Pintura Em Tempera

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PAPERS OF THE SOCIETYOF PAINTERS IN TEMPERA

Vol. I 1901-1907 SECOND EDITION

REVISED & BROUGHT UP TO DATE WITH APPENDIXBy the Society of

MURAL DECORATORS AND PAINTERS IN TEMPERA1928

Edited byM. Sargant-Florence

Hon. Secretaries to the Society:M. Lanchester, Chelwood Gate, East Grinstead

Harry Morley, 4 Pembroke Road W.8.

PRINTED FOR THE SOCIETY BYTHE DOLPHIN PRESS, BRIGHTON

1928


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PREFACE

The conditions under which the following papers were written are well known to allmembers of the Society, but it may nevertheless be well to add a word of explanationfor other readers. Since the foundation of the Society in 1901 meetings have, from timeto time, been held and papers read in pursuance of the declared object of the Society"Improvement in the art of tempera painting by the interchange of the knowledge and

experience of the members." There was no thought of printing the papers at the timewhen most of them were written; but they were at first circulated in manuscript. Theyare now given in practically the same form in which they were read to the Society. Noattempt has been made to harmonise the conflicting opinions expressed by differentwriters. It was essential to the vitality and usefulness of the Society that each membershould be willing to communicate to the others the results of personal observation andexperience, and to do this promptly, not waiting for a final verification of observations orthe crystallisation of opinions into definite convictions.

J.D.B & S.L.Hon Secs., 1907


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INTRODUCTION

If these little records of actual experience and practice in the technique of somewhat disusedmethods of painting and decorative work should fall into the hands of any whom this formerly mostimportant part of the wide domain of art is now forgotten and unknown, they should not think thatthere is any claim that a few fragmentary papers represent all, or a tithe of all that might begathered together about this group of subjects.It is somewhat remarkable that at the present time when the intimate and the personal arerecognised and appreciated in art, as they have not at least been (consciously) recognised andappreciated before there is so little recorded of individual practice in actual craftsmanship. Unlesswe should have to conclude that craftsmanship does not exist this is a pity, and our little Society,

feeling that it would be helpful and stimulating to the attainment of greater excellence in themanagement of the material art, decided to give a permanent form to the occasional papers ontheir own methods which have been contributed by its members and read at its meetings.Grounds and pigments and mediums have been called the cookery of painting, but after all nopainting can exist without them.If a finely cooked dinner could remain and give not only one hour's pleasure but continuouspleasure for even a year, let alone a hundred or more years, it might be worth while cooking it.Possibly a more apt illustration may be drawn from a comparison between the materialfoundations of painting and of music. Painting is a s dependent on a beautiful quality of finishedpainted substance, as music is on, say, a fine toned violin, and the paint is an inherent andpermanent part of the picture on which the picture depends for its very existence.We very much wish that this action of our Society might be followed by others, and that something

like the priceless treasure of the old Guild "secrets" might again be within reach of those who carefor such things.These secrets were very largely records of efforts to gain "quality"; sometimes of knowledge howto secure the subtle and elusive beauty of texture we call by this name. Whatever its nature onething is certain, namely, that in decorative art which claims to offer objects for admiration, or tomake them pleasanter to look at no one will compass this particular beauty who does not love thematerial employed even in its limitations, using it as a friend and a guide, handling it with bothrespect and admiration.Christiana J. Herringham


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FOREWORD TO THE SECOND EDITION

That a sufficient demand has been made to justify a reprint of the original papers of theSociety of Painters in Tempera, is proof of the reviving interest taken in the study and

practice of the methods and in the media of the craft of painting.The papers in this second edition of Vol. I, have, for the most part, been carefullyrevised by their respective authors and, where found necessary, brought up to date.These additional contributions are either embodied in the article themselves, treated asfoot-notes, or collected in an appendix to this new issue.The result of this revision is to emphasise the keynote of our Societys activities incalling the attention of the painter to the essential need of a practical knowledge of themedia he employs, whether of pigments, grounds, or backings to his work, and to theirinevitable interrelation.It is to the insistence on the need for this recognition of craftsmanship, admirablysummarised by C. J. Herringham in her introduction to the first edition as thefoundation stones ofqualityin the painters craft, that the energies of our Society have

been so faithfully devoted, and the varied experience of its members, alreadyextending over a quarter of a century, only continues to confirm the original intention ofthe founders.Experiments carried out in many branches of the painters craft expose the fallacy of, inactual practice, treating quality in texture as a negligible factor in the general results, orat most as a finalpolish and not as the final wordof a work which, from its foundationsupwards, should be conditioned by the nature of the materials in which it findsexpression. This intimate correlation between the parts and the whole, thoughrecognised in the practice of the past would appear nowadays to be regarded as non-essential, if not absolutely deleterious, to the aesthetic value and even to the inspirationof a painting. The habit of thinking exclusively in terms of a solid covering, such forinstance as oil-paint, has tended to destroy the recognition of importance in what liesbeneath that surface, and the essential part it plays in determining results. Thus, whilstthe painter is preoccupied with the problem incidental to laying on his pigments theadded burden is placed upon his shoulders, of bringing into sympathetic co-operationfactors which have not been considered in relation to one another, and texture hascome to be regarded, not as the natural outcome of such happy co-operation but ratheras a desirable beauty to be imposed wherever possible. A point of view peculiarlydisastrous in surface covering of a decorative nature.It was by careful consideration of the material requirements between the backing, theground and the nature of their pigments that the craftsman of the past becamemasters, endowing their works with durability and the gift of mellowing with age.The painters medium in itself is but a skin-deep vehicle for the expression of

sensations that are profound, hence the surface and the manner of its treatmentbecome in truth vital in the art of conveying the desired impressions. Unison of thecraftsman with his medium strengthens the hand of the one and develops the qualitiesof the other and the former is emboldened to fresh ventures in company with the latter,conveying the spectator with him into suggestive and unexpected byeways of beauty.Given these conditions the material reveals new beauties in the quality of its texture,due to modifications in the relations to one another of the rays of light reflected backfrom the surface; similarly as in the realm of music it is the manner of handling aninstrument which, by its effect on the partial tones, makes or mars the quality of timbreof its notes. Substitute the word timbre for the homely word texture and at once theaesthetic significance of its function in painting becomes apparent, and the Cinderellaof modern painters will be given her true role. To know how to evoke and control such

effects is the reward of patient study and experiment on the part of the craftsman, andsuch experiences should be regarded, not as menial drudgery incompatible with the


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higher walks of art, but as themselves, the flowery paths that lead to the joy ofconsummation.

M. S-F

CONTENTS

Grounds suitable for painting in Tempera: J.E. Southall...Venetian Tempera: Roger E. Fry...A Method of Gilding: L. Agnes Talbot...Wall Painting with Size: Reginald Hallward...Methods of Tempera: Christiana J. Herringham...

Editors Note...Preparation of Walls for Tempera Painting: J. Cooke...Fibrous Plaster Grounds: L.M. Turner...Yolk of Egg Tempera: R. Spencer Stanhope...On Gilding on Vellum: Philip Mortimer...Author's Note, 1928...Notes on White Pigments: J.D. Batten...Note on Vermilion: J.D. Batten...Fresco Painting: M. Sargant-Florence...The Painter - Mediaeval and Modern: J.E. Southall...Priming a Canvas for Tempera Painting: J.D. Batten...

Madresfield Court Chapel: Henry A. Payne...

APPENDIX

Replies to R.E. Fry's Paper on Venetian Tempera; by

J.E. Southall...M. Lanchester...Note by Harry Morley...M.Sargant-Florence...

Gesso duro Recipe: M.Sargant-Florence...


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GROUNDS SUITABLE FORPAINTING IN TEMPERAA paper read before the Society ofTempera Painters at Leighton House

By J. E. Southall

May 20, 1901

PAINTING IN TEMPERA

The idea of painting in Tempera was first suggested to me by the following passage inRuskin's St. Mark's Rest, together with the study of the picture to which it refers, viz.,Carpaccio's "Two Venetian Ladies," in the Correr Museum. Ruskin says: "It is in

tempera, however, not oil: and I must note in passing that many of the qualities which Ihave been in the habit of praising in Tintoret and Carpaccio, as consummateachievements in oil-painting are, as I have found lately, either in tempera altogether ortempera with oil above. And I am disposed to think that ultimately tempera will be foundthe proper material for the greater number of most delightful subjects.It was very soon after my return from Italy in the spring of 1883 that I began my firstblundering experiments in tempera, with only Eastlake's Materials for a History of Oil-Paintingas a guide, and I had so little idea of what was suitable for a ground that Iactually began upon the panel of a door painted in the ordinary house-painters' mannerwith cream-coloured oil paint. There was, I think, something appropriate in the subject,which was a sketch of some fowls in a field. I then painted two small full-length portraitson the two lower panels of the same door, and in these there was a marked tendencyto crack and peel off in those parts where most colour and medium were laid. The onlywonder is that any of the tempera stayed on, but I had to apply varnish [copal] prettyquickly to keep the defective parts from coming entirely away.After this I ventured upon a subject of four half-length portraits, nearly life-size, forwhich I bought an ordinary canvas primed for oil-painting, doubtless with white-lead inoil. Needless to say this caused me endless trouble - the paint peeling off in adistressed manner - a development considerably increased by my having mixed yolkand white of egg together, instead of using yolk only as my tempera; but I submitnevertheless that considering the large proportions of oil in the egg it is rather singularthat it should be necessary to guard so jealously against any oil or grease in the gesso.Of this necessity, however, there seems to be no room for doubt, though of course it

may be possible to make tempera adhere to oil-paint by some make-shift device,{Footnote....Rubbing over the oil-paint with an onion} such as that attributed toVandyck.

