Barrow 1735/II

[John Barrow (ed.)?], Dictionarium Polygraphicum: Or, The Whole Body of Arts Regularly Digested II, London [Charles Hitch – Charles Davis – Stephen Austen] 1735.

Oils

As to OILS, the best that can be us’d in painting are oil of nuts and linseed-oil.

Oil of spike, which is made of lavender-flowers, serves to make the colours run better, and renders the touching the picture over again the more easy; it also takes off the glittering of a picture, and is proper to do the same by the filth, and clean it: but the painter must have a care it does not take off the colour too.

Oil of Turpentine, which is drawn from rosin, is good to touch a picture over again with; but especially to mix with ultramarine and enamels; because it helps to spread them, and evaporates immediately. When the artist would make use of it, ‘tis not necessary, he should make use much of other oil, which will only turn the colour yellow.

Oil of nuts, is us’d by painters boil’d up with the scum of lead, in which silver has been melted by a quick and great fire. To this is added an onion whole and peeled, which is taken out after it has boil’d. This takes away from the oil its greasy quality.

Oil of nuts, is also boil’d with powder of azure and enamel, which being boil’d, is let to stand a little, and then the top taken off. This is us’d to temper white and the other colours, which the painters would have be kept clean.

FAT OIL; put linseed-oil into leaden-vessels, made in the form of dripping-pans, so much as to be an inch deep: expose them to the sun for six months, till it becomes as thick as turpentine: the longer it stands, the fatter it will be, and give to gold a greater gloss. If it is almost as thick as butter, so as you may in a manner cut it with a knife, it is excellent, and ought to be carefully kept for use.

To make DRYING OIL.

Mix a quart of linseed-oil, with three ounces of litharge of gold, and boil them for a quarter of an hour; but if you would have it more drying, boil it a little longer. But beware of boiling it to thick, so as not to be fit for use.

1. Or thus. Take red-lead and umber in fine powder, half an ounce, linseed-oil two pound, boil all as before; let it stand for two days, and it will have a skin over it, then it is fit for use.

Oil of Turpentine

Is us’d to dissolve the colours and make them spread the better, and to make the work dry the sooner.

An experiment relating to oil-colours, of great use to travellers of some kinds; to the chief officers of camps and armies, to seamen and such like.

This experiment is no other than a discovery of the way and mystery of making oil-cloth, now us’d for hat-cases, and that is this; take of drying oil, set it on the fire and dissolve it in some good rosin, or (which is better, but dearer, gum-lack) and let the quantity be such, as may make the oil thick as a balsam, for it must be so thin as to run about if spread upon a cloth.

When the rosin or gums are dissolved, you may either work it of itself, or add to it some colour, as verdigrease for a green, or umber for a hair colour, or indico and white for a light blue.

This varnish, if spread on canvas, or any other linnen-cloth, so that the cloth be fully drenched and intirely glazed over with it, and suffer’d to dry thoroughly, is impenetrable for all manner of wet; and if carriers and such kind of persons that are necessitated to travel in all manner of weathers, had but little light canvas cloaks made for them of such cloth, and hats covered on the outside with the same, these cloaks and hats would secure them from wet as well as if they remain’d still in their own houses; for as I said before, no wet will penetrate through it: four and twenty hours rain would make no more impression upon it, than if it had never rain’d.

The officers tents in an army or camp, if cover’d over with this varnish’d cloth on the top, would preserve them as securely from all wet as the best houses, and be as warm and dry; neither will there follow any great inconvenience in decamping: for cloth so varnish’d is almost as pliable as the naked cloth, and not very much more weighty, especially if the varnish be laid on plain, without any colour mixt with it; for that is both lighter and more pliable.

The same advantages may seamen reap by it, or any other persons that must necessarily attend in storms and rain.

A sheep-skin boot well liquored with this varnish after the boot is made, and so thoroughly done over as to lie with a gloss on the outside, shall endure more wet than the best neat’s-leather boot, being also much more pliable, easy and light, the same may be said of shoes in great part.

