OF THE U N I V LRS ITY Of ILLI NOIS 751 . 4 - Os Ih The person charging this material is re- sponsible for its return on or before the Latest Date stamped below. Theft, mutilation, and underlining of books are reasons for disciplinary action and may result in dismissal from the University. HANDBOOK OF OILPAfNTING Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Alternates https://archive.org/details/handbookofyounga00osbo_0 HANDBOOK OF YOUNG ARTISTS AND AMATEURS IN OILPAINTING BEING CHIEFLY A CONDENSED COMPILATION FROM THE CELEBRATED MANUAL OF BOUVIER, WITH ADDITIONAL MATTER SELECTED FROM THE LABORS OF MERIMEE, DE MONTABERT AND OTHER DISTINGUISHED CONTINENTAL WRITERS IN THE ART In Qcven |)arta I. Materials and Implements of the Art 17 Certain matters holding a middle place between the materials and practice III. The First- Palette, or Deadcoloring IV. The Second or Finishing Palette V. The Painting of Draperies VI. Landsco-pepainting VII. The Varnishing, Cleaning, Re- pairing, and Dining of Pictures TUK WHOLE ADAPTED BY THE METHOD OF ITS ARRANGEMENTS AND THE COIF PLETBNESS OF ITS DETAIL AS WELL FOR A TEXTBOOK IN ACADEMIES OF BOTH SEXES AS FOR SELFINSTRUCTION APPENDLD A NEW EXPLANATOM AND CRITICAL V0CA8DLAR7 BY AN AMERICAN ARTIST NEW YORK: JOHN WILEY & SON, PUBLISHERS, 2 Clinton Hall, Astor Plaob. 1869. VS-Af I know not that any author has proceeded on the plan that 1 have adopted ; I am acquainted with no work, comprising Steffi' dent details and developments to enable a young student to essay by himself, without other guide than written lessons, his talent in the art of painting . — Boxjvier. Among the different processes which I indicate, there will be found perhaps some that the best artists would not disdain to adopt. In all the arts, if persons, who have given themselves to research, had communicated to their fellows the particular modes of operation which had succeeded with them, the arts would have been the gainers: these auxiliary means do not confer talent, but *hey faeV'tate the labor of the artist.— Ssme. PREFACE In adopting for the present volume, though with a slight qualification, the title of the book on whose copious material it is so broadly based, I have been governed by the same motives that would seem to have influenced the choice of its venerable author, the fear namely, that a more ambitious designation, less limited in scope, would be misinterpreted into a pretension to a higher office than that of detailing practical instruction to the young and inexperienced. Within, however, this narrow area, I cannot hesitate to claim for my compilation, after much comparison with other practical works in various tongues, from the remotest authors down to those of the immediate day, the value of being the most complete instruction- book in oilpainting ever published. All other trea- tises seem to take it for granted that the reader is more or less exercised in the art; the Manua^ of Bouvier supposes nothing of the kind : from the mix ing of his tints down to the spreading of his varnish, and even the removing of the latter when it needs renewing, every subject that it handles is treated Vlll PREFACE. with the most minute detail. Nor in the hints I have adopted from other authors, and in the matter I have here and there added of my own, do I think that I have ever forgotten this principle of procedure. But let it not be supposed that with this initiation of the young, the as yet “ profanum vulgus,” into the mysteries of our art, the Handbook finishes its func- tions. The forty-three years^ study and experience, the great good-sense, sound perceptions, and perfect sincerity of the artist-author whom I have chosen as my principal guide, and the undiminished popularity of his Manual, not only with learners but with artists of established name, (indeed we may say with all in any way connected with the art, including the manu- facturers of its materials), on the continent of Europe, — added to this, the care bestowed by the compiler in the diligent collation of other authorities, — warrant the assumption, that even for the professed artist there will be found something useful in the following pages ; and a translated passage, which on the fifth page takes the place of a motto, shows that Bouvier himself anticipated such an extension of the field of his usefulness. Nor to these two classes alone do I think the work confined. Besides the “ amateurs ” that are intended in the title (amateur-painters doubtless), there is an- other kind that never assume the pencil, many of PREFACE. which claim and are allowed the designation even of connoisseurs, without that knowledge of the art which I do insist upon it is essential, not only to form a judge of its beauties, but to make one really their ardent and consistent, certainly their enlightened lover. It cannot, I think, be doubted, that a true re- lish of any of the arts can only be possessed after some acquaintance with the modes by which their results are attained. It needs not, it is true, that one should write verses, carve statues and compose mu- sic, to be a judicious lover of all those arts to which such performances belong, though to be a thorough judge of them I think it does ; but it is very sure, that to love them with a true perception of their beauties one must know in each by what principles it is governed in its operations, or, in the phrase of M. de Quincy, what are the Nature, End, and Means of the Imitation* it proposes as its object. When this knowledge is possessed, the pleasure that they give, in their more successful achievements, amounts to rapture ; and the possessor is fairly entitled to speak of them as one who in a measure knows. Without it, the love is capricious, weak, uncertain, a transient emotion, like all feelings that are not well founded, * M. Quatremlre de Quincy published a volume with this title, as translated by Mr. Kent in 1837, (Lond. 8vo,) It is a work of in- terest and instruction, that I can safely recommend. X PREFACE. and as likely to be directed to an unworthy object as to one of merit, if not more so ; while to attempt to pass judgment, is a presumption for which the critic himself, when at a later day more enlightened, will in secret blush under his own reproof. This of course will be contested ; but I appeal, for the truth, nay, for the moderation of my assertions, to those who are witnesses of the daily follies perpetrat- ed in the name of criticism in matters of art, of which the very presumption of the judgment marks too evidently that it came from no legitimate tri- bunal. Now the reading, I think, of this treatise, though it cannot supply in any respect the want of those higher works which treat of the theory of the art, and of which there are great numbers in all lan- guages, and very many of the best of them within the reach of even cisatlantic amateurs, will be not a little useful to promote that appreciation of painting, and that discrimination of what in it is really good, which are particularly desirable at the present mo- ment, when we are opening our eyes, as a people, to the advantages of its cultivation. — Further, the last division, or Part VII., of the treatise will be found of service to the mere owners of paintings, who are apt to suffer from their confidence in pretended picture cleaners and restorers, a confidence that even so PREFACE. XI slight a Knowledge of their practice, as is here (con- sistently with the limits of the work) presented, would better direct. Remember, this volume is a compilation, and merely put forward as such, though one of much labor as I shall directly show ; for, except in matters that de- pend not for their ascertainment upon long experi- ence, but simply on observation, study, and general theoretical knowledge, I have never presumed to ad- vance any counsel of my own in important points, where to follow it might be attended with bad re- sults, reserving it (saving in the matters just except- ed) for trifling details of practice, or common manual operations, in which an experience long and diligent like Bouvier’s, or an extensive practical knowledge like that of other authorities consulted, was noway needed. This I should have done in any event, but writing anonymously it becomes to me imperative. Hence for the preceding remarks on the utility of this hand- book, I have no occasion to plead the argument of the facetious Tuscan : . . . “ tal volta, ira I’ignota gente, Lecito ad un’ ignoto e gloriarsi, . E dir le laudi sue, per fare attente Le persone, e la grazia guadagnarsi.”* Sometimes, when unknown folk surround you^ Xll PREFACE. Nay, as a compilation of any sort falls under the category of those “ lower employments of life ” in which Dr. Johnson chose to class the labors of his Dictionary, where one is “ exposed to censure with- out hope of praise ” and where success is without applause, and diligence without reward, it may be al- lowed me to assume a like privilege with that formi- dable name, and show what I have done to reduce, into a little world of order, the somewhat chaotic mass of Bouvier’s abundant and valuable elements, and to make, to the system when reduced, such addi- tions as would render it more fertile in good results. Now that the task is over, which I had not under- taken had I anticipated half its difficulty, I am well satisfied, feeling only a regret that I had not met with the original manual at an earlier day and been there- by tempted, as I might have been, to do what I have done now, which would have spared me in not a few particulars what I hope to spare the reader in all, in- finite pains and worse than profitless experiment. Can I, as an artist, well say more ? Indeed, until I To whom you are unknown, ’tis fair to mention Your claims to worth, that they may not confound you With vulgar men, but show you due attention : (Bkrni. Orl. Innarn. i. 2,c. xx i.) an illustrious exampl of which politic immodesty, by the by, wa# Ulysses in the palace of Alcinous. PREFACE. Xlll had entered fully on this my task, with the volume before me, carefully reading and weighing all the matter, to select what would be for my purpose, I did not know all that I had lost by the want of it at the outset of my own studies. That many more will be ready to acknowledge the same, when they turn ovei these pages, I have not the shadow of a doubt. But no one can conceive the difficulty the writer has undergone in unraveling the knot of Bouvier’s labors ; for such it is, despite its value and its fidel- ity, a voluminous confusion of precious principles and discoveries, results of experience, processes of operation, etc., etc., all mixed together, appearing, dis- appearing and reappearing in different parts, and covered up moreover, if not at times concealed, by an immensity of verbiage, such as at his age (“ na- tura loquacior”) its excellent author might indulge in, where delivering his Lessons* by word of mouth and to a familiar pupil. I trust I have overcome thi? difficulty completely, but I assure the reader who i? to profit by my industry and patience, that in the course of a long and more or less constant experi- ence in letters I have never before, save on one occa- sion, suffered such accesses of nervous irritability as in the drudgery of this last and least performance. In fact, even when disentangled of its numerous • Bouvier has so termed the divisions of his book. XIV PREFACE. and perplexing repetitions, and when cleared front the ambiguity of its uncertain and (considering its subject) dangerous style, the work remains a perfect Don Juan of didactic prose. The good old artist- teachei, like the great bard in that striking poem, leaves his subject half way in the division of his work that he has himself assigned to it, and talks of various other topics in the art which rise up in con- nection, and pursues these latter till the real theme is lost, to be taken up again, when we least look for it, in some other part, which in its turn it has usurped as its own was usurped before. This in a didactic work becomes exceedingly embarrassing, and more than half the force of his instruction, which, this digressiveness apart, no man is better qualified to give, evaporates. To take an image from our own art, it is as in some picture, where the de- sign and composition are both masterly, but the chiar- oscuro badly managed, so that all unity of effect is lost, and the eye distracted by a variety of little lights of equal power scattered everywhere, and never knowing on which one to fix, — the picture sinning thus against the unimpeachable principle of all art, and producing a bewilderment not unaptly compared, by artists and connoisseurs, to the Babel of a company where everybody should attempt to speak at once. Yet such as he is, we may adapt to this PREFACE. XV amiable artist-author in his own sphere some such expression as the witty and vivacious Hamilton ap- plies in eulogy to the philosopher of Chaeronea, whose features as a biographer he had been playfully sketch- ing,* and claim for him the merit of being, of all in- structors in the practice of the art, the one to whom a tyro-painter may easily owe most. Begging pardon for this egotism., into which I have been led by accident, I will merely add, that the dif- ficulty of the task as here recounted should be the completest evidence that I can offer, of the value I set upon the Handbook, now presented, as a guide to all young artists and to amateurs. It had been so much easier, and so much more meritorious in the eyes of the artist- world to write a volume of one’s own, that when in preference I give the pith of another’s com- position, remodelling it in its arrangement, clearing it of its ambiguity, and changing altogether its desul- tory, involved, and rather garrulous style, putting, in a word, its various confused but mostly precious pieces together in their proper places, now diminishing, now enlarging them, and now again substituting a cor- rector part, and adding to the elaborate mosaic, so as to make one uniform whole whose various derivation shall not be perceptible, the equally valuable materi- als gathered from various other sources, usually of a ’ In the (of their kind, incomparable) MSmoires de Grammont XVI PREFACE. higher classification still, — when, I say, I present so elaborate a compilation, whose most favorable recep- tion can bring me no honor, though, I may be per- mitted to repeat, it would have been so much easier to have written out a volume exclusively my own, which, in case of its success, would have satisfied ambition and given pleasure to vanity, it must be evident that I have thought the present work would be greatly more complete from its minute detail, more worthy of confidence from the reputation and experience of the authors, and more directly advantageous in all points of view to the class of persons to whose use it is especially dedicated. In this work, as I have written it, I shall be found to have used few expressions that are purely techni- cal. For the explication of these few, should they despite the context, present any difficulty, the student is referred to the Dictionarrj of Terms at the end of the volume. In this Dictionary, which as being a work of my own left me more unrestrained, I m€iy be thought by some persons to have given too much space to philological criticism, besides entermg toe much into detail, in some other particulars, rather the- oretical than practical ; as, for example, in considering the words jEsthetic, Ectype, Eurythmy, Impasto- Incarnate^ Isabelle, Lazzi, Nimbus, Relief, etc., etc. but they must remember, that, though no longer in PREFACE. XVI the pinnace of my commander, I am yet steering for the same port. My object is the instruction, not of artists, but of those that would be such ; and with the high idea I have of painting, and of its profes- sors (as they should be), my duty could not other- wise have well been done than as accident has made me find it my delight to do it. “ You must know,” says the old Cennino — as Mrs. Merrifield translates him, “ that painting pictures is the proper employ- ment of a gentleman ; and that with velvet on his back he may paint what he pleases and to be a “ gentleman,” or (as we should say, in modern times, in the phrase of Cennino), with broadcloth on his hack, the painter should not only use the language of his art with propriety and understanding, but with ele- gance. Finally, the Index, at the close of the treatise, is one of those things that I consider necessary in all such books as the present. Its uses need no expla- nation ; nor will the young artist be slow in availing himself of such an assistance. First, however, let the book be well gone through, not once, but twice, adding thereto the Dictionary just mentioned, which contains much useful information on some of the most important and best established principles of the art. A. A. New York, April, 1845. ADDRESS TO THE YOUNG ARTIST “ Imagine not that the profession of a painter is that of an idler ; on the contrary, it is of all occupations the one perhaps that requires most activity ; for one is con- stantly engaged, if not with the art itself, at least with its materials. “ All true artists will tell you, that if the art of paint- ing were not in itself replete with charms, as in fact it is for all those who practise it with love, it would be a very painful pursuit, so many precautions are there to be taken, so many things to be calculated, foreseen, and prepared, independently of the considerable time which must be consecrated to it for the art itself, if one would make progress.” Thus says the excellent Genevan, whom I shall so often present to your respect and affection ; and it is but simple truth. How indeed should it be otherwise with the pro- fession of a painter, since it is so in every part of life ? Mentally, morally, physically, our whole existence is a struggle against obstacles. Happy he, not who has the fewest to encounter, but who has the most spirit and perseverance to surmount them, or the resignation to submit to disappointment, when they prove insuperable ! XX ADDRLSS TO THE YOUNG ARTIST. But courage ! the way though difficult, — arduous ana perplexing more than you can yet conceive, has been trodden without fear by multitudes, and with good success by not a few ; there is no reason then, that, with zeal and constancy, the same Alps should not be climbed, the same valleys descended into, still ; and the guides we have pro- vided for the perilous and toilsome way are of the best that could be had, long experienced in the route, faithful in their undertaken duties, and animated with a heartfelt interest in the success of the adventurous traveller whose, steps they have professed to lead. All that is needed is perseverance. If this be not, better at once give over the attempt ; for be assured that without it there i^.- no real genius. No, not in anything ! And here, in this particular art, the great Da Vinci has made it a test of real aptitude for its pursuit, maintaining that to be dis heartened by its difficulties, or to weary of its toil, is 8». proof that the desire for success therein is a mere tempo- rary emotion, the child of vanity and caprice, such as is born to thousands, and not the legitimate offspring of a genius for painting : which be assured is rational dis- course. These thousands that I speak of, are they nai seen daily in the sister-art of poetry (that twin that never should be separated, though too often found so, from her womb-fellow, whom she loves with ardor that is seldom more than feebly returned, and to whose side she would ever cling, but that the latter is, in many ways, for ever repulsing her sweet advances), — do we not see them as ADDRESS TO THE YOUNG ARTIST. xxi Vicn AS with us, rhymers for occasion, as there are painters for the friend’s or parent’s parlor ? To be such is not difficult : here in this very volume will such aspirants find all that is needful fcr instruction. But I will suppose you animated with a loftier and a steadier fire. You will not then be chilled at a first, no, nor second, nor yet a third failure : do what you will, most if not all of the errors, that are particularly noted in the treatise as incidental to beginners, will be more or less conspicuous in your early essays. But you are taught, that they are errors ; and you will correct them. What Winkelmann says of the fine arts in general,* may be applied to their practice in every particular instance ; that is to say, as they have had their childhood and pubescence, in which only the bombastic and wonder- ful gave pleasure, so through all time the commencement of the art in each individual painter displays, with very rare exceptions, the wish to excite admiration by means which more experience, and a taste more highly cultivated, teach him to reject. If, as that judicious, though enthusi- * “ Die schonen Kunste haben ihre Jugend so wohl, wie die MenscheUi und der Anfang dieser Kunste scheinet wie der Anfang hey Kunstlern gewesen zu seyn, wo nur das Hochtra- bendOy das Erstaunende gefdllt, Solche Gestalt hatte die tragische Muse des Aeschylus, und sein Agamemnon ist zum Theil durch Hyperbolen viel dunkler geworden, als alles, was Heraklit geschrieben. Vielleicht haben die ersten griechischen Maler nicht anders gezeichnet, als ihr erster guter Tragicus gedichtet hat* Nachahmung der griechischen We rke. Dresd.yll^Q. S. 24. Xlii ADDRESS TO THE YOUNG ARTIST. astic scholar conjectures, the earliest painters jf immortal Greece designed not otherwise than her first good tragic- poet composed, so in all time the first paintings of every artist will be but as the first attempts at verse of every poet, displaying power perhaps, but little regulated, and ^ taste in its immaturity, or under the evil rule of a domi- nant vanity. Further, in all human performances, the violent and impetuous, the volatile and superficial, go before; they are the un weighed action and the glittering but unsubstan- tial product of ill-regulated talent, pleased with its own exertion, excited by the anticipation of its longed-for triumph, and dazzled at the crude splendor and florid unsubstantiality of its own success : slowly after them, but eventually to take the lead and long to keep it, march the grave and solid, the steady, self-collected, and sedate ; the long-meditated, but perhaps rapidly executed achievements of well-grounded principles, whose base is nature, and whose structure analysis and the sober observation and comparison of known results.* * “ Das Heftige, das Fluchtige gehet in alien menschlichen Handlungen voran ; das Gesetze, das Grundliche folget zuletzt.” Same ; same place. He adds well : “ Dieses letztere aber gebrau- chet Zeit, es zu bewundern ; es ist nur grossen Meistern eigen : heftige Leidenschaften sind ein Vortheil auch fiir ihre Schuler.” Winkelmann’s object, however, is to institute a comparison favor- able to that noble simplicity and calm grandeur (“ die edle Einfalt und stille Grosse”) which everybody acknowledges, by his heart if not his lips, to be one of the divinest characteristics of a ADDRESS TO THE YOUNG ARTIST. XXlll And as for what concerns the mere management of the pencil in every part, it is evident that a watchful, diligent, and thoughtful practice, a practice that is not merely of the hand and eyes but also of the mind, preceded, fol- lowed, and sustained throughout by judicious and incessant observation and comparison, will be needed even here. But why need I dilate on what must be self-manifest? Even Titian, we are told, was hard at first, — (and we can readily suppose it ; his very anxiety to render nature with exactness would lead him into such a fault) ; and do we not know that RaphaeFs early style was stiff, and that he has left examples, dry* and destitute of fine relief ? The nice perception and the sensibility for colors are undoubt- edly a gift of nature, as is the sense of melody ; yet how many from natural adaptation alone have become musi- cians ? And even these, rare as comets in the planetary system, the erratic meteors of brief and distant intervals, even these required practice, ere they manifested perfect skill. plurali*/ jf the Greek statues, the essence of their typical divinity in fact, and to the observation of which I have no doubt was owing, as Winkelmann himself supposes, the chief merits of Raphael’s design. But that does not render the citation less apposite for my text, the sentiments of which I have sought to make respectable by associating them with those of so high an authority. * Dry , and, above. Hard . — These are what we consider instances of the tse of terms in a sense “ purely technical,” as said on page xvi. : its ooject is to save a circumlocution that, if more intelligible, would be Jjss expressive. The beginner will consult the Dtc- tionary XXiy ADDRESS TO THE YOUNG ARTIST. Once more then, courage ! Though not here, as in some necromancer’s castle of antique romance, where merely to touch a forbidden sword, or wind the magic horn whose echoes threatened instantaneous annihilation, was to dissolve at once the baseless fabric of enchantment, is it needed simply to have firmness and a fixed resolve in order to conquer, yet to dare nobly (never rashly) is certainly the first step to victory. Never rashly ; no, the very first thing you should do, is well to ascertain your proper strength, and where your talent really lies, as the familiar poet, whom I shall be found to have more than one occasion to cite for your instruction, has so well advised ; for the rules of his art are those, in their abstract principles, which regulate your own : “ Sumite materiam vestris, qui pingitis, aequam Viribus; et versate diu, quid ferre recusent. Quid valeant humeri.” A. A. POSTSCRIPT-ADVERTISEMENT Since this volume was prepared for the press, and accepted by the publishers, the author or compiler has thoroughly revised it, and added many useful little items from Mr. Field’s Chromatography y and from some other English works of the immediate period. His confidence tnerefore in its utility, to the Young Artist and the Amateur, is rendered if possible still more positive ; and he issues it now with the full assurance, that, for all that it pretends to teach, the Handbook will be found not wanting in any point of informa- tion made requisite by the present state of the Art of Oilpainting. ^ovembert 1845. • : \ -i '. V X ., Wf n^ '■'(> ^<1 nr- *r\z 'll. wi ‘■<-i >> .W', f >:;•' .f<*„ '•■«;* '5>.;r «'* • *«f .^(Cia5jfJ^r''|| IS. ' ' ■ '•'■*■ i^,', ...^ ■,.4-.. %'\i : ^. . , > ( '♦ .,-••>••■. ^ T. ».►[(>(. I di,* f, ^ ^ *'■ :'.- 4 .'M / ... , ■ . ■ ':. Vi ^.;»'l|■. , '•»»’'■>. i.4jtAV i|Hr'‘ •■ ^V\# '■ THE SEVEN PARTS OF THE HANDBOOK. CONTENTS OF THE CHAPTERS. FIRST PART. THE MATERIALS AND IMPLEMENTS OF PAINTING. Chapter I. List of the best colors employed by artist*^ with their quality as good or bad driers Page 1 II. Detailed account of the nature, properties, and uses of the various colors given in the preceding List i III. List of all the colors at present employed in paint- ings arranged in three elassesy according to their d::> gree of fixedness or permanence IV. Brief account of the nature^ properties and uses of such pigmentSy in the preceding Listy as have not al- ready been described in Chapter 11. V. Summary of the opinions generally received with re- gard to the solidity of the various colors now in use for oilpainting. 54 VI. Methods of making certain colors that are not to be obtained at the shops, but yet are indicated in the preced- ing chapters 59 VII. Manner of burning Venice Lake or Carmine, to deepen their toney and add solidityy — an invention of M Bouvier’s 65 xxviii CONTENTS. Vlli. Of prepared colors^ and of the manner of keeping them when in quantity 66 IX. Of the different oils used as vehicles of color 70 X. Q/* Drying-oil, and its uses 73 XI. Another drying-oil ; the invention of Grandi 75 XII. Methods of bleaching Poppy-oil, and rendering it more desiccative ; with a succinct account of other white and pale Drying-oils 76 XIII. Certain varnishesj used by some painters^ or for specific purposes^ as vehicles of color 79 XIV. Of volatile-oils 83 XV. O/* Asphaltum, and the methods of preparing it for use 86 XVI. Varnish for pictures y when finished 91 XVII. Of Pencils and Brushes ; and how to choose them, 93 XVIII. How to clean them 96 XIX. How to preserve them from moths 99 XX. Of Palettes y Easels y and the Rest-stick 102 XXL Of the Slab and Muller ; and of the mode of Using and of cleaning them 105 XXII. Of the Mannekin or Lay figure ; with a description of a kind which the artist may construct economically himself 109 XXIII. Of Picturecloths and Panels 113 XXIV. Showingy by an actual Bill of SalCy at what cost i/ie beginner may essay his talent for oUpainting , .. 118 CONTENTS. xxil SECOND PART OF CERTAIN MATTERS WHICH BELONG NOT SO MUCH TO THE MATERIAL OF PAINTING AS TO ITS OPERATIONS, AND WHICH HAVE THEREFORE NOT BEEN COMPRISED IN THE FIRST PART, THOUGH THEY SHOULD BE KNOWN PREVIOUSLY TO ENTERING ON THE THIRD. I. The study or workroom of the painter : its dimensions^ and the proper light for it in ordinary 124 II, How to procure particular reflections, and modify the tones given by the walls or ordinary objects of the paint- er’s study ; and how to exclude reflections coming from objects without 129 III. Of certain peculiar lights that may be given to the model, on occasion 133 ifow Oie artist may best secure himself against dust 135 V. O/* Glazing. Its advantages and disadvantages..., 137 VI, Of Preparations 14(J VII. Of or Thick Painting 143 \rill. List of colors sufficiently transparent for the purpose of Glazing 145 IX. Useful Hints and Observations with regard to Glazing 146 X General Advice to the Young Artist, or Amateur, for tuC laying-on of his colors 149 xxz CONTENTS. THIRD PART. THE FIRST PALETTE, OR DEADCOLORINO. I. Composition and methodical arrangement of the Fleshtints for the First-Palette. IM II. The Palette completed by the Tints for the Acces- sories 164 HI. Return to the matter of Chapter 11. ; with some obser- vations on the advantage to a Young Artist of a syste- matic and detailed arrangement of the tints of his palette 166 IV. In what way the Design is transferred to the canvas or other subjectile, and then rectified^ and made out more distinctly^ with the hair-pencil 16S V. The process of First-painting or Deadcoloring 172 VI. Exemplification of the method inculcated in the pre- ceding chapter 176 VII. Of the different tints of the Reflections in Carnations 179 VIII. The method of blending or melting the tints together J80 IX. Of certain Finishing-touches for the completion of the First-painting 183 X. The work of the First-painting distributed into days 187 XI. The deadcoloring of the Background and other acces- sories 180 XII. The drying of the Sketch or First-painting. ........ 192 XIII. Rubens^ Lesson to the Young Artist 1®^ CONTENTS. XXZl FOURTH PART. THE SECOND OR FINISHING PALETTE. L Composition and methodical arrangement of the Fleshtints for the Second-Palette 199 II. Completion of the Second-Palette 208 III. How to prepare the sketch for Repainting 210 IV. Process of the Second-painting ; for the Head in general 212 V. The process for the Eyes, and parts connected 216 VI. The Painting of the Neck, Shoulders and Breast. . . . 219 VII. The Arms and Hands 222 VIII. Of certain Defects of the Skin 224 IX. Of Fidelity of Resemblance 226 X. Recapitulation ; including some additional observa- tions on the Finishing 230 XI. The work of the Second painting distributed 235 XII. The Artisfs Mirror 238 FIFTH PART. TF THE PAINTING OF DRAPERIES, AND THEIR MANAGEMEI^I IN GENERAL. I. General observations on the expression of the Material of Draperies 243 II. General observations *he adaptation of the Color 245 xxxii CONTENTS. Ill Of the Cast, or Adjustment of Draperies 247 IV. In what manner the Material of a Drapery is char- acterized; and first, where of close texture 250 V In what manner the stuff is characterized where light and transparent 252 VI. Mode, in general, of painting Draperies, exemplified in one of dark-blue cloth. The First-painting 254 VII. The Example continued. The Second-painting , 25€ V^III. Flying-Draperies 2.58 SIXTH PART. LANDSCAPE-PAINTING. I. General Observations. Imitation: Propriety 263 II. Skies an£? Distances 265 III. How Trees are charactered in their kinds. The mode o/ Leafing. Advice to the beginner 269 IV. Management of Trees in the First-painting. The Deadcolors for these and other terrestrial parts of Landscapes 271 V. The finishing of Trees and other verdant parts. Composition of Broken-Greens. Greens of the Distances. Accidents of Sunlight 273 VI. Preparation for a Landscape, when the ground of ihe subjectile is white or light- gray. Advantages of the method 275 CONTENTS. xxxiii SEVENTH PART. THE VAENISHING, CLEANING, REPAIRING, AND LINING OP PICTURES. I. Of the Varnish made of White-of-Egg, its uses and the mode of applying it 281 II. The mode of Varnishing with Mastic-Varnish 285 III. The methods of Removing a Mastic- Varnish when necessary 287 IV Of certain Injuries to which Paintings on canvas a»t tiable, and the modes of Repairing them, i . 292 Sensim per oarteo ^j^jjuntur quaelibet artet. Artis Pictorum prior factura Colorum. Pest ad miy+H''a.s comraittat mens tua curas Hoc opus exerce* sed ad unguem cuncta coherce; Ut sit ad ornatuc auod pinxeris, et quasi natum Postea, multoruiu atn^amentis ing^niorum, Ara opus augebit, — sicut liber iste docebit. , de Omni Scientia See. (From the Cambridge Mft., cm published by Raspe RT I. TOE MATERIALS AN.’ WPLEMENTS OF THE AET HANDBOOK *'OrNG ARTISTS ARD AMATEURS IW 0 I L P A I N T I N G. PARX THE FIRSX- CHAPTER I. LIST OF THE BEST COLORS EMPLOYED BY ARTISTS, WirH THETR QUALITIES AS GOOD OR BAD DRIERS. We commence our compendium by giving, with but little modification, the list of pigments and colors with which Bouvier precedes the first of his Lessons. In Chapter II. will be found a full statement of their characters, uses, and, where requisite, their mode of preparation. This List its author calls a tested or approved one ; and he adds, therein, to each color, its quality as a good or bad drier. A useful indication, which we follow. WHITES. No. 1. Krems, or Silver White. The finest prepara- tion of the oxyd or subcarbonate of lead. It dries rapidly. No. 2. The ordinary and cheaper Whitelead ; which may be used (though there is no advantage in such econo- my) for grounds, &c. Its drying-quality is of course the same. 2 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. Observ. We class the Krems and Silver White as onej because the latter name is merely significative of the brilliant and pure whiteness of the preparation ; and tlie designation, at first confined to a French manufacture {Blanc d’argent), is now applied to all whiteleads of equal quality, without regard to their place of origin. (See note to No. 1 of the next Chapler.) Flake A kite is a similar material, though generally reputed of greater body. It derives its name from its form in commerce, coming to the shops in flakes or scales, as the Krems White (which, being received directly from Vienna, has also been known as Vienna White) is imported in small cubical masses, and the Silver White proper appears in drops, that is, little cones. Flake White, when levigated, has been sometimes called Bodij-iohite, from the quality above named. Though formerly the white by preference, it is now but little used in comparison with the Krems, Kremnitz (see note as above), and Silver whites. In fact the whites of lead cari only be truly classed according to their degrees of pureness ; the first or finest comprising a"'! the artist’s best lead-whites, whether of England, Frc-ioe, Austria, or Hungary ; the second, com- mon, yet unmixed Whitelead ; and the third. Ceruse, which is whiteF-:3.d w’.th different chalky earths in various proportions. YBLLOWO-. No. 3. Naples Yellow. Fries well. No. 4. Yellow Ochre. Dries slowly, when used by itself. No. 5. Brown Ochre, or Homan Ochre ; a dusky, brown- ish yellow. Dries better than the preceding. COLORS IK ¥SE. s No. 6. Indian Yellow. Requires Drying-oil, or o^her desiccative agent. REDS. No. 7. Light Red. Dries quite well. No. 8. Brown Red. Same property. ? 'o, 9. Vermilions, bo:h European and Chinese. Dry slowly, fb*. 10. Madder-Lakes, of different degrees of intensity, h bv' I file Rose to Crims -m. Dry very slowly. No. 11. Burnt Carmine, or Bt. Venetian Lake. Dries N:i. 12. English Red (^Prussian, or Venetian Red), Dries tolerably. — Bt. Italian Earth ( Terre PItalie ; Terra Italia) is a very fine deep brownish red, of powerful tone ; but according to Bouvier it has a great tendency (like other bituminous earths), to darken by age : hence he omits it in the List, substituting this safer pigment. In respect of solidity, however, it will be seen, in Chapter III., that a reliable authority ranks this ochre, when burnt, in the first order of colors. It is without doubt to be classed in its raw and calcined state with Raw and Burnt Sienna. BLUES. No. 13. Ultramarine, of the various qualities and degi ees of intensffy. Dries slowly, by itself. No. 14. Prussian Blue. A good drier. No, 15. Smalt. Dries quickly. No. 16. Cobalt or Thenard’s Blue. Less promptly than last. Note. Never use in oil either Ultramanne-ashes, or Antwerp Blue, or Indigo ; nor any other blue but those just 4 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. indicated. They will either take a greenish cast, or darken, and are only good or tolerable as watercolors. • BROWNS. No. 17. Raw Sienna Earth. Dries with difficulty. No. 18. Burnt Sienna Earth. Same character. No. 19. Brown of Prussian Blue (made, that is. from the calcination of Prussian Blue ; a discovery of a. ft iend of Bouvier’s, which will be fully descilbed in its o'acu.) This is from the French Prussian Blue, and whe^ ;he operation has been fully successful, is of a fine hi< .* le. It dries well. No. 20. Broim of Prussian Blue; from the fJngli.ih fabric. It is of another hue, as will be presently sho'^c.. It dries tolerably. No. 21 . Ashphalt, or Bitumen. Dries with great difficulty. No. 22. Cassel Earth. Dries very slowly. No. 23. Cologne Earth. Dries very slowly. No. 24. Composite Brown. (An occasional mixture of great variety, prepared on the palette.) Dries very slowly. BLACKS. No. 25. Ivory-Black (very black). Dries with aiff. culty. * And even as a watercolor, Antwerp, otherwise Mineral Blue, is said by writers on Miniature to be not permanent : fading in the air and light, and darkening when deprived of them. It is but a modification of Prussian Blue, containing more of alumen. As for Ultramarine- ashes (which is the residue of the lazulite after its pure blue is extracted), Mr. P'ield considers it, in its different shades, an “extremely useful pigment” for the composition of greys with white. But, observe, it is but the refuse, after all, of n precious color. COLORS IN USE. 5 No. 26. Coffee-Black (a pigment little known.) Dries tolerably. No. 27. Paper-Black (of a soft, bluish shade.) Dries tolerably. No. 28. Cork-Black (very bluish.) Slow drier. No. 29. Vine-Black (bluish.) Slow drier. No. 30. Black of Prussian Blue (very black, with a bluish cast). Dries more rapidly than all the other blacks. No. 31. Russian Black (an earth little known, very black). Dries slowly. No. 32. Bone-Black (reddish). Dries badly. No. 33. Peach-Black (violaceous). Very bad drier. GREEN. (Of rare usage. Good only to glaze with.) No. 34. Verdigris, distilled. Dries with great difficulty. Ohservation. Bouvier’s great particularity has made him confine his unmixed greens to one only, and that “ of rare usage,” though in his first edition he had added, but with a caution, one other. Green Lake. Indeed Greens as simple pigments are superfluous, their composition be- ing of so perfect facility in every hue and shade ; yet we shall presently see that there are a few that might easily be added to the List, as far as mere character goes. In using Drying-oil with tnose colors wnich other- wise would remain too long humid, a different mode of application is recommended for large pieces (draperies, &c.), or for colors that are very slow to dry, from that which should be adopted in smaller parts (as in the stronger shadows of carnations), or where the colors 6 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. are, with the aid of this oil, less hard of drying. In the former case it may be incorporated with the colors on the palette ; in the latter, it is to be used at the end of the pencil, at the moment of applying the color. (See Chap- ter VIII.) Where White, or Naples Yellow, or Smalt, enters into the composition of a tint, the Drying-oil is un- necessary, and, as will be seen when we come to treat of its qualities, even prejudicial. COLORS IN USE. 7 CHAPTER II. i DETAILED ACCOUNT OF THE NATURE, PROPERTIES, AND USES OF THE VARIOUS COLORS GIVEN IN THE PRECED- ING LIST. WHITES. No. 1. Krems^ White, or Silver White. In all cases where purity of tint is desirable, this, the most perfect oxidation of the metal, is always to be used ; for lead has a tendency to resume its native hue, even in oil. It is bought at the colorman’s in tubes and half,, tubes of tin or zinc, already prepared. Those who pur- chase it dry, are to judge of its pureness by its v^erfect whiteness, and its great weight. It comes, for the use of artists, already washed, and in the form of little cones, in which it has been dried. * Krems or Crems is a place near Vienna, in Austria (not to be confounded with Cremnitz, or Kremnitz, of Lower Hungary), The White there made is prepared with vinegar, the smell of which ia very perceptible in this pigment when new. A Silver White has of late years been manufactured at the establishment at Clichy, near Paris (of which, if we mistake not. Sue has given such „ frightful account in his Mysteries). It is said to be fully equal, if not superior, to the Austrian. That which we have been accus- tomed to use here, came, we were told by the colorman, from Hun- gary. Within a short time this has given place to a Silver Whitt from London, which is of equal, if not greater, beauty. 8 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. No. 2. Whitelead. In tlie painting of large pictures, in those parts where the corruption of the tint is not of importance, this cheaper form of the oxyd may be used, though, as we have said before, we can see no advantage in such economy, the cost of his pigments, even of the most precious, being but comparatively a trifle, however great the quantity used by the artist. In grinding whitelead, of whatever sort, especially with oil, and even in mixing it on the palette, there arises an odor that is unpleasant to many persons, and unwhole- some to all. It is as well to avoid leaning too closely over the stone or palette, and to throw up the window during either operation. The oxyds of lead are known to blacken under cer- tain influences ; as of sulphuretted-hydrogen gas, which abounds in the noxious effluvia that at times are generated by certain manufactures, by filth or other causes, in the heart of great cities, and even in more open places. Hence chemistry has employed herself in the discovery of other whites which should not be liable to change. From antimony and from zinc, whites have been made which have been said to possess, with sufficient body, and great beauty, assured permanence. Of these we say nothing, having, like M. Bouvier, had no occasion to try them, but we add, that as it will be observed, in every painting that has stood the test of time, that it is not the white that is most discolored, otherwise that as it is the white that has stood best of all the colors, there is no reason for the young artist to have any doubt upon this score, using un- hesitatingly the Silver White as it is prepared for him by any colormen in good repute. Further than this, what- ever may he said of the white of antimony, later and COLORS IN USE. 0 good authorities tell us that that of zincy as well as those which have been made from bismuth and from tin, want body and consistence.* YELLOWS. No. 3. Naples Yellow. The only bright yellow that is good.-|- Indispensable for painters of landscapes and of flowers. It may be em- * Mr. Field assigns durability to Zinc White, but denies it to the preparations of bismuth and antimony, to which he adds quicksilver and arsenic, which are of no worth, either in water or oil. Tin White v/ants even less body than Zinc, though it is “ superior to it in water,” and it dries badly in oil. Thus lead still holds its ancient place of honor, and with little risk of being ousted. f With the exception of Mars, or Iron, Yellow (see Chapters III. and IV.) and perhaps of a Lemon Yellow, so called, of which we quote the description from the Chromatography, in hopes that the combined application of artists may induce the colormen to import it. Lemon Yellow is of a beautiful light vivid color. In body and opacity it is nearly equal to Naples Yellow and Masticot, but much more pure and lucid in color and tint, and at the same time not liable to change by damp, sulphurous or impure air, or by the action of light, oi by the steel palette-knife, or by mixture with whitelcad or other pigments, either in water or oil, in each of which Vehicles it works pleasantly, and is a valuable addition to the palette Lemon Yellow is principally adapted to high lights in painting, and has a peculiarly happy eftect when glazed over greens in both modes of painting. In water it exceeds Gamboge in brightness, and in mix- ture therewith improves its beauty. This mixture also goes readily into od, &c.” But it is to be remarked that Mr. Field adds, “seve.al pigments, not answering to the character of the present, are, liowever, vended under the same denomination,” and it is for this reason, and — what is to be regretted, as necessary to confidence— his not giving its composition, that we said above, perhaps T His indications are so few, it is impossible to conjecture (there are so many lemon-yellows) what ki id of pigment is meant ; though iti great “ body and opacity ” forbid the supposition of a vegetable lake 2 * 10 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. ployed in other works of the art, the painter being careful, however, not to use it in the lights of his carnations, Yellow Ochre being infinitely better. Besides, Naples Yellow not only assumes a greenish tint, but attacks certain other colors. But it may be employed very profitably in the reflexes of carnations on the shadow side. It covers well ; and it takes the place of White in these parts, which are but little brilliant, with advantage, because it is rather less opaque, heavy and cold. It is a capital color, besides, for touching the foliage of trees in their broader lights, and yellow metals, as well as for painting flowers and dra- peries bright yellow. It makes fine bright-greens, on mingling it v/ith Ultra- marine. On account of its composition (the oxides of lead and antimony), great cleanness is requisite in grinding or mixing it ; and the use of the steel palette-knife is to be avoided, a horn or ivory spatula being substituted. The mingling of it with native yellow ochre, in order to enli- ven the latter, as is practised sometimes v/ith colormen, can hardly, we should think, be accounted judicious, though it may happen to be attended with no ill results. Bouvier, learned and practically versed in every process of colormaking, says that arsenic enters largely into its com- position, and indeed gives an account of a process for purify- .ing it, which he says “ is highly dangerous, and may even become mortal, if one expose himself to the arsenious fumes ” emitted in the operation. Fie therefore considers this yellow as particularly inimical to whitelead and vermilion. Other writers of authority do not mention this objection,* still less the cause ; and in the multitude * “ Used pure, or with White Lead, its affinity with which gives permanency to their tints, Naples Yellow is a vahiable and proved color in oil.” I'^ikt,!). Chromatography. COLORS IN USE. 11 receipts for the manufacture of the pigment, which we have examined in various authors, while some of them name ingredients that are not included in others, as bismuth, zinc, &;c., we have found no intimation of what he mentions. It appears, however, that not only the modes of manufacture are various, but even specimens from the same laboratory may differ, and that being liable lo injury from slight causes in the manipulation of the artist, its durability is generally questioned, while its utility as a p gment, even with this drawback, is univer- sally admitted. Naples Yellow is the Giallolino of the Italian writers. Among the old, Paul Lomazzo so writes it, while Raff. Borghini and Cenn. Cennini have it Giallorino. No. 4. Yellow Ochre. (Light Yellow.) An excellent yellow, though so common. Good every- where that one may choose to employ it, it is indispensa- ble in carnations. Its hue, rather, however faintly, inclin- ed to the orange than tlie green,* and its precious quality of never attacking nor of being attacked by any other color, give a permanency to the purity of its admix- tures with reds and whites. Thus have no fear of con- sequences, with whatever other pigment you may choose to mix it. It may. be added, that it covers the canvas tolerably well, without being heavy. No. 5. Brown Ochre. (Dark Yellow.) This color replaces the preceding in all the mixtures of shades that require to be of a more vigorous tone than could be procured by No. 4. It is not, however, to be There are kinds, however, in which it is just the reverse. 12 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. used for the brighter parts, whether of flesh or of anj other object which one wishes to keep brilliant, inasmuch as it has a tendency to grow darker, especially when mixed with White. For every other use it is good. It covers well, without being too opaque : mixed with Prus- sian Blue, it makes very useful warm greens ; and with black and a little Brown-Red, it gives tones that are ex- cellent for backgrounds, grounds in landscape, furniture, dec. Roman Ochre is of the same class of earths, scarcely if at all different in tone from the Ocre de Rue, or Brown Ochre. What is therefore said under this head, applies to the former equally well. No. 6. Indian Yellow. Though a vegetable extract, this yellow is nevertheless permanent.* In beauty of color it approaches Gamboge ; * This is the general opinion of the best French authorities. (See for example, Chapters III. and IV.) Field, however, says that “ in oil it is exceedingly fugitive, both alone and in tint.” This is but one of the many discrepancies that we meet everywhere among writers on pigments In the present case, however, it may be owing to a difference in the substance thus differently character- ized ; for the English authority says it appears to be a urio-jphos- phate of lime, and is made of the urine of the camel, while the French writers give it as the product of a large shrub, the meme- cylon tinctorium, which origin Vergnaud says that’Merimee re- ceived on the faith of a naturalist who had travelled in India. And we have seen the same vegetable origin ascribed to it in a recent English publication, probably copying from Merimee. We have thought it right to lay this diflerence of opinion before the student; and shall act, in like manner, in all similar important instances, for tlie result will be to induce caution. For the rest, Indian Yellow came to the French from England ; and as it is said, by those who give it a vegetable origin, to be manufactured in Calcutta, Mr. Field could not have been at a loss to procure any COLORS IN USE. la out has the advantage over this latter, which artists do not consider good in oil. It has also more body. It is ased only for glazing, or for admixture with the ochres or with Naples Yellow, to heighten and enliven their color. It should be carefully chosen. There are samples whose color inclines to a greenish hue. This is useful for glazing greens in landscapes, and for many other things ; but the preference is to be given to that which is of a golden yellow, because this may be made of more general use, whether for greens, glazings of brilliant yellow for draperies, flowers, or the like. Be careful never to admit it in your flesh-tints, nor your skies ; its force is such that it would absorb the other tints, and you could not get rid of it. But for glaz- ing over Ochre or Naples Yellow, as we have said (these specimens, and the best. Yet Bouvier had subjected his (aud he claims to have been one of the first who used the color on the conti- nent) to many years of trial, in oil as well as other vehicles, in every situation of light and shade, for this was his invariable custom with all pigments ; and it must be added that Mr. Field would seem par- tially to contradict himself, for, in speaking of the madder -yellows, and their tendency to redden, he adds, without giving other proof of‘ their want of solidity, that they are hardly equal in durability of tint to Indian Yellow, which, besides what is copied above, he says elsewhere, is “ soon destroyed in oil, and changed by time, &c.” For our own part, it is a color we never use, disliking it much in any shape, and we are content to reconcile these conflicting opi- nions, by citing what the English chromatographer himself has said in another place, that a color or pigment may obtain a false repute for either durability or fugacity, by accidental preservation or destruction under unusually favorable or fatal circumstances, all of which has been frequently witnessed ; a sentiment the truth of which the student-artist will do well to bear in mind, as being applicable in its principle to all the materials of painting, includ- ing its vehicles and grounds. 