As I had as yet no copy of Cennino's Treatise I next tried a ground of white leadtempered with egg-yolk, laid in two or three coats on a mahogany panel. This workedwell, and though it has cracked to some extent (with fine small cracks only), it remainsafter seventeen years in a very fair state of preservation, and has not changed at allsince the application of a second coat of copal varnish some five or six years ago. Itwas varnished soon after completion, probably within two months. The transparentlypainted parts of this little picture have not perceptibly changed, {Footnote - Thisremains quite true 43 years after the painting was done. The white lead has darkened a

little more in places but this may be owing to lead in the varnish} and I believe thereason of the slight darkening in the more solid parts is that they were more absorbent


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and consequently the first coat of varnish did not form a sufficient protection. There isno need to dwell on this point, but it interests me because it tends to show that whitelead is not, so to speak, as black as it is painted. It will be said, perhaps, that this onlyapplies to varnished works - but there is another reason for thinking that white lead inyolk of egg may be permanent. I used it pretty freely in wall painting about the samedate (1884), and in this case no varnish of any kind was ever applied and yet the whiteremains good. One of these wall paintings was in a country house, however, where nogas was used.This is a suitable place for a word or two about the most fascinating - to my thinking - ofall grounds, a plastered wall. It is now-a-days so common for artists to work walldecorations on canvas in their own studios that the jolly old days of scaffolding andcartoons seem very far away. I doubt if the new way of working can ever equal the old.Vastly convenient it is no doubt, and safer too when one considers the difficulty ofgetting honest builders and sound workmanship, and the consequent suspicion as tothe durability of the plaster, but the work done on the spot must be better suited to itsplace, and the charm of seeing it a part of the wall itself is not to be despised. Given agood tough durable plaster I do not see why a yolk of egg tempera wall-painting should

not be tried. Perhaps in London the soot would conquer it, but there is some smokeand there are some impurities in the air in Birmingham and yet a tempera frieze that Ihave at home is holding its own very well. The danger with wall-plaster is that if it is notvery thoroughly sized, and if too much tempera is used, the work will after a little timecrack and peel off; but I do not at all think this disaster will occur when reasonableprecautions are taken.The worst of it all is that people do not want their public buildings frescoed (with somefew exceptions), so that the opportunity of testing these things is very small. I havementioned plaster because my subject is "grounds suitable for tempera-painting," notgrounds available for it.From that time I have always used gesso or paper for tempera grounds. Of paper andcardboard I will say little - they are easy to work upon and I know of nothing against

them unless it is that paper always contains some moisture, which may lead to thegrowth of mould. I believe there are those who advocate zinc white as the best of allgrounds for tempera, but for my part I do not feel much confidence in it. {Footnote..Alittle zinc white either washed over the gesso thinly, or used in the underpainting is tobe recommended, for where oxide of zinc is there fungus will not grow.} For ourordinary work, whether panel or canvas, what more do we desire than gesso! It isintensely white and has the enormous advantage of having successfully emerged fromthe test of time, the only thoroughly exhaustive test. The first requisite in a ground fortempera is surely that it should have an intense power of reflecting light, and that thispower shall be permanent. Can we say that either white lead or zinc white are sure notto become less opaque in time? But this can with certainty be said of gesso, so far asthere is any certainty in such matters. The only objection is the possible failure of the

size necessary to bind the gesso, and this objection seems to me of doubtful validity,even when allowance is made for our damp climate. I think a modern French writer hassaid that though the words of Van Eyck have lasted very well on gesso up till our time,yet the ground may not last much longer, and that we ought to consider what a muchbrighter future prospect these pictures would have before them if they had beenpainted on a more permanent ground. Well it may be conceded that a good pictureought to last 1,000 years, but I confess that the pessimism which grieves over a workstill in good condition at the end of four centuries and a half is a little too gloomy for mytaste.I shall therefore assume that gesso is the orthodox and standard material for ourgrounds, which, however, leaves many questions to be decided, such as the materialon which to lay the ground, that is whether canvas or panel; and ifon panel, what wood is to be used and whether strips of linen are to be glued over it ornot; and whether the gesso is to be grosso orsottile.


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Then the amount of size has to be settled, the smoothness of finish, and finally whetheror no gold leaf is to be applied to the complete ground. Most, if not all, of thesequestions are dealt with in Cennino's Treatise with MrsHerringham's annotations, but she seems to advise the use of gesso grosso, whereas Ihave never attempted anything but gesso sottile - that is to sayI have always slaked my plaster of Paris, keeping it in water for a month, and have thenapplied six or eight coats to the linen or the panel, mixed of course with parchment size- following the directions briefly given in chapter 118 of the Treatise.On linen I have occasionally for oil painting used a thin ground made of two fairly stiffcoats of gesso laid on with a strong hog-bristle brush - which would, however, besuitable I imagine for tempera-painting in body colour.I now use for any picture that cannot be painted on one piece of wood, a pieceof Langdale linen, homespun and hand-woven, on a wedged frame, coated with abouteight coats of gesso, following after two washes of size on the linen - and backed withone or two coats on the wrong side. The linen being of a rather open texture, beads ofgesso make their way through to the back from the first coating on the face, and thewhole becomes as it were riveted together, these being joined while wet with the coat

of gesso on the back. Thus the ground can hardly come away from the linen with anyordinary fair treatment. I like to have the surface rubbed down to a very smooth finishand then washed with one or two coats of thin size. The advantage of a canvas ispartly its lightness as compared with a large panel, and partly the avoidance of thedanger arising from joints in the wood. There is no need to dwell on the variousmethods which have been adopted (often futile) to cover these joints, but I may saythat where a panel is used I do like to have strips of linen glued to the wood before thegesso is laid on. It may be that these strips (laid of course across the grain of the wood)will not prevent the panel from cracking, but at least they have this advantage, that ifthe wood should decay, the fibrous threads of the linen would give toughness to theground, if ever it came to be removed from the panel.On panel the ground should certainly be finished smooth like ivory, and washed with

weak size to stop absorbency, which is important. If very strong glue has been usedwith the gesso this may perhaps be omitted. The glue should not be so strong as to bebrittle. There is no tendency so far as I know in any tempera pictures, old or new, topeel off on account of the hardness of the gesso - but there is very grave objections toa porous ground which needs to have its pores filled with egg. Yolk of egg does not dryat once into a firm solid, but while externally dry to the touch it seems to remain in ahalf-fluid conditioninternally, and particles of pigment locked up in it seem able to move their relativeposition to one another. As therefore with a porous ground more egg is required thanwith a hard one, this imperfect drying is most to be feared.I have known Chinese white to disappear, being presumably drawn downwards by itsown weight onto or into the ground, while the converse is the case with other pigments,

which come to the surface - or "bloom"; "blooming" of ultra-marine where it is laid onwith great depth being perhaps due to this cause. But I confess I speak only inconjecture as to how these things happen, while knowing only too well that they dohappen, and are veryserious. {Footnote..In painting ultramarine it is desirable to paintthe under coat, say green, and then go straight on with the blue say 2 or 3 days at theoutside then "blooming" will not occur}Where a great deal of zinc white is used throughout the work these troubles may notarise. There is a very interesting chapter on "Sinkings in oil-paint", inVibert's Science of Painting, a phenomenon which appears to be caused by the oil-medium sinking away from the particles of pigment - not from the pigment moving inthe medium.A word now about painting on gold grounds. For small pictures nothing seems to memore satisfactory than to cover the gesso ground with pure gold leaf laid on bole andburnished as described by Cennino. When the gold is burnished down it seems to be


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so firmly secured to the ground that there can be no danger of its coming off, but whennot burnished this danger does sometimes exist. The burnisher soon finds out anyplace where the gold leaf has not adhered to the bole. The chief difficulty with a goldground is the marking out upon it the outline of the work to be done. Also the gold is alittle slippery at first, and being entirely non-absorbent the colour dries much lessrapidly than on gesso, and care is needed not to work up the under-painting whenlaying one colour or wash of colour over another. A very light scratch will remove thecolour from the gold, especially while the painting is very new.But the richness and brilliancy of colour, either transparent or opaque, painted intempera on burnished gold, and the readiness with which deep tone is obtained,constitute advantages of a very high order. When to these we add the increasedprotection to the colour from below, arising from the incorruptible nature of gold, a greatcase is made out for the use of gold grounds. I have at home a small panel with afigure painted three years ago, on such a ground as I have just described; it has neverbeen framed, and its present condition is such as to give me every confidence inrecommending the use of gold-leaf.I have two panels painted in tempera on gold leaf and then varnished with shellac

varnish, in perfect condition after 27 years. They have never been under glass.