The great reason why the oil-hat-case has not been more often in use, is by reason of the difficulty required to form it into garments; and then the very hat-cases themselves do let water in at the seams: but this varnish being laid on in the seams after the garments are made, does so intirely secure every part, as there’s no possibility or place for the wet’s admittance.

The same may be of advantage to abundance of other humane necessities, too long here to enumerate; and for securing any kind of timber-work, it equals painting with colours in oil, and much more easy to attain; for linseed-oil and rosin are much more easily melted together by boiling, than colours can any ways be ground; and being of the consistence of a balsam, works delicately with a brush, and of itself, without the addition of colours, bears a body sufficient to secure all manner of timber work-equal to most oil colours.

In the working of it there’s no great skill required, if you can but use a painter’s brush; only let the matter you lay it on be thoroughly drench’d, that the outside may be glazed with it: if you desire a colour on the outside, you need only grind a colour with the last varnish you lay on.

Painting in oil

PAINTING in OIL. The ancients, as is said elsewhere, knew nothing of the art of painting in oil; but it was found out and practis’d by a Flemish painter in the fourteenth century.

It may be truly said, that painting then receiv’d a very great improvement, and a wonderful conveniency; for by this means the colours of a picture keep a long while; and a lustre and union are added to them of which the antients were ignorant, whatever varnish they made use of to spread over their painting; and yet all this secret that lay hid so long, consists in nothing but in grinding the colours with oil of nuts, or linseed-oil.

‘Tis true this sort of work is very different from Fresco and Distemper; for the oil not drying so soon, the work must be touch’d over several times. But then on the other hand the painter has the advantage of more time to finish his picture, and touch over again all the parts of the figures, which he that works in Distemper and Fresco has not.

The oil also gives the work a greater force, because the black becomes more black, when ‘tis tempered with oil, than when ‘tis tempered with water.

All the colours run better together, are more soft, more delicate and more agreeable, there being an union and tenderness in this manner, which is not in any other.

One may paint in oil against walls, on wood, on cloth, on stones, and all sorts of metal.

The thing on which the painter intends to paint must in the first place be prepared by a primer, as the artists call it; which seems to make the ground, and renders the field very equal and smooth.

If he is to paint against a wall, when it is very dry, he must lay on two or three layers of boiling hot oil, and that as often as he thinks requisite, even till he perceives the plaister to be greasy, and will not imbibe no more oil.

He then takes white-chalk, red-oaker and other earths, and grinds them to a consistence, of which he lays a layer on the wall; when that is dry, he designs his subject, and afterwards paints upon it, mixing a little varnish among his colours, that he may not be oblig’d to varnish them when painted.

Some prepare the wall after another manner to dry it the more, that the moisture may not make the colours scale off; as it often happens by the oil’s opposing it, and hindring its coming out; to prevent this, they make a plaister of lime and marble dust, or a cement of pounded tiles, which they beat with a trowel to fine it, and then lay on the linseed-oil with a great brush.

After this they prepare a composition of Greek pitch, mastich and varnish, which they boil together in an earthern pot, and then spread it over the wall with a brush, and chase it in with a hot trowel, to extend and smooth it the better; afterwards they lay on chalk, red-oaker, &c. as above-mentioned, before they design any thing.

Some have still another way, they make a plaister of lime-mortar with a cement of tile and sand, and when that is dry, they make another of lime and cement well sifted, and dross of iron, as much of the one as of the other; all which being well pounded and incorporated together with whites of eggs and linseed-oil, they make the finest plaisters in the world.

But you must not fail to take care, not to leave the plaister, while it is fresh laid on, nor till well spread all over with the trowel, and smooth every where; for otherwise it will cleave in several places.

When it is dry, they lay on the colours as before mentioned.

When the painter would paint upon wood, he first brushes it very well with a brush, and then lays on a layer of white, tempered with paste, before he covers it with oil. But now cloth is most made use of, especially for large pictures, by reason of their more easy carriage from one place to another than wood, which is heavy, and besides apt to crack.

Painters generally chuse ticking or the smoothest cloth they can get; and when ‘tis well stretch’d upon a frame, they lay on a layer of paste-water, and then rub it over with a pumice-stone to take off the knots.

The paste-water serves to smooth down all the little threads in the cloath and fill the little holes, that the colours may not pass over them.