14 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. colors being first quite dry), there is no other yellow that can replace it ; and the tint thus obtained is of great beauty. Further, it is used, as will be indicated presently, for the modification of certain tones; mixing it, now with ochres, then again with Prussian Blue, sometimes with Lake, sometimes with Ultramarine, according to the glaz- ings or 'preparations designed to be made. Of several other kinds of Yellow, of which use must net hi made. These are, 1st, Chrome Yellow ; 2dly, Mineral YelL^v ; 8dly, the Yellow Lakes ; 4thly, Orpimeni ; Sthly, those lakes known by the name of Pinks, &:c. None of these are included in the List of good colorc given in Chapter I., because they either change the colors they are put in contact with, or change themselves, or because they are not durable. Chrome Yellow is a brilliant and goWen yellow, which covers well, and works admirably ; but it is a color that changes itself, and affects with change all those it is united with. One may venture to use it for the I eightening of certain yellow stuffs, and the brilliant lights of gilding, provided it be employed pure, and the color it be laid on shall have become perfectly dry, touching it with a free pencil. It changes then much less. But mingle with it White, or Prussian Blue, and it becomes frightful. There- fore, all things considered, it were better never to make use of it : the ochres are far to be preferred ; they never alter, and if your object is to produce a very brilliant yellow, you will easily attain it by glazing them with In- dian Yellow, when they are dry. Mineral Yellow (also a chromate of lead) blackens COLORS IN USE. 15 and changes other colors.' It is besides quite super- fluous. (See Chapter IV. for ether yellow pigments which go under the same name.) The Yellow Lakes are not solid : they all lose more or less their color. Even those of madder, which may be classed with them, have been found quite changeable. Antwerp Lake does not pale, but it loses its yellow hue, and becomes brownish, on exposure to the air or sun. All the Orpiments are dangerous and bad, because they contain much arsenic, which destroys every other color. As to the lakes known to the French as Sills de grain, with us and the English, as Pinks, they have no solidity, and their place is besides easily supplied by other pigments quite as beautiful, and not so false. They are banished even from miniature-painting. Note. In miniature and aquarel. Chrome Yellow may be used with safety, according to Bouvier ; but Constant- Viguier proscribes it for miniature. It undergoes no sensible change, when the vehicle is gum-water ; but even then, it is to be used only for backgrounds and cer- tain draperies, the artist being careful not to put his pencil to his lips, no more than when he uses Orpiment, mineral whites, or Naples Yellow. These are all poisonous. Yet Orpiment is the most fatal ; and it is on this account that Chrome Yellow has taken its place in water-colors ; for its solidity, notwithstanding Bouvier and others, is denied even there. To this list of Yellows, in order with what follows in the subsequent three chapters, to make it com- plete, we may add the yellows of platina, which are preparations of Mr. Field’s, who says they are “ perma- nent both in water and oil, lolien corefully prepared ; but 16 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTIKG. any portion of palladium in the metal from which they are prepared neutralizes their color ^ and renders them useless.** The color of the sample we have tried and which we are now subjecting to the usual proofs, is warm, rich, and of considerable body. REDS. No. 7.. Light-Red. This is simply Yellow Ochre calcined ; though there is a red ochre that is native, and which M. Bouvier says is brighter, and has his preference ; however, in another place he objects to it, that it is more or less stony. The brighter the yellow ochre, the brighter and better is its calcination. Light-Red is not near so brilliant as Vermilion ; but in many cases is greatly preferable, being less harsh to the eye, and more harmonious in certain combinations, whether in carnations, or in draperies and in landscape, or other dull tints. Add to this the inestimable value of its undergoing no change, and of causing none ; and that in male complexions it replaces Vermilion advantageously in all the local flesh-tints, and we have named a color of much value. No. 8, Brown-Red j or Deep Red-Brown. It is found native ; but is obtained also by calcining the ochre or ochres. No. 5. A very vigorous color, it must be employed discreetly, for its intensity increases in oil, and its energy makes it easily overpower its allies. Therefore, do not em])loy it in any clear and bright part, especially not in the lights of carnations, nor even in the lighter shadows. Reserve it for all your dark and vigor, ous shades and touches, particularly those of the nostrils, COLORS IN USE. 17 and of the mouth (adding thereto a great deal of deep crimson lake), as well as for the strongest shadows, mixed with Roman Ochre, and intense Ultramarine, with a third of the best blue-black to finish the flesh. It is good for many other cases, too long to enumerate, as in draperies of a dusky red or brown, and even in the shadows of bright-red drapery, adding-in sometimes Ver- milion, sometimes Madder-Lake, according to circum- stances. This detail will be further extended when we come to treat of the First-Palette or Deadcoloring, and also of finishing. No. 9. Vermilion or Cinnabar. Of European manufacture, the fine vermilion that is sold at our principal colorshops is the French, though Bouvier and other French writers speak of the Dutch as the best : perhaps they are the same, or that the fabri- cation is only very recent in France. However, Vermil. ion is also made abundantly in England, and other parts of Europe. That which is too brilliant and with a slightly orange cast, is not to be trusted, for it is probably adul- terated with redlead or minium (oxyd of lead highly calcined), which of itself blackens when employed with oil, and causes equally to blacken the vermilion (com- posed of sulphur and mercury), to which it is added. The application of muriatic acid will betray the adulteration by fading the color, which is not the result with pure vermilions ; and should it have been brightened with Iodine- Scarlet, a new and beautiful preparation of mer- cury, highly dangerous as a pigment, the artifice will be detected in like manner, by the application of alkalies. There is also a native cinnabar which is found in the • Cinnabar, aftei the Greek, is the name properly given to 18 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. quicksilver-mines. Externally it is not of a fine red ; but on breaking it, it shows a beautiful color. This we can depend upon not being falsified ; but Bouvier thought he found it blacken more than the prepared Vermilion (Dutch) of the shops, and others coincide with him. It produces a very agreeable effect, for the fresh parte of carnations, when mixed with White for the rose-tint, with the addition of Yellow Ochre for the local flesh-tints. In sketching or deadcoloring, we must never put Lake lowered with White into the flesh, however fresh the com- plexion we desire to represent ; this admixture becomes too cold: Vermilion is to be preferred. Chinese Vermilion is of a color approaching more to Carmine, than that of Europe. It is preferred for the fresh rose-tints, mixing it with White, and for all the lilac-tints of very fine complexions. It might in fact be dispensed with ; yet it is convenient enough to have it for certain drap- eries of a red somewhat approaching the hue of Carmine : it is very beautiful, mixed or glazed with Rose or Crim- son Lake. It gives also a rose less cold than pure Lake, and less yellow than the French Vermilion, either being mixed wdth White. It rests with the artist to use it with discernment, not lavishing it everywhere indifferently, otherwise he would fall into coldness and a vinous hue. Certain it is, that the vermilion of Europe is far better to compose the local flesh-tints, mixing it with White and with Yellow Ochre : the tint it produces is more luminous. Finally, Yermilion cannot be replaced by any other analogous red, especially in oilpainting; for Light-Red would not make the tints fresh enough for the fine carna- Vermilion in the mass, the levigated alone beari.ig the latter name The distinction, how'cver, is seldom maintained. COLORS IN USE. 19 lions of women and children, nor even for those of many men. Note. Though Vermilion is to be found at the color- men’s already prepared, in tubes (much is imported so from the colorshops of England), yet both kinds come to us more usually in the preferable form of a dry impalpable pow- der, done up in small paper parcels. It is sufficient to rub them with the oil, by means cf the palette-knife simply, as you have occasion, being careful to use of the oil the least possible. They are bad driers, as we have indicated in the List, and will keep moist on the palette many days. Beside the test we have indicated on the preceding page, there are others mentioned in different writers, the simplest of which appears to be a red heat, which will entirely decompose and dissipate the true pigment No. 10. Madder-Lakes. It is of little use at the present day, when these lakes are fully tested and well known, to dilate upon their char- acter. Suffice it, they are found at the colorman’s from the palest rose up to deep purple, and where pure may be relied on for permanence, whether used in oil or gum- water. Their beauty is of the richest kind. In purchasing the Pale Rose, or the Rose, the young artist must not be disappointed or deceived by its faint tint, as seen dry in its form of small irregular grains about the size of a half-grown pea and under. With the addition of oil, the color at once appears in the desired lustre and intensity. So it is with the other kinds of a deeper tone, all of which will be found at the colorshops, rising in price according to the intensity of hue. When used, a portion of the dry color is to be put upon m slab of ground glass (such as of various sizes is to bo 20 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. found at the same warerooms), and crushed with the muller ; a few drops of poppy-oil being then added, the color is made up into a thick paste-like mass, and is to be thinned with one third of drying-oil, as it is wanted ; for, in this form of a wet paste, it will remain serviceable on the palette for many days, care being taken to place over it some convenient vessel, as a wineglass or small cup, which excludes the dust as well as air. In mixing the lakes with other colors which dry slowly, the same method will be found serviceable ; we mean, of having the pre- pared mass as stiff as possible, and adding the drying-oil as it is wanted. Of course the adulteration of these lakes is easy ; but the test is as easy too ; to wit, liquid ammonia or caustic potash, which will not affect the madder, but will dissolve the coloring-matter of cochineal, &c. At the French colorman’s you will see these lakes labelled Smyrne Lakes. This is, because the best and most costly madder came to France from Smyrna. The name rests, but as is the case with certain wines, it probably has little business there. No. 11. Burnt Carmine, or Burnt Venetian Lake. This color is remarkable for its vigor, and is prepared like the Brown of Prussian Blue, by the artist himself. He is to select for this purpose a lake of deep tone without being violet. Venetian Lake is good if it do not change to a violet with alkalies, or become yellowish in vinegar. It is only certnin lakes, however, which are made of cochineal* like Venice Lake, that on calcination will give ■* Florence, Roman, Hamburgh, all these lakes, as well as the Venetian, are of cochineal, and of course are all fugacious. Nor even Burnt arc they (notwithstanding the reasonable admiration of Bouvier) to be at all relied on. Scarlet Lake is also a preparation COLORS IN USE. 21 the color desired. The lakes of madder are of io use tor this purpose. In default of Venice Lake, the best Carmine may be taken. The process of calcination we will describe in its place (Chapter V.) The color obtained (which is said to have the solidity this pigment is known to want in its raw state), can be compared only to that of the Purple of Cissius, or to the rich color of deep-purple viclets. Vithout appearing black, its profundity of tone is quite as great (says Bouvier). It is of great use, either in the most vigorous parts of a purple, or violet, or brown draj cry, or in the hollow of the nostrils, the interior of the mov th, and other deep clefts. It may be mixed in great variety, v/hether with Asphaltum, or the Composite Brown, No 24, or with Sienna Earths, or the Prussian Brown, No. 1:9, or to give vigor to the Brown-Red, No. 8, or to Engb'sh Red, No. 12 ; but it is not to be used to excess ; we must reserve this immense resource for the last vigorous touches in all the parts which require it, and where the mixture of black with the lakes would deprive them of transparency. It may be used with advantage, likewise, in purple or deep- violet velvet-like flowers. Notwithstanding the value of this auxiliary to the mad- der-lakes, which derive from it the force they are ac<5used of wanting, very few painters in oil make use of it; Burnt Carmine is scarcely known except by miniature- painters. Finally, we repeat, it is not every lake of cochineal, nor every trial that will give this desirable of cochineal, and very similar to the Florentine Indian LaJce is but another name for Lac-Lake, the most durable perhaps of thessi animal-substances, so to speak, but still not to be regarded as p-v manent. 22 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. intense purple ; experiments must often be repeated by the artist, till he succeeds.* No. 12. English Red. This pigment works easily, dries quite well, and is of a color more lively and less yellowish than the deep-red ochre. No. 6. Tt is good in red draperies, for the shades ; mixed with Lake, or pure, according to the tint of the drapery. There are other occasions where its color, lively and poweiful, rrry be proper ; but one must be very sparing of its use, particularly in flesh, and not make it a substitute in mixtures for the brown-reds, 7 and 8 ; because it is so powerful, that its management is difficult, tinging everything red. Seeing this propert}', and that it is a color which may he easily dispensed with, No. 8 supplying its place, it need be only mixed as it is wanted, in rare cases. * In view of the at least questionable durability of Burnt Lake of Cochineal, we subjoin from the Chromatography the following accourrt of a reliable pigment of similar color : — “ Madder Purple, Purple Rubiate, or Field's Purple, is a very rich and deep carmine prepared from madder. Though not a bril- liant purple, its richness, durability, transparency, and superiority of color have given it the preference to the Purple of Gold, and to Burnt Carmine. It is a pigment of great body and intensity ; it works well, dries and glazes well in oil, and is pure and permanent in its tints. It neither gives nor sustains injury from other colors, and is in every respect a very perfect and eligible pigment.” This preparation of madder is not in our colorshops that we know of (the French Concentrated Purple of madder being of a brilliant color not answering to the description nor the requisitions), but it ought to be, with all of Field’s colors. Indeed as to mad- der-pigments, we have good reason to suspect (from the test) that few or any ever reach us from Paris, that are not sophisticated ; and Mr. Field says that tlie brightest of the laques de garance which he examined was tinged with the rouge of the safflower, and of course had not the durability of the genuine Madder-Lake COLORS IN USE. 23 Employed pure, the disadvantage just mentioned does not exist, or when it is mixed with a fine deep lake for the darker folds of red or crimson draperies, or for the strongest touches of the nostrils, mouth, &c. Venetian Red, Prussian Bed, &c., are the same ochre (see Chapter IV.); though true Venetian Red, i. e. of the Vene- tians, was probably brought from India, and similar to the Indian Red, so well known, and v/h:ch holds the pR.ce with English writers that the French assign to the English Red, Indian Red is u^svally more of a purplish hue than the red here described ; but it is of the same properties, and all that is said above aoplies to it equally well. It has always been a great favorite with English artists, with whom it has sometimes borne the name of Persian Red. Of the different tints or shades, that which is most roseate is considered best. BLJES. No. 13. Ultramarine. There are really, as Bcuvier says, but two good blues for oilpainting ; to wit. Ultramarine and Prussian Blue. We have, however, indicated, according to his list, two others of which use may be made on occasion, — Smalt, and The- nard’s Blue or Cobalt-Blue. Ultramarine is the color Kar by excellence or pre- eminence ; for as no other pigment approaches it in beau- ty, so there is none that matches it in durability ; for fire, which will alter all others, has no effect on this invaluable material of our art. The history of this precious color is too well known, that we should expend space upon its details ; suffice it to indicate, what may not readily occur to the young artist, that its familiar and inexpressive name simply marks its Oriental origin : Oltramarino, 24 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. UltramarinOy Outremer, Ultramarine (the Germans sa^ likewise, Ultramarin), are mere terms indicating its com ing from heyond the sea. Precious in quality above all other pigments, the Ultra- marine is beyond all others liigh in price : hence it was an object with the French government to propose, as it did, a reward of 6000 francs to whoever should discover a composition, that combining b.11 the eleme'^ts of the blue of the lazulite, might safel}'’ replace it. This was done by M. Guimet, whose factitious uUrr.marine, unchangeable by the air, or by f.re, is now the kind that is sold at the colorshops everywhere for the original pigment, — except the true mineral color be of course expressly ordered and paid for at its exorbitant pr.ce, which, greatly lessened as it is from what it once brought, is even now at Rome, where it is cheapest, $20 the ounce, whereas the ultra- marine of Guimet is afforded at $5. This difference alone, for obvious reasons, makes the d’‘scovery of Guimet inesti- mahle. It should have borne everywhere the name of the inventor, but custom has decided against this deserved perpetuity of honor. As with the original color, this ultramarine is of differ- ent degrees of intensity, which are designated by number, the first being the deepest. Could one find any fault with Ultramarine, says Bou- vier (speaking of the genuine or lazulite blue), it would be that, used with oil, it gains intensity in proportion to the age of the picture, rather than loses the least part of its brilliancy and force ; so that we should rather feai excess than otherwise in its employment, especially in skies and in the soft demi-tints of carnations , &:c. We may add to this observation, that considering the permanency of its character, it will in general be necessa- COLORS IN USE. 23 ry to break its brilliancy by some admixture, because, where used pure, the other colors that neighbor it chang- ing in time their character, the harmony of the fresh pic*^ ture will no longer be preserved, but a discordancy of tono be apparent. No. 14. Prussian Blue. According to the experience of our Genevan artist, the best Prussian Blue, when used with gum-^vat8^ simply, has stood the test of thirty years’ exposure to the full glare of day, and even of a summer’s sun. Through all this lapse of time, it underwent no sensible alteration, though mixed with Krems White, as well as with ochres, reds, and divers other colors. When mixed, however, with Vermilion, it was somewhat changed ; but even this change took place only after many years. From all of which he concludes that a prussian-blue of good quality is all but unalterable as a watercolor. Employed with oil, the result was not so satisfactory ; it took a greenish or a reddish cast ; but always very lightly, when a good fabric, compared with what was the result with ordinary specimens. It is not the less a very valuable pigment, even for oil- painting, because it makes, when mixed with different 5 '’el- lows, greens of a charming shade ; and even employed witli White, and corrected by Lake, by Black, or by Red Ochre, it may render the greatest service. But it must not be employed pure with an admixture merely of White : its tint has something extremely harsh and hard, that is in harmony with no other color. Let us add, that all the alkalies attack this color. It is therefore not to be employed with those pigments which nave any in their composition. 3 2(5 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. No. 15. Smalt. This pigment, whose hue approaches that of Ultrafnailntt, ar.d is very durable, is a glass colored by pure cobalt. It is difScalt, from its great hardness, to reduce it to powder, and consequently, however fine it may be had at the color, shops, it is always to a certain degree coarse as a powder, resembling a fine and moist sand. Bouvier, who drew his Oiimpies T'omBale, gives it even singular desiccative pro- perties j while his countryman, Tingry, a distinguished chemist, assigns to it directly the opposite character. Again, another Swiss artist, a friend of Bouvier’s (Mr. Toepffer), assured him that he found Smalt to combine so badly with oil, that in time, when removing an old varnish, he found it detach from the canvas, v.n objection which ^ouvier himself had never reason to attribute to it. From onr own experience we can say nothing, for we do not like ii, and find it as a color altoge"’ er superfluous. We may ;.dd, that while the very nature of its composition shows the plausibility of the few objections made to it, Smalt is so cheap a pigment, that experiments with it can be readily made by the young artist, and to any extent, without subjecting him to loss. No. 16. Cobalt, or Thenard^s Blue. This fine color appears under both these names ; or rather, Thenard’s Blue may be classed, along with some others, as one (and it is the best) of the blues of cobalt ; and indeed we observe that, at the shops. Cobalt and Thenard’s Blue are made to be distinct pigments, being kept in separate bottles, differently labelled. Bourgeois, in his edition of Watin, has made an objection to this blue, that is copied oy most or all of the subsequent writers on colors, to wit, that by candle-light it has a violet tint. He ranks it. how- COLORS IN USE. 27 ever, in permanency, nexf, to Ultramarine, and before Prussian Blue. The ultramarine of Guimet, by its comparatively mode, rate price has made us tliink this color a superfluity in the box of an artist who would confine himself discreetly to the use of as few varieties as possible ; and though es- chewing the venture of any advice of our own to the young painter, composing as we do this compend almost altogether from the popular work of one established writer on the art, v/e may remark that with good Prussian Blue (for special uses) and Ultramarine for others, the amateur or professed painter is sufficiently provided.* We pass now to the BROWNS. No. 17. Sienna-Earth, raw. A nne yellowish brown, transparent, and quite solid, but darkening by lime (the burnt color as well as the raio). This disadvantage is still more apparent, and more im- mediate, when they are allied with certain metallic colors, as with White. The Brown from Prussian Blue, which is equally transparent, according to Bouvier, and has not * Since this was written there has appeared at the colorshops a very beautiful blue, under the attractive name of Permanent Blue. Its nature or composition we do not know, nor any of its propeidies saving its beauty. It is used in oil. — Mr. Field mentions a blue phosphate of iron found with the iron pyrites in Cornwall and here in JVorth America, and which goes by the very proper name of Blue Ochre, and also by the absurd designation of JSTative Prussian- Blue. Of perfect solidity, with the body of the other ochres, but more transparent, working well and drying readily, it is certainly worthy of being brought into more notice, though like ochres of othejr hues its color is rather modest than brilliant. If not easily pro* cured, it is still procurable, and we hope will be soon found. 28 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. this tendency to blacken, and moreover dries more readily. IS to be preferred, as well as several other browns, to Raw Sienna. No. 18. Sienna-Earth, calcined. With the precaution to be observed against excessive use and remembering its tendency to darken, especially when mixed with White, Bt. Sienna is a valuable color, light, transparent, and warm, and not easily replaced by others. Its power is such, that however small the quantity one employs in admixture, it absorbs all those with which it is combined. It is therefore, we repeat, to be used with discretion, either to give warmth to a tint which in the sketch is found too gray or cold, and then it is to be used only as a glazing, or mixed with intense lakes and intense ultramarine for the more vigorous touches of shade in car- nations. Let us say in general, that it is little proper for aught but glazing and preparations (of which we shall speak in their place) ; for example, for glazing trees that have put on the ruddy tint of autumn, or for the vigor- ous parts of foregrounds, for glazings of orange-yellow draperies, or brown draperies upon the shadow- side, for furniture of mahogany, &c. ; in a word, everywhere where one would have the tone warm, vigorous, and powerful : but it is of such strength of hue that it brings nearer to the eye every object that is glazed with it ; so that one must have care never to use it except in the foreparts of a pic- ture, which are supposed to be nearest the eye of the spec- tator. As this fine color becomes darker by time, it is advisable to employ rather less than the object on which we use it, oi the part, would seem to require. COLORS IN USE. 29 No. 19. Brown of Prussian Blue. A color which the painter manufactures himself, it not being kept at the colorshops. The discovery of this vch uable pigment is due to Mr. ToepfFer, v/ho ccm.municated it to Bouvier, by whom it has been made public. A prus- sian-blue is to be chosen of a shade moderately dark, the most intense not answering (giviny ti heavy and opaque color, of a brownish-red), neither these of an opposite ex- treme, nor too bright a blue (the color xiiade from these being feeble and too yellow). Further than this, M. Bouvier confines the choice to the French prussivn-blue ^ the English (which as a Hue he invariably prefers) being, cf whatever quality, only adapted for the formation, by tins pro- cess, of the color No. 20. Merimee, who published aftei Bouvier, says that the English sort contains but little oT alumin (which is essential to a true result of the pro=. cess). The process, which is very simple, will be describ- ed in its place. The color produced is that of Bistre, ac- cording to Bouvier : the experiments which we have made did not give this result precisely (perhaps from our not having the right Blue), but it was otherwise highly satisfacto- ry, producing several shades of color, which we would not willingly, now we know them, be without, as we are assured by this writer of their stability. The transparence ascribed to it by M. Bouvier we have to add, we did not find, in any of our samples, to be quite comparable to that of Asphaltum, to which he equals it, yet it is certainly con- siderable. With these observations, adding that Be Monta- hert falls quite into a rapture in describing its qualities, we will give Bouvier’s account of its properties somewhat in detail. “ I cannot,” he says, “ commend too highly the use of this charming bistre-tint; it has the advantages united of 30 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. AsjihaUum, of Mummy, of raw Sienna, witliout their d'sad- vantages. It is as beautiful and good in water as in oil ; it undergoes no change ; is of a perfect transparence, of a most liarmonious tone ; combines with any other color without disadvantage, and besides all this, it dries well, and better than any other cf those colors which are suitable for glazings and p/eparaticns. It closely resembles Asphaltum in tint, as well as in transparency ; so that it is preferable to it in every point cf view.” He assures us that he has prdntiaos, executed for more than twenty-three years, in ■which i^e has made a great use of this color in glazing, both p'^re, and mixed with lakes, Prussian Blue, or Ultrama- r’.ne, and that they have undergone not the least change, it is a color that works well, and there is no need of drying- oil, or at least of very little, in employing it ; which is in itself an advantage, since we thereby avoid the blackening as well as incrustation of color which is the consequence of the too free use of that vehicle. It must be observed however that like all diaphanous colors, this brown is only suitable for glazing, or for the substra- tum, so to speak, of preparations (glazings for retouching) for it will not cover the canvas at all. No. 20. Another Brown, made with the English Prussian- B lue . The color of this calcination is an orange-red, very little used. Bouvier obtained it in an unsuccessful attempt to make the preceding No. It is nearly of the color of Italian Earth (raw), but has the advantage of not black- ening, like that bituminous substance. It dries tolerably well, is permanent, yet quite transparent, producing still finer glazings than Bt. Sienna (which besides blackens, as we have seen). It somewhat resembles Roman Ochre, COLORS IN USE. 31 but is more lively and redder, and a fine color, and so soft as scarcely to need grinding. It is in fact itse'.f a //vv-re ochre made of the ferruginous'*' part of Prussian and may be recommended to those who paini very small works and are very particular to have their colors pure ; but for large paintings it would be too costly, because of the very small quantity which is got from the large quantity of the Blue which it is necessary to calcine. No. 21. Asphaltwn. What we have already said of Asphalt is no reason for excluding it from the list of good colors : it is excellent for glazing, because of its fine bistre-tint, its perfect transpa- rence, and the facility which the extreme divisibility of its particles affords of spreading it as thin as can be desired. It mixes well besides with all other colors, so that you can give it the precise hue you wish ; but it has the inconve- nience of blackening, which arises in the first place from Jts bituminous nature, and secondly from the necessity of using with it drying-oil pure, without which it would scarcely dry, except by excess of turpentine, which dis- poses it to crack. It is therefore advisable to use it only in those cases where there is little to be feared from an in- crease of vigor and intensity. Asphaltum is often adulterated ; which may be one cause, by the by, of the difference of opinion which pre- vails with regard to the safety or hazard of its employ- ment. See, however, for further particulars. Chap. XV. No. 22. Cassel-Earth. This excellent pigment might be classed among the blacks, • Prussian Blue is considered to be a combination of hydrocyanic (prussic) acid with potaiia anu iron. 32 HANDBOOK OF OILPATNTING. as well as among the browns, for it has such force of color that it L'hadows the blacks themselves. Over a brown of the skeicjf’' its tone is very intense, and in this case it is worth ir.f/mitely more than the blacks, which are almost all more or less iieavy and cold : so that, with Cassel-earth, one may obtain tones of such vigor as no other color can give. For the rest, it is easy to manage ; but, being quite bituminous, it must never be mixed with White, nor with any gay and light color ; it would attack them : besides, this is alto- gether unnecessary. The blacks are preferable in mix- tures, and you can give them a brown tint in mixing them with brown-reds and brown ochres, more or less accord ing to occasion. Cassel-earth must be reserved then to finish a picture, and not be used in the sketch or first- painting. It will give all the browns desirable, by mixing it either with intense Lake, or burnt Lake, or lastly with blacks ; but this latter mixture is rarely useful, because of itself it bears a yellowish-black tint. It is very near the color of Sepia, used in washing : you can spread it, like that, more or less thick or thin, and it is according to the body that you give it that it acquires more or less intensity, and ap- pears more or less dark. It serves a good purpose for the completion of every kind of hair-tint, from chestnut to black. It will furnish you, as has been said, the more vi- gorous touches of black, or deep-brown draperies, and the like. But it is of especial service in landscapes, for the most vigorous parts of the trunks of trees and of fore- grounds, as well as to paint cavernous rocks or deep re- cesses in architecture. For painting the black of the pupil of the eye, in mix- ing it with burnt Lake and a little pure Prussian Blue, it is * Or dead coloring . — Consul tb- id'-fionary of Tennis, COLORS IN USE. 33 the best thing you could have. This admixture gives a black the most profound ; but it is only to be used in fin* ishing, for in the sketch the pupil should be painted brown- i;^h-black. — For anything else but black stuffs and the pupil of the eye, this intense black would appear too hard. Cassel-earth is of the number of those colors which need drying-oil. Cassel-earth is said to be like Cologne-earth, a lignite, i. e., to have its origin in the decomposition of wood ; and it is right to add, to the recommendation of its qualities which we have extracted from Bouvier, this caution, that while De Montabert says that it has not been observed to become darker, other writers have charged it with the fault of becoming lighter, and of these we think Merimee is one. In the sixth edition of Vergnaud’s Manual (1834) it is said that the calcination it undergoes to add to its in- tensity gives perhaps a little more solidity to its color ; and in the list we shall presently give from this excellent little work, it will be found ranked under the second class, i. e., of colors sufficiently, though not perfectly solid. Finally, it is probable that this was the earth used by Vandyke, and not the species which now goes under his name ; for all these bituminous ochres, Vandyke Brown, Ruhens’ Brown (used by the Belgians, as we and the English use Van- dyke), Cassel Earth, Cologne, are of a similar generic character, and differ but in shade or in greater or less warmth of tone. No. 23. Cologne-Earth. Less transparent, and of course covering better than Cas- sel-earth, this pigment has, besides, a color more approaching to a violaceous-red. Bouvif r denominates it accordingly vio- laceous-brown (hrun-violatre). He does not consider it a 3* 34 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. color at all necessary, though it may be kept for occasiona. service, and, having made but little use of it himself, ap- pears to have been induced to admit it in his list of good colors simply from the praises bestowed on it by othc/3. Let us then observe that Cologne-earth is to be rejeciea^ be • cause its color is admitted to be fugacious. “ Its use was not thought of,” says a voluminous writer, cited by us above, “ but when, employing neither Asphalt nor Mummy, the artist had only the browns of Umber, or those which are made of black and yellow. Brown hair, represented by this color, has been known to disappear in six months ! All the brown had vanished : there remained hut a few black lines of the sketch . The same story is told by Merimee, either of this, or of Cassel earth ; but we think of this treacherous pigment. Calcined, it acquires a reddish tint. No. 24. Composite Brown. This is a mixture, made at pleasure, of the three primi. tive colors, to wit, yellow, red, and blue, in such relative proportions as one may find best adapted to the occasion. It is for glazing and preparations. EXAMPLE. Composition of a Brown for glazing an object which it is desirable not to have too obscure, whether in landscape, dra- pery, and the like, or even in a part of the shadows of fesh- tints. 1. Rose Lake ; light Ultramarine; light Yellow Ochre. Mix these three colors, letting tlio occasion direct which of them you would make predominate ; but never glaze them on the distances, where the bluish tint is beginning to appear. COLORS IN USE. 35 2. For a hrown more intense : The best (English) Prus- sian-Blue ; Roman Ochre, or Indian Yellow (according to occasion) ; Crhnson Lake (of Madder). Let your pleas- ure direct you as before, and glaze with the mixture the nearer parts of your landscape, <5c;c. 3. If you would give still more energy to this brown : Prussian Blue, as before ; Indian Yellow (without ochre) ; Burnt Lake. The same rule as to the dominant color ; but use this mixture only ybr the most vigorous tones. With this resource, variable to infinity, every other color for glazing might be dispensed with. “ Yet I do not advise it,” says Bouvier, “ precisely : I will only say that the Bt. Blue (No. 19) and Bt. Sienna are two colors ready made, very suitable to glaze certain objects, and which it would be wrong to neglect ; but at the same time, I really think it would not bo ill to dispense with all other browns, and especially Asphaltum, which has great disadvantages.” If this latter clause seems to be a little inconsistent with what the author had already said of Asphaltum, which, though allowing that it blackened, he did not exclude from the list of approved colors, we can only say that he is not singular ; for of all didactic writers we know of none that can compare for inconsistency and self-contra- di'-.den widi the great mass of writers on painting ; an in- consistency that is st'll more marked when we compare them with one another, especially in their account of the properties of colors, which one would at first sight think so simple ; for here their disagreement is so frequent, as to fill the young student with doubts that' leave him always anxious as to the permanence of his labors, and throw him, even in the immediate employment of his materials, almost altogether on his own unpractised judgment. 36 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. BLACKS. Almost all substances reduced to charcoal may furnish blacks. In selecting, from the number of those which are best, nine or ten sorts,* the young artist is not advised to procure all, which would be troublesome and useless ; they are merely indicated, that, knowing their desiccative quali- ties, he may be enabled to decide promptly in his choice according to the occasion. No. 25. Ivory-Black. Intense black ; soft, unctuous, und easy to grind ; but one of the worst of driers: a disadvantage that is noways lightened by its adulteration with Bone-black. It is con- sidered also, as well as Bone-black, to have the quality which is ascribed to many of the browns, particularly those of a bituminous nature, that, namely, of deepening its tone in the painting ; a iault, however, which we are inclined to think is not so much in the pigment as in its vehicle. * Borghini (Raff.), the first good edition of whose elegant work was published in 1584, begins his account of colors (p. 241, vol. i., ediz. di Milano, 1807) by the enumeration of nine sorts of blacks as then most in use, though, like Bouvier, he intimates that others might be made (“ comeche d’altri far se ne potrebbono”). Of these nine, asphaltum. (“ nero di spalto”) is one. Ivory-black, peachstone-hlack, lamp-black, vine-black and paper-black, which are of Bouvier’s list, are also of the number, and therefore were colors used by the old painters of our modern time. As for the ancients, their blacks were also chiefly of pure coal. They hac too their smoke-black and torch-black : their blue-black was of wine- ees ; though Polygnotus and Micon made theirs of the husks of grapes : while the only pure black that we ourselves know. Ivory-black, has the honor of being added to the pigments of Apel« les (see Pliny, xxxv. 25, or 6, according to the edition). COLORS IN USE. 37 No. 26. Coffee-Black. Little known, and not on sale. Yet it is one of the best that can be used : soft without being greasy, light, almost impalpable, even before being ground, and giving tints of a very bluish gray when mixed with White, a quality very precious for making the blues of the sketch, and dull greens. Bouvier, who says this, prefers it greatly to Vine-hlack, notwithstanding the excellence of this latter, because the first is ground in a couple of turns of the muller, while Vine-Uack springs up under the muller, and therefore is ground but very imperfectly or only after a long exertion. Besides, Coffee-hlack dries better. For the rest, it is of a very fine and bluish tone. It is not a deep black ;* but it combines admirably well with all other colors. For this pigment, as well as the Prussian Brown, and Cochineal-Brown (Bt. Lake), artists are indebted to Bou- vier, who, obtaining it from his countryman Freschwise (a landscape-painter), first published it in his Manual in 1827. No. 27. Paper-Black. Of the nature of Vine-black ; but much more easy to grind. It is however tedious and wearisome to make ; a ad though excellent, we are so rich in blacks, that we will not dwell on it further than to add, that it is very soft, of an agreeable fine color, bluish-gray, and that mixed with wliitcs or yellows it may be used with advantage to paint landscapes, or even flesh. * De Montabert, who copies the indication and process from Bou- vier with due acknowledgment, prefers calling it Coffee-Brown, giving it as an exemplification of a bluish-brown. 38 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. No. 28. Cork- Black. The lightest, finest, and bluest of all the blacks. “ Some of my friends,” says Bouvier, “ call it Beggars’ Ultrama- rine, because it produces, by combinations, tints almost as fine as Ultramarine. This is saying a great deal, cer- tainly.” Like Coffee-black, it scarcely needs more than the palette-knife in mixing it ; though it is as well to use the muller for both of these, as for other colors, all being improved thereby. Cork-Black is not a velvet-black ; where intensity is re- quired some other is to be preferred : but for mixtures it is admirable, and especially for linen, skies, distances, and for the different broken-tints of carnations (in the sketch). It is known to English artists as Spanish Black. No. 29. Vine-Black. An excellent, bluish black, and extensively used, espe- cially for large pictures, where much color is employed. But it is difficult to grind fine, as we have said ; and there- fore not to be compared with Coffee-black, which is equally beautiful (see above. No. 26). Nevertheless, those who can procure bladders of Vine-Black perfectly ground, will be right to use it. No. 30. Prussian Black. The same prussian-blue (that is, the English) calcined in the open air gives the brown No. 19, r.ak'-^s' \ valuable black when burnt in a close crucible. It L ^ rvv intense, very soft and velvety, and very agreeable to It is ground in a few moments. But its special quality is that it dries much more promptly than all the other blacks. Finally, it is of a bluish shade, and may be used for every- thing. COLORS IN USE. 89 No. 31. Russian Black. A natural earth, extremely intense of tone. It is of Russia, as its name imports, and we imagine is not easy to be procured in this country, even were it not superfluous. It may however gratify the young artist to inform him that it was probably an earth of this species which the old fresco-painters employed, and which Borghini mentions first of the blacks he has enumerated, as we have said in a note above. Flis words are : “ The first [sc. black] is called earth-hlack, a coarse and natural color, that may be used in fresco, distemper, or oil painting.”* No. 32. Bone-Black. Reddish. Though used by many painters, it is not to be advised, because of its difficulty in drying, which neces- sitates the employment of drying-oil in too great quantity. The reddish, or rather orange-reddish tinge, if needed, can be given to any other black by Cassel-earth, o-r, if it be wanted still warmer, by Bt. Sienna. No. 33. Peach-Black. Somewhat violaceous. It is much used by Parisian artists, and Bouvier believes it to be a good black, but at * D primo si chiama nero di terra, color grcsso e naturale, che a fresco, a tempera, ed a olio pud servire. Rip. lib. ii. — p.,vol. and ed, already indicated. Pliny also heads his list of blacks (xxxv. 25 ; ed. Berol.) with a fossil, or rather with two, as his own phrase is “ geminae originis,” although one of these was brought by preparation to that color, being at first like brimstone (“ sul- phurei colons).” Sir H. Davy considered them to be of iron and manganese. (See Stieglitz Ueher die Malerfarb. der Gr. u. Romer (Leipz. 1817) : where the reader of German, who is curious in these matters, may find a complete yet concise account of all the colors, sc far as known, of the ancients.) 40 HANDBOOK OF ( ILPAINTING. the same time asks, very sensibly, of what use is it to have a black of this cast, which can always be given by Lake, without diminishing but rather increasing the in- tensity of the black it may be mixed with. An eminent authority says of it that it is “ almost always false and in discord with the other colors.” To resume, Coffee-hlack, Cork-black, and Prussian Black are the three most to be recommended. If one choose not the trouble of making them himself, he has but to take Vine-black as the bluest, and Ivory-black as the blackest, and he has all he wants of the list. As however the young artist will meet, especially in old books, with the mention of Lamp-black, and may be tempt- ed by its description to try it, we will translate from an- other work of high standing what may serve him as a caution. “ As to the black of wine-lees (called German Black), and the black, however made, known as Lamp- black, they must not be used. The gray and violet tints of painters of the schools of Michelangelo and Raphael have given proof enough that they are dangerous.” We have said in this extract, with a free paraphrase. Lamp- black however made, because the French distinguish be- tween the noir defumee (smoke-black), which is gathered from the combustion of pitch and tar, and the noir de bougie, or that which is collected from the smoke of a waxlight. De Montabert considers both these kinds of what v/e call, by one name. Lampblack, as to be rejected. Yet it Aviil be seen that the second, which is indeed preferable of the two, is put among the list we shall presently give, as of the first class of pigments in point of permanence ; and it is but fair to add, that the Manual from which we give that list, and which was published (the sixth edition five years later than Montabert’s great work) thus speaks : “ Noir de COLORS IN TTSE. 41 bougie ” (candle-black, i. e., made by a waxliglit). “ This color which was formerly used only for miniature-paint- ing, is now employed in oil. It replaces with advantage Peach and Vine Black, and has not, like those last, the fault of penetrating through the other tints.” Here is a great discrepance ! for Vine-black, which Montabert has spared, falls equally under ban with Peach-black or better Peachstone-black, while Lampblack is restored to its rank of respectability !* This is only one of the instances of contradiction between writers on the colors used in paint- ing, that we have already alluded to. It is therefore chiefly, that in the present edition of our compend we have given such marked prominence to Bouvier’s discreet list (though this too is not without its inadvertences and de- ficiencies, some of which we hLVO silently corrected or supplied). Should our labors prc \ e s'> acceptable that in course of time another issue of our h s.'k should be called for, we will make anew the fullest re seai dies into all au- thorities, from the oldest date to the r^cst modern, and with the aid of the little experience we can claim as our own, we may hope to present the Young and the Amalenr with an improved chromatic catalo^'ue and his- tf'.ry (liat may be relied on. As for the paiticnVr black t‘ di Las led us into these remarks, let us be peiANtted to t'ount-:el, for the present, its rejection ; the risk iio' being cc'H pensated by any positive* advantage. * We must not omit to say that Merimee (a high artho be- c- use an excellent chemist as well as nractical painter ) iA’^<5rs i -.impblack, at least the better sp^> u** ht- njpy ployed with perfect safety 42 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. GREEN. No. 37. Distilled Verdigris. This, a glaze, is to be used only in rare cases, where the most brilliant green possible is wanted, as for the plu. mage of birds, for butterflies, the panes of church-windows, silk or velvet draperies, and sometimes even for stuffs of wool when of a very lively green, as in certain shawls, and finally, above all, to represent the brilliant effect of certain green precious-stones. The method of employing, without ill consequence, this beautiful but dangerous color is as follows : — Finish entirely the object you would glaze, and as carefully as if it were to remain unglazed. Your greens will be made with Prussian Blue and one of the light yellows No. 3 or No. 4, observing only to choose the Naples yellow rather than the ochre, if you would have a very gay green ; and in this case it were better also to use Ultramarine than Prus- sian Blue. Keep the color yellowish, or even make it pure yellow on occasion. But let no White be admitted. This done, leave the work to dry perfectly : then gla/'? over the entire object a couch of Indian Yellow witli . ing-oil. This couch is to be very thin, if your grefi^ to be light and brilliant ; but of more body, if you v’ou'id have the green more or less deep. Let this glaze also dry, thoroughly, till there is no longer any viscosity. Then, which will be about a week or night in summer, and longer in winter, you are ready foi the verdigris. Crush quickly a little verdigris (the crystallized only, remember ; tnat is, “ Distilled Verdigris ”) on your stone or glass slab, and reduce it to a fine powder, with a small COLORS IN USE. 43 muller. Plave a large brush ready ; dry, not oiled ; and, as the greatest celerity is required, secure yourself against interruption. Take Balsam of Copaiba or Capivi (the whitest and least viscous you can procure) and fine Mastic- Varnish, equal parts, and mix with it quickly, in a couple of turns of the muller, your verdigris, keeping it thinner than if it were to paint with ; bring the mixture quickly to the centre of the slab, lest it should adhere, and with your soft, white, and new brush, spread boldly and rapidly your glaze on every part alike, lights and shades, with equal surface, exactly in fact as if you were varnishing. It is better of course to have too little than too much color in this glaze, because there is always the resource of a second glaze, if the green be found too yellowish ; in which case you will wait till the first couch be perfectly dry. Be cautious too not to go over again, in your operations, a part which has had time to evaporate however little, be- cause the brush would leave its mark. A little experience in varnishing, however, will teach this better than any Gcunsel. Thus employed, this color, dangerous as it is in itself, undergoes no change : it is so imprisoned in the copaiba, which becomes very hard, and in the varnish, which dries instantly, that the air has no time to attack it. “ I am cer- tain of it,” says Bouvier, “ for it is more than eighteen years since I used this extraordinary means, for furniture of Utrecht velvet, for shawls, and for satins, and I can affirm that they are as brilliant as on the day they were first painted.” It is however only to be used rarely, on ac- count of its great brilliancy, which would overpower all the other colors. Remember that Verdigris is a cold color, and that the 44 HANDBOOif OF OILPAINTING. under lay can hardly be kept too yellow ; otherwise the green produced would be almost blue, and harsh and disa- greeable in tone. Remember, too, to let the picture be thoroughly dry be- fore it be glazed. One of M. Bouvier’s friends having neglected this precaution, the balsam and varnish, harder and stronger than the under color, prevented its expan- sion, and the part thus glazed opened in a thousand little cracks, discovering the very priming of the canvas. Having had no occasion to make trial ourself of this method, we can add nothing as respects its efficacy, though we have no doubt of it from the admitted fact, that this pig- ment so apt to effloresce in simple oil is to a degree pro- tected by varnish. We have however experimented with the balsam as a vehicle of other pigments ; and found it from its viscosity, and its difflculty in drying, even with the ad- dition of varnishes, quite objectionable ; while its odor, even in so little quantity as was used, was so insufferable that we could not keep the porcelain on which the experi- ment was made in the room. De Montabert joining with Bouvier, and other writers, in an expression of admiration for the beauty of this glaze of verdigris (which, by the by, is supposed by some to be the brilliant green seen in cer- tain old paintings*) recommends as the vehicle of its ap- plication linseed-oil; “this oil,” he says, “being a better protection ” (than other oils doubtless) “ against the influ- ence of the air on the salts of this color. At the end of six days the effect will be produced, and the turquoise-hue of the verdigris will be changed into an harmonious and superb green.” Verdigris is rendered a safer pigment by burning ; but * Leon, da Vinci speaks of it, and of its liability to wash off unless confined by a coat of varnish, applied after it is dry It acquires by the process an olive shade. Of course in this state, having parted with its acid, it is no longer an acetate of copper, but an oxide. Bt. Verdigris, as may he supposed from the siccative properties of the crude pigment, dries admirably. HANDR be too much so, they will make but one piece with thj ground, render the work soft and without force, and destroy the whole illusion of the environing atmosphere.” The above maxims we have translated from De Burtin (Connaiss., Tome 1, Chap, ii.. Art. 16), as the most com- pendious yet instructive close we could give to this portion of the manual, and the neatest introduction to the matter for which we have all this while been preparing our young artist. He is now to make use of the material with whose properties and general management we have essayed la render him familiar. PART III Ifaa FIRST PALETTE, OR DEADCOLOaiPfC* PRELIMINARY NOTICE. To pi event the slightest possibility of mistake, we must declare distinctly in advance, what is more than once in- timated in the course of the present and succeeding Part, that this “ Palette ” (First and Second) is not intended as in any the least degree a guide to practised artists. We cannot corroborate at once and illustrate our assertion, which is that of our leader Bouvier, better, than by ap- plying the principle to ourselves — if the reader will permit us, and saying, that we should as soon think now, in full manhood, of unlearning to walk, because we nad discov- ered some capital principle to assist the infant efforts at locomotion, as to dream of giving up our own mode of practice, nowever faulty, to begin anew on tfie plan of Bouvier, only because we believe conscientiously that it is the very best for a beginner, and that it would have saved us much time and hazardous experiment had we known it when we first set our own palette. See the latter half of Chapter iii., in this Part. 'IT'W W iiKV t'lEv»ii w- fr' t»-'y-' vw ii *' i»i>-)hi/“'n'r^^^ ,-- - . ... - . ., ., ,, .. 