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VENETIAN TEMPERAA paper read by

Roger E. Fry

November 1, 1901

VENETIAN Tempera technique is perhaps more interesting than that of any otherschool. It presents many curious changes in method and some problems which are, Ibelieve, very difficult to solve satisfactorily. It is my hope that some of the members ofthis Society have got nearer to their solution than I myself can profess to have done. Iwill endeavour to state what have been to my mind the chief difficulties of arriving atany satisfactory and consecutive history of the Venetian method. It is unfortunatelydifficult to point to any picture in an English public gallery which exhibits fully the

earliest Venetian technique.To understand that one must look at the work of Jacopo Bellini or Michele Giambono. Ihave had recently under my observation for some weeks a picture which I believe tohave been by Jacobo Bellini, at all events it belonged to the epoch of Venetian paintingwhich is dominated by his genius and influence. But as I cannot expect you to know byheart any genuine work of this extremely rare painter, I may say that in general effecthis tempera comes extremely near to that of Pisanello, as seen in the "Conversion ofSt. Hubert" in the National Gallery. And as Jacopo Bellini, and all the Venetian paintersof this early period came directly under Pisanello's influence, this likeness is easily iseasily accounted for. In any case both Jacopo Bellini and Giambono, who resembleshim very closely, agree in using tempera with the utmost effect of richness andtransparency, a richness and transparency which are not usually associated with

tempera, and which come in fact nearer to the ordinary effects of oil medium, used notas it is now, but as it was used while the tempera tradition still maintained a highstandard of technical method and accomplishment.But this richness and depth are not the only peculiarity of this technique.The total absence of hatched strokes, the perfect fusion of tones, both in fleshand drapery, are rare and peculiar characteristics. The highlights of the fleshpresent indeed a remarkable and curious appearance. They have a minute cracklingwhich does not extend to the half tones and they were evidently washed on to the halftones in some manner which allowed of the edges being softened off imperceptibly, ascan easily be done in oil, but which is, as far as my experience goes, extremely difficultin tempera. In the landscape extraordinary effects of atmosphere and fusion areproduced. In the particular picture I refer to a peculiar difficult problem of atmosphericeffect was satisfactorily solved. Part of the landscape was seen through a bottle-glasswindow and the distortion and dimming of the forms was successfully accomplished.Now if we turn to later but still quite early Venetian painting - to the painting of Jacoposson, Giovanni Bellini, amongst his pictures and early works such as the "Blood of theRedeemer" in the National Gallery we shall find something left of this extraordinarypower of atmospheric fusion, but in the figures we find the fused tones of Jacopo'swork replaced by the hatched strokes which we are familiar with in most Italiantempera. In Jacopo Bellini's son-in-law, Mantegna, there is practically no fusion oftones and no atmospheric quality. While in Crivelli's work - and Crivelli was in closeconnection at one time with Bellini and Mantegna - the hatched stroke has become thesole means of modelling, and is used with an almost harsh and obvious effectiveness.

His tempera may be described as almost coarse, certainly as severely limited in itscapabilities of expression.


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When we reflect that throughout the whole of his life Giovanni Bellini was aiming atgetting the utmost richness and suavity into his quality, was aiming particularly at givingto objects their proper atmospheric development and fusion, it becomes difficult toanswer the question how it was that he did not inherit to the full his father's control ofthe medium, nor was ever able to make tempera do quite what he most wanted to do,and was consequently one of those who embraced with enthusiasm the new oiltechniques, and did in that surpass - so far as these particular qualities go - everythingthat had been previously accomplished by Italian art.Another problem which the history of Venetian tempera poses is this. We know thatVenetian and also Veronese artists - with whom these were closely united - were inconstant communication with the artists of South Germany.In particular one very early Venetian painter, Antonio da Murano (Vivarini), was formany years, 1440-1450, in partnership with a German, Giovanni Alamanno.Now long before this time the Cologne school had employed a fully developed oiltechnique, with complete fusion of tones, and the Venetians of Antonio daMurano's generation - that is the same as Jacopo Bellini's generation - were employingtempera to the utmost of its possibilities just in this direction, so that one may suppose

oil painting was introduced in Venice. I do not know of a single South German temperaof this time, and yet Venetian pictures are executed in pure tempera. These then arethe problems I wish to suggest:1. How did these early Venetians, Jacopo Bellini and Giambono, get the richness oftheir effects?2. How, in particular, did they get fused high lights in their flesh without hatching?3. Why did they never adopt German oil methods, which seemed so peculiarly suited totheir aims?4. Why did the second generation adopt the simpler, more ordinary hatched tempera,and yet take to oil as soon as Antonello da Messina introduced it?


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A Method of GILDING ON GESSOAdapted from that of CENNINOCENNINI

By L. Agnes Talbot

April 28, 1902

This is a plain account of one way ofGilding on Gesso adapted for picture frames,ornamental work, and specially for the use of Tempera painters, for it was used by theItalians as a rich and refined ground for colour, and also as a part of the picture. As itremains practically unchanged for centuries, it is fit to form a part of valuable work.This is how I should proceed to make a Gold Ground on a Panel. The Wood must befirst sized, and I make the Size as follows:To make Parchment Size. - The Parchment Shavings are cut into pieces and put tosoak in water throughout the night. In the morning measure them in a vessel notpressed down. Boil them in water (a double saucepan is best) until the smaller pieces

begin to dissolve and break. Then strain through muslin.One measure (measured after soaking, before boiling) should make 1.5 measures ofsize. If when you pour it off there is more than this, boil till it is reduced to the rightamount, if less, add water. This, I am aware is not an exact or satisfactory method ofmeasuring, and I should be very glad to know of a better. If one weighed theparchment dry in delicate Scales one could come nearer to accuracy, but even then thecontinual warming of the size, when in use, increases the strength, and one has to addwater, so that it becomes a rule-of-thumb business after all. This strength of the size israther important, because on it depends the hardness of the gesso: a too soft gessodoes not take burnish and is tiresome to manipulate, while on a too hard one the goldloses quality and has a glittery appearance.Sizing the Wood. - This is done in three coats, weakest first, drying thoroughly

between. Different woods take different amounts, but you will know when the panel hashad enough by the glitter of size on the surface when it is dry.After sizing make the surface perfectly smooth with sand paper and fill up any cracks orholes: a piece of linen or silk, glued over cracks is often useful.The Gesso. Take up some Slaked plaster and wring it in a cloth. I will give themethod of slaking later, but at present I will presume you have it ready.Cennino tells us we can let the lump of plaster dry, arid use it at any time, paring offshavings and soaking in water for re-wringing, or mixing direct with the size. It is well toknow this, but if it is possible to keep one's plaster in the water and wring out a freshsupply for each piece of work, so much the better. If it is used dry the size must beweaker, there being no water in the plaster. Heat a lump of size in a cup standing in asaucepan of boiling water. Take some of the wrung plaster, according to the size of thework put size to it and mix with the fingers or hand; no other tool does so well as thehand. (Footnote: 1 am certain that the only thoroughly reliable way of intimately mixingthe plaster and size is to rub them (after a rough mixing) through a piece of coarselinen or very strong thick muslin The best way is to tie it tight over a jar or basin and rubthe gesso through with a wooden spoon. C.J.H. Having made the gesso perfectlysmooth, free from bubbles and lumps and as thick as good cream, put on a very slightcoat and rub it in thoroughly with brush and fingers. If there is carving see that everycorner is moistened.Priming a Flat Surface. - In a few moments you may, if it is a flat surface you aregilding, lay with a large brush, or even pour on the panel, a considerable quantity ofgesso as evenly as possible pick up the panel while it is wet and shake it with a rapid

movement: it will be almost perfectly smooth.


