Barrow 1735/I

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

John Barrow, a mathematics teacher, is commonly cited as the author or editor of a two-volume encyclopaedic manual for artists published in London in 1735, although – so far as we know – his name does not actually appear in the book. The manual also contains an entry on fresco painting, which, however, is largely taken from The Builder’s Dictionary, issued by the same publishers a year earlier.

Distemper

DISTEMPER in painting, is a term us’d for the working up of colours with something else besides water or oil.

If the colours are prepar’d with water, that kind of painting is call’d limning, and if with oil it is call’d painting in oil, and simply painting.

If the colours are mixt with size, whites of eggs or any such proper glutinous or unctuous substance, and not with oil, they then say it is done in Distemper, as the admirable cartoons at Hampton-Court are.

DISTEMPER. The painting in Distemper.

Before a Fleming nam’d John Van Eyck, but better known by the name of John of Bruges, found out the art of painting in oil, all painters work’d in nothing but Fresco, Temper and Distemper, as it is commonly call’d, whether it were on walls or boards, or any where else.

When they painted on boards, they often pasted on some fine cloth with good paste to hinder them from parting; they then laid on a layer of white, after this they tempered their colours with water and paste, or rather water and yolks of eggs beat together with little fig-tree branches; the milk of which mixing with the eggs, with this mixture they painted their pictures.

All colours are proper in this sort of work, except the white of lime, which is never us’d but in fresco.

Azure and ultramarine must be us’d with a paste made of glove-skin or parchment, for the yolks of eggs will make the blue colours turn green; which they do not with paste nor gum, neither on walls nor boards.

If the work is on walls, care must be taken that they be dry: the painters must even lay on two layers of paste quite hot, before he applies the colours, which if he pleases, he may also temper with paste; for that composition of eggs and the fig-tree branches, is only to touch the work over again the more conveniently; and that he might not be oblig’d to use fire, which is necessary to keep the paste hot.

However, it is certain, that the colours with paste keep better.

And thus have all the designs or cartoons for tapestry been painted on paper. This paste, as has been said, is made of glove-skin or parchment.

When a painter would work upon cloth, he must chuse that which is old, half us’d and very smooth; then press pounded plaister with glove-skin paste, and lay it over and when that composition is dry, put another layer of the same paste over it.

All the colours are pounded with water, each by itself, and as the painter wants them for his work, he tempers them with paste-water; or if he will only make use of the yolks of eggs, he takes water to which he puts one glass of vinegar to the same quantity of water, the yolk, white and shell of an egg, with some ends of fig-tree branches, cut into small pieces, and beats them well together in an earthen pan.

If he would varnish the picture when ‘tis finish’d, he need only rub it with the white of an egg well beaten, and then put one layer of varnish over it; but this is seldom done, unless it is to preserve it from water, for the greatest disadvantage of Distemper is that it has no glittering, and all its colours look dead; by which means they appear alike in all sorts of lights, which oil colours or colours in Distemper, when varnish’d do not.

Fresco

FRESCO. A method of painting or rather plastering on walls to endure the weather, and representing birds, beasts, herbs, fruits, &c. in relief.

It is perform’d on fresh plaster, or on a wall laid with mortar, not yet dry, and with water colours.

This sort of painting has a great advantage by its incorporating with the moisture, and drying along with it, it is rendred extreme durable, and never fails or falls, but along with it.

As to the method of this painting, it is as follows.

The plaster must be made of well wash’d lime, mixt with fine powder of old rubbish stones; the lime must be so often wash’d, till all its salt is abstracted, and all the work must be done in clear dry weather; or it may be mixt well with well burnt flints.

And in order to render the plaster more durable, they strike into the joints of the brick or stone walls, stumps of horse nails at about six inches distance from each other, to prevent the plaster from peeling off.

With this plaster the wall is first to be plastered a good thickness, and left some time to dry; the design and colours being first ready prepar’d.

This painting is chiefly perform’d on walls and vaults, newly plastered with lime and sand; but plaster must only be laid in proportion as the painting goes on, no more being to be done at once than the painter can dispatch in a day, while it is moist.

Before the painting is begun, there is usually a cartoon or design made of paper to be calk’d and transferr’d to the wall, about half an hour after the plaster has been laid on.

The colour being prepar’d and mingled, the wall is to be plastered over again the second time about the thickness of a half crown; but only so much as you intend presently to work upon, and while it is wet, you must work the colours therein, which will mix and incorporate with the plaster, so as never to wash out.

The painting must be, for the work to come out in all its beauty, wrought quick, and with a free hand, for there can be no mending or alteration after the first painting, and therefore make your colour high enough at first; yet you may deepen, but not easily lighten.

