Historical Painting Techniques, Materials, and Studio Practice

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5). There are many such examples of scraped down paint that have not been entirely painted over (i.e., Cicely Alexander) and there must be even more that are no longer visible. Although tiresome for the sitter, this approach was essential to the artist. The harmony would not survive if the pigments were not all mixed in a single operation on the same palette. His paint is essentially opaque with little or no deliberate glazing. Discolored glazes would also destroy the harmony. Therefore, as a rule, all his transparent pigments were mixed with opaque. A further constraint in the studio is described by Walter Sickert (8): Figure 5. Detail from Cicely Alexander, showing areas scraped down to the canvas. Whistler was a great portrait painter, and prided himself on the precision oj his portraiture. Whistler also had extensive knowledge, and knew that the eye could only see at a glance an object which in size is one-third oj the distance between the eye and that object. In other words, if you are painting a man six Jeet high you should be 18 Jeet away Jrom him. Whistler had a very long studio, and he was accustomed to place his model against a black velvet background, and alongside his model he placed his canvas. His painting table was 18 Jeet away. He would stand at the painting table, carifully survey the model, then charging his brush with the requisite pigment he ran at Ju ll tilt up to the canvas and dropped it on the spot. This unlikely scenario is consistent with the small scale of much of his work and the flatness of the space around and behind his models. In his nocturnes, Whistler's paint was extremely dilute. He mixed his oil paint with large amounts of turpentine and also added mastic varnish to produce a paint that could be brushed freely and did not dry too matte. He called it his "sauce" and analyses at the Institute for Atomic and Molecular Physics in Amsterdam confirm its formulation from mastic and a drying oil. In his later work he may have used newly available petroleum oil, as recommended to him by Sickert in 1885. In portraits such as Arrangement in Yellow and Grey: Effi e Deans (1876-1878), he has allowed paint to run down the canvas, indicating just how diluted it was. His nocturnes were painted quite quickly (in a day) with minor modifications the next day, as Whistler freely admitted in his libel trial with Ruskin. The dark passages were first brushed in umber and black, or were simply the part of the imprimatura left exposed. Then a layer of "sauce" was applied using a large brush to scumble over the shadows and develop the lighter parts. The color and tone were controlled mainly by the thickness of application. The paint was worked wet-in-wet, scraped, rubbed, and even dragged across the wet surface, as in the reflections in Nocturne: Blue and Silver (1872) (Plate 38). Finally, details such as highlights were applied, after which the nocturne was put outside to dry in the sun. When it was dry, perhaps the next day, fu rther details could be applied, preferably from the same palette, but reworking was not possible at this stage. Condition and changes with time Changes in appearance have occurred on many of his works and, despite his frequent scraping down, minor adjustments to compositions-such as the positions of arms and feet-are now evident. Most significantly, many works have become darker and cooler as the thin paint has increased in transparency over the dark ground. Similarly, the small sketches with medium-toned grounds have lost contrast in the mid-tones. His earlier, more decoratively colorful work on light grounds or thickly painted work, although flawed in detail, has preserved its appearance much better and is more readily appreciated. The darkness of much of Whistler's later work is due, in part, to changes resulting from dark grounds and also possibly from the darkening of medium, but to some extent the effect was intended. Whistler appears to have always varnished his work and now many of his varnishes are excessively darkened and yellowed. In particular the discolora- Hackney 189
tion of varnish has dramatically affected the cool tones of nocturnes and some portrait backgrounds. Acknowledgments This research has been a collaboration between the author and Dr. Joyce Townsend, who also carried out all the pigment analysis and investigated the media. Medium analysis was also carried out by the Institute fo r Atomic and Molecular Physics, Amsterdam. The author expresses his gratitude to Prof. Jaap Boon and Jos Pureveen fo r this work. Appreciation is also extended to the Hunterian Art Gallery, Glasgow, and to the National Gallery of Art, Wa shington, fo r allowing access to their collections; and to colleagues at the Tate GaLlery. Notes 1. McLaren Young, A., M. F MacDonald, and R. Spencer, with the assistance of A. Miles. 1990. The Pailltings oj james McNeill Whistler. New Haven and London. 2. Dorment, R., and M. MacDonald. 1994. james McNeill Whistler. Exhibition catalogue. London: Tate Gallery. 3. Hackney, S. 1994. Colour and tone in Whistler's nocturnes and harmonies. TIle Burlington Magazine. Vol. CXXXVI, (1099): 695-99. 4. Pennell, E. R.., and J. Pennell. 1911. The Life oj james McNeill Whistler. 5th rev. ed. London: Heinemann, 113-17. 5. Townsend, J. H. 1994. Whistler's oil painting materials. The Burlington Magazine. Vol. CXXXVI (1099):690-95. 6. Pennell, op. cit., 375-78. 7. Menpes, M. 1904. Whistler as I Knew Him. London: Adam and Charles Black, 69- 71. 8. Sickert, W. 1930. Walter Sickert's class: methods of instruction. Manchester Guardian, 31 November. 190 Historical Painting Techniques, Materials, and Studio Practice
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Historical Painting Techniques, Mat
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Contents vii viii Foreword Preface
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Foreword One of the first events or
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The discussions in this volume pres
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Plate 2a, above right. Attributed t
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Plate 4a, above. Jacques Louis Da
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Plate 7a, above. Valerio Mariana da
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Plate 9. Marco Palmezzano, Mystic M
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Plate 13, right. Surya in his Chari
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Plate 16. The Fifth King of Shambha
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Plate 20. Cross section oj Sample 3
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Plate 26, top. Titian, Venus and Ad
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Plate 29. Cross sections of the St.