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If a second coat is needed, wait till the first appears dull as you look along it, and thenlay the second in the same manner as the first. I like a thick gesso myself. I knowsome beautiful Italian work is done on ground as thin as a film almost, but the goldcannot have that pleasant beaten appearance which results from the use of theburnisher on an elastic substance like gesso.When the gesso is perfectly dry, which may not be for some days, rub it down with finesand-paper and after with a damp cloth until it is as even as ivory, and then burnishwith the agate.The Colour and Egg-Size. - The colour may be terre verte or Armenian boleTerre verte gives the cooler colour, bole the richer colour and higher burnish themethod is the same whichever you use.The way I grind the colour is as follows : - I beat the white of an egg to a very stiff froth,add a glass of water, beat the egg into the water and leave it to stand for the night. Inthe morning the froth will be found standing on the top : draw back the froth and takewhat lies immediately below it, being careful not to disturb the sediment. With this mixyour powder colour to a paste, and grind on marble with a muller, adding as much ofthe egg medium as is necessary.

It must be ground until it is of a perfect smoothness, and the time this takes variesconsiderably, according to the fineness of the colour. Four coats are usually necessary,the first one being weak enough to drop like water from the brush, the others strongerIn succession. Before laying the first coat the gesso must be moistened with a wetsponge or cloth, and the colour is then laid as evenly as possible.The Burnishing of the Colour is very important as the future burnish of the golddepends upon it. I rub well first with a large soft piece of silk, and then burnish verycompletely with an agate.The Gold. -The panel is now ready for the gold. The method of cutting and laying onthe gold is one that must be seen and practised, so I cannot say much about it. Themedium to use is that which I described for grinding the colour, mixed with an equalquantity of water. If the ground beneath is good and the surface of the colour well

burnished a good result in the gold is almost certain.Carved or Raised Work. - I now pass on to Carved or raised work. And hereI may say that deep or undercut carving is not suitable for this kind of gilding, whiledesigns in low relief or shallow carving are the most pleasant. Of course the process Islonger and more difficult. The design may be raised in three different ways at least. Itmay be dropped from the brush with gesso and then burnished, this way beingsuitable for low relief floral designs or it may be carved in the wood; or (this is usefulfor figure designs or others requiring delicate modelling) it may be begun by carvingand finished by modelling with the brush, and carving on the dry gesso. Lines may beraised with great ease by soaking a piece of string in size containing a little plaster, andlaying them in position on the wood, and when dry laying the gesso over them.On Modelled Surfaces the quick method I described for laying the gesso cannot be

used: it must be painted on in many coats, letting each be half-dry but never quite drybefore the next is laid. In the rubbing down process the sand-paper should besupplemented by one or two tools and different shaped agates, and it is labour well-spent to paint on the gesso with care and evenness, for it saves time afterwards. Thefinal touches to the drawing are given while smoothing the surface and, even whengold is on, the more delicate lines may be improved by a pointed agate during theprocess of burnishing. The work should never be touched by a hand at all moist, and itis wisest to handle it with a piece of silk.To Slake Plaster of Paris for Gesso. - Get the finest plaster of paris and bolt it throughmuslin. If you have a pound of plaster pour at least a gallon of water into a large glazedpan. Pour the plaster into tins water, stirring immediately and uninterruptedly with awooden spoon: do not intermit your stirring for half-an-hour, and then cover the panfrom dust. For at least three weeks stir for a few minutes every day, and if the watergrows foul pour it off from the top and add a fresh quantity.


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WALL PAINTING WITH SIZETEMPERA. Paper read By

Reginald Hallward

July 17, 1902

THE METHOD OF PAINTING

Parchment Size, for I use no other, is obtained from slips of parchment, cut upsmall, and boiled in water to the strength required. Left simmering forhalf-an-hour, plenty of the medium can be obtained, which, when strained off and cold,should just set and no more. In this condition it is ready for use.Having the colours ready mixed in water, my habit is to add just so much size as willprevent the surface rubbing off, using water to moisten the colour to my needs. Onegets to know instinctively how much size is required to work the colour well - little size,

rather than too much. I shall come to this point in speaking of the method I employ inhandling the material. The size is easily warmed up again if it sets, and re-heatinghelps to prevent it from becoming unpleasant. One or two cloves put into it, however,will keep it fresh over a longer period.

(Footnote - I have had to write this while working in another material and I feartherefore it will lose in the practical character which actual contact with size as amedium would have secured to it. I had hoped to have the leisure to carry out one ortwo studies in tempera worked with size and, out of respect to the members of theSociety, I am sorry that, owing to unexpected demands on my time in other work, Ihave been unable to do so.)

I have used size much more for Wall Painting on a considerable scale, for which it iswell adapted, than for easel pictures. And though the surface and beauty of anymaterial depend on the skill of all artist's handling, it can be claimed for Size Temperathat it lends itself to an incomparable freshness and bloom unattainable by oil.

(Footnote - I am not at all sure about this. I have seen, since writing this, admirableresults in oil-colour showing just such qualities (1907))

I do not venture to speak of methods of size tempera for easel pictures, because forthese I have generally used oil as a medium.In this size-tempera work an absorbent though firm ground is desirable, such as agood gesso or other plaster wall-surface. If a wall has been painted with oil-colour, Ishould always let it alone. tempera will not work well over oil. There is no key orattachment for the colour to the wall surface. I know it is usual to prepare plaster fortempera by a coat of size to stop suction, but painting on a wall thus prepared will leadto the size immediately working up unless the handling is weak and sloppy, in whichcase the colour will not last. My experience is that direct contact with the actual wall-surface is essential to get a proper bond for the painting and make it durable.The Handling of the Size. - It is very difficult to speak with clearness on this point andto an artist it should almost be a secret to himself - he works instinctively, and I fear tomake myself ridiculous in talking of such things.Don't, I should say, put a coat of size on a wall before starting, because then one wipesthe colour off instead of working it in, and I find that the virtue of it all lies in getting the

wall to absorb and retain the colour into, not on to, it. Nor is the difficulty of its drying


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lighter felt by some unfamiliar with tempera, any real difficulty, when proper familiaritywith its ways is attained.It does not seem in the least difficult to judge what the effect will be.The greater the quantity of size used, the less change there will be in the colour.I cannot abide the loading of colour, the brush-smear, or the palette-knife, though thelatter has its special use for heightening effect and forcing the lights. But on the whole,I like for my own work to have very little appearance of the opaque material such as apalette-knife, passed over the wall, would scrape of. On the contrary, distrusting thelasting value as also the effect of any dry excrescence of colour, I generally remove itwith the palette-knife, and repaint. The wall should be, to my taste, itself a vision ofform and colour and not only a foundation for something painted upon it.The Choice of Colour. The palette will be at the discretion of each artist, but the usualpowder colours obtainable at any good artist colourmans thoroughly well-groundworked up stiff with a palette-knife with water soft as possible, are what I use, and forthe purpose of working over a large surface I use a table on which at the back arespaces for the colours and mediums, the rest acting as a wide palette from which towork. As already stated in using the colour I add just so much size as to make it work

freely.It all seems so elementary that I feel almost ashamed to speak of these things, butperhaps it is best to begin from the beginning. Both for painting and retouching I admitto making frequent use of moist water-colour, which I find helpful for glazing, etc.The Painting Surface. - I have already said that it needs an absorbent surface, and nota hard or opaque one to work size as a medium with any security of the painting, and Iwould venture to add, with any fine quality of effect. I dwell, I fear, tiresomely on this,because to preserve the work very little size ought to be used and but little is needed,and I say, though I may lay myself open to criticism, that with some colours of strongdyeing power I would use almost none at all. It is forcible, not timorous.Painting, that will last. I think M. Angelo must have been thinking of histempera when he spoke of having to work always with a kind of frenzy." If the painting

is done with a force that will impregnate the texture of the wall itself there can be nodoubt of its permanence. Though I regret to have had so little opportunity of studyingon the spot the works Of those artists in Italy who seemed to have worked in thismaterial, I do not think that their examples could have lasted if the colour had beenworked superficially and on a non-absorbent ground.The Handling of the Colours. - There is little in tempera painting that is not in commonwith the handling of any other medium. All that is possible in oil is possible in tempera.It might appear that in working the second painting one would pull up the first, butconstant experience shows that this need not be the case. Glazing, stippling, draggingthe colour, or bringing it through are all perfectly possible with size tempera, because Ihave tried it; and it is all this, with the addition of its soft blooming appearance andfreedom from limitations, which so much attracts me. I do a great deal of my painting

with soft rags. A cheap cotton muslin without fluff I find best, and often for daystogether I scarcely handle a brush. It compels a resoluteness in handling in laying inthe prevailing masses the success of which is so inevitably the foundation of a goodresult, and it would surprise any but an artist how much can be successfully done inthis way. As to brushes,I use one shorter in the bristle than is, I believe, usual, and which would no doubt workup the under colour if this were applied superficially (i.e, not well absorbed by theground), but endangers it not in the least if previous coats have been properly worked.I cannot bear a weak slobbery brush which turns round and looks at you, but musthave one which really grapples with the wall and drags its secrets out.Use of Plain Tints. - I don't know whether it is outside the subject to consider the use ofplain tints in Tempera worked with size over the large wall spaces of Public Buildings,such as galleries and churches - but as I often have to deal with these I may perhapsbe allowed to say something without appearing tiresome. I have tried many methods


