfrequently see draperies of 
 which the lights appear tarnished in comparison 
 with the half tints in the picture. To give th(.' 
 harmony of nature, the artists ought to have kept 
 down the tones of the half tints and shadows, as 
 they found that they could not obtain any addi- 
 tional brilliancy in the brightest parts of their 
 works. And this is the practice of the colourists. 
 
 Some authors, in expounding the principles of 
 
THEORY OF COLOUllING. 259 
 
 harmony in colouring, have described several of the 
 opposition tints by the name of antagonist co- 
 lours. If by this term it had only been intended 
 to say, that by mixing these colours with the 
 others that operation would destroy the brightness 
 of the latter, and produce merely a gray tint, they 
 would only have stated a fact that could not have 
 escaped the notice of even those who were the first 
 that attempted the mixing of colours. But these 
 authors pretend to say, that such colours cannot 
 be placed close to each other, without producing a 
 discordant effect. In this assertion, however, they 
 have gravely deceived themselves ; for the colours 
 which destroy each other by admixture, and only 
 produce by this process a grayish tint, always pre- 
 sent the union of three colours, and produce, no 
 doubt, the strongest opposition which can exist 
 amongst these colours. But this species of oppo- 
 sition does not destroy harmony, except when it is 
 not properly and judiciously arranged ; and when 
 so opposed, the colours have the effect of attracting 
 and interesting the spectator. 
 
 Amongst the class of antagonist colours these 
 writers have placed the blue and the orange. These 
 two colours do in fact afford the strongest opposi- 
 tion in the whole of the chromatic circle, because 
 
260 THEORY OF COLOURING. 
 
 in that situation they are placed between a primary 
 colour the most intense, and a binary compound of 
 the brightest description. 
 
 Paul Lomazzo^ and, long after his time, Gerard 
 de Lairesse, looked upon, and properly described 
 the yellow and the violet colours, as harmonising 
 well together, and these authors did as decidedly 
 declaim against the placing of green and red near 
 together, because, as they stated, these two co- 
 lours formed a most discordant opposition to each 
 other. 
 
 The opposition of yellow and violet is certainly 
 the least powerful of any of the extremes, because 
 in themselves they are the least brilliant ; yet as 
 they are directly opposed to each other upon the 
 chromatic scale, and the mixture of them presents 
 a union of the three colours, or gray, their opposi- 
 tion to each other must of course be considerable. 
 
 But the opposition between red and green is cer- 
 tainly stronger than that last mentioned, because 
 red is the most brilliant of all the colours ; but this 
 is an opposition to which we are accustomed, for 
 nature constantly presents it to our eyes in the 
 flowers, fruits, plumage of birds, mother of pearl, 
 &c. &c. 
 
 I consider it as a part of my duty to notice these 
 
THEORY OF COLOURIXG, 261 
 
 errors of authors of celebrity, to show, that although 
 it is by our eyes that we definitively judge of 
 harmony in painting, as by our ears we judge of 
 musical concords, we should not place too implicit a 
 rehance upon these organs at all times, because 
 they are sometimes imperfect or incorrect, through 
 various habitudes or prejudices, when these are 
 opposed to known principles ; and we should only 
 admit the testimony of our senses when we are sure 
 that they are conformable to the laws of nature, and 
 founded upon long experience, which cannot lead to 
 error. 
 
 I am quite satisfied that it is not by the assist- 
 ance of an exact system of colouring that the great 
 men of the Venetian and Flemish schools have dis- 
 covered and adopted the most proper oppositions, 
 by which colours might be so managed as to 
 give the highest value to each other ; but the 
 artists have not all been equally aware of the re- 
 sources of their palette ; and whenever it shall be 
 within the power of an artist to succeed, by his 
 own exertions, in truly ascertaining the relative 
 value of colours to each other, it is evident that he 
 may save his young pupil from many barren essays 
 by making him, in the commencement, compose a 
 chromatic scale, which will only cost him a few 
 
262 THEORY OF COLOURING. 
 
 minutes'' time to complete, and thus to give him 
 some ideas upon the harmony of colouring more 
 true and more useful than any that he could ac- 
 quire by long groping in the dark recesses of 
 theoretic speculation.^ 
 
 Besides this, it is important to observe, that the 
 objects which attract our sight have such an influ- 
 ence upon the visual organs that they can vitiate 
 them very soon. It should be pointed out to the 
 pupil, that, in painting from the same model, he 
 may finish a suite of studies : in each of these he 
 will exaggerate, involuntarily, one particular colour 
 in such a way, that when all the studies done within 
 a short space of time are collected together, it will 
 be seen that he has exaggerated every colour of the 
 scale. 
 
 To prove this fact it would be sufficient to set 
 him at work, for five or six days in succession, upon 
 drapery of a brilliant colour, and immediately after 
 this set him to paint from the living model for one 
 day ; and it will be seen that he has exaggerated 
 
 ^ The formation of a chromatic scale, carefully composed, would 
 teach a pupil, not only the natural relationship of colours to each 
 other, but still more, the solidity of each of them. They would 
 also indicate tiie hiatuses which should be filled up to complete 
 the scale ; so that all the colours of which it might be composed 
 should be brilliant in an equal degree. 
 
THEORY OF COLOURING. '263 
 
 all the tints of the model which approached the co- 
 lour of the stuff which he had been painting, because 
 his eye had been dazzled, and had imbibed the im- 
 pression of that colour. 
 
 But in case of the organs of vision being so much 
 prejudiced by a particular colour, this fault may be 
 corrected in time in those who have a natural ten- 
 dency to exaggerate tints generally, and simply by 
 exercising the eye upon the colour opposed to that 
 which has been exaggerated. 
 
 These observations are called for to oppose a pre- 
 judice which is very common, namely, " that by dint 
 of hard and close application to painting, a person 
 may become a good draughtsman ; but that the 
 science of colouring is the gift of nature, and cannot 
 be acquired by study." 
 
 A little reflection, however, will soon discover 
 that this idea is very ill-founded, if we closely ex- 
 amine the points in which painters, not remarkable 
 for fine colouring, often deceive themselves with 
 respect to colours ; and if we would observe, that 
 in the " schools of colour," it is always by that 
 special quality of these schools, that their ablest 
 pupils are distinguished ; we must then come to 
 the conclusion, that if mere study could produce 
 an able designer, the same process might equall}' 
 
264 THEORY OF COLOURIKG. 
 
 well produce a fine colourist. There is a letter of 
 Poussin's from Venice, which contains this appro- 
 priate sentence : " it is quite time that I should leave 
 this place, as I feel that I shall become a colourist.'''' 
 
 We shall now ascertain what practical advan- 
 tages may be derived from the following ideas, 
 which I now offer upon the physical properties of 
 colours. 
 
 I shall, for example, take one of the brightest 
 colours, and most difficult to render harmonious, 
 light blue : and we will suppose that it should be 
 made to appear in its highest state of brilliancy. 
 
 Now, if we examine the chromatic scale, we 
 shall perceive that the orange colour is its direct 
 opponent, but the orange is also brilliant ; and as 
 they are equal in brightness of tone, they are equally 
 objects of our attention ; but supposing that we 
 should attend particularly to the blue, in such case 
 you must employ orange of the gravest tone, or it 
 will be impure, for it is naturally bright ; but it 
 will still be composed of red and yellow, giving the 
 colour opposed to blue, and the opposition will rather 
 be increased, because it will exist not only as to the 
 colour, but also in the increased depth of tone. 
 
 A painter is not always sufficiently master to choose, 
 according to his own taste, the colour of the various 
 
THEORY OF COLOURING. 265 
 
 objects that enter into the composition of his pic- 
 ture, and even when he has this choice in his 
 hands, perhaps it will not allow such an arrange- 
 ment of effect as he would have adopted ; from 
 whence will result a union of objects the colours of 
 which will not be modified by light and shade. 
 
 It is clear, that should he adopt colours fiercely 
 o}>posed to each other, they will appear at some 
 distance, as if cut up like the colours upon our 
 court cards; it will therefore be judicious, in a 
 case where the colours cannot be modified by 
 shade, or by toning down, not to employ those 
 that have a strong opposition to each other, either 
 in tint or tone. Under circumstances the most 
 unfavourable, in which the colours must be of par- 
 ticular hues ; and when they contrast in a very 
 discordant manner, of course harmony is out of 
 the question, except in restraining the opposition 
 as much as possible, by restricting the light by an 
 intelligent arrangement, and judicious execution 
 of the work. 
 
 From these facts, we may draw this inference, 
 that as by the masses of light and shadow, we are 
 enabled to avoid all the discordances of colouring ; 
 it follows that particularly chiaro ''scuro should be 
 studied by those who aspire to become colourists. 
 
266 THEORY OF COLOURING. 
 
 It is certainly a great advantage, that we shonlcl 
 be enabled in a pictorial composition, to distri- 
 bute the lights and shadows with a degree of art, by 
 which the discordancies of colour may be avoided, 
 and that only requires the artist to add a happy 
 choice of colour, to a harmonious disposition of 
 light and shade. 
 
 Chiaro ''scuro exists independently of colour, but 
 as it always accompanies it in nature, and as co- 
 loured objects are always subject to a lowering of 
 the hght, its effects therefore are so combined with 
 those of colour, that they appear to justify to a 
 certain point, the idea of their inseparable nature ; 
 in fact, a familiar expression in the arts, when 
 examining an engraving or an original design, is 
 " that reminds us of colour." It is therefore an 
 art, to design or compose in such a manner as 
 to give them full value to objects, by well managed 
 opposition ; and that art distinguishes the colour 
 ists still more than the correctness of their tints. 
 This is the reason, why Raffael is never cited as 
 an authority in colouring; although we find m 
 several of his pictures, tints and colouring as true 
 as the art can produce. 
 
 The pictures of Carmaggio and Gmrchhio, oftt'n 
 display charming tints in the lighter parts but 
 
 12 
 
THEORY OF COLOURING. 267 
 
 th( colour of the flesh is unnatural, from the too 
 great strength of the shadows. It is true, that 
 thi; extreme force contributes much to the grand 
 effects which they generally display ; but that 
 vigorous executive power, would have been much 
 mo-e agreeable, if bestowed upon objects capable 
 of Jupporting it. 
 
 '^o this mode of managing cJiiaro ''scuro, we shall 
 op}ose that system adopted by the colourists. We 
 set with what discernment they have placed the 
 string shadows ; they evidently were not ignorant, 
 tha: clearness and brilliancy cannot be obtained 
 witiout the vigour of strong opposition ; but they 
 ha( the judgment and skill, so to dispose the 
 chiiro ''scuro, that its power was never carried over 
 the interesting parts of the picture, because it would 
 ha\e deteriorated the purity of the colouring. 
 
 n fact, let us suppose that the figure of a 
 wonan has been painted in shadow, upon a bright 
 groind, it is evident that though she might be of 
 th€ most dazzling brightness of colour, yet that 
 the brilliancy of the flesh tints would disappear so 
 conpletely, that she would not be of a higher tone 
 thai a negress ; but change the opposition, and in 
 pla-e of a light gi'ound, substitute a dark one ; 
 an(, further, let the figure have its proper reflec- 
 N 2 
 
268 THEORY OF COLOURING, 
 
 tions. Then we shall find that, although it is iin 
 shadow, the carnations will not appear at all die- 
 based in tone. 
 
 Titian has painted a great number of pictureas, 
 in which it appeal's, that he intended principally lto 
 display one of the qualities of female beauty, thiat 
 is, the brilliancy and richness of the flesh tints ; it 
 is worthy of remark, that to obtain his object, Ihe 
 made use of light and shade in opposition ; in faict 
 it did not signify to him, that the skin was of a 
 brilliant light tone ; he would also express, thiat 
 the circulation of the blood was in full activity, :as 
 the poets never fail to mingle the carnations of 
 the rose, with the snowy whiteness of the lilly. 
 The opposition of a powerful back ground, becomies 
 quite essential, to throw forward the brightness of 
 the skin ; and then the opposition of white drra- 
 peries is brought in, and agreeably arranged to 
 bring out the warm tones of the flesh. 
 
 Paul Veronese does not seem to have had, ;at 
 least in the greater number of his pictures, amy 
 intention of giving particular brightness to hiis 
 flesh tints ; he seems only to have aimed at givimg 
 the effect that was most usually presented to hiis 
 observation, in which the objects detached therni- 
 selves boldly from the back ground by their loc3al 
 
THEORY OF COLOURING. 269 
 
 colour ; and this is in fact, one of the most powerful 
 methods of separating the objects from the back 
 ground of the picture. 
 
 At the first view, we do not perceive that this 
 painter has employed any artifice in the arrange- 
 ment of his colours, and we are tempted to believe, 
 that he placed them as they presented themselves 
 to his imagination ; but upon a closer observation, 
 we plainly perceive that he has not left any thing 
 to chance. For example, in one of his finest 
 works, (the Marriage at Cana,) the greatest num- 
 ber of the persons present, and especially those 
 placed at the sides of the table in perspective, are 
 detached from each other, alternating and oppo- 
 sing a strong coloured drapery to a light one, the 
 latter being again opposed by one of a darker tone. 
 
 Rubens, who was born under a sky less ardent, 
 in a country where brilliant flesh tints are by no 
 means uncommon, was not slow in adopting Paul 
 Veronese's system of effect ; his object was to 
 arrange the most brilliant colours together har- 
 moniously, and he succeeded in so doing ; but pro- 
 bably, being struck with the changes of tone that 
 many of Titian's pictures had even then under- 
 gone, he thought it advisable to exaggerate the 
 brightness of the carnation tints, in the hope that 
 N 3 
 
270 THEORY OF COLOURING. 
 
 time would soften them down to the true tone of 
 nature. 
 
 No one understood better than Rubens, the 
 principle of unity ascribed to Titian, of consider- 
 ing the whole subject of his composition as a 
 bunch of grapes ; his most powerful shadows, his 
 principal lights are never in detached parts, but 
 are constantly united in those situations, which 
 are best adapted for giving to his groups a grand 
 relief, and much of it flashing out upon the details 
 of the work. 
 
 In his pictures, the various parts of which they 
 are composed, as well as the arrangement of the 
 chiaro ''scuro, are more systematically contrived, 
 than those of Paul Veronese ; the artifice may 
 be more easily discovered, but still we do not the 
 less admire them, when we call to mind, that it 
 was by these means the artist had arrived with 
 greater certainty at the end he proposed to at- 
 tain. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 ON FRESCO. 
 
 Fresco is the art of painting in size colour upon a 
 fresh plaister ground. The name is derived from 
 the Itahans, who call it dipingere in fresco, in con- 
 tradistinction to the dipingere insecco.^ 
 
 It is well known that lime mixed with sand in 
 certain proportions acquires a solidity from expo- 
 sure to the air, and a hardness equal to stone. 
 If a couch of finely-prepared colour is laid upon 
 the fresh surface of this composition, it unites 
 with these materials, and becomes as hard as the 
 cement. 
 
 The great dm^ability of this species of painting 
 has been somewhat exaggerated. In proof of its 
 
 * The first means " to paint on the fresh plaister ;" the other, 
 " to paint on dry surfaces." 
 
 N 4 
 
272 ON FRESCO. 
 
 great durableness, many frescos are pointed out, 
 which have been painted many centuries ; but 
 there are others of much more recent date, that 
 liave not equally well resisted the causes of de- 
 terioration. 
 
 Besides, we are not quite certain that the frescos 
 discovered amongst the ruins of ancient Rome have 
 been produced by the same means as those produced 
 since the revival of the arts in Italy. The Egyptian 
 paintings, which have been executed long anterior 
 to those discovered in Italy, are in as good preserva- 
 tion as the Roman, and are only distemper colours 
 prepared with animal size. No doubt the preserva- 
 tion of these specimens of ancient art is owing to 
 the great dryness of the Egyptian climate ; and 
 this is not more surprising than that the miniatures 
 of the twelfth century, which were preserved with 
 care in the libraries, safe from the effects of at- 
 mospheric influences, are equal in permanence of 
 colour to the most ancient paintings. 
 
 In many respects fresco has advantages which 
 render it particularly fitted for the decoration of 
 public edifices. It does not display. the glossy 
 brilliancy of oil painting, which has the disadvan- 
 tage of not allowing more than some portion of the 
 picture to be seen at once, and that from certain 
 
ox I'RKSCO. 273 
 
 points out of the influence of light reflected from 
 other objects. From whatever point the spectator 
 may view a fresco, the effect upon the eye is the 
 same ; because it does not receive any dazzling 
 light to interrupt the visual ray. 
 
 The colours used in fresco, with the exception of 
 blue, are not of a brilliant order ; but they pre- 
 serve the tone which they give when quite dry after 
 completion. But in our climate, where buildings 
 are in a few years darkened by the smoke, this art 
 would not suit for the exterior ; but it might be 
 employed with great advantage in the interiors of 
 our edifices, wherein these paintings would preserve 
 their tints, without any visible alteration, even in 
 places where white marble takes a yellowish tinge. 
 
 There is a good specimen of the permanent cha- 
 racter of fresco in the paintings of Romanelli^ 
 which decorate some of the lower halls at the 
 Louvre. The tints of ultramarine still display a 
 surprising brilliancy of tone, which unites in har- 
 mony to the pictures. 
 