When the cloth is dry, they lay on a colour that will not kill the other colours, as red-oaker, which is a natural earth of substance, and with which they sometimes mix a little white-lead, that it may dry the sooner.

This colour is first ground with nut or linseed-oil, and to lay it on of what thickness they please, they have a great knife for that purpose.

When it is dry, they rub it over again with a pumice-stone to smooth it; then if they please, they lay another layer compounded of white-lead, and a little of the black of coal, to make the ground greyish; and in both ways they put on as little colour as they can, that the cloath may not break, and the colours, that are to be laid on upon it, may keep the better.

If the primed cloath is not thus at first oiled, but the painter falls to painting at once, the colours will look better and remain more beautiful.

In some pieces of Titian and Paulo Veronese, ‘tis observ’d that their first lay was of distemper, on which they afterwards painted with oil colours; by this means their works look’d the more lively and fresh: for the distemper attracted and imbib’d the oil that was in the colours, and was the cause that they remain’d the more beautiful, the oil taking off a great deal of their vivacity.

For which reason those who would have their pieces keep fresh, make use of as little oil as they can, and keep their colours the firmer, by mixing with them a little oil of spike, which soon evaporates, but serves to make them run the better, and renders them more pliable in working.

Another cause of colours losing their beauty, is when the painter works them too much in mixing them; for being jumbled together, they change and corrupt one another, and take away their vivacity: wherefore he must be careful to use them properly, and lay the colours each in its place, without mingling them too much with the pencil or brush; also not to temper adverse colours together, as blacks with others; particularly smoak-blacks; but to use them apart as much as possible.

And when he would give the more force to his work, he should stay till it is dry, to touch it over again with colours that will not damnify the others.

It is a considerable thing towards the preservation of the beauty of their pictures: for there have been some which have been much upon the easel, and yet the colours have not been lasting, because those who us’d them, work’d and jumbled them too much together with the brush and pencil, thro’ too much fire.

Those who paint with judgment, lay them on with less precipitation, put them thicker, cover and recover their carnations several times, which the painters call well-kneading.

As for painting the cloth at first with a lay of distemper, ‘tis true that is not often done, because it may then scale, and will not roll up but with difficulty: for which reason painters have been contented to put on a lay of colours in oil; but when the cloth is good and very fine, the less colour that is put on it in priming it is the better, and the painter must always be careful that his oil and colours be good.

When a painter is to work on metal, marble, or any other stone, he need only lay on a thin layer of colours before he designs any thing, and not at all on the stones where he would have the ground appear, as on marble when it is of an extraordinary colour.

All the colours us’d in Fresco are good in oil, except lime-white and marble dust; but what follows may be made use of.

White-lead, taken from common lead that has been buried. After it has lain in the ground several years, scales come upon the lead, which changes colour and turns to a beautiful white: tho’ this white subsists in painting, yet it has a very bad quality; but the oil corrects it by grinding it on a stone.

Ceruss, is also the rust of lead, but fouler.

Masticot, yellow and white, is made of lead calcinated.

Red-arsenick, is us’d with calcinating and without: to calcine it, it is put into an iron box, or in a pot well stop’d: but few people calcinate it, or indeed use it; because the vapour is mortal, and ‘tis very dangerous to make use of it.

Red-lead, taken out of lead-mines, is not much us’d, because it is an enemy to other colours.

Vermilion, taken out of silver mines, it being a mineral, does not keep its colour in the air.

Lake, which is made of cochineal or Brazile wood, or other woods, there being several kinds of it, does not keep in the air.

Ash-blues and ash-greens, are seldom made use of but in landskips.

Indico, is also us’d in skies and draperies; when it is well us’d, it keeps beautiful a long time: too much oil must not be mixt with it; lay it a little brown, because it is apt to change; it is made use of in painting with success, it being good for greens.

The Avignion grain, which is tempered and boil’d; then the ashes of vine-twigs or chalk are thrown in, to give it a substance, as is done in lake, and after that it is all squeez’d thro’ fine lawn.

Smoke-black, which is a bad colour; but easy to paint black draperies.