7,’^ . i;. HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. PART THE THIRD. “ There are many artists who compose but five or six tints, and who dip with their brush into the parent-colors to taka from them in that manner a multitude of tints, mixed as they want them : but, to do this, one must know something ; one must even know a great deal, or at least have had considerable practice ; and to attain to this facility, it is necessary to know beforehand the effects produced by the difierent mixtures. Now, it is precisely by the analytical method which I am about to indicate, that one will learn to know them more easily and better than by groping one’s way at random.” (See, in this Part, the close of Chapter iii., and in Part IV., that of Chapter ii.) “ I would not say, however, that on this knowledge purely practical, and based upon a sort of calculation, de- pends all the art of a great colorist. No assuredly, the artist most familiar with all the resources and power of the palette, will never he more than a very ordinary or even a had colorist, if nature have not endowed him with that delu cate perception, that undefinahle sagacity of the eye, which is to painting what exactness of ear is to musicP* Bouvier. * “ Industry will improve mediocrity, but never elevate medio- crity to power. ** What is every man who instructs in the art thoroughly con- 156 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTINO. CHAPTER I. COMPOSITION AND METHODICAL ARRANGEMENT OF THB FLKSHTINTS FOR THE FIRST-PALETTE. The simple, uncombined colors of which you will have need are, in number, nine. Suppose you wish to paint a head three or four inches high. You proportion the colors by parts of which each is of the bulk of a cherrystone. Thus, for example, you will express from your tube of Silver White (having neer^ of a greater quantity of that) twelve parts, while of Vei milion a single part will be sufficient, etc. But if the head be of the natural size, you will qua^ druple at least the volume of the portions. A brief expe- rience will dictate the quantity you want ; but it is better to err on the side of too much, than to prepare too little. On the centre of your glass (which is in many w’-ays more convenient than the palette), you place, 1st, of Silver White . . . . 12 parts ; then, on one of the sides of the glass, 2dly, Naples Yellow (instead of white, in the shades) ...... 2 parts; vinced of? It is this : what is teachable, he can teach ; what de- pends on organization of eye or power of mind, he cannot supply. He can teach to draw, decently; he can teach to compose, fairly; but he can no more give susceptibility to color to the brain through the eye, than Mozart could by teaching bestow a susceptibility to iound, where the brain, through the ear, was defective, &c.” Havdon. FLESHTINTS OF THE FIRST-PALETTE. 157 3. Yellow Ochre . • * • 8 parts; 4. Roman Ochre . . . 4 parts; 5. Light Red . 5 parts; 6. Deep Brown-Red^ or Red-Brown Ochre (No. 8.) 3 parts; 7. Vermilion . . . 1 part ; 8. Some good blue-black . 4 parts ; 9. English prussian-blue . 2 parts. These are the unrnixed, or parent colors you will want ; and of them, and of their combinations that follow, you will arrange your little heaps in rows of three grada- tions of tint, as indicated by number, placing them at the upper part of your palette as close to the edge as they will bear, the pure uncombined colors (marked “1.”) at the ♦op of each row to which they may belong, and the rows beginning at the right of the board, and ranging left ac- cording to number, the “ First Row ” being at the extreme right : and to the right of this first row you set a portioi? of pure White, in order to take from it as you have occasion to modify your tints ; for observe, once for all, these tints, however well you may compose them, will rarely if ever be exactly what you want ; they are merely the nearest approach to it, your observation directing you what you will need to add from the red, or blue, or yellow, or other of the nine unmixed colors, in order to bring them to the precise tone you desire. This will be in your power, because, after all your combinations are made, there will still be left a portion of each of the original colors on the slab, which you lift up separately with the spatula, and deposit in distinct heaps, in a line, on the left hand and at the toy of your color-board, placing them in the order they are numbered above, the White being at the right of the line, and going left, so that the extreme heap on the left 158 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. hand is No. 9. — We have used the word heap that you may remember not to spread your tints ; for the more compact each little mass, the longer it will keep fresh. Reminding you now, that your rows of prepared tints are on the right of the palette, while the residue of the virgin colors, which you remove from the glass when your prepa- rations are all made, occupy the left, we proceed to indi- cate these rows in their order. Bright flesh-tints. FIRST ROW. 1. Vermilion, pure. 2. Same, with as much white. 3. Same, and three or four times more white. The manner of preparing the tints in this row, will answer once described for all the rows. Of the portion of the original heap of virgin color which you separate on the slab, you deposit one half in its place at the top of the palette as above indicated ; it is No. 1 : the other moiety you mix with an equal part of white. This forms No. 2, which you place directly under the pure cinnabar just re- moved to the palette. The small quantity remaining on the glass forms the third tint, by adding to it enough white to make it a light rose. These first three tints of the deadcoloring serve merely for the rose color in the broadest light of the cheeks, and to color the lips in the liveliest parts : for all the rest, and es- pecially in male carnations, the second row is preferable. Wipe the glass a little, but not particularly. SECOND ROW. 1. Light Red, pure. 2. Same, with a moiety of white. FLESHTINTS OF THE FIRST-PALETTE. 159 3. Same, with a great deal of white. For the tints of a wine-red or rose, and that are less Uvely than those of the first row. Wipe the glass lightly, still occupying the same place. THIRD ROW. 1. Light Red and Yellow Ochre, half and half. 2. Same tint, with a moiety white. 3. A little residue of the preceding, with a great deal of white. The two last tints, but especially the third, serve to make the local color of the fiesh in the fine and hroad lights, adding still more white if the case require it. Wipe the glass a little. FOURTH ROW. 1. Light Red and twice as much Yellow Ochre. 2. Same, with moiety white. 3. Same, with a great deal more white. For the more yellowish lights of the flesh. In very pure and brilliant carnations, like those of a great many young children and even young women, sub- stitute Cinnabar in place of Light Red, to make the second, third, and fourth rows. We have intimated that a portion was reserved of each of the colors No. 1, that are at the head of each row. This portion reserved on the glass should be in bulk at least equal to what has been hitherto employed of the color . This said, we pass to Tints more or less broken with blue-black, for the demitints and shades. Begin by mixing up a part of blue-black with a fourth 160 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. of Thenard’s Blue or of Prussian Blue, if in summer ; but prefer the blue of Smalt (which is very drying) if it be in winter. This mixture you will place upon a corner of your slab, in order to combine it with all the reserved colors No. 1, of which we have just spoken. Make this color more copious than the others. Shift the glass a little, and make your combinations on a clean place. FIFTH ROW. 1. Vermilion, and a fourth as much of the Uue-Uack mixture. 2. The preceding, with a moiety white. 3. Same, with a great deal of white. These three tints are of violet shade, /or certain parts of the lips and of the lachrymal points.* The red should pre- dominate. Wipe the glass a little, because of the white, SIXTH ROW. 1. Light Red, mixed with a fourth of hlue-black mixture. 2. Same, with a moiety of white. 3. Same, with a great deal of white. For violaceous grays less lively than those of theffth row : but make the red still predominate. Wipe the glass a little. * Puncta lachrymalia, are the minute orifices of two small canals which carry off the tears from the eye. It is between these points and the termination and junction of the eyelids next the nose that that reddish little angular mass, of the kind called a caruncle, the caruncula lachrymalis, is situated. It is the latter part evi- dently that Bouvier means ; and elsewhere, where not following him so exactly, we have corrected the error silently. FLESHTINTS OF THE FIRST-PALETTE. 161 SEVENTH ROW. 1. Light Red and Yellow Ochre, the same that you hav^ reserved in the pure color of the third row, to which ya will add a fourth of hlue-black. 2. Same mixture, with a moiety white. 3. Same, with a great deal of white. For the demitints which come next the lights and wnos6 hue does not partake of the violet-gray, but rather of the local color of the flesh in the parts that begin to retire or fly, that is to say, those parts which do not receive the light in front as respects the eye and position of the painter. Wipe the glass a little. EIGHTH ROW. 1. Light Red mixed with twice as much Yellow Ochre ; the reserved tints of the fourth row, with which you are to combine a fourth of hlue-hlack. 2. Same mixture, with moiety white. 3. Same, with a great deal of white. For the demitints that begin to partake of the greenish cast, so that the red is not to predominate here ; an intention which is provided for by the preponderance of yellow in the composition. Wipe the glass a little. NINTH ROW. 1. The Blue-black pure, with a fourth of white. 2. Same, with more white. 3. Same, with a great deal of white. For blue eyes, as well as for all the tints that are more or less bluish in the flesh, the white of the eye, etc., or to add to the violaceous tints where red must not predominate* Wipe the glass a little. 162 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTINO. TENTH ROW. 1. The Blue-hlack, with which you will mingle rather more of Yellow Ochre than there is of the black, and » mere point, that is, very little, of Vermilion. 2. Same, with moiety white. 3. Same, with a great deal more white. For the greenish or greenish-gray demitinls which still partake a little of the local color of the flesh. It is there- fore, that a little red is combined with it; though the greenish tinct must predominate. Wipe the glass a little. Demitmts the . nearest the shades. ELEVENTH ROW. 1. Blue-hlack, with which you will mingle an equal quantity of Yellow Ochre and very little of Light Red,-^ for the hluish-green tints which already come under the cate- gory of the feebler shades. 2. The same mixture, with a little more Yellow Ochre^ and a little Naples Yellow, but very little,— ;/br the yellow- ish-greens that fall into the same rank of feeble shades. Shift the glass a little, and take a clean place. TWELFTH ROW. 1. Naples Yellow, as much Light Red, and a fourth only of the same blue-black which has served you hitherto. 2. The same tint, with a little more red and Naples Yellow. 3. Same as the last, mixing with it a little more still of Naples Yellow (which is to serve as white for heightening). These three tints will serve to paint the reflected shades ; and you will modify them into greenish, grayish, or more FLESHTINTS OF THE FIRST-PALETTE. 163 or less orange, according to the nature of the reflections you may have to copy : but you are not to add the least particle of white, because here, if the reflections appear a little luminous, it is only by a borrowed light, or one which is cast into the shadow by a neighboring body ; now in such a case, it is rare indeed that white has to be added. Take again a new place upon the glass. # THIRTEENTH AND LAST ROW FOR THE FLESHTINTS. 1. Brown, or Bark-red Ochre, mixed with a fourth of Blue-Mack, 2. Light Red, as much Yellow Ochre, and a fourth of Blue-hlack. 3. Light Red, still more Yellow Ochre, and less than a fourth of Blue-hlack. These three shade-tints may be modified at pleasure by making more or less abundant one or even two of the vir- gin colors that compose them ; for the blue-black repre- sents the blue, and the two others the red and the yellow, which are the three primitive colors that tint all the objects of nature. As it is indispensable, in painting the flesh, to paint at the same time all the objects that are next it, e. g. a part of the hair, of the linen, of the draperies, or of the back- ground, and so on, without which these diverse objects could not be melted or softened into the flesh, there are cer- tain tints to be added to the above palette. We give them in the next chapter. 164 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTINO. CHAPTER II. THE FALETTE COMPLETED BY THE TINTS FOR TH* ^ ACCESSORIES. For hair in general, FOURTEENTH ROW. 1. Blacky Dark-red Ochre and Roman Ochre; — for the broadest and strongest shades of the hair, or for the local color of very dark hair. 2. Blacky Yellow Ochre and Light-Red ; — for the local color of chestnut hair, or for the shades of fair hair, 3. Blacky Naples Yellow and Light- Redy when it is very fair ;—for the local color of fair hair ; letting the yellow predominate, using only very little black, and sometimes adding white for the brightest lights, but only at the end of the brush. Shift the glass a little, and take a clean place for the following mixtures. For Linen. FIFTEENTH ROW. 1. Black pure, with half white ; — for the strongest shades ; and you may add, according to the tint, a little of yellow and less of red Ochre. 2. The same mixture already made, with more white ; — for \S\e feebler shades ; and you may add, according to the tint, as before. ACCESSORY-TINTS OF THE FIRST-PALETTE. 165 & Blue-hlack pure, with a still greater quantity of white ; for tiie light demitints. 4. For the great lights^ — White pure. For backgrounds (of apartments, or others that are not skies), SIXTEENTH AND LAST ROW. 1. Black, red and yellow Ochre — more or less of the one or other, according to the tone desired ; — for the oh- scurest parts of the ground ; and if the ground is to be very dark, this tint will be made with Black, Roman Ochre, and Dark-red Ochre.* 2* Same mixture, with a fourth of white ; — for the local tint of the ground. 3. This last mixture, with a great deal more white, for the lightest parts of the ground. Note. It is understood that if you have not had enough left of the nine pure colors to make these additional rows, you will have expressed the necessary quantity from the bladders ; for the portions placed as a reserve on the left and at top of the palette are not to be disturbed for this purpose. * We do not know that it is necessary, after the explanatory and descriptive list of colors in Chapter ii., Part I., to remind the student, that Light-Red or Red Ochre is merely Yellow Ochre calcined, and that Brown-Red or Dark-red Ochre is Roman oi Brown 0<’.hre similarly treated. 166 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. CHAPTER m. RETURN TO THE MATTER OF CHAPTER II. ; WITH SOME OB- SERVATIONS ON THE ADVANTAGE TO A YOUNG ARTIST OF A SYSTEMATIC AND DETAILED ARRANGEMENT OF THE TINT'.I OF HIS PALETTE. Where the drapery or linen touches the flesh, it is neces- sary to prepare the tint in this first palette, as we have already said, indicating the general method ; but not otherwise. According to the nature of the linen as coarse or fine, bluish or reddish, you will make your grays more or less mixed with yellow and sometimes even with a little red, for coarse linen, and compose it exclusively of white and a little blue-black for fine. But it is the nature of the folds as more or less heavy and large that mark particu- larly the texture (see Part V., Chapter iv.) ; and besides, fine linens have always more or less transparency, so that they present very rarely harsh and deep shadows, or whites that are perfectly white. For the background it depends upon the nature of the subject ; but you will make grays more or less brownish, bluish, greenish, etc., by giving predominance to one oi other of your three colors, so that the head, hair, and dra- pery shall detach themselves without harshness, and in a tender and harmonious manner. The brilliant parts of dark hair are usually of a tint colder and grayer than the local tone, because being a re- ADVANTAGES OF THE PRECEDING PALETTE. 167 flection from the light of the sky, they borrow from it the gray tint, more or less bluish, in proportion to the greater or less depth of the local color. Where the hair is fair or very light chestnut, these lights are often golden, or more or less yellow. In this case, Naples Yellow is preferable to White. It covers equally well, and is less cold : and in the brightest lights a little white can always be added on occasion. — But it is not in the deadcoloring that these de- tails are important ; with the resources of your palette as indicated, you will not be at a loss for the tint you want. In fine, while we repeat that this plurality of tints, which IS not usual with practised artists, is not intended for them, we cannot but enforce the strong recommendation which is given for its adoption to beginners, by the excellent man and instructor who publishes it. They will thus have no hesitation, and consequent loss of time, be tempted to no experiment that will be prejudicial, or, groping their way painfully and by slow degrees, find at the end that it must all be retraced ; a course, which though for peculiar geniuses it shall sometimes result in good, — a mighty good, to which no instruction not derived from their own obser- vation and experience could probably have led them, — yet in ordinary cases will terminate in absolutely nothing, or leave the explorer lost in inextricable error. On the con- trary, while taught the resources of the mother-colors and the principles of combination, our young artist has besides before him a palette that he knows, with which, as Bouvier says, he can operate almost with his eyes shut,” such is its arrangement and the methodical succession of the tones. Remembering what is the head color of each row, (or even making a note of *hese Nos. 1. to refer to), he knows at once that the tint directly under it is the same with an ad- dition of while, and that the third, or one directly under 168 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. this again, has still more while : while for the shade-tint* where no white enters, its place he recollects is occupied by yellow. Thus he is without any embarrassment. But we are now to teach him how he is to use this pa- lette ; first, however, devoting an intermediate chapter to tl:e method of fixing the design. TRANSFERRING OF THE DESIGN TO THE CANVAS. 13ft CHAPTER IV. CS WHAT WAY THE DESIGN IS TRANSFERRED TO THE CANVAi OR OTHER SUBJECTILE, AND THEN RECTIFIED, AND MAD4 OUT MORE DISTINCTLY, WITH THE HAIR-PENCIL. A PRACTISED artist usually prefers to make his design directly on the canvas, because the feeling with wdiich he is inspired communicates itself more surely in this manner to his outlines ; his spirit as it were is in his fingers, it seats itself upon the crayon-holder, and directs the chalk. Whereas all this fire is apt to evanish in the tamer work of calking, which is but a copying of himself, and has the disadvantage which attends all copying, in that the mind is not so much on the alert, the imagination has already done its work either in himself or in another, and care and skill, obser\ation and dexterity, are left to b*^ the sole ope- rators. Yet the transferring of a previous sketch to the canvas has some advantages, one of which is of moment to the young artist ; viz., the surface of his can’‘^as is not worried by going over and over and over again, line after line, erasing, restoring and re-erasing the contours of his subjects, which is infallibly the case with an unpractised hand. He designs his subject on paper, corrects it there coolly and with safety, and, be it added, with better oppor- tunity of assuring himself of its exactness,* and when it * We could even go further, and show the advantages of com- peting his whole drawing, and even of coloring his drawing, but ‘he repetition we have so often been obliged to make with pain, that ft no HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. is perfectly to his satisfaction he conveys it to the canvas in one of the following modes of what is called calking. The back of the design is smeared over uniformly with white or red chalk, or even charcoal, and the paper being fastened to the canvas by a couple of wafers at the two top corners, the chalked side next the cloth, the artist goes diligently over all the lines of his design, with any instru- ment that may trace them neatly without cutting through the paper. A knittingneedle will answer the purpose, oi the head of an ordinary sewingneedle that is secured in a proper handle. The bottom part of the paper being lefl loose, it can be raised with care from time to time to ena- ble the artist to see how the process goes on. Otherwise, a sheet of very thin paper chalked as before may be placed between the canvas and the back of the design. This will save the necessity of smearing the latter, while the chalked paper will serve again for new designs. It has also another convenience^ in that you may move it from place to place according to the extent of the subject. But it is apt to shift its position on the least inadvertence. A third method consists in puncturing with a needle all the outlines of the design, and, when it is attached to the subjectile, striking on it all over, but gently, in other words patting it, with a little bag containing a fine black dust of a proper kind (as powdered charcoal), which leaves the canvas dotted with the outlines, to be afterwards filled up in the ordinary way.* our volume admits of no theoretical discussion, and little or nc in- vestigation of the principles of the art, in a word has nothing to do with its philosophy , checks us, and reminds us that we have in a measure overste{)ped our narrow and humble limits even in the very opening of this chapter. * All these methods are very old. We find them in the Reposa of Rai)hacl Borghini. The last one is not recorded byBouvier, SECURING AND CORRECTING OF THE OUTLINE. 171 The sketch is transferred ; you proceed now to rectify it, and to fix it. Take the palette, pencils, and rest-stick, and with one of the reddish-brown colors, without admixture of white, and with your smallest sable-pencil, go over all your principal traits, but only in the carnations, adding, at the end of the pencil, a little drying-oil, in order to render the color more flowing, light, and transparent, as in a wash of watercolor. Do this with a light and sure hand, giving all your atten- tion to rectify the whole as well as the details, if there be occasion, especially in the eyes, nose, and mouth, if it be a head you undertake. Your touches will be slender and delicate where the lights are to fall, but broader, and full, yet soft, in the shadow-parts. Moreover, with the point of your pencil do as in drawing, enforce certain traits that are more strongly characterized and more energetically expressed than the rest. These strong and broad touches, made in the proper places and without dryness, add a great deal of expression to the contour, and enable you to establish the shades with less distrust and hesitation. All is now ready for the first painting. but we thought it as well to add it for the information of the reader, as it takes up but little space. 172 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. CHAPTER V. THE PROCESS OF FIRST-PAINTING OR DEADCOLORING. Vou begin with the masses of your principal shadows which you lay in, without entering too much into detail, w'ith a soft and thick brush and with the same brownish mixture, using but little paint, and keeping your color trans- parent as in washing ; modifying the tone by a little more red ochre, to cover certain parts, as in the nostrils, the line of the mouth, between the lips, and sometimes in the cor- ners, as well as in the thickness of the eyelids ; in a word everywhere where the hue appears sanguine. Do all this freely, without trembling, and be not too assiduous to rendei your shadows very uniform ; for this is but a first prepa- ration. — This method has the advantage of giving you some idea of the relief and general efFe<^;t.* Take now firmer brushes ; have five ;r six in the left hand, or near you. Store one of them ? ith one of the most luminous of your fleshtints, of those ir whose composition there is yellow ochre, red, and a great deal of white, and impaste in a broad and full manner all your finest lights, as if you were laying the whites of a design on gray paper. You take for this, you perceive, not the whitest of all your tints, but one of the lightest among the local flesh- tints ; for you reserve the liveliest and most brilliant light to be given in the finishing. • It was the favorite method of Rubens, and of some of the great artists of the Florentine and Roman schools, as we shall presently show. THE PROCESS OF FTRST-PAINTING. 173 Your local lights thus placed, you lay next them the kints, still very pure, that accompany them on all sides ; taking for this purpose a tint which is now somewhat less luminous, though still without admixture of black or blue. You proceed thus by a gradation of tints, near and more near, rounding the head, until you reach the flying-tints, which begin to be somewhat sullied and broken by the bluish-black, that is, the progressive iinis from the jfth row to the tenth inclusive. You will take the greatest care to employ each one of them only in proportion to the degree of light it expresses, having regard at the same time to the tint more or less rosy, yellowish, violaceous, greenish, grayish or bluish, wherewith the part is colored that you are at the moment at work upon. But beware how you exaggerate these broken tones in the demitints ; for they and the local color must form one harmonious whole whose component parts are imperceptible save to the eye of the painter, a scale whose nice degrees are measured off and registered only in his own mind. From the demitints you reach insensibly the shadows, properly so called, and finally the reflexes, whose tints are comprised in the tenth, eleventh, and tivelfth rows ; so that you are called to cover again the brownish washes you had first established. Observe, in this first painting, to keep your shadows a little warmer, yet a little less obscure, than you mean they shall appear in the completed work : the reasons, if we have not already elsewhere given them, will develope themselves to your observation before your work is ended. But do not seek to unite your colors by teasing them into one another with the brush. This is not the way. If the gradatioii we have indicated be not easy, as it certainly has some difficulty and always gives some trouble even to 174 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. a tolerably practised eye and hand, yet it is by such a method only that purity, relief, and softness can be obtained in any degree approaching their perfection. When your tints are laid together, each in its degree, so that at a cer- tain distance the effect seems gained by this means alone, then, caressing them, as it were, with a clean brush, or sometimes with one that has color (if it be of the right tone), and following the directions of the forms as they ap- pear in the model, you melt your tints together in a few moments, and the work is over. (See Chapter viii.) By going back to the close of the last Part, you will see that the evidence of such manipulation is exacted by con- noisseurs, for whose interest and instruction the author there translated published his esteemed, though certainly conceited volumes ; and at the conclusion of this, or of the next Part, we shall annex a maxim ascribed to the cele- brated Rubens, in which you will find the same principle of operation inculcated on the student-painter ; these two brief chapters serving to refresh your memories, as reca- pitulations and condensations of the pith of what we are now giving in detail, from the still more detailed instruc- tions of Bouvier. To return to our gradations. If the learner ask, how is he, without experience, to know whether the tint he is about to annex to one already laid be its proper neighbor ; is Jiis eye at the very outset to be the sole judge ? it is an- swered, no : he can test every gradation on his palette, so that his work upon the canvas may be as unhesitating as clean. Thus : he has laid a tint in its proper place ; he is in doubt with what precisely to follow it : he takes a portion of that tint, and beside it on the palette, and con- tiguous, he puts a sample of one that is analogous, bu* somewhat less light : if it be found too discordant, or not THE PROCESS OF FIRST-PAINTING. 175 yet sufficiently broken, he mixes with it, at the end of his brush, a portion of the first pattern : but if, on the other hand, it appear too similar, for the imperceptible degrada- tion requisite to make the part he is painting turn, he dips into one of the neighboring rows for a tone less bright : and so on. Very soon, if he have aptitude, this testing of his tones will be unnecessary. But let us see, whether an example, given by the judi- cious artist-author we follow, will not indicate more plainly the path of the pupil. 176 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTINQ. CHAPTER VI. EXEMPLIFICATION OF THE METHOD INCULCATED .'N THE PRECEDING CHAPTER. Let us suppose that you are now about to paint the cheek and part of the jaw of a youtliful face that is full and of a fresh carnation, and that setting out, as we have said, from the brightest and freshest tint, you wish to reach the most vigorous part of the shadows by insensible and just gradations. Where is found the broad light of the swell of the cheek, lay first the fine tint which precedes the brightest on youi’ palette (not the brightest itself, because that, as we have already said (p. 172), is for a later mo- ment), keeping it to the limits which the form and tone prescribe. Take now a small portion of the tint which is above it in its row, and which is, you know, deeper of tone ; mix it with the former, on your palette, and with the end of your brush, and judge if it be well ; add, retrench, of the more colored or more light, until you be satisfied. Place this new tint next your broad light, still keeping in view the form. Compose in like manner a third tint, which you will place upon the palette side by side the second, and to which you will have added a hue of rose a little more decided. Spread this in like manner beside and after or all around the two first tints, according to the requisi- tions of the model ; then a fourth, a fifth tint, always a little more colored, until you reach the part of the cheek that is decided rose. Next compose with the end of the DEGRADATION OF TINTS. 177 brush, and in proportion as you have occasion for them, two or three rose-tints, more and more colored, until you reach the liveliest incarnadine that nature offers. Arrived here, you begin to degrade your rose, and tc render it progressively less lively, by adding to it a little of a lilac or faint violaceous tint, then a little more still, and so in succession, as you get nearer the jaw or the turning of the cheek, until this lovely rosecolor is lost, confounding itself by degrees with the violaceous-gray, bluish, greenish, or yellow-reddish demitints in the parts not yet shaded, but only flying ; or indeed, if it be the shadow-side that you happen to be engaged upon, you lose the tint in the mass of shadow properly so called. This variety of broken tints which we have mentioned, and whose enume^’ation, partial as it is, would sound pre- posterous to the ordinary observer, who sees them not in nature, yet which the cunning painter knows well to dis- tinguish and to imitate, giving thereby a truthfulness of representation to his work, . . . “ tantum series junctura- que pallet ” — this almost infinite diversity of color of which we have indicated but one example, is we need hardly say not really existent in the skin, but merely an appearance caused in the first place by the shades and by that im- perfect obscuration which makes the demitints, but espe- cially by the effects of light upon the down of the skin. It is this down, almost imperceptible in the light, which modifies to infinity the tones with which the demitints are colored ; it is the distinctive mark of youth and freshness, such as we have assumed for the preceding example. Where it is wanting the coloring is hard and glaring, the glow and brightness and tinting of an apple, not the bloom and mellow beauty of tbe peach ; and this is usually the case with fine complexions in maturer life. 9 * 178 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. It is for the painter, especially of portraits, t \> observe the diversity wc intimate ; for, though as a general rule this down partakes of the color of the hair, giving in the flying-parts bluish tints when the hair is dark, and tints somewhat greenish when it is fair, yet exceptions are nor* by any means uncommon. REFLEXES OF CARNATIONS. 179 CHAPTER VII. OF THE DIFFERENT TINTS OF THE REFLECTIONS JN CARNATIONS. Reflexes or reflections, properly speaking, are visible only in the shadows,* because of their necessary feebleness as compared with direct light ; and they follow the same law as the shadows, taking their color solely from the local color of the objects that send them their light, and from that of the general mass of the surrounding atmosphere. Reflexes then may vary tint and light almost to infinity, according to the case and to the objects causing them. But as they are always of a duller tint than the real lights, nothing hinders one from waiting to spread the general mass of shade before characterizing them (except the re- flection be of very great extent, — which supposes ordina- rily that it is likewise more than usually bright) : otherwise they must be added to the particular shadow when laid, taking for the purpose a tint brighter than the latter, and calculating beforehand what tone it will assume when combining with the shadow-color which is yet liquid. * A colored stuff, or other body sufficiently translucent, will in- deed produce a reflection on a surface not shaded ; take for exam- ple the familiar instance of a scarlet or crimson curtain interposed between the face and the light of day. Yet in this case the lig’ upon the face is not direct, the reflection and the light are in fact one and the same thing. 180 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. CHAPTER VIII. THE METHOD OF BLENDING OR MELTING THE TINTS TOGETHER. We have already in two places (the concluding chapter of the previous Part, and the fifth of the present) given, as it seems to us, a sufficient general idea of the mode in which the superficies of the colors is made to appear, as in nature, one, without disturbing or compounding its diverse tones ; but young artists are so apt to fail in this delicate process, either overdoing the matter, or by inexpertness marring all their previous work, that for more assurance we shall follow Bouvier into a fuller detail, — thus isolated to com- mand more attention. The operation is commenced at the top of the part, and conducted step by step, without striding from one place to another, until you duly reach the bottom. For this you select some soft and clean brushes, and, with care to take but little color at a time, you dip here and there into the different mixed tints whereof you have occasion in order to blend one tone of color with its neigh- bor. Manage the brush lightly, without bearing on the canvas, and let the hairs of the brush be a little scattered at the extremity, not stuck together. If the series of tints on your palette offer not the precise tone you want, wliich is usually the case, compose it at the end of your pencil, as has been so often directed, and endeavor to makft in this way intermediate tones from one tint to another, witliout encroaching too much upon either by the move- BLENDING. 181 ment of the brush, but merely skimming the surface with a feathery touch, and in the direction of the forms. When two neighboring tints are so happily degraded as to need no intermediate compounded tint, no semitone of union, so to speak, all you have to do is, with a soft and somewhat loose brush, and with the lightest movement in the world, which is to the ordinary motion of your pencil, what the flourish of a writingmaster is to his firmest strokes, to caress their edges, as is elsewhere said, and the juncture disappears. It is the work of a minute. Yet it is also the work of a pliant and skilful hand. Nor, if you have at any time succeeded badly, persist in the ungrateful eflbrt ; for this teasing and tormenting of the colors will not only sully your tones and embroil the tints, but you get mired as it were in the paste of paint, and eflbrts to extricate yourself end at last in the deterio- ration likewise of your forms. Better in such case, leave the evil as it is ; as the second painting will afford you every facility for correcting, ripening, and bringing into harmony this and other imperfections, crudities, and dis- cords. But supposing that the fusion of your tints is duly made, now is the moment when you may use the dry softener or blender to go with a like feathering touch over the little ridges, if there be any, which the hairs of your pencil may have left in the solid color. According to the extent of the part, you choose either a Jitch or hadger brush. The nature of these tools and the mode of cleaning them we have already shown in the seventeenth and eighteenth chapters of Parc I. We have only to repeat what we have there said, or implied (p. 94) ; that their use, certainly to any extent, for the purpose of softening or fusing the masses of color is not approved of by instructed artists, very many (“ and 182 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. they are usually,” says M. Bouvier, “ the most skilful ”) never using them at all. It is for the beginner, therefore, to dispense with them as much as possible : and we may venture to assure him of one thing, with regard to the hadger -Menders, that if he never touch them at first, he will never want to in the sequel, when he is better prac- tised, for he will find them utterly superfluous, except as dusters. FINISHING-TOUCHES J8S CHAPTER IX. OF CERTAIN FINISHING-TOUCHES FOR THE COMPLETION 0» THE FIRST-PAINTING. You have now but to add certain spirited touches, in order to complete the deadcoloring of your carnations. These touches are given, some in the lights, others in the shades, but more especially in the features of the countenance, and even in the broadest light of the forehead. You commence with this latter ; you pass to that or those of the nose ; you observe if there be anything to add to the bone of the cheeks and about the eyes ; thence you descend to the mouth, and finally come to the chin and to the ears. But be careful to compose as they should be, the tints you will make use of for these different touches : though brighter, they must each participate of the color, more or less broken, of the feature or part they are ap- plied to. And not only in this respect, but also in their form and proportion, their analogy to the part must be well considered previously to using the pencil ; for these isolated touches are to be made with that freedom and boldness which is necessarily supposed by the epithet we have pre- fixed to then^ (spirited ) : otherwise they would lose their designed effecL. Having thus i. he first place retouched the lights, you will be better ab\e ' preserve the proper harmony in giv- ing the enforcing-tb hes, than if you had reversed this 184 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. order ; in which case it is probable you would have markea the latter too strongly. These vigorous touches are to be given where there is too great softness, and a want of character and of transpa- rency. The most essential are usually those which are required in the eyes, particularly in the pupil, in the nos- trils, in the separation of the lips, sometimes in the corners of the mouth, etc.; the whole depending not only on tne likeness, if it be a portrait, but also on the degree of vigor which the under preparations have already. In general, the enforcing-touchcs should be of a warmly colored tone, rather than dark-gray and cold. The nostrils and interior of the mouth especially, should be rather sanguine in the first-painting, reserving for them a subsequent modification in finishing the picture, which is very easy ; whereas it is often difficult to superinduce transparency and communi- cate a degree of sanguine depth to touches that are sketched too black and too opaque. Remember this, and do not fear to exaggerate a little these sorts of cavities in the deadcoloring, avoiding, however, the doing of it to excess. In the bright touches, there is a fault that all beginners are apt to commit, in the painting of the eyes. Not only do they represent the ball too white, not observing that it is never purely so, but they also make the visual point, or little speck of light which is usually visible on or nigh the pupil in various positions according to circumstances, both too white and too large. With the model before them a due observation will correct any error in this respect, because it is, we are convinced, in nine cases out of ten the result of mere routine : forgetting, or not taking the pains to as- certain, in the only way it can be ascertained, the great variety of appearance that this part presents, according to the direction of the light, the posture of the model, and the FINISHING-TOUCHES. 185 formation of the eyes, orbits, and lids, the unobservant artist is apt to plant the speck just where he has seen it done by others, and make it just as white, as thick, as large, without a doubt of its propriety. A hard and too defined manner of marking the line of the eyelashes, is another defect that betrays the hand of the beginner. This part should be painted with a sweet and tender touch, even when the lashes are very thick and black. The line must not be equally dark throughout its length ; and moreover it should be accompanied, both above and below, by tender demitints, which prevent its appear- ing like the stroke o*’ a pen, as one sees it round the eyes of dolls. A like remark applies to the other vigorous touches, in the nostrils, mouth, etc. They are in general the stum- blingblock of amateurs. Nevertheless these touches must be made with a free band ; they are worth nothing when gone over to sweeten and melt them. It is rather by the exactness of the tone that they should be in harmony with the rest, than by means of a lengthened, and, as it were, stumped work ; for should the touch when placed appear too hard, you are not to seek a remedy by jumbling it with the under color ; leave it, it can be painted again, and with better success, by means of a juster tone, the more readily because of the thinness of the couch of color in the shadows. Only have patience till the sketch be fairly dry. The first-painting of the whole mass of your carnations is now completed. It is supposed that in the course of this operation you have at the same time sketched or dead- colored some part of the hair, linen, drapery, background, dec., in a word some little portion of all the parts tha touch the flesh, as we have previously recommended. 186 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. Here too you are to avoid all hardness, blending the ex treme edges of the two objects lightly, and adroitly, but without great particularity ; and for this purpose you may use a fitch. WORK OF THE FIRST-PAINTING DISTRIBUTED. CHAPI'ER X. THE WORK OF THE FIRST-PAINTING DISTRIBUTED INTO DAYS. With the facility derived from practice, the artist or ama- teur will learn to divide for himself his labors, proportion- ing his daily tasks accordingly ; though there can be no set measure for what is liable after all to be controlled by many circumstances quite independent of the skill and promptitude of the operator. As a beginner, however, he cannot perhaps do better than follow the directions of M. Bouvier. At all events the route that amiable artist has traced, and which with little variation we have staked out, if the expression be admissible, will give him some idea of the time he is likely to consume. Supposing then, that he is painting ailer nature, he may divide the operations of the sketch into five days or sittings, which will give him time to finish what he has undertaken for each day, and save fatigue to the model or sitter. The first day he v/ill devote to the drawing of the design, or contour of his subject, and, when perfected, to transfer it, the model having gone, to his subjectile. (Chap, iv.) The next day, he goes over the outline with the hair- pencil (ibid.), and washes in the principal masses of shadow (Chap. v.). This preparation may be dry enough the next day, if the time be summer, to enable him to paint the head without effacing either outline or shadow. The third day, he will compose his palette (Chaps, i, and ii.), which at first will occupy him about two hours, 188 Handbook of oilpainting. though further practice will enable him to complete it in twenty or thirty minutes. The model or sitter then ar- rives : the deadcoloring is commenced ; on which he works two or three successive hours. Then allowing as much time, or thereabout, according to the length of the day and other circumstances, for the model tc rait, he resumes his work sufficiently soon to finisli it before sunset ; which will employ two hours or two hours and a half more for the flesh alone, including with it the little matters that border or touch, as mentioned at the close of the last chapter. Thi fourth day will terminate the whole first-painting, if it be a simple bust without the arms ; but in the con - trary case, the arms and hands are to be deadcolored im mediately after the head, and A fifth day will be devoted to the hair, draperies, back, ground and other accessories ; which will be exclusively treated of hi the next chapter. BACKGROUND AND ACCESSORIES. 189 CHAPTER XI. THE DEADCOLORING OF THE BACKGROUND AND OTHER ACCESSORIES. For your background, you should calculate the tint and vigor so as not to destroy the value of your shadows and yet to make sufficient opposition to the lights of your car- nations and of the accessory parts. As a general rule, the tint immediately about the head should he more sombre than the demitints of the flesh, and lighter than the real shadows, in order to give the appear- ance of space between the ground and the figure, and con- sequent isolation and detachment to the latter. Neverthe- less, for some striking effects, a deviation from this rule, which we repeat is but general, is occasionally desirable and often practised. But avoid the plan which is some- times followed of making one side of the ground altogether dark and the other in like manner light. This produces, in the simple portrait of a bust, almost always a bad effect, and is besides little natural, as requiring a particular dis- position of a chamber or piece of architecture, or curtain, etc., that is not easily or well represented in such narrow limits. In large compositions or where there are more than one figure, such bold effects are sometimes attempted with advantage, or at least with propriety ; and, where the extent of the canvas admits, and the distribution is well managed, even in the case of a single figure.* But on * Of which the writer has an admirable instance in his posses- 190 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. the whole, the arrangement is, as we have saiJ, to be avoided by the student-painter : it requires too much knowledge of the art, and too much practice as an artist, for him to hope to venture it successfully. In like man- ner, in the narrow field allowed for a simple bust, the pre- sence of useless accessories, such as curtains, &c., is far from pleasing ; not to say that all such things must in a degree divert attention from the head, without offering in themselves any compensating merit. Where however the arms are added, in a canvas of a little more extent, these trifles are not only not so much misplaced but sometimes become even a necessary indication, or explanation rather, of posture, as for example the arm or circular back of a chair which comes forward and supports the hand, wrist, or forearm of the figure, the edge of a table, or the like. But even here the advice, which Horace (Epist. ad Jul. Flor.) gives to the poet, should mutatis mutandis be diligently ob- served by his brother in art, the painter : “ At qui legitimum cupiet fecisse poema, Cum tabulis animum censoris sumet honesti : Audebit, queecunque parum splendoris habebunt, Et sine pondere eru7it, et honore indigna ferentur. Verba movere loco, quamvis invita recedant, Et versentur adhuc intra penetralia Vestae.” That is : With his pencils, he should assume the part of a sion, in a Spanish painting of some value, where the perspective is of great fidelity, and the air around the figure, despite the obscura- tion added by age to the original obscurity of the chamber repre- sented, is by the art of the master, aided by this very contrivance, so wonderfully true, that it needs but the removal of the frame and very little artifice to make the picture seem a recess of the wall on which it is hung. These are not its only merits ; but they are tho only ones that have concern with the present subject. BACKGROUND AND ACCESSORIES. 191 dispassionate connoisseur (if possible), and reject from his design, at whatever cost of inclination, those things that have neither splendor nor importance, and can in themselves add no merit to performance. The color of a background that represents no particular scene or objects should not be too uniform. You may add to it even some large confused patches or spots, such as might be shapeless indistinct clouds of diverse tints melted together and almost insensible. But it is not too near the head that these are to be placed ; rather on the borders and in the corners : they should die away imperceptibly in the neighboring parts and at some distance from the flesh, the whole managed with discernment and without affecta- tion. The object and advantages of such a treatment which is explicitly but with a caution of discretion recommended by Bouvier, nor less by Depiles, and others, are left to the young artist to discover as he proceeds, which he will not fail to do, if he have anything of that observation which is necessary for even tolerable success in painting. Treat all the accessories in the deadcoloring in a large manner ; not entering into the minute details, either of the folds of the draperies, or of the hair. By preparing them in grand masses, in which the general effect is well ex- pressed, you will not, when you come to finish, be embar- rassed and fettered by petty details, perhaps badly rendered or disposed in the first-painting, but have a full freedom of action to mark them with precision, tracing them in chalk previously to the repainting. 192 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTINO. CHAPTER XII. THE DRYING OF THE SKETCH OR FIRST-PAINTING Ncver place a freshly painted picture with the face against a wall : the exhalations thence proceeding, and which Bou- vier thinks it not unlikely that the oil “attracts to itself,’’ affect visibly the moist colors. This danger, however, cannot fee very great from old hard walls that for many years have Veen covered with coat after coat of oilpaint. Still it is best o give the picture a free exposure to the full light and open air (with the usual precautions, of course, against dust, &c.), and even to the sun if not too warm* ; “ for in em- ploying the colors which I indicate,” says Bouvier, “ you need have no inquietude for their solidity.” When the * If you were to let one of our ardent sunshines, even in the warmer days of spring, rest but a few minutes on the more liquid colors, as of a glaze for instance, it would rivel them in a way that would ad- mit of no cure — none except the entire removal of the part ; for the light, instead of being absorbed as was intended, would be re- flected by these multitudinous little wrinkles, though you should cover them with coat after coat of varnish, and thus you would have a contrary effect from what was designed, — a flying-part for ex- ample coming forward, and a shadow giving out strong light, bssides the positive disfiguration abstracted from any notion of propriety. The sun of Geneva is not the sun of New York. We have there- fore thought it well to add above “ if not too warm for of all accidents to the surface of a picture there is none to match this in inflicting deformity on the creations of the pencil; it were less un- sightly in comparison, if cracked from top to bottom, for want of well drying DRYING OF THE FIRST-PAINTING. 193 weather will not permit exposure to the air, it is recom- mended to face it to the window ; in this, as in all other cases, giving the canvas an inclination forward of four or five inches, in order that the particles of dust, and other matters that float in the atmosphere, may have less facility in attaching themselves to the surface of the paint. When the paint has lost its stickiness, and there is con- sequently no longer anything to fear from the dust, reverse the inclination of the picture, so that the light may strike upon it more directly, and accelerate the desiccation. As the admixture of whitelead greatly facilitates the drying of pigments, it is not those which are combined with it to any considerable degree that you are to essay, to judge if the sketch be dry ; try with your finger the darker colors, those especially that are much oiled : when these are dry, the rest are also.