 Although the fresco pallette cannot display, either 
 in extent or brilliancy, an equality with that of oil 
 painting, nevertheless there are, in Italy, some fres- 
 cos remarkable for their colours ; such an effect might 
 be the result of strong opposition, which are the 
 N 5 
 
274 ON FRESCO. 
 
 most powerful means of the great colourists. They 
 adhere still, as I hope to be able to show, to the 
 following process in the application of the colours. 
 
 It is now time to enter into certain details in the 
 operations of fresco. As the duration of the paint- 
 ing is dependent upon the plaister which it covers, 
 of course the mode of preparing this plaister is of 
 too much importance not to be carefully attended 
 to by the artist. Fortunately the composition of 
 durable mortars, like those of the ancients, is not 
 difficult to be understood or attained, as there are 
 some excellent works on that subject, which we 
 may take as our guides.^ 
 
 Now, if the wall upon which a fresco was to be 
 painted did happen to be composed of smooth 
 stones, of a fine grain, like marble, this circum- 
 stance would be unfavourable ; as the artist should 
 then have to begin by roughing the surface, so as to 
 allow the first couch of plaister to adhere firmly 
 to it, that the work laid upon it might not detach 
 itself from the wall. 
 
 The mortar of this ground should be composed 
 of the best slacked lime with puzzolana, or granite 
 sand, coarse enough to produce a granular surface, 
 
 * Delafaye, Fleuret, Vicat, Raucourt de Charleville. 
 
ON FRESCO. 275 
 
 capable of firmly holding the second coating ; but 
 the latter, which should be smooth, must have the 
 sand passed through a sieve. 
 
 In the vicinity of manufactories of Dutch ware or 
 porcelain, it is easy to procure the refuse of the 
 biscuit, &c. ; these materials, when gi-ound, form 
 with lime a white and excellent mortar, upon which 
 the colours will appear more brilliant, because of its 
 greater transparency. 
 
 We are told that the lime used in this prepara- 
 tion should have been slacked a year, or, at least, 
 several months, to prevent the cracks that would 
 otherwise inevitably take place, if the lime should 
 be used in its native strength.' But I am strongly 
 of opinion that, even if lime recently slacked were 
 used, the recurrence of these gashes might be pre- 
 vented, either by adding in moderate quantities 
 carbonate of lime, or by keeping the mortar closely 
 covered up from all contact with the external air 
 
 ' There is not any difference between lime which has been 
 slacked only a month, and lime which may have been slacked ten 
 years ; for the carbonic acid of the atmospheric air only combines 
 with the mere surface of the mass of lime ; it does not penetrate 
 further. Therefore, the great body of the lime beneath this crust 
 preserves its strength for a great number of years, and is com- 
 pletely fit for use. 
 
 N 6 
 
276 ON FKESCO. 
 
 for several days, and at the moment of using it, to 
 beat it up well, but without adding any more water. 
 The principal cause of these cracks in the plaister 
 is owing to an excess of water being used. M. 
 Vicat directs that the lime should be slacked with 
 as small a quantity as possible of water, and that 
 only sufficient to prepare so much as may be used 
 on the next day. According to the advice of 
 this skilful engineer, the lime to be employed 
 must be stone lime, of the finest quality, and 
 placed in a basin not porous ; upon this the 
 water is to be sprinkled by slow degrees, and 
 in such a way that it may readily circulate in 
 the spaces between the stones ; this will allow 
 the pieces to absorb the exact quantity requisite 
 to resolve them into one strong compact mass of 
 a pasty consistence, but by no means to allow it 
 to run into a fluid state ; neither must it be worked 
 up and beat about by the hoe and rake, as we 
 sometimes see so improperly done, with respect to 
 the common lime mixtures. 
 
 In about twenty-four hours after the heat of the 
 operation shall have subsided, this paste will have 
 acquired so firm a consistence that it cannot be 
 detached from its basin without the aid of a pick. 
 
ON FRESCO, ~ 277 
 
 It is then rendered soft and plastic by a vigorous 
 beating up, but without water ; this is done by 
 means of heavy iron mallets with wooden handles, 
 which are struck perpendicularly upon it ; then to 
 one hundred parts of this tenacious and very sub- 
 stantial lime paste, sand is to be added in the pro- 
 portion of from one hundred and fifty to one 
 hundred and eighty parts ; these materials are to 
 be well kneaded together by means of a heavy 
 pestle ; but if, in defiance of the most vigorous 
 efforts, and this always requires great exertions, it 
 is found impossible to unite these materials suffi- 
 ciently, then a little water may be added, but very 
 gradually and with care ; for it will hardly be be- 
 lieved by those who have not seen it, that a single 
 pint too much of water will spoil a square foot 
 of this mortar. 
 
 The plaister employed in the frescos of the four- 
 teenth century, like those of Cennino Cennini, is 
 composed of two parts of coarse sand, and one part 
 of powdered lime slacked by the action of the air ; 
 both of which were passed through a fine sieve. Of 
 this mortar so much was prepared as would be 
 sufficient for two or tlu'ee weeks' work, first taking 
 the precaution of letting it remain undisturbed for 
 some days before commencing to use it. Cennini 
 
278 ON FRESCO. 
 
 adds,* when you are preparing to give the first 
 coating, begin by washing the wall well, and leave 
 it damp, but not too wet ; then take the mortar, 
 having tempered it to a proper consistence with 
 the trowel, and apply it in a couch or two, until 
 the surface is perfectly even ; and when this ground 
 is about to receive another couch, care must be 
 taken that the face of it is not smooth, but that it 
 shall rather have a rasped surface. 
 
 When the first layer of plaister is diy, then the 
 design of the picture is to be traced upon it ; for 
 this purpose charcoal is used, and the outline is then 
 fixed with the pencil ; this outline serves as a guide 
 for the laying on of the second coating, which is 
 only to be laid on partially, and as the artist ad- 
 vances the work, he only prepares as much ground 
 at once as he can finish in the same day ; this 
 
 * Quando vuoi lavorare in muro prima abbi calcina e 
 
 sabbione, stamigiata, o stacciata, ben I'una e I'altra. E se le cal- 
 cina 6 ben grassa e fresca, richiede le due parti sabbione, la terza 
 parti cilcina. E intridi bene insieme con acqua e tanto ni intridi. 
 che ti duri 15 di o 20 E fasciala riposare qualche di, tanto che 
 n'esca il fuoco : ch6 quando 6 cosi focosa, scoppia poi lo' ntonaco 
 che fai. Quando se' per ismaltare, spazza bene prima il muro, e 
 bagna lo bene, che non puo esser troppo bagnato ; e togli la calcina 
 tua ben rimenata a cozzuola : e smalta prima una volta o due ; 
 tanto che vegna piano lo' ntonaco sopra il muro. Poi quando 
 voi lavorare abbi prima a mente di fare questo sraalto bene arri- 
 eiato e un poco rosposo. — Cennino Cennini, chap. Ivii. 
 
COLOURS USED IN FRESCO PAINTING. 279 
 
 second coating ought not to be laid on thick, in a 
 few instants it becomes firm enough to resist a 
 hght pressure of the finger ; this is the time to 
 apply the charcoal, and mark the outline of the 
 part to be painted. In the ancient frescos the 
 outline is cut into the ground ? this would indicate 
 that the artist, having chalked so much of his car- 
 toon ' with a transparent paper, as he wished to 
 transfer, applied the chalk to the surface, and 
 cut in the outline with a point ; by such a mode 
 there is no danger of losing the sketch during the 
 operation of painting. 
 
 COLOURS USED IN FRESCO PAINTING. 
 
 These are but few in number ; being confined to 
 those that lime will not deteriorate, and which 
 will not be altered by the action of the light. From 
 these causes the painter is deprived of the most 
 brilliant colours, — such as orpiment, chromate of 
 lead, the lakes, cinnabar, and the greens made 
 from copper.^ 
 
 ^ Cartone, as the Italians spell it, means a large strong paper, 
 or pasteboard, formerly much used by the artists for their first 
 sketches or designs. 
 
 ' Some of the greens, from preparations of copper, are still used 
 in imitation of the ancient masters; the moderns also employ 
 cinnabar. 
 
280 COLOURS USED IN FRESCO PAINTING. 
 
 The yellows employed are the ochres : Naples 
 yellow may also be used. The ochres calcined pro- 
 duce the reds, not very brilliant for the draperies, 
 but, mixed with white, they produce very true flesh 
 tints. Cinnabar may be used, by steeping it for 
 some days in lime water ; it, however, loses some 
 of its brilliancy, but still it is richer than the ochre 
 reds, or the oxides of iron. 
 
 These oxides, which are of different degrees of 
 oxidation, produce a variety of red tints, from 
 orange to violet. The latter, made of the tritoxide 
 of iron, is rather a dull tint, but it can be made 
 brighter by mixing the Cassius purple with alumine, 
 and calcining them like cobalt blue.^ 
 
 The blue is the only brilliant colour in fresco : 
 the ancient painters were not acquainted with either 
 the cobalt or ultramarine of the modern frescos. 
 They were confined to a blue preparation from 
 copper, of which Vitruvius has described the mode 
 of manufactm'e.* 
 
 The greens were composed of terra verte of 
 Verona, and some preparations from copper. The 
 green oxide of chrome appears to have been in use. 
 
 • See the article on the violet colours. 
 
 * See the article on Egyptian blue. 
 
COLOURS USED IN FRESCO PAINTING. 281 
 
 Of blacks, the variety was abundant : the black 
 earth coifimonly known as our " soft black chalk" 
 was very much used, and the charcoal blacks were 
 employed with equal advantage. The lamp black is 
 the most intense, and also the most permanent of 
 this class. 
 
 For the whites they used chalk and lime, to 
 which were restored the carbonic acid which they 
 had lost in their calcination. This white, which is 
 styled San Giovanni by Cennino, and without which, 
 he assures us, it would be impossible to produce any 
 fine tints, is prepared in the following manner : — 
 
 Some very white lime is put into an earthen 
 vessel, and covered from the air ; it is then washed 
 in a good quantity of water, and when it has sub- 
 sided in the bottom of the vessel, the water is poured 
 off, and renewed several times during about eight 
 days ; afterwards the deposit is ground, and formed 
 into shapes, which are dried in the air : the longer 
 they are exposed to this action the finer will be the 
 tone of the white. 
 
 This long operation can be made, however, with 
 more quickness. The exposure of the substance to 
 the air is for the purpose of restoring to it the car- 
 bonic acid lost in its calcination , but that restitu- 
 
282 COLOURS USED IN FRESCO PAINTING. 
 
 tion can be effected in a few moments, either by 
 passing through the lime wash a cmrent of carbonic 
 acid gas, or in moistening it with a sufficient quan- 
 tity of water saturated with this acid. 
 
 The article " Fresco," in the Encyclopaedia,' in- 
 forms us, that the colours used in fresco painting 
 are only to be tempered with pure water ; but that 
 is not the fact exclusively, for a sizy substance is 
 added in the mixing and applying those colours 
 which, like blue, are so arid that they would sepa- 
 rate quickly from plain water. With only this 
 liquid it would not be possible to lay a good ground, 
 or lay on the colours in a good smooth body. Cen- 
 nini always points out the colours which are used 
 with water without gelatinous aid. In speaking of 
 the white called San Giovanni, he particularly states 
 that it is used \N'ithout size ; and of the charcoal 
 black he says, that it requires the addition of size 
 in fresco, as well as in distemper painting. 
 
 It was thought that an argillaceous earth, such 
 as terra verte, the red and yellow ochres, which 
 retain water a long time, need not be combined 
 with any viscous substance ; but all the colours 
 
 ' That article is abridged from P. Pozzo's work. 
 
COLOURS USED IN FIIESCO PAINTING. 288 
 
 which, hke sand, do not rc^tain water, cannot be 
 worked readily without a portion of gelatine to pre- 
 serve them in a liquid state. 
 
 The size which Cennini recommends for this 
 purpose is a mixture of the whites and yolks of 
 eggs when well beaten up together. It is only the 
 albumen that can be employed, or the serum of the 
 blood, which is a similar substance, or even the 
 blood itself, for the brown colours. Any of these 
 substances form, with the lime, a size that, when 
 dry, is insoluble. 
 
 Some paintei's mix a little nulk with those co- 
 lours which they require to remain in a soft state : 
 the cameum of the milk forms, with the lime, a size 
 that, when dry, is also insoluble ; but it would be 
 better to prepare the size from cheese, prepared in 
 the proper manner.* 
 
 Azure, ultramarine, and black, are the only co- 
 lours which it is recommended to use with size. It 
 would, in fact, be a better plan, to direct that all 
 colours which do not unite well with water should 
 be tempered with size. This addition will also 
 render the execution of the work more easy, with- 
 
 1 See the article on causeum, page 217. 
 
284 COLOURS USED IN FRESCO PAINTING. 
 
 out diminishing its solidity, since we know that the 
 vehicles used become, when dry, insoluble. 
 
 Having, at the commencement of this article, 
 stated a hope that I should be enabled to demon- 
 strate, that the superiority of some frescos, in their 
 colouring, is owing to the process by which these 
 colours are applied, it is on the authority of Cennini 
 that I support my demonstration. After he has 
 given directions for preparing a head, by commenc- 
 ing with the shadows, and then the half tints and 
 lights in succession, he adds : — 
 
 " There are some painters who, when they have 
 thus prepared a head, take a little of the San Gio- 
 vanni white, diluted with pure water, and give with 
 it a few touches, to mark the relief of the most pro- 
 minent points of the lights ; they next applied a 
 rosey hue to the lips and cheeks ; after this they 
 passed over it all a wash of acquarelle^ (flesh colour,) 
 very liquid, and the head was then coloured, nothing 
 more being requisite than to give some touches of 
 white upon the high lights ; this is a good method. 
 Others apply, at first, to the face a general tint of 
 flesh colour, and afterwards put in their sliadows 
 with a mixture of that colour, and of green brown, 
 (verdaccio,) and finish with a few touches of flesh 
 
COLOURS USED IN FRESCO PAINTING. 285 
 
 colour. This method is that of persons not ac- 
 quainted with the resources of their art." ' 
 
 Nothing can be clearer than this description of 
 glazing, which produced tints very different from 
 those used by the paste method, and much more 
 brilliant. These glazings should be the last thing 
 done, after all the painting has been finished in the 
 solid opaque vehicle. The first couches of colour, 
 laid on the fresh mortar, are absorbed, but, after 
 some hours' work, when the picture becomes satu- 
 rated, the water, which rendered the colour manage- 
 able, also becomes absorbed, and fresh couches of 
 colour do not unite with the preceding ones, and the 
 artist must confine himself to operating with co- 
 loured waters. 
 
 The cracks which we find in some of the frescos 
 by Raffael, Dominichino, and others, are the actual 
 glazings, which united to the colours beneath, 
 
 • Alcuni maestri sono che, stando il viso in quella forma, 
 tolgono un poco de bianco sangiovanni stemprato con acqua i 
 vanno cercando le somite e relievi del detto volto bene per or- 
 dine : poi danno una rosetta ne' labri e nelle gotte cottale melu- 
 zina : poi vanno sopra con un poco d'acquarella, cio6 incarnazione, 
 bene liquida e rimane colorito. Toccando poi sopra i rilievi, ed 6 
 buon modo. Alcuno campeggia il volto 6 incarnazione prima ; 
 poi vanno ritrovando con un poco di verdaccio 6 incarnazione 6 
 rimane fatto. Questo d un modo di quelli che sanno poco dell' 
 arte. 
 
286 COLOURS USED IN rRESCO PAINTING. 
 
 from their not being laid on in a sufficiently full 
 body/ 
 
 The application of this glazing requires some 
 caution to keep it from rubbing up, or attacking 
 the colour beneath ; and Cennini advises the use of 
 brushes of a fine grain, the points of which are very 
 soft. Besides, this glazing should not be attempted 
 until the colour to be gone over has become quite 
 firm by the absorption of the greater portion of 
 M'ater it contained when laid on. 
 
 I am convinced, that to the employment of glaz- 
 ing we must attribute the remarkable difference 
 that exists between the ancient frescos and" those 
 of our days. It has been objected to some of the 
 latter, that they resemble paintings in body colours ; 
 but, in fact, there cannot be any difference in tJie 
 appearance of these two species of painting : if the 
 colours employed in each are tempered with paste, 
 they must be equally opaque. 
 
 I do not think it necessary to state the precau- 
 tions which are to be taken in the management of the 
 work, that the terminations of the parts, as they pro- 
 ceed, may not interfere with the execution of the other 
 
 ' The effects of the glazings may be seen in the valuable frag- 
 ment of a painting by Ltiini, which is in the collection of Count 
 Sommariva. 
 
COLOUES USED IN FRESCO PAIXTING. 287 
 
 parts. Neither is there occasion to say any thing 
 more relative to the method of preparing the tints, 
 and proving their fitness for the work. Even sup- 
 posing that I had, for that purpose, entered into 
 the most minute details, yet this would not make 
 up for the want of experience, which no theories 
 can supply, and which can only be acquired by great 
 practice. And I am quite convinced, that those 
 who never have painted in fresco, or, at least, who 
 have not seen practically the operation of painting 
 in that style, never will succeed on their first at- 
 tempt in this species of painting. 
 
