Historical Painting Techniques, Materials, and Studio Practice

paintings techniques of the past masters, rather than the faddish disregard for
tradition prevalent among his contemporaries.
Conclusion
In seeking reform, Hunt sought not to stop the wheels of progress but to
channel them. His advocacy for the rights of the consumers in a time of
rampant laissez-faire capitalism had ramifications throughout his century and
our own, contributing directly to the enactment of regulations governing the
safety of commercial goods and legislation regarding truth in advertising. His
sophisticated understanding of the science of painting, in spite of limited
formal schooling, and the impact of environment in the preservation of art
place him as a key figure in the development in the professions of art conservation
and museology. His understanding of historic painting techniques,
well advanced fo r his day as well as our own, generated a revival of the craft
of painting after a generation notorious for technical inadequacies. Too often
he has been dismissed by art historians as a minor painter of deeply tasteless
religious scenes. His contribution to nineteenth-century British painting and
to the current stability of commercial artists' materials must not be underestimated.
Acknowledgments
The author wishes to thank Kate Olivier (Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University)
for having encouraged the undertaking of this research; Jacqueline Ridge (National
Museums and Galleries on Merseyside, Liverpool), Zahira Veliz (private practice, London),
and David Bomford (National Gallery, London) fo r facilitating research in Britain;Judith
Bronkhurst (Witt Library, Courtauld Institute, London) and Leslie Carlyle
(Canadian Conservation Institute, Ottawa) for their valuable insights into nineteenthcentury
British art and techniques; and the staff of the following institutions fo r
generous access to curatorial and conservation files pertaining to William Holman
Hunt: Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartfo
rd, Connecticut; Tate Gallery, London; Courtauld Institute of Art, London; Guildhall
Art Gallery, London; Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool; Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port
Sunlight; Manchester City Art Galleries, Manchester; Birmingham Museums and Art
Gallery, Birmingham; and the Roberson Archives, Hamilton Kerr Institute, Cambridge
University, Cambridge.
Notes
1. Harley, R. D. 1970. Artists' Pigments c. 1600-1835: A Study in English Documentary
Sources. London: Butterworth Scientific. Also, Gettens, R., and G. Stout, 1966.
Painting Materials: A Short Encyclopaedia. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.
2. Bomford, D., et al. 1990. Art in the Making: Impressionism. London: The National
Gallery.
3. Standage, H. C.,1886. The Artists' Manual of Pigments showing their Composition:
Conditions of Permanency, Non-Permanency, and Adulterations; Effects in Combination
with Each Other and with Vehicles; and the Most Reliable Tests of Purity . .. . London:
Crosby, Lockwood & Co.
4. Standage, op. cit., 53-54.
5. A Pre-Raphaelite Friendship: The Correspondence of William Holman Hunt and John
Lucas Tupper, no. 114 (11 August 1875). 1986. Eds. J. H. Coombs, et al. Ann
Arbor, Michigan: UMI Research Press, 20l.
6. Hunt, W H. 1880. The Present System of Obtaining Materials In Use By Artist
Painters, As Compared With That of the Old Masters. Journal of the Society of
Arts 28 (23 April 1880), 492.
7. Hunt, op. cit, 492.
8. Ibid., 493.
9. Ibid.
10. Hamerton, P. G. 1875. Technical Notes-W Holman Hunt, an interview with
the artist. The Porifolio: An Artistic Periodical VI (1):45.
11. Original paint extends over onto the tacking margins of the lining canvas and
the gummed tape edging the lining of the Birmingham Finding of the Saviour in
the Temple. Conservation files, Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery.
12. Hamerton, op. cit., 45.
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