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and I have failed many times, and I may therefore be excused for thinking that plaincolour-surfaces are difficult to manage. Picture galleries with their importunate shinypapers that quarrel with the pictures show that it is a matter of great importance to getthe secret of a certain tranquil beauty of colour Good colour, in my experience, isseldom, if ever, to be obtained directly, and it might be worth while for others to try mymethods. It is the custom of the trade decorator to stipple over the first tint, which hasbeen laid over a strongly sized ground (it is called clear-coating) with colour used thinlymixed with three parts pure size to one of water.)This last coat is rapidly applied as it dries swiftly, from the amount of size, and thepainter as he works follows on directly stippling the colour over the wet surface. Verygood effects of colour can be obtained in this way.But there are two serious objections. Such strong size cannot last long and anyscratching or marking of the surface shows very much and the surface is easilydefaced I adopt, therefore, an altogether different method.The Method of Colouring. The First Tint having been applied on the absorbent wallwithout the clear-coating (or with a very weak one) preceding it, the painters areprovided with flat trays on which the final colour is poured in a thin film. The painter

dips his stipple directly into this and, without there having been any previous painting,applies it straight to the wall. The advantages appear to me unquestioned andinnumerable, You need no extra size, you are in no hurry, you can leave the wall in themiddle and you will find no unequal rivers down the wall from the colour having driedbefore stippling could be effected, The wall will not be mechanically level in colour - itwill be of a slightly broken or scumbled appearance-very full and rich in effect.{Footnote The walls of the Chancel in Bentley Carr Church, near Dewsbury, weredone in this way.}Painters resent the process as it is longer in applying, and needs skill and pains, butmore satisfactory results can be obtained than by the ordinary method though in thelatter, chance may occasionally give good results. For myself; I have had to findcertainty at the cost of failure, sometimes a heavy price to pay, as those who have had

the colouring of large spaces will understand.I think it has been stated that under-paintings in tempera ought not to work up at all andall stages of the painting should contribute to the ultimate effect, and I reiterate, at theexpense of being tiresome, that it is not fair to accuse tempera itself of inefficiencybecause it is often badly used in a smeary superficial way.I am so far methodical, if methodical in anything, that three paintings, or three stages,give a complete result. The outline being sketched and rubbed in slightly with colour,the laying in of the large masses and proportions of the design follows, the next stagecarrying the painting in detail as far as possible except for after-touching andalterations.With these very perfunctory remarks, and an apology, that my intention to showexamples has been frustrated owing to the demands on my time, I must bring these

remarks to a close.


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Methods of TEMPERA as exemplified inA few pictures at the National Gallery

ByC.J. Herringham

I wish to be understood to be speaking of tempera pure and simple - finished inTempera - not as used for an underpainting to oil.The beauties of the technique of the tempera period do not depend entirely on themedium being a different one from the oil to which we are nowadays moreaccustomed, though tempera has, as a mere material, certain special qualities andbeauties of its own which we may say are intrinsic in the material. But some of thebeauty of old tempera lies in the manner of handling it, i.e., in the stages of paintingand in the brushwork.These methods persisted in early oil painting, which is not easily distinguishable

therefore from the tempera painting which sought to catch something of the richnessand glow of oil.As having this rich quality way be mentioned Bellini's Blood of theRedeemer," which is so blended highly modelled and brilliant that one hardly daresaccept it as tempera, which however, it should be, according to the received history ofthe painter's development.In Botticelli's "Nativity," painted towards the close of his career, there seems to be anattempt to imitate the glisten and impasto of oil, as notably in the rich texture of thedraperies of the kneeling figures on the right and left.It is not catalogued as tempera, but it is certainly an example of this method.In the little Love and Chastity there is a high finish and depth of tone hardly to bematched except in Flemish oil painting - but the coolness of the colour and a something

in the substance of the paint seem to me to put on it the hall-mark of tempera, althoughthroughout, spite its minuteness, it is direct painted not stippled work. It ismaintained, by some, that evenVan Eyck's work has a tempera foundation, and is only finished with varnish glazes.The same is said of Memling and others. I scarcely share this opinion - at least I thinkthat the oil or varnish work is by far the most part of the painting in the case of thesetwo men, but there are probably many so-called oils where the tempera predominates.We are confronted, therefore with the difficulty that when we wish to talk about temperabrush-work and method, we scarcely know which pictures are tempera and which arenot. The early oil painters accustomed to the limpidity of tempera, so easily diluted withwater evidently aimed at, and nearly attained, a similar limpidity in oil painting. But theypossessed in their new medium more power of blending colour, of giving exact form in

single touches - the paint has a much greater tenacity and juiciness, a finer moredelicate line can be drawn with it, more depth can be readily obtained by glazes, itpermits more exact modelling readily obtained by glazes, it permits more exactmodelling, and covers easily in smooth even expanses. It is from the abuse of blendingand covering, and from the loss of transparency and modulation that most of theugliness and want of quality of modern work have risen.In discussing the capabilities and qualities of tempera we must not forget thatexperiments were undoubtedly made in mixed mediums by fifteenth century painters,and that it is not improbable that some of these have survived. Cennino specifies eggand size mixed for banner painting.The old recipe books for miniature painting contain many other examples of white ofegg combined with various gums and soluble resins. A Danish painter told me that hehad obtained very permanent results with a mixture of yolk of egg with a drop or two oflinseed oil, the same bulk of size as of egg and a drop honey It is a long time ago and I


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did not write the recipe down, I am sorry to say. He had used it for wall-painting whena young man, and after thirty years he said the painting was unchanged.I should like to mention in a few short sentences some of the varying characteristics oftempera handling and quality as exemplified in the National Gallery. The two picturesby Piero della Francesca show a great amount of the same strong virile painting - thestrokes of the brush drawing form - that we find in Netherland oil-painters. The lightsare forcible and even loaded, and large spaces show hardly any hatching at all. Whatthere is seems expressly intended to produce mingled colouring.There is a considerable difference between "The Baptism," and "The Adoration of theShepherds." The first is undoubtedly pure tempera; the second appears to have sucha viscous, tenacious quality in the solid painting that it is not surprising that somepeople hold that a varnish or mixed mediums must have been employed. This picturehas the exquisite coolness and freshness of tempera, although it is obvious that it ispainted over a yellowish-brown monochrome. ''The Baptism - is as evidently paintedover a particularly bright terre verte. "The Death of Procris by Piero di Cosimo isanother marvellously beautiful example of (I believe) late tempera work - though hereagain the paint has a substance and power of which most people think the medium not

capable. At first sight the picture seems painted with a rich impasto, having a sort offacetted refracting surface, but there is nothing of the sort - there is no laboured work,no ''finish,'' no final hatching. There is just painting in dabs and loose short strokes orin parts with long light ordinary brushwork, with probably a large bristle brush. The dabwork is in the sky and water and flesh (thumb prints are suggested by members of theSociety), and just a few wonderful brush strokes make the blue of the distant hill. Thegrass, dog and vermilion drapery arc painted, all exceedingly fine work. If this picturereally is tempera, one feels that oil could be dispensed with, and what recognised oilpainting of the period has an uncracked surface ? There is the same kind of strongbrushwork in P. di Cosirno's ''Centaurs,'' which passed through the Carfax Gallery acouple of years ago, and now belongs to Messrs. Rickerts and Shannon.That is all in cool grey, blue and bronzy tones of marvellous depth and richness.

In the same room in the gallery where the Procris casts a radiance like the lustre ofcoloured glass, hanging opposite, is a tempera picture having a brilliance and richnessof a different character; a Madonna with infant Christ and two saints of the Tuscanschool. The St. Catherine in red and white holding the lily, golden with curly hair, hasthat elaborated beauty which enhances the rapid, dramatic, emotional beauty ofhandling of the Procris. Its brilliance is not obtained, however, without a lightness andtransparency of painting not altogether dissimilar. Botticilli has been mentionedalready. As a rule his large tempera work has a broad, simple, fresco-like quality - notattempting much glamour of surface. The Mars and Venus is a very good example ofthis class of work. It is forceful from bold opposition of lights and darks and subtlecalculating of the amount of light in the sky and on the lighted surfaces relatively to oneanother.