JillVJlOXX •^lil.-Jl 
 
 Red 
 
 Or*^en 
 
 
ORIGINAL OBSERVATIONS 
 
 THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF THE FINE ARTS IN 
 ENGLAND, 
 
 METHODS EMPLOYED IN PAINTING, 
 
 FROM 
 
 THE EARLIEST AUTHENTIC EVIDENCES OF THEIR 
 EXISTENCE TO THE PRESENT TIME. 
 
 WITH 
 
 THE ENGLISH CHROMATIC SCALE, AND THE PRINCIPLES 
 OF HARMONY IN COLOURING. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The ingenious and intelligent Author of the 
 preceding chapters, having incidentally, but with 
 great candour and propriety, pointed out the 
 principal causes, which have hitherto prevented 
 the French School of painting from attaining 
 that high character in the arts, which it is quite 
 possible the genius of the French people might 
 attain, had the sound and rational principles 
 of art been introduced into their country, at the 
 commencement of their School of Painting; it 
 appeared to me, that a sketch of the origin and 
 progress of the fine arts amongst ourselves, show- 
 ing the difficulties and discouragements which for 
 some centuries opposed the advance of English 
 o2 
 
292 INTRODUCTION, 
 
 art, would not only be interesting to most of our 
 readers, but might be made to convey useful in- 
 struction to the junior aspirants for pictorial fame, 
 as well as to place the entire case in a compen- 
 dious, but clear manner before the British public, 
 and to point out the modes by which the arts which 
 adorn high civilization were carried to the utmost 
 elevation of which, perhaps, they are capable, in 
 States, not at all remarkable either for great wealth 
 or extent of territorial dominion. 
 
 Having formed this idea in my mind, I sought the 
 opinions of some friends, gentlemen whose judg- 
 ment in such matters is, like their affection for the 
 Arts, of the highest order. In every instance of 
 my application, the opinion given was favourable to 
 the plan ; and having already collected much infor- 
 mation upon this interesting subject, the following 
 sketch is now respectfully offered to the public. 
 W. B. Sarsfield Taylor. 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 ORIGINAL OBSERVATIOXS ON THE ENGLISH SCHOOL 
 OF PAINTING. 
 
 All persons who are well acquainted with the ear- 
 lier history of pictorial art in England, must be suffi- 
 ciently aware of the very slow progress which it 
 had made in this country, even at an epoch when 
 the great continental schools of art had gradually 
 attained nearly to their meridian splendour. To 
 those who may be unacquainted with the facts, it 
 will appear scarcely credible, that during the 
 memorable period which the people of Italy have 
 proudly termed il cinqiie cento^ which extended from 
 the middle of the fifteenth to nearly the end of the 
 sixteenth century, the art of painting was scarcely 
 known in England, and had not obtained many 
 marks of favour from any portion of society. 
 
 During this time, and even previously to it, the art 
 o3 
 
:294 ORIGINAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE 
 
 of painting had attained in Germany and the Low 
 Countries a considerable degree of eminence ; and 
 we find that the artists and their works were looked 
 upon with great favour 'by both princes and people. 
 The discovery of oil painting, for instance, had 
 been generally attributed, as we have seen, to the 
 brothers Van Eyck, so early as a.d. 1410 ; and 
 about seventy years afterwards, the celebrated Ger- 
 man artist, Albert Burer, painted pictures of great 
 merit, which we still admire for the tone of colour, 
 correct drawing, and naturalness of expression ; 
 and which Mr. Fuseli has declared, were, in his 
 opinion, " far in advance of that age," and more- 
 over, " that in his easel pictures the colom'ing as far 
 excelled the oil colouring of Raffael, as the latter 
 excelled Albert in the higher qualities of the art." 
 It is true, however, that we find, in the collec- 
 tions of our antiquarian writers, some accounts 
 of the works which Henry III. caused to be 
 executed at his palace in Westminster, in archi- 
 tecture, painting, and sculpture (1216 — 1262). 
 Amongst these he ordered the history of the cru- 
 sades to be painted at the Tower, and "on the 
 walls of the Antioch chamber," believed by some to 
 be that now called the painted chamber. In the 
 Jerusalem chamber there is still a full-length por- 
 
en(;t.ish school of i'AiNTiX(i. 295 
 
 trait of Richard II,, and from the mention made of it 
 centuries back, it is believed to have been painted 
 from that monarch. There was, and perhaps still 
 is, another portrait of the same prince at Hampton 
 Court Palace, with one of Henry IV. ; and there 
 is another very curious portrait of Ilichard II. at 
 Wilton, in which the king is represented with his 
 crown on his head, and all the insignia of royalty 
 about him. This picture was, until lately, firmly 
 believed to be painted in oil colours, but I have it 
 from unquestionable authority, that such is not the 
 fact : it is painted, as the portraits of that day 
 were, in water colours prepared with size, or what 
 are now denominated " body colours," laid on, with 
 a full pencil, upon a gold ground, and then highly 
 varnished with hard varnish. The drawing is good 
 for that age : it is marked at the back 1377, the 
 year in which this sovereign commenced his reign. 
 The ornaments are carefully painted, and the gold 
 ground is left in some places, to aid their effect. 
 
 This picture has been brought forward as one 
 of the evidences in support of an opinion that has 
 existed for more than a century, namely, that 
 painting in oil was known in this country previous 
 to the time the Van Eycks are said to have dis- 
 covered or invented that process ; but it appears 
 o 4 
 
296 ORIGINAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE 
 
 certain that this picture is painted in sized colours, 
 and coated with hard varnish/ 
 
 ' There are some other specimens in the Abbey of Westminster ; 
 one of these is an altar-piece in St. Blaise's Chapel, representing 
 that saint, to whom a priest on his knees is offering up prayers; 
 this is painted on the clean surface of the stone wall, and the 
 colours are tolerably well preserved ; there are also the whole length 
 figures of Edward the Confessor and Sibert in the Abbey ; and in 
 the Office of Records, which was the Chapter House of the Abbey, 
 there are two pictures, single figures, still quite visible, but not 
 together, they are females, the heads not ill drawn ; the character 
 of each is mild ; they are painted evidently on a gold ground, 
 which is left uncovered to form a glory round each head ; the 
 golden surface is still bright, and the draperies and outlines are 
 still quite distinct ; the faces do not appear to have suffered from 
 damp at all, or the scaling of the colour ; they are evidently painted 
 upon the plain stone face of the wall, without any underlay of 
 artificial preparation. 
 
 In the same way were the walls of the splendid Royal Chapel 
 of St. Stephen's painted, with divers histories, mostly scriptural. 
 Amongst others was the Transfiguration, under the great west 
 window ; the altar-piece at the east end, represented the Adora- 
 tion of the Shepherds and the wise men offering ; the miracles 
 of the Apostles, &c. &c. In fact it was quite a splendid picture 
 gallery of scriptural history. And, it is most worthy of remark, 
 that all those subjects, and likewise the single figures of Kings, 
 Queens, and Saints, were painted on a ground of red lead and 
 oil, which was laid on the plain surface of the wall : this was of 
 purbeck marble, tooled very fine, but not polished. Mr. Adam 
 Lee, who was many years clerk of the works here, under the 
 Board of works, and is still in that capacity to the Horse Guards, 
 &c., had a great number of them copied, with the whole of the 
 architectural arrangements in this splendid chapel, the painted 
 Chamber, tlie old House of Lords, in which was a large picture 
 of John signing Magna Charta, and the other Chambers. Mr. 
 Lee also had the i^hole arranged in large drawings in perspective, 
 
ENGLISH SCHOOL OF PAINTING. 297 
 
 In what material the apostles were painted, which 
 Edward of Westminster was ordered, by writ the 
 S4th of Henry III. to paint on the walls of St. 
 Stephen's Chapel, we have no information,' and 
 
 and exhibited ; the effect was the most complete optical delusion 
 that could be, for looking through the lens, the pictures appeared 
 quite like realities. Mr. Lee has them still at his house in New 
 Palace-yard. 
 
 In Smith's antiquities of Westminster, that author states his 
 opinion positively as to the pictures being painted in oil and 
 varnish, for he had the colours analyzed, and found that they were 
 all mineral colours, but no animal gluten mixed with them. The 
 above Chapel was eighteen years building, and was finished by 
 Edward III., 1348. 
 
 The late Sir John Soane, and Mr. L. N. Cottingham, also ex- 
 amined some of the apartments of the ancient Palace twenty 
 years ago, and saw many ancient paintings on the walls, which 
 they were strongly of opinion must have been painted with oils 
 and varnishes. Mr. Lee has also four very ancient pictures on 
 panel (I think walnut): one is a Seraphim; the others are the 
 Prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Jonah. They are firmly painted* 
 and adhere strongly to their ground; the colours are still good 
 though not bright, and are unimpaired, except where lime wash 
 has gone over the edges of the panels ; the vehicle in which they 
 are laid, is probably a mixture of oil and hard varnish, if not, it 
 would be desirable to know what it can be. 
 
 ' Close Rolls, Walpole, Vol. I., 2.3, Hen. III. " The King to his 
 treasurer and chamberlain : — pay from our treasures to Odo the 
 Goldsmith, and Edward his Son, one hundred and seventeen 
 shillings, and ten pence, for oil, varnish, and colours bought by 
 them, and for pictures made in tlie Queen's chamber at West- 
 minstei-, to the octave of the Holy Trinity, (May 25,) in the 
 23rd year of our reign, to the feast of St. Barnabas, (June 11,) 
 in the same year, namely, for fifteen days." 
 
 o 5 
 
298 ORIGINAL OBSEllVATIOXS ON THE 
 
 unfortunately they have long been destroyed by 
 fire. 
 
 In Walpole's anecdotes of painting, &c. mention 
 is made of some other specimens, one of which is 
 (m panel, and was an altar piece at Sheen. It is in 
 oil, and represents Henry V., his queen, attendants, 
 &c., and St. George combating in the air with a 
 terrible looking dragon. This piece is in oil, but 
 he believes it to have been painted in the reign of 
 Henr}' VL or VII. 
 
 In Henry the Sixth's reign (1377—1399) there 
 is a loss barren prospect of the arts before us. 
 There are several portraits of this monarch at the 
 old palaces, King's College Chapel, and other places. 
 But heraldry painting seems to have been the only 
 sort in demand, and it was chiefly confined to the 
 use of the nobility, for the purposes of vanity or 
 devotion. Missals, armorial bearings, the windows 
 of churches, and the images of their saints, were the 
 only objects that then employed the industry of the 
 painter. Even portraits were not in fashion except 
 with the blood royal. 
 
 Under Edward IV. (1461—1483) we find but 
 few traces of the arts. This king's picture was at 
 Kensington, (now at Hampton Court) ; another is 
 at St. James's, and that of his queen at the Ash- 
 
ENGLISH SCHOOL OF PAINTING. 299 
 
 molean Museum, Oxford, and Queen's College, 
 Cambridge. 
 
 There is also another portrait of this reign at 
 Eton : it is a likeness of the celebrated but unfor- 
 tunate " Jane Shore."" It certainly does not satisfy 
 the ideas we have of her personal attractions, but 
 possibly art has more to do than nature had, in this 
 disappointment. 
 
 At this period, " the wars of the roses,"" and 
 other political struggles, produced their usual fatal 
 influence in repelling the natural progress of the 
 national intellect in the useful as well as in the 
 elegant arts. 
 
 Henry VII. (1485 — 1509) was too much of an 
 economist to give much attention to this branch of 
 art, though there are two or three portraits of him 
 at the royal palaces. Walpole says of this penu- 
 rious king, — " That he never laid out any money 
 so wilHngly as on that he could not enjoy, — his 
 tomb ; but he was comforted probably with the 
 thought that it would not be paid for until after 
 his death. Being neither ostentatious nor liberal, 
 genius had no favour with him : he reigned as an 
 attorney would have reigned, and he would have 
 preferred a conveyancer to Praxiteles." 
 
 On the Continent painting had attained nearly to 
 o G 
 
800 ORIGINAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE 
 
 its highest splendour during this reign, in which 
 period the first two painters are mentioned, viz. 
 John de Mabeuse, from Hainault ; the other was 
 named Holbein — not Hans — who lived and died at 
 Wells, but little known. Mabeuse"'s pictures have 
 merit, and are found in various collections. 
 
 Having traced the obscure, difficult, and barren 
 path of the art of painting, for a space of one hun- 
 dred and eighty years, during which time it is clear 
 that the art was barely kept alive ; we now come to 
 a period, from whence may be dated the second 
 appearance of modern art in England : although 
 there are evidences in some of our really fine gothic 
 edifices, both ecclesiastical and baronial, — as already 
 stated at page 296, — of ornamental paintings on 
 the walls and the windows, in which the subjects 
 are taken from scripture history ; and these paint- 
 ings often display correctness of expression, and 
 propriety of action, though generally hard in the 
 outline, and not showing much skill in the me- 
 chanism of art. 
 
 It is therefore with the reign of Henry VIII., 
 (1509 — 1547) that the first establishment of paint- 
 ing took place in England. This monarch, whom 
 his father''s parsimony had left with great wealth, 
 seems to have had, in his earlier stage of monarchy, 
 
ENGLISH SCHOOL OV PAINTING. 801 
 
 a taste for what was grand and liberal. He soon 
 found at his court, Hans Holbein, Sir Antonio 
 More, and Zucchero ; and he invited Raffael, Titian, 
 and other great artists to England ; the three former 
 were treated with great attention and liberality by 
 the King,' but the latter excused themselves, on 
 
 ' One incident will explain sufficiently the decided partiality 
 which this king felt for the fine arts, whilst it conveys to our minds 
 a picture of the rough state of manners at that time, proving also 
 what a different class of persons our present race of nobility is 
 composed of, as compared with those of that age. 
 
 There are two or three versions of this fact, as there are of every 
 fact with which I am acquainted. These, however, do not differ 
 materially in the principal points. It appears that Holbein was 
 engaged on a day pain ting a portrait of one of the queen's ladies in 
 his studio, in the palace, when a nobleman, who wished to see how 
 he painted, came to his door, and would not take any denial from 
 the Serjeant ; but was about to force his way into Holbein's apart* 
 ment. The latter came to see what was going on ; and the Lord 
 then attempted to push into the room, which Holbein resisted, 
 and in the scuffle his Lordship was tumbled down the stairs and 
 hurt. The painter, on seeing this mishap, was equally prompt in 
 conceiving what his next step should be ; he retired and made his 
 way privately to the king, whose pardon he craved ; and the king 
 acceded to his prayer, provided he told him the truth : this Hol- 
 bein did most correctly. In a few minutes more the noble anta- 
 gonist of the artist was announced. He had come to demand that 
 Holbein's head should be the forfeit for this insult to his dignity. 
 Henry told him to give a true statement of the facts ; in doing 
 this, however, he suppressed a material one with which the king 
 was acquainted, and his majesty merely told Holbein to ask the 
 lord's pardon ; but his lordship would not be satisfied with so 
 trifling a punishment, but demanded the execution of the painter. 
 This excited the king ; who told him that, as he had suppressed a 
 
302 ORIGINAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE 
 
 account of the immense number and extent of their 
 engagements in their own country, but he pur- 
 chased some of their works, with which to adorn 
 his palaces. 
 
 Henry had ample means, and a great love of 
 splendour ; his good feeling for the arts might, no 
 doubt, have been founded more upon a love of 
 barbaric grandeur, than upon the sound principles 
 of good taste; and "the field of cloth of gold," 
 amongst other gorgeous pageants, is given as the 
 foremost amongst the proofs of the want of refine- 
 ment in the King — it might be more just, perhaps, 
 to say, " the age" in which he lived. But, however 
 that may be decided, it is quite evident, that when 
 a monarch has magnificent ideas, whether directed 
 by good taste or not, and with sufficient opulence 
 
 fact, he, in consequence, was not entitled to any satisfaction, 
 and said, " My lord, you have not now to do with Holbein, but 
 with me. Whatever punishment you may contrive against him 
 by way of revenge, shall most assuredly be inflicted on yourself. 
 And remember, that 1 can, whenever I please, make seven lords 
 of seven ploughmen, but I cannot make one Holbein out of seven 
 lords." 
 
 Holbein appears to have continued in favour at court during 
 the remainder of Henry's reign, which lasted many years after 
 this incident. He was also employed by young Edward, and 
 finally died of the plague in London, in 1554, — the year of Queen 
 Mary's accession. He must have been, at that time, according to 
 Charles Paten's reckoning, in the fifty-ninth year of his age. 
 
KXGLISH SCHOOL OF PAINTING. 303 
 
 to cany his ideas into practice ; man's ingenuity 
 and industry are called into active service, conse- 
 quently much good must arise to society ; and, as 
 the Hon. Horace Walpole, justly and wittily re- 
 marks, — " on such occasions, even Tmrit stands a 
 chance of getting bread." Besides the artists 
 already mentioned, Henry had in his service John 
 of Treviso, Totto, Penni, and Hombard of Ghent. 
 Some of the works of these artists are still at 
 Hampton Court. 
 