* The nail applied to the color will not scrape it up in strips, if it be fully dry, but rather in powder ; this, where there has been no drying-oil added : but where you have been obliged to use this desiccant, you are not to expect the same result, for the pellicle which rapidly forms on the surface of such combinations prevents the evaporation of the oil and keeps the colors that are thus imprisoned long tender. It will be sufficient, with these parts, that the surface bears the pressure of the finger. We will now, before passing to the Second or Finishing Palette, give the maxim which we promised, and which is • Consult your list in Chap, i., Part I. ; for there are exceptions. Thus, Prussian Blue dries admirably ; it is one of its most pleas- ing properties. The eye, however, will be always a sufficient guide to tell you what colors you must test, to know when your painting is dry 10 194 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. ascribed to Rubens : it will very property connect the two Parts. We find it in various authors in various languages ; though whence we drew it directly, as here translated, we have quite forgotten. Besides serving as a recapitula- tion of the advice already given with regard to the general management of the colors, comprehending indeed the whole pith of the matter, as it were in a nutshell, it contains, even in that little compass, an important caution for the preservation of the purity of the shadows, a counsel of warning which, though implied in what we have been teaching, has not yet been impressed in direct and distinct erms upon the attention of the student-artist. kUBKNs’ LESSON* CHAPTER XIIL RTJBENS’ LESSON TO THE YOUNG ARTIST. “ Begin by painting in your shadows lightly, taking par- ticular care that no white be suffered to glide into them ; it is the poison of a picture, except in the lights ; if once your shadows are corrupted by the introduction of the baneful color, your tones will no longer be warm and transparent, but heavy and leady. It is not the same in the lights ; they may be loaded with color as much as you may think proper, provided the tones are kept pure : you are sure to succeed, in placing each tint in its place, and afterwards, by a light blending of the brush or pencil, mellowing them into each other without tormenting them : and, on this preparation, may be given those decided touches which are always the distinguishing mark of the great Diaster.” The sketches left by Rubens, of which there are many, show that he followed the method thus indicated. We are told by Merimee that this master’s process of first washing in his shadows, with some brownish color, in the way we have already indicated after the counsel of Bouvier, was common to the principal painters of the Roman and Flo- rentine schools. There are extant at Florence two pictures, one by Da Vinci, and the other by Fra Bartolomeo, that are simply deadcolored ; and the effect is made out precisely in that manner. Rubens, when in Italy, abandoned this 1P6 HANDBOOK OF OJLPAINTING. transparent method for the solid painting of Correggio, but on his return he resumed his first manner as derived from his master Otho Venius. M^rimee has no doubt it was the very method of Van Eyck, PART IV rai SECOND OK FINISHING PALSTTB, HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING PART THE FOURTH. CHAPTER I. COMPOSITION AND METHODICAL ARRANGEMENT OF THE FLESH-TINTS FOR THE SECOND PALETTE. The list of colors, and their proportions, which go to form '•he second paiette are as loliows : Silver White . • 12 parts, Naples Yellow . 2 parts, Yellow Ochre 8 parts, Roman Ochre 4 parts. Light Red 4 parts, Brown Red 3 parts. Vermilion 1 part. Chinese Vermilion 1 part. Rose Lake 3 parts, Deep or Intense Rose Lake 3 parts, Burnt Carmim . 2 parts, Burnt Sienna 1 part. TJ Ur amarine 8 parts. Blue Smalt 1 part, Blacky one of the best of the bluish kind 2 parts, Cassel Earth . . . 1 part. 200 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. Remembering, or reading over, what was said in the first chapter of the preceding Part, as to the bulk of the portions, the quadrupling of the quantity for a head of the na<’ ral size, the reservation of part of each- parent- color, as well for a supply in case of need as to make the demitints, etc. etc., and applying the same indications, in every respect of manipulation and arrangement, to the present palette, the young artist will proceed first to compose T-'he tints for 'painting over the fiesli and lu'minous parts of the carnations. FIRST ROW.'*‘ 1. Rose Lake, pure ; — for glazing the liveliest parts of the lips. 2. Same, with a little white ;—for the incarnate of the cheeks, i\\e freshest part of the lips, etc. 3. This last mixture, with a little more white ; — for the lips and luminous parts of the cheeks, if you paint a person of fresh complexion or a child. SECOND ROW. 1. Chinese Vermilion, pure ; — for certain fine tones in the lips or elsewhere. * By noting the observations that are made under the First and Fourth Rows of the First Palette (Chap, i.. Part III.) you will see that you reserve, on the glass, a moiety at least of each of the colors No. 1, in order, when you form your broken tints, to mix with it Ultramarine lowered by a third of some blue-black. And it is tc be remembered that whenever Ultramarine is mentioned for the broken tints, it is understood as so lowered. Whence it is also called, in these rows. Black-blue. Ultramarine is rarely indeed employed pure in carnations, except they be of extraordinary freshness. FLESHTINTS OF THE FINISHING -PALETTE. 201 2. Same, with a moiety white ; — for roses less fresh than tlie Lake. 3. This last mixture, with a great deal of white ; — same purpose. Wipe the glass, continuing however at the same place. THIRD ROW. 1. Ordinary Vermilion, pure; — to take from, as you have occasion, for certain lively tones, 2. Same, with a moiety white ; — for roses less fresh than the two first, or to render the lilac tints more roseate, 3. This last, with a great deal of white ; — for the same in the lights, or to render the lilac tints more roseate. Wipe the glass a little. FOURTH ROW. 1. Ordinary Vermilion, and as much Yellow Ochre, 2. Same, moiety white. 3. Same, with a great deal of white. These three tints, and especially the two last, mixed with more or less white, are local fesh- tints in the luminous parts. Wipe the glass a little. FIFTH ROW. 1. A part of the mixture No. 1 of the fourth row, add- ing to it again a moiety of Yellow Ochre. 2. Same, moiety white. 3. Same, with a great deal of white. For painting the more yellowish parts in the lights, e. g. the part under the mouth, a part of the neck and of the shoulders, etc. 10 * 202 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTINO. Shift your glass a little to the left, so as to take a cleafi place. SIXTH ROW. 1. Light Redy pure. 2. Same, moiety white. 3. Same, with a great deal of white. These serve to imitate the reds or roses that are of a vinous hue and little lively. Wipe the glass, because of the white. SEVENTH ROW. 1. Deep Lake, and Red Ochre, pure. 2. Same, moiety white. 3. Same, with a great deal of white. Reds somewhat violaceous, for certain parts of the lips, of the nostrils, of the ears, and sometimes even of the cheeks and of the nose. Wipe, on account of the white. Tints broken wiih the black-blue, for parts that turn (re- treat rounding), and for those where the skin is thinnest and most delicate. EIGHTH ROW. 1. Deep Lake, as much Light Red, and a moiety of Ultramarine r — for hues decidedly violaceous in the lips, cheeks, &c. 2. Same mixture, moiety white ; — for the lilac tints which are often found about the eyes, and elsewhere, as in the lips, etc. 3. Same, with a great deal of white ; — same purpose. Change your place or the glass, turning it, as before, a little to the left. FLESHTINTS OF THE FINISHING-PALETTE. 203 NINTH ROW. 1. VUramarine pure ; with which (if in wimer) you will mix a twentieth part of Smalt, to render it more prompt to dry. 2. Same, moiety white. 3. Same, a good deal of white. To take therefrom, on occasion, hluish tints more or less dark or light, when you are called upon to modify , at the 3nd of your brush, certain tones, whether for the white of ;he eyes, or for the bluish lilac-tints, and so on. Wipe the glass a little ; and now make use of the re- !>3rved moieties of your pure colors No. 1, which you were reminded, in a note a little back, you were to set aside on the slab for the following combinations. TENTH ROW. 1. Ordinary Vermilion, as much Yellow O'cKre, and a fourth of the volume, of the two united, of Black-hlue for the broken tints and the insensible degradation of the parts that turn, which are not yet strong shadows. 2. Same, moiety white ; — for lighter tints, feeble demi- tints and parts that turn. 3. Same, with a great deal of white ; — same appropria- tion. Wipe the glass a little. ELEVENTH ROW. 1. Vermilion and twice as much of Yellow Ochre, witli a fourth Black-hlue. 2. Same, moiety white. 3. Same, with a great deal of white. For the tints now somewhat reddish-green, though still 204 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING partaking a little of the local color of the flesh ; — for cer* tain flying demitints that have little freshness, as in the lower part of the visage, etc. Change your place, or wipe with more care. TWELFTH ROW. 1. Ultramarine^ as much Yellow Ochre, and a fourth of Rose Lake ; — for the broken greenish hues. (To this first mixture, you will add a twentieth of Small.) 2. Same (but no smalt), with a moiety white ; — for the greenish demitints more or less light. 3. Same (no smalt), with a great deal of white ; — same occasions. Wipe the glass, on account of the white. THIRTEENTH ROW. 1. Black-blue, a half less of Yellow Ochre, and a fourth of the volume, of the two together, of Rose Lake, with an atom of Smalt; — for the broken bluish-greens, near the shadows or beard, etc. 2. Same, moiety ichite ;* — for the broken bluish-greens of the demitints. 3. Same, with more white ; — for the same. One may add to these demitints, at the point of the pen- cil, more or less lake, according to the case, and sometimes even an atom of Chinese Vermilion. Change the place. FOURTEENTH ROW. 1. Black-blue, as much Yellow Ochre (to which you will add an atom of Smalt). * To save repetition, observe, wherever there is white, the smalt is omitted, Bouvier adding it merely as a drier. » FLESBTINTS OF THE FINISHING-PALETTE. 205 2. Same, moiety white. 3. Same, more white. Pure greens, to take from on occasion, when you would modify a tint that you have couched too red or too yellow- red on the canvas. Wipe the glass. For the real Shadows, where no white enters. FIFTEENTH ROW. 1. Black-hlue, as much Roman Ochre, and a fourth of Deep Lake. 2. Same, adding (in place of white) a fourth of Naples Yellow. 3. Same, with a little more Naples Yellow. Broken warm-greens, to couch upon parts found too red, or to modify a tint at the end of the brush. The two last for the same uses, only in parts more light, be it reflexes or dem hints. Change the place. For the Reflexes, without white. SIXTEENTH ROW. 1. Red Ochre, as much Naples Yellow, and a fourth, of their united volume, of Black-Hue. 2. Same, with less of hlack-hlue. 3. Same, with still less of hlack-hlue. The tints of the different reflections are varied by adding more or less of each of the three colors ; which is done with the brush, as the occasion calls for it. Change the place. 206 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. SEVENTEENTH ROW (withoUt white). 1. Hed-hrown or Light Red ochre, with a third of Black him. 2. Same, adding a third of Roman Ochre. 3. Same, adding besides a third of Naples Yellow. One will take from the parent-colors more or less of the three here indicated, when a necessity is found for modifying a tone, either to make it more or less yellow- reddish, or more or less yellowish, or more or less viola- ceous ; for all depends upon those three colors, the red, the yellow, and the black-blue. Wipe the glass. Deep hr owns, without white. EIGHTEENTH ROW. 1. Deep-red Ochre, a fourth of Roman Ochre, and a third of hlack-hlue (of No. 30 and a point of smalt) ;—for the most vigorous parts of the shadows. As in the row above, one may modify the tones at pleasure. 2. Same, with a little more Roman Ochre ; — for parts more ruddy and less vigorous. 3. Same, with the addition of a little Naples Yellow ; — for parts still less vigorous. Change the place. NINETEENTH ROW (withoUt whitc). Ic Burnt Carmine (with a very little drying-oil). 2. Same, with a moiety of Burnt Sienna (do.) 3. Deep Lake (with a little drying-oil.) 4. Same, with a moiety of Burnt Sienna (do.) These four tints are very dark hrowns, while at the same lime they are sanguine and more or less warm of tone. They FLESHTINTS OF THE FINISHING-PALETTE. 20V serve for the most vigorous touches in the finishing oi a head ; e. g. in the mouth and nostrils, and sometimes even in cer- tain parts of the eyes or of their setting. The drying-oil is to be added only as you use the colors ; and at the point of the brush ; a recapitulation of a pre- vious instruction that applies likewise to the succeeding row. Wipe the glass. TWENTIETH ROW (without white). 1. Burnt Sienna (a little drying-oil); — for certain very warm touches, as well as to take from on occasion. 2. Cassel Earth (a little more drying-oil) ; — to he used in the yupil or in the middle of the pupil of the eye. Wipe the glass. As in the sketch, so here in the repainting, the parts of the linen, hair, etc., that touch the flesh are to be provided for in the same palette. If for this purpose there be not sufficient left of your uncombined colors, you will of course express new portions from the bladders, or otherwise. The supplementary tints, to be thence formed, will follow n the succeeding chapter. 908 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. CHAPTER II. COMPLETION OF THE SECOND PALETTE. TWENTY-FIRST ROW. 1. Black, pure (using with it drying-oil, in the manner previously dictated) ; — to take from on occasion, as well as to paint the conterminous portions of Mack drapery or acces. sories. 2. Same (but no drying-oil), with a moiety white ; — fot like purposes. 3. Same (no drying-oil), with a great deal of white ; — for grays of shadows in linens. 4. Same, with so great a portion of white, that the latter shall seem but little sullied ; — for the parts of linens that are not altogether white, or to mix with other grays. (Of course, no drying-oil.) TWENTY-SECOND ROW ; for Unens, backgrounds, etc. 1. Black, a third of white, and a little of Red Ochre and Roman Ochre. 2. Same, with a little more of the two latter colors. These two warm-grays serve for the deep shadows of linens or for their refexes, the painter modifying the tint at pleasure. They answer too for the shadows of the white of the eyes ; and especially, to paint the portions of the ground that touch the carnations, etc. For backgrounds, the row must of course be made abun- dant. COMPLETION OF THE PALETTE. 209 Though it is understood, and indeed intimated at the close of the preceding chapter, that, in like manner as in the deadcoloring, you are to paint at the same time with the flesh the ends of the hair, borders of the drapery, etc., where they touch the flesh ; and this, to prevent hardness ; yet we have indicated no particular tints for such intentions, for the simple reason, that circumstances and the nature of the model make in either case an indefinite variety. Only be Oareful that such portions of hair and drapery, and likewise of the ground, that you may have to paint at present, be but thin of color, and that this lay melt away imperceptibly at a third or half of an inch from the flesh, so that when you come to paint up these parts after the flesh is completed, you will not be embarrassed by a thickness of color in the little portions of them already laid. For the rest, by referring back to the corresponding chap- ter of the First Palette (Chap, ii.. Part III.), the general tints that serve for hair in the repainting as in the dead- coloring will be found prescribed. Of the background and draperies the due details will be given in their proper di- visions, and especially of the draperies, which will be treated in a Part by themselves. Applying to the present scale of chromatic combinations what has been said of the preparatory palette (see p. 155 and p. 167), that it is intended for the artist or amateur at his outset only, his own observation being sure to dictate, as he advances in the course and gains experience, a very considerable diminution, not merely in the compounded tints, but likewise in the parent-colors that head the series, we will proceed without further observation to the mode of conducting the Second Painting. And first, the sketch is to be got ready to receive it ; which will precede, of course^ in point of time, the making of the palette. 210 HANDB06K OF OILPAtNTING. CHAPTER III. HOW TO PREPARE THE SKETCH FOR REPAINTING. When the deadcoloring is found to be sufficiently dry, you take a knife with a very thin, uniform, and sharp blade, rounded at the end, like an ordinary tableknife, and scrape off, lightly and with address, the too great prominences of color which appear in places. To do this the more readily and with the less risk, you face the window and holding the picture before you, you incline it in such a manner that the rays of light may catch the projections of color, and glide feebly over the other parts ; while to avoid taking off too much you hold the blade nearly perpendicular to the plane of the picture, and move it lightly, as we have said, over the crust of paint. Some, we believe indeed the most of artists, use a razor ; others the scraper em- ployed for a similar purpose by miniaturepainters, which is a small lance-shaped blade fixed permanently in a light handle, and differing in no respect from that of engravers except perhaps in being a little longer and more pointed, that is, not so much in the form of a heart. With this little instrument, or one like it of a larger size, it seems to us the touch is necessarily more delicate, than with the knife-blade recommended by Bouvier. Should there be any dirt, or foreign substance whatever, attached to the colors of your sketch that may be removed by the same means, use it unhesitatingly, but still with due caution. PREPARATION FOR "REPAINTING. 211 This operation, or these operations finished, you wash your picture with plenty of fair and pure water, by means of a large soft sponge, going over it repeatedly. If the paint be perfectly dry, the water will not retreat from any part of it, — except where drying-oil has been used. Then, when the washing is completed, using the same sponge, wrung out, to absorb all that is possible in this way of the water, you expose the sketch to the open air, to the sun, or, at a proper distance, and with due caution, even to the fire, to dry it completely. When this is done, the sketch is ready for the second painting. 212 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. CHAPTER IV. THE PROCESS OF THE SECOND-PAINTING ; FOR THE lOttD IN GENERAL. Read over, in Part III., what has been said of the first- painting ; for the same general rules, that govern the pro- cess of deadcoloring, apply in like manner to the finishing stage of your work. As in the sketch or first-painting, you begin with the forehead. You lay in next the brightest light, not forget- ting to reserve therein certain still more brilliant touches to be given subsequently. Then you put together your different gradations of tints ; but with still more regard for the exactness of the tone than you observed in the first- painting, and with still more care not to sully them by teasing. Paint at the same time a part of the hair at its insertion, as well as of all objects that border the flesh, in order that you may melt them with due tenderness one into the other. But you are not yet to work at the prin- cipal shadows, as you did in the sketch. When your masses of light are well established, as well as their degradations into pure and local colors, pass to the neighboring tints, which are now demitints more or less broken in diverse tones, yellow-reddish,* bluish, violaceous, * The French are more fortunate than we in certain terms of their chromatology (which indeed, in general, is far more exact than the English). Thus they distinguish roux and rouge' the latter being pure red, i. e. without admixture of either yellow ox SECOND-PAINTING ; FOR THE HEAD IN GENERAL. 213 greenish, etc., comparing with the most scrupulous atten- tion the value of these in relation to the great lights and to the general mass of the local fleshtint. Proceed thus by due degrees to the strongest demitints, and finally to the shadows and reflexes. It is by a sustained attention to compare continually the value of the demitints in relation to the lights, and the value of the shadows in relation to the demitints, that you will succeed in rounding your work and making it faithful to the model. Yet, need we say, that if the demitints, and in general all the broken tints, and even the vigorous shadows, be not kept a little lighter than they appear in the original, our young artist will find to his surprise and vexation, when his picture is done and dry, that all these parts have become darker than he designed to have them ? We have given in other places more than one admonitory hint to this effect ; but his own experience, that finishing- master in all arts, will soon enable him to make his calcu- blue; whereas the former indicates a foul orange. Hence the adjective-termination atre corresponding to our ish, making of the first named roussatre, and of the other rougedtre, gives them a chromatic epithet for which we have no corresponding term. In order, therefore, to observe that precision which we hold to be in- dispensable in these matters (though such is not the usual opinion ; at least, it is never strictly acted upon in our great language, whose writers have never in any department of letters seemed anxious to add to its acknowledged copiousness and power the merit of ex- actness), we have been obliged to make a very awkward compound epithet; for sandy, which is our true vernacular and popular worrl for rowa:, would be liable to misconstruction here, and its diminutive sandyish would be not more barbarous than unintelligible. As for our derivate word russet, it does not quite express the hue that is roussatre, although in ordinary language, i. e. for general purposes, the words are metaphrastic, or literally translate one another ; being applied to indicate a brownish-red, or rust-color. 214 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTINO. lations for himself, here as in every step of his thoughtful operations. Of the shadows we have already elsewhere said suffi. cient to supersede the necessity of detailing the mode of treatment here. The transparent colors in which they are repainted, which let the warmer and yet lighter shade of the sketch show through, altered to the required tone by the medium of this colored veil, give a great power of modifi- cation in the part, if discreetly managed. The reflexes are painted in thicker color than the shadows, but less impasted than the lights ; and you are to avoid as much as possible employing white in their tints : a '.matter of no difficulty, since Naples Yellow is sufficiently opaque and luminous to take its place. The red and yel- low ochres do not affect this pigment, neither is it changed by admixture with the lakes, with Ultramarine, or even with the bluish blacks ; besides, should it take somewhat of a greenish cast in the reflections, it is easy to see that the effect would not be anyway so prejudicial as in the lumi- nous ffeshtints, to whose composition its dangerous ma- terial is so inimical.* * See what is remarked on pp. 10 and 11 (including the note) as ■o this suspicious though valuable pigment. We have there said, that we found in the various recipes for its fabrication no intimation of the presence of arsenic. On reflection, it may be that arsenic was in combination with the antimony or lead, or even zinc; for it forms a constituent part of some species of all those metals. In- deed the arseniate of lead is of itself yellow. And if we suppose this salt to have been used, we have at once accounted-for the fact observed by Bouvier. However, a mere want of purification of the metals employed would be sufficient to render dangerous as a pig- ment many of the specimens of Naples Yellow. For the benefit of the student, we take the occasion of this note, to add, that at Dechaux’s he will find four sorts of this pigment, all second-painting; for the head in, general. 215 As for the mode of modifying any of your various tints, when the tone as you have mixed it proves not sufficiently exact for what we may call your diatonic scale of color,* it is fully set down and exemplified in the previous Part We therefore, as at the opening of the chapter, recommend the reading over of all the instructions there given for the deadcoloring, and pass at once to certain special details of the second-palette. of French manufacture, and differing from one another not only in tone but in color. To choose which will be most proper for his purposes, is for himself, and to test the character of his sample will not be difficult. * It may amuse and even instruct the reader, if he be musically given, as we hope he is, — for music, as well as poetry, is no mean helpmate to the full perception and enlightened performance of our art, — to say that, in a like figurative manner, this very “ modify- ing ” might (when most extensively conducted) be termed the mo- dulation of the piece (which is the whole harmonious series of tones or tints) ; the differences by which the modification is effected, the chromatic intervals ; the parent-colors. No, 1, the natural tones ,* and so on Of the general student it will be necessary per- haps to beg pardon for such a deviation from our straight and una- dorned course. Add. If the student have a little knowledge of music (the sci- ence), and at the same time be accustomed to abstract studies, and of a logical turn of mind, we can recommend to him, most cordially. Field’s Chromatics — (Lond., new ed., 1845). It is costly, but will well repay him. If, however, he want any one of those throe qualifications, it will be quite beyond his reach, as well as utterly without relish ; and his money will be thrown away. It is an ingenious, though occasionally fanciful book ; that is, it falls at times into the common fault of theorists, of being too subtle in the search of illustration. We have just spent two most delightful days in reading it, and recommend it, not to the young artist as useful, but to the experienced one — if any such should be among our readers, as deeply interesting. HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. CHAPTER V. THE PROCESS FOR THE EYES, AND PARTS CONNECTED. It is about the eyes we find most usually the finest tones. The skin being there of greater delicacy and transparence, the rosetints take a violet cast, or a bluish tint is predomi- nant, etc. etc., according to the complexion, age, health, and sex of the model, and even to the particular affections of the sitter’s mind at the time of the copy, to the light too of the scene, and so forth. The ball of the eye we have already warned the beginner against painting a staring white. The same caution is to be observed now. For the pupil, the more the face is painted in profile the more oval it must be represented to follow nature ; as more of the face is seen, so the pupil appears more round. Be careful to avoid hardness in the exterior circle of this part : melt it into the white of the orb by a scarcely perceptible bluish-gray tint. In the in- ternal angle of the eye, do not exaggerate the red of the caruncle, that little triangular mass of pulpy and bare flesh which separates the corners of the two lids ; neither make it too large. And endeavor to represent that slight humid- ity which perpetually moistens and gives life to the orb. If you look at the eyes in front, at the distance you are seated from the model, you see the lashes of the upper lid not as single hairs, nor even as hairs at all, but as a dark semicircular narrow mass, or line of shade, varying in THE EYES AND PARTS CONNECTED. 217 breadth as the head turns this way or that upon its axis^ but always less apparent in that part of the lid which is next the nose * while in the lower lid the shade is only just perceptible, except in very dark persons, or where the eyes are unusually well fringed. So then represent the lashes ; nor bring your model nearer in order to detail them hair by hair. And here too all hardness is to be avoided ; the line being blended harmoniously with the flesh by means of tender demitints. Where the thickness of the upper hd is visible, under the lashes, to wit near the outer corner of the eye, it is to be duly represented. It will be remembered that we cautioned the beginner against the usual error of his class in making the eyebrow too hard and too uniform. The flesh must first be prepared which is seen through the hairs, and which is more or less shadowed by their mass. Over this preparation, which is to be couched very thin, the brows themselves are to be painted, according to the shape, color, and thickness, which nature has given them in the individual-model. What has been said of the lashes, of the mode of expressing them with proper softness, and of delineating them only as they present tnemseives to the eye of the painter when in his place a., the due distance from his model, applies likewise here. Add to this, what we have already said of these parts in the sketch. Whe/e scattered and projecting hairs appear in the brows, as is frequently the case with very old men, and sometimes in younger persons whose eyebrows are of peculiar, and, so to say, rude formation, these are to be represented with a free, not labored touch, that is, if they be visible in this disorder at the ordinary distance, and if they be essential to the likeness, or, when not a portrait, to the character of the head ; for we take it for granted that unless for a peculiar effect of character, no one would 10 218 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. BO sin against the principle of beauty as to represent such from choice. In the appearance vvliich tlie extremities of the brows present, particularly at the side next the tern, pies, to wit, in their insensible diminution, the sparseriess of the hairs, or their greater divergence from the main line, both above it and below, which is oftener the case with men than women, you will observe and follow nature ; only, once for all, (and this is to follow nature), avoid hardness. To paint the eyebrows, do not take brown of Cassel- «‘arth ; be content with the browns which you compose, with the end of your pencil, of blacks, yellows, and red ochres. They will be dark enough for your purpose, and at least you will not run the risk of soiling your carna- tions by bituminous mixtures. You will always have time, with a third touch, to glaze the centre of the more vigorous parts with a composite brown, which you will modify ac- cording to the hue and tone required ; but it is only in rare cases that one can venture to give certain isolated touches or hatches in the shadowed mass of the thickest parts of the brow. As for fair or chestnut brows, the same principles are to be followed, avoiding with even still more care a hard and meagre manner and servility of detail. NECK, SHOULDERS, AND BREAST. 219 CHAPTER VI. THE PAINTING OF THE NECK, SHOULDERS, AND BREAST. In general, however white the neck of a woman, it should not be so luminous as the brightest lights of the head, be- cause from its usual vertical position the light generally glides from it, instead of catching as upon the salient parts. Yet if white, and of a fine carnation in the individual- model, it should not appear less pure in the imitation. It is not then by reddish, yellowish or yellow- red tints that you must degrade its whiteness, but by light tints of a bluish, greenish or sometimes even violaceous, demi-gray. The choice will depend upon the natural appearance ; though often diffe- rent parts of the neck will participate, in different places, of one or other of these tints, and again of a certain com- bination of all of them at once. Observe, consider, essay, until you have the exact tone, which is usually so delicate that at first sight it will seem impossible to seize it. Yet it is to be done ; otherwise in endeavoring to de- grade the color so as to throw the neck into its position under the jaw, you may make the tint too yellow, too green, too brown, or too livid, or in some other way falsify nature, and destroy the bloom and freshness, the very youth and soundness of the part, and produce a sad discordance with the visage. These observations, of course, suppose the neck in the ordinary position. The slope from the termination of the neck to the shoulders, takes upon the edge that turns a fleshtint some. 220 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. what more golden, that is to say, having a little more or a little less of a yellow-reddish cast, owing to the thick and strong muscle that forms and swells the part. The thick- ness of the skin in such places almost always communi- cates a slight tinge of the sort ; though it must be observed that variations from this general rule are not uncommon. There are many women who have the muscles of the neck less white than the local tint of the face ; others again with whom it is just the reverse : so that there is no abso lute rule in this respect, except it be that which is the surest of all, which is to paint what you see, avoiding ex- aggeration, and preferring to make all the tints rather too fresh than too ruddy. In meagre persons the principal muscle on either side of the neck,* and the bones from which it has its double origin,! conspicuous ; and as the least motion of these parts makes them in such persons very prominent in the eye of the painter, he is apt to be too faithful in their delineation. The ancient sculptors, the soul of whose art was beauty, knew well how to avoid such dryness of de- tail ; and, with due observation to the resemblance, if it be a portrait that you paint, you may follow their great * The mastoid by v> hich the head turns to either side, or bends forward. It has two origins, one from the top of the sternum or breastbone, the other from the upper and anterior part of the clavicle or collarbone, which very soon unite into one muscle which runs obliquely upwards to be inserted on the back part of the skull, c; iefly at the mastoid or nipple-shaped process of the temporal or temple bone. Hence (by a substitution of the Greek synonym for clavicle) its compound name with anatomists ; sterno-cleido-mas- toideus. There is perhaps no muscle of the body whose play is so constanlly visible. t The clavicle and top cf the sternum just mentioned. In gene- ral the clavicle is alone prominent. NECK, SHOULDERS, AND BREAST. 221 guidance here as elsewhere. It will not be your model that will blame you for softening a little in parts like these Take now the local tints of your purest and most lumi- nous carnations, in order to paint the chest and bosom, so as to make their prominence from the neck perceptible. All the broken demitints by which you give roundness to the breasts and mark the swell of the chest, should be exceed- ingly beautiful, pure, fresh, and of insensible gradation ; that is to say, they should have but little vigor, and melt imperceptibly into the local and pure colors of the lights of your carnations. Use a full pencil of firm color, paint- ing the parts with freedom and softness, avoiding, as we have said of the neck, too exact an anatomical detail ; for be assured that this is pedantry as well as bad taste. Yet do not when avoiding meagreness fall into the opposite ex- treme, and make a Hebe or a Venus of every woman without respect to age, character, or physical organization. There are certain points that may be altered for the better without impropriety and without suspicion : a line or two more between the breasts, a greater distance of these parts from the pit of the neck, a little more or a little less ro- tundity in them according to circumstances, will not dimi- nish anyway the likeness, no more than will a trifling modification of the general tint. Ten to one nobody will perceive it ; or if they do, it cannot be objected you that you have net understood your art. 222 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTINO. CHAPTER VII. THE ARMS AND HANDS. For these, as for all other naked parts that belong not to the head, the variety of tints is less, though their volume is greater than in the palette for the face. The manage- ment is much the same ; it demands only greater boldness in the execution, and in general a somewhat firmer paste of color, but not in excess. The local color of the arms and hands as well as of the breast should be in harmony with that of the head ; so that a brunette should not have those of a fair woman, nor a fair woman those of a brunette. This seems plain, and yet it is an error that may be fallen into by a beginner. And here too the caution to avoid servility in imitation may be repeated, although it scarcely needs, since the practice of portraitpainters in these particulars of the arms and hands, the latter especially, is well known to be guided universally by the principle of abstract beauty rather than by any anxiety to produce a particular resemblance ; too much so, sometimes, since propriety is apt to be forgotten. Indeed it is with the naked hand as with the covered foot, the size and shape are regarded without the least reference to the proportions of the party owning them ; and the por- traitpainter, following this prejudice of society, not unfre- quently lames his figure by hands of which one wonders, as of the straws in amber, “ how the devil they got there while, owing to the difficulty of the part, its imperfect exe- ARMS AND HANDS. 223 cution makes the comparison still more applicable, the things so out of place being most truly neither rich nor rare. But we are verging beyond our province ; for all this re- gards design far more than painting. Still it is ours to add, that hardness is especially to be avoided, for it is a likelier fault to be committed here than that of too great softness and feebleness. For one that makes his fingers too flac- cid and transparent, looking as if they were boneless and without blood, ten fall into the error of a very famous artist, whose portrait of a pope was so conspicuous in this respect as to call forth a facetious observation, that his Holi- ness needed no hell to summon his attendants ; a mere rap on the table with his fingers would he sufficient. 224 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. CHAPTER VIII. OF CERTAIN DEFECTS OF THE SKIN. The exhortation to avoid servility of detail leads us by a natural connection to the subject of those petty defects and disfigurations, which, when they occur in the human visage, a vulgar-minded painter is sure to give in all their unsightliness, planting every hair in place upon a mon- strous mole, variegating the complexion with a network of superficial veins both red and purple, deepening the furrow on either side the nose, and tracing one by one the wrinkles that diverge and meet in the corner of the eye ; and wo to the unhappy model, should that eye have a wart upon the lid, or that nose be violet and amaranth ! down they go upon the canvas, tint and tubercle ; for why ? they elicit the applause of observers whom nicer points escape, and they are found more easy of imitation, for something of the same reason that makes it easier to seize the like- ness of a woman than of a child, and of a man than either. You will see such things in every exhibition-room ; and the fidelity with which they are delineated, and the delight they give to the majority, who are happy, always, to find something they can praise undersiandingly, may tempt you, a beginner, to like profanation of the divinity of our art. Rut beware ! your model even, while submitting with. out- ward patience to the congratulations of friends, congratu- lations that are an absolute sarcasm on his own ugliness, DEFECTS OF SKIN. 225 will not in his heart be satisfied ; and the remark so often heard on such occasions : It is very like ! but I donH think that he has Jlattered you, sounds in his ears, and justly, the condemnation of the artist who did not do what he ex- pected, — copy and improve him. We shall examine this expectation in the next chapter, where we mean to treat, as far as the nature of our volume will permit us, the cognate subject of Fidelity of Resemblance. Suffice it here, that if there be defects wffiich cannot be omitted, you are to slur them, so to speak ; mollify them ; let them be there, but in their proper insignificance, or more ; for, in such cases, 7iot to extenuate is actually to set down in malice. In the matter of wrinkles in an elderly person, you will bear in mind, not only that by the very nature of your oc- cupation you are more awake to these accidents of time than all other persons, and by this alone are led to magnify such blemishes, but that you are painting by a confined and almost perpendicular light, that therefore these corru- gations of the skin appear more prominent and with a darker shadow than they do in the ordinary daylight of a parlor or in the open air. Hence it belongs even to the truth of the representation, to soften this disfigurement as it appears to you. In order to this, it is well recom- mended by Bouvier that you begin a wrinkle by the lighter part, as, when this is laid, you will be less likely to exag- gerate tlie force of the shadow than if you were to reverse the practice. Farther than this, do not cenmi the wrinkles ; that is, paint only the more conspicuous ones, which will be suflicient for the character of the face. 11 * 226 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTINO. CHAPTER IX. OF FIDELITY OF RESEMBLANCE. The talent for resemblance is almost independent of ac- quired talents ; one must be organized for this, as to become a singer one must, first of all, have a good ear. There are great painters who have no talent for portraiture.” So far, Bouvier. And we may add, that the class however is far more numerous of those who can take a likeness, than of those who can paint a really good or even tolerable picture. The reason of this is evident. There are always certain traits of feature, even in the least marked countenances, that are readily seized ‘by a moderately observant eye, and which, when delineated, have the advantage of being uni- versally recognized. These when stiffly set down form what are called staring likenesses. The man or rather the animal is there, the outward crust, but the immortal part, the interior existence is no where represented ; or, if it sparkle from the eyes, or hover round the lips, it is not in an agreeable or even satisfactory manner : this apart from any merit or demerit of that important element of a truly correct portrait, as of every good painting, the coloring. Now,"^ it may be asked. How is this expression, — which we are ready to admit is the life of the resemhlance, — how is * We would observe, that if we confine our observations in this as in the last Part to portraitpainting, it is because the artist, whc aHi)ires to history, usually lays himself out at first, and always after- wards continues more or less, to practise portraiture ; and, in de FIDELITY OF RESEMBLANCE. 227 it to he marked ? To this no answer can be given, other than the universal rule for the entire art : observe, compare, rejltct : we might say, practice will do all the rest, but that practice is a part of these, or they are parts of it ; — the liahit of the art then, will make this quite as easy as the rest, provided there be the necessary disposition for it, which is an absolute gift of nature. There are, however, certain preparations for the work that may well be taught as doc- trine. These we hold to be as follows : — In the first place, every individual has some one aspect more favorable than another, and which is called forth by the state of the mind, as being in repose or in excitement. Now, it should not be very difficult for an artist to ascer- tain this, in some way or other, previously to his work.* If the party appear best when animated, as is almiost always scribing the method of proceeding in this branch of the art, we set the student fairly on his way, and lead him therein as far as we can go without treating of composition and the theory of clairob- scure. In teaching the student howto color a single figure (for the composition of a palette for the lower part is taught in prescribing that for the upper, and he who can manage an arm and hand neieds but a more complete knowledge of anatomy to color properly the limbs and feet), in showing this, we put it into his power to teach himself the proper management of a group, — capitis unius ad in- star, as Dufresnoy has it, Totum opus, ex multis quamquam sit partibus. Other books and continued study (which includes prac- tice), and the facility of obtaining models are all that is needed to build the superstructure he may desire on the basis we have laid. In this respect we have gone as far as our chief guide, the admira- ble manual of Bouvier ; and we shall follow it into that other branch of the art which divides with head-painting the labors of the stu- dent-artist and mere amateur, to wit, the practice of landscape- painting. Now this is as far as any practical book on Oilpainting pretends to go ; none, that we know of, so completely tracing out the whole route as the one we have just mentioned. * Our selfdenial costs us more in this place than in any other 228 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. the case, it is for the painter to open a conveisation with him that shall pleasantly excite his faculties, in a word to mount him on his hobby (a remark which applies, though in a less degree, to the sidesaddle, as well as to masculine equitation). Then study the play of the features, and bear in mind what is most agreeable and striking, that it may be recalled afterwards when no longer apparent, or be strengthened by accidental renewal. It may be said, all this is difficult ; but what is not so, in the art, — as really an art and not a mechanical employment ? and we aim to help the student to become an artist, not a dauber. All the great portraitpainters have practised this mode, of con- versation with their models, and by practice they attained to such facility that to paint and talk was but one act, just as you may at any time see a good performer on the piano- forte play the most difficult pieces (if familiar with them) and at the same time entertain with great volubility of discourse two or three friends on either side of her. It is all habit. But as a natural vivacity is needed for the happily enacting of such a part, the artist if he want it should have some pleasant and loved friend of the model present, who, sitting behind the painter, — not between them ; for this would make the model turn aside, — keeps up the animation of the parly, whose eyes alone being a little di- verted from the artist are easily called back to him by a word. When the other parts of the head or bust that do not take expression in themselves, however they enforce it in the features of the face, come in turn to be delineated, the mere reading of a book will answer to keep the sitter from varying. part of the volume ; for this is trenching on the philosophy of the art ; a noKe and varied theme, and lovelily seductive ! Perhaps a da" maj cc ne . . . , . FIDELITY OF RESEIMBLANCE. 229 All this time, we have supposed the picture taken in the usual vc^ay, with the eyes upon the painter. In the other more picturesque mode, the conversation with the model will, of course, be conducted altogether by a third party ; or, when less animation is required, the resource of read- ing comes equally into play. It is only in rare cases, for very sufficient reasons, that the sitter is all sufficient for himself.* Finally, is it necessary, after the hints and instructions we have given in previous chapters, to warn the young painter not to be led astray by the modest disclaimer of vanity so constantly put forward by all that sit for their portraits ? They will bid you paint them as they are ; oh, just as you see them f they do not want to he flattered. What do they come for ? What is the motive that prompts to the sitting for a portrait, even when at the solicitation of affec- tion ? Besides, does not every person, man and woman, think better of himself than others see him ? Let him think so still ; let not your pencil undeceive him ; it is your art ; and be assured, when all is done to flatter him as you wish, you can never show him to half the advan- tage of his best moments in actual life. * We had partly written out a chapter on the subject of portraits with the look averted, showing the occasional advantages of such a position, and at the same time the danger, from the air of affecta- tion and study which it is so apt to assume ; also upon the attitude of a single figure, as in repose, or otherwise. But we found it im- possible to insert it without falling into the great error of our im- mediate guide (an error but too common in works upon the art), that of digressing from the straight methodical arrangement and division, so necessary if the book is to be read with advantage The whole subject, in fact, belongs rather to Design than to the pe cullar province of the present treatise. 230 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTINO. CflAPTER X. recapitulation; including some additional obser/a TIONS ON THE FINISHING. We return to tlie colorinf?, in order to repeat and extend certain general observations that arc of moment to flie student. In repainting a head, avoid, in the strong and deep shadows, grayish and opaque tints ; keep them transparent and of rather a warm tone, which may sometimes be even a little lakey or sanguine, according to the carnation to be imitated. Yet be careful not to exaggerate in this respect ; nor yet to misplace your touches : these sanguine and lakey tones are confined to certain parts, such as the inte- rior of the nostrils, their separating cartilage, the ears, and finally some other parts wherein the effect which calls for such a coloration, though less sensible, is at times mani fest, according to the light thrown upon the model. The modifications resulting from reflexes are also to be noted and imitated. Be very sparing of demitints that have a bluish, green- ish, or violaceous cast. Exaggeration here is the more to be feared, that all the tints into whose composition black, or blue, and even the blue of ultramarine, enter, become always more sombre ; so that the tones of such, which, when distributed with art, give so much pulpy softness, such freshness, and delicacy to carnations, render the same livid and cadaverous, when employed without due man- RECAPITULATION, ETC. 231 agement. It is chiefly for this reason that it is recom. mended to put very little or none at all of these composi- tions into the deadcoloring. Observe that where the skin is stretched upon the bones, as in the forehead, at the top of the cheeks, etc., the lights, though still white and fresh, take a tint that has somewhat more of a yellowish cast than elsewhere. Do not pretend to spread the incarnate of the cheeks too uniformly ; but essay to imitate those little inequalities of roseate hue, sometimes lively enough, which give so much transparence to the skin, and prevent the cheeks from seeming rouged. Study too with attention the soft faint glitter which illu- minates the highest part of the cheek, upon the bone, when a slight smile lifts and swells the part a little. Never detach in a hard, dry, and cutting manner the contour of the visage, nor of any rounded and flying part ; but melt them, with softness (without however losing the form), into the background, neck, or such other part as they border on. Though, this is not all ; for if the de- gradation which we have inculcated be not observed, the outline is only fouled and troubled, or rendered vague, without adding rotundity to the part. In finishing your carnations, avoid entering into details that are minute and insignificant, or marldng with too much precision and distinctness those that should be ren- dered in a broad manner and without dryness. Let not this reiteration of a most important counsel for the inexpe- rienced fall like a tedious sermon on the ear of our young artist. The beginner and the amateur believe that such particularity is essential to correct imitation, and see ap- proach to perfection in the facsimile of trifles. Hear what the amiable Bouvier says, of this mistake : “For some 232 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. years I shared it, I acknowledge ; 1 am now undeceived, experience having convinced me that all my efTorts in that way, far from bringing me nearer to the semblance of na- ture, served only to remove me to a greater distance.’^ A. confession and a true deduction to which we fully sub- scribe, for our own humble part. Without having had anything like the experience of that venerable artist, nor making the least pretension to a parity of judgment with him in any of the matters of which we treat, we cannot help adding the small weight of our obscure testimony to the solid force of his enlightened evidence. Yet, while heaping on the cumulative opinion of all authors in the art the little grains of our own observation and experience, we hesitate not to advance our belief, without at this time and in this place pretending to show the grounds on which it is founded, that so far from such particularity of detail being (at least in a young artist) the evidence of a little genius, spending its weak efforts upon trifles, as so many writers emptily maintain, it is on the contrary the minds most gifted for the art, we mean those who to close obser- vation, and comparison, to a delicate yet acute and power- ful sight, and a clear and strong reflection, unite that perse- verance without which there is really no genius, and still more those who have besides these qualifications an innate love of truth, which in itself prompts to strict fidelity of representation, it is such, and not the mass of daubers that stay just at the point to which the routine of the schools have brought them, it is really such that at their outset fall into this tempting error ; and it is only their own experience that proves to them at last that it is an error. Once con- vinced, to leave its narrow track and expatiate in the la^'ger field of true art is the essay of a moment. And th< ir after freer efforts are perhaps all the better for the RECAPITULATION, ETC. 238 early restraint to which their punctiliousness had subjected them. Had we space, we might easily, that is without any vain verbiage, carry this disquisition to the length of many pages (as what point, that we have touched on in our mighty art, could we not, without exhausting it ?) and show that this minuteness of delineation which requires near inspection to be appreciated, however unprofitable and apt in bad hands to degenerate into mere frivolity, may be, as it has been, carried to an extreme little short of that of micro- scopic Denner,* without in the least detracting from the full force and general effect of the painting when viewed, with other performances of greater breadth, at the usual distance. But we leave the topic, with the brief maxim for the student, that his business is to represent not what is^ hut what appears. This is the whole pith of the matter ; and if we add that life is too precious to be spent, in an art so “ longy’ on needless trifles, and that these trifles by too diligent an execution are apt to raise themselves into im- portance and thus detract from the effect and value of parts that are really significant, we have said quite enough to turn the student into the broader and better path, though at the same time we are morally convinced that he will never take it, if he have a strong natural bias to pursue the other. Thus much delivered on the over-care of matters of mi- nute detail, we may, very fitly as it seems to us, conclude our chapter of general advice by a maxim applicable to every part of painting, but particularly to coloring. It is * Balthazar, of Hamburg, in the first half of the eighteenth cen- tury (he died in 1747). He followed, as a master, Rembrandt ; out his peculiarity is characterized by the enithet we have given him above. See any biographical dictionary 234 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINT!N5. contained in a well-known pithy proverb, whose counsel is for all the conduct of daily life : let well alone : a maxim, perhaps, which, as being thus too universal in its application, the reader will more respect if he sees it in another shape confined to his peculiar art, and having the venerable sanction of him who we are really inclined to think may have been deserving ot the glory bestowed on him, of being iefore all other 'painters, of earlier and of times succeed- ing.