The light falls simply, and the scheme is faithfully adhered to throughout. As in fresco,hatching is used where it is wanted, for broken colour and for modelling form, giving theeffect of blending and gradation.Fra Filippo's two pictures - "The Annunciation'' and "St. Johnthe Baptist with six saints''present the work of a man who had a singular love for the special capabilities of hismaterial, notably in the bloom-like velvetiness of his drapery-colours, and the generalpenetration with reflected colour. His painting has as much the appearance of blend asI think is possible in tempera, probably produced largely by the rapid, superimposedwashes, a method only really permanent in tempera, which does not seem to have thetendency to be come more transparent and lose the value of thin opaque scumbles.If one of the greatest glories of our gallery, 'The Entombment" of Michael Angelo, is intempera, then tempera is the most marvellous medium we possess.It is hopeless to attempt to describe the lightness and breadth and beauty of thehandling and blending and colouring of this masterpiece.


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(Footnote 1 - Since reading my paper to the Society I have seen a beautiful littletempera landscape of Mr. Corbet's of a most astonishing luminosity. Beside his otherwork on a dull autumn afternoon it seemed really to be favoured with a specialillumination of its own, I suppose this effect is given by the lustre of the pure whiteground. I do not believe the force of the white ground can be retained or utilised in thesame way in oil painting.)

(Footnote 2 -Here is a recipe, probably for MS. Illumination, which suggests that picture mediumsmay have had similar additions to the bare egg. It is from the Strasburg MS. in oldGerman of the year 1400 or thereabouts. "Take the white of three eggs in a cleanvessel, and beat the egg-white with a spoon until it becomes clear, and take a fair linencloth and wring the white through five times, until it no longer froths, and afterwardstake of gum arabic a settit (probably half an oz.), lay it in the white of egg and let itdissolve, and after that take a full spoon of vinegar, and mix that with the egg-white,

and after that lay in the egg-white as much sal-ammoniac as one egg-white, and keepthis 'water' by itself in a glass until you need it.")

EDITORS NOTE

Unfortunately no later records by Lady Herringham on the media and technique oftempera painting appear to exist, but on one occasion, I had the good fortune to meether in the National Gallery in front of The Entombment and to have a long discussionon the subject of the possible media employed by Michael Angelo in the painting of thepicture. I expressed the opinion, which I held at the time, that it could only have beenexecuted in buon fresco i.e. on a moist ground, in view of the wonderful fusion of theflesh tints. To this she objected, basing her conclusions, for one thing, on the

extraordinary freshness in hue of the scarlet tunic of the St. John, the colour of whichcould only have been produced by the use of vermilion, or of red lead, neither of whichwould keep their hue in contact with moist lime, though possibly former might havebeen the natural earth which was more durable than the present manufactured article.But on closer examination it was evident that the texture of the surface in this portion ofthe work is more compact than is that where the flesh tones are laid on; it also appearsto have more gloss and the handling of the colour is more elaborate than is usual in soquickly drying a process as that of buon fresco.Lady Herringham however conceded that possibly the flesh tones throughout may havebeen in true fresco and painted on the moist gesso ground, which would in effect lenditself to that blending or fusion of tones which distinguishes these portions of the work,The problem of the draperies however she held to be inexplicable except by the use of

some form of wax medium either used as a glaze over an under painting or as amedium entering into the composition of the pigments themselves.The facilities afforded me recently of making a much closer inspection of the surfacetends to confirm this impression as to the diversity in handling of the flesh tones and inthat of the draperies. The gesso ground appeared on examination to be sufficientlythick, namely a full 1/16th of an inch, to retain its moisture during a considerable time,whilst the absence of incised outlines is no criterion as to the condition of the ground atthe time of painting as the design might have been pounced on to the surface. It isevident that in the figure of the dead Christ the lightest tone values are provided by thegesso surface itself, thus obviating the necessity of applying some form of solid bodycolour in modelling the flesh tones and this treatment, contrasts strikingly with thepainting of the linen band passed across the chest where the folds are rendered in awhite pigment. In the St. John where the flesh painting is carried a step further innaturalistic treatment very minute cracklings, visible in the texture of the lightest values


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on the bent thigh, betray the presence of some body colour; with very few exceptionshowever the grain of the flesh surfaces resembles that of a calcic ground prepared forbuon fresco by the use of a mason's iron float, i.e. they present a close-pressedsurface of granular texture.Any certainty of knowledge however must depend very largely upon acquaintance bothwith the nature of the gesso ground and of any backing that may intervene between itand the wooden panel which forms the groundwork of the picture. And also of thenature of the medium employed in the composition of the pigments.


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PREPARATION OF WALLS forTEMPERA PAINTING. Paper Read By

J. CookeJanuary 21, 1903

The primary consideration that should undoubtedly govern the preparation of walls forpainting in England is that of climatic and atmospheric conditions, which, thoughperhaps unduly abused by the inhabitants - who are proverbially unhappy unless theyhave something to grumble at - are so different from those of Italy and other southerncountries, where wall-painting reached its perfection, that the experience of thosecountries can be but of little guide to us.We enjoy - if that is the right word - an atmosphere that is very frequently in a water-logged condition, and almost always contains a large proportion of humidity added tothis, changes of temperature are frequent and sudden, and as a natural consequencethere is constant condensation of moisture on surfaces that are exposed to these

conditions. The deposition of moisture even on a lime surface, tends to hasten thedecay that all such surfaces are subject to, and if, as is the case in large towns, themoisture is charged with acid gases, the decay is greatly accelerated. In smoky townsthe moisture is also charged with dirt of various kinds, which on deposition is suckedinto the surface and becomes impossible to remove.The first step, therefore, in Preparing a Wallshould be to guard as much as possibleagainst this condensation, which is best achieved by rendering the wall, or rather theinner surface of the wall, as free from sudden changes of temperature as possible. Onouter walls and even on inner walls, it is always safest to lay the plaster on battens andlaths, and so to arrange them that there is a free circulation of air from the room itselfbehind the plaster surface. This is easy where the lower part of the wail is panelled, asan aperture can be left here and there at the junction of the styles and panels, which

will be quite sufficient, if intelligently arranged, or even a ventilator can be introducedwithout much disfigurement. With large surfaces in public buildings it is not so easy,but a little ingenuity will always enable the architect to arrange for this ventilation, Thisinner skin also guards the painted surface from attacks of damp from without, and adefective stack pipe can sometimes do irreparable damage in a few hours, 'there isalso another danger that is avoided, and that is what is technically called the 'salting'' ofthe brickwork, this nitrification sometimes entirely destroys the inner surface of a wall,and though it ceases after a time, it can continue long enough to work its way through aplaster covering, and should it do so it would ruin a painting.Should it be impossible to arrange that the surface to be painted can be laid on battensand laths, the only precautions that can be taken are to be sure that the wall is quitedry and well-pointed on the outside, and that the damp course is sound and that tie

earth has not been piled up the wall above it. I have just had personal experience of awall showing clamp two feet up from this cause. A well-regulated system of heating thebuilding is also an added security.It is usual now to Lay a Plaster Surface in Three Coats, and if good material be usedand the work well done I do not think anything is gained by using more.The materials themselves should be of the best and should particularly be keptscrupulously clean. Good Dorkingand Hallinglime, though not setting very hard are, Ithink, as good as can be used.The Blue Lias which is generally used in the Midlands is a stronger lime, but is not sowhite and is more caustic and difficult to slake. The Derbyshire lime-stones are verystrong, but I fancy contain sulphates of both lime and baryta, and also seem to have acurious hygroscopic quality that is absent from the poorer limes. It is most importantthat the lime should be thoroughly slaked, and too much care and trouble cannot betaken to ensure that this is done: after thoroughly grouting it should lie as putty for at


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least three months, as carefully protected from the air as possible and it is all the betterif it lies for even as long as a year. The Sandshould be sharp grit, river or pit sandand should be well screened and washed in at least two waters; on no account shouldsea sand ever be used, however carefully washed. Should any hair be used for thefirst coat it also should be thoroughly washed, though I think Professor Church'srecommendation of chopped asbestos instead of hair, a good one. If a smooth surfaceis desired, a little marble dust can also be used for the finishing coat, though I amdoubtful if there is any advantage except in texture, to be gained by its use. Each coat should be thoroughly hard on the surface before the next is laid, and shouldbe well roughened with a jagged stick while wet, to form a key for the next coat.The ordinary plasterers way of scratching criss-cross lines with the smooth edge of hisiron float is an easy but not a good way, as it makes too smooth a key.Each coat should be thoroughly wetted before the next is laid, and it is well to see thatthis is properly done as the aforesaid plasterer is apt to be satisfied if the surface isdamp enough to take the next coat easily. Lime sets by absorbing, while a hydrate,enough carbonic acid gas from the air to re-form into its original carbonate of lime, butthis action, in addition to being slow, only takes place to perfection in the presence of