 Holbein had an apartment assigned him in the 
 Palace, by the King, with a pension of two hun- 
 dred florins per annum, besides being paid for the 
 pictures which he painted for Henry. Holbein 
 painted the great picture in the Surgeons' Hall, 
 representing Henry VHI., granting to that society 
 the charter of incorporation ; also the large pic- 
 ture at Bridewell Hall, (Blackfriars,) of Edward 
 VI., delivering the charter of its incorporation to 
 Sir George Barnes, the lord mayor. 
 
 Holbein also painted in distemper colours, two 
 very large pictures, one of " riches," the other of 
 "poverty," at the Easterlings' hall. Steel-yard, 
 Lower Thames Street ; but the company having 
 been suppressed for monopohzing the corn which 
 
304 ORIGINAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE 
 
 they imported, these pictures were earned to the 
 continent. 
 
 A great number of Holbein's pictures are still 
 to be met with in the best collections. 
 
 Torregiano was brought over from Florence, to 
 complete the tomb of Henry VH., for Avhich he 
 received one thousand pounds. This great sculp- 
 tor unfortunately left England, and went to Spain; 
 he was at first well employed, but being suspected 
 of opinions not according with those of the inqui- 
 sition, he was thrown into prison, and either died 
 naturally, or of starvation in one of their dungeons. 
 
 Sir Antonio More had one hundred pounds per 
 quarter, as painter to the King and Queen. King's 
 College Chapel was finished in this reign, and the 
 three great windows were executed by London 
 workmen. 
 
 During the reigns of Edward VI. (1547 — 1553) 
 and Mary (1553 — 1558), the unsettled state of reli- 
 gious and political principles, were not favourable to 
 the fine arts, although they appear to have taken root 
 in the soil ; and the artists under the late reign were 
 still employed. One English artist appeared at this 
 time, N. Lysard, of whose talents Hilliard speaks 
 with much commendation, but laments that "he 
 
ENGLISH SCHOOL OF PAINTING. 305 
 
 was unfortunate, from being English-horn^ for other- 
 wise, even the strangers (PhiUip and the Span- 
 iards) would have set him up." This miserable 
 and unnatural prejudice against native talent, is 
 very remarkable throughout the history of the arts 
 in England, down to a very late period ; some think 
 that a small quantity of the leaven still remains 
 amongst us : whether its dregs do or do not still 
 exist in Britain, may be a matter of dispute ; but 
 that such a strange species of absurdity never did 
 exist in any other country, is quite certain, as the 
 historical records prove most abundantly. 
 
 Had the Protector, the magnificent Duke of 
 Somerset, hved, it is probable, as Walpole says, 
 that "he would have called in the assistance of 
 the ablest artists, native and foreign, to adorn the 
 palaces and public buildings, with works that are 
 the noblest furniture." 
 
 John of Padua, a celebrated architect, was 
 brought over at this time. 
 
 Under Elizabeth (1558—1603) the arts con- 
 tinued to make some progress ; and amongst many 
 foreign painters, such as De Heere, Ketel, T. Zuc- 
 chcro, Vroom, De Critz, &c., we find two or three 
 natives of talent ; one of these was Sir Nathaniel 
 
306 ORIGINAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE 
 
 Bacon, younger son of the Lord keeper, James 
 Oliver, and N. Holland. 
 
 James I., (1603 — 1625,) perhaps fortmiately, did 
 not meddle with the arts, as he might have done them 
 no more service, than he did to literature. They, 
 however, got on quietly in the hands of foreigners, 
 such as Vansomer, Cornelius Jansen, D. Myttens. 
 But Peter Oliver and Gyles were natives, who got 
 some employment. 
 
 From the foregoing facts, it may be inferred 
 that, although an absurd and groundless prejudice, 
 combined with the general state of the kingdom's 
 affairs, was not favourable to the development of 
 English pictorial talent ; yet it had been for some 
 time in a state of active, but very subordinate ex- 
 istence, silently practising the rules and processes 
 of the good continental schools. 
 
 Charles I. (1625 — 1653) was the first English 
 monarch whose example and encouragement created 
 an era of real taste for the fine arts in Britain. 
 
 This monarch had a very strong native taste for 
 paintings, and his affection for works of high art 
 prompted him, not only to purchase a great num- 
 ber of valuable pictures, but also to invite to his 
 court, such artists as Titian, Rubens, and Van- 
 
ENGLISH SCHOOL OF PAINTING. 307 
 
 dyke. It appears that the King intended to es- 
 tablish a permanent school of arts in England, 
 being well aware of the advantages that the arts 
 always confer on nations, where they are duly pro- 
 tected and encouraged. 
 
 The civil war, and its calamitous consequences 
 however, soon scared the elegant and peaceful arts 
 from their propriety, and nearly extirpated them 
 from the soil of England, by the dispersion of the 
 artists, and of the splendid selection of paintings, 
 and other works of elevated art. These the elegant 
 and cultivated taste of the monarch had caused to 
 be collected at a great expense, not merely for his 
 own gratification, but with the still more rational 
 purpose of creating a taste for such works, amongst 
 the nobles and the wealthy men of the land; 
 justly considering the cultivation of the arts as 
 being amongst the best means of conferring ra- 
 tional refinement upon a people, and indeed of 
 which it is clear, from the best historical evidences 
 of that day, the nation, with few exceptions, was 
 strangely deficient. 
 
 The desolating wing of the worst species of 
 Iconoclastic barbarity, having swept away from the 
 shores of Britain these bright memorials of supe- 
 rior genius, intellectual cultivation, and munificent 
 
308 ORIGINAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE 
 
 patronage ; long did the arts which adorn civilized 
 society, remain comparatively unknown or disre- 
 garded ; and so fatal was the degrading influence, 
 caused by the dispersion of the superb collection 
 of Charles I., that it was full half a century before 
 confidence was in any degree restored, so as to 
 make it not imprudent for Englishmen to make 
 the arts their profession, although foreigners were 
 always liberally rewarded, and so far the arts were 
 still kept alive in England. 
 
 Besides the eminent men already mentioned, 
 whom Charles had brought over and encouraged, 
 there was a native artist (Dobbs,) Avhom Vandyke 
 assisted to bring forward, and the King took him 
 into his service, and employed him until his own 
 affairs became desperate. After this, Dobbs, though 
 an excellent painter, got no employment from the 
 republican party, and died poor in St. Martin's 
 Lane, a. d,, 1646. Whilst Walker, whose being 
 a native of England is doubtful, but whose infe- 
 riority of talent to that of Dobbs is not so. was 
 patronized by Cromwell, and the leaders of the victo- 
 rious party. Amongst the other painters in Charles's 
 time, were Lely, Diepenbach, Geldorp, Polemberg, 
 Honthorst, Gentilischi, Weesop, Wouters, Butler, 
 (Hudibras,) Pettitot, Le Soeur, a sculptor, Inigo 
 
EXGLISH SCHOOL OF PAINTING. 309 
 
 Jones, Graham, Hayward, Hoskins and Cooper. 
 The last five were all Englishmen of fine talents, 
 but not much encouraged after the decease of their 
 unfortunate patron. 
 
 Charles II. (1660 — 1685) may be said to have 
 re-introduced the arts, but not good taste amongst 
 his subjects ; under his injudicious patronage, the 
 fluttering, gaudy, and not very decorous style, into 
 which the arts had fallen on the continent, was 
 made fashionable in England ; and through the pro- 
 fligacy, ignorance, and subserviency of the courtiers 
 in that reign, and unquestionably by the meanest 
 sycophancy on the part of those decorative paint- 
 ers, who followed Charles to England ; the good 
 germs of art, that had been planted in his father's 
 reign, were nearly choked up and extinguished ; 
 and this happened whilst native artists of great 
 merit were pining away their unhappy lives in ob- 
 scurity and want. 
 
 Such empirics as Verrio, Parmentier, La Fosse, 
 and other foreign decorators, took precedence, and 
 revelled in the broad sunshine of royal favour, and 
 consequently of court patronage. It perhaps would 
 not be credited, were not the public documental 
 proofs in existence, that this man Yerrio, who was 
 a Neapolitan adventurer ; and, who at the present 
 
310 ORIGINAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE 
 
 day, would only rank in mechanic art, as a respec- 
 table sign painter and decorator, actually received 
 seven thousand pounds of English money, for those 
 fluttering and tawdi*y productions, which are still 
 allowed to disgrace modern British taste, in the 
 Halls of Windsor Castle, &c. And this enormous 
 sum was but a small part of the riches which this 
 pictorial charlatan, and his mynnidons, (whom he 
 brought over to assist him,) received from the 
 public treasury of England. The King also em- 
 ployed Lely, who was a clever foreign artist ; 
 Laroon, Vanderheyden, Boll, Vanzoon, Hoogstra- 
 ter, Varelst, and other foreigners, and some of 
 whom were clever, as for instance : the twoW.Van- 
 veldes, father and son, whom he invited from 
 Holland, and appointed them his marine painters, 
 at a salary of one hundred pounds a year each, 
 besides paying them for their pictures. 
 
 Several names of English artists appear about 
 this period, but they were not encouraged by the 
 court ; although some of these were men of con- 
 siderable talents ; for instance, Hoskins, Riley, 
 Greenhill, Fuller, and Davenport. 
 
 James II., during his short reign, (1685 to 
 1689,) followed a similarly depressing course, with 
 respect to English artists, who nevertheless, were 
 
ENGLISH SCHOOL OF PAINTING, 311 
 
 on the advance, both in number and merit. 
 Amongst them are found the names of Wright, 
 Ashfiekl, S. Cooper, Gibbon, &;c., with a host of 
 foreign painters, the best of whom were G. 
 Netscher, P. Stoop, Soest, LargeUiere, Wessing, 
 &c. 
 
 WiUiam III., (1689 to 1702,) was not an en- 
 courager of the arts, either in foreign or native 
 hands, with the exception of two only ; Kneller, who 
 was a Gemian, and a much better courtier than 
 he was a painter, and Vanbrugh. This architect, 
 and Kneller, divided the court favour between 
 them, to the almost total exclusion of native merit. 
 And the vicious style of each in his vocation, both 
 in this and Queen Ann's reign, corrupted the arts 
 so much, that under George I., (1702 to 1727,) the 
 fine arts appear to have reached their lowest ebb 
 in Britain, The style which was fashionable at this 
 period, was the reverse of that stately and stiff 
 manner, which had prevailed a century or two 
 antecedently; it was a loose, disorderly kind of 
 painting, begun by Verrio and his school, and 
 carried to its most perfect state of barbarous taste 
 by Sir Godfrey Kneller ; who, most unhappily for 
 the arts, led the fashion in this corrupt and man- 
 nered style, and who was closely imitated by the 
 8 
 
312 ORIGINAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE 
 
 mechanical artists of that era ; his careless man- 
 ner, which frequently reaches not higher than 
 daubing, was the admiration of the great vulgar 
 of that day ; and some painters, emulous of his 
 fame, believed they had caught his style, when in 
 fact, they had merely neglected drawing, probabi- 
 lity, and finishing. 
 
 During this antipodean period of art, including 
 the reign of George L, there flourished in England, 
 Marco and Sebastian Ricci, Jervas, an imitator of 
 Kneller, and Richardson, who painted draperies 
 so fantastic, that they never could be made the 
 proper dress of any tribe, age, or nation. These 
 facts go far to prove how rapidly the arts dege- 
 nerate when neglected. These intellectual pursuits 
 require good encouragement to elicit the powers of 
 genius ; but there was nothing of the kind in these 
 three last reigns. And when the Earl of Halifax 
 (lord treasurer) used his influence to get Sir James 
 Thornhill to paint the apartments at Hampton 
 Court, &c., the Duke of Shrewsbury (lord cham- 
 berlain) was most desirous to give the work to 
 Sebastian Ricci ; but the Earl of HaHfax said, He 
 would not pay the foreigner, when a native quite as 
 capable could he found to do the business. And 
 this sentence is worthy of being remarked, as the 
 
ENGLISH SCHOOL OF PAINTING. 313 
 
 first burst of true patriotic feeling, with regard to 
 the fine arts, that the Muse of English history had 
 yet recorded ; and this manly, as well as just, ex- 
 pression of sentiment, was the more precious still, 
 because it appears to have been also the first bold 
 and successful effort that was made, to breakthrough 
 the ponderous crust of unnatural prejudice, which 
 liad hitherto overlaid the energies of native talent, 
 and which, at this juncture, had nearly obliterated 
 the arts in England (A.D. 1700 to 1730). 
 
 It is, however, true that Sir Christopher Wren 
 had been appointed, by King Charles II., in 1668, 
 " Surveyor-General of Public Buildings ;" which 
 office was renewed to him by James II.. Having 
 finished the splendid memorial of his talents, St. 
 Paul's Cathedral, between 1675 and 1710, and 
 several of the handsomest of the London churches, 
 this distinguished native architect and accomplished 
 gentleman, who had done so much honour to his 
 country by his talents and probity, particularly 
 whilst he held the office of Surveyor- General, &c., 
 was dismissed (3d year of Geo. I.) without even a 
 colourable pretext, in the eighty-sixth year of his 
 age. and the fiftieth year of his public services, 
 merely, as it appears, to make room for an obscure 
 p 
 
314 ORIGINAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE 
 
 intriguer of the name of Benson, whose memory.' 
 has been rendered immortal as Pope's Dunciad," 
 and which memory he has, by his own acts, con- 
 signed to infamy.* 
 
 1 " Our Midas sits lord chancellor (of plays!) 
 On poets' tombs, see Benson's titles writ, 
 And, lo ! A. Phillips is preferred to wit." 
 
 Note in the Dunciad, book iii. — " W — m. Benson, surveyor o£>f 
 buildings to his Majesty King George I., he gave in a report too 
 the Lords that their house, and the painted chamber adjoining^, 
 were in immediate danger of falling. Whereupon the lords meet 
 in committee to appoint some other place to sit in, while the housee 
 should be taken down. But it being proposed to cause somee 
 other builders first to inspect it, they found it in very good coni- 
 dition. 
 
 " The lords upon this were going upon an address to the kingg 
 against Benson for such a misrepresentation ; but the Earl oof 
 Sunderland, then secretary, gave them an assurance that bids 
 majesty would remove him, which was done accordingly. Itn 
 favour of this man, the famous Sir Christopher Wren, who haad 
 been architect to the crown for above fifty years, who had buililt 
 most of the churches in London, laid the first stone of St. Paul's s, 
 and lived to finish it, had been displaced from his employment aat 
 the age of near ninety years." 
 
 2 The cause of this man's promotion was not publicly known aat 
 the time ; but has since come to light. He married a Germann 
 woman, who had been a favourite with a High Personage of thaat 
 reign, oti condition that he should be appointed to Wren's situationn, 
 for which, it is almost needless to add, that he possessed not thae 
 slightest qualification. The same royal influence got Bensoon 
 returned M.P. for Poole in Dorsetshire, and he sat in the housse 
 three or four years for that borough. But on the discovery of hitis 
 
ENGLISH SCHOOL OF PAINTING. 315 
 
 It is, therefore, sufficiently evident, that the inci- 
 dent of Wren's appointment was a sort of episode, 
 or rather accident, which was remedied as soon as 
 possible by his dismissal, — to the disgi'ace of those 
 by whom that great man was deprived of his official 
 situation. We have seen that the real talents of 
 native painters and architects were treated with 
 particular neglect or insult during the reigns of 
 George I. and his two immediate predecessors ; 
 but sculpture was even more discouraged than its 
 sister arts. 
 
 Besides the artists already mentioned, were the 
 following, who painted in England : — Closterman, 
 Vander Meulan, Monamy, Hemskirk, Kerseboom, 
 Van Huysum, Le Piper, Watteau, Schalken, 
 Richter, a Swede, Vandiest, and Dahl. But 
 most certainly, since the arts were first admired 
 in Britain, this period (1710 to 1730) has pro- 
 duced fewer w'orks deserving the attention of 
 posterity than any previous portion of time equal 
 to it in duration since Henry VIII. 
 
 In the reign of George II. (1727 to 1760) the 
 
 attempted extensive fraud upon the lords and the public purse, 
 togiether with other delinquencies that came to light, he was 
 expelled by an unanimous vote of the House of Commons. 
 
 p2 
 
816 ORIGINAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE 
 
 arts began to resuscitate, and particularly architec- 
 ture. The reason of this improvement is easily 
 explained. Her majesty, Queen Caroline, was a 
 munificent patroness of the fine arts, of which this 
 amiable queen had considerable knowledge ; her 
 Royal influence and example called, if not into 
 existence, at least into notice, by liberal encourage- 
 ment, considerable talents in every branch of art. 
 
 It was at that auspicious epoch that the nobles 
 of the land were the amiable but worthy rivals of the 
 best practical architects of the age, as their works 
 still testify. The Earls of Pembroke and Burling- 
 ton came little, or perhaps not at all, behind Kent, 
 Gibbs, and other eminent architects, whose works 
 are the best argimients of their merit. 
 
 In painting, some foreign artists of distinction 
 still received the encouragement which their talents 
 deserved. The chief of these artists were, Carl, 
 Venloo, Van-aker, Leoni, Amiconi, Zincke, Cana- 
 letti, Rysbrack, and Roubiliac. 
 