Bone-black and burnt-ivory, which according to Pliny was invented by Apelles.

Verdegrease, is the plague of all colours, and enough to spoil a whole picture, if the least part of it enters into the priming of the cloth; yet ‘tis a beautiful and an agreeable colour.

PAINTING in OIL, and the materials.

1. Painting in oil, is the same as that of limning before-mentioned, perform’d with colours made up or tempered with oil.

2. The materials us’d in this art, are chiefly seven; 1. the easel; 2. pallet; 3. the straining-frame; 4. the primed-cloth; 5. pencils; 6. the stay; 7. colours.

3. The easel, is a frame made of wood, (much resembling a ladder, with flat sides and full of holes, to put in two pins to set the straining-frame and cloth upon, either higher or lower at pleasure, being something broader at the bottom than at the top) on the backside of which is a stay; by which the easel may be set either the more sloping or more upright.

4. The pallet, is a thin piece of wood (either of pear or walnut-tree) about a foot in length, and ten inches in breadth, in almost an oval form, at the narrowest end of which is an hole, to put in the thumb of the left-hand, near which there is a notch cut, that the pallet may be held in the hand. The use of this is to hold and temper the colours upon.

5. The straining-frame, made of wood, on which the primed cloth, that is to be painted upon, is fastened with nails. These frames ought to be of several sizes, according to the size of the cloth.

6. The primed cloth, is that which is to be painted upon, and is to be prepar’d as follows;

Take good canvas, and first smooth it over with a sleek-stone, size it over with good size and a little honey, and let it stand to dry; then lay it over once with whiting and size mix’d with a little honey, and the cloth is prepar’d: on this you may first draw the picture with a coal, and afterwards lay in the colours. Where by the way you may take notice, that the use of honey is to prevent it from cracking, peeling or breaking out.

7. Pencils of all sizes, from a pin to the bigness of a finger, which are call’d by several names; as Dutch quill fitched and pointed; goose quill fitched and pointed; swan quill fitched and pointed; jewelling pencils and bristle pencils, some in quills, some in tin-cases, and some in sticks.

8. The stay or molstick, is a stick of Brazile wood, (or the like) in length about a yard, having a small ball of cotton at one end of it, fix’d hard in a piece of leather, about the size of a chesnut, which is to be held in the left-hand while you are working, and laying the end which hath the leather ball, upon the cloth or frame, you may rest your right arm upon it.

9. The colours are in number seven, as has been said elsewhere, viz. white, black, red, green, yellow, blue and brown.

Of which some may be tempered upon the pallet at first, some must be ground, and then tempered; and others must be burnt, ground, and lastly tempered.

10. As for the size, for sizing the primed cloth;

Boil glue well in fair water till it be dissolv’d, and it is made.

11. To make the whiting for the ground of the cloth;

Mix ground whiting with the size, and with it white the cloth or board, (being first made very smooth) and dry them, then do them over again a second or a third time. Afterwards scrape them smooth, and lay it over with white-lead tempered with oil.

12. To keep the colours from skinning over;

Oil colours, if they stand but a little time before they are us’d, will have a skin grow over them; which may be prevented by being put into a glass, and putting the glass three or four inches under water, and then they will never thin nor dry.

13. To cleanse the grinding-stone and pencils;

Grind curriers shavings upon the grinding-stone, if it be foul, and afterwards crumbs of bread; and they will fetch off all the filth.

And as for your pencils, dip them in oil of turpentine, and squeeze them between your fingers, and they will come very clean.

The colours in general, and their signification.

1. The chief whites for painting in oil, white-lead, ceruss and spodium.

2. The chief blacks, are lamp-black, sea-coal-black, ivory-black, charcoal and Colen’s earth.

3. The chief reds, are vermilion, cinnabar, lake, red-lead, Indian-red, ornotto.

4. The chief greens, are verdegrease, terra-vert, verditer.

5. The chief yellows, are pink, masticote, English-oker, spruce-oker and orpiment.

6. The chief blues, are blue bice, indico, ultramarine and smalt.

7. The chief browns, are Spanish-brown, and burnt spruce umber.

8. The following colours need not be ground at all, but only tempered with oil upon the pallet, viz. lamp-black, verditer, bice, vermillion, orpiment, masticot, smalt, ultramarine.