^ It was Apelles then, who, with characteristic gene- rosity allowing to Protogenes an equality or superiority to himself in all other points, denied him this : that he knew, as he did, when in painting to leave off ; excess of painstaking being often the ruin of a picture. “ Et aliam gloriam usurpavit, quum Protogenis opus immensi laboris ac cura supra modum anxice miraretur. Dixit enim omnia sibi cum illo paria esse, aut illi meliora ; sed uno se prsestare, quod manum ille de tabula non sciret tollere ; memorabili prse- cepto, Nocere SjEpe nimiam diligentiam.” (Plin. Nat . Hist., XXXV. ; c. 36, § 10 ; ed. Berol.) — And this too, to cer- tain dispositions, those we mean that are prone to the immen- sus labor ac cura supra modum anxia of Protogenes, this too, memorable precept though it is, will be, we verily believe, a preaching to the winds, thinking as we do with Machia- velli, where, speaking of the headlong pontiff, Julius, he says (if we remember right) that men in all their doings are directed, in their manner of doing, by the impulse of their dispositions : a truth, at all events, whether he says the same or not. Pass we on to the eleventh chapter. * “Verum omnes prius genitos futurosque postea superavit Apelles Cous.” The praise of a writer of whose gossip it may be said, as has been of Plutarch’s, that it would be one of the last of ancient books we would consent to lose, now that we have known its value and its entertainment, viz. of the author of the anecdote given in the text. WORK OF THE SECOND-PAINTING DISTRIBUTED. 235 CHAPTER XL THE WORK OF THE SECOND-PAINTING DISTRIBUTED. It is always best when it can be done, especially if in summer, to finish a head in one day ; with the reserve, if you please, of the eyes, which may be painted the next morning, after which, while the couch of color still retains some of its ductility, those final* touches may be given which we have indicated previously in treating of the sketch (Chap, ix.. Part III,). But as this despatch is not always at the command of a beginner, and moreover the model has to be consulted, he should take care so to dis- tribute his work, as not to leave off in the midst of a part which it would not be easy to resume, or to complete by itself what would not happily unite with a contiguous part subsequently added : thus, the neck and the breast should be finished in the same day. There is no great art in this ; it requires but the exercise of ordinary judgment. However, if the student prefer to have a way marked oul for him, as was done in the First-Painting, he can take the * This does not mean those after-touches which are properly corrections, made after the picture is dry, and which may be given again and again until the painter is satisfied. These are done by preparing the place to be retouched in the manner already spoken of (Chap, vi.. Part IT,), some using simple oil, others particular preparations (Chaps, xii., and xiii.. Part I.). Bouvier recommends the bleached poppy-oil. There are many artists, who, for obvious rea- sons connected with the process, never retouch a painting, d?priv« ing themselves of the resource rather than encounter its risks. HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. ‘23t) following, adopted with some difficulty from the landrnarKs of the same sure guide. First day. The forehead, and its surrounding parts, such as the roots of the hair, and the little tresses or tendrils of locks that escape upon the forehead. You include the root of the nose, and the blending at the upper edge of the eye- brow ; and you finish at the temples ; leaving the color thin where you are to resume the work, and adding there- to a very little oil to keep the place of intended junction sufficiently fresh. Second day. The setting (as Bouvier calls it) of both the eyes ; which supposes, of course, that you leave the pupil and ball for another time, while you paint all between the brow and the lid, on both sides. Then the whole lighted side of the face down to the place of the neck, where a shadow or at least a demitint gives you a natural limit. The mouth and chin and their connected parts are included in this, with their demitints and shadows, and also the entire nose, both light and shadow. — The caution with regard to keep- ing the edges thin, where you are to resume the work, ob- tains, we need not say, here as elsewhere. Third day. First of all you give the sharp touches of light, and the vigorous shadows. Then you paint the ear or ears, the great part not yet touched of the shaded cheek, and lastly you complete the eyes. It must be remembered that the colors drying as you proceed, the tone is no longer at the pitch you set it ; so that in this gradual work you may be embarrassed to keep up the absolute harmony of the entire piece. It is one of those inconveniences, like the replenishing of a palette; which your own observation will direct you to counter balance or compensate. WORK OF THE SECOND-PAINTING DISTRIBUTED. 237 In adding the oil to the edge of the color you leave for the day, you are to be cautious not to use more than you require for the occasion. You apply it with a firm yet soft brush ; and afterwards you use your finger to spread it, so that the place shall be just greased with it and no more. In colors, pure or combine that do not dry readily, there is, of course, no need of th operation ; and on cer- tain occasions, as in the lights o'' certain delicate stuffs, as well as of white linens, it is U Jx / voided in any case. There is likewise no necessity fo' ' here drying-oil haa been used with the color. 238 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTINO. CHAPTER XII. THE artist’s mirror. It may seem that this should have been included in one of the early divisions of our book, and stood up insignifi- cant in the array of straddling easels, taper rest-sticks, and all the other furniture of the painter’s workshop. But it is not the implement itself we have to describe ; for it is but the familiar assistant of the toilet and the embellish- ment of the drawingroom that we now reckon among the aids, and even the potent aids, of our art ; but its uses.* To the artist then the mirror is his best counsellor : we will make no one exception. It is before this silent con- noisseur that he extends the darling of his genius, and the handiwork of his industry, and asks with the certainty of an honest answer (if the mirror be not a false one), if his design be correct, if his chiaroscuro shadow his intent, — we had almost added, if the general effect of his coloring be meritorious ; but this is not its function. In plainer terms, at every step of your progress look at the image of your work in a good mirror : here it is changed about in posture, the left side made the rig'it, and the right the left, and no error escapes it. Sometimes you will see, that what upon your canvas appeared of true di- mensions, was in reality too large, what seemed of graceful * We consider this topic to be the sole one, of a practical nature, that has been pretermitted by Bouvier. Singular too, in a wcrk S3 thorough ! THE MIRROR. 239 contour was distorted ; here an eye, that from the easel looked at you quite straight, now mocks you from the glass with manifest obliquity ; there a chest, whose fancied nar- rowness and flatness made you pale with thoughts of phthisis, looms out with the ridiculous inflation of a turkeycock’s or pigeon’s ; and so on and so on, from head to heel of the human form divine. You will be startled ; you will doubt the lookingglass. Doubt it not ; your work is false. If you would be convinced, show it if you will to some disin- terested person (but alas, that is so hard to find !) who, ex- tenuating nothing and nothing setting down in malice, and gifted with an eye that is capable of measuring proportions, will pronounce truly and with understanding. He will confirm the judgment of the impartial mirror. By and by, you will put such reliance on its never capricious counsel, that you will follow its corrections without once demurring ; and,, when your work is altered, the result will satisfy you invariably, that, as the proverb says of “ two heads,” so two images “ are better than one.” When you have come to this conclusion, there is not a beauty of eighteen that shall hold in higher veneration ana be more grateful to her grandest Psyche, than will you to yours, nor seek its uncontaminate reflections (though, it is true, for a somewhat lighter purpose) more eagerly, more devoutly, more frequently, or, finally, we hope, with more triumphant satisfaction. ** Segnius irritant animos demissa per aurem, Quam quse sunt oculis subjecta fidelibus, et qua .Ipse sibi tradit spectator PART V. CF THE PAINTING OF DRAPERIES, AND THEIR MANAGEMENT IN GENERAL* 12 'I HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. PART THE FIFTH. CHAPTER I. GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE EXPRESSION OP THE MATERIAL OF DRAPERIES. It is seldom that variegated or figured stuffs are in good taste in painting, though there are occasions when they may become of significant propriety. In the case of embroideries, those parts of the figures that catch the light, being in relief on certain of the great folds, are alone to be detailed with any precision. They should not be painted with too great a thickness of color, which would give a disagreeable heaviness to the stuff. Supposing them to be white, the tint must be varied, so that only the most brilliant parts shall receive it unbroken. As for the embroidery that is discerned in the retiring parts, or those that turn off, it is essential that it be indi- cated merely with grayish whites ; and far from essaying to express the figures with neatness, they should on the con- trary be rendered in a vague and interrupted manner, as they appear to us at first sight, and not on close attention. So in the case of shawls, those palmleaves, borders and va- riegated flowers of a thousand dies, are to be painted in 244 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. a vague, undecided, and tender manner, which will far better express the nature of the stuff than any dryness of detail. It is useless to extend these general remarks ; the pupil’s eyes, and a very moderate degree of judgment, certainly a very little experience, will soon show him the true mean between slovenliness on one part and petty preciseness on the other. 245 ADAPTATION OF COLOR, IN DRAPERIES. CHAPTER II. GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE ADAPTATION OF THE COLOR. Broken colors, such as fallow-red, philomot, certain foul greens or undecided browns, are not becoming to young persons. There are a multitude of grays which are not more suitable. They should be reserved for persons of mature or advanced age. The gray which has a lilac cast is the only one that is proper for a young person, and even this is not becoming, except to fair women, or very fresh and light brunettes. Golden yellow and red are not very advantageous to the former : black and violet become them well, as likewise dark green. Rose-color is not unfavorable to them, if they be not too pale ; but it sets off to still more advantage brown women, when they are plump and fresh. White answers for all carnations ; but dead- white, like that of dimity, is not adapted for too dark a skin : for such, light, transparent stuffs, of a less glaring white, like crape, gauzes and muslins, are more suitable. We have said above, that broken colors are not becoming jb the young : neither are they to a complexion that is grayish, earthy and monotonous. To give to such a fresher aspect, the color should be dark, yet not hard nor heavy ; for example, black, mingled with some portions of white, the color of a pink or carnation (flower), deep violet-blue, etc . ; but nothing of a broken red or of a grayish tint, and 246 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. still less, lively, tender, or resplendent colors, with the ex ception perhaps of deep crimson, which relieves a little the dull uniformity of such a skin. In general, all these colors should be intermingled with white linens. The above general directions, which coincide with those of Depiles, and other writers before the time of Bouvier, are given by the latter chiefly for the occasions of portrait- painting, while the student is referred to Lairesse and similar guides for the choice of colors in draperies required for pieces of invention. We may add, that in any case they are of value to the young artist ; but that for his por- traits, he will often find such knowledge of no avail ; for though, in their ordinary dress, women will be found in general to adopt precisely such a choice as is here indi- cated, their sole guides the mirror, and that natural percep- tion of what is outwardly becoming, with which they are for the most part well endowed, yet when they come to sit to the painter all this is forgotten, and it is generally by some arbitrary rule, or some novel caprice, founded upon what has pleased them in the portraits of others, however physically unlike themselves, that their selection is guided ^ and such is the vigor in them of another natural endow- rnent, their obstinacy (be it said with pardon), or self-will, that it is rare indeed that an artist can persuade them to substitute his judgment for their own ; and even the at- tempt may at times be perilous, when each feels herself aa Juno, . . . SKStSti napra letpi j^po’C dgjcaro Koopopy on the memorable occasion of her most rechercMe toilet. CAST OF DRAFERIfiS. 241 CHAPTER III. OF THE CAST, OR ADJUSTMENT OF DRAPER::ES. Of an art which does or should obey> the guidance of good taste throughout, there is no part, not even the attitudes, that gives more room for its display than this ; for it is not every fold that is presented by what may be called the natural adjustment of a drapery, that is eligible. This, it is believed, is well understood. — But are there then no rules that may assist the discernment and direct the choice of the artist ? Certainly ; and these are of the best kind ; being not mechanical, but founded on certain principles, which properly to understand is in itself to. make some steps forward in the knowledge of the art. First, however, as the use of the mannekin or lay-figure is connected with this subject, we refer the student back to its brief description (Chap, xxii.. Part I.), that he may bear in mind the important direction there given, not to trust to this contrivance solely, however ingenious, but to make it merely secondary in his operations. Its proper use should be considered this, that as it is impossible in many cases to have the living model maintain a set posture long enough for the artist to paint as well as draw from it, sometimes not even the latter, he sketches on paper, more or less in detail as may be, the adjustment that contents him, and, with the sketch to serve F m as a guide, he imitates as well as he can the same ar/ ngement with the doll. In this process he is to act lib/ ally, and not to think himself 248 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTINO. tied down to the exact copy of every detail ; for, besidet that this might be impossible, such is the infinite variety of folds into which a drapery disposes itself, particularly in certain stuffs, that he is as likely to gain as lose by an accidental deviation from the design, not to say that such a deviation is of no consequence as long as the general mass of folds remains the same, and its consequent effect in the general mass of lights and shadows.* In order that a drapery, of whatever sort, should present an agreeable appearance, it should be so arranged as not to conceal, while covering, the forms of the model. That is to say, the salient parts of the body and limbs, which always more or less appear through the drapery according to the posture, should be evident in their true forms ; not however as in statuary, where the clothing usually hugs the limbs, like the wet linen it is modelled after, but so far as the stuff*, nobly disposed, with grace, or majesty, or simple dignity, according to the character of the wearer, but always without aff*ectation, admits. Avoid, as much as you can, folds that are parallel and too similar. In a figure standing, they will however be more or less so, always. In thick stuffs, the folds form large masses and are few in number : this is desirable ; do not seek artfully to multiply them. In draperies that are thin and supple, the folds are necessarily more nume- rous, and smaller : manage however to have some large general masses present themselves distinct from the petty folds, both to avoid monotony and for the eff*ect of acci- * Considering the cost of even an ordinary mannekin, it may be as well to remind the young artist, that its use may generally be dispensed with if he have only the ordinary bust-portrait to paint; and we do not know but that it is rather better that it should be, in such a case, on more accounts than one. CAST OF DRAPERIES. 249 dental shadows. The little folds are most abundant where the stuff is gathered in and constrained, as at the girdle for example ; but in contrast to them, the eye should be ena- bled to repose upon greater parts that are smooth, or at least large and more uniform. A deep fold sliould never cut a salient part. If it should happen that the model should present this awkward acci- dent, it must be corrected, for the simple reason that it produces disfiguration, making a division where nature offers continuity. For the rest, see how the great masters that are conspi cuous for the noble cast of their draperies, for example Raphael, have managed to obtain variety without affecta- tion, and to give grandeur to their figures without cumber- ing them with a mass of clothing, that is yet too common in the art. This study is put into your power even here, by means of engravings ; but it needs the guidance of good taste, and unsophisticated judgment : “ More I could tell,— but more I dare not say ; The text is old, — the orator too green.”* But, finally, if the young artist will weigh the term that is usually applied in speaking of this matter, viz. to cast a drapery, it will further suggest to him what is expected in this particular of his art ; a particular, however, which he is not to elevate beyond its due importance ; for a dra- pery is after all but an accessory, the envelopment or or- nament of the human figure, not the figure itself. * Shaksp. Venus and Adonis. 12 * 250 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTINO. CHAPTER IV. IN WHAT MANNER THE MATERIAL OF A DRAPERY IS CHAR- ACTERIZED ; AND FIRST, WHERE OF CLOSE TEXTURE. The imitation of different stuffs depends chiefly upon the character of the folds, and in the next place upon the ap- pearance they present as rough or smooth, dull or brilliant, as is evident by their ready representation by means of simple crayons or the strokes of the graver. Even their texture, as coarse or fine, is denoted in the same manner ; so that color acts but little or no part in their indication. This is as a general rule ; for in the case of satins, vel- vets, and some other stuffs of silk, we perceive that the con- figuration of the folds, though important, does not hold the principal place. Thus satin, with its large and sufficiently remarkable folds, is distinguished still more by its singular brilliancy and the beauty of its reflections ; and the lighter stuffs of silk that are lustrous, and whose smaller folds differ not only from those of satin, but from those of each other according to their kind (and this with sometimes a marked peculiarity, as in the case of Florence silk), are likewise distinguishable by their splendor and power of reflection, each in its own degree and manner ; while vel- vet again and plush have this peculiarity, that in the rounded retreating parts of the folds, where other stuffs would have demitints, they display vivacity and light, the salient parts being almost always dull and somewhat dark, though not in the degree of the stronger shadows and of the deep concavities. DRAPERIES OF CLOSE TEXTURE. 251 But all these characteristics will be readily visible to the artist, when he has the stuffs before him ; for he would hardly attempt their representation without. We need not, therefore, consume further space upon this topic, ex- cept to add, that in velvet the striking yet no way glaring contrast of the broad lights with the dark masses, produces effects the more rich and flattering that the brilliant parts are fewer and of less extent than those which are obscure ; so that the eye feels none of that fatigue or satiety that is caused by gazing on materials that are more uniformly brilliant. 252 •HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTINO. CHAPTER V. IN WHAT MANNER THE STUFF IS CHARACTERIZED, I7HEN LIGHT AND TRANSPARENT. Transparent stuffs have this difficulty in their imitation, that they present a complication of folds in all directions, which are perceived one through another, without being absolutely confounded nor yet perfectly distinct. The under parts must be first established in a tender and vague manner, without paying too much attention for the moment to the superficial folds which cover them. This done, there is little embarrassment In general, these sorts of stuffs are painted with thin color, which helps to give them the light and delicate ap- pearance they should have. They are usually white ; but when colored, the best mode of rendering them, if they are thrown over a white under-dress, is to paint them as if they were white ; then, when this couch is dry, to spread over the whole a light glaze, blue, or rose, or green, as may be, observing to double the force of the glaze, ana even to triple it, where the folds are doubled or tripled on one another. In this way, you are master of your work ; you add or diminish the intensity of the color of the glaze, without the risk of destroying the folds and forms of the under painting, and at the same time you sacrifice with broken grayish tints certain parts that are found too lively, or by a mixture of white add vivacity to others. When however it is a black or other dark-colored gauze LIGHT AND TRANSPARENT DRAPERIES. 25S that is cast over a drapery of light hue, it must be painted at once of the proper color : it would be absurd to prepare it in white. All you have to do, is, when the under couch is dry, to trace the principal folds with white chalk that you may see your way, and then paint it in glazing. For the rest, all these transparent draperies should be treated lightly and with a free pencil, without caring to , render a million of petty accidents of detail, which far from adding to the better effect of the work would rather injure it. It is not precisely negligence that is demanded, it is a spirited manner of painting, that characterizes merely what deserves to be characterized, and requires a great deal of taste and tact ; so that the whole together satisfies the view, though done freely and at little cost. The painting of draperies in general we will now pro ceed to describe, by means of a particular example. 254 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTINO. CHAPTER VI. MODE IN GENERAL OF PAINTING DRAPERIES, EXEMPl-pIED IN ONE OF DARK-BLUE CLOTH. THE FIRST-PAINTING OR SKETCH. With the best Prussian Blue* mix a third of intense Lake : add thereto a twentieth of red ochre, and about as much of Vine-black or Prussian Black. You will mix with this combination white, for the two brightest tints : the brighter of these two, to heighten the principal lights, and the othei for the local color. The proportion of white depends upon the tone of the stuff you have to copy. Of the first mixture, whereof you will have set aside a part before adding the least white, you make two other shades, by adding black ; one of these will be much darker than the other, for the more vigorous parts of the shadows. With these four colors (whose quantity is regulated by the extent of surface you have to cover) you can sketch your whole drapery. They will not indeed be varied enough for all that you have to execute ; but out of them, all the intermediate tints and shades that you require can be made with your pencil, on the palette. • For light and brilliant tones, such especially as are found in silks, the only blues to be used, where blues are required, are Ul- tramarine or those of cobalt. But for cloth and all stuffs where the tone is deep and obscure, Prussian Blue is to be preferred, when of good quality ; and not only for dark blues, but for deep greens or dragon-green, mixing it with ochres, as Roman Ochre, or the or- dinary Yellow Ochre, according to the case. PAINTING OF DRAPERY EXEMPLIFIED. 255 The mixture indicated may appear extraordinary, in that a great deal of lake is used, and even of red ochre, to make dark blue : yet these additions are absolutely ne- cessary to attenuate the harshness and too great vivacity which a blue, wherein black alone, or white, should be mingled, would infallibly possess. Independently of its local tone, this mixture is useful for covering the canvas ; which could not be perfectly aone, without the black and ochre to diminish the transpa- rency of the two other component colors. In this first-painting, you are not to put too much im- portance upon the detail of the folds. The general effect of the lights and shades, and the covering of the canvas, are all you want besides a just design. Thus, when you come to the second-painting, your contours and folds being rectified with white chalk, you will not be embarrassed by the inexactness of the sketch. Observe to add a little dryingoil to those Cjombinationa with which you have not mingled white. 256 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. CHAPTER VII. THE EXAMPLE CONTINUED. THE SECOND-PAINTING. For the finishing-palette you compose the same tints and shades as for the deadcoloring, except the darkest of the four. In this you are to put none of the lake nor red ochre, but to compose it of Cassel Earth, without black, of Burnt Car- mine, and a little Prussian Blue ; which will give it great depth and force, as well as a broken tone less cold than that of the sketch.* Less color is employed in this second-painting ; which is commenced, by extending a light preparation of the first mixture (described in the preceding chapter), pure, without white, over the whole, or at least over such a portion as you can depend upon finishing in the course of the day. This done, you proceed as follows. You begin by esta- blishing the most vigorous of the shadows, then those which are less so, down to the feeblest of all. Next comes the local color of the cloth, everywhere where it is neither shadowed, nor brightened by the lights. Then, you mix half of this local color with a third, more or less, of that which has most white, and paint therewith the most lumi- * The shadow-side of a dress should be lightly reflected and of a broken brownish tone ; for it is only somewhat visible, in that great mass of shade, by the effect of the feeble reflections sent to it by the objects of the ground. This is the case not only in colors moderately bright, but also in blues, blacks, deep greens, and browns. EXAMPLE CONTINUED. 257 nous masses everywhere equally, — reserving aa usual certain touches, brighter than all the rest, to be given the moment after with a portion of the lightest of all the tints. Be careful however not to make your lights too bright, or your stuff will not resemble cloth. The same course is to be pursued in the painting of any drapery whatever ; that is to say, you commence always by the strongest shadows, after having spread over all a light local preparation free of white. 25S HANDBOOK OF OILFAINTINO. CHAPTER VIII. OF FLYING DRAPERIES. If it were not to complete the Part, this chapter would be omitted altogether ; for a young artist or amateur had better never meddle with draperies of this sort, which re- quire not only consummate tact and judgment to place them with propriety, but great good-management to dispose them (for we do not see how we can speak of either casting or setting these) even where they are most appropriate. Further, save in some composition of invention (in which let him be very careful not to sin against the most absolute truth, since here to fail, that is in an attempt with these draperies, would be consummately ridiculous), there will be rarely if ever occasion for the practice. But if he should require to take this risk, let the young artist go to the original source of all truth in his profession, namely to Nature. Let him observe what movement the agitation of the wind gives to the extremities of a drapery^ under various circumstances, and consult the like appear- ances when presented with more violence of movement in a gust ; and so on ; always remembering that everything must be in correspondence in the picture ; for it would be great remissness to make a heavy garment lifted or swollen by the wind, when all other things around, that in their nature are even perhaps more easily agitated by the same cause, appear to be totally unmoved. Prepared by obser- vation, the artist may venture upon the contrivance adopted FLYING DRAPERIES. 259 by some painters, of imitating these effects in their study by means of supports of wire. Finally we may add, that a flying-drapery of some light material better befits the character of a nymph, or a very young and airy figure, than a person the least ma- ture, while for certain makes and certain ages it would be purely ridiculous : ** Romani tollent equites peditesque cachinnum Both eits and connoisseurs would scout the farce. PART VI LANDSCAPE-PAINTIINI* HANDBOOK OF OI1PAINTIN6 PART THE SIXTH. CHAPTER 1. GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. IMITATION: PROPRIETY. The great teacher here, as in other branches of the artj is, we need not say. Nature, though to profit by her les- sons one must be well grounded in certain principles, which themselves have been derived from the same source, and which represent the gathered experience of ages. He who from the walls of an exhibition-room borrows his sole pat- terns, and shut up in his study calls upon memory and invention to direct his pencil, may become a tolerable imi- tator of other artists, but he will never execute anything that is really his own. Not but the study of the perform- ances of others, if not carried too far, is always useful, especially in landscape-painting, both because it is easiei to meet with works of merit in this than in the infinitely more difficult departments of history and portrait, and be- cause the mode of operation is more perceptible ; and let the young artist and the amateur observe that this, the mode of operating, and the principle that directed it, are all that they should really study, endeavoring to find out how such and such results were obtained and why they are 264 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. desirable, not to imitate the peculiarities, however agreea. ble, of this or that artist. But over all let the divinity of nature preside ; and renew from time to time your inspi- ration in her universal temple. There, adoration never can be in excess, and a fervent and sincere prayer for favor will be always sure of being answered. Filled with the true religion of the scene, and fortified by all your stores of knowledge, then will your efforts have to recom- mend them those first essentials, truth and propriety. No monstrous pieces will then be hurried from your easel, such as under the name of compositions too frequently fill an unregarded place in public galleries, where the skies of Italy glow upon the dank herbage and humid soil of England, and Grecian ruins moulder by the side of Gothic castles, while the shepherd of Arcadia waters brick-red cows in the stream that owes its visible origin to the snows of Helvetian Alps, and an Indian girl of America hides her tawny beauties beneath the symar, though disarrayed, of an odalisque, and smiles, amid her embowering native forests, with lips and eyes that evidenae the refined coquetry and cultivated fancies of a Christian city-lady. ** Sed nunc non erat his locus ! Et fortaase cupressum Scis simulare. Quid hoc, si fractis enatat exspes Navibus, acre dato qui pingitur ? Amphora cmpit Institui ; currente rota, cur urceus exit ? Denique sit quod vis, simplex duntaxat et unum.” (Hor. Art. Poet. 19.) Yet here was not the place ! Perhaps you know Haw too to paint Schemas father^ s promi^d bow. Suppose you do^ why stretch it o’er the Hast While yet the sun has ten hours’ life at least 7 Paint what you willy but pritheey let it be Something to comprehendy as well as see. SKIES AND DISTANCES. 265 CHAPTER II. OF SKIES AND DISTANCES. Skies and distances, and even great sheets of water (where calm and of a celestial blue) should be painted, even in the deadcolor, with pure Ultramarine, without ad- mixture of black. With other blues the tone would not be rendered sufRcienlly delicate and flying. The tints for all these things, and especially for the skies, are graduated in intensity by means of a greater or less quantity of white. The deepest is employed for the highest part of the heaven, which grows paler and paler as we descend to the horizon, where no more blue is min- gled with the tint, but the color of the horizon, more or less orange for example, is alone used, keeping it gradually lighter and more luminous, as we approach the earth and the point nearest the sun. That the passage from the pale blue to the orange may be insensible, it is necessary that the two tints, though so very different in kind, should have the same degree of force. The tints of the horizon vary greatly ; but in general, the most ordinary, for a serene sky, partakes of the hue of the most luminous fleshtint. This is modified, according to circumstances, by rendering it more roseate, or giving it more of a whitish, or yellowish cast, and even sometimes making it a little greenish ; and so on. All which and more, in a climate like our own, the student cannot fail to have observed, and will not cease to notice still. 13 268 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTINS. If large portions of the sky be hung with clouds, iv would be waste of time and color to cover them with Ul- tramarine ; but if there be only a few liglit clouds, you need not be so particular to avoid them, and sometimes you will not at all. You are to paint these vapors over the azure with but little color ; now of a violaceous gray, now of another tint ; but always with grays composed of Ultramarine, White, and more or less red or yellow Ochre, and sometimes Crimson Lake. Tlie horizon-tints prepared on the palette will furnish you, then, with all that is needed to enliven the luminous borders of these clouds. Besides which, you will modify your tints at the end of the brush ; and, by means of your provision of white, you will brighten them at pleasure, especially for the horizon. When this is of a very pure tint, you must make use of Vermilion instead of Red Ochre. If you have to paint a gray and cloudy sky, do not in the deadcolor employ Ultramarine ; take only Cork-black, which is the lightest and most bluish of all the blacks. If there be however portions that are blue, or simply very bluish, for the first you will use Ultramarine, while for the latter you will only mingle more or less of it with the black and white. For the various-tinted clouds, you will mix with your grays at one time Light-red, at another Lake, and, when they take a yellow-reddish tinge. Yellow Ochre. Often the ultramarine heightened with white that has served you for the sky, on being mingled with one of the warm colors of the horizon, furnishes the desired tint ; besides which you add, at the end of your brush, gray or one of the tints indicated, until you are satisfied with the modifi- cation : but use no others, except one of the vermilions in certain rare cases which you will know how to distin- guish ; otherwise your sky would become heavy, and have SKIES AND DISTANCES. 267 nothing in its aspect evanishing, especially if you were to take Sienna Earth and the like. In the same manner you proceed when you come to the finishing. Avoid, though without embarrassing* yourself to do so, laying your blue or gray on the luminous parts of the clouds. As for the mode of applying the color, it is the same as in all large pieces,* viz. by pats of the brush, given in succession, one next the other, from left to right, beginning at the left angle of the picture, and proceeding obliquely at an inclination of about forty-five degrees, afterwards spreading these lays at nearly the whole length of the hairs of the tool, each gradation in its turn. The color, being laid of the same thickness throughout the whole, is then blended, one tone with another, by means of a large firm badger. The little we have to deliver of the distances^ properly so called, that is to say, the parts which are seen afar back “ in the distance,” is that they are laid in general with the sky-tints, modified to suit occasion. All the difference is that there will be some light-greenish tints to be insinuated here and there in certain places, as well as some enlight- ened tones very nearly of a fleshcolor, as has been ob- served above. The distances will have more of the effect desired, in proportion as you treat them broadly. You are to manifest only the masses of light and shadow, touching them in a spirited manner, without entering into details. Vagueness is necessary both in tint and contour ; accord- ing, of course, to the degree of remoteness, to the state of the atmosphere, to the time of day, etc., as due obser- * Backgrounds, draperies, etc. — The beginning at the left of the canvas and going to the right, instead of the reverse movement, is the direction that is naturally taken. 268 Handbook of oilpainting. vation, reflection, and study, not to say a little practice, will speedily teach you. At first we hold it to be almost impossible that you will not err in this particular, espe- cially if you be punctilious and have a strong and long sight, as we have elsewhere intimated (p. 232) ; but the defect thence arising, the disappointment in expressing your intentions, will soon induce you to abjure these details, looking at nature, to use the idea of Bouvier, with winking eyes ; and then to have made the error will be far more serviceable, because it lets you into the philosophy of the ^ing, than to have gone right at once, under the instruc- tion, rarely more than practical, of others. In conclusion, observe how good artists manage* in this matter ; and for some good notions with regard to it, you may consult among other books the interesting treatise of Da Vinci, an English translation of which (by Rigaud, we think, — un- less there be one later) is easily accessible. HOW TREES ARE CHARACTERED. GENERAL ADVICE. 269 CHAPTER III. HOW TREES ARE CHARACTERED IN THEIR KINDS. THE MODE OP LEAFING. ADVICE TO THE BEGINNER. It is with trees, says Bouvier, as with the stuffs of dra- pery ;* as the latter are charactered more by the nature of their folds than by tlieir color, so it is rather by the nature of its branching, and by its peculiar sway, so to speak, than by its color and leafing that you recognize the species of a tree that is not in the remote parts of a land- scape. It is far from useless, however, especially in the case of trees that are near the eye, to study the foliage, and the hue and tone of verdure, in order to imitate them ; which is to be done, not by marking out each leaf, counting them and measuring them as you pile them upwards, but in a general, light, and graceful manner, with a peculiar touch and handling which, without painting the leaf precisely, yet lets the eye at once perceive of what family it is, and thus indicates it exactly as it is in nature, where we know at once the chestnut and the oak, the sycamore, the wil- * A happy idea, that may have been suggested, though uncon- sciously, by the following fancy of Paul Lomazzo : “ I moti de % panni, cioe delle loro falde, o vogliam dir pieghe, hanno da scor- rere in tutte le parti, wow altrimenti che rami da tronco d’ar boro ; et cosi fare, che una piega nasca dall’ altra, come esce I’uno dall’ altro ramo, overo onda da onda ; ec.” Trattato delV Arte ec. ii., 22. Milano 1584. 270 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. low, the ash, l)efore we come so near as to perceive their fruit or mark the shaping of their leaves. Study all this in the real object, and aid the pursuit by consulting some of the many lithographic prints, both French and English, that are constantly published for the purpose. And endeavor to begin as you would continue ; for a s^yle formed is not easy to be corrected. DEADCOLORING OF TREES, ETC. 271 CHAPTER IV. MANAGEMENT OF TREES IN THE FIRST-PAINTING. THE DEADCOLORS FOR THESE AND OTHER TERRESTRIAL PARTS OF LANDSCAPES. Trees are deadcolored, without details, over the sky ; the ground, or priming of the cloth having been reserved only in the centre of the large masses of foliage, where the sky is not seen through the branches. Often, even the visible portions of the heaven, when very small, are not excepted ; the mass is covered everywhere, and the little points of azure are recalled when the picture is repainted. But it is essential to trace faithfully with the crayon the tru nks and principal branches before laying the color of the sky : these outlines will be sufficiently apparent through the deadcoloring, and one is thus secure from error. Do not in the first-painting make your trees of a fine green, not even those which occur in the foregrounds : pre- pare the whole with color of a warmer key, that is to say, rather of a foul orange. A deadcolor of this sort gives to the greens of the second- painting a harmony and tenderness of tone, that they would not otherwise possess. It is supposed, all this while, that the priming of your cloth is of a warm, and somewhat golden or orange tint. This admits of your laying on your deadcolor at once ; whereas if you use the ordinary grayish- white ground, it will need, in order to prevent the whole land- scape, sky and all, having a cold, watercolor-tone, withoffi 272 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTINO. depth, a previous preparation, which we will describe in Chapter VI. Finally, as in the first-painting you need opaque colors, that will cover well, employ the ochres ; Roman Ochre for the vigorous parts and Yellow Ochre for the lighter, mixing therewith white according to occasion. Naples Yellow covers sufficiently well, and with the precaution not to mingle white with it,* you may use it for the gayer greens. The warm tints however are best obtained with the ochres ; and if you wish you may add to them, on oc- casion, a little red ochre ; Burnt Sienna would not cover sufficiently. But it is needless to extend this subject further ; or to tell the pupil what blues he must use to make these greens ; or how he is to compose his browns. Perhaps of all combinations of color none are so easy to hit right as those for the terrestrial parts of landscapes ; all the student has to do is to keep his eye upon nature, and, bearing well in mind the properties of the various pigments, and the chemical changes some of them are apt to undergo, of which so copious indications have been given in Part L, he will be convinced, by his very first essay, that he has little difficulty to encounter here. We will in the next chapter, however, say a word or two of the broken tints, as it is of these that he has always most occasion. • Refer to pp 10, 11, and the note thereon ; also to the note on p. 214. FINISHING OF TREES, ETC. 273 CHAPTER V. THE FINISHING OF TREES AND OTHER VERDANT PARTS. COMPOSITION OF BROKEN-GREENS. GREENS OF THE DIS- TANCES. ACCIDENTS OF SUNLIGHT. In resuming the picture, it becomes no longer of importance that the color should have a particular body : hence many pigments that in the sketch you had rejected, because of their too great transparency, you now use with advantage, — always however attending to their peculiar properties, as well chemical as chromatic. The various foul and broken greens, that are used in various parts of the land- scape, are of course combined in reference to the nature of the piece, in all its circumstances accidental as well as stationary. There is therefore no specific rule. Some examples may however be given after our principal author. Thus, for greens in shadow there is no need of blue ; they may be made simply of a blue-black and different yel- lows : such are soft and very harmonious. Would you have the tint participate still more of a light-grayish cast, as in the case of willows in shadow, and certain plants ? Make it with black, Naples Yellow, and more or less white. If a yellow-reddish tint be needed for these dull greens, make the dark yellows abound, and use even Sienna Earth, raw or calcined, according to the degree of force, of ruddiness, or of warmth ; the Brown of Prus- sian Blue is likewise very proper here. But if the verdant part that you are painting be now 13 * 274 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. SO far back in the perspective that the violaceous gray blue tint peculiar to the distances begins to take an aerial tone, use no other blue than Ultramarine, or in default of that, Thenard’s Blue. The lively greens that it would give you, mixed with Naples Yellow simply or with Yellow Ochre, you will break with Madder-lake, or sometimes with a little red ochre, and almost always with more or less white, to imitate the tint of the atmosphere. The greens of your meadows and trees must always partake a little more, by degrees, of the aerial tone of the distances, in proportion as the objects recede towards the horizon of your picture. Nevertheless do not deprive yourself of those accidental touches of the sun’s rays which make so agreeable an effect in nature, and which give such important aid to the painter in separating the various divisions of his landscape, and in breaking the dull monotony it would have, if everywhere equally shaded by clouds. These bright spots of light should be slightly golden, without having however all the energy of similar accidents in the foreparts of the piece. Some of them are yellowish, others nankin or almost flesh color, others roseate, others of an orange tint, and so on, varying to infinity, according to the state of the sky and atmo- sphere, to the height of the sun, to the nature of the soil, or of its products in that place, to the season, and lastly, yet chiefly, to the country represented by the scene. PREPARATORY GLAZE FOR WHITE OR GRAY GROUNDS. 21 ^* CHAPTER VI. PREPARATION FOR A LANDSCAPE WHEN THE GROUND OF THE SUBJECTILE IS WHITE OR LIGHT-GRAY. ADVANTAGES OP THE METHOD. We have said, in Chapter IV., that if the subjectile be pre- pared with a ground of a warm, orange-yellow tint, you may begin your sketch at once with thick colors, in the manner there detailed. If, however, the ground you have to paint on be a grayish white, it is advisable to make at first merely a sort of preparatory sketch in very transpa- rent color, a wash in fact similar in application to that recommended for making out the general effect of a head, saving that in the latter case you lay in only the principal shadows, whereas in the landscape you reserve nothing, painting or rather tinging all, with a warm orange color, brighter for the lights and darker for the vigorous parts. In saying all, the sky of course and the extreme distances are likewise included, only that in their case the gayest and brightest tone is selected.* • Bardwell, who wrote in the reign of George II., now 90 years ago, recommends a similar process, to which he applies the term tketching. This glaze with him, however, is only partial, or like that recommended, in our manual, for the making out of the effect of a head ; for his ground is already prepared warm, of what he calls a “tanned-leather color” (made of Brown Ochre, Light Red, and White), which tint, he says, “ gives a warmth to the shadow-colors, and is very agreeable and proper for glazing.” We will copy his indications, chiefly however as a curiosity, and 276 HANDBOOK OF OTLPAINTING. This sort of preparation presents great advantages The first is that of establishing in a measure the effect : one paints thereon (when perfectly dry) with greater con- fidence, and is able to advance the second sketch or dead- coloring much more than could have been done without it ; so that one can terminate the picture at the third re- sumption with but little labor, and may even do it without a third painting, by merely adding to the previoas work certain spirited touches and sundry glazes. The second advantage is not less than the first : it is that these warm under-colors pierce always a little through the upper lay, and thereby give to the superinduced tints a certain ripe- ness and fullness of tone that is very desirable. as confirmatory of the advice of Bouvier ; for, whatever the good sense of these old writers, their colors and combinations are rarely to be ventured upon by an inexperienced artist, inasmuch as they are adopted in general merely for their chromatic effect, and with little if any regard to their chemical nature : a remark though, that is not meant to apply to the present example, where the me- thod recommended, if understood strictly as its author intended and is particular in defining it, for a wash or glaze of the faintest kind, cannot be considered but of excellent prescription. “ Sketching, or rubbing in the design, is the first work of the picture. This should be done with Burnt Umber, drove with drying-oil and a little oil of turpentine, in a faint, slight, scumb- ling, free manner, as we shade with Indian-ink and water ; leaving the color of the cloth for the lights as we do that of the paper Remember, in doing it, we leave no part of the shadows so dark as we intend the first lay or deadcoloring, which is to be lighter than the finishing-colors. And though the foliage of the trees is only rubbed in, with a faint sort of scumbling, yet the trunks and bodies should be in their proper shapes, with their breadths of light and shadow. All kinds of buildings should be done in the same man- ner, leaving the color of the cloth for their lights. The figures on the foreground, if they are determined, should also be sketched in the same method, and then left to dry.” GROUNDS. 277 Many of the most celebrated painters, both Italians and Flemings, in avoiding the coldness of a white or a grayish ground for their subjectiles, have gone into the other ex- treme by choosing one of light or of deep red ochre. Hence their pictures have darkened. There are several examples of this effect in the productions of two celebrated French painters who adopted the same usage, Poussin and Lebrun : their works, especially those of the former, are almost en- tirely disfigured by this brown tint, which has made its way through their carnations and even all the rest. A just mean will be had between the coldness of gray grounds and the too great intensity of red-brown, by selecting orange ; an orange, however, in which the yellow predominates, not the red. PART Til •Sa VARNISHING, CLEANING, REPAIEIKIIj AND LINING OF PICTURES. 1 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. PARX XHE SEVENTH. ' CHAPTER I. OF THE VARNISH MADE OF WHITE-OF-EGG, ITS USES; AND THE MODE OF APPLYING IT. Supposing now that our novice has finished his picture, whether landscape, group, or simple head, he will be im- patient to varnish it. He breathes upon it ; a vapor gathers boldly on the colored surface, and obscures it for a few seconds ere it disappears : he touches it with his fingers ; they leave no mark : — His picture is dry. It is ; but it is not thoroughly so ; not hard-dry, so to express it. To varnish it immediately, would prevent the further evapo- ration of the oil, which, thus imprisoned, will more or less embrown his colors ; perhaps too, these colors, straitened by the thin yet harder over-couch of resin, and thus im- peded in their natural expansion while still imperfectly dry, will burst their restraint, and the picture will open in cracks. But what then 1 the lapse of months may be needed to complete the drying ; and in the meantime, for the purpose of exhibition, or to be enabled to judge the effect of his performance, the artist wishes to remove that irregularity of appearance which is caused by the dullness 282 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. of some parts and the glistening of others, and wi.ich pre. vents a just view of the whole. In this case he applies a false or temporary varnish of the Mdiite of eggs ; which is done in the follov/ing manner. Having first washed and dried the painfing, as has been directed for the sketch, or deadcoloring, but with still more care (that the finer finishing-touches and the delicate gla- zings may not be injured), he beats together the white of a fresh egg, a teaspoonful of alcohol, and a very little sugar- candy which has been previously dissolved in just enough of water to make it a thick yet fine syrup. Having ready a soft sponge, that has been made supple, by wringing it out of water (as the doctors say), but so thoroughly that no superfluous moisture is left, he dips it into the froth of the beaten glair, and passes it uniformly, yet rapidly, over the whole surface of the picture. In fifteen minutes or so, this varnish will be dry, and with its drying will dis- appear, on merely touching them, the few little bubbles it may have left on the canvas; though, if applied very lightly, none such may appear at all. The object of taking but the froth of the mixture is that the coat may be the lightest possible, and thus the oil of the colors have room for their evaporation through its pores. Bouvier recommends the renewing of this coat at the end of a fortnight for the first month, and afterwards once every two months, until the regular varnish is to be ap- plied, giving as his reason, that the oil which evaporates through it is arrested in part by the white-of-egg, and forms a sort of scurf, which would at last harden if the coat were not renewed. Besides, the repeated washing this changing of the egg- varnish necessitates ( for each coat EGG-VARNISH. 