 But this judicious encouragement to foreign 
 artists did not interfere unfavourably with the inte- 
 rests of the native talents in the arts, which had 
 been gradually recovering from their accumulated 
 misfortunes of cold neglect, and the corrupt ex- 
 
ENGLISH SCHOOL OF PAINTING. 317 
 
 amples of the empirical school of foreign painters, of 
 whom Sir Godfrey Kneller was the head. When this 
 artist and Dahl went off the field, Richardson, who 
 had been the pupil of a clever native artist, Riley, 
 and Jervis, took the lead as chief portrait painters 
 of this country. This fact will show how far the 
 arts had fallen in Britain, through neglect. Hudson 
 was a pupil, and became son-in-law to Richardson. 
 Hudson, though not a man of high pretensions, yet 
 had original feeling ; and repudiated the loose and 
 flippant mannerism which his father-in-law, who was 
 an imitator of Kneller, but not of nature, liad taught 
 him : Hudson adopted a style more agreeable to 
 nature and good taste. It was under this artist 
 that young Reynolds received his elementary in- 
 structions in painting. By this time Sir James 
 Thomhill was no more (1745) ; Ramsay and Ho- 
 garth had risen into eminence as painters ; Sir 
 W. Chambers, in architecture ; Romney, West, 
 Gainsborough, Moser, Barret, and other artists, 
 began to find that, though native painters, they 
 were receiving encouragement. A.D. 1760, "The 
 Incorporated Society of Artists" was formed; and 
 the united pictorial efforts of the English artists 
 was, for the first time, exhibited to the public by 
 an exhibition in the great room belonging to the 
 p 3 
 
318 OUIGINAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE 
 
 Society of Arts, in the Strand ; and it is from this 
 era that the EngUsh school of painting can fairly 
 be dated." 
 
 The reign of George III. (1760) commenced 
 very auspiciously for the advancement of the fine 
 arts in England. A.D. 1768, this monarch em- 
 bodied the principal artists by his own authority 
 under the sign manual, by the style and title of 
 " The Royal Academy of Painting, Sculpture, and 
 Architecture." These facts being recent and conse- 
 quently well known, are only inserted here for the 
 purpose of showing that a term of seventy years is 
 the longest period which can be assigned to the 
 British school, from its commencement to the 
 present year (1839) ; and it will readily be con- 
 ceded by all persons who are well acquainted 
 with the history of the arts, and progress of the 
 various schools of painting on the Continent, that 
 seventy years is a very limited period indeed, to 
 allow for the growth of a school of arts in any 
 country, even in those states where both the go- 
 vernment and the people have been highly partial, 
 
 1 The second exhibition was in a very large room in Spring 
 Gardens, where it was held annuitlly until the establishment of 
 the Royal Academy in 1768. 
 
ENGLISH SCHOOL OF PAINTING. 819 
 
 and encouraging to the development of native 
 talents. 
 
 Oeorge III. may justly therefore be styled " The 
 Father of the Fine Arts in England." With him 
 the love of art seems to have been inherent ; there 
 was nothing accidental about it ; this monarch's 
 efforts to raise the liberal arts to that honourable 
 position to which their intellectual character en- 
 titles them, — were always intentional, — always pre- 
 meditated ; they were the offspring of judgment 
 arising from reflection, and consequently a perfect 
 conviction of the inestmiable value of the arts to 
 mankind, when properly encouraged, and culti- 
 vated with true zeal and sound discretion. 
 
 His Majesty, besides liis native love of the arts, 
 was, it is well known, an excellent historian ; and, 
 from this inexhaustible source, he derived additional 
 and irrefragable arguments in favour of the view he 
 had taken, and the advice he had received, on this 
 important subject ; and although he had to contend 
 against the cold and narrow prejudices of some 
 political advisers at first, yet he firmly pursued his 
 enlightened course, and at length convinced even 
 those who at first were opposed to this object, that a 
 great commercial nation is bound to encourage the 
 p 4 
 
320 ORIGINAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE 
 
 fine arts, for the moral effect, as well as the intel- 
 lectual dignity, they confer on society, and that they 
 also assist in extending that very commerce from 
 whence pecuniary wealth is extensively derived, but 
 which, without the aid of the elegant and intellec- 
 tual arts, would terminate in a vulgar display of 
 barbarous, redundant, and fantastic finery, such 
 as we now ridicule in the practices of wealthy but 
 semi-barbarous people with whom we hold com- 
 mercial but not intellectual intercourse. 
 
 The King, no doubt, was aware of the high esti- 
 mation in which the arts were held by commercial 
 cities and states in ancient times, as well as in Europe 
 during the middle ages. The people of Rhodes 
 were deeply engaged in commerce ; yet the progress 
 they made in the arts, especially in sculpture, is 
 truly astonishing. The Eginetans were likewise a 
 commercial, but they were also an elegant people ; 
 and the beautiful sculptured marbles, some of which 
 we now possess, that have been taken from the 
 ruins of their temples, prove the fine taste of those 
 islandei-s, and the high degi'ee of improvement to 
 which they had attained in sculpture and architec- 
 ture. Argos, Athens, Sicyon, and Corinth, the 
 seats of transcendent good taste, were more or less 
 
ENGLISH SCHOOL OF PAINTING. 321 
 
 commercial ; as were, in fact, all the cities of the 
 ^gean sea, and of the Cyclades. 
 
 Shall Pisa, Florence, and Lucca, be mentioned, 
 or the other greater commercial states of Italy, 
 Venice, and Genoa, or Holland and Flanders, to 
 remind our readers of the unfading glory which 
 commerce has derived from its munificent protec- 
 tion of the arts, that adorn civilized society, that 
 mend the manners, and improve the heart I AVith 
 all those matters, and abundance more, was George 
 III. well acquainted ; and so, no doubt, are the 
 great majority of our readers. But it doubtless 
 was this valuable information which, aiding his 
 natural affection for the arts, determined the king- 
 to give every assistance within his command, to 
 aid them in rivalling those of any other nation, 
 ancient or modern. But the monarch knew, that to 
 be successful, this object would require a very long 
 time, and great encouragement from public, as well 
 as from private sources. He could not do all that 
 he wished to effect this great object, but he made 
 a decided commencement ; and the royal example 
 was gracefully followed by the nobles and wealthier 
 classes of the land. The kind intentions of the 
 royal patron were in a good measure fulfilled during 
 his life time, and the personal friendly intercourse 
 p 5 
 
322 ORIGINAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE 
 
 he held with the leading artists^ produced a power- 
 ful moral effect upon the public mind, and on the 
 character of the profession in England/ 
 
 The momentum which the arts had thus happily 
 received has continued, and probably increased, 
 through the decided patronage of King George IV., 
 who was as anxious for their prosperity as his royal 
 parent had been. When Prince Regent, he en- 
 couraged the acquisition of rare and valuable works 
 of classic art. It was during this period that the 
 Parthenon marbles, those inimitable and matchless 
 remains, produced in the halcyon days of Grecian 
 sculpture, were brought to England. 
 
 In 1824 the National Gallery of Pictures was 
 commenced, by the purchase of the fine collection 
 made by J. Julius Angerstein, Esq. This circum- 
 stance marks quite a new era of art in Britain. 
 
 1 Particularly the presidents, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Benjamin 
 West, and also Sir William Beechey, with each of whom this 
 monarch was in the habit of holding familiar conversations on 
 all subjects connected with the arts, and conducive to their 
 prosperous advancement. 
 
 2 The Royal British Institution was founded in 1805, and 
 opened in January, 1806. Its exhibitions, and the sales effected 
 there of the works of living artists, chiefly purchased by members 
 of the Institution, have been of considerable benefit to the arts, in 
 bringing forward young men of talent, who otherwise might have 
 remained in unmerited obscurity. 
 
ENGLISH SCHOOL OF PAINTI^TG. 323 
 
 George IV. had magnificent ideas relative to the 
 arts ; but coming into power late in life, and being 
 annoyed by factious and domestic embarrassments, 
 his good intentions for promoting art were unavoid- 
 ably neutralized. 
 
 " The Society of British Artists'' (in Suffolk 
 Street) was also established in this reign, and its 
 exhibitions have brought forward many artists of 
 talent, and even of high reputation. 
 
 King William IV. having been bred up in the 
 naval service, to which many years of his life were 
 devoted, did not therefore possess the same know- 
 ledge of the arts as the two preceding monarchs ; 
 but he was always kind to the professors, and took 
 a great interest in the affairs of the Royal Academy, 
 the yearly accounts of which society he always ex- 
 amined himself, with great attention ; and it must 
 not be forgotten, that the last public place which this 
 kind-hearted monarch visited, was to open the new- 
 gallery of the Royal Academy at Trafalgar Square, 
 May, 1837. The king was ill then, but would not 
 disappoint the hopes of the lovers of art and the 
 members of that institution ; yet in six weeks after- 
 wards William IV. was no more. 
 
 The commencement of her majesty Queen Vic- 
 p6 
 
324! ORIGINAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE 
 
 toria's reign (June, 1837) appears to dawn auspi- 
 ciously on the fine arts. Her Majesty visits the 
 Royal Academy at its opening, and graciously per- 
 mits her portrait to be taken by painters and 
 sculptors of acknowledged high talents.' Her 
 Majesty is said to be fond of painting, and has 
 been well instructed in its principles and practice 
 by eminent artists. 
 
 Having brought tliis rapid but careful outline of 
 the origin and progress of the arts in Britain to a 
 close, and having stated some of the important facts 
 relevant to that subject, I feel a hope, that the 
 evidence now brought forward will be sufficient to 
 convince those of their error who may yet be scep- 
 tical enough to imagine that either the soil, cli- 
 mate, or intellect of Britain, are not capable of 
 producing great works in the highest classes of 
 art. My object is to show, that the fine arts in 
 this country have never had fair play until within 
 the last seventy years. It has been shown, from 
 
 ' Her most gracious Majesty has bad her portrait painted in 
 Sir D. Wilkie's historical picture of "The Queen in Council;" 
 also by E. A. Chalon, R.A. W. Wyon, R.A., medallist, has exe- 
 cuted some beautiful medallions of the Queen ; and Sir Francis 
 Chantrey, R.A., is now engaged in modelling a splendid bust of 
 her Majesty. 
 
ENGLISH SCHOOL OF PAINTING. 325 
 
 authentic records, that our native talent in the arts 
 was not only unaided, but neglected and despised, 
 with one or two exceptions, until about the com- 
 mencement of the period mentioned. To expect, 
 therefore, that the genius of the country should 
 develop itself under circumstances so cruelly ad- 
 verse to the expansion of intellectual power, would 
 be about as reasonable as to expect that grapes, 
 figs, and melons should grow and ripen unsheltered 
 in our climate at Christmas. 
 
 It is well known to most of our readers, that one of 
 the grandest principles in physical science is, " That 
 there cannot be any effect without an adequate 
 cause ;" and yet, with respect to the arts, it does 
 appeal', as if this universal principle was not to be 
 applied in England. And therefore it is that we 
 meet with persons now and then who dogmatically 
 assert, that "the arts liave not made any thing like 
 the progress in this country which they ought to 
 have done." 
 
 These gentlemen would do well, in the first place, 
 to make themselves thoroughly acquainted with the 
 history of the arts in Italy, and in the other coun- 
 tries on the Continent where they have arrived 
 at pre-eminence, and then read the history of the 
 arts in their own country ; and if they do not 
 
326 ORIGINAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE 
 
 abandon their first notions, they must be lament- 
 ably obstinate in error.* 
 
 The last seventy yeai*s, therefore, we think, may 
 rightly be considered the age of the British school, 
 and for that limited space of time there is no other 
 school can show greater, or perhaps so gi*eat an 
 improvement. In Italy, with its fine climate, and 
 enormous public encouragement, as well as private 
 patronage, it required fuU two centuries and a half ^ 
 to bring these arts up to their meridian splendour. 
 Therefore, to make the cases of the foreign and na- 
 tive schools parallel, and to try the British intellect 
 fairly to the utmost, it is clear that the same sort of 
 encouragement should be applied, otherwise the argu- 
 ment is good for nothing. But, on the other hand, 
 perhaps it would be difficult to prove, that under 
 similarly discouraging circumstances, the continental 
 schools would not have been altogether obliterated. 
 
 So far, however, as private patronage is concerned, 
 there certainly is, and has been for some years, a great 
 deal of encouragement bestowed upon our native 
 
 ' Possibly there may be some persons in this class of opinionists 
 to whom the following invocation of Count Strogonoff may be 
 applicable : — " Grand Dieu, delivre nous de ces amateurs sutis amour , 
 ft de ces connoisseurs sans connoissance ! " 
 
 ' Cimabue commenced about 1260, and in 1520 Da Vinci and 
 Rafl'ael both died, — the first at Paris, the second at Rome. 
 
ENGLISH SCHOOL OF PAIXTIXG. 327 
 
 artists ; and in the same proportion have been their 
 exertions to deserve success ; and works of fancy 
 and portraiture are exhibited now, superior to 
 any that could be produced forty years since, with 
 the exception of Reynold's works. This arises from 
 the superior knowledge of principles, and the practice 
 founded on these principles, which have become very 
 generally known in the British school. It is not, 
 therefore, in these walks of art that encouragement 
 is so much wanted, but in the more lofty and intel- 
 lectual classes of historical and poetical composition. 
 Here it must be confessed there is no public en- 
 couragement, such as we see in France, Germany, 
 and the Low Countries. And until our government, 
 and the wealthy public bodies, offer to purchase great 
 works of art, it cannot be supposed that artists should 
 run the greatest risk possible of starvation whilst 
 employed in the production of such noble works,' 
 for which, when completed, they would not find a 
 purchaser. Surely to expect such sacrifices of, or 
 from, British artists, is more than sound reasoning 
 
 ' James Barry's fate has had a most chilling effect on British 
 pictorial art. His great genius was far in advance of the age in 
 which he lived ; and though he had a sufficient pittance to exist 
 upon, yet neglect and harsh treatment drove him into a confirmed 
 state of misanthropy, if not monomania. 
 
328 ORIGINAL OBSERVATIONS OX THE 
 
 would expect ; and is certainly far beyond what has 
 ever been expected from the artists of any other 
 country. It has been said, as I understand, by 
 some gentlemen, " that if the talent existed in the 
 nation, great works of art would be produced, and 
 then purchasers would be found for them." Now, 
 without attempting to impugn the right of free 
 opinion, which these gentlemen possess, this asser- 
 tion does appear to be one of the most extraordi- 
 nary paradoxes that perhaps has yet appeared in 
 this paradoxical age. Indeed it is too broad in its 
 way to do any great mischief to the arts ; it is 
 another form of that pseudo-philosophy, which 
 sometimes mistakes causes for effects, and at other 
 intervals expects effects without causes. But if these 
 gentlemen will be so kind as to inform the artists 
 of Britain, in what age or country they ai-e to find 
 examples of that species of speculation, perhaps it 
 would induce those of the higher grade in art with 
 us to try the experiment. But until satisfactory 
 proof be given that this was the practice of the great 
 men of the foreign schools, it is to be hoped that 
 the common good sense of our artists will restrain 
 them from a course of action, which is opposed to 
 all the sound principles of political, social, and 
 intellectual economy. " The demand is the cause," 
 
ENGLISH SCHOOL OF PAINTING. 329 
 
 " the supply is the effect ;" and people of sound un- 
 derstanding, in all the intercourses of life, take care 
 that the effect shall not precede the cause. The 
 great cathedrals and other public edifices of Italy, 
 Spain, &c., were built without any thought about 
 the painters, and then the latter were called in to 
 adorn them with their splendid works of art. If 
 the Sistine chapel and the Vatican had not been 
 built, neither Raffael nor Michael Angelo would 
 be looked upon with that high degree of admi- 
 ration to which those great memorials of their 
 genius give them so just a title. ^ 
 
 Having shown that the strange prejudice, which 
 for so long a period had retarded the advancement 
 in the arts in England, has been gradually wearing 
 away for the last seventy or eighty years, and that 
 in the same proportion native talents, in every branch 
 of the arts, have developed themselves in a manner 
 highly flattering to the character of the nation, so 
 far, at least, as fair encouragement has been be- 
 stowed upon them, we cannot help thinking that so 
 
 ' " Those great artists were not employed because they had 
 produced great works, but they produced great works because they 
 were employed to produce them. Their fame rests upon exploits of 
 art, which true patronage inspired them to conceive, encouraged 
 them to undertake, and enabled them to accomplish." — Letter of 
 Sir M. A. Shee to Lord J. Russell, 
 
*530 ORIGINAL OBSERVATIONS, «SziC. 
 
 far the artists and the enlightened portion of the 
 pubHc have done their duty, and to that extent have 
 rescued their country from the opprobrium of not 
 possessing native taste, intellect, or feeling, either 
 to produce works of art, or to reward our artists. 
 
 One great object, therefore, has been gained ; 
 and the impertinent sneers of the Abbes Winkle- 
 mann, du Bos, and other continental writers, at our 
 Boeotian heaviness, have lost their power, but not 
 their malignity. It is said that a person named 
 Waagen has lately been indulging himself in 
 some witticisms equally ridiculous with those of 
 the great literary pioneers, his precursors. 
 
 " For leaden dullness ever loves its pke." 
 