9. These colours following are to be burnt and ground in oil; ceruss, oker, ivory, umber.

10. All the rest are to be ground with linseed oil, except white-lead when it is us’d for linnen, which then is to be ground with walnut-oil, because the linseed-oil will make it turn yellow.

As to the nature and signification of COLOURS.

Black, signifies wisdom, sobriety and mourning.
Red, signifies justice, vertue and defence.
Flame-colour, beauty and desire.
Maidens-blush, envy.
Flesh-colour, signifies lasciviousness.
Carnation, craft, subtilty and deceit.
Green, signifies hope.
Grass-green, youth, youthfulness and rejoicing.
Yellow, signifies jealousy.
Perfect yellow, joy, honour, and greatness of spirit.
Lemon-colour, also signifies jealousy.
Gold-colour, avarice.
Straw-colour, signifies plenty.
Orange-tawney, signifies pride, also integrity.
Tawney, signifies forsaken.
Blue, signifies true faith and continued affections.
Azure, signifies constancy.
Violet-colour, signifies a religious mind.
Willow-colour, signifies forsaken.
Poppinjay-green, wantonness.
Purple, signifies fortitude.
White, signifies death.
Milk-white, signifies innocency, purity, truth, integrity.

The white, black, red and green, are colours held as sacred in the church of Rome.
White is worn on the festivals of the Virgin Mary, saints, confessors and angels, to intimate their innocency.
Red on the solemnities of the apostles and martyrs of Jesus Christ.
Black in Lent, and other fasting-days.
Green is worn between the Epiphany, and Septuagesima, and between Pentecost and Advent.

The fitting the colours for painting.

1. Dispose the several colours upon the pallet, at convenient distances the one from the other, that they may not intermix: first lay on the vermilion, then the lake, then the burnt oker, then the Indian-red, pink, umber, black and smalt in their order. And lay the white next to your thumb, because that is us’d the oftnest; for all the shadows are to be lightened with it; and next to the white lay a stiff sort of lake; and then the pallet will be furnished with simple colours for a face.

2. To temper these colours for various complexions, do as follows:

Take one dram of white, two drams of vermilion, of lake the same quantity, temper them together, and lay them aside for the deepest carnation of the face; to part of the aforesaid mixture, put a little more white for a light carnation; and to part of that put more white (which temper on the pallet) for the lightest colour of the face.

3. The faint shadows for a fair complexion.

Take smalt and a little white for the eyes; to part of that add a little pink, and temper by itself, for faint greenish shadows in the face.

4. The deep shadows for the face.

Take cinnabar, lake, pink and black, of each a sufficient quantity, and temper them together; if the shadows ought to be redder than what you have tempered before, add more lake; if yellower, add more pink; and if bluer or greyer, add more black; and then will the pallet be fitted with colours.

5. For a brown or swarthy complexion.

The single colours being laid on the pallet as before, and tempered to the white lake and vermilion, put a little burnt oker for a tawney; and for heightening, add some yellow oker, just enough to change the colour and no more; the faint and deep shadows are the same as are mentioned before.

6. For a tawney complexion, the colours are the same with the former; but the shadows are different, which must be made of burnt oker and umber, (which will scent well.) If the shadows be not yellow enough, add a little pink to it.

7. For a black complexion.

The dark shadows are the same as before; but for heightening, take white, black, lake and burnt oker, in tempering of which, put in the white by degrees, till you come to the lightest of all.

Where you are to observe, that the simple colours that were at first laid on the pallet and tempered, serve for shadows for all complexions; and that all deepenings ought to be with black, lake and pink tempered together.

Oil colours for LANDSKIP.

For a light green, use pink and masticot, heightened with white.

For a sad green, use indico and pink, heightened with masticot.

For some trees, use lake, umber and white; for others charcoal and white; for others, umber, black and white, with some green; and sometimes lake or vermilion, with other colours.

For wood, use lake, umber and white, mixing sometimes a little green withal.

As for wood colours, they are compounded either of umber and white, charcoal and white, sea-coal and white, umber, black and white, or with some green added: to which you may add sometimes a little lake or vermilion, as in the barks of trees.