283 is removed by simple water and the sponge), helps the desiccation of the colors. For ourself we know nothing at all about this process, having never used, and intending never to use, the white- of-egg. We can only assure the young artist thatBouvier (a most reliable authority) affirms to having never found this preliminary preparation, or substitute for the regular varnish, do any harm. Perhaps the reason may be found, in the fact of his using only the froth of the mixture, and of his renewing the coat so often ; for it is certain that the thicker part or bottom of the beaten glair, which is of very ancient use,* and is adopted still because of its lustre, would if not soon changed be attended with the same ha- zard as a genuine resin-varnish too soon applied, tearing up the colors from the priming, and cracking them. Thus Prange, who added to the German translation of Bouvier’s manual a treatise on the Restoration of Old Paintings, that has since been incorporated into the new edition, says that when the v;hite-of-egg is old it is soluble neither in water nor by acids ; that therefore, when pure, this varnish is as hurtful to pictures as that of amber or of copal ; and again, in another place, “ the varnish of white-of-egg, re- peated sometimes for ages together, ends by forming a crust of a yellowish brown, which is harder than gum-copal or the varnish of yellow amber, and resists all the salts and all the acids.” He tells us though, that when mixed with * The oldest of the Italian artist-writers, Cennino, prescribes this false varnish (though we do not see why it should be called such), this temporary varnish then, as a substitute for the permanent one, until the picture should be ready for the latter. His recipe is to let the beaten glair stand for a night to clear, and to use the clear part. On distemper however the same danger could not attend its application. 284 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. brandy, and beaten with a little sugar, it is removable, and, thus compounded (see again p. *282), he considers it good for new paintings. Yet Bouvier says that in summer the sugar is not to be added, on account of the flies, which soon spoil the whole effect of the varnish. Finally, De Burtin advises that it should be never used either for old or new paintings. — With these indications, gathered from solid au- thorities and compared Vv ith many others, with considerable pains, we must leave the young artist to follow his own judgm.ent, adding that the method for removing from an old picture a coat of white-of-egg-varnish that has hardened, in which Prange and De Burtin both agree, is by first softening the matter with linseed-oil, left upon it for a couple of hours, and th» n removing both together by spirits of v/uie. VARNISHING WITH MASTIC-VARNISH. 285 CHAPTER II. THE E OF VARNISHING WITH MASTIC-V ARNISH. A ll authon in the art unite in deploring the necessity of varnishes of any sort, and in recommending as the least ob- jectionable tnat of mastic (see Chap, xvi., Part 1.). Hence this has got the name, by distinction, of picturevarnisk. When the painting is ready to receive it, you wash and dry it as before : then placing it flat on a table, in order that the varnish may not run, you go over it as rapidly as you can, consistently with care, uniformity of motion, and firmness of touch, beginning at the top of the picture and descending to the bottom in a straight line, then lifting the brush and repeating the same movement next to the band cf varnish already laid, until the whole surface is spread ; when this is done, without taking any more varnish, you go over the breadth of the picture in the same manner wdih the same brush, in order to equalize the coat and to spread it moreover on the little spots that have not yet taken it. You then leave the picture as it lies until the varnish is sufficiently stiff to permit your hanging it up without danger, which will be in the course of a very few hours, when you suspend it from the wall to complete the drying. This, in summer, in our climate, is the ivork of a single day. It is supposed you will have taken more than usual precautions against dust, and the like annoyances. Should 286 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. however any substance, whether insect, or down, have been arrested by the varnish, the better course is to wait until the couch be perfectly dry, when the blemish may be re moved with much less risk. The brushes used are of various widths, as well as of different materials. The badger-hair is the softer kind ; and the size should be, in proportion to the picture, as large as you can use conveniently. When you have done the work, it is not necessary to wash out the residue of the varnish with turpentine : the more usual way is to let tlie brush dry, until you can put it aside with a loose envelope of paper so secured to it as not to bend the hair, and when you have a new occasion for it, to let it soak a while in spirit of turpentine, until the old resin is completely dis- solved, and removed to the very last grain. Put the couch on thin ; for you can always add another lay, when the first is thoroughly dry. If by any accident the varnish of a painting have become dull, and it be wished merely to revive its transparency and lustre, you may go over it with a very thin coat of pure spirit of turpentine,* — applying it very rapidly and adroitly, otherwise the varnish would be dissolved. Anything further that is requisite to be observed, the young artist will soon acquire for himself. But as he cannot, however dexterous, be expected to do his first job of the kind as well as if he had experience, it is better, if he have more than one picture, to begin with the smallest, as being easier to manage well. • “ This proceeding,” says De Burtin {Traiti des Connaissancts, etc.. T. 1, ch. XV., art. 9), “is so little capable of injuring a picture, that the greatest connoisseurs ” (to which class De B. belonged, not to the painters) “ regard it as even necessary, and employ it from time to time to prevent the too great dryness of pictures.” REMOVING OF A MASTIC-VARNISH. 287 CHAPTER III. THE METHODS FOR REMOVING A MASTIC-VARNISH, WHEN NECESSARY. Ween the varnish of a picture has become embrowned, obscured, or fouled to such a degree as greatly to injure its effect, it becomes desirable to remove it and replace it with another. We say to such a degree as greatly to injure its effect, because commonsense dictates that it is better to put up with a slight disadvantage than to run the risk of incurring others that are very considerable, and we hold it to be always the case that a picture is exposed by this operation to more or less hazard, no matter liow it may be conducted. In this we are sustained by the most judicious writers on the subject, and we are only surprised that Bouvier should not have given a similar caution, the more so that De Burtin, whom he had evidently consulted, ex- pressly urges it. In the first place, it is almost impossible that the motion given in the operation to the cloth, which is the ordinary subjectile, should not in some degree, though it may be so slight as to be at first imperceptible, disturb the cohesion of the colors ; and thus, on a repetition of the process, we have cracks, a serious evil in more respects than one. Then, many delicate touches and retouches are liable to be removed, especially if, as is sometimes the case, the latter have been combined with the varnish. More than this, should the varnish have been applied before the picture was thoroughly dry, the dissolved resin will have 288 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. probably incorporated itself with the solid color, and the removing of the one will sweep away the other ; a woful accident ! of which 9,0 instance lately fell under the writer’s own observation. It is certainly always better when a picture is not cracked, especially if it he a modern one, which is seldom painted on any but a ground or priming in oil, to try what simple rainwater of the purest kind will effect to- wards cleansing the fouled surface. A sponge moistened therewith rubbed gently over, and a soft rag used to dr^’ it, repeating the process until the rag shows no longer any sign of dirt, will frequently be sufficient to restore their full effect to the colors. And as for the embrowning of the var- nish, there are even cases where it is rather an advantage. With these premonitions, we may now describe wdiat aie generally allowed to be the best means of removing an or* dinary picturevarnish, that is, one made of mastic and spirit of turpentine. These are, first, by dry attrition with the fingers and some resinous powder ; secondly, by the application of spirit of wine or brandy. The latter mode is perhaps the better for old paintings ; the former for new ones, whose colors might not be sufficiently hard to resist the action of the spirit. In the first mode, you lay the picture on a table, and commencing, as in all cases is to be advised, with seme unimportant part, you sprinkle a pinch of pulverized rosin on the place and rub it gently until the varnish there- upon is reduced to powder, proceeding thus from place to place, the dust of the varnish itself assisting you, until you have completed the picture. From time to time, you will have carefully brushed away the dust, with a feather, assisted by your breath, in order to observe your progress When you have gone over every part and the whole can REMOVING OF A MASTIC-VARNISH. 289 vas appears dull, you clean it with still more care (but without applying any moisture), and then begin to remove what may still remain of the couch. This, of course, is the nicest part of the work ; for care must be had not to continue the rubbing a moment after you have come to the bare color, which will be immediately indicated by the part’s making no more dust. To avoid the wearing-off of the cuticle of the fingers, as well as the unpleasant sensa- tion caused by this tedious friction, fine fish-skin is said to he much used. Perhaps, if the touch be very delicate, the sense of feeling we mean in the extremity of the fin- gers, a thin and tight-fitting kid glove might be worn : but it is necessary that one should have the nicest physical perception, by the touch as well as sight, of all that he is doing. Do not bear too heavily on the canvas ; and even sustain it by placing the left hand behind the part you are operating on. When the work is done, you wash and dry it in the manner already described, and it is readyjo re- ceive a new varnish. Where alcohol is used, or brandy (Bouvier names the latter only in this case ; and it is to be good [which is pure spirit of wine], not common brandy), the picture being laid on a table as before, a fine and clean bii of linen dipped in the brandy is held in one hand and a soft sponge moistened with fair water in the ct'ier. Dabbing with great gentleness a portion of the picture for a few moments, with the former, the sponge is then applied to wash off the spirit : and so on, with great care, and from place to place, until the picture is cleaned ; never of course dwelling on a spot a moment longer than is necessary. When the whole of the varnish is thus re- nwved, in which process you will have taken care to change the rag as often as it is soiled, you wash the whole 2&0 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. over with fair water, and dry it carefully, an! with ten. deniess of action. I'he author of the Traite CompIeJ, in copying the above methods from Bouvier, adds that the yolk of egg has the property of dissolving resins, and may be employed with success. It is beaten up with a drop of brandy, and, thus prepared, it is left upon the picture for some time, when it is removed by warm water, or by the aid of brandy. Spirit of turpentine is often mixed with alcohol for a iiae purpose, the latter in greater quantity if the couch of varnish be thick, the former if it be thin. But this com- bination had better not be ventured on by a raw hand. Its mordant properties however may be guarded against by means of oil. This is first rubbed upon the part to be acted on ; the solvent being then applied begins immedi- ately to take effect, and the action is stopped, the instant it ceases to be necessary, by using again the oil. It has been recomnaended even to add a small portion of poppy-oil tc the mixture itself ; and the addition of copaiba- balsam has been suggested for the same purpose. — As in the method above, the rag, or sponge, or cotton, or whatever is em- ployed (usually gathered into the form of a little ball), that has been dipped into the spirituous preparation, is held in one hand, while that with the pure oil is kept ready in the other. Once more, when alcohol and spirit of turpentine are used, either separately or together, it cannot be done with too much caution ; in a new painting especially, where in an instant, before you can be well aware of it, the powerful solvent will eat through the color, and if not stopped even corrode the ground. Yet it is the combination of these two spirits that forms the usual purifying or cleansing water of the picturedealers. REPARATION OF PICTURES. 29) CHAPTER IV. OF CERTAIN INJURIES TO WHICH PAINTINGS ON CANVAS ARE LIABLE, AND THE MODES OF REPAIRING THEM. When, by the continued pressure of some hard body, the canvas presents either a concavity or convexity in a portion of its surface, it must be well wet, in that part, and then left gradually to dry in some cool place, keeping it con- stantly under pressure. When the color has separated from the priming, swelling forward in places, whilst the priming still remains firm, the following means will often answer to repair the injury. The swollen and detached part is first rubbed over with the same paste which will be presently mentioned as used for lining. Then, with a pin or needle, little holes are punc- tured in the part, and more paste rubbed over these holes with a pencil, and worked about so that it shall pass dirough them. The surface is then wiped clean, and over the spot a pencil is passed that has been dipped into linseed- oil ; this serves to soften it. A warm iron (against whose excessive heat the operator should be assured, trying it as laundresses do) is then passed rapidly over the raised sur- fiice, v/hich attaches itself to the priming as before. Should ]'! bs necessary to line the canvas with a new one, it should be done previously. 'When a canvas is broken, rent, or pjerf orated in any part, the best means to rejoin and secure the parts, or stop the hole, appears to us to be the following, which we select 292 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. from the same copious source that has furnished us the preceding indications. The piece of canvas, that is used to repair the damage in either case, is dipped into melted wax, and applied the moment it is taken out, warm as it is, to the part, which has been previously brought together as well as possible and also saturated with the wax. With a spatula you flatten down the piece, so that, as the wax chills and concretes, which is almost immediately, the parts adhere and are kept smooth. The whole being made per- fectly level and the excess of the wax removed, a mastic made of whitelead mixed with starch is applied, for oil- color does not adhere well to wax. The white is after- wards colored thin, or by washes, according to the tone of the surrounding parts, and repainted. — We are assured that by this method, extreme atmospheric changes will have no effect upon the new piece, whereas, if attached with a glue (the usual mode), it would be apt to wrinkle in dry weather, and render the repair perceptible. When the priming of a canvas has become detached,* or the cloth is so old as to need sustaining, it is customary to paste a new cloth on the back ; which is called lining the picture. This mode of strengthening the original can- vas is so constantly met with in old pictures of any value, that it is proper the amateur should understand the process : besides, he might wish on occasion to double the cloth of his own picture, for the sake of greater durability, as we have intimated in Part I., Chap, xxiii. In order to render the old canvas and the color softer and more manageable, it is recommended to expose the • That is, supposing that the canvas itself is not greatly injured, and the separation of the ground is not to a very great extent ; for in such case the painting itself is transferred, and removed to » new siibjectile. REPARATION OF PICTURES. 293 picture for several days to the damp of a cellar. — When all is ready, the first step the operator takes is to fasten by a thin flour-paste white paper over the whole painted side of the picture. This is to prevent the colors’ scaling off, and other injuries, in the different movements and frictions which the piece must undergo. Having a choice new canvas duly stretched on a new and strong frame, a uni- form couch of well-boiled paste, made of rye flour with a clove of garlic, is spread nicely over it by means of a large brush. With despatch, yet care, a couch of the same paste is spread likewise on the back of the picture. The latter is then laid upon the new cloth, the two pasted sides, of course, together. With a ball of linen the usual rubbing is given with a strong hand, beginning at the centre, and passing to the edges, which must be carefully kept in place the while. In this way, the air is expressed from between, which remaining would cause blisters. The picture, thus lined, is then placed upon a smooth table, the painted side down, and the back of the new can- vas is rubbed over boldly with any suitable smoothing- instrument, such as is used for linen, paper, cloths, or the like. A hatter’s iron, we should think, would be very proper. Some persons (indeed it is the usual mode) add to the process the effect of a warm iron passed over the picture, opposing on the other side a board to resist the pressure. The paste being heated by this iron, and thus made more liquid, penetrates on the side of the picture the oH canvas, and fixes still more firmly the painting, while on the other side the redundant part of the paste escapes thivugh the tissue of the new cloth, so that there remains e ;ery where an equal thickness. The iron must of course be not too hot, and moreover, before applying it, several sheets of paper must be interposed between it and the 294 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. paper that was at first pasted on the painting and which would not be sufficient. When the lined picture is judged to be sufficiently dry, the white paper last mentioned is damped, by passing over it a sponge moistened with tepid water. It soon detaches itself, and with it is removed the paste that secured it to the picture. All that remains is to clean the painting, and where needed, as will be often the case, to restore it. The above operation, which it will be perceived is a very nice one, will not of course be attempted by the ama- teur himself, except it should be for experiment upon some picture of little worth, for we assure him that even the practised hands, of those who do this work as a regular business, frequently injure what they were employed to preserve. We are told, by an experienced observer, that often even wffien the picture is returned apparently in the best condition, smooth and with its old defects no longer visible, it is no great while before the latter reappear : add, that the cloths separate in places, convexities appear, the marks of the folds in the paper with which they were covered are conspicuous, etc., while it is not rare for a dull mouldy stain to betray the “ badness of the prepara- tion used, which shows itself through the very varnish.’’ “ At other times,” he proceeds, “ too dry and hard a paste renders them stiff and brittle, and makes them strain the frame until it bends. Thrice fortunate still, the owner, if the workmen, as rash as skilless, have not ruined his pictures by burning them with too hot an iron, by detach, ing them in bits from their priming, or by destroying the glazing through the mordants which they use, without pre- caution, in order to remove the dull yellowish stain, which is the necessary result of an excessive heat that has burned, not only the varnish, but often even the colors themselves CONCLUSION. 295 Knowing thus the mischief that may be done by an in- competent hand, the amateur is set upon his guard, and will ascertain beforehand whether the person he would employ to line his pictures really understands the busi- ness. And here we think that we may pause, with the general admonition, to guard against, as prejudicial, particularly to new paintings, humidity, and excessive heat, the direct rays of the sun, smoke of all kinds, foul and pungent odors, and lastly, though this accident is not the least troublesome, the filth deposited by flies.* To discourse of all the injuries to which oilpaintings are liable in the lapse of time, and of the various kinds of disfiguration which ancient pictures have undergone from the use of improper varnishes and from the ignorance of pretended cleaners, and of the different modes of restoring them to wholeness and to freshness, would take many chapters, and besides be little useful to the young artist or amateur, who will have, in all probability, no immediate occasion to know these matters, matters too, which when required can easily be le from various public sources, in our own as well as ^••Jg.i tong 131. As he acquires more leisure, he will see': x undersiand sur.h things, as a part of the collateral know.edge of his art. And by that time he will, we trust, be so enlig'ntened in his tastes, as to find nothing of malice in the expi3C.3.'on of an idea for whose suggestion we are indebted to one of our best authorities, and with which we close our Handbook, — namely, that while so much has been prescribed for the preservation and restoration of * Prange says, that the excrement of spiders is still worse ; for its causticity is such as to destroy the color, leaving white stains. These are among the causes, he adds, that compel to the varnish- ing of pictures. 296 HANDBOOK OF OILPAINTING. paintings, it would be quite as useful if something could be done to promote their destruction ; for out of the vast crowd of pictures old and new, that here, as well as in Europe, are giving mostly a false direction to public taste, or preventing its expansion, ninety out of every hundred might disappear to the manifest advantage of the art, while of the ten remaining five are all the better, or would be so, for any obscuration that in rendering thoif characteristics less obvious should help also to veil theii defects. A COMPLETE AKD TO A CERTAIN DEGREE ANALYTICAX INDEX or ALL. THE MATTERS CONTAINED IN THE PRECEDING TREATISE 77 INDEX OF MATTERS /iccessories, general manner of treating in the deadcoloring— pa^e 191 — ffor the tints, see respective heads of Lin- en, Backgrounds, etc.) ; when use- less, to be discarded, 190. Accidental touches of sunlight in land- scapes, 274. Advantages, to a young artist, of the systematic and detailed arrangement of the tints of his palette, as indicated (after Courier’s method) in this vol- ume, 155, 167. After-touches (retouches) 235 (note). Alcohol, as a solvent of resins, used by the picturecleaners for removing var- nishes : danger of its application ; mode of guarding against it, 289, 290. Anatomical detail, not to be too exactly observed in the neck and chest, 220. Antimony- Yellow, 47, 51, 55. White, 8, 9. Antwerp Blue : bad properties, 4 (and note). Antwerp Lake: character, 15. Apelles — assumed for himself the merit of knowing when to leave off, which he denied to Protogenes, 234. Arms and hands, 222. usual faults in paint- ing, 222, 223. Arsenic: its presence in certain speci- mens of iN'aples Yellow, 10, 11 ; 214 (noti,. Arsenic- Yellow. See Mineral Yellow. White, 9. Asphaltum : properties ; advantages and disadvantages, 31, 88 (note). Asphaltum, history of, 86 (and note) how to judge, 87 ; inodes of preparing for use, 88-90. of the shops, 88 (note). See also note on pp. 56, 57. Azure, or Enamel Blue, 47, 51. Backgrounds (ordinary), tints for the deadcoloring of, 165. remark on, 166 ; general rules for, 189 ; color not to be too uni- form, 191 ; division into two distinct portions of light and dark not eligible for a common bust-portrait, 189 ; finishing-tints for, 208. Badger-blenders, 94, 95. See Brushes, and Blender. Ball of the eye, not to be painted a star- ing white, 184, 216. Balsam Capivi. See Copaiba. Barpwell (landscapepainter of time of George II.) —his indications for the rubbing-in of the design of a landr scape, 275,276 (note). “ Beggars' Ultramarine," 38. Bice (Blue and Green), 57. Bishops' Half lengths ; do. W hole- lengths (picturecloths), 115. Bismuth ( White of), 9. Bistre (w'atercolor), 48, 53. Bitumen. See Asphaltum. Black for the pupil of the eye. In finish- ing, 32, 33. 300 INDEX. their classification, as good or bad driers, 4, 5 — as solid, less solid, and unjized, 46, 47. great vaiiety, ^6. (For the difierent sorts, see tlie respective heads in tlie Int'ex.) the only two necessary, 40. of the ancients — of the older mod- ern painters, 36 {note). Bladder-Oreen, 48, 53. Bladders of Colors — mode of punctur- ing, 66, 67 ; of keeping, when in quantity, 68. Blanc d'argent (Silver White), 2. Bleaching of oils, of very questionable advantage, 71. Blender (the tool of fitchet or of badger hair so called), 94,95; peculiar use (which is not to be carried to excess, and never is by skilful painters), 94, 181 ; those of badger-hair may be dispensed with altogether, 182; pe- culiar mode of cleaning, 97. Blending the tints : how managed, 180, 181. Blue-Jlshes : nature and character, 50, 51, 55. See Cendre bleue. Blue Bice. See Bice. Blue-Black. See Vine-Black (which is the ordinary kind), also Coffee-Black, Cork-Black, Paper-Black, Prussian Black, and Peach-Black (which last has somewhat of a violet shade). Blue cloth, manner of painting ;— in the deadcolor, 254 — in the finishing, 256. Blue Ochre, 20 [note). Blues : ■ classified as drters, 3 — by degrees of solidity, 46, 47. (The various sorts will be found under their respective heads in this Index.) two only necessary, 27. of copper: all dangerous, 55. for draperies, 254, {note). Blue Verditer, 57. Body White (Flake White), 2. Bone Black : not to be recommended, 39. Bosom or breasts, see Chest. Box for burning colors, 63. Box, the artist’s, for oilcolors, 96; a simpler kind more portable, and used in sketching from nature, 118 {note)- Breasts, delineation and painting of the, 221 . Brown of Prussian Blue : history, 29. differs in shade according to the calcination, and tc the Blue itself, 29. excellence as a diaphanous color ; and other ad- vantages, 30. useful in the composition of warm broken-greens for the second-painting, in landscapes, 273. mode of mak- ing, 59. known also as Brown of Iron, 53 {note). Jl second kind (orange-red) properties and advanta- ges, 30, 31 ; mode of making, 61 Brown Ochre, pioperties and uses, 11, 12 . Brown-Red : nature, properties, and uses, 16, 17. Browns : classified as driers, 4, — as solid or otherwise, 46-48. (Varieties, under their respective names in the Index.) Brunswick Green, 53. Brushes : the different kinds, and how to choose them, 93 and 286 — how to clean them, 9^98 and 286 — to pre- serve them from moths, 99-101 (and note ) — to prevent the hairs from com- ing out, 101. Burnt Carmine: qualities and uses, 20, 21, caution in use of, 21, mode of making, 65. Burnt Lake, of cochineal, (s.tme head as Bt. Carmine). Burnt Verdigris, 44. Business, the, of the artist, is to repre- sent, not what is, but what appears 233. INDEX. 301 Cadmium — its yellow Sulphiiret, 51 {note). Calking : its advantages and disadvan- tages, 169. three methods of, 170. Canvas for pictures, 114. cant names for certain established dimensions of, 114, 115. mode of stretching, 115. smoothing and washing of, pre- viously to using, IIG advice for choice of, 115, 116. tint of preparation for, 116 (also 277). doubled, 116. See Lining. rolling of, for transportation, 117. cost of a three-quarters, 119. Carmine (of cochineal) worthless as an oilcolor, 48, 55, 119 {note). Carmine of cochineal, and Lake of cochineal : their calcination. See Burnt Carmine. Carmine of Madder, 45, 49. Carnations. See Fleshtints. Carpet for the study (not advisable), 135. See Floor. Caruncula lachrymalis, 160 {note). Cassel Earth : power ; peculiar uses ; to be reserved for the last painting; disadvantages, etc., 31-33— supposed want of solidity, 33 (see also 56, where it is noticed as solid). not to be used for eye- brows, 218. the brown, in all proba- bility, used by Vandyck, 33. Cassius, Purple or Precipitate of Gold, of, 49. Cast of draperies, 247-249. Cendre Bleue. See Blue .^shes. another kind, native, 51 {note). Cennini {Cenninofs mode of preserv- ing the hair of pencils from moths, 101 . Ceruse, 2, 47, 50. Chair, sometimes a substitute for the rest-stick, 104. Chalk- Whites, 47, 50. Change, in the coloring of a pitture, in some degree to be ascribed t« (Ji« negligence of the colormakers, 62, bu much more to the want of tact or care in the artist, 62. Chest, and bosom or breasts, in th« second-painting, 221. Chinese Yellow, 57. Chrome-Green (the oxide of chrome), 59 ; durability, 47, 145. Yellow: dangerous: properties, 14 ; as a watercolor, 15 ; want of solidity, 47, general character, 55. Cinnabar: properly, 17 (note).— See Vermilion. Clavicle, not to be too harshly promi- nent, 220. Cleaning of pictures : the simplest, and best mode (where effectual), merely washing them with water, 288. Cleansing-fluid {eau h nettoyer) of the picturedeulers, 290. Clouds, 266. Cobalt-Blue. See Thenard's Blue. Green: excellence, 47, 50, 55 ( the verde azzurro of Cennini, 50. Coffee-black : qualities and advantages, 37. mode of making, 61 ; and how to wash it, 61, 62. Coffee- Greens (known as Venetian and Emerald Green) fugacious colors. Colcothar, 50. Cologne Earth: character as a color: danger of its use; exemplification of its fugacious nature, 33, 34. when burnt, gains a little more fixedness, 47. Colorist, the, is bom, not made such ; the eye in him being what the ear is to the musician, 155 (and note). Colors : general advice as to the laying- on of, in painting, 149. of the palette : mode of keeping fresh, 68, 69. Composite Black, 47, 50. Brown : what 1 34 ; uses aiMl varieties, 34, 35. 302 INDEX. (:*m.fesiluns in landscapepainting. landscape. ConU-crayons. See Crayons. Co-Kiour of the visage : caution with re- gard to its management, 231. Ccnti-adictioTi among writers as to the materials of the art, and especially colors., 35, also 41. (See too the latter part of note to p. 13). Conversetion with the individual-model (in ponraitpainting), 228. Copaiba, used in preparing glazes of verdigris, 43 ; as a guard against the too corrosive character of spirituous detergents in picturecleaning, 290. Cork-Black : character and excellence, 38. inode of making, 63. Correggio : his impasto not owing to his materials but to his skill and native tact in using them, 81. Cost of a set of materials for oil paint- ing. 118, 119. Crayons : kinds, and mode of pointing, 119 (note). Crystals of Verdigris. See Distilled Verdigris. Crusts (of color! ; 144. CuHain, the ordinary one of the paint- er’s window, should have the upper edge faced with white, 133, 134. ■ for procuring artificial reflec- tions, 130 (note). Da Vinci’s method of deadcoloring, 195 : useful notions for the student in landscape, to he found in his treatise or collection of maxims, 268. Deadcoloring : of carnations, or the Jr'irst-painting of the flesh; method of composing and selling the palette for, 156-163; additions to, for the parts of linen, hair, etc., that touch, 164, 165; advantages, to the young artist, of this detailed palette, 167. process of, 172-174. Deadcoloring : process of, exemplified, 176, 177. distributed (intoday’a- work), 187. of background and acces- sories, 189-191. of draperies, to be freely painted, without detail, 255. See Draperies. De Burtin (connoisseur) : extract from his treatise, 149. Defects of skin, not to be particular- ized, 224,225; or, if characteristic, to be softened down or extenuated, 5^25. Degradation. See Gradation. Demitints, of a bluish, greenish, or violaceous cast, to be sparingly used, 230. Dennkr Balthazar)— his peculiar talent for minute detail alluded to, 233 (and note). Details — excessive particularity in the representation of, 231-233 ; the great mistake of amateurs and beginners, 231 ; not usually the fault of an unapt disposition, but rather the con- trary, 232; what sort of persons most likely to fall into it, and therefore to be most cautious to avoid it, 232. Details of light and transparent stuffs, in draperies, 253. Detergents, spirituous, used by picture- cleaners, 296. Distance, in general, for the model or sitter, as respects the seat of the painter, 124, 125. Distances, in landscapes, 267. to be treated broadly and vaguely, 267. colors of, 265, 267 274. Distemper-painting — the size, or gluten used in, 130 [note). Distilled Verdigris : uses : mode of application, 42; not ranked in the class of solid colors, 48. ^ to be employed but rarely, and why: cautions in the use, 43. another method of applying, with safety, 44. Da Vinci’s me- thod, 44 note). INDEX. 303 Diitribution of the First-paintinff, into five days’ work, 187 ; of the Second- painting, into three days’ work, 235. Division of the human body, by its prin- cipal articulations (to serve as a guide in the construction of a manne- kin), 110. Doubts of the student, caused by the want of consistency in writers on the art, 35. (See, as one exemplification of the remark, note on pp. 12, 13.) Down of the Skin, a material cause of the variety of broken-tints in carna- tions, 177. Draperies, 243-259. material of, in general, 243. color of, in reference to the complexion, and time of life, of the model, 245, 246. cast or adjustment of, 247- 249. use of mannekin for, 247. rules for the proper adjust- ment of, 248, 249. material of, how character- ized ; where of a close texture, 250, 251 ; where transparent, 252, 253. of blue cloth : First-painting, 254, 255. Second do. 256, 257. General rule for the second- painting of any drapery, 257, Flying-draperies, 258. Drying : of the First-painting, 192 ; how to ascertain when it is completed, 193. of the finished picture, 281. Drying-oil : how to be used, according to the specific occasion, 5, 74. • when not to be used, 6, composition of, and general directions with regard to use, 73, 74. Orandi's Drying-oil, 75. TVhite drying-oils, 7^78. Durer (./3/ftert)’s division of the human body, 110, 111. Earth-black. See Russian Black, and Fossil blacks. Easels, 103 ; cost of an ordinary one, together with a rest-stick, 119. Eau depurative or /’ eau a nettoyor (pu- rifying, detergent, or cleansing wa'Jir or fluid) of the picturecleaners. Sae Detergent. Edges of parts that touch the fUsh (as ringlets of hair, linen, etc.), to be painted with the carnations, 163, 136; 185, 186; 207, 209. Effect, general, of the picture made out by a preparatory wash as it were of oilcolor : in the case of a head, 172 ; the method this of Rubens, and others, 195. in landscapes, 275, 276 (and note) Embroideries, 243. Embu (Fr.) 140, Emerald Green, 57. another kind. See Coffee- Greens. Enamel-Blue. See Azure. Enforcing- touches of the deadcoloring, 183-185. English Red : character ; uses ; disad vantages, 22, 47, 50. English Varnish, 80. Essences. See Volatile-oils. Eyebrows, 217, 218 : irregular, ana shaggy, or of old men, 217. bituminous browns not to be used in painting, 218. Eyelashes, to be painted with softness, 185 ; 216, 217. Eyes — fault, with beginners, in painting the, 184. See Ball. pupil of the. See Pupil. Excessive labor, apt to injure a work' there is a merit in knowing when to leave off, 234. Excrements of insects, injurious to pic tures, 295 (and note). Expression, the life of the resemblance in a portrait : hints as to the node of marking, 226-229. 304 INDEX. Fidelity of resemblance. See Resem- blance. Field (Mr.)’s Chromatics : a valuable book to the higher class of student- painters, or to the experienced artist, 215 (jiote). — colors, 22 (note). Fingers. See Hands. Finishing-palette. See Second- Paint- ing. Finishing-touches of the Deadcoloring, 183-180; to be made with freedom and spirit, 183, 186. First- Painting ) a j , • First-Palette S Deadcoloring. Fitches : nature and quality, 94 ; used as blenders, 94, and varnishers, 95 ; name with the French, 95. See Brushes. Flake White, 2. Flanders Varnish, 80. Flattered Likenesses. See Likenesses, and Resemblance. Fleshtints (for the first coloring) : luminous, 158, 159. broken, 159, seq. feebler shades of, 162. Shade- tints for flesh in the first coloring, 163. Fleshtints (for finishing) luminous, 200, 201. broken, 202. feebler shades of do. or vari - ously broken demitints, 203, 204. true shadows of, 205. reflexes of, 205. Deeper parts of the shadows, and most vigorous and warmest touches, 206, 207. See Deadcoloring, and Second Painting. Floor, of the study, much better painted than carpeted, 135, 136. Florentine Lake, 20 (note). Flying-Draperies, 258; only suitable for certain light, airy, and juvenile figures, 259. Folds of draperies, in general, 248, 249 falso note to p. 269) ; as indicative of the Htiiff, 250. Fossil blacks of the ancients, 39 (not*). Fra Bartolomro'i method of dead coloring, 195. Frames for picturecloths, 115. Fusion of tints; how brought about See Blending. Qaude-Lake. See Weld. Gauzes, crapes, and other transparent stuffs. See Transparent Draperies. German Black (of wine-lees), 40. Giallolino (Naples Yellow, with the Italians), 11. Glair, varnish of. See White of Eggs Glazing : ■wYint'i 137; its advantages and disadvantages, 138, 148; to be always adopted with caution, 148 pigments used in, 145, some times opaque, 137. Composition of a brown glaze, of different degrees of intensity, 34, 35. Observations on and di rections for glazing, 146-148. Best time for, 146. Glazing on solid color, 147. Method of,removing a glaze when faulty, 147, 148. Glue (of glovers-leather or of parch ment) for distemper-painting. Coo- per's White Glue, a convenient and complete substitute, 130 (note). Gradation of color : a practical mode of ascer taining, on the palette, each tone in the scale of, 174. Exemplification of the mode of operating in the observation of thii scale of tones, 176. Grayish and opaque tints to be avoided in the shadows of the second-paint' ing, 230. Green Bice. See Bice. Green Earth. See Terra Verde. Greens : permanent, 47 ; less so, 47 J INDEX. changeable., 48. (See the different sorts under their respective names.) • broken, of landscapes; grayish, brownish, etc., 273,274 ; of the distant parts of do., that partake of an aerial tone, 274. Green soap, use of for pencils, 98. Green Verditer, 57. Grinding of colors: in oil, 106, 107 ; in water, 107, 108. Grounds of subjectiles : sometimes chosen of too dark a tint by the old painters ; the consequence, 277. See Tint of preparation (under Canvas). Gurntion (a composite oil vehicle, or painter’s nostrum), 79. Hair, deadcoloring for, in general, 164, 167, to be treated broadly, without details, 191. Half-lengths (picturecloths), 114. Hands : generally painted without much reference to the model ; oppo- site faults of painters in the execu- tion ; anecdote of an example of hard fingers, 222, 223. Heat, excessive, to be avoided for new pictures, 295. Horizons, tints of, and manner of blend- ing them with the upper sky, 265. Human body, division of the, by the principal articulations, according to the system of Albert Durcr, 110, 111. Humidity an injury to paintings, 295. Hungary Green. See Mountain- Green. Hydrocyanate of copper, 48, 53. tmpasting, or painting with thick color: general rule for, 143; advantage of, in certain parts of landscapes, 144. Incarnate of the cheeks, the, not to be spread too uniformly, 231. 305 Inconsistency of artis -authors. See Contradiction. Indian Lake, 20 {note). Indian Red, 23 Indian Yellow : qualities and uses, 19- 14; choice of, 13; caution in use, 13; character for solidity, and discrepance of authorities on this point, 12 {note), 45, 55; origin, 12 (note). Indigo : not to be used, 3. Injuries of pictures, and the modes ol reparation, 291-294. See Reparation. Iris- Green, 48, 53. Iron-Brown, or Brown of Prussian Blue (which see). Italian Earth (Burnt) : nature ; objec lion, 3; solidity (raw), 46 (burnt), 45. Italian Varnish, 79. Ivory Black : character ; disadvantages, 36 ; used by Apelles, 36 {note). Keeping prepared colors, method of, when in quantities, 68, and on the palette, 68, 69. Kings' Yellow, 57. Kitkat (pictured oth), 114. Krems White. See Silver do. Lac-varnish (white), 91 {note). Lairksse (Gerard de) treatise of, re- commended to the student (by Bou- vier) as a guide in the choice of color for draperies, in pieces of invention 246. Lakey or Sanguine tones, in certain shadows of the flesh, 230. Lampblack : the two sorts : discrepp-ws of authorities, with regard to 40, 41 (and note). 206 INDEX. r.t',ncjt.'.}'c pcintivi", 263-2V6. and preliminary ad- vice, 263, 264. Comrositinns ■ their frequent violations of piopiltity, 204. Color of the pr.iiiiiig for land- Bcapes, 271. Preparatory giaze, to give warmth of tone. 270 land (For particular parts of Laiiil- Bcapes, see tlie proper heads, as Skies, Distances, Clouds, etc.) Lavender, essential-oil of, 84. Layfgure. See Mannekin Laiying-on of the colors, considered as a whole, 14y. Leafing of trees, 209, 270. Lebrun ; his grounds. See Poussin. Lemon Yellow, 9 {note). Likenesses : staring. 228. flatter]) in. or rather embel- lishment, to a certain degree essential, 227, 229. See Resemblance. Light, nearly perpendicular ; the pro- per one in general for the model, 120. The student is not to miscalculate the effect of his light, 128. peculiar, for certain piquant effects, 133, 134 : this, not suitable for youth, 134. Light Draperies. See Transparent. Light-Red : nature and properties, 16 Lights, reflected. See Reflections. ZAnen : deadcoloring for, 164, with ob- servations, 166. • second-painting, 208. JJning of pictures, 292, 293. Linseed-oil, 70-72. JAps, deadcoloring of the: tints for, id8-150; enforcing-touches, 184, 185. List of colirs : of approved excellence; with their character as good or bad driers, 1-5. classified according to tktir degrzeo of fixedness or perma- ncnct, 46-48. Jflst of colors : diaphanous, for g nzing 145. -• simple, used for the combinations of the first-painting, 156, 1.57 ; for those of the second or finishing 199. Location for the artist's study, the best, 126. Lomazzo (Paul) assimilates the folds of drapery, in their general disposi- tion and mutual dependence, to the branches and boughs of trees, 269 {note). Lookingglass. See Mirror. Madder- I.akes : general description 19, 55 ; mode of using, 19, 20. Yellow, 13 (note), 15. Purple. See Purple Macgilp, Magelp, Magilp, or Magutlp (as it is variously written), 79. Mannekin {layman ; layfigure) : what ? 109; how used, 109, 110; 247; may be dispensed with for an ordinary bust-portrait, 248 {note). How to make a kind mure economical, 110 112 . Mars (Yellow, Brown, Violet, etc.) • nature and character of this class of colors, 49, 54. Massicot : nature, kinds, character, an liquity of its usage, etc., 47, 52, 55 Mastic (the resin), 91. varnish. See Varnishes. price of, at the color- shops, 118 {note). Mastoid muscle, — w'hose origin, inser- tion, and uses, being necessary to be known for the execution even of a simple head, are given in the Hand book, 220 (and note). Matting for the study (objectionable), 135. See Floor. Maulstick. See Rest-stick. Meadows: greens for, where remote, 274. INDEX. 30 '^ Miasms, injurious to pictiues, 221 Mineral Blue, 47, 50. See Antwerp Blue. Yellow ; character, 14, 47, .'>1 ; nature, 51. See Patent Yellow, (which is the same thing). other kinds, 51. (The name has also been given to Yellow Ochre; though properly enough on one account, yet unadvisably because of the confusion which thus arises in chromatic nomenclature.) Minium (redlead), a bad pigment, 52, Mirror, use of, 238, 239. Moths : sure method to prevent their attacks upon reserved brushes, 99; Cennini’s method, 101 ; another mode suggested, 101 {note). Mountain- Green, 48, 53. Mouth. See Lips. Moveable screens : construction and use of, 129-131. Mullers : their proper form, 106 ; mo- tion given to, in braying colors, 106, 107; manner of cleansing, 107. Mummy, or Mummy- Brown, (also Bgyptian Brown) : opinions for and against, 56 and 57 {note). Music : its analogy with painting, inci- dentally mentioned, 215 {note). Maples Yellow: nature, properties, dis- advantages, etc., 9-11 ; 47, 54. rendered frequently dangerous by having arsenic in com- bination, 10, 11 (and note) ; 214 {note). use of, in reflections, 214. the giallolino and gial- lorino of Italian writers, 11. Meek : how to be painted, in a fine model, 219. • ■ ' in a meagre person, 220. Morth, the true ejposure for an artist's study, 127, I'liis opinion of the ma- jority controverted, 127. (See Study, for reference to the me'uis of coin teracting the effect of rri ut.favorable exposure.) Mostrils : treatment, in first-paintinc, 184, 185. Mut-oil, 70, 72, 72. mode of adding to its desiccativ* property, 77. Ocre de rue (formerly, rut), 12. Sec Brown Ochre. Oglio cotto. See Oils. Oils : fixed, used with colors, 70-72 ; comparison of their respective pro- perties, 71, 72. See Poppy, Mut, Linseed. essential or volatile, 83-85. Oil baked with litharge {oglio cotto), 80. Oil of cottonseed, 72. Open air, practice substituted for, where the effect is desired in a portrait painted in a close study, 131. Orange : — the permanent, less solid, and little solid colors of this class, 46-43. Orpiments : character, 15, 47, 55; names, kinds, properties, etc., 51. Sir J. Reynolds’ erroneous use of, 51 {note). Palettes, 102; modes of dressing them, 102; observations on their use, 103. Palette-cup, 74. knife. See Spatula. Panels, 113, 114. Paper-black: excellence; objections, from the tediousness of its prep£.ra- tion, 37, Parent-colors, used in the compesitio.! of the first-palette, 156, 157; of the finishing-palette, 193, Pasteboard, for oilpainting, ii3 Patent- Yellow, 57. Sec Miner: al Yilew 308 INDEX. Ptach-Black (or rather, Peachstone- Black) . violaceous; superfluous, 39; objection to, by an eminent writer, 40. Pencils. See Brushes. Permanence of the different oilcolors, according to the best general opinion, 54-57. Permanent Blue, 27 (note). Persian Red (Indian Red), 23. Picture-cloths, 113; usual sizes, with their cant names, 114. See Canvas. Pinks (Dutch Pink, Brown Pink, etc.) ; general character, 15, 47, 52, 55, 56 ; nature, 52. Platina Yellow, 15. Plush, 250. Poppy-oil, 70 ; methods of bleaching and rendering it more drying, 76-78; thus prepared is suitable for retouch- ing, 235 (note) — price of ordinary, at the shops, 118. Porphrjry, 105. Portraits, representing the individual- model as in the open air, how man- aged (though imperfectly), in the close study, 130, 131. Poussin and Lebrun : the dark grounds of their subjcctiles have come forward through their colors, 277. Prangk’s observations on egg-varnish, 283, 284. Preparation for landscapes, where the ground of the subjectile is white or light-gray, 275, 276. Preparations (a species of glaze for parts that need repainting), 140-142. Prepared colors, 66-69. prepared paper, for oil painting, 113. Priming of canvas, colors for the, 116, 271, 275-277. P7 3TOOENKS, oTcr-careful, in the j*id£nientof Apelies. SeeAfELLES. Prussian Black: excellence; peculiar property ns a quick drier, 38 ; methot of making, 60. Prussian Blue: character; uses; dis advantages, 25, 47, 55 ; dries admira bly, 193 (note). Its calcination* See Brown of Prussian Blue, ant Prussian Black. J^Tative prussian-blue,21 (note). Prussian Red, 23 ; 47, 50. Pupil of the eye, best composite blacl for finishing the, 32: directions foi painting, 216. Purple, or Precipitate of Gold, of Cassius, 46, 49 ; of Madder, or Field's Purple, or Purple Rubiate, 22 (note). Rectification of the sketch with the hair-pencil, previously to painting, 171. Redlead. See Minium. Reds : classification by their desiccative properties, 3 ; by their degrees of so- lidity, 46-48. (The varieties are under their proper heads in the Index.) Reflections, ordinary, of the painter's study, how modified, 129, 130 (with note^y, from without (as from walls of houses, etc.), how ezeluded, 131, 132. Reflections or Reflexes, in carnations ; tints for, and mode of managing, 179, 214:— m colored stuffs, 179 (note). Rembrandt’s crusts of color, 143 (and note). Repainting. See Second-painting. Reparation of pictures : where the canvas has been forced in or pressed out, 291. where the canvas is broken, etc., 291, 292. where the color is detached in places, 291. where the canvas needs doubling or lining, 292-294. Resemblance, fidelity of : general rules for securing, where the talent is not wanting, 226. INDEX 309 h t stick, 104. See Chair. R»tnolds (Sir J.), his skill as a color- int not deteriorated by the futility of many of his experiments, as it could not be bettered by the success of the haopiest of them, 81. Retouching : preparation for, 140. varnishes for, 140 {note). See also note to p. 235 Roman Lake, 20 {note). Roman Gchre, 12. Room, artist’s. See Study. Rosemary, essential oil of, 84. Roundness of parts ; on what depend- ent for its true delineation, 213, 231. Roux and rouge, distinguished by the French, 212 {note). Rubens’ maxim for the general man- agement of the colors, 195 ; his me- thod of rubbing in the shadows of the design with a mere wash of color, (common with the Florentine and Roman schools, and similar in all probability to the practice of Van Eyck), 195. Russian Black : an earth; probably of the sort used by the old frescopaint- ers, 39. Sable-pencils : nature, and excellence, 94. — See Brushes. Saffron- Yellow, 47. Sanders-Blue. See Blue .^shes Sap Oreen. See Bladder-green. Sati'T.s, 250. Scarlet Lake, 20 {note). Scheele's Oreen, 48, 53, 55. Schwcinfurt Oreen, 53. Scraper, advantage of a, over a razor or knife-blade, for smoothing the ■ketch, 210. Scraping and washing of the sketch. See Second-painting. Screens. See Shades. Second-painting, or Finishjig-palette, of the carnations : methodical arrange- ment and composition of the firsts, 199-208. scraping and washing of the sketch or deadcoloring, prepara- tory to, 210. Process of the second- painting, for the head in general, 212-215. for the eyes and parts connected, 216-218. for the neck, shoulders, and breast, 219-221. arms and hands, 222, 223. General observations and advice, 230-234. The process of second- painting distributed by days, 235-237. Rules for the suspension and resump- tion of the work where not continu- ous, 236, 237. Second-painting of draperies Cexempli- fied in one of dark-blue cloth), 256. Shades, for the artist's window, when required, 127, 128. for procuring certain artificial reflections, 129-131. for excluding reflections from without, 131, 132. See Windows. Shadow-side of draperies, 256 {note). Shawls : the borders, and figures, to be rendered vaguely, 243, 244. Shoulders, slope of the ; colors for, 219, 220 . Sienna F.a'<-th (raw ) ; character ; and objections, 27 (burnt) : power ; caution in use of ; instances where it may be used with advantage, 28 ; proper for the foreparts only of a picture ; pre- caution, 28 ; not to be used for clouds, 266, 287; good in certain warm broken-greens, 273. Silk, stuffs of, in draperies, 250. Silver White, 1,2; 7 (and note). How to choose it, when bought dry, 7 ; us'..al price of, prepared, 118. Sketch, to signify the First-painting, ot 310 INDEX. whnt morp nniinlly cnllrd the Dcadcolorinff, HO (nnd elsewhere). See Dr.adcoloring ir. the ! Jictionary of Terms. Skies, pure: method of prtinline. both in the dcadcoloring .ind fintshiiig, 265. , when grait nnd cloudy, 266. Mode of iip|)lying the colors, 267. Skin, color of, over bony parts, 231. • defects of. See Defects. Slabs for prindinsi colors; kinds nnd sizes, 10.5; inrule of n.‘■in^; and of cleaning them, 106-108. -See Muller. Smalt: as a drier, 3 ; nature, 26; dis- Cfirdani ojiinions with regard to, nnd qne.stionalile diirahiliiy, 26, .5i. See Mzure. Smyrne (Smyrntn) Lakes, 20. Smoke, injurious to pictures, 295. Smoke-black, 40, .57. Softener , — otherwise Blender, some- times i'tecetcncr; (names given to a brush of titchet or badger hair, for imdting the tints together, etc.) See Blinder. Spanish Black (Cork-bIack\ 3S. Spatula, 108 (note). See also 119 (note), and, for the price of an ordi- nary paletteknife, 118. Spike, essential oil of, 84. Spirited touches. See Finishing do. Spirit-varnishes — objectionable, 91. Stils de grain of the French (our Pinks), 15. 47, 52 (and note), 5.5, 56. Stretching-f.-ame, for picturecloths. See Frame. Study, or toc-.'kroom of the painter : its Gimensi«.ns, arrangement, location, light, etc., 124-128. how best secured against dust, 135. Stuff of draperies, how characterized, 5.50-253. Paul Lomazzo’s eompar- zson of thetr folds to the boughs of a tree, 269 (note). Sutjextile : n generic term nbsolutrly m ce.-sary in the art to ezpress the material of whatever nnture used tv paint upon, whether the same bfl canvas, panel, coppcT, pniPhoard, or any other suhslmire, 1 13 (and else- where). Consult the JliUionary oj Terms. Sugar, or sugnreandy, use of in ogg- vnrni.sh, 282. 281. Sun's direet light, touches of, in land- scape, 274. danger of expo-ing llic moist colors of n new painting to, 192 (note). Sweetener. Sec Softener. Table, giving the respective solidity of the. principal oilcolors according to the opinions generally admitu-d, 5) 57. Table for grinding itie colors, 108 Teasing of colors \n a vain attempt to blend them, 173, 181. Terra Merita, 47, 52. Verde (Terre Verte), 47, .50; generally considered dangeroms, 55. Thenard's Blue (of cobalt) ; objections to its use : 26, 46, 55 (and eiote). Three-quarters (nicturecloth), 114. Ticking, for picturecloths, 116. Titian, his coloring the result of eye, !tnd judgment, and that spirit of pa- tient perseverance that is the insepa- rable companion of true genius, 81. Tormenting. See Teasing. Transferring of the design to the can- vas. See Calking. Transparent colors, list of. See List. Transparent draperies, how painted, 252, 253. Trees : general observations on the mode of rendering the differeal kinds, 269. deadcoloring of. 27’, 272. finishing, 273, 274. INDEX. 