 It is much to be regretted, however, that men 
 of literature connected with the public press in 
 England, do not generally take up the side of 
 the men of art, and give their powerful aid to pro- 
 tect and encourage the once oppressed but rising 
 arts of their country. In this respect the conti- 
 nental artists have a great advantage over those of 
 Britain : the former have a cordial feeling towards 
 each other, which strengthens both, and injures 
 neither. And whilst a German, or a French critic, 
 is dwelling with satisfaction upon the merits of a 
 
METHODS OF PAINTING, &C. oSl 
 
 middling picture or piece of sculpture by a com- 
 patriote^ the English critic often treats with 
 harshness, the best works of his countrpnen.' 
 This is a thing to be deplored, because it is 
 discouraging, always unkind, and sometimes un- 
 just. These arts cannot retaliate, and therefore 
 manly feeling should be exercised towards them, 
 and forbearance substituted for severity, except 
 where presumptuous ignorance obtrudes its brazen 
 offspring into the proper station of modest merit. 
 Yet it is to be hoped that these gentlemen of 
 literary talents will look with cordial feeling upon 
 the productions of the arts, and not intentionally 
 injure the prospects, or wound the feelings of men, 
 who, in the pursuit of their elegant vocation, have 
 many vexations to encounter of which the world 
 cannot be aware. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 METHODS OF PAINTING USED IN THE ENGLISH 
 SCHOOL. 
 
 I HAVE already stated, that the principal artists 
 who came to England from the Low Countries 
 
 ' These remarks are only meant to apply to a certain class of 
 criticisms on the annual exhibitions. 
 
332 METHODS OF PAINTING 
 
 were possessed of a good knowledge of the princi- 
 ples of art, and also of the proper materials and the 
 methods of applying them. It is not improbable 
 that this knowledge may have come down tradi- 
 tionally amongst the few native painters who fol- 
 lowed each other to the time of Hudson, for it 
 is evident, that so far as his process and materials 
 went, his works in general stand very well. 
 
 But this did not satisfy the ardent and inquisitive 
 mind of young Reynolds : he would, and did think 
 and examine for himself. The result was, that 
 splendid breadth of effect, mellowness of tone, and 
 harmony of colouring, which justly placed him at 
 the head of the colourists of his age. 
 
 The infant British School of Painting adopted 
 his methods, and have produced works, which, for 
 effect, colour, and tone, are not surpassed, perhaps 
 not equalled, in Europe at the present day, and 
 would be admired for these qualities in an age when 
 colour and effect were in their highest state of 
 estimation. 
 
 The following extract from Mr. Northcote"'s book 
 will convey the best ideas that can be obtained on 
 this subject. These notes appear to have been 
 written at Eome by Sir Joshua, to direct him in his 
 future practice. 
 
USED IN THK ENGLISH SCHOOL. 333 
 
 " The Leda, in the Colonna palace, by Correggio, 
 is dead-coloured white and black, with ultramarine 
 in the shadows ; and over that is scumbled, thinly 
 and smooth, a warmer tint, — I believe caput mor- 
 tuum. The lights are mellow ; the shadows blueish, 
 but mellow. The picture is painted on a panel, in 
 a broad and large manner, but finished like 
 enamel : the shadows harmonize, and are lost in 
 the ground. 
 
 " The Ecce Homo of Correggio in the same 
 [)alace. The shadows are entirely lost in the 
 ground, — perhaps more by time than they were at 
 first. 
 
 " The Adonis of Titian in the Colonna Palace is 
 dead-coloured white, with the muscles marked bold. 
 The second painting he scumbled a light colour 
 over it ; the light, a mellow flesh colour ; the sha- 
 dows, in the lighter parts, of a faint pm'ple hue — at 
 least they were so at first. That purple hue seems 
 to be occasioned by blackish shadows under,' and 
 the colour scumbled over them. 
 
 " I copied the Titian in the Colonna collection 
 
 ' Probably a dark ground, which Titian frequently employed, 
 and which, in showing itself through a white preparation, as 
 stated, would take the tint alluded to. Such a ground is after- 
 wards mentioned as having been employed by G. Poussin, 
 
334 METHODS OF PAINTING 
 
 with white umber, minio, cinnabar, black ; the sha- 
 dows thin of colour. Perhaps little more than the 
 dark ground left. 
 
 " In respect to painting the flesh tints, after it 
 has been finished with very strong colours, such as 
 ultramarine and carmine, pass white over it, very 
 thin with oil. I believe it will have a very won- 
 derful effect. 
 
 " Or paint carnation too red, and then scumble 
 over it with white and black. 
 
 " Then dead colour, with white and black only ; 
 at the second sitting carnation, (to wit the Barocci 
 at the Palace Albani, and Correggio in the Pam- 
 phili.^ 
 
 J " All these modes of preparation were afterwards employed by 
 Sir Joshua, who generally made out his shapes, as well as the light 
 and shadow of his heads, in little more than blue black and white, 
 or lake blue black and white (sometimes lake and white only), 
 using always, in this stage of the picture, a good body of colour ; 
 over this, when dry, he scumbled yellow ochre and white, or umber 
 and white, sometimes orpivient and white, very thin ; and on that 
 retouched his features, and tinted the cheeks and other parts of 
 the head which might require it, with brighter and more decided 
 colour : a slight glaze, little more than the varnish, completed his 
 work. 
 
 " Sometimes, instead of scumbling, he employed glazing with red 
 lead or vermilion, which, being passed thinly over his white pre- 
 paration, gave considerable power to the local colour of his head ; 
 on this he painted thinly with ultramarine and white, and orpiment, 
 or yellow ochre, and white, tinting in parts with carmine, and 
 finishing with a thin glaze of asphaltura. 
 
USED IX THE ENGLISH SCHOOL. 335 
 
 " Poussin's landscapes in the Verossi Palace, 
 are painted on a dark ground, made of Indian red 
 and black. 
 
 " Make a finished sketch of every portrait you 
 intend to paint, and by the help of that, dispose 
 your living model ; then finish at the first time, on 
 a ground made of Indian red and black. 
 
 " All the shadows in the works of the Carracci, 
 Guerchino, as well as the Venetian school, are 
 made with little colour, but much oil : the Vene- 
 tians seem to be made only of a drying oil, com- 
 posed of red lead and oil. 
 
 " Occasionally he allowed his first glaze to dry, and then painted 
 thinly over it, with orpiment and white, ultramarine and white, and 
 veruiilion or carmine and white ; but always allowing the colour 
 underneath to appear more or less through whatever he passed 
 over It. 
 
 " In very many of his pictures, which have been injudiciously 
 cleansed, the first preparation is all that now remains ; and in 
 some cases his glowing tints and other colours have changed or 
 disappeared altogether, owing to his indiscriminate use of perish- 
 able materials ; for he was a very indifferent chemist. 
 
 " The cracking of his pictures is chiefly occasioned by painting 
 over his preparation before it was thoroughly dry, or by using 
 materials on the surface of his pictures, which dried harder tlian 
 those employed underneath. 
 
 " Dark colours, and especially those which are transparent, will 
 generally open in large cracks when laid on very thickly, or em- 
 ployed with much vehicle ; and this was frequently the case 
 with Sir Joshua's pictures, whose dark back grounds, hair, and 
 draperies, were often painted with a considerable body of colour. 
 
 10 
 
886 METHODS or PAINTING 
 
 " In comparison with Titian, and Panl Veronese, 
 all the other Venetian painters appear hard ; they 
 liave in a degree, the manner of all Rembrandt''s, 
 mezzotinto, occasioned by scmnbling over their pic- 
 tures some dark oil colour." 
 
 In Sir Joshua Reynolds's memoranda, for De- 
 cember, 1755, will be found the following record 
 of the colours, which he then made use of, and of 
 the order in which they were aiTanged on his 
 pallette. 
 
 SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS WORKING COLOURS, WITH 
 THE ORDER IN WHICH THEY WERE ARRANGED 
 ON HIS PALLETTE. 
 
 " For painting the flesh, black, blue black, white, 
 lake, carmine, orpiment, yellow ochre, ultramarine, 
 and varnish. 
 
 " To lay the pallette : — first lay carmine and 
 white in different degrees : second, lay orpiment 
 and white, ditto : third, lay blue black and white, 
 ditto. 
 
 " The first sitting, make a mixture on the pallette 
 for expedition, as near the sitter's complexion as 
 you can." 
 
USED IN THE ENGLISH SCHOOL. oo7 
 
 HIS OBSERVATIONS ON COLOURING. 
 
 " To preserve the colours fresh and clean in paint- 
 ing ; it must be done by laying on more colours, 
 and not by rubbing them in when they are once 
 laid ; and if it can be done, they should be laid just 
 in their proper places at first, and not be touched 
 again, because the freshness of the colours is tar- 
 nished and lost, by mixing and jumbling them 
 together ; for there are certain colours which de- 
 stroy each other by the motion of the pencil when 
 mixed to excess. 
 
 " For it may be observed, that not only is the 
 brilliancy, as well as freshness of tints considerably 
 impaired, by indiscriminate mixing and softening ; 
 but if colours be too much worked about with the 
 brush, the oil will always rise to the surface, and 
 the performance will turn comparatively yellow in 
 consequence." 
 
 HIS INSTRUCTIONS IN PAINTING TO THE STUDENT. 
 
 " Never give the least touch with your pencil, un- 
 til you have present in your mind, a perfect idea of 
 your future work. 
 
 " Paint at the greatest possible distance from 
 your sitter, and place the picture occasionally near 
 
338 METHODS OF PAINTING 
 
 to the sitter, or sometimes under him, so as to see 
 both together. 
 
 " In beautiful faces, keep the whole circumfer- 
 ence about the eye in a mezzotinto, as seen in the 
 works of Guido, and the best of Carlo Maratti. 
 
 " Endeavour to look at the subject, or sitter 
 before you, as if it was a picture ; this will in 
 some degree render it more easy to be copied. 
 
 " In painting, consider the object before you, 
 whatever it may be, as made out more by light and 
 shadow, than by lines. 
 
 " A student should begin his career, by a care- 
 ful finishing and making out of the parts, as prac- 
 tice will give him freedom and facility of hand ; a 
 bold and unfinished manner is generally the habit 
 of old age." 
 
 ON PAINTING A HEAD. 
 
 " Let those parts, which turn or retire from the 
 eye, be of broken or mixed colours, as being less 
 distinguished, and nearer the borders. 
 
 " Let all your shadows be of one colour ; glaze 
 them till they are so. 
 
 " Use red colours in the shadows of the most 
 delicate complexions, but with discretion. 
 
 " Contrive to have a skreen, with red or yellow 
 
USED IN THE ENGLISH SCHOOL. 339 
 
 colour on it, to reflect the light on the sitter'^s 
 face. 
 
 " Avoid the chalk, the brick dust, and the char- 
 coal, and think on a pearl, and a ripe peach. 
 
 " Avoid long continued lines in the eyes, and too 
 many sharp ones. 
 
 " Take care to give your figure a sweep or sway, 
 with the outlines in waves, soft, and almost imper- 
 ceptible against the back ground. 
 
 " Never make the contour too coarse. 
 
 " Avoid also those outlines and lines which are 
 equal, which make parallels, triangles, &c. 
 
 " The parts which are nearest to the eye appear 
 most enlightened, deeper shadowed, and better 
 seen. 
 
 " Keep broad lights and shadows, and also prin- 
 cipal lights and shadows. 
 
 " Where there is the deepest shadow, it is ac- 
 companied by the brightest light. 
 
 " Let nothing start out, or be too strong for its 
 place. 
 
 " Squareness has grandeur ; it gives firmness to 
 the forms : a serpentine line, in comparison, appears 
 feeble and tottering. 
 
 " The younger pupils are better taught by those 
 who are in a small degi'ee advanced in knowledge 
 a2 
 
340 METHODS OF PAINTING 
 
 above themselves ; and from that cause proceeds the 
 peculiar advantage of studying in academies. 
 
 " The painter who knows his profession from 
 principles, may apply them alike to any branch of 
 the art, and succeed in it. 
 
 " ON THE EXAMINATION OF PICTURES. 
 
 " After a strict examination of the best pictures, 
 the benefit to be derived from them is to draw such 
 conclusions as may serve in future as fixed rules of 
 practice, taking care not to be amused with trifles, 
 but to regard the excellencies chiefly. 
 
 " There are some who are very diligent in exami- 
 ning pictures, and yet are not at all advanced in their 
 judgment, although they can remember the exact 
 colour of every figure, &c., in the picture ; but not 
 reflecting deeply on what they have seen, or making 
 observations to themselves, they are not at all im- 
 proved by the crowd of particulars that swim on 
 the surface of their brains, as nothing enters deep 
 enough into their minds to do them benefit through 
 digestion. 
 
 " A painter shoidd form his rules from pictures 
 rather than from books or precepts ; this is having 
 infoi-mation at the first hand, — at the fountain- 
 
USED IX THE ENGLISH SCHOOL. Sil 
 
 head. Rules were first made from pictures ; not 
 pictures from rules. The first compilers of rules 
 for painting were in the situation in which it is 
 desirable a student should be. Thus every picture 
 an artist sees, whether the most excellent or most 
 ordinary, he should consider from whence that fine 
 effect, or that ill effect, proceeds ; and then there 
 is no picture, ever so indifferent, but he may look 
 at to his profit. 
 
 " The manner of the English travellers in gene- 
 ral, and especially those who pique themselves on 
 studying virtu, is that, instead of examining the 
 beauties of those works of fame, and why they are 
 esteemed, they only inquire the subject of the pic- 
 ture, and the name of the painter, the history of a 
 statue, and where it was found, and then write that 
 down. Some Englishmen, while I was in the Va- 
 tican, came there and spent above six hours in 
 writing down whatever the antiquary detailed to 
 them ; they scarcely ever looked at the paintings 
 the whole time."' 
 
 ' Our readers will please to recollect tliat this just, but by no means 
 complimentary, description of English travellers, was written in 
 the interval between 1749 and 1752, the period during which Mr. 
 Reynolds was in Italy ; but ninety years must make a great change 
 in the information and manners of any civilized nation. That 
 
 q3 
 
342 METHODS OF PAINTING 
 
 As Sir Joshua Eeynolds was the great master 
 of colour and effect, and, in fact, the founder of the 
 present high character which the British school 
 seems to hold, decidedly and almost exclusively, in 
 these two great sections of the art, his sentiments 
 and principles in these matters are entitled to the 
 first consideration. They are founded upon accu- 
 rate observation, and practical acquaintance with 
 the sound principles of art, with which he took no 
 ordinary pains to be well acquainted ; and this 
 extensive and accurate knowledge being directed in 
 its operation by a mind like his, at once endowed 
 with good sense and sound cultivation, produced 
 those admirable specimens of painting which the 
 world admires, and it is hoped long will admire. 
 
 To dissent, therefore, from any mode of com- 
 bining colours, laid down by this great artist, for 
 the process of painting, might look, at first sight, 
 like a species of pictorial heresy. But the duty 
 that we have imposed upon ourselves, and the 
 interests of the arts, oblige us, on the most solid 
 grounds, to point out an error of a very serious 
 
 sketch would not now have much more resemblance, we should 
 think, to the manners of our present race of travellers, than 
 Hogarth's dresses of the same period have to our present 
 costume. 
 
USED IN THE ENGLISH SCHOOL. 343 
 
 nature in Sir Joshua's system of combining some 
 of his colours ; and most probably that very error, 
 which has caused so much discoloration to some of 
 his finest and originally most effective pictures. 
 
 Our readers will perceive that, in our quotation 
 from his notes on the combination of colours, Sir 
 Joshua frequently mentions " Orpiment," and that 
 we have marked the word in italics for the purpose 
 of making these observations. Now it is quite evi- 
 dent that orpiment, most probably the red sort, 
 realgar, which is of a rich orange hue, was a fa- 
 vourite pigment upon Sir Joshua's palette, and he 
 directs that it should be mixed with the usual sort 
 of white lead ; and he chiefly used it in either glaz- 
 ing, or scumbling this colour upon his solid first 
 painting. The orpiments, red and yellow, have been 
 in use from the earliest times of this art ; but the 
 artists of the great schools of painting appear to 
 have been aware of their injurious qualities ; for they 
 employed the orpiment alone, or else with ochres 
 and other colours, that do not act upon them, as 
 terra verte and ultramarine ; and there is not a 
 doubt but that the brilliant yellows which we see 
 in some ancient pictures, are preparations of orpi- 
 ment ; but then they were laid on pure, without 
 any mixture of white lead ; for these two pigments 
 Q 4 
 
344 METHODS OF PAINTING 
 
 are mutually destroyers when combined. Speaking 
 of the orpiments, M. Merimee says most justly, 
 (page 107) " It is easy (for a chemist) to perceive 
 that these colours must not be mixed with white 
 lead, nor with any of those colours into which lead 
 enters, such as massicot, minium, muriate and 
 chromate of lead, and Naples yellow. 
 
 " For," he continues, " the sulphur in combina- 
 tion with the arsenic, having less affinity with this 
 metal than for lead, lets the arsenic go, and forms 
 a sulphuret of lead of a dark greyish colour." And 
 in a note M. Merimee adds, — 
 
 "• It is probable that, after some time, the orpi- 
 inent takes up the oxygen from the lead ; this 
 would be an additional cause for the darkening of 
 the two colours." 
 