moisture; that is to say that, though dry hydrate of lime will return to carbonate, it willnot form such a hard compact substance as it does if it absorbs carbonic acid gas whiledamp. It is therefore most unwise to hasten the drying of plaster by artificial means; infact a harder, better plaster is obtained if the drying is retarded by 'sprinkling ' withwater. Church recommends syringing the wall with water charged with carbonic acidgas (the ordinary soda water of commerce), and though costly, it would undoubtedly bethe best way to get a good and strong platter quickly.If the lime is good and fairly fresh, that is to say if it has been well protected from the airwhile slaking, three parts by measure of sand to one of lime will be found a goodworking proportion.Great care should be taken that the finish of the wall is obtained without undue rubbingof the surface, as this coaxes the lime to the surface, where it forms a hard skin very

liable to crack and peel away. If a very smooth surface is required it can be obtained bythe use of fine sand and an iron or smooth wood float; rougher surfaces by the use of afloat covered with felt, or cloth, or even a piece of Brussels carpet.Unless it is possible to leave a wall for at least twelve months before painting on it,plaster of Paris should not be used, and I do not think anything is gained by its use inany case: although an exquisite material it seems to have an action on colours thatcontinues for a long time after it is set. In the case of a concrete wall, plaster laid on itwould not be safe to work for at least two years, if then.As Portland cement is terrible stuff, and sweats out all sorts of impurities, being in itsnature a sort of compound substance containing, among other dangerous impuritiesseveral magnesium salts that are hygroscopic and very efflorescent. The whole objectof the action of limes, though known for so many centuries and much studied of recent

years, particularly by French engineers, is full of obscurities. I cannot therefore do morethan touch on it, and should anyone wish fuller for information, I refer him to anexcellent handbook : Burnell's "Limes, Cements and Mortars."

(Footnote)With regard to plaster of Paris. For easel pictures it seems necessary to make it non-absorbent, which I have always done with egg yolk and about six times its bulk ofwater with a little yellow ochre - and I let this dry for some days before further painting.Mr. Southall puts two coat of parchment size just too weak to set. (C.J.H.)When the plaster is thoroughly dry and feels comfortably warm to the touch, thepainting may be commenced. Professor Church recommends that a thin sheet ofgelatine should be placed against the surface to ascertain whether the hygroscopicequilibrium between the room and the wall is true, which is shown by the gelatine


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curling outwards or remaining flat, but I think this to be a needless precaution fortempera work, though a wise one if the painting is to be done in oil or varnish.Before beginning to paint the natural absorbency of the plaster should be checked, butI think it is better that it should not be entirely stopped, or the painting will lie rather as askin on the surface. Cennino Cennini gives one whole egg beaten up in a porringer ofwater and applied with a sponge, as the best preparation; this is a bit vague but I thinkan egg beaten up in about one and a half pints of water is about right; if much lesswater is used the egg is liable to set on the surface instead of sinking in as it should. Itis, I think, best that the preliminary drawing should be done before this preparation andthe drawing fixed with a little colour ground with water or lime water only, as erasuresmight be apt to disturb the surface left by the diluted egg, and the eventual paintingmight dry variously in consequence. The colours for the first painting should I think, bemore freely tempered than the final ones, as the wall will still be absorbent in spite ofthe wash of dilute egg.

These few hints may be useful, but one must be governed to a certain extent by localconditions in preparing walls for painting.

Note supplied by Mr. H Thackeray Turner.Lime slaked in boiling water is much more thoroughly slaked than in cold water.For whitewashing a cottage the man employed said he must put some old beer andRussian tallow to make the lime stick to the bricks - but he was told to try a square yardwith the boiling water. When dry it would not rub off at all. Splashes on the stack pipeand windows would not rub off but could only be scraped off with difficulty. This wasDorking lime.


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FIBROUS PLASTER GROUNDSRead to the Society of Painters inTempera. By

L.A. TurnerJanuary 21, 1903

Fibrous Plasteris a coarse canvas covered on each side with a thin coating ofPlaster of Paris and stiffened with wood laths. All work of this description is cast ( ie. itis necessary to have a matrix) and is not floated like lime plaster on a rigid surfacesuch as a brick wall. As it is necessary to have a mould to take the casts from, anynumber of casts can be produced of a like surface (should a modelled effect in thesurface be required), and having once got that particular surface or texture, you will notbe at the mercy of the workman to reproduce that effect, but it will be kept by theoriginal mould. Plaster work to my mind never looks right if the surface is absolutely a

dead level, even when it has painting applied to it.To Produce a Good Modelling Surface - The easiest and I think the best way, is tomake a modelled ground of clay, which gives an even more plaster-like effect than iflime-plaster is used; for the latter is inclined to produce either too even a face from thejoint rule or too edgy a surface from the trowel. In using the term "modelling effect" I amthinking of the old Jacobean period moulded ceilings which are cast work and yetbeautifully modelled all over, plain surfaces as well as mouldings, the richness of effectbeing thereby immeasurable beyond what it would be if the mouldings were "run" andthe ground a dead level. Of course there is a danger of getting the clay too muchdimpled, a worse fault than the hardness of trowelled work. The simplest way toproduce this ground, is to take a modelling board, as large as the sheet of plaster yourequire, and nail a fillet of wood round it projecting from half to three quarters of an inch

above the surface, and cover the board with clay to that thickness, striking off the clayto a dead level surface with a long wooden straight edge which will work on thewooden fillets round the board. Having done this take a wire modelling tool (say threeinches wide) and model the clay to what you feel will be the effect you require in theplaster cast. The surface of the clay can be treated in a number of ways for instance ifyou want a Rough Surface drag the face of the clay over with your hand, when the clayis in a very moist condition, which can easily be produced by wetting the surface until itclings to the fingers, and not as clay in good condition for modelling which should leavethe fingers quite clean. But if a Smooth Modelled Surface is required it is best to givethe clay, when modelled, two coats of shellac and then slightly oil or grease it toprevent the plaster from sticking and pulling the coat of shellac off with it. Instead ofclay being used as the medium to model in, plaster and silver sand can be used in

exactly the same way as the clay, only a considerable amount of size must be added tothe plaster to prevent it setting too quickly, or you will not have time to do the modellingbefore the plaster becomes hard.Having got thus fara Mould must be taken from the Modelling, for if the model wereused as the mould, the impression got from it in plaster would look very wrong - thebumps appearing too small and the hollows too large. This cast then, which is takenfrom your model is the mould from which as many casts can be taken as you please.To take a Cast from this Plaster Mould - and the same method must be used to makethe mould - it will be necessary first to shellac it to prevent suction, and then to veryslightly grease or oil it. Mix the plaster of Paris with about an equal proportion in bulk ofwater, and well stir it up - this requires some skill to prevent its being lumpy. Supposingthat it takes one bucketful of plaster to cover the surface of the mould to one-eighth ofan inch in thickness, you will require to mix a second at the same time, to make thecast. The surface of the mould having been covered with one-eighth of an inch of


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plaster, it is allowed to slightly set, until it is about the consistency of soft butter; thesecond bucket is now used and the plaster thinly splashed over the first coat, and on tothis you immediately apply the canvas, passing the palm of the hand all over it so thatthe plaster squeezes up through the coarse mesh. On this you lay the wooden lathsfrom six to nine inches apart as the cast may require. These laths are made of varyingthickness to meet the strain they will be required to stand. For this cast, which we aresupposing is to be made about 4ft. x 6ft., they will require to be about three-quarters ofan inch thick and an inch and a quarter wide. These are smeared with plaster, strips ofcanvas about six inches wide placed over them and again rubbed, so that the plasterunder shall key well into the work; short pieces of lath again are placed at right anglesbetween the long laths which stretch from side to side of the cast, and the wholecoated thinly with plaster. The cast must be left for fifteen or twenty minutes to allowthe plaster to get well set before it is lifted from the mould. It will be found that unlessthe plaster is modified it will set too quickly so that it will become hard before it can besqueezed up through the meshes of the canvas, and so to the first bucket a very littlesize is added,(Note: Each ton of plaster we have in requires a different gauge, butroughly speaking 1/4inch cube of gilder's size would be about right to a bucket; or less

of joiner's glue, which is stronger. This latter form is equally good.) and to the second,which is required to set still more slowly, about double the amount is added.This small amount of glue not only prevents the plaster from setting too quickly but alsoadds to its strength. The wood laths or battens should be of the best pine, free fromknots and straight in the grain, so that the tendency to warp is minimised.The canvas should be of about three-sixteenths or a quarter inch mesh, for if the meshis too small the plaster does not work up through it, and so does not get a good keyand the result is the plaster face is likely to flake off. The casts will be found to have atendency to become convex. This is on account of the plaster swelling, for all plasterswells very considerably in setting. However, these casts are fairly pliable, and if careis taken to keep them flat and weighted down whilst they are drying they will keep flatwhen dry. To fix the casts to the wall or ceiling, brass or galvanised screws must be

used, screwing through the wooden battens to the wall, which has been prepared withwooden plugs or battens. An advantage to be gained by using these casts is thatexcepting where the battens come there is an air space between the plaster and thewall, so that it is not so easily affected by any dampness in the wall.