311 Trochanters (processes of the thigh- bone), 111 (jiote).' Tvbes for prepared oilcolors : manner of handling, 66. Turpentine, spirit of, 83. Ultramarine: name; character, 2.3, 24. Guiind’s factitious Ultrama- rine, 'iA: caution with regard to use of Ultramarine, 24, 23 : rarely em- ployed pure in carnations, 200 {note). Ultramarine .^shes : nature and character, 3, and 4 (note). '• Begg-ar's Ultramarine ” {Cork-Black), 38. Umber : general opinion of European artists is decidedly against it as un- or blackening by age, 47, .36. (An English authority (Mr. Field), however, ranks it among the un- changeable pigments). Vandyck Brown : character for perma- nence, 48. See Cassel-Eartk. Van Eyck’s method, supposed by M6rim6e to be the same with the transparent mode of Rubens, 195, 196. See Washing. Vanloo {Charles- Jin drew, or Carle, as he is usually called) : error in hia ghizings, 146. Variegated stuffs in draperies, usutilly in bad taste, 24.3. Varieties in the mode of lighting the model or sitter, 133, 134. Varnishes : used with colors, 79-82; their use not recommended, 81, 82. • for retouching. See Re- touching. Varnish for pictures, 91, 28,3. danger of applying It too soon, 281 ; use of white of eggs as a temporary sub.stitute, or first-varnish, 282 ; mode of preparing this, 282; its inconveniences, 28.3; how guarded against, 282,284; mode of removing it when hardened, 284. Mode of applying mastic or picture varnish, 285, 233. Mode of reviving its transpa rency, in a picture, when dimmed, 286 (and note). Modes of removing, when re- quisite, 287-290; danger, 287,290 See Alcohol, and Yolk of Eggs. Brushes for varnishing and mode of cleaning them, 286. Velvets, 250, 251. Venetian Green, 58. Venetian Lake, 20 (and note). Burnt. See Burnt Carmine. Venetian Red, 23. Verdigris : in what form and mode used as a pigment. See Distilled Verdigris and Burnt Verdigris. Verditer, 57. Vermilion, or Cinnabar: adulteration, 17. native, 17, 55. Chinese: compared with the European, 18. in general ; with recom- mendation as to the purchase and use of, 18, 19. Vernis a retoucher (retouching-var- nish). See Retouching. Vienna White, 2. Green, 53. Vigorous (enforcing) (ottcAes, 184 ; rule for, in the deadcoloring, 184, 185. Vine-Black : the most used of th 9 blue blacks, 38; fault Jiscribed to it by a good authority, 41. Violets : solid. 46 ; less solid, 47. of Mars (or iron), 49. Volatile or Essential oils : (see each under its proper head). Mr. Field’s opinion, 85 {note). Walls, exhalation t from, injurious W the moist colors of a fresh paintiog 192. 312 INDEX. Washing in the shadows of a sketch as the first step in the dcadculuring, (172), the method of Jlvbena, and the chief painters of the Homan and Florentine schools. See Merimee's opinion, 196, Washing of the deadcoloring, previ- ously to repainting, 211. Weld-lake {Laqne de Oaude), 49; ranked as solid by one French au- thority, 46, considered doubtful by others, 55. White of Eggs (as a varnish). Sso Varnishes. Cennino’s prescripiio.i of its use for distemper-painting, 2e3 (note). Whitclcad, 8; ocsrtion in grinding or mixing, 8; causes the rapid drying of all pigments with which it is combined in oil, 193. Whites, 3; 2, 7, 8, 50. nuliiciently solid, 46. of little solidity, 46. of lead, only true mode of classing, 2. of antimony, bismuth, tin, zinc, etc., 9. Windows : rarely more than one used by the artist ; how shaded. See Shades. How to make use of both. on occasions when n peculiar effael is desired, 134. Wrinkles : where not absolutely char- acteristic, to be avoided or but lightly painted, V25. best manner of painting, 225. Yellow I.akcs : character, 15. Ochre, 1 1 , 46. of Antimony. See Antimony- Yellow. wash, or Yellow-berry wash, 53 (note). Yellows : classified as driers, 2, 3. by their degrees of solidity, 45, 47. iSee each kind under its proper head in the Index.) Yellows that must not bs used, 14. Yolk of Eggs, a solvent of resins; manner in which it might therefor* be used for the removing of a var- nish, 290. Zrnc- WhiU 9 (and ti^). 4 NEW DICTIONARY EXPLANATORY AND CRITICAL OF SOME OF THE PRINCIPAL TERMS USED IN PAIN I i.?* a OR THEREWITH CONNECTED INCLUDING SUCH PHRASES FROM FOREIGN TONGUES AS AT TIMES OCCUR IN WRITERS ON THE ART BY AN AMERICAN ARTIST , <1 ence of other poetic requisites: but then this picture would happily want OF IMPORTANT TERMS. 327 cules, is said to have come from the subjects selected by Peter Van Laar, a Dutch painter who flourished in the no more than would their most reasonable discourse be tolerable, if actually heard by English ears, instead of being conveyed to the understanding by reading. Paint now Effie , — we will not sa} when on her trial she put back her fair hair from before her brow, — but even as the Lily of St. Leonardos, with her milkpail on her head, and the picture pleases, simply because of her beauty, — the beauty of mere form being always more for the eye than {without it) the very best moral expression that the ethographic Raphael himself could make predominant (even with the exaggeration that that noble painter sometimes fell into) in the eyes, or on the brows o” lips, of his most expressive characters. The subject is capable of very great extension, but unhappily for the full essentials of a bambochade—a kind of painting which supposes vulgarity or grotesqueness, or absolute insignificance, as well of expression as of form and feature. Again, there are other reasons, besides those 1 have mentioned above, for the dilFerence between written pictures, that appeal to the imagination directly, and those which address it solely through the eyes. I have just been reading, in the Wandering Jew (that book of a prose-poet who paints at times as we do, though he holds no pencil), the atfecting picture of the explained misunderstanding between Marshal Simon and his children. Old Dagobert himself is in the em- braces of the angelic twins, and behold. Killjoy, the great dog, stands up on his hindlegs, and puts his forepaws on the back of the soldier! being anxious to par- ticipate in the rapture of the group. What can be more natural 1 what more touching— in a book I My eyes filled at the scene ; for I read it : had I seen it in a picture, I must have laughed. Do the narrow limits, to which this book con- fines our observations on so important a subject, prevent the young artist’s seeing how superlatively ridiculous a painted scene like this would be, though so charmingly pathetic in writing? in a word, does he see the difference between painting and written description, and the “tenfold” danger of falling, in the former, from an injudicious choice of subject, into the buffoonery, or vulgar farce, or silly sentimentalism, the Betty- Foyery and Peter- Be/Zishness, of a bambochadf f 328 EXPLANATORY AND CRITICAL DICTIONARY middle of the seventeenth century, and who from his low stature and singular proportions was nicknamed by th« Italians Bamhoccio {hamboche, in French), which signifies in its more usual acceptation a large doll. As the figures of Peter too much resembled his own, the insulting epithet that might otherwise never have been applied, or would at least have dropped, stuck to him, as it does still in the history of the art, while hambocciata, and bamboccio also in the same sense, with their French derivate bambochade, have taken a permanent place in the vocabularies of the two languages. BASSO RELIEVO {bassorilievo) ; BAS-RELIEF. See Relief. BEAR OUT. Colors are said to bear out, when they appear in their full vivacity. The force of the phrase, which though highly expressive is mere cant, will be com- prehended at once, on observing the effect of varnish upon the parts of a picture that have dried dull. BEAU IDEAL. See Ideal. BLOOMING. The softer varnishes, to which class me not in a dictionary, — certainly not in a dictionary of art publish- ed in America. However, I may add this brief remark : In Greece, the beauty of the forms of sculpture was at once the cause and the effect of the love of beauty in real existence that was so universal. When in modern times we shall come to value and to understand beauty, then and then alone may we hope to aspire to equal Grecian Art. OF IMPORTANT TERMS. 32G mastic or the ordinary picture varnish belongs, are liable through effects of damp to what is technically called hlooming. Whether this blemish derive its name from its resembling in appearance the hloom which beautifies while it dims the lustre of the plum and grape, I do not know, but as its effect on a picture is much more that of mildew^ the phrase is certainly equivocal, considering its usual acceptation in language. Another term applied to a simi lar defect in varnishes is chilling. When you say that a varnish has chilled, or become chilled, you convey your meaning more readily to common apprehension than when you say of it, it blooms ; nevertheless even this word is stale, flat, and unprofitable.” What hinders an artist from saying simply, his varnish has clouded or become clouded, or dim, or tarnished ? He would then speak in- telligibly and in good English. A man of taste and re- finement should always eschew for his art the use of a pedantic jargon ; although it is necessary that he under- stand it when employed by others. The analogous phrase in French for blooming', is chanci, or, more rarely, though more properly, chancissure. To avoid the defect, never varnish except on a bright and dry day ; to remedy it, adopt the means indicated on p. 286, or apply a very little oil, rubbing it off immediately with a bit of soft silk and continuing the friction till the dull spot takes a polish. Varnishes (of the harder resins as well as the softer), made with essential-oils, are liable to lose their transpa- rency, even in the bottle. 330 EXPLANATORY AND CRITICAL DICTIONARY BODY, — applied either to prepared pigments or llieil vehicles, regards their substance or consistence. In either, when existing in a great degree it supposes opacity, which in pigments makes them reflective of light. Yet as vehi- cles may have some body without losing their transpa- rency, so may pigments that are ranked as transparent be with perfect propriety said to possess it, when their tinging- power is great, which is the case with Prussian Blue and Indian Yellow. BOLDNESS — is directly opposed to Timidity, in art as elsewhere, but particularly as in language ; and the best way to define it, is thus to indicate its opposite. “ Very high finishing is apt to injure boldness, as well in drawings as in paintings ; which is one reason why the sketches of some masters please us better than their more labored pieces. Both boldness and finishing should be regulated by the nature of the composition, its proposed situation, etc.” (^Artist’s Repository.) BREADTH. This important term of art is applied to both design and coloring. Breadth is usually indicative of a master, as the want of it almost always accompanies the performance of an amateur. When the lights of a picture are so arranged that they seem to be in masses, and the darks are massed to support them, so that the attention of the spectator is powerfully arrested and kept bound, wa have what is called breadth of ejfect, which is mainly pro- duced by the coloring and chiaroscuro. In design, a broad manner will most readily be seen in the cast of the dra^ OF IMPORTANT TERMS. 331 ries. But the following example from Mr. Haydon’s Lectures will best explain the meaning. Speaking of the extensor-muscle of the little finger, he says : “ . . The ancients sometimes showed no other muscle ; which kept the forearm broad. This management is visible in the arms of the Hyperion guiding the horses, from the pedi- ment of the Parthenon, and it ina.^ses the stringy, vulgar look which the arms of the Moses [of Michelangelo] have, and which destroys the rotundity and breadth of the fore- arm.” It must be evident, therefore, that to secure breadth a principal part must be made predominant and parts that are but secondary must be kept in due subordination, and that thus detail in its technical sense is opposed to breadth. But the young artist must not fall into the easy error of mis- taking emptiness for breadth : there are details that are essen- tial, as there are others that are not essential ; the latter, it is evident, may on this principle of breadth be omitted, the former cannot, without ofience to truth. Hear again the author I have just cited : “ There is no doubt that breadth without detail proves more comprehensive than detail without breadth, but we are not contending for a balance of evils, but a principle of perfection ; a mind that cannot comprehend the two is not the highest mind, for all the greatest minds in the art have comprehended the two.” A picture of the kind casually mentioned in the Preface (p. xiv.) would afford a good instance of o^wanioi breadth ; and thus it will appear, that breadth is essential to unity of effect 332 EXPLANATORY AND CRITICAL DICTIONARY The corresponding term in French for broad is large , and we read occasionally in English of a large manner. All these expressions are more or less vague, and are better explained by examples than by language. A couple of pictures, or the engravings of them, in one of which the principle of breadth should have been regarded and in the other neglected, would render intelligible at once what our limits have not permitted me to make as plain as I could desire. See Masses ; the consideration of which cannot well be dissociated from this subject. BRIGHT. This word, like too many others in the *anguage of art, is often equivocal. Thus we apply the epithet to a light in a picture, and mean that it is lively or vivid^ and we speak of a tint or color in the same breath, and mean that they are yale or of little intensity. The ar- tisan-painter expresses himself with a like ambiguity, and when he says a bright green, he always means a green that is pale, not vivid. BROAD. See Breadth. BROKEN COLORS — are those which are made by vari- ous combination of the primary colors and their compounds. In nature, as in art, there is but little color seen that is not broken ; yet, in the latter, a want of judgment may carry che principle of breaking too far, producing what is more expressively than elegantly termed dirt ; and even very little breaking where the colors are inimical (see Antipa- thy) will result in foulness, — which really some painters OF IMPORTANT TERMS. 333 seem o mistake for the opposite of gaudiness, glare, and crudeness. BOSSE, (Fr.) See Ronde Bosse. BUST. This word as a term of art belongs originally to sculpture : yet we may say with perfect propriety, in speaking of a picture, a lust-jiortrait ; though we cannot a jportrait-hust, which would bring the term again within the art of the statuary or modeller. C. CALKING or Calquing (from the Fr. verb, Calquer). See Chap, iv.. Part III., of the Handbook. CAMEO, or rather CAMMEO, — is, in its original signi- fication. a hard laminated stone that is of a different color above from what it is beneath, so that, in cutting the figures upon it, enough is removed to leave the ground or field of one color while the figures are of another. The word is Italian, and is likewise applied to the figure or figures thus in relief, without regard to the stone, which may be a car- nelion, or any other suitable for the chisel. CARNATION, {carnation^ Fr., carnagione, Ital.) All the Jlesh in a picture may be comprehended under this term, though it is usually confined to the upper parts of the body. Carnations, in the plural, is applied to the flesh in different parts, as appearing separately as the face, breasts 334 EXPLANATORY AND CRITICAL DICTIONARY and hands. It is used also for the tints by which these parts are represented, and thus is synonymous with flesh- tints. CARTOON. {carton, Fr. carlone, Ital.) Cartone is stout paper, and pasteboard. Hence the word came to be applied by the Italians to the drawings, or colored sketches on paper, destined to be transferred, in various ways, to walls, panels, canvas, etc. The word is scarcely used in our tongue, except in speaking of the Cartoons of Raphael, which were designs for tapestry. CARTOUCHES. (Fr.) “ Ornaments adapted to certain inscriptions, mottoes, arms, and other devices. They have acquired this appellation, by being generally representa- tions of paper, etc., rolled, folded, or returned at the ends.” {Art. Rep.) CELADON. (Fr.) Pale Green. CERTAINTY. “ The just medium between hardness and unmeaning softness of outline.” {Art. Rep.) CHARGING — is exaggeration. Charger (Fr.) is to load ; and in Italian caricare is the same : whence carica- tura, a picture in which everything is charged in order to produce a ridiculous and satirical effect ; a caricature. Loading, as a word, is perfectly synonymous ; but, in its application, it is confined to coloring. Avoid charging,” says the English translation of Dcpilcs’ Principles : “ the antique statues never have this pedantry or exaggeration.” A faithful saying, and worthy OF IMPORTANT TERMS. 335 qf all acceptation. Again : “ If you would have the work produce a good effect where it is to hang, both the colors and the lights must be a little loaded; but learnedly and with discretion.” CHIAROSCURO. While the theme suggested by this word is the most interesting perhaps in the whole range of the art of painting, its vast importance, great extent, and its intricacy, will not permit anything like a detailed ex- planation to be crowded into the space afforded by a lexicon-appendix like this. I can therefore merely give a definition of the word and its general import, with a brief criticism on the word itself (see Clairohscure), referring the student for a proper intelligence of the subject to less humble books. Chiaroscuro is an Italian compound- word whose two parts, cliiaro and oscuro, signify simply bright and obscure, or light and dark. Hence the art or branch of art that bears the name regards all the relations of light and shade, and this independently of coloring, notwithstanding that in painting coloring and the clairohscure are of their very nature in- separable. The art of clairohscure, therefore, teaches the painter the disposition and management in general of his lights and darks, with all their degrees, extreme and in- termediate, of tint and shade, both in single objects, as the parts of a picture, and in combination as one whole, so as to produce the best representation possible in the best man- ner possible, that is, so as to produce the most desirable effect upon the senses and spirit of the observer. In a 336 EXPLANATORY AND CRITICAL DICTIONARY word, its end and aim are fidelity and beauty of imitation ; its means, every effect of light ; chromatic harmonies and contrasts ; chromatic values ; reflections ; the degrada- tions of atmospheric perspective ; etc. etc. — See Effect. CHIAROSCURO is also a picture of a single color, or monochromatic; what has further been called, after the French, camayeu ; and it would seem that it was to such paintings, which were merely light and shade, that the Italians first applied the term. When well executed, they are very pleasing ; but correctness of design is here of the last importance. The ornaments of the little operahouse in Chambers- street are chiariscuri. — Never say chiaroscu- ros ; the word is one that though adopted into English, as into other languages, can never coalesce with it, but must always remain Italian. You may say, however, 'paintings in chiaroscuro, or painted in chiaroscuro ; and still better, paintings or painted in clairohscure ; for this latter word better harmonizes with the language ; and hence it became at a very early day incorporated with it, by usage of the best writers (see Clairohscure) : but do not say clair- obscures ; 'nothing could be more barbarous. CHIAROSCURO is again the term for a kind of print in imitation of tinted drawings, and formerly in much re. quest. The shades and middletints were executed by means of blocks (W plates, at different impressions, the lights being left out. CHROMATIC. {chromaticos,GV.) Pertaining to colors. OF IMPORTANT TERMS. 387 CHROMATOGRAPHY, {chroma, color, whose genitive is chromatoS; and graphe, description.) Account, descrip- tion, or treatise, of colors, their properties, uses, etc. Hence we may use Chromatographer ; like geographer, etc. CHROMOGRAPHER and CHROMOGRAPHY. The same as Chromatographer and Chromatography. CITRINE (better Citrin, as Chaucer wrote it ; for the i is never sounded hard, or full, by polite speakers). One of the tertiary colors. It is composed of orange and green, CLAIROBSCURE. {clair-dhscur, Fr.) The same as Chiaroscuro; which see. — Webb, in his delightful little book, writes it Clear Obscure"^. Had he desired to make it * This is one of the two or three queer terms (see Sbozzo) that mar in one or two places the agreeableness, without detracting from the value, of the “ Inquiry into the Beauties of Painting.’* Sir Martin Archer Shee (“ Rhymes on Art”) calls Webb, injuriously, a coxcomb ! in open retaliation of his offensive but justly deserved rebuke of the wilful ignorance of artists as a mass (a), and their disregard (still as a mass) and want of perception of the spirit of true beauty, both in their own practice and in their criticism of that of others If there be an air of pretension in any part of the In- quiry,” it is, like the strange nomenclature we have just noticed, of the nature of those little blemishes that a scholar and poet, lika (a) “ Ma di costor, che a lavorar a’accingono, Quattro quinti, per Dio, non sanno leggere.” But out of those, who gird them to the task. Four fifths, by Heaven, can not so much as read I Salv. Rosa (Sat. 3), as cited by the very authority who is brought to bMT against Webb for saying a similar thing in terms far less offensive. 16 S38 EXPLANATORY AND CRITICAL DICTIONARY English, it should have been rather Bright Obscure, fot though clear does originally mean bright, and is used in that sense still, yet here it would not be directly intelligible ; and, either way, it ought to be written either as one word, Clearohscure, or connected by a hyphen, Bright-Obscure, because it is no more the clear or bright Obscure, than it is the obscure Clear or obscure Bright, but expresses the re- lations of each in its union or association with the other, however it expresses them but badly. It is indeed much to be regretted that when the evil was as yet not grown toe old to be corrected, this, with other vague expressions, had not received some substitute from the many excellent Eng- lish writers that from time to time have adorned and im- proved the science of the painter ; but it is now too late ; Sir Martin, should have loved to spare. JYon panels offendar maculis, etc. And it is curious enough to observe how Winkel- mann himself, who taught the poet this reproach for Webb, comes near being served with a like compliment from De Burtin, who among connoisseurs is perhaps the greatest coxcomb, and therefore the most amusing, that ever wrote ; and for what ? Because the antiquarian belauded Raphael Mengs, from whom Webb is said, by that very antiquarian, to have obtained the best part of his infor- mation. So it is ; Ccedimus, inque vicem /. . and the enamored of the ideal, that i«, of beautiful and lofty nature, will always be at log- gerheads with the votaries of her homelier and humbler and often vulgar sister. However — for I am carrying this too far — whether Webb derived the better part of his discourses from the stores of Mengs or not, is a matter of very little consequence ; enough that they are a work I can recommend with confidence to those who love the literature of the art. OF IMPORTANT TERMS. 339 and the best that we can do is not to set aside the familial clairobscure or clare-ohscure^ which has long been rnada English, for the grander chiaroscuro, which never can, and whose very sonorousness makes it roll like pedantry or aifectation on the tongue of speakers whose native language is rarely magniloquent. COLORIST. An artist-painter, whose peculiar excel- lence is his coloring, — but not therefore his only excellence. An eye for color, like the faculty of wit, being a gift of nature, and not in any way acquirable, has been the cause that those who display the former to a great degree undergo in painting the fate of wits in writing, “ hated, though caressed.”* Thus, while you will not find the colorist objecting constantly to the mere designer his want of skill in the rarest excellence of the art, you will always hear the mere designer express a sort of depreciating com- passion for the deficiencies of the colorist ; and the remark * Man is always vainer of the accidental gifts of nature, than of those qualities that he has a better right to esteem his own, being of his own acquirement. Hence beauty, grace of person, gaiety of heart and spirit, the talents mentioned in the text, even the loftier virtue that makes a man not only good in the ordinary sense, but generous, just, truth-loving and severely honorable, all these and other natural gifts excite irritation and a feeling of malice towards their possessors m the breast of most persons, and wound the self- .ove too often of their friends. These seem to impeach Heaven of favoritism, and favorites are always hated. The philosophy of Epictetus finds few admirers, saving in the books. 340 EXPLANATORY AND CRITICAL DICTIONARY ascribed to Buonaroti respecting Titian has been repeated, from generation to generation, by those perhaps who never saw a work of either, and is taken up as absolute proof that Titian was in this respect deficient. Yet Nature, were she appealed to, might easily reply that Titian was more true to her than Michelangelo ; and it would not be diffi- cult to demonstrate, that for his purposes he had all the design that was essential. Had he chosen the same range of subjects as Raphael, and been able to express them with the same felicity, adding thereto his own peculiar excel- lence, the peerless Venetian had been the world-renowned Apelles of all modern art. In fine, if the great colorists cannot be allowed the degree of eminence in design to which the great designers who made it their all but exclusive study have attained, it can never be questioned that they are fully equal to the best among those who range but a degree or two below the great designers. COLUMBINE. Dove-color ; the changeable violet of a pigeon’s throat. The French have a lake that bears the name, which is said to be a bluish rose. CON AMORE. (Ital.) EiieroWj, with love. With zest and spirit, as if one put one’s heart into the work. CONNOISSEUR — is to the amateur, what he who un- derstands what he admires, and why he admires, is to the one who merely admires without knowing wherefore, or being always sure of bestowing his admiration wisely. OF IMPORTANT TERMS. 84i They both love the art ; but one is the hmr only, as the name implies {amateur), while the other is the knower {con- noisseur). The Germans, who attach no vulgarity to the use of their indigenous phrases, use indeed this very word, knower {Kenner), as they say lover {Liehhaher) for amateur. The genius of our language, whose liberality has made it elegant as well as forcible, carries its facility of incorporat- ing foreign words sometimes to an extreme ; and hence W'e have these two phrases, which never will seem purely English, and are not such to the uneducated. Yet one of them is indispensable. Though we may say a lover of the art, we cannot a knower in it ; custom has decided it other- wise ; and knowing-one is the lively cant of the turf. — See Amateur. COPY. The central group of Lystra [one of the car- toons] is taken and adopted from an antique bas-relief in the Admiranda, and suggests the .question whether it be justifiable to plunder in this way. Surely, if you find anything in the ancients suitable to your invention, it is justifiable. But there the praise must stop : the utmost praise that can be given is, that you have shown skill in ' the adoption : and what struck me with discouragement in the Louvre [in the imperial collection], was the little ori- ginal invention in the world. Even Rubens pilfered whole- sale from the old Germans. * * * Reynolds was what Fuzeli called a modern painter, a bold adopter. “ Remember, adoption and copying are different things. 342 EXPLANATORY AND CRITICAL DICTIONARY To adopt and modify a figure requires skill and taste j out the merest dolt can copy.” (IIaydon.) — See Imitate. COUNTERHATCHING. See Hatching. COUP. Peindre au premier coup, in French, is to paint off a picture at once, without returning to it and retouch- ing ; a facility that you will often read of, as character- izing some of the performances of Rubens. CRUDE. Crudeness is rawness, immaturity, a want of knowledge, judgment, and skill, which may be mani- fested in the coloring, or in the design, or in the effect of the whole picture. It may easily occur in the first works of a young artist, without marking a want of aptitude. CRUST. This name is given, in ridicule, to a sorry painting. An amateur, who had exhibited a picture of his doing that was rather more dark and foxy than needful, inquired one day, with a satisfied air, of a skilful painter who knew his vanity, “ How did you find my crust 1” “ A little burnt,” answ'ered the latter gravely. (De Mon- TABERT.) Crust is also used (as on p. 144) for any clumsy or ex- cessive impasting of a color or colors. D. DEADCOLORING. This is the familiar term for what is more intelligibly as certainly more politely called the OF IMPORTANT TERMS. 343 First-Painting. Sketch might be used as another syncmym, and I have so employed it repeatedly in the Handbook, but, I now think, unwisely, seeing it has already other received meanings with artists, and the addition of a new one would only lead to confusion: (see Sketch.) The French artists term the first-painting, — Vehauche ; Vesquisse is our sketch as at present used ; and croqiiis, for which we want a single term (see Shozzo), designates the rude draught, or first pen- cillings of the painter’s conceptions. DECIDED. Decision of form or outline is of course opposed to vagueness, yet, when true, that is, in its just degree, it is as far removed from hardness, stiffness, or dryness. By aiming however, without judgment, at the virtue, it is easy to fall into the excess which is the vice. And this want of judgment is usually, in the young, to be attributed to a want of knowledge and acquired skill. The dryness of Raphael’s early manner is ascribed to his imitation of his master of Perugia, yet he might well have had it under the instruction of any other master, or if left to his own guidance and the imitation of nature : too great a desire of exactness would have been sufficient, until observation accompanying practice had detected the error, and furnished the ability for its correction. DEGRADATION. See Gradation. DEMITINT. (Demi-teinte, Fr.) Demitints are tints that are neither light nor shadow, but hold the middle place between thtMU. tlence they are sometimes called middle- 344 EXPLANATORY AND CRITICAL DICTIDNARY tints ; which, as being neat as well as English, is perha|)€ the best term that could be used. Sometimes you even read, in English writers, mezzotints ; but the Italian sub- stantive for demitint in painting is not mezzo Unto, but mezza iinta : mezzoscuro, I believe, is also used. Half-tint is another pure English word, that is an exact translation of the French demi-teinte ; and this is favored by the truly English Haydon. DETAIL. Details, as a term, may be opposed to masses. It is often used in a bad sense, though absolutely, to signify petty details, minutiae, such as cause more labor than they are worth, and even where they do not degenerate into dryness rather injure the picture than otherwise, by dis- tracting attention. DIPTYQUE. (Diptyclios, Gk. Double, or doubled.) Folding-pictures, or pictures enclosed in a sort of portable cabinet with folding-doors. Said of colors. See Broken. DISTEMPER. {Detrempe, Fr. Tempera, Ital.) Dis- /cwjper-painting is painting with colors made liquid in water tempered with glue, or white of egg, or even yolk of egg, or both white and yolk together, as was practised in the olden time. Size of glue has however always been the general mode. See p. 130. DRY — is usually applied to a sharp and frigid precise, ness of outline, as injurious to grace as to true relief : but DIRT. \ DIRTY. I OF IMPORTANT TERMS. 345 it may be used with regard to anj' of the elements that make up a picture, or to the effect of the whole. In fact, its metaphorical usage in painting is perfectly analogous to the same in letters ; and what would make a dry style in the one, would, mutalis mutandis^ produce it in the other. -See Decided. E. “ ECTYPES. Impressions derived from moulds made on the originals or types.” (De Mont.) Ectypos (Gk.) is — formed, impressed, or moulded after the archetype ; and Pliny (xxxv., 12, or 43), latinizing the word, uses ectypum for the copy or image made after the pattern, or cast in the mould, of what he calls the protypum, i. e. the first type, or pattern, the model, prototype. I agree with the philosophic author, from whose dictionary I have bor- rowed the word for my own, in thinking Ectype a happy suh~ stitute for more ordinary terms. Certainly, on occasions where an elegant word is required, this may very advan- tageously take the place of Cast and the like. In its figu- rative sense, it already belongs to our great language, having been adopted by John Locke. EFFECT. “ By effect, in painting, is understood the energy and beauty of the optical results of the combina- tions, either accidental or arising from calculations well understood, whether of thn lines, or of the tones bright or dark, or again of the colors or the tints. But it is espe. ItP 46 EXPLANATORY AND CRITICAL DICTIONARY ciallyto the combinations of the clairobscure that the effect Dwes its energy, its suavity, and its charm : and what proves it, is the engravings which offer without coloring much effect. Coloring indeed does produce its particular effect, but it is optically subordinate to that which is ob- tained by the bright and dark, semi- bright and semi-dark masses. We distinguish then the effect of Rubens and the coloring of Titian. The pictures of Poussin, David, and Raphael have but little effect; those of Vandyck, Velasquez. Gerard Dow, Reynolds, and Prudhon have a great deal of effect.” (De Montabert.) EMBTJ. (Fr.) See Chap. vi. of Part II. ; p. 140. ENAMEL. Painting in enamel is done by means of colors that are vitrifiable, a quality that is communicated to them by combining them with a vitreous base, which is called their flux. These are fused and fixed on the enamel by the action of fire, which produces in the colors applied such changes as the artist has previously learned to cal- culate. ENCAUSTIC. Encaustos in Greek signifies simply burnt in, — encauston, a kind of painting that is executed by burning in ; whence the adjective, encausticos. Thus it will be seen that Encaustic, as a mere term, would apply as well to enamel-painting. It has however at all times belonged exclusively to a mode of painting with the ancient Greeks, in which wax was in various modes combined with the colors, and the whole fused together by the application of OF IMPORTANT TERMS. 347 heat. There is great uncertainty as to the precise method adopted by the ancients (Pliny mentions very vaguely three methods, one of them of later date than the others), and at various times various processes have been published by the moderns for reviving the antique art. One of the simplest and latest is that devised by an English lady at the close of the last century. It will be found copied in the recent edition of Hayter’s “ Introduction to Perspective.” ENEMIES. See Antipathy. ENFORCE. By enforcing a shadow, we mean adding to its depth, to its intensity, — giving it in fact more force. We never speak of enforcing a light, but of heightening, or raising it. See Heighten. ENTIRE (said of colors). See Primary. ENTONE. See Tone. ESTHETIC. See Esthetic. ETHOGRAPH. (ethographos, Arist.) A painter whose pencil represents the minds of men, — their dispositions and their moral characters. Such was Raphael ; though, to be exact, he painted rather their emotions and their passions. ETHOGRAPHIC. The adjective related to the above. It will be found employed in the note on p. 327. As re- gards its innovation and that of its correlative term above (for I know of no authority, unless there be such in ab- 348 EXPLANATORY AND CRITICAL DICTIONARY stract propriety, for their usage), see the final paragraph of this dictionary. EURYTHMIA or EURYTHMY. {eurythmia, Gk.) Order, grace, proportion ; all that tends to harmony and beauty in the well-ordering, so to say, of a picture, and all that gives it fascination in the result of the whole ; that undefinable something which seems divinity itself, and is the very atmosphere that surrounds the best statues of an- tiquity ; all this is expressed by that single word euryihmyy one of the most precious that the Greek tongue has left to the world, and, now that it is used in all languages, one of the most indispensable. There is not one of the fine arts in which it is not of the most significant application ; poetry, sculpture, painting, architecture, music, all in their excellence have their eurythmia ; the graceful and decent rythm of the dance, such as we see it in a Taglioni, the apt and noble gesticulation of a true actor, (Quintilian himself applied it, and with admiration of the phrase, to the movements of the orator) ; these too may well be called eurythmia. It is in fact esthetic harmony, concinnity, the elegance of order and of proportion, the perfected rythm of coloring (as in Titian) ; it \sfelt as well as seen. EURYTHMIC or EURYTHMICAL, ( . EURYTHMICALLY, \ ularly formed adjective and adverb belonging to the pre- ceding noun. EXECUTION, — of course, indicates, in the first place, the mode of performance. This is its general sense, freed OF IMPORTANT TERMS. 349 from all technicality. But execution is aiso used with a very confined application, that to me appears to make the term little better than cant. In this sense it designates that management of his pencil which argues on the part of the painter a calculation of effect, particularly of the atmos- phere as intervening between the eye of the spectator and the surface of the picture. In this sense, an artist may have more execution than finish, and you may say that execution without finish is better than finish without execu- tion ; but that he who combines both, where occasion makes it desirable, shows himself master of the mechani- cal part of his profession. F. FINISH. “Very great care to finish some parts of a picture is apt to injure the effect of others. It is apt, also, to weary the mind of the artist, and thereby injure the liberty of his hand. But, when finishing is united with freedom, when it is delicate and light, its effects (espe- cially for cabinetpieces) cannot be too much appre- ciated.” (Art. Rep.) The Dutch and Flemish pictures are familiar illustra- tions of minute and often exquisite finish; as English and American painting finds us everyday-examples of the very reverse. FIRST-PAINTING. See Deadcoloring. 350 EXPLANATORY AND CRITICAL DICTIONARY FOOLS’ PARADISE. “ . . If a painter were to execute a landscape or other subject in the full light of clay, as he saw it looking through a prism, so that every object glowed with the hues of the rainbow, such a picture would pre- sent a beautiful fairy-scene, and be true, as respects colors, but false with regard to nature, and destitute of sentiment. It was this meretricious beauty that obtained for the prism the appellation of ‘Fools’ Paradise;’ and pictures painted with such effects may v»'ell merit the same appella- tion.” (Field.) FOXY. A vicious excess of warmth in a picture pro duces what is cdiWedi foxiness. The tints and tones of an artist, who without judgment attempts to imitate the glow of Titian, are very apt to be made foxy. This fault in coloring may likewise be the result of time in a picture in which the warmer colors have been used too freely. The origin of the term is evident, and is its best definition. FRACAS. (Fr.) The French apply this word to express the tumult of certain scenes ; as for example in battlepieces. FRESCO. Painting on the mortar of a wall while it is yet wet, — that is, fresh, according to the Italian term. It was a common mode with the old frescopainters to glaze over parts of their frescoes after they had dried ; and this was called painting in secco. It is of frequent mention in Cennino. Frescopainting is done in distemper. The intonaco or inUmico, which you will sometimes see OF IMPORTANT TERMS. 351 spoken of, in English writers, in reference to this mode of painting,* is the last or finishing coat of plaster, as the rough coat, over which it was spread, was called arricciato, FRESCANTL (pi. Ital.) Frescopainters. — The sin- gular is frescante. G. GARANCE — is the French name for the madder-root. Hence their laques de garance are our madder-lakes. The Italian term for madder is rohhia, probably from the Latin ruhia {tinctoria), whence we have also in English, Ruhiafe, as another name for some of Field’s lakes. GENRE {Peintures de) — is the absurd name [genre signifying merely kind), given by the French to pictures representing domestic groups, or scenes of familiar or vul- gar life, such as the Dutch painters have delighted in. GLAZING. See Part II., Chapter v. GRADATION. Progression of tints by degrees, whether up or down the scale of light and dark. Degra- dation is the progression or scale downwards ; so that it is well applied to the series of tints that mark the gradual indistinctness of color, and the enfeebling of the clairob- scure, in aerial-perspective. Degradation is always gra- Sir Humphry Davy (letter to Mr. Haydon, in the latter’s Lee* tures) uses intonaco for any plaster to paint upon — I mean, whether a ground laid on panel, or a wall. 852 EXPLANATORY AND CRITICAL DICTIONARY dation ; but gradation is not necessarily degradation, for the former may be a step upward, while the latter is always a step downward. This is the true distinction ; but it is one that is rarely, if ever, observed ; both terms being used indiscriminately to signify what in strictness can be expressed by degrada- tion alone. GRANDEUR. “ Grandeur of style does not consist in the omission of all details, but in the judicious selection of the leading ones.” (Haydon.) GRISAILLE. A term given by the French to mono- chromatic pictures, or paintings in clairohscure, of which the single color is gray (gris). In former times, as appears by their older vocabularies, they gave in like manner the name cirage to one in which the color was yellow ; {cire, wax.) See Chiaroscuro. GROTESQUES. These are the familiar ornaments better known as Arabesques. They are said to have de- rived this name from their having been found in certain grottoes (grotte) by Giovanni da Udine, a pupil of Raphael’s, who, with Giulio Romano, and others, assisted his master in the decoration of the Loggie (a sort of exposed galleries, or covered balconies open at the side and supported by slender pillars), that are without the Vatican. They are in fact of very ancient origin, being found on the painted vases of ancient Etruria — the same stalks and leaves (whence the Italians call them fogliami groUeschi, as well OF IMPORTANT TERMS. 35S as grotteschi simply), with ugly and designedly distorted human faces or masks, interspersed and connected with the foliage as if they grew out of it, etc., just as we see them in modern art, though infinitely bettered in every point of grace by the elegant invention of Raphael. These sorts of ornaments were greatly in vogue with the painters of his day, the cinquecentisti, as the Italians call them from their epoch. GUMTION. How such a word as this ever got footing in a liberal art it would be difficult to imagine, did we not know that the names of things are not always the result of choice, but often of mere caprice, freak, or accident, and that the illiterate and unrefined have as often the giving of them as better godfathers. Chemistry has her highsounding nomenclature, and a nomenclature too that is explicit, and when she tells the artist that such a pigment is the Pro- toxide, Deutoxide, or Tritoxide, or the Sulphuret or Hydro- cyanate of such a metal, if educated he knows at once what it is, and even if illiterate, the meaning of the phrases once understood, he never afterwards mistakes them when pre- fixed to other metals ; while even Heraldry has made her jargon so sonorous that it is attractive in itself, seeming to ennoble inutility and to give a quasi-sublimity to nonsense : but the art of the painter, the art that imitates the handi- work of God, and makes, literally out of the dust of the earth, an all but living image of the most beautiful and intricate result of His creation, this art degrades its elements and mystifies its principles with terms that seem 354 EXPLANATORY AND CRITICAL DICTIONARY to come of the same family as the cant of the prizefighter, and that have no redeeming lucidness of meaning and no fixedness of construction, which are, in fact, vulgarity without expression, and jargon without sound. I might easily prove, and without subtilizing, that there is a greater evil in this barbarous phraseology than its un- serviceableness and the discredit it throws upon the art, and that, the offspring of a frivolous and gross taste, it reacts with pernicious effect upon the growth of good taste and sedate judgment ; but I forbear. The nature of the material which recommends itself by the euphonious and classical title I have eulogized, will be found described in Chapter xiii., of Part I. H. HANDLING — is the manner in which an artist uses his pencil, his manipulation, as seen in the execution of his picture. The French use faire in a like technical sense. HARD — is used either of design or coloring ; thus an outline that cuts too sharply on the ground of the object is said to be hard (see Dry and Decided ) ; but the term is more often employed, especially when applied to the whole of a picture, to denote a want of tenderness, modesty, and truth, in the coloring. Hardness is often the result of a laborious effort to display high-finishing. HATCHING — is laying on the strokes of the crayon or OF IBIPORTANT TERMS. 355 graver in parallel lines, which in the shadow-parts are crossed by other parallel lines (called counterhatching, when a term is used) at angles more or less acute according to the depth of the shade, etc. It is also used in miniature, and there, as in drawing and engraving, is the most masterly, when well executed, and always the most masculine manner. Some of the old frescoes are hatched in the shadows. HEIGHTEN. To heighten a tint is to give it more vivacity and brightness, that is, to render it lighter of tone ; which is done by opaque colors, that reflect the light. We do not say, to heighten a shadow, but to enforce it ; height- ening expressing an ascent upon the scale of Bright and Dark, if we consider (as, I may say, is natural) the bright or light as the upper tones of the Clairobscure. See Enforce, HIGH ART. The Epic of Painting. . . . “ About 2280 years after Apelles and Zeuxis lived, comes an English portraitpainter [Reynolds], as a painter of ‘ high art ’ grossly deficient, conjecturing they [the Greeks] could not be great in extensive compositions, be- cause the painted walls of private houses in a provincial city of Rome [Pompeii] gave no evidence of such excel- lence, though executed 500 years after the greater eras of Greek perfection f It is more than absurd, it is not to be read with patience.” Before the Elgin Marbles were received, “ The poor student went abroad to be bewildered, and came back more 356 EXPLANATORY AND CRITICAL DICTIONARY bewildered than when he set out ; the portraitpainter, the low-life painter, and the landscapepainter, coming daily and habitually from life, of course hated High Art ; for, as then practised, they saw nothing to remind them of Nature (which they saw everyday) in anything done. — This was the state of things when these divine things came, — and the error was in the principle laid down, that the higher walk of art addressed the mind ; the lower, the eye ; and that the union of the two was incompatible : whereas, the true principle surely was, that both styles addressed the mind through the eye, but in different ways ; the one making the imitation of the actual substance the great object of pleasure only ; the other (the high walk) making the imitation of the object with more selection the means of conveying a beautiful expression, a fine form, or a grand idea with greater power ; the imitation, though more select, not less real or effective as an imitation.’’ (Haydon.) HISTORY. Nothing can be more indefinite, even in the indefinite phraseology of painting, than this term. W*e say a portraitpainter, a landscapepainter, a painter of fa- miliar life ; and the 'painter of history has under his branch of the art all the rest. All the degrees of high art fall under this comprehensive term. History : it is no matter whether the subject be fabulous or not ; so that it requires in its execution, and gives display to the nobler character- istics of the art, and the excellencies most difficult of attain- ment in the artist, and therefore generally the Ideal, it is History. Seeing this difficulty, which is the same in othei OF IMPORTANT TERMS. 357 languages as in our own, M. de Montabert asks, What hinders from using the phrase “ megalographic 'painter, or painter of great subjects,* just as we say, miniature- painter ?” It must be answered that, apart from the fact that new words of such a form, though they sound simple enough to scholars, carry with them for ordinary ears a tone of inflation or bombast, the common term has been made impregnable in its position from the force of long custom, “ quern penes arbitrium est et jus et norma loquendi.” Megalogrophy, which M. de Montabert introduces in his dictionary, is of course liable to the same objection of im practicability. “ HOUDING. With the Dutch and Flemings, this word expresses the maintenance of the various accords. They say, ‘ there is houding in this picture,’ meaning that the artist has preserved therein accordance and harmony.” (De Montabert.) HORIZONTAL LINE. In Perspective : — a line that marks the horizon, or place of the supposed horizon, and which is always on a level with the eye. For the convenience of the student, I will group together the remaining definitions I have to give on these particu- lars of Design. They are merely definitions, however, to assist his reading ; their application must be learned * After Vitruvius’ word, ; painting, as its inventoi defines it, whose theme is the whole scope of mythology. 358 EXPLANATORY AND CRITICAL DICTIONARY from some treatise on Perspective. — The point in the Ilori. zontal Line directly opposite the eye, and which in fact represents the place of the eye, is the Point of Sight, and the ray that issuing from the eye terminates in this point, and forms a right angle with the Horizontal Line, and is consequently perpendicular to the plane of the picture, is called the Principal Visual-Ray, or simply Principal Ray ; and the Point of Distance is the actual distance of the eye from the plane of the picture, as measured on the Horizontal Line from the Point of Sight. Vanishing-Points are the points in which parallel lines converge perspectively, which points in level planes are in the Horizontal Line, viz., either the Point of Sight itself, or more or less distant from it according to the position of the observer. When owing to the obliquity of the surface these converging points do not meet in the Horizontal Line, but above or below it, they are called Accidental Points, as I have already ob- served under that head. HUE. The hue of an object is properly its color, whether simple or compounded, without reference to light or shade ; whereas, tint is applied to all those varieties of color that are produced by the admixture of white, which gives them a greater or less degree of light ; while shade indicates an addition of darkness to a color, simple or com- pounded, by means of black. But these distinctions, with the exception perhaps of tint, and not always that, are usually confounded. It is an accident indeed that is unavoidable, because of the carelessness of some speakeri and writers. OF IMPORTANT TERMS. 359 and the ignorance of others, and the force of habit in both ; but it not the less injures the precision of language, and thus helps to perplex instruction. See Pigment, and Tone. In the correction of the Handbook, infinite pains was taken to guard against this confusion of terms ; but despite of going repeatedly over the proof of every sheet, without sparing time or regarding fatigue, several oversights (chiefly, in translated passages) were detected only when too late, the plates of the parts being then already cast. I. IDEAL. BEAU IDEAL. (Fr.) Of this latter phrase, for which good taste and propriety will always substitute, in English, either Ideal Beauty, or, according to occasion, rejecting heau, which is not and never can be {as an ad- jectlve) English, Ideal simply, — this purely French phrase signifies the Ideal Beautiful, and one of these days will come to signify nothing at all, so far as its present appli- cation is concerned ; for the minds of artists are beginning to awake to the absurdity of supposing an attempt to represent nature by copying an abstract idea, as is ascribed to Phidias in the execution of his Jupiter, through the error of misinterpreting language that he never could have meant to apply but to his conception of the work while yet only in intention. Ideal Beauty then, or the Ideal, is a term which jealousy, ignorance, or a want of observation in 360 EXPLANATORY AND CRITICAL DICTIONARY artists, have led them to apply to the consummate beauty of the antique statues, considering or affecting to considel these as exaggerations of beautiful nature, whereas they are but the ectypes of beautiful nature itself free from all commixture with nature that is not beautiful. That fine creation of Sir Edward Bulwer’s, Zarioni, is true Ideal Beauty, a beauty of the moral man such as never did and never can exist ; but in his external form, so far as not idealized by the expression of his semi-divine spirit, Zanoni has merely the beauty ot perfect nature, such as is seen represented in the noblest of the Greek statues, such as has existed and may still exist in individual reality. And when I say that to want of observation may in part be ascribed the denial of this reality, I speak but according to my proper experience. More than once I have seen every part, that is so eminent in beauty in the ancient sculpture of the human form, from the forehead and nose (the most impressive of all) down to the feet, quite as perfect in existing nature, though never the whole united : what prevents me from believing that it may be found united ? what from pronouncing such a union quite inconsequential so far as art is concerned 1 The sole difficulty is to pre- serve congruity; and over that difficulty Art should rise triumphant, as it did actually with Phidias and others of the best epochs of Grecian sculpture. This I say, thinking that the vulgar belief may be correct, that they did not form their standard from a single model, 1: ut from its completeness in artistic combination ; yet do I hold that such a combination was not necessary. About eight years OF IMPORTANT TERMS. 