For a red sky, use lake and white; and for sun-beams or yellow clouds at sun-rising or setting, use masticot and white.

For an azure sky, which seems a-far off, use oil-smalt or bice, tempered with linseed-oil; but these must not be ground, for smalt or bice utterly lose their colour in grinding.

For a night-sky, or clouds in a storm, use indico deepned with black, and heightened with white.

For fire, where you would have it reddest, lay red-lead and vermilion tempered together; where it is blue, lay oil-smalt and white-lead; where it is yellow, take masticot, and work it over in certain places, where you would have it shine most, with vermilion.

Of Colours for GARMENTS in the general.

For black, let the dead-colour be lamp-black and verdegrease, and when it is dry, go over it with ivory-black; but before the second going over, heighten it with white.

For a sad red, use Indian-red, heightened with white.

For a light red, use vermilion, and glaze it over with lake, and heighten it with white.

For a scarlet, use vermilion, and deepen it with lake or Indian-red.

For blue, use indico and white; first lay the white, and then the indico mix’d with white, then deepen it with indico, and when dry glaze it with ultramarine, which will never fade.

Smalt will turn black, and bice will turn green.

For green, use bice and pink, deepen it with indico and pink, and heighten it with masticot.

For a sad green, use indico and pink.

For a light green, mix pink and masticot.

For a grass-green, mix verdegrease and pink.

For a hare-colour, use umber and white for the ground; umber and black for the deeper shadows; umber and English oker for the meaner shadows; and white and English oker for the heightening.

For yellow, use masticot, yellow-oker, umber; lay umber in the darkest places; oker and white in the mean or middle place; and masticot and white in the lightest places.

For orange-colour, lay the lightest parts with red-lead and white, the deeper parts with lake; and if there be occasion, heighten it with white, and the mean parts with red-lead alone.

Of OIL colours for VELVET.

1. For black velvet, use lamp-black and verdegrease for the first ground; when that is dry, temper up ivory-black and verdegrease, and shadow with white-lead mix’d with lamp-black.

2. For red velvet, use vermilion, and shadow it with Spanish brown, and where you would have it darkest, shadow it with sea-coal-black and Spanish brown, tempered with the aforesaid colours; let it be dry, and then gloss it over with lake.

3. For a crimson or carnation velvet, use vermilion, with which mingle white-lead at pleasure.

4. For a green velvet, use lamp-black and white-lead, and having work’d it like a russet velvet, let it dry; then draw it over with verdegrease mix’d up with a little pink.

5. For a sea-green velvet, use verdegrease alone, and lay it over with russet.

6. For a grass-green velvet, put to it a little masticot, and shadow these greens with russet, which you should lay according to the deepness of the green.

7. For a hair-colour velvet, use ground umber alone, and where you would have it brightest, heighten it with some white-lead about the folds; either lighten or darken with white-lead and umber.

8. For blue velvet, use smalt tempered alone.

9. For yellow velvet, use masticot and yellow oker, and where you would have it darkest, shadow it with umber.

10. For ash-colour velvet, use charcoal, black and white-lead, and lighten with white-lead: a colour like to a dark russet will be an ash-colour.

11. For a tawny coloured velvet, use Spanish-brown, white-lead and lamp-black, with a little verdegrease for shadowing where need is; and when dry, gloss its over with lake and a little red-lead.

12. For purple velvet, use smalt and lake, of each a like quantity, temper them up (either light or deep, as you please) with white-lead.

Take notice that in painting velvet, you must at first work it somewhat sad, and afterwards give it a sudden brightness.

To dye stuff, &c. of an OLIVE colour.

This must be ordered as the brimstone yellow, after which prepare suds of galls and copperas (but not strong) through which pass the stuffs two or three times, according as you would have the dye lighter or deeper, and it will produce an olive colour.

Painting

PAINTING is the art of representing natural bodies, and giving them a kind of life by the turn of lines, and the degrees of colours.

Painting is said to have its rise among the Egyptians, in representing divers animals, &c. as hieroglyphicks. But the Greeks, who learn’d the first rudiments of them, carried it to a great degree of perfection.