Nor must they ever be retouch’d dry, with colours mixt up with the white of an egg or size or gum, as some workmen do, by reason that such colours grow blackish; nor do any preserve themselves, but such as were laid on hastily at first.

In this painting all the compound and artificial colours, and almost all the minerals are set aside, and scarce any thing us’d but earths; which are capable of preserving their colour, defending it from the burning of the lime, and resisting its salt, which Vitruvius calls its bitterness.

The colours us’d are white made of lime slak’d long ago, and white marble dust, oker both red and yellow, violet, redverditer [sic!], lapis lazuli, black, Spanish brown, Spanish white, &c. all which are only ground and work’d up with lime-water, milk or whey, and most of them grow brighter and brighter as the Fresco dries.

The brushes and pencils for this work, must be long and soft, or else they will rake and raze the painting.

The colours must be full and flowing from the brush; the design perfect in the image or paper copy, for in this work you cannot alter or add upon any colour.

This sort of painting has a great advantage, by its incorporating with the mortar, and drying along with it, it is rendred extremely durable, and never fails nor falls, but along with it. The ancients painted on stuck, and it is worthy observation in Vitruvius, what infinite care they took in making the incrustation or plastering of their buildings, to render them durable and beautiful.

Though the modern painters find a plaster made of lime and sand, preferable to stuck, both because it does not dry too fast, and as being a little brownish, it is fitter to lay colours on, than a ground so white as stuck.

This kind of painting was the ancient Grecian way of painting, and afterwards was much us’d by the Romans.

Plutarch informs us, that Aratas the great commander under Ptolemy King of Egypt (in a compliment to the Emperor’s affections that way) forbore to sack a wealthy city, merely for the excellency of the Fresco painting upon the walls of the houses.

There have been several whole towns of this work in Germany, excellently well done; but now ruin’d by the wars.

At Rome there are three chambers (in the Popes palace) of Fresco done by Raphael Urbin, and Julio Romano (his disciple) who finish’d his master’s work; which is yet call’d Raphael’s design.

There are other places done by Andrea del Sexto or Sarto and Michael Angelo, and some other artists.

There is also an excellent Fresco work at Fontainbleau in France. It is the continued travels of Ulysses in sixty pieces, done by Bolleme Martin Rouse, a Florentine and others.

The colours used in Fresco.

White is made of old lime and white marble dust, near as much of the one as the other; sometimes a fourth part of the white marble dust will do, which depends on the quality of the lime, and is found but only in practice.

If there be too much marble the white will grow blackish.

Ooker, a brownish-red is a natural earth.

Oker yellow is a natural earth, which turns red by burning.

Yellow-dark or ruth oker is also a natural and slimy earth, and is taken up in the water in iron-mines; when it is calcin’d, it takes a fine colour.

Yellow of Naples, is a kind of slime which gathers about sulphur mines, and though it is made use of in Fresco, it is not of so good a colour, as that which is made of earth or yellow oker with white.

Red-oker is a natural earth found in England, and serves instead of lake.

The ancients had a colour which is now lost, it was as lively as lake; for in Titus’s baths at Rome, there is a chamber, where there still remains in the ceiling some ornamental works in stuck, inrich’d with bands of gold azure and a red, which seem to be lake.

Earth-green of Verona in Lombardy, is a natural earth hard and dark.

Earth-green, another that is lighter.

Lapis lazuli is a very hard stone, and difficult to be prepar’d; ‘tis calcin’d in the fire, then pounded very small in a mortar, mixt with wax and rosin, of which a fort of paste is made, which is moulded and wash’d in clean water, what comes out first is best; and its beauty diminishes till it is reduce’d to a gravel like lees. This colour subsists and keeps better than any other. It is to be tempered on the pallet, when us’d with oil and not ground. But this being very dear may be spared in Fresco, where amel has the same effect, especially in ceilings.

Amel is a blue colour, has a little body; ‘tis us’d in great landscapes; it must be calcinated in an iron-box, to make it the more brown and beautiful.

Earth of Cologne is a russet-black, apt to turn red.

There is another earth of Germany, which is a natural earth with a bluish cast, like the black of a coal; printers make use of this black.

There is another black us’d, made of the lees of burnt wine, which the Italians call fescia da Botta.

These are the best colours for painting in Fresco.

All those that are natural earths are good; they are ground and tempered with water.

Before the painter sets to work, he prepares all the chief teints, and puts them into separate earthen pots.

It must be observ’d, that all the colours brighten as they grow dry, except red-varnish which the Italians call pavonazzo; the brownish red-oker, ruth-oker, and the blacks, particularly those that pass through the fire.

The painters generally try their colours on a dry smooth tile; for the tile presently imbibing all that is moist in them, and drying them, they see by it, what effect they will have when us’d.