361 smce, I turned from my path to follow through Chiaja at Naples a gentleman on horseback, who rode a creature more perfect (as it seemed to me) than any that was ever wrought in niarble, because to all the exquisite beauty of the sculptured animal it added that which no sculpture can ever give, the beauty of the blood of young and vigo- rous life. It was, if I may venture the expression, a hero, a demigod, of an animal, Jupiter in a new transformation. I had left Rome and Florence but a month before ; but I had not been so moved there. Now it were absurd to say, that the same nature, that could mould a perfect creature in a horse, could not from time to time give being to a perfect man ; still more absurd to say that the brain and hand of a mere mortal could give a lesson to the Deity ; for to pronounce to be exaggeration what is in the same breath allowed to be perfection, is saying no less. Peter Van Laar saw but in creation men and women of proportions like his own (see Bambochade), or at least he cared to see no other: would it therefore follow that there were no men and women tall, well proportioned, agile, graceful, and of features capable of grand repose, because Peter was himself short, clumsy, heavy, awkward and grotesque ? He that uses his eyes, and takes not himself or his friends for a standard, will see enough of beauty around him (supposing him to have cultivated tastes and practised observation) to match, though piecemeal it is true, the very best that is divinity in the mastervvorks of Greece.* It may not be very irrel- * The name ol' Peter Van Laar, who was of Holland, susrffests a 17 * 362 EXPLANATORY AND CRITICAL DICTIONARY evant to remind the reader, that, in the world, all elevated virtue (which is the beauty of the inner or moral man, his approach to ideality) is called romance, and that the few who venture to disclose it, or who suffer it to be known that they aim at its attainment, are designated (by the mild with a gentle compassion, half indulgent, half reproving, and by the rude with an off-hand, careless contempt) as romantic. Is the connection between the ethic and the graphic seen ? Mr. Haydon, at least, would be at no loss to comprehend me. But enough. Under the impression that an article T had already written on this subject, and in which I adduced several instances of what is called ideal heauty that have fallen under my own eye, was too long for the vocabu- lary, I set to work to write this latter, and have found it to extend beyond my first intention to quite as objectionable a length. — See Bamhochade ; the note, pp. 326-328. IMITATE. I take, from the vocabulary of a well known French treatise on miniature published at the Hague in 1708, the following excellent maxim : “ When it is said that we must imitate the antique, or the manner of such a master, it is not meant that we should copy line for line what is painted or designed, or what is sculptured, but that we are to form for ourselves a like idea, and work upon the same principles, and in the same taste.” Read, ready definition of the Ideal in painting, which is by indicating ite reverse, — the design of the Dutch school. OF IMPORTANT TERMS. 363 mark, learn, and inwardly digest this : it is the principle of true excellence. To IMPASTE, (impastare, Ital., empdter, Fr.) To paint with thick color. See Chapter vii., Part II. IMPASTING, (impastatura, etc., Ital. empdtement,¥r.) Thick-painting. — A better word than this participial sub- stantive would be Impasiation ; but I believe that this word is confined with us, as in French, to the art of the plasti- cian. The Italians use their analogous words as in impasto, be- low; and the French employ empdtement at times with a similar breadth of meaning, which is the mode in which the Flemish connoisseur De Burtin uses it in the passage I have translated from him, in Chapter x.. Part II., where I have rendered the phrase by a circumlocution. IMPASTO. (Ital.) This is what in English is called Surface, though the Italian word is quite as often used. It expresses the appearance, arising from the manner, good or bad, common or peculiar, of laying on or spreading the colors, which is presented by the paint of a picture re- garded without reference to light or dark, hue, tint, or shade ; though not without consideration of the nature of the object represented, — for this will materially vary it with any skilful artist. We say a good or bad impasto, thick or thin impasto, solid, meagre, rich, poor, labored impasto, etc., etc. But if you use this word instead of surface, do not say for it impasta, nor impaslura for impas^ .364 EXPLANATORY AND CRITICAL DICT.ONARY tatura, which is used in the same manner : “ impastura * (an instance of which unlucky misapplication you will see in a letter from a lady-artist, published at the end of Ilayter’s Perspective) means tlie pastern of a horse ; and “ impasta ” is the feminine of the adjective impasto, — unfed^ vnthoutfood. Such errors are easily fallen into for want of attention. Many years ago an Italian gentleman of great accomplishments expressed to the writer his surprise that Milton, who was an Italian scholar, should have written 11 Penseroso when there is no such word as penseroso in the language, though it has pensieroso and pensoso. To return, and to conclude. Mr. Haydon, whom I have often quoted, I trust to the advantage of the pupil, says : “ The feeling for a surface cannot be taught ; it is intuitive ; and is visible in the very first essay.” An incon- testible truth ; though it would not seem to have been bought so in the time of Reynolds. INCARNADINE, (incarnadin, Fr.) Of the rose- tint of flesh. — The Italian corresponding epithet is Incar- natino ; from which might be formed, and it seems to me with propriety, resting on the Horatian maxim {semper licvit, etc.), an excellent synonym of fine tone for the purpose of the poet, and not unuseful to the painter. INCARNATE. (incarnat,Fr.,incarnato,Jta.\.) Johnson ^ells us that this word is used in Scotland for a “ deep red color, from its resemblance to a flesh-color.” He should have written rather, rose-red. Wo know not that it is a OF IMPORTANT TERMS. 365 word used by English artists ; but it is cer tainly useful : and either in this form, or in that of incarnadine (which see above), such an adjective is necessary. The French however distinguish them, making incarnate to express a color between the hue of a cherry and that of a rose, while incarnadine denotes the same color, but of a feebler tone. INGANNI. (Ital.) Deceptions, petty illusions, in painting. Tiie story of Zeuxis and the Grapes furnishes a familiar instance. To aim seriously to produce such effects is certainly the mark of littleness of soul, of a vanity that is “ tickled with a straw,” and is likewise to mistake the true end of painting. INTAGLIO. (Ital.) The Italians use this term to express any kind of engraving, any work that is cut in, intagliated, so to speak, in metal, wood, or other suitable material, with the chisel, graver, aquafortis, etc., excluding, however, from their intagliatori, sculptors {scultori). In English the word is adopted to signify exclusively an en- graving in gems, in which the figure or figures are cut hollow. Thus the intaglio is the reverse of the cammeo ; and the crest upon your seal is properly, even in English, an intaglio. But the word has come to be applied, dis- tinctively, to antique gems cut hollow, and is rarely ever used for a modern anaglyph. See Cammeo. INTONACO. See Fresco. INTONE. See Tone, 36G EXPLANATORY AND CRITICAL DICTIONAR7 ISABELLE. (Fr.) Tliis word is occasionally used by FiOglish writers to express ludicrously yet politely a dingy, dirty yellow. white. According to M. de Monta- bert, an isabelle horse (to which animal the epithet is par- ticularly applied) is nearly of the color of cojfee-and-milk. The color, isabelle, “ seems then to be composed of light violet and light orange, or, if you please, of yellow ochre, violet lake, and white.” The Italians have the epithet, sauro ; from which the French get their saure, and we ultimately perhaps our sorel. It is applied in like manner to the coat of a horse, and they say as we do, ‘‘ sauro chtaro,” bright sorel, “ sauro abbruciato,^’ dark (burnt) sorel, and define it as a hue be- tween a brown or dark gray, and tawny. The corre- sponding term in French for sauro is alezan, which is also confined to horses, and answers exactly to our sorel. Finally, the Italians, while they say un bel cavallo sauro, as the French do un bel isabelle, and as we might, but do not, a Jine horse, an isabelle, — a beautiful isabelle, and the like, use also Isabella sauro, as we might, very happily, say an isabelle sorel, or better, an isabel sorel, to indicate a yellow -brownish white, or, in the expressive phrase of M. de Montabert, “ couleur cafe au lait,” a color like mingled coffee and milk. L. LABORED. Said, disparagingly, of a work in which OF IBIPORTANT TERMS. 367 the pains that has been taken is too perceptible. The French say stente, after the Italian stentato. LAME — is said of a figure in whose members the harmony of proportion, and proportion itself have been neglected. LARGE. See Breadth. LAYFIGURE ; LAYMAN. Mannekin— (which see). See Chapter xxii., Part I. LAZULINE. Another name for Ultramarine, as made of the lazulite ; and, I may add, a name even more euphonious, and perfectly expressive, which “ ultrama- rine,” as I have shown in the treatise (Chapter ii.. Part I.), is not at all. LAZZT, — in Italian, are the buffoonery, or Tom- fool gesticulations, which low comedians have in all times em- ployed to excite the laughter of the vulgar part of the spectators. Lazzi may therefore be used figuratively to express — what anyone may see in but too many pieces of every Exhibition. M. de Montabert, however, thus defines the word, and explains more mildly its figurative use in the language of the artist : “ Lazzi, an Italian word wnich signifies the mute play of a valet of comedy.* The phrases, painter and painting of lazzis, have been used for painting of routine, of commonplaces, of manner and not of sentiment.” * This is its sense as a French word. See the Dictionary of the Academy. 368 EXPLANATORY AND CRITICAL DICTIONARY Tn whatever sense it be used, it seems an inadvertence on the part of that philosophical and critical author, to have written lazzls^ while considering the word “Italian;’’ for lazzi is in itself a noun of the plural number, and is not deficient in the regular singular, lazzo. You may say therefore with perfect propriety : “ What a degradation of the art ! this picture is a mere Zazzo;” or, “ It is to be regretted, that, with such a pencil, this pamter should have wasted his time on mere lazzi : such low and trivial subjects find no proper place in an art, that rarely admits the comic without loss, not only of dignity but of interest.” LICKED — a vulgar but significant epithet, applied to a painting in which a hard, uniform, and labored smoothness, and generally without solidity, always without art, has been mistaken hr finish. The French use the same ex- pression ileche), and sometimes the Italians also (Jeccato). It is a very strong and contemptuous phrase, and is only to be used {if used at all) of a painting that betrays a posi- tive want both of art and taste. LINEAR-PERSPECTIVE. See Aerial-perspective. LOADING. See Charging. LOCAL. The local color of any object is the general and (so to speak) inherent color of.the object, unmodified by light or shade, demitint or reflection, by the atmosphere in perspective, or in short by any accident whatever. or IMPORTANT TERMS. M. M ^ CHINE. Grande Machine (Great Machine) is the stiange and seemingly cant-name which the French give to a great picture, too often without regard to its merit ; for with them, as with other people, grandeur means fre- quently nothing more than geometrical extent. MANIKIN; MANNEKIN. {mannequm, Fr.) Lay- figure ; and, in the older English writers. Layman. See Chapter xxii.. Part I. As manikin is also used in genera? language (by Shakspeare, e. g.), as a ludicrous diminutiv* of man, it becomes doubly significant. MAQUETTE. Marquettes,” says De Montabert ‘‘ and not maqueites ; little loaves of wax. The little figures modeled in clay by painters, for their pictures, are called marquettes, a name derived from those which are modeled in wax.” MASSES. If you consider a picture as made up of a number of principal parts, which parts are the aggregate or assemblage of minor parts, those principal parts are what are called the masses, as the minor parts are the details. And to mass a part, is to reject those minutiae which seem to cut it up into little pieces. Thus, to adopt the illustration afforded by the passage cited under Breadth, if you take the forearm as it is presented by a skilful dissecter, when he has stripped it of the integu- 17 * 370 EXPLANATORY AND CRITICAL DICTIONARY nients, and cleaned up (as, if we forget not our quondam lessons, the act is termed) each individual muscle, you will see as it were a bundle of tapering bands of flesh, whether you view the arm inside, outside, or laterally, but appearing more numerous on the outside. Now, if you represent all of these muscles with equal anatomical dis- tinctness, merely veiling their joint protuberances with a skin, you fall into the error of Michelangelo ; if, on the contrary, you give prominence only to the principal, the result will be to sink the details and bring forward the mass ; and this is called massing the part, and is in fact imitating nature, not anatomy. (See Breadth.) It is also said of the management of the clairobscure, and of the coloring. — For anything like a skilful application of this great principle of grandeur, practice and enlightened ob- servation must be added to diligent study : it can therefore never be expected in a novice. MEALY — is said of colors that appear as if they had been sprinkled with meal or covered with a white dust, and of course dull and faded, both in light and shadow. The French adopt the same easy metaphor. MEDIUM. The name given to a vehicle that is in- tendt3d to enable the artist to combine the advantages of both oil and water painting. Of this kind was the foul, opaque mixture sold in this city some few years since under the imposing name of “ Van Eyck’s Glass Medium,” {borax being one of the ingredients ). — Medium is a term OF IMPORTANT TERMS. 371 borrowed from chemistry, where it signifies a booy whose addition to two others, that of themselves have no affinity, causes them to combine ; as the alkali which produces the union of water and fat or oil, in the compound, soap. METOPE, {metopa : Vitruv.) The Doric frieze is divided at equal intervals by ornaments called triglyphs, consisting of two vertical channels, or glyphs, with two half-channels at the sides, separated from each other and from the half-channels by three plane surfaces. The square space between each two of these triglyphs is called a metope, and is ornamented variously by figures. The metopes of the Parthenon represent the contests of the Cen- taurs with the companions of Theseus, and are supposed by Visconti and others to have been in many instances touched by the hand of Phidias himself, under whose su- perintendence all the reliefs of the temple are known to have been chiseled. These form part of the famous Elgin Marbles ; and hence their frequent mention by artist-writers. MEZZORILIEVO. (Ital.) See RELIEF. MINIATURIST, (miniaturiste, Fr.) Miniaturepainter. MINUTE. A measure of subdivision for the parts or divisions into which artists distribute, for artistic measure- ment, the human body. It is, however, quite indetermi. nate, and therefore can convey no fixed idea of dimension. Thus the Italian designers (as Morghen) will divide the 372 EXPLANATORY AND CRITICAL DICTIONARY head into twelve parts, and each part into six minutes whereas the more usual division with English artists is of four parts, and twelve minutes to each part. Some painters instead of minute adopt module, the term of the architects, which is the same thing. MODEL. “ It is important not to employ indifferently the word model. When we say the great models, we are readily understood ; but, when we say the model, it re- mains to show whether the model be an archetype that we propose to copy, or only an individual whom we design to embellish while imitating him. When we say the indi- vidual model, we give it clearly to be understood that the question is of a living model. Therefore, to design after the model means quite as much after a statue of plaster, as after a living individual. We should then explain our- selves, and say, after the living model, or individual model, or again, after a model-archetype.’’ (De Montabert.) MODULE. See Minute. MONOCHROMATIC, or MONOCHROIC, (which latter is the word with Aristotle.) Of one color. Said of a certain kind of paintings (see Chiaroscuro) ; though the epithet is capable of more extension, as in fact an engrav- ing, for example, or a crayon-drawing, may be very prop- erly styled monochromatic. In the same kind of phrase, painting with a plurality of colors has in contradistinction been iermed polychromatic , which might have read, polychroic. OF IMPORTANT TERMS. 373 So we might say, with equal propriety, on occasion, dichroic or dichromic (of two colors, or having a double color) ; poikilochroic (of various colors, variegated). Any such term, when introduced with due modesty, and only on a proper occasion, might be added from the Greek, which, from the peculiar genius of the language, is in- exhaustible in compound-epithets. Thus we might say rodochroic (though it is not so beautiful as our rosycolored and roseate), and psapharochroic, which, on occasions when it would hot be out of keeping, that is, where the word would not be too big for its companions, might happily take the place of dirty, and of the less vulgar epithetybwZ, in color. MORBIDEZZA. A word which the Italians use to express that quality in coloring that gives at once the soft- ness, pulpiness, suppleness, and tender smoothness of flesh. Thus the adjective morhido, which signifies soft, tender, is made, as a term of painting, synonymous with carnoso, (literally, fleshy) and pastoso, (literally paste-like, that may be kneaded like paste). As its sense is opposed to all crudeness, and hardness, morbidezza corresponds, though not perfectly, with our mellowness, which is a word of similar (but more general) application, and, in so far as it is figurative, of greater power. The French too use the word morbidesse (borrowed from the above Italian term), and the corresponding adjective morbide. Thus Bouvier : and his explanatory comment 374 EXPLANATORY AND CRITICAL DICTIONARY on the word renders its sense and application with great clearness. “The carnations,” he says, “of a young woman of very fair and fresh complexion, and those of a fine child, have a great deal of morhidesse : they seem to the eye as though they would be soft and velvety if touched.” MORDORE. The French give this name to a color “ demi-obscure, in which orange is predominant.” MOSAIC, (mos a'ique, Fr., musaico,lta.\.) The remote derivation of this word, which is of Latin origin, seems to be musivum (sc. opus), neuter of the adjective musivus, the same as museus, from musa, muse. The term therefore does not indicate the nature of the materials used, as is said to have been the case with the Greeks that introduced the art to the Romans, — their word for musiva (mosaics) being, according to the learned, psephotheteta, and for musivarn (workers in mosaic) psephothetai, from psepJios {pelble, and the like) and the derivatives of tithemai (the verb, to place, etc.), — but simply their exact and harmonious adaptation. A mosaic is an ornamental work consisting of a number of cubes of various colored stone, colored glass, or other suitable material, more or less diminutive, imbedded in a composite cement, and susceptible of re- ceiving a uniform and, where requisite, a polished surface, which, as the cubes are of equal color throughout, may be renewed from time to time without difficulty. The size of the work is not considered in this definition ; whether the pavement of a palace, or the broach for a lady’s breast OF IMPORTANT TERMS. 375 it is still a mosaic ; nor yet is the pictorial efTect of the colored surface which makes the embellishment ; for this may represent figures of animate or inanimate objects, or no determinate figures at all. It was an ornament in great request by the luxurious of olden Rome, especially in the time of the emperors, for the decoration of every kind of edifice ; and to this day they continue to discover in the ruins of the imperial baths and elsewhere magnifi- cent specimens, and in the finest preservation. In Pom- peii mosaic pavements may be said to have been universal. Revived in modern times, its most important use was the imitation of the works of the epic painter, and the fifth epoch of the Roman school was, according to Lanzi, the period when the art was in its greatest perfection. The basilic of St. Peter presents sufficient evidence that cost was not considered in the desire to possess these imperish- able copies of valuable pictures. And though there are men who can turn from the Transfiguration of Raphael to look with patience at its imitation in mosaic, it is this character of extreme solidity that strikes me as its sole recommendation for such purposes. Who indeed can re- flect, without a beating of the heart, on what might have been the fortune of modern art, had Apelles and his great compeers had their best pictures thus copied in materials that defy the ordinary agents of destruction ? Mosaics are called by the Italians, musaici ; lavori a musaico ; opere musaiche, etc. MOSAICIST. (mosaiciste, Fr.) Painter in mosaic. 376 EXPLANATORY AND CRITICAL DICTIONARY N. NAKED. Though this and nude are precisely the same word in different shapes, yet, in art, custom seems to have drawn a distinction between them, the former being so used as generally to convey disapprobation, which the less familiar Latin form does not.* The distinction how- ever, if invariably maintained, might be made very useful ; and to follow it, I may remark, that many figures that are partially clothed are often more naked than those that are perfectly nude. NEGATIVE, NEUTRAL, ^ as applied to colors. See Positive. * Indeed it is a very common though curious effect of mental association, that certain images are perfectly revolting when clothed in their familiar name, which put into a stranger dress give offence to nobody. There are certain ideas that in the plain and primitive language of the vulgar never pass the lips of a man of refinement, that he would blush to present in such a shape even to his own imagination, and that in such a shape he has never dreamed of giving utterance to, if a noble spirit, even in his boyhood ; but drape them after a politer fashion, and your man of refinement hesitates no longer. So much are grossness, indecency, lubricity, vice even, not only mollified, hy a phrase, but made to lose a great part, some- times the whole, of their real chai’acter — in the eyes of the world. And to return, ere I commit myself, it is thus that if you say of a picture, The figures in it are all naked, ten to one you will startle half your hearers, and the women among them will be afraid to visit it, but merely say that they are nude, and no one dreams of impropriety. OF IMPORTANT TERMS. 377 NIMBUS. The old and the classical name for what in more modern art has been called Glory ; to wit, the lumi- nous ring, whether broad or slender, radiated or open, or the circular disk, which crowns the head of a saint or of a divine personage, sometimes very improperly, in pictures. This is not, as might be supposed, an invention of pious Christians, but, like almost all the observances of the Romish Church, a pure inheritance from the idolatry of heathen- ism. The Greeks, in order to protect their statues (from the filth of birds, as w’e are told, and doubtless also from the weather), put on the head a dish of metal, which from its shape they called meniscus (a crescent or imperfect moon, from mene, moon : Aristophanes, indeed, uses mene itself), and which we may suppose to have resembled in form, as in effect, the broad brim of a Leghorn hat. This awkward contrivance came at last to be considered an attribute of the deities and deified heroes whose images it shadowed ; and, adopted by the Romans, it took the name of nimbus (which in one of its primitive senses signifies a cloud) as representing perhaps that luminous atmosphere (the “ nubes divina ” of Servius) with which it seems natu- ral to invest the presence of divinity, and of which the poets have made such graphic use, as is seen in the — *• pura per noctem in luce refulsit Alma parens, confessa deam ” of Virgil. Thus, that Raphael of the poets de« ■cribes Minerva, as . . . “ nimbo effulgens et Gorgone SJBva In cloud effulgent and with Gorgon dire: 378 EXPLANATORY AND CRITICAL DICTIONARY which the old commentators, who were neither poets noi painters, would seem to consider as indicating a facsimile of the nimbus of artists (though, it is true, Virgil mighi have had his eye upon such an image). However, to finish the history of the glory, Isidore, who speaks also of the nimbus of the painters, tells us that this name was likewise given to a gold-embroidered band, worn by women on their foreheads, — to make that part appear fashionably smaller, as Arnobius (cited by the commentators on Plautus) intimates, classing it with the other ladylike vanities of boring their ears, and adding depth and darkness to their eyes by paint, as the coquettes of the East (and of some other places) do to this day. Hence one of Plautus’s women of bad life is described as nimbata, wearing a nimbus. “ To such base uses may we come at last, Horatio !” It is a wonder to me that with all his technical phrases the painter has never thought of adopting nimb , — not that such a monosyllable would have anything to recommend it, apart from its derivation and definiteness. O. OILING-OUT. Applying oil to the colors when dry, in order to bring them out in their proper tone, or to restore their transparency and brilliancy when dull : in a word, varnishing witli simple oil. OLIVE. The darkest of the tertiary colors; being composed of purple and green. OF IMPORTANT TERMS. 379 OLYMPIAD. With the Greeks a period of four years, at the end of which time, that is every fifth year, they assembled at Olympia, to celebrate the games thence called, in honor of Jove. By remembering that the firs< year of the first olympiad is 776 before Christ, you will be enabled to read the history of Greek art with a suffi- ciently clear understanding of the dates. P. PASTEL-PAINTING. Crayonpainting. The pencils of colors, that with us and the English obtain the name of crayons from their form, are called by the French 'pastels from their composition. The Italians say, and for a like reason, pastelli, which is probably the origin of the French word ; and pastello is a diminutive of pasta, paste. Pastel-painting is quite modern ; its date going back not much over a century and a half, or 1685. PASTICHE. (pastiche, Fr., pasticcio, Ital.) “A name given to the pictures which painters sometimes make in imitation of certain other painters, whose manner they copy so well that the imitation is often attributed to the painter imitated. A great many pastiches have been made of Teniers, and Teniers himself was the most skilful painter of pastiches P (De Montab.) Pasticcio is, lite- rally, our word pasty. * It is likewise a term of musical artists, and is applied by the Italians to a composition, whether petty opera, or otherwise. 380 EXPLANATORY AND CRITICAL DICTIONARY Pastiche has become naturalized in the language of Eng. lish art, yet its plural is a little awkward. As it will therefore always have something of a foreign sound, it may be more eligible to use the Italian word, when re- quiring the plural number, and say pasticci. Dr. Raspe indeed used also its singular, and made a very good com- pound with it. “ Those treacherous pasticcio-painters,^^ he writes, “ who make Raphaels, Correggios, and Paul- Vero- neses by the dozen.’’ Still, pastich-painters would have looked and sounded much more English. PATINA — originally used to signify the rust or mold, the “ veneranda rubigo,” with which time, the atmosphere, or long inhumation, have coated so many of the remains of ancient art in bronze and marble, was then applied to designate likewise the supposed effects of time on the sur- face of pictures, an appearance, whether of varnish or crust, that is known to be quite as often fabrication as the green mold on the little brenzes, which are manufactured by wholesale for the especial benefit of travellers in Italy. PIGMENT. The language of art would be greatly improved in the important point of precision, and conse- quently in perspicuity, if this word, or even its vulgar synonym, paint, were used on all occasions where it was made up of various pieces of various authors, or a hotchpotch of divers musical fragments {pot-pourri). In fact there is no limit, othe-r than that set by good sense, to the figurative application of all such terms in any language. They are of the class of *viial may be termed natural metaphors. OF IMPORTANT TERMS. 381 meant to imply the substance itself that gives the color. But we have chosen to follow the lead of languages les.s copious than our own ; and, rich in three words, two of which have but a single definite meaning, while the third is used with a various application, we have thoughtlessly abandoned this advantage, and adhered almost exclusively to the one word that is indefinite. It is a natural error, however, that cannot be condemned by the philologist, however it may be regretted by the didactician. PLASTICIAN. (plashcien, Fr.) A modeler in plas- ter, or in any other plastic substance {clay, loax, etc.) that may be used in the art called plastic. Pliny’s term for plastician is plasta. Plasles (which is pure Greek) is also used by Latin writers-; and the art itself was called plastice. POINT OF DISTANCE. / ^ rj ■ . 7 r • POINT OF SIGHT V Jtiorizontal Ltine. POLYCHROMATIC. See Monochromatic. PORTCRAYON, (porte-crayon, Fr.) The artist’s instrument for holding his chalks or crayons. — The French use the word also for what we call a pencilcase ; and it is very foolishly innovated in English, since we have a word of our own much better for our service in every respect ; that is, — crayon-holder ; porte-crayon means no more. The Ital- ians have also their vernacular term, matitatojo (from malila, crayon). POSITIVE. Any of the primary colors, or any com- 382 EXPLAN/ TOR V AND CRITICAL DICTIONARY bination of them or of their compounds in which a prf dominating hue is to be distinguished, is called a positive color ; as any combination that produces neutrality makes what are called neutrals or negative colors. PRIMARY. Those colors which cannot themselves be made by any combination of others, yet from whose com- bination. all others in nature are derived, are called primary colors. They are Yellow, Red, and Blue. The combina- tion of any two of them produces the secondaries ; which are Orange, Purple, and Green. And from the union of any two of these secondaries is derived again the class of tertiary colors ; Citrine, Olive, Russet. The primaries are also called the primitive colors, and again entire colors, and yet again virgin colors ; and they may further be termed the mother-colors {couleurs-mcres') : all of which appellations imply, — either their elementary character ; or their simpli- city and purity, as opposed to colors in any way mixed or broken ; or finally their power of originating, by inter® combination, all the other colors, and hues, or, by the addition of either the neutral white or the neutral Mack, which are -he extremes of light and dark, every tint and every shade. PRIMITIVE colors. See Primary. PRINCIPAL RAY. (A term of Perspective.) See Horizontal Line, OF IMPORTANT TERMS. 383 R. REDUCTION. The usual, as well as the eimplest iuethod, of reducing in the copy of a picture the size of the original, so as to preserve its exact proportions in de- lineation, is by means of threads, fastened to the four sides of the frame on which the canvas is stretched, and cross- ing each other in vertical and horizontal lines at right angles, so as to form a number of perfect squares. Now the squares of the network, thus formed, being made, on the canvas of the intended copy, in such proporti^jj to the squares on the original, as the whole surface of the original bears to the whole surface of the canvas of the copy, the contours of the objects which are drawn in imitation of those of the original, square for square, will of course be the diminished or reduced counterpart of the latter. And so, by the same contrivance, a copy may be made either larger than the original picture, or its exact coun- terpart. Of course, as the only requisite for such a performance is mechanical facility, it is not to be practised by a student who aims, while copying, at improvement in design ; but where time and labor are the chief consideration, the above method, like others of similar object, is useful to save both, and has been at all times in great favor with artists. RELIEF, {relief, Fr., rilievo, Ital.) The same dis- regard of purity that has made lelles-lettres, without the 384 EXPLANATORY AND CRITICAL DICTIONARY least necessity, a word of the English language, has like wise incorporated, along witli a multitude of other harba- risms, the French term of art, bas-relief; which has main- tained its place, notwithstanding the difficulty that attends its pronunciation in tlie midst of English words (where it must either stand in its proper character as an alien, or take, as naturalized, a barbarous and unmeaning sound), and despite of the anomaly it presents, from the fact that its sister-term, high-relief {never haut-relief though often alto rilievo), is pure English. The French, more jealous of the purity of their national tongue, translate the Italian phrases of the sculptor, and write bas-relief haul-relief demi-relief, and (with the prepositions de and en) tout relief or still more vernacularly, en or de ronde bosse. Let us then imitate so good a pattern, and let the vocabulary stand, without affectation ('purism), with exact propriety, with perfect neatness, and greatly increased significance, as follows : Italian : Bassorilievo ; Mezzorilievo ; Alto Rilievo ; Di TUTTO Rilievo ; Di piENO Rilievo ; French : English : Bas-relief; Low-relief. JDemi-relief ; Half- relief. Haut-relief ; High-relief. En tout relief ; In full re- En 'plein relief ; lief. If you prefer the Italian terms, do not say relievo but rilievo : relievo is not Tuscan. In the plural, write, and say, bassirilievi (or bassi-riHevi), alti rilievi, etc., not basso- rilievi and the like. Fallo di bellissimo rilievo (Borgh.) : Of the finest relief. OF IMPORTANT TERBIS. 385 I Consult the treatise, under the proper head. RETOUCHING. Going over a part that is apparently- finished, but with which the painter is dissatisfied. This is done, not unfrequently, even after the completion of the picture ; sometimes without removing the varnish. Nay, fastidious painters have not hesitated, even after years have elapsed, to retouch a favorite picture in parts that they see, or fancy, are susceptible of improvement, though the consequence is frequently a discordance of tone, from the change which in time takes place in these tints that are set to the key of the general coloring, now become (in tuner’s phrase) fiat. And it is to the detection of this latter kind of retouches, as well as of those which are made in the fitting-up (it were a sin to call it, in all cases, resto- ration) of old or damaged paintings, especially those that are meant to come under the hammer, that the would-be connoisseur is particularly careful to direct his scrutiny. Nothing can be nriore amusing, than, at a public-sale of newly imported Correggios, Rubenses, and other manu- factures of high name, to hear one of these picture-men, •vho are more familiar with the mechanical part of the art, than with its principles or theory, on going up with his nose close to some notable pastiche, exclaim with great eontempt, “ It has been retouched /” when perhaps it would have been as well to have ascertained in the first place whether the picture had ever been worth retouching. The same term is also applied to the finishing- touches 18 386 EXPLANATORY AND CRITICAL DICTIONARY given by eminent masters to works mainly executed by their pupils after the former’s designs, and which, thus completed, were to pass as their own. RONDE BOSSE. This is the idiomatic French for the more modern phrases plein reliefs tout relief, haut relief. (See Relief) Dessiner d’apres la hosse is to design after some model of the sculptor or plastician. We have in English a corresponding vernacular phrase ; to draw, or study, from the round. Neither of the expressions is considered elegant, in the respective languages to which they belong. Ours especially is little better than pro- fessional cant. RUSSET. One of the tertiary colors. Its composition is of orange and purple. S. SACRIFICE. To sacrifise any part or color is to ob- scure or enfeeble it, for the sake of giving force, or vivacity, or expression, or in short of adding importance in any particular, to another part or color which for some good reason it is desirable to make either absolutely or com- paratively principal. He who does not know how, or knowing cannot bring himself, to sacrifice the less to the greater merit, must never hope to become a great painter, or a great poet, or a great sculptor, or anything whatever that is great. The principle is the polity of life and art. OF IMPORTANT TERMS. 387 SBOZZO. (Ital. ; same asa&Jozzo.) The first sketch or rude draught for a picture ; or even the clay model of the sculptor ; for Raph. Borghini uses the verb abbozzare to designate the act of fashioning the latter. Shozzo is one of the very few words interpolated by Webb in his “ In- quiry/’ (see Clairobscure) ; but I know not that it was unwisely done, seeing that the use of this word, in the sense that he employs it in, “ rough draught for a paint- ing,” would make our nomenclature complete for the vari- ous steps of the painter towards the execution of his pic- ture. Thus we should have sbozzo corresponding with the croquis of the French (see Deadcoloring), sketch for their esquisse, and Jirst-painting or deadcoloring answering to ebauche. The innovator of this convenient term uses it in the plural, writing it sbozzo’s, in the vicious mode too common in our language, whose grammar, and grammatical forms, are but little regarded by its writers, both English and English-American. If you keep it Italian, say sbozzi in the plural ; but if you choose to consider it English, do not adopt the form of the genitive singular, but write either sbozzoes or sbozzos. SCHEMA. “A word employed by the Germat school, to express the beauty which is beyond the image, the supreme beauty which our finest models or master- pieces leave us only to suppose, and towards which all men aspire.” (De Montabert.) This is nobly said. SCUMBLE. Scumbling might be defined, in two words 388 EXPLANATORY AND CRITICAL DICTIONARY (but that they are contradictory), opaque glazing ; for it is the passing of a thin color, to which white has been added, or some other kindred pigment, in fact the passing of a very thin lay, or veil, of opaque color, over a part whose effect is to be thereby modified. This is the sense in which we find it generally used by the leading English artist- writers ; but the significance of the word does not seem, as with the term glazing, to belong to the effect produced, but rather to the action of the pencil in producing it. Indeed in some writers of the last century, it is employed absolutely to express a mode of manipulation in painting, without any regard to the body of the color used, and without confining it to any particular intention. Thus in the Artist's Repository, a respectable miscellaneous com- pilation of general art, which I have cited once or twice in this vocabulary, we find it said : “ The usual way of painting in oil is to lay on the colors with one pencil, and then soften them into each other with a clean tool. This is termed scumbling." And the English translator of Depiles writes thus : “ Glazing is done by colors transpa- rent and diaphanous, as having but little body, which are thinly scumbled with a fitch pencil, over colors that are more staring, in order to bring them down and sweeten them into a harmony with those about them.’’ Another exam- ple of the use of this cant- word, which, notwithstanding its employment by Sir Joshua Reynolds and others high in the literature of painting, seems fitter for an artisan than an artist, occurs in a quotation on one of our pages. See note to Chapter vi., of Part VI., (p. 276). OF IMPORTANT TERMS. 389 SECONDARY colors. See Primary. SET. To set a palette is to arrange the tints and colors thereon in their due order for service. SETTING- UP, — said of colors, is an unrefined expres- sion which denotes the quality by which they hold their, place on the palette, whether it be by their own body, or from the glutinous nature of their vehicle. SIMPLICITY — “ is equally removed from insipidity or extravagance. It is the effect of a good choice, the enemy of affectation, the usual companion of grace, and the general attendant on nature, especially when not vitiated by refinement.” {Art. Rep.) SFUMATO. (Ital.) Painted with a light, vapory touch, and an extreme softness and fusion of color and outline ; sfumare, the verb from which this adjective comes, signifying, in its original sense, to emit exhalation or vapor, as of smoke (fumo), — to evaporate. The French too have their effumer (esfumer), which has all the force of the Italian ; but their artists prefer to use the foreign term. SGRAFFITO, (otherwise SGRAFFIO ; literally, a scratching, from sgraffiare, to scratch.) A kind of bold design, in black and white, done by scratching a wall where it was purposely painted of the former hue, so that the white of the plaster came forward at the proper intervals. It was formerly used in Italy for ornamenting the exterior of palaces, and other buildings, but has long ceased to be Dractised. Polydore da Carravagio and Maturino,” 390 EXPLANATORY AND CRITICAL DICTIONARY says an accomplished French artist-author, “pupils of Raphael, executed sgraffiti of which some remains are still seen on the fac^ade of a house opposite the Cesi Palace at Rome : the subject is the fable of Niobe. Dis- temper-paintings well done have much better resisted the weather, perhaps because of their polish, than these sgraffiti, whose scratched hatchings were produced by means of a kind of fork.” SKETCH. The ordinary uses of this word need no explication. (See Sbozzo and Deadcoloring.) As com- bining however the idea of coloring with that of design, it is employed in a special and important sense, to denote the preparatory painting on a smaller scale by which the artist guides himself in the execution of a purposed work, whose effect he is thus enabled to calculate with more precision. STIPPLE. Stippling is painting with the point of the pencil, with a delicate touch and very short and detached strokes, or dots, as in miniature. It is what the staccato is of music ; and in fact, its points very much resemble the marks used by composers for designating that manner of performing tones. STRAP AZZATO. (Ital.) Painted in a coarse, care- less, headlong manner, as if the whole object of the painter had been to get done. The French words strapassm U, and strapasse are used in the same manner. The primitive sense of the verb sirapazzare is to tre^t with rudeness, disdain, or indifference. OF IMPORTANT TERMS. 391 STUDIO. An affected word (in English mouths), and quite unnecessary, since we have study, which is as pro- perly applied to the workroom of the painter and the sculptor as to that of the poet. STUDY. The paintroom of the artist, as above. The familiar word with the French is workshop {atelier), which is used not only in ordinary conversation, but gravely in their most polished treatises. STUDY — is also adopted with us, as are their studio and etude by the Italians and French, as a name for several kinds of preparatory essays, such as are designs from nature for the use of the artist himself, and which he as- sembles as he has opportunity, or drawings, usually of parts of the human body or of animals, of single trees, and other isolated objects, but sometimes also of groups^ for the benefit of students, and which frequently result in their detriment ; or lastly, we have occasionally exhibited, under this modest name, oilpaintings of heads and busts, more or less finished, or even in no respect finished at all, strapazzate, and which make us think how often pride is hidden under a lowly mien. STUMP, {estompe, Fr.) A roll of soft leather, paper card, or linen, cut tapering at the end like a Pencil, and used with powder of the crayon, or on the marks of the c^avon itself, in drawing. To STUMP. To use the stump (estomper). SUBJECTILE. The body, no matter what its nature. 392 EXPLANATORY AND CRITICAL DICTIONARY on which is executed the painting, no mailer what the pro* cess. No apology can be requisite for innovating this most necessary word, for which I am indebted altogether to the treatise of M de Montabert. I would gladly improve the nomenclature of the art, and certainly with due reserve may be permitted to enrich it. “ Dixeris egregie, notum si callida verbum Reddiderit junctura novum. Si forte necesse est Indiciis monstrare recentibus abdita rerum, Fingere cinctutis non exaudita Cethegis Continget ; dabiturque licentia sumta pvdenter ** And I trust I shall not be considered to have forgotten this qualification of the license. As for the construction of the word itself, it is quite as regular as that of projectile : they are of one family ; and if this may be defined a body that is hurled or thrown forward, Subjectile is analogically, in its abstract sense, a body that is subjected to or put under another, that is made to receive another substance, or other substances, or any- thing in short put upon it : subjectibilis is as good Latin as projectibilis. So natural does the term in question appear, therefore so happily is it innovated, that when the writer first met with it in the philosophic pages of its inventor, it did not at all attract his attention as anything strange, and he adopted it in his own use as undesignedly as if it liad always been a household-word. SUGOSO. (Ital.) Full of sap {sugo). It has a wide OF IMPORTANT TERMS. 393 range of metaphorical application, like its sister adjectives in other languages. Its employment by the painter needs no elucidation. SUPPORTING. Supporting a figure is said of the in- terposition of objects, or even of effects of clairobscure, between parts that would otherwise appear insulated, or be thrown forward in too separate and distinct relief from the ground, making a gap in the group to which the figure belongs, and rendering the effect of the composition meagre. This fault of emptiness is obviated by a skilful adjustment of draperies, by a happy arrangement of objects in per- spective or otherwise, which fill up the bare spots, but without obtrusion, so that they are felt to be there rather than remarked, or finally, and simply, by a learned man- agement of light and shadow. SURFACE. See Impasto. SYMPATHY — expresses the mutual relation of colors that dixe friendly. See Antipathy. T. TEAZED — or Tormented^ is said of colors that are worked about to their own detriment and that of the pic- ture. It is one of the most natural, therefore perfect metaphors, in the language of art ; so that you need but have in mind what ieazing is morally, to know what it is 18 * 394 EXPLANATORY AND CRITICAL DICTIONARY physically, in painting as elsewhere. Having remarked that the figure is natural, it is not necessary to add, that it is common to all languages. TEMPERA. (Ital.) See Distemper. TERTIARY (colors). See Primary. TINT. See Hue. TORMENTING (of colors). See Teazed. TONE. The student must not confound tone and tint, especially when the latter is used in its ordinary indefinite sense (see Hue) for color. Two colors may be the same, yet their tones different ; and again two colors may be di- rectly opposite, yet their tones the same. A distinction that will be perfectly obvious to the student if he recall to mind one of the very first observations he must have made in his very first work, viz., of the change of appearance which took place, in a color already laid, on his placing another next it : the color, tint, hue, or shade, was just the same, but its neighbor had either brought down or raised it? tone. Therefore, To tone a picture is to harmonize its whole coloring, to bring its various tones as well as various colors into due relation with one another (which implies subordination, and the grand result of subordination, unity), and cause to disappear all crudeness ; and to the musical I might add (though the idea is implied in that of “ unity,”) — to maintain the tonic, or key-note, throughout the whoU painted rythm. And hence is said. OF IMPORTANT TERMS. 396 To intone) or entone, a picture, — meaning simply to give it mellowness where there was hardness and frigidity, anu to bring into a perfected harmony what was crude and harsh. And hence again, to return to the abstract term, or sub- stantive. Tone is finally used, in a large and somewhat indefinite sense, to signify the quality or effect of a picture thus intoned. So that, to want tone is to be deficient in this par- ticular, and to give tone is to remedy that deficience. It may not be impertinent to remark, that to this family of words might be added, as a legitimate member though at present alien from it, the musical term intonation) and perhaps the verb, to intonate. A composer, in Naples, once observed to the writer, that a distinguishing excellence of the late and ever to be regretted Mme. Malibran was her “ perfect intonation,^ meaning thereby that she gave to every tone its proper pitch. It might be said, I think, with equal propriety, of a true colorist, that his intonation was perfect, or fine, or excellent, or exquisite, and so on, adding whatever epithet might be suitable for the occa^xon, or again of a bad or inferior colorist, that his intonation was imperfect, indifferent, faulty, execrable; or again (but this I almost fear to add), that he knew not how to intonate, had yet to learn to inton^e correctly, that he intonated badly, falsely ; and in like manner, according to circum- stances. TOREUTIC. That branch of sculpture in which the art employs not one material but several, as in the famous 396 EXPLANATORY AND CRITICAL DICTIONARY Olympian Jupiter of Phidias, of which the chief materials were ivory and gold. Toreutic, which comes to us directly from the latinized Greek, conveys nothing more than the idea of chisel- work, and is so far synonymous with anaglyphic. (See Ana- glyph.) It was thus Cicero among others employed its correlative, toreuma. It is only after the time of Pliny that the epithet seems to have been confined to what has been more expressively termed by some modern writers polychromic sculpture. (See Monochromatic.) I have used, ?Lhoye, toreutic as an adjective simply, having a dislike to such forms as substantives, but it is right to in- form the student that it is also employed absolutely with us, as with the French (toreutique), and the Italians (toreu- iica), after the Latin toreutice. TOREUTICIAN. {toreuticien, Fr.) A sculptor in toreutic-work (or, in toreutic). TORSO. (Ital. A figurative use of the word, — as with our corresponding trunk from the Fr. tronc.) A statue mutilated in its members, and with or without the head ; the dismembered trunk of a statue. — There are various torsos* of great artistic value, that have come down to us • The student must not pretend to say torsi, in the plural : it would be the merest affectation ; for the word is not occasional, like sbozzo (see p. 387), nor a compound of peculiar character like chiaroscuro (p. 336), but simple, and of daily occurrence, being as perfectly naturalized as fresco, and other precise Italian terms for which the language has no single definite substitute OF IMPORTANT TERMS. 397 from antiquity ; but by the Torso, so often mentioned as the study of the school of Michelangelo, is meant the torso of the Hercules, called of the Belvidere^ in the Vatican. Why should we not in English say torses as the French do in their tongue ? The word is of the proper tone as well as form, and its inferior volume of sound makes it har- monize more completely with our language than torso^ though the latter, it is true, is very far from having a discordant grandeur. It would add to the resources of a writer to have the liberty of using either word, as suited his occasions. V. VANISHING-POINTS (term of Perspective). See Horizontal Line. VEHICLE. Any liquid, by combination with which the colors are conveyed to the subjectile, to be there fixed by its partial evaporation, or desiccation, is called its vehicle ; a term borrowed from the apothecary, who applies it to any liquid with which liis drugs are mingled, or ir which they are simply added, to form a potion. W. WASHING. See Aquarel. 298 EXPLANATORY AND CRITICAL DICTIONARY. z. ZOGRAPII ; ZOGIIAPIIER. {zograplios, Gk.) Life, ’painter ^ — painter of animate nature; artist-painter in general, if you except such artists as confine themselves strictly to landscapes, flowers, and otlier like pieces, which either exclude the representation of life, or admit it only as accessory. ZOGRAPITIC ; ZOGRAPHICAL. (zographicos, Gk.) The adjective related to the preceding substantive. The zographic art : painting, simply ; its subjects being for the most Dart animate nature, and preeminently human life. ZOGRAPIIY. {zographia, Gk.) Life-painting ; or, painting, simply. I know not that any of these three words has yet been introduced into our own, or into other modern languages ; but they are properly formed, and I venture to hope that they may not be found unworthy a place in vocabularies, as they certainly contribute to the verbaj resources of polite literature, if they be not important, for occasional use, to the literature of painters. i