 And this is precisely the mischief which has be- 
 fallen the works alluded to of this great artist ; 
 for, unhappily, he had no knowledge of chemistry, 
 by the aid of which he could at once have detected 
 and put a stop to those errors so fatal to these 
 splendid works. 
 
 Sir Joshua also used too much asphaltum and a 
 preparation of wax at one time ; and he laid it on 
 thickly with a good deal of vehicle, which, after 
 some time, opened in large cracks. The same 
 
USED IN THE ENGLISH SCHOOL. 845 
 
 disadvantage has arisen in others of his pictures, 
 caused by painting or varnishing over his prepara- 
 tion before it was quite dry, and using harder 
 materials than those underneath them.* 
 
 Orpiment is still used to some extent in our 
 school ; and so long as the contact of lead with it 
 is avoided, it will do good service for a colourist. 
 
 Asphaltum likewise, which, like orpiment, is very 
 attractive, both in aiding colour, and in chiaro 
 ''scuro, has some very practical advocates, even 
 amongst our leading artists. It is hoped that 
 their works will not be the worse for its agency at 
 some future time. 
 
 With respect to the methods and materials used 
 at present, and which have been for some time 
 employed by our principal artists, they are only 
 modifications according to circumstances, of many 
 of the materials* and processes described by M. 
 
 ' Sir Joshua Reynolds tried his new speculations in colour and 
 vehicle, painted on panels or canvasses, which he kept by him 
 many years. At the sale of his things these " trial boards" came 
 into the possession of Sir T. Lawrence ; and they were sold 
 afterwards at Mr. Christie's : some of the tints were discoloured. 
 
 2 White or cream-coloured grounds, slightly absorbent, either 
 on panel or cloth, have lately come much into use. This is a 
 great improvement. These grounds never devour the colour, as 
 dark grounds do in time, but aid the brilliancy of the tint, by 
 taking off the redundant oil, &c., and give an evenness of tone by 
 
 U 5 
 
346 METHODS OF PAIXTING 
 
 Merimee, with the original version, of which seve- 
 ral of our Royal Academicians are acquainted. But 
 as these essential parts of an artist's knowledge are 
 not extensively known in the profession, the presi- 
 dent and members of the Royal Academy have, 
 much to their honour, suggested and encouraged 
 the publication of this practical work, that its in- 
 structive pages may be open to all who practise 
 painting ; and that it might not remain " a sealed 
 book," as it must have done, to a great many young 
 artists, but for this circumstance. 
 
 The leading painters of the English school use 
 a rich full pencil in the lighter parts of their pic- 
 tures, and keep their shadows thin and transpa- 
 rent ; over this full body of colour the various 
 glazings and scumblings are passed rapidly, to pre- 
 vent the surface being rubbed up ; upon these 
 glazings, &c., solid colour is again applied, and 
 other glazes follow ; and so on, until the intended 
 effect is obtained ; and with the more skilful prac- 
 titioners there is little chance of not getting the 
 exact colour or tint required. So much is this the 
 case, that in the two fascinating portions of the 
 
 time. Panels are always preferable to canvasses, but cannot now 
 be procured of large dimensions, and are much dearer than primed 
 cloths. 
 
USED IN THE ENGLISH SCHOOL. 847 
 
 art, " effect and colouring," the palm is given to 
 the English school. 
 
 And could the fine, correct, and noble style of 
 drawing, seen so conspicuously in the great Italian 
 masters'' works, and their elegant and natural ideas 
 of composition, be added to these qualities, a school 
 of arts near perfection would be the result ; but such 
 a school of painting has never yet been seen in Eu- 
 rope. The best French artists are very able and cor- 
 rect designers; they draw the human figure well, and 
 some of their late pictures show a decided advance 
 in composition, expression, and effect. The German 
 artists are also making good progress in the higher 
 walks of art. But these votaries of the graphic 
 muse are supported and encouraged handsomely 
 by their respective governments, and they are 
 proving themselves grateful and worthy of the just 
 aid they receive ; they will in time return its value 
 to their respective countries, at least one hundred- 
 fold, for the culture now bestowed upon them. 
 
 But as we, in this wealthy and enlightened 
 nation, have not any excitement of that kind, it 
 would be rather too much to expect, that men 
 of high talents and manly feeling, should devote 
 their best energies and knowledge, to the pro- 
 duction of works, by which they would not be 
 Q 6 
 
348 METHODS OF PAINTING, &C. 
 
 enabled to maintain a respectable appearance in 
 society ; although these works might afterwards 
 be looked upon with the greatest admiration, and 
 become a fortune to their future possessors. 
 
 The truth is, that painters must hve, as well, 
 but not so expensively, as politicians ; and when- 
 ever any of the latter gentlemen shall lay down 
 ''their lives and fortunes"'"' for the glory of their 
 country, we pledge ourselves that painters will be 
 found to emulate their glories, and to share in their 
 renown. There is a capacity and a spirit in the 
 artists of England, whether in painting, sculpture, 
 or architecture, able to achieve the greatest things 
 in their art, provided, that those who hold the 
 destinies of the empire and its revenues in their 
 hands, will only do their duty in this important 
 national concern. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 ON THE PRINCIPLES OF HARMONY IN COLOURING. 
 
 This fascinating member of the pictorial art, has 
 but of late excited particular attention amongst 
 the artists of France ; and our readers have before 
 them the best exposition of the theory of colour- 
 ing, which we are aware has yet appeared on the 
 continent. 
 
 In the diagram of M. Merimee, the three pri- 
 mitive colours, and their three decided binaiy 
 compounds, are duly arranged in their natural 
 prismatic order ; and it is most likely this arrange- 
 ment is an original one, as that author does not 
 refer to any previous authority relative to its in- 
 vention. 
 
 In this country, however, we have been engaged 
 in inquiries on the theory of colours, and the prin- 
 ciples of harmony in colouring, so far back as 
 1766; when Mr. Moses Harris, the naturalist, 
 
350 ON THE PRINCIPLES OF 
 
 author of the Aurelium, wrote and pubUshed a 
 small but clear and comprehensive treatise on 
 these portions of science, which he most satis- 
 factorily and clearly demonstrated by a circular 
 diagram, of which a figure is given, and other 
 specimens of its application in the arts, all deduced 
 from Newton's Theory of light and colour. 
 
 This work of Mr. Harris is so very scarce, that 
 I have never seen a copy of it ; but by good for- 
 tune, and no small exertions, I have had the 
 original MS. under my inspection \ and it is pre- 
 cisely what Mr. Phillips, R. A., described it to be. 
 Were it not for the latter gentleman, it is proba- 
 ble that this small, but clever and useful book, 
 might have been lost to the world. 
 
 Mr. Phillips fortunately met with a copy of it, 
 and finding in it the corroboration of certain ideas 
 that he had on colouring, the professor introduced 
 the diagram and the theory into his course of lec- 
 tures, about 1827. We have stated that M. 
 Merimee's arrangement of colours is correct, and 
 his deductions from them to explain the harmony 
 of colouring in pictures, are fair so far as they go, 
 and are satisfactory as to chromatic harmony: 
 
 * It is in the hands of his grandson, Mr. L, Harris. 
 
HARMONY IN COLOURING. 851 
 
 in Moses Harris's works, there is no deficiency 
 in these respects, as I hope to show from Mr. 
 PhiUips's eighth lecture " on colouring," &c. 
 Having despaired of ever getting a sight of Mr. 
 Harris's work, I requested permission from Mr. 
 Phillips, to make some extracts on this subject, 
 from his published course of lectures, delivered at 
 the Royal Academy, to which the professor at 
 once kindly assented; and our readers will now 
 have an opportunity of observing the tw^o systems, 
 English and French, placed before them for the 
 first time, and will be thereby fully enabled to judge 
 of their merits. 
 
 Mr. Phillips says " coloured substances obtain 
 their hues from light, and lose them when deprived 
 of it. Connect this proposition with another ; viz. 
 that shade, abstractedly considered, is always alike 
 in tone ; and you will then perceive, that the same 
 tone of darkness, whatever may be its degree, 
 pervades all colours as they recede from the Hght, 
 to their complete union and total loss in shadow. 
 
 " We may arrive at the same conclusion by a 
 more technical mode of proceeding ; and for the 
 purpose of explaining it, I lay before you the inge- 
 nious diagram given in a work published many years 
 ago by Moses Harris, under the title of " The 
 
352 ON THE PRINCIPLES OF 
 
 Natural System of colours." In the circular portion 
 of this diagram, the prismatic colours, red, blue, 
 and yellow, are united, consonant with the system 
 of the rainbow, by orange, green, and purple, and 
 all are graduated from the centre outwards, that is, 
 from their utmost intensity to the faintest tint 
 approaching to white ; and those tints are marked 
 by a scale of strength, say twenty-five, supposing 
 the five marked circular spaces to contain five de- 
 grees each. 
 
 By the central part of the diagram it appears, 
 very clearly, that the union of the three primitive 
 colours, (as he well terms them,) red, blue, and 
 yellow, in the pigments we employ, is productive of 
 black, or a tone in which there is a total privation 
 of all colour, and which therefore assumes the per- 
 fect character of shade.' 
 
 Now, if the union of the three primitive colours 
 in their utmost degree of intensity be productive of 
 perfect shade, it must be apparent that their union 
 in fainter, but equal degrees of tint, must be pro- 
 ductive of the same negative colour or tone, in a 
 
 ' In curious contradistinction of the effect of aerial prismatic 
 colours, the production of their union being white light. Never- 
 theless they agree in one point, viz. that each is a negation of 
 colour. 
 
HARMONY IN COLOURING. 853 
 
 degree consonant to that of the tints of the colours 
 employed, proving that which I before stated, viz. 
 that all shade in every degree is aUke in tone, and 
 will produce the like effect on every coloured object 
 subjected to it. 
 
 These two points then, — truth of imitation of an 
 actual colour, and unity of shade, I conceive to be 
 the firm, though simple basis of true colouring, in 
 its primitive purity and simplicity, that is, when 
 considered without regard to reflections, yet operat- 
 ing over these when they are admitted for reflec- 
 tion, being hght transmitted through another 
 medium, but produces another colour upon the sur- 
 face of the body where it reaches ; and its grada- 
 tions to the shadowed parts where it cannot reach 
 are subject to the same law. 
 
 " Thus much for the consideration of any single 
 colour and its varieties, in union with shade. Our 
 next object is the union of the different colours 
 with each other. It appears, from numberless 
 observations, that the human eye is so constituted 
 with respect to colour, that though it derives plea- 
 sure from viewing each of the three primary colours 
 alone, yet if two of these are introduced to its 
 view together, it then requires, for its entire grati- 
 fication, the presence of the third also ; and that 
 
354 ON THE PRINCIPLES OF 
 
 want causes a physical sensation in the eye itself, 
 which, without mental agency, and in a manner 
 unknown to us, produces the third colour. 
 
 For let those two colours be united, and the com- 
 pound colours formed by their union be exposed to 
 the eye for a time, and then suddenly removed from 
 before it, the form of the figure in which the com- 
 pound colour was exhibited will remain present to 
 the view, but tinged of the colour omitted : that is, 
 if the compound be pm^le, the spectrum will be 
 yellow ; if orange, blue ; and if green, red ; and 
 even while the original colours are singly before the 
 eyes, if regarded attentively, each of them will be 
 seen surrounded by the compound of the other two. 
 
 This points out, I conceive, the physical source 
 of that pleasure which we derive from well arranged 
 colouring, and of those sensations of gratification or 
 of dissatisfaction which must have been frequently 
 experienced by every painter as he produced or 
 neglected the requisite unions of colours. 
 
 We universally acknowledge great dchght in 
 regarding the rainbow, and no one has yet dis- 
 covered an arrangement in colours more gratifying 
 to our eyes or to our understanding. 
 
 When the three primary colours are placed be- 
 
HARMONY IN COLOURING. 355 
 
 fore us, our eyes accept the vision with a certain 
 degree of pleasure, but they are most gratified 
 when the intermediate colours are properly intro- 
 duced, and the whole scale of the colours which 
 constitute a ray of light is presented to them. 
 
 This aiTangement, then, seems the most proper 
 for adoption by the painter, as producing the most 
 pleasing concord of colours ; and we may safely 
 conclude, therefore, that such an arrangement of 
 colours is the best adapted to our vision, and pro- 
 duces just that order which is most acceptable to 
 our eyes. 
 
 In this we have one principle of harmony in co- 
 louring, — the harmony of arrangement. It may 
 perhaps be said, that tliis is rather more according 
 with melody in music than with harmony : still it 
 enters into those combinations for which in colour- 
 ing we have no other name than harmony. 
 
 Consonance, or harmony of hue, consists in those 
 colours being brought together, which, though they 
 may not be placed exactly in the regular order seen 
 in the rainbow or in the chromatic scale, yet act in 
 accordance with each other upon the eye, and pro- 
 duce no uneasy sensations within it, but rather 
 afford it pleasure. 
 
356 ON THE PRINCIPLES OF 
 
 There are two gradations in this portion of har- 
 mony of colouring. There is first, as I have just 
 said, a certain degree of accordance between the 
 three primary colours when arranged beside each 
 other. But, secondly, a more perfect accord ensues 
 when any two of them are united, and the compound 
 placed beside the third, both evidently depending 
 upon the relation they bear to the prismatic colours 
 in a ray of light. 
 
 It is to the eye that colours address their power, 
 and it may fairly be assumed, that whatever colour 
 is produced by the eye during the presence of 
 another colour, but seen most clearly when the first 
 presented to it is removed, must have been required 
 by it to perfect its pleasure, and, therefore, that 
 such colour must be the harmonizing one with the 
 original colour, or that which forms a union with 
 the other agreeable to the eye. 
 
 This we find accordant with experience. The 
 primitive colour which harmonizes best with purple 
 is yellow ; with green, red ; with orange, blue. And 
 again, that these are the colours which most per- 
 fectly associate is proved, it appears to me, by their 
 union in any degree of tint producing a negative 
 colour, and in their extreme intensity in black, 
 which the union of no two other colours will do. 
 
HARMOMY IN COLOURING. 357 
 
 except such compounds as have relations similar to 
 theirs. 
 
 Another point requisite to produce hannony is, 
 that the colours used to produce it be of the same 
 degree of strength in the scale. To explain this I 
 shall refer to Mr. Harris's diagram. 
 
 Suppose we take a red at the fifth degree of in- 
 tensity, and a green at the twentieth, or a purple 
 at its extreme degree of power, and a yellow at the 
 fifteenth, it will not require much argument to prove 
 their want of perfect accordance ; but if you take 
 either of those unions of harmonizing colours at the 
 same degree, say the tenth or the fifteenth, the eye 
 accepts their union as agreeable. 
 
 T have thus endeavoured to explain to you the 
 nature of the second principle of harmony in paint- 
 ing ; there is still a third wanting to render it 
 complete : that is, unity of tone produced by the 
 colours being all \^Tought under the influence of the 
 same illumination, by which I mean a light equal in 
 its degree of intensity and of tone. 
 
 On these three points, then, depends that agree- 
 able accordance of effect in the colouring of a pic- 
 ture which we term " harmony," viz. in the order 
 of their arrangement ; in the employment of those 
 accordant in their nature, that is, equal in their 
 12 
 
358 ON THE PRINCIPLES OF 
 
 scale of hue or of tint ; and their being seen under 
 a like degree of illumination, unity of shade being 
 implied of course. 
 
 The next point for consideration is contrast of 
 colour; a principle, in my view of it, opposed to 
 harmony, but creative of richness and vivacity in 
 the effect of a picture. 
 
 Contrast signifies opposition or discordancy 
 among things, and in that sense I prefer employing 
 it, and confining it specifically to those oppositions 
 of colours which are discordant to the eye, as now 
 commonly employed relative to colouring. It has 
 no specific meaning, except as another term for 
 variety. 
 
 I have already spoken of the colours, whose 
 effects upon the eye unite agreeably, and when 
 placed beside each other produce harmony ; as 
 yellow and purple, blue and orange, red and green, 
 in equal degrees of the scale throughout all their 
 varieties, and you will find in the diagram of Mr. 
 Harris, all those colours which thus unite, stand 
 opposite to each other in the circular portion of it, 
 and therefore have been miscalled " contrasts."" 
 
 The colours most strongly contrasting with each 
 other, are any two of the three primitives which 
 stand triangular-wise in the diagram, as red, blue, 
 
HARMONY IN COLOURING. 359 
 
 &c., as they not only have distinct quahties, but 
 also have no point of union, except for the produc- 
 tion of other colom-s ; and when presented to the 
 eye together, they produce an uneasy sensation 
 within it. It is the same with orange and purple, 
 or orange and green \ though the contrasts they 
 form to each other are less powerful than any two 
 of the primary colours ; and all further compounds 
 of them, partake less and less of that character ; 
 such contrast will produce similar effects in every 
 degree of the scale. 
 
 The principles, whereon depend the means pro- 
 ductive of good colouring, when employed by the 
 man of genius, are truth in imitation of the actual 
 hues * of the objects to be represented ; unity in 
 their shade, and consequently in their half tint ; 
 
 * There being too large a portion of yellow in combination with 
 the red and the blue employed, to produce the effect of a perfect 
 ray of light. 
 