Cast Panels may be made of any size and could be Used as Painting Grounds. I oftenuse them eight feet square, and they can be curved or hollow as you like. They are, toa certain extent, fireproof. If used to do raisedgesso work upon, or to cover with plaingesso for painting, suction must be stopped and the best way is to give the cast a coatof shellac melted in methylated spirit, which is practically French polish; but care shouldbe taken not to get too much shellac on - it should not shine - or the shellac will peeloff. Put the gesso on thinly with a broad hog's hair brush, and after every third coat give

a coat of thin orange shellac.A good recipe for gesso is :-

12 ozs. whitning (gilder's).9 ozs. gilder's parchment size.3 drops cold-drawn linseed oil.

Put the size in a basin, free from grease, and place it in a saucepan of cold water on astove with little heat. The water should never be warmer than what you can comfortablyhold your hand in, and allow it half-an-hour to melt. Powder up the gilder's whitning in amortar very fine, pour the melted size in the mortar, which is placed on the stove tokeep the whitning warm, mixing whilst you do so. Stir for five minutes and replace themortar over the saucepan for five or ten minutes. Then add three drops of cold-drawnlinseed oil, and stir for another five minutes. Pour off into the basin and let it remain in acool place for twenty-four hours before using, except in cold weather, when less will do.


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To thin the size add water. To thin the gesso add size. In applying ornament on agesso ground, after every third coat give the modelling one thin coat of orange shellac.When using the gesso it is advisable to take a portion of what you have made and meltit slowly in the basin, which has been placed in a saucepan, and keep the water atblood heat whilst using it.As the brush clogs with the congealed gesso wash it out in the warm water. For finelines, etc., No. 2 sable tracer, for larger work No. 6 sable tracer, are the best brushes touse. A roughened surface is the best to apply this gesso to, and then rub it down withfine glass paper before the shellac is applied.


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YOLK OF EGG TEMPERA.Written For the Society of Painters in Tempera

ByR. Spencer Stanhope

April 23, 1903

Having been asked to explain the Mode of Painting in Tempera with the Yolk of Egg asa Medium, I wish to preface the description I am about to give on the subject by sayingthat, though I believe in its ain and most important features the system I have followedis the right one, there may be modifications which might be used with advantage, ofwhich I have no experience, having been contented with the results I obtained in theway in which I have used it and not caring to spend time on experiments.Some thirty years ago, I chanced to make aquaintance, when studying in the galleriesat Florence, with a Signor Rocchi, who had a long experience in the use of the Yolk ofEgg as a medium, and which he invariably used in copying the early Florentine

Masters; he kindly gave me information as to the way of working in it, and I havefollowed his instructions pretty closely ever since.The SYSTEMhe followed, and which I believe in its principal features was the same asthat practiced by the early Masters, is as follows:-Select Fresh Eggs, and as far as possible such as have light-coloured yolks.Separate the yolk carefully from the white and also the skin that contains the yolk, thenput it into a small pot. As nearly as is possible mix the colour to be used with an equalquantity in bulk of yolk of egg, and grind them well together with a glass mulleron aslab of ground glass.In order to test whether the proportions are correct, for some colours appear to requiremore yolk of egg than others, put a little of the mixed colour on a palette, and when it isdry moisten a part of it. Should the part moistened prove a shade or two darker than

the other, more yolk of egg must be added till, on further testing there is no differenceof shade whatever between the dry and moist part. It is then necessary to test whetherthere may not be too much yolk of egg mixed with the colour; this is done by scrapingthe colour from the palette on which it has been put with a palette-knife. If it comesaway in the shape of a greasy sticky shaving, the proportions of colour and yolk of eggwill be about right; but should it break away in dry flakes it is a sign that there too muchyolk of egg, and more colour must be added. Whether this is an absolutely unfailingtest or not, I cannot say, but it is one I have always employed. This also is the only testthat can be satisfactorily employed for Chinese white, which of course shows no suchchange in tint when moistened.Next comes the questions ofMixing Colours to produce the tint required.I have invariably mixed Chinese white with all of them, from the lightest to the darkest,

using of course whatever colours may be necessary to produce the tints required. As tohow far perfectly pure colours can be used unmixed with Chinese white to any extent Iam not able to speak positively, having only used them occasionally and withmoderation.The number of shades of the same tint that I have as a rule used are from three toseven or eight, according to the circumstances. Flesh tints generally require the highernumber, whilst in draperies sometimes as few as three will suffice: but five I find usuallythe most satisfactory. In painting it is the best plan to begin as a rule with the middletints, reserving the highest lights and shadows to be applied later. The edges of the tintwhich is being painted should rather outstep the outlines requiring that special tint,which should be softly covered by the next tint, in order that the two should melt intoeach other as far as possible, and avoid the necessity of any retouching: for the more

the various shades can be united together when the colour is first put on, with the leastpossible amount of subsequent work the purer and softer will the effect be.


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To do without some further retouching over the first painting, is, except in the case ofvery simple work, almost an impossibility; and I have observed plenty of signs ofretouching in Cinquecento pictures appearing to me to consist chiefly in lines ofshadow, and hatching with the view of giving roundness and solidity where required. Ihave rarely worked with perfectly pure colour, but have mixed it as a rule with a littleChinese white; but I know of no reason why pure colour may not be used if necessary.To preserve colours and tints that have been mixedas long as possible, especially inhot weather, I have put in a few drops of vinegar, and when not in use I have wrappedtheir receptacles with plenty of rags dipped in vinegar; but in any case after a certaintime the egg medium will begin to go bad and to act more or less upon the colours.Whatever work requires a certain set of prepared tints should as far as possible bedone at once while the tints are fresh, and when further work may be necessaryafterwards fresh tints should be prepared for the purpose.Finally with respect to the Preparation of the Panels for painting with yolk of egg, it isessential that they should be properly prepared for that purpose, but this is simply aquestion of employing a trustworthy and intelligent frame-maker.I will now deal with the advantages and disadvantages belonging to the method of

painting in tempera with the yolk of egg as they appear to me.The Advantages are as follows :-Pictures painted with the Yolk of Egg possess the Richness and depth of OilPaintings, without losing any of the brilliance of colour which oil to a certain extentinjures. In fact there is no medium of any kind in ordinary use for painting which solittle, if at all, affects the colours with which it is mixed, whilst it gives a softness of effectwhich is more or less wanting in all the others; and that this quality is permanent maybe seen in any Cinquecento work which has not been meddled with in any way, andthe colours will there appear as brilliant as on the day they were painted.As the colour dries in a minute or two the part on which the painter is at work can becompleted off-hand, the colour remaining permanently the same. The slight yellow tintcaused by the yolk disappears entirely in a few days.All marks of the brush pass away

as the colour dries, and a perfectness of surface is obtained without any effort on thepart of the painter; and, as I mentioned before, owing to the natural grease in the yolkof egg the soft rich effect of oil is produced whilst the painting can be seen in any lightas is the case with fresco or water-colour. From the day of painting the colour thesurface steadily hardens and, provided the technical part of the work is properly done,this hardening process goes on without any cracking or shrinking of the surface till itreaches that pitch of hardness which is so notable in Cinquecento work. Finally, as thepainter puts the colours on the panel he can judge of the permanent effect, which is notthe case with mediums such as Oil, Fresco and ordinary Distemper.The Disadvantages appear to me as follows :- Perfect work with yolk of egg as a medium would mean completing each day's work sothat it would require no retouching, but it is rarely possible to reach this point, and

retouching means the loss of a certain amount of purity and freshness in the work.The yolk of egg, after a certain time, begins to go bad, depending much on the state ofthe temperature and the means adopted to preserve it, a disadvantage whichexperience will reduce to minimum proportions.A more serious drawback is the tendency for mould to appear on parts of the surface ofthe picture from time to time, and this is often the case till age has entirely dried up andhardened the medium.The remedy is, however, a simple and safe one, and consists in rubbing the surfacelightly with cotton wool dipped in vinegar; it does not interfere with the colour in anyway, and can be used as often as required. This again is a matter of experience, forwhilst one picture will show a tendency to develop mould, another will not. Somecolours also appear to be more affected by it than others.


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Another slight disadvantage is that the surface of the painting remains soft and liable toinjury, scratches, and so on, for a considerable time; and more care must be taken topreserve it than is the case in pictures done with other mediums.In conclusion I will repeat what I said before, that whilst I believe that the system I havedescribed is in its main features the same as that followed by early Italian masters,there may be modifications of which I am ignorant which might diminish the difficulties.Anyone wishing to employ this process should study the different works that

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