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Plate 33. Paul Delaroehe, The Execu
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Plate 35, right. Detail Jrom the lo
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Abstract This paper argues for an i
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we find a description of the affini
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2. A Practical Treatise on Painting
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knowledge and understanding of the
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Table 1. Scientific methods used Jo
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the painting together, share backgr
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y distance with "the aid of the air
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ected, shadows would appear matte a
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The differences in saturation, clea
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19. White, R. Personal communicatio
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occupation agreable pour charmer l'
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DE PEJN'FURE PRATIQUE. Par demit::
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In spite of the laments of certain
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While cooking their eggs, two young
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some used for painting (i.e., amber
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ange of artists' materials, books o
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Figure 3. Personal account book, 18
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paper resulted in a volume of corre
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4. HKI MS 865-1993, 497. The move i
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[1] How to make a gold ground. Take
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into a glass, and put in a bit of w
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[37] To make crude verzino for writ
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it on what you are working, with a
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28. On these "clothlet colors," see
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it also includes instructions fo r
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Ricordi di belli colori Initially i
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Figure 4. Gherardo Cibo, "Fusaina [
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The treatise is typical for the lat
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Filza CXLIII, fols. 1122r, 1125v, 1
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that is, plaster of Paris, which ha
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100 80 60 40 a 3500 30.00 2500 2000
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process described by Cennini for ge
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Abstract The frequent use of verdig
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strating that spreading this glaze
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10. Thompson, op. cit., 61. 11. Ber
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Tingry, in 1830, gives a recipe for
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elonged to William Mallord Turner (
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500 450 As Ph As 400 350 Fe Co 300
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19. Merrifield, op. cit., 745-6. 20
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Table 1. Tibetan color names, trans
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J Figure 3. Three-dimensional spect
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Figure 5. Detail IR-reflectogram fr
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Abstract Icons preserved in the Nil
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I )--------------------------1 I i
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The understanding of an icon and it
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Abstract As part of a five-year sys
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later transferred to an artificial
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Winchester Cathedral Holy Sepulchre
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Gilding. Gold leaf was applied for
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Winchester Cathedral Holy Sepulchre
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scanning electron microscopy I ener
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Notes 1. Park, D. 1983. The wall pa
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Abstract It is rare for ancient ext
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Sa. Location : Salisbury west front
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sheltered eye on the southernmost c
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Abstract Extensive examination of A
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create surface gloss and could be v
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Figure 3. Andrea Mantegl1a, The Pre
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Abstract In September 1992 the J Pa
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arrow in Adonis's right hand ends a
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For the early works are executed wi
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J Figure 3. Fluorescence spectrul1'
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This property was deliberately used
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Abstract The St. Anne Altarpiece (N
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Figure 3. Infrared reJlectogram ass
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Figure 5. Irifrared niflectogram as
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followed by modeling layers and gla
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Abstract Based on extensive informa
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o . (Vv..-.< 1 2. underdrawing, and
Page 172 and 173: The key position of Lamentation in
Page 174 and 175: Figure 1. Workshop of Jan Bruegel,
Page 176 and 177: Figure 3. Camelis Vroom, Landscape
Page 178 and 179: Figure 5. Infrared photograph of Es
Page 180 and 181: at the beginning of the seventeenth
Page 182 and 183: artist like Vermeer had to use all
Page 184 and 185: Figure 1. Perspective drawing of Ve
Page 186 and 187: Hague, 1996). The author is also gr
Page 188 and 189: Abstract The paper presents some re
Page 190 and 191: Summary We can conclude after this
Page 192 and 193: the product, a salesman motivated b
Page 194 and 195: complaints, have been strictly adhe
Page 196 and 197: F(gure 8. Illfrared rriflectograph
Page 198 and 199: 13. Hunt, W. H. 1905-1 906. Pre-Rap
Page 200 and 201: Figure 1. The Execution of Lady Jan
Page 202 and 203: Figure 3. The Execution of Lady Jan
Page 204 and 205: Figure 5. Detail of Lady Jal1e Grey
Page 206 and 207: Figure 6. Paul Delaroche, The Execu
Page 208 and 209: 38. Merimee,J.-F.-L. 1830. De la pe
Page 210 and 211: F(gure 1. J. M. W. Turner, Goring M
Page 212 and 213: Figl/re 3. Detail if lower left, s/
Page 214 and 215: Figure 5. J. M. W. Tumer's The Dawn
Page 216 and 217: TabLe 1. Dates of manufa cture of i
Page 218 and 219: Kennedy of the Ulster Museum, Viola
Page 220 and 221: Figure 2. James Whistler, Nocturne
Page 224 and 225: Abstract This paper discusses aspec
Page 226 and 227: 1960s in North America. Requiring b
Page 228 and 229: 2. Eder, ]. M. 1945. History of Pho
Page 230 and 231: Figure 1. Jan Baptiste Collaert, Co
Page 232 and 233: sudden increase in the dimensions o
Page 234 and 235: lacks. Passages painted with mixtur
Page 236 and 237: 8. It is not clear when people firs
Page 238 and 239: Errata for Historical Painting Tech
Page 240: PAGE 159 Figure 2. Image source: Pe
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