The Romans had also considerable masters in this art in the latter times of their commonwealth, and those of their first emperors; but the inundation of the Barbarians, who ravag’d and destroy’d Italy, reduc’d painting again pretty near to its infant state.

But in Italy it return’d again to its antient honour; and Cimabue betaking himself to the pencil in the xvth century, translated the poor remains of the declining art, from a Greek painter or two, into his own country Italy.

Some painters of Florence seconded him, the first of which was Ghirlandaio, master to Michael Angelo; Pietro Perugino, master to Raphael Urbin; and Andrea Verocchio, master to Leonardo da Vinci.

But these scholars far surpas’d their masters, and carried painting to a pitch, from which it has ever since been declining.

These advanc’d painting not only by their own noble works, but also by the number of scholars they train’d up, and the schools which they form’d.

Michael Angelo in particular, founded the Florentine school; and Raphael Urbin the Roman; and Leonardo da Vinci that of Milan.

To these must be added the school of Lombardy, which became very considerable much about the same time, under Georgion [Giorgione] and Titian.

Besides these Italian masters, there were on this side the Alps, others who had no communication with those of Italy; as Albert Durer in Germany, Hans Holben in Switzerland, and Lucas in Holland. But Italy, and especially Rome, was the place where the art was practis’d with the greatest success, and which from time to time produc’d the greatest masters.

Caraches, succeeded to the school of Raphael, which has lasted in its scholars almost to the present time; wherein the French painters, encourag’d by the munificence of Louis XIV. seem almost to be in a condition, to vie with those of Greece or Italy.

In Paris there are two considerable bodies of painters; the one of the royal academy of painting, and the other the community of masters in painting and sculpture.

M. Fresnoy divides the art of painting into three principal parts; invention, design and colouring; to which a fourth is added by some, viz. disposition.

M. Testling, painter to Louis XIV. divides it something more accurately, into the design or draught, the proportion, the expression, the clair obscure, the ordonnance, and the colouring. See these articles.

Painting is of various kinds, according to the materials us’d; the matter upon which they are apply’d; and the manner of applying them.

As Painting in oil, in Water-colours, Fresco, &c.

As to the art of painting in oil, that was unknown to the antients, and was first discovered and put in practice by John Van Eyck, or John of Bruges; about the beginning of the xivth century. Till his time all the painters wrought in Fresco, or in water-colours.

This invention was of the greatest advantage to the art, in that by this means the colours of a painting are preserved much longer and better; and receive a lustre and sweetness which could never be attain’d to by the antients; what varnish soever they made use of in covering their pieces.

The whole secret only consists in grinding the colours with nut-oil, or linseed-oil; but it must be own’d, that the manner of working is very different from that in Fresco; or in water; in that the oil does not dry near so fast: which gives the painter an opportunity of touching or re-touching all the parts of his figures, as often as he pleases; which in the other methods of painting is a thing impracticable.

And besides, the figures done in oil are capable of more force and boldness; in as much as the black becomes blacker, when ground with oil, than in water: besides that all the colours mixing better together, make the colour the sweeter, more delicate and agreeable, and give an union and tenderness to the whole work, inimitable in any of the other manners.

Painting on walls

PAINTING on walls, when the wall is dry, they give it two or three washes with boiling oil; till the plaister remains quite greasy, and will not drink in any more. Upon this they lay drying colours, viz. white chalk, red-oker, or other chalks beaten pretty stiff.

When this couch or layer is indifferent dry, the subject or design is sketch’d out, which is afterwards painted over with the colours mix’d with a little varnish, to save the varnishing afterwards.

In order to fortify the wall the better against moisture, some cover it with a plaister of lime, marble-dust, or a cement made of beaten tiles soak’d with linseed-oil. And lastly, they cover the plaister over with a composition of Greek pitch, mastick and thick varnish boil’d together hot; and when this is dry, they lay on the colours as before. Others make the plaister with lime-mortar, tile, cement and sand; and after this is become thoroughly dry, they apply another of lime, cement and machefer, or scum of iron, all well beaten up together, and incorporated with whites of eggs and linseed-oil, which does indeed make an excellent couch or plaister, this being dry: they lay on the colours as before.