 ' To give the mind a clear view of the meaning attached to the 
 terms hue, tint, and tone, Mr. Phillips defines a hue to be the 
 positive colour of the object, that which distinguishes one from 
 another, as red from blue, and blue from yellow, throughout 
 all their combinations. A tint means the gradations of any 
 one colour from its extreme intensity to its faintest degree. 
 And tone he would attach only to the efiect produced by the 
 degree and colour of the illumination, and the shadows it pro- 
 duces. 
 
360 ON THE PRINCIPLES OF 
 
 hannony of arrangement and of hue, with contrast 
 and reflection, to enrich and invigorate them. 
 
 These regulations govern throughout every por- 
 tion of the scale of colours, from their faintest to 
 their deepest tint, from the degree employed in the 
 sky, and the most distant parts of a landscape, to 
 those employed on its foreground, and to the still 
 stronger colours to which the portrait or the his- 
 torical painter resorts, or the more directly primi- 
 tive hues, by which are represented the choicest 
 productions of the garden. 
 
 I have thus, through the good feeling of Mr. 
 Phillips, found myself at liberty to lay before my 
 readers copious extracts on that beautiful and 
 interesting quality in picture, " harmony of colour- 
 ing," as understood not only theoretically, but 
 practically in the English school of painting, of 
 which the best works in our exhibitions, give un- 
 deniable and often charming evidence. This work 
 (Mr. Phillips's course of lectures on painting,) is, 
 in our opinion, one of the best treatises on the 
 "History and principles of painting" in the English 
 language, and ought to be in the hands of every 
 artist, who wishes to be guided by the most sound 
 principles of the art, — in invention, drawing, or 
 
HARMONY IN COLOURING. 361 
 
 design, composition, colouring, and chiaro ''scuro ', 
 or effect. 
 
 ' Of the exact meaning of this term it is difficult to convey a 
 perfectly clear idea in our language to the general reader. To 
 artists it requires no translating. Our words " light and shade" 
 do not convey the true meaning, although these two qualities 
 form its basis. It means the whole effect which the principal 
 masses of light and their subordinates produce as opposed to the 
 medium and darker masses of shadow. 
 
CONCLUSION. 
 
 Having reviewed the past and present state of 
 the arts in Britain', we cannot close this sketch 
 
 1 We feel that an essential part of our duty would have been 
 strangely neglected, had we closed this outline of the history of 
 English art, without giving the names of as many as we can collect 
 at this moment of the real admirers and promoters of the arts in 
 Britain. Some of those estimable and enlightened noblemen and 
 gentlemen are gone, and no longer promote the arts ; but their 
 memories will ever be held in grateful remembrance by all those 
 who value the advancement of the arts in Britain. Amongst the 
 most recent of these friends of art, whose loss will be felt exten- 
 sively, are the late Dukes of Sutherland, and Buckingham : Lord 
 de Tabley (the first who collected the works of native painters), 
 the Earl of Egremont, Lord Farnborough (his lordship bequeath- 
 ed to the nation pictures valued at £10,000) ; Earl Mulgrave, 
 Lord Monson, Walter Fawkes, Esq., of Farnely Hall (who made 
 the first great collection of water colour drawings), the Rev. 
 Hollwell Carr (who bequeathed to the nation pictures worth 
 £25,000). These are a few the memory just furnishes ; but 
 there are many other names dear to the arts, whicii cannot be 
 forgotten. 
 
 We are most fortunate still to have worthy successors to those 
 patrons, whose loss the arts must deplore ; who are to be seen 
 
CONCLUSION. 36S 
 
 of that important subject properly, without mak- 
 ing such of our readers as may not be aware of 
 the fact, — acquainted with a plan that was sug- 
 gested in 1809, "for the national encouragement 
 of painting in the united kingdom ;"" it originated 
 in a conversation with the late Sir T. Barnard, 
 and the late Sir Cr. Beaumont, two directors of 
 the British Institution, and Sir M. A. Shee, P.R.A. 
 The president in consequence, at the request of 
 those gentlemen, drew up the plan, which the 
 directors submitted to the then prime minister, 
 Mr. Perceval, who, after considerable delay, de- 
 clined to take any proceeding on the subject, the 
 country being at that time still engaged in a te- 
 dious and expensive war. 
 
 The plan alluded to we have seen : we think it 
 
 constantly in the walks of art, purchasing works of real talent, 
 and in various modes assisting to raise the arts of their country to 
 its proper eminence. Need it be mentioned that, amongst the 
 foremost of these sincere friends of the arts, are their graces the 
 Dukes of Sutherland, Devonshire, and Bedford; the Marquesses 
 of Lansdowne and Westminster ; Earls Aberdeen, Essex, Nor- 
 manton and Aylesford ; Lords F. Egerton and Northwick ; Sir T. 
 Baring, Sir R. Peel, N. W. Ridley Colborne ; Messrs. T. H. and 
 H. P. Hope, Samuel Rogers, C. B. Wall, M.P., Joseph Neeld, M.P., 
 W. Wells, J. W. Thompson, Robert Vernon, Esq., &c. &c. &c. 
 
 All these noblemen and gentlemen are directors or members of 
 the Royal British Institution, Pall Mall. 
 
 R 2 
 
364 CONCLUSION. 
 
 would have been admirably adapted to the pur- 
 pose, and it is a matter of serious regret to us, 
 that we cannot find room in our " sketch" for the 
 greater part of this valuable document : all that 
 can be done in this case, is to give merely the 
 enumeration of the prizes intended to have been 
 instituted for this purpose. 
 
 There were three prizes proposed, to be divided 
 into three classes, and decreed with public solem- 
 nity every third year. 
 
 The first class to consist of three prizes, and to 
 be appropriated to those who, by a noble applica- 
 tion of their powers, should most successfully pro- 
 mote the cause of religion and morality, stimulate 
 the cause of public virtue, and commemorate the 
 glories of our country. 
 
 The second class, three prizes, to be devoted to 
 subjects drawn from ancient history, poetry, or ro- 
 mance ; (these to be on a smaller scale.) 
 
 The third class, three prizes, to be devoted to 
 subjects of a more miscellaneous character than 
 the foregoing, but still the subject must come 
 within the description of historic art. 
 
 Subjects of the first class, to be chosen by the 
 artists themselves; each picture to contain at least 
 thirteen figures the size of life, and no picture to 
 
CONCLUSION. 365 
 
 exceed the dimensions of the cartoons at Hampton 
 Court. 
 
 The first prize of the first class to be 3000?. ; 
 2nd prize, 2000?. ; 3rd prize, 1000?. 
 
 The subjects of the second class to be chosen by 
 the artists, candidates ; each picture to consist of 
 at least seven figures (size of life) ; if on a smaller 
 scale, to consist of thirteen figures ; no picture of 
 this class to be smaller than the " Death of General 
 Wolfe," by West. 
 
 Of this class, the first prize to be 1500?. ; 2nd, 
 1000?. ; and 3rd, 750?. 
 
 Subjects of third class to be chosen by artists, 
 candidates ; the limitation as the second class, but 
 imrestricted as to the number of figures ; being 
 intended to embrace all such productions of the 
 pencil, of one figure or more ; the size not to be 
 smaller than those of the " Sacraments," by 
 Poussin. 
 
 First prize in this class, 750?. ; 2nd, 500?. ; and 
 3rd, 300?. 
 
 A reward of 500?. each to three most deserving 
 candidates of the first class, who have not got a 
 prize. 
 
 300?. to each of three unsuccessful candidates in 
 the second class. 
 
 R 3 
 
366 CONCLUSION. 
 
 150?. to each of three unsuccessful candidates in 
 the 3rd class, who shall be judged most deserving. 
 
 The prize pictures to become the property of the 
 nation ; to be presented as an honourable decora- 
 tion to some of our churches, palaces, or places of 
 public worship ; the pictures to be publicly exhibited 
 at the British Gallery for two months ; a com- 
 mittee of the directors and of the Royal Academy 
 to examine all the works offered for the prizes. 
 
 To supply the funds, 5000?. to be voted annually 
 by Government, under the management of the pre- 
 sident and directors of the British Institution. 
 
 This sum to be annually placed in the funds ; at 
 the end of the third year the whole, with the inte- 
 rest, to be applied to carry the object into effect. 
 
 This plan was certainly calculated, if carried into 
 effect, to arouse the higher energies of British 
 genius ; and perhaps some great statesman may yet 
 arise in our country, capable of properly estimating 
 the arts, and at the same time with eloquence to 
 persuade his opponents out of their erroneous 
 opinions, or to enlighten their understandings in 
 these important concerns. He should also be en- 
 dued with an indomitable moral courage, and con- 
 stancy in the promotion of those high interests, so 
 dear to civilization : he should be unawed by the 
 
CONCLUSION. 367 
 
 vulgar clamour of party spirit, and despise the 
 drivelling of pseudo-economists, mindful only of his 
 country's prosperity and honour. 
 
 We are far, therefore, from despairing of the 
 ultimate triumph of high art in England : ^ in every 
 other great pursuit, whether naval or military, 
 whether in the walks of elevated science, poetry, or 
 general literature ; the intellectual, as well as the 
 moral and physical energies of the British people, 
 have shown themselves second in achievement, we 
 believe, to none, and superior to many nations. 
 
 ' Previous to Horace Walpole's " Anecdotes of Painting," 
 1762-71, it appears as he states, that, while the French, Italian, 
 and German authors, had written numerous works in commenda- 
 tion of the arts in those countries, " England, which does not 
 always err in vaunting its own productions, has not a single vo- 
 lume to show on the works of its painters." The case is now in 
 this respect very different. 
 
 There have been two large editions of the " Anecdotes" pub- 
 lished since that time, — the last is Dallawy's ; also Edwards's book 
 on the same subject. The admirable courses of lectures alluded 
 to, at the Royal Academy, by Sir Joshua Reynolds, Barry, Opie, 
 West, Fuseli, and Sir M. A. Shee's Poem on Art, Mr. Northcote's 
 and Mr. A. Cunningham's life of Reynolds, Mr. Beechey's edition 
 of Reynolds's works, &c., Mr. Hope's excellent work, Mr. Sydney 
 Taylor's, the firm and successful advocate for the preservation of 
 the Ladye Chapel, St. Alban's Abbey, and above twenty of the 
 handsomest of our city churches, and of the splendid screen of 
 " York Minster," which had been wantonly doomed to destruc- 
 tion, Mr. Offley's work on art, &c. &c. The works of these 
 gentlemen have in some degree vindicated the cause of the arts 
 and of artists from the mass of ignorance and misapprehension, 
 by which the public mind was long overshadowed with respect 
 
368 CONCLUSION. 
 
 Why any doubt should still exist, as to the national 
 capabilities for excelling in the nobler arts, it is 
 difficult, and for us impossible, even to conceive ; 
 we may be partial, perhaps, to the character of our 
 native country, but until a full and fair trial of this 
 important question shall have determined that we 
 are wrong, we must beg leave still to maintain on 
 this national subject our expressed opinions. 
 
 Amongst other proofs of our advancement in the 
 arts, ai'e two societies of architects that have been 
 established within the last seven years. One is 
 denominated " The Architectural Society" (35, 
 Lincoln's -inn-fields); the other is called "The 
 Institute of Architecture," and has its sittings at 
 Brook-street, Grosvenor-square. This latter has 
 a charter of incorporation ; both these societies 
 are self-supported. 
 
 " A School of Design" has also been established 
 (1837) at the old rooms of the Royal Academy, 
 Somerset House. This is supported by grants 
 from the public funds ; its object is to give in- 
 struction to the various classes of artisans and 
 mechanics. 
 
 to the real state and character of our native school ; and it is 
 hoped that their good example will stimulate our men of litera- 
 ture generally, to look with the same kind and true feeling upon 
 the fine arts of their own country, as the same valuable class 
 do in France, Germany, and other continental nations. 
 
CONCLUSION. 369 
 
 There has also been formed, within a year or 
 two, a society called " The Art Union Society ;" 
 the members of which subscribe a certain sum 
 annually (one guinea, or upwards) ; these funds, 
 after paying the expenses, are devoted to the pur- 
 chasing of pictures, drawings, enamels, sculpture, 
 medals, or engravings. Every member, for each 
 guinea subscribed, is to have a chance of obtaining 
 one work at the annual drawing of prizes ; the work 
 to be selected out of any of the exhibitions by the 
 successful drawer of a prize.' 
 
 • The facilities for acquiring sound instruction in the true prin- 
 ciples of art, have also increased considerably. The Royal Aca- 
 demy supports three schools in their establisiiment, viz. the 
 Antique School, for studying from the best antique models, both 
 in drawing and modelling ; the Living Model School, for similar 
 purposes. Into these two about twenty pupils are annually ad- 
 mitted ; and have the privilege of studying for ten years. The 
 Painting School is for the more advanced students ; in this school 
 they are instructed in copying some of the best pictures of the ditfer- 
 ent schools, by which they are enabled to acquire a correct know- 
 ledge of the mechanical processes and materials employed in the 
 good schools of art. Besides these means of practical instruction, 
 there are five courses of lectures, likewise gratuitous ; tiiese are 
 given to the exhibitors as well as students. The courses are on 
 painting, sculpture, architecture, perspective, and anatomy. The 
 professors now are Mr. Howard, Sir Richard Westmacott, and 
 Mr. Wilkins : the professorship of perspective is vacant at pre- 
 sent ; the course of anatomical lectures is delivered regularly by 
 Mr, Green, the professor. 
 
 Every second year three prizes (gold medals) are given ; one 
 
370 CONCLUSION. 
 
 in each of the higher schools of drawing, sculpture, and architec- 
 ture. Out of the gold medal men one is selected to be sent to 
 Italy for three years; they are taken in rotation, and each is sup- 
 ported those three years at the expense of the Academy. 
 
 When the gold medals are bestowed, a number of silver medals, 
 not exceeding fifteen, are also given to the students, three in each 
 class, viz. : — drawings from the living model, models in clay, also 
 from the life ; drawings from an antique figure, or group, and 
 models of an antique figure or group, and for architectural 
 drawings of some one of our public buildings : and in the inter- 
 mediate years, five silver medals are given. The lectures and 
 premiums are provided for entirely out of the funds of the 
 Royal Academy. 
 
 There are some other schools of instruction, but not of so com- 
 plete a character as those of the Royal Academy. Mr. Sass is pro- 
 prietor of one of these for elementary instruction in the principles 
 of the art, and in drawing from the antique. 
 
 There is, likewise, the Living Model Academy, in Upper St. 
 Martin's-lane, where the study of the antique and the living mo- 
 dels is constantly carried on in the evenings. This is an inde- 
 pendent society, which was formed about seventeen years ago, near 
 Temple Bar ; and numbered amongst its members some of the 
 ablest artists of the British school. Its terms are very moderate, 
 and its discipline similar to that of the Royal Academy. 
 
 There are, or were, also two or three places of study, termed 
 " Rustic Academies," and " Drapery Schools;" but they do not 
 appear to get much encouragement, as they tend to depress in- 
 stead of elevating the taste of the students. Nothing fine in 
 drawing, or elevated in character or sentiment, can be acquired 
 in places where the clumsy and graceless figures and attitudes of 
 our costermongers, gypsies, fishmen and women, &c., are the 
 objects of study; and along with the loss of refinement in taste, 
 there is great danger of the feeling for good colour being injured ; 
 and there is no chance of even a tolerable knowledge of drawing 
 being acquired in these studios. As to subjects, they afford no 
 higher views of human nature and action than the low Dutch 
 schools ; but are very much below them in all the mastery of the 
 painting tools and materials. 
 
CONCLUSION. 371 
 
 The affection we bear to the arts obliges us to point out those 
 very erroneous modes of study ; these are not only our opinions, 
 but also those of the ablest artists of the British school. 
 
 It was not by these modes of study that the artists now conspi- 
 cuous in the British school acquired that knowledge and the 
 refined taste, which raised them to the elevated positions wliere 
 they stand, whether in painting, sculpture, or architecture : — in 
 every one of these departments, the young aspirants for profes- 
 sional distinction will find the best examples of talent, and social 
 qualities, which they would do well to imitate and acquire. Let the 
 pupils, therefore, eschew discontent, and follow witli patient in- 
 dustry and good feeling, their laborious avocation, as the surest 
 and best means of attaining to the highest honours in their elegant 
 profession. 
 
 Besides the exhibition at the Royal Academy, there are two 
 others at the British Institution, Pall Mall ; one in the earlier part 
 of the spring, for new pictures, and one in the summer for old 
 paintings. There is also the British Artists' Gallery in Suffolk- 
 street, which opens in April for three months ; and the old and 
 new societies of Water Colour Painters ; each of these societies 
 has an annual exhibition, which is well attended. 
 
 The National Gallery, at Trafalgar-square, is open gratuitously 
 to the public on the four first days in each week ; and both here 
 and at the summer exhibition at the British Institution, artists 
 are allowed to copy the pictures under certain regulations. 
 
 Having now offered to the British public the above facts and 
 circumstances, connected with the arts, in a compendious form, 
 some of which lie scattered over the pages of numerous volumes, 
 whilst others are produced for the first time, from the best 
 sources of information ; the Author respectfully submits his 
 labours to the indulgent consideration of his readers. 
 
 THE END. 
 
LONDON : 
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THE ART 
 
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