Painting on wood

PAINTING on wood; they usually give their ground a couch, or lay of white temper’d with size; or they apply the oil above-mentioned: the rest as painting on walls.

Painting on linen or canvas

PAINTING on linen or canvas, is done as follows: they stretch the canvas on a frame, and then give it a couch or lay of size; and when it is dry, they go over it with the pumice-stone, to smooth off the knots.

By means of this size, the little threads and hair are all laid close on the cloth, and the little holes stopp’d up, so that no colour can pass through.

When the cloth is dry, they lay on oker, which is a natural earth, and bears a body; sometimes mixing a little white-lead with it, to make it dry the sooner. When it is dry, they go over with the pumice-stone to make it smooth.

After this, sometimes a second couch is apply’d, compos’d of white-lead, and a little charcoal-black, to render the ground of an ash-colour; but care is to be taken in each manner, to lay on as little colour as possible, that the cloth may not break, and that the colours when they come to be painted over may be preserv’d the better.

In some of the paintings of Titian and Paolo Veronese, we find they made their ground with water, and painted over it with oil; which contributed much to the vivacity and freshness of their works. For the ground, by imbibing the oil of the colours, leaves them the more beautiful; the oil itself, taking away a deal of their vivacity.

Therefore you should use as little oil as is possible, if you would have the colours keep fresh: for this reason some mix them up with oil of aspic, which evaporates immediately, yet serves to make them manageable with the pencil.

Painting on stones or metals

PAINTING on stones or metals; it is not necessary to lay them over with size, as on cloth, it is sufficient to add a slight couch of colours, before the design is drawn on it; nor is even this done on stones where you would have the ground appear, as in certain marbles of extraordinary colours.

All the colours which are us’d in Fresco, are good in oil, except white of lime and marble-dust.

As for the different ways of painting, in Distemper, Fresco,
Water-colours, Oil, &c. See them in the proper places alphabetically.
To cleanse old PAINTING.

Make a lye of the ashes of vine-branches, mix’d with fresh man’s urine, dip a sponge in it and wipe it over, and it will much restore the fading, &c. or,

Take good wood-ashes, searce them, or else smalt or powder-blue, and with a sponge and fair water, gently wash the pictures you would cleanse, (taking great care of the shadows) when you have so done, dry them well with a clean cloth.

Then varnish it over again with some good varnish, but such as may be wash’d off again, if there be occasion.

As for the varnish, use either common varnish, (made with gum-sandrach dissolv’d in linseed-oil, by boiling) or glair of eggs, and with your pencil go over the picture once, twice, or more with it, according as there shall be occasion.

If your painting be wainscotting, or any other joinery-work, you may use wood-ashes, and mixing them indifferent thick with the water, rub over the painting with a stiff bristle brush, as a shoe-brush, and scour, wash and dry it, and afterwards varnish it with common varnish.

But if your paintings are more curious, as figures of men, beasts, landskips, flowers, fruits, &c. then take smalt only, and with a sponge dipt in water, cleanse it gently, and afterwards wash it in fair-water, and having dry’d it well, varnish it, and it will very considerably recover the lustre of the pictures.

But this cleansing of paintings ought not to be done too often, (viz. not except they are very much foiled) because too frequent cleansings of this kind, will by degrees wear off part of the colours: therefore you should endeavour to preserve their beauty by keeping them from smoak, dust, flies, &c.

All pictures (but chiefly such in which mixtures of white-lead are us’d) will be apt to grow tawney, to tarnish or grow rusty, as may be seen in all old pictures.

In order to prevent this, expose them to the hot sun three or four days in May or June; and by that means the ill colour will be much drawn off, and the painting appear more fresh and beautiful: if this be done annually, it will preserve them wonderfully.

Pallet (with painters)

PALLET [with painters] is a little oval table of wood or ivory, very thin and smooth; on and around which the painters place the several colours they have occasion for, ready for the pencil.

The middle serves to mix the colours on, and to make the teints requir’d in the work. It has no handle, but instead thereof, a hole at one end to put the thumb thro’, to hold it by.