'UATERIALS/wPERMANENT

:aMKi**MMjMiv)?nnKfMM

UAINTING
^^^

MAXIMILIAN Tbci;

D'VAN'NOSTRAND COMPANY

LIBRARY
OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA.
Class

MATERIALS FOR PERMANENT PAINTING

FOR
MANUFACTf
DEALERS, ART
>RS

By A
Member Anv
Past Past Chairman Director of t

ilian

Author

of th Fellow of

of

of Toch Mixed Pa
i

-,don

"00 d

9b

D.

VA^^ ^^^*^
1

aMmm-rq .boow NEW Y

rro gntt'.

Gesso Tempera Painting on wood, probable age

years.

600

(Painting in the possession of the author.)

MATERIALS FOR PERMANENT PAINTING

A MANUAL FOR MANUFACTURERS, ART DEALERS, ARTISTS AND COLLECTORS

By Maximilian Toch
Member American Institute Chemical Engineers Municipal Lecturer on Paints, Colors, Etc., College of the City of New York Past President of the Chemists' Club Past Chairman Society Chemical Industry N. Y. Section Director of Chemical Laboratory of Toch Brothers Author of the Chemistry of Mixed Paints, Etc. Fellow of the Chemical Society of London
Etc.,

Etc.

NEW YORK
D.

VAN NOSTRAND COMPANY

1911

COPYRIGHT 1911
BY
D. VAN NOSTRAND COMPANY

The Eddy

Press Corporation

Cumberland. Md.

Contents

Permanent Painting
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Page
Gesso Tempera Painting on

Wood

Frontispiece

Photo-Micrograph of a Section of an Oil Paint40 ing Showing Cracks

The Engineering Features

of a Painting at Rest.

42

Photo- Micrograph of Cracks in a Painting, and Dirt and Dust Encysted in the Varnish 45
Painting on Mahogany Panel Showing Serious Cracks Produced by Varnishing the Picture Before the Underlying Coat

was

Sufficiently

Dry.

48

Photo-Micrograph of Cracks Invisible to the Naked 63 Eye Showing Encysted Matter and Fissures.
.

Photograph of an Oil Painting Showing Serious Cracking Throughout, Due to the Contraction of
the Paint

80

High-power Photo-micrograph of Flake White which Contains too much Water in its Composition

185

P r e fa c e

PREFACE
the

course
I

of

my

acquaintance

with

artistic

enormous of ignorance that exists among them as to the composition of the materials which they use and the science of painting. Almost every painter of note will tell you what a great pity it is that the science of making colors is lost, and that the ancient painters and great masters were so successful primarily because their pigments and materials were far suThis perior to those which we can obtain to-day.
painters,
to find the
is so diametrically opposed to the facts have been prompted to make a study of paint pigments in order to throw some light on this subject, and demonstrate to the painter that the colors of to-day are far superior to the colors used by the ancients, and show that the principal fault lies with

INamount

was astonished

statement

that I

the manufacturer, use of which there

son.

who makes
is

no

scientific

fugitive colors, for the nor commercial rea-

Almost any large dealer in artists' colors has upwards of 200 pigments on sale. In the first place, no palette could hold any such quantity, and in the
second place, there are possibly only 10 or 15 sufficiently permanent pigments to warrant their use.

The

correct, complete

and most edifying book on

[5]

P r e fa c e
this subject

has never been written, nor

is

my

effort

excepting perhaps from the standSome day there will be born point of the chemist. a man, who will be both a color chemist and a painter,
of
value,

much

and that

man

will write the ideal

is

The popular impression

that all chemists

book on the subject. must have

a comprehensive knowledge of the chemistry of pigments, but this is not true, as there are very few chemists

who know anything about

it

the

technology

of

paints, because

a specialty which very few have worked up, and no matter how proficient a chemist may be, if he is not an artistic painter, he cannot
is

advise how a sky should be painted, or what particular greens to use for foliage and shadows. The technique of the fine arts is a subject by itself, and while I may

be supposed to have some knowledge on this subject, I frankly admit my inability to paint, but in-

asmuch

ject, that

as I feel very certain of one part of my subis the physical and chemical properties of
I

do not hesitate to recommend in plain language exactly what the painter shall do with reference to his colors, and the materials upon which he
the pigments,
paints.

Furthermore,

was very much astonished

is

to find

that in the art schools of the various countries

no

at-

tention whatever

paid to the chemistry of colors.

painter should be aware that certain pigments are affected by the fumes arising from vegetables in a

dining room, and that these fumes form chemical com-

[6]

P r e fa c e
pounds with certain pigments, and a likewise know that the atmosphere of contaminated with acid gases which smaller places, and which did not exist
of the burning of coal as fuel.
I trust,
ly,

painter should

large cities is are absent in

before the age

therefore, that

my work

will be taken serious-

he need not use expensive colors to produce permanent I am glad that I am not actuated by any comresults. mercial motive in writing this book, for, although I have been a color manufacturer for many years, I have
will recognize that

and that the poorer painter

never made, nor have

the intention of

making tube
quantities of who are

colors for artists' use, but I have

made
to

ground colors for many of painters, and have demonstrated

finely

my

friends,

them

that some-

times the ordinary paints ground in oil, such as are used by house decorators, are sufficiently good for

many
same
tubes.

results
I

purposes, and in many instances produce the as the more expensive colors filled in

have tried to write as

fully as I

know and

give as plainly as I could the description relating to the more expensive colors, condemning those which

should be condemned, and recommending others as long as there is nothing superior to be had.
It

may

interest the reader to

know why

take such

a positive stand with reference to the fading, drying and other physical characteristics of colors, in view of the fact that the majority of investigators vacillate
continually.

[7]

Preface
was still a chemical student, I investigation of tube colors, and from that day to this I have been interested in the subject of the manufacture of paints and pigments as a voIn
1886, while I
first

made my

and have always been interested in the subpigments as an avobe conducted in cation. tests of can, course, Drying a few weeks, but extensive tests take years, and alcation,
ject of the application of artistic

though

it

is

reasonable to determine the permanency

of a color by exposure to the bright sunshine for three months, I have made experiments along these

which have involved exposure for over five years. pigments are mixed with an aqueous medium containing a little gum, and the resulting picture is hermetically sealed, no decomposition takes place, belines

When

cause the majority of chemical reactions cease in the absence of moisture, but linseed oil or varnish medium will generate moisture and certain gases, producing a

slow decomposition, so that it often takes years to make a determination of which a description can be
written in a few minutes.
It
is

assistance I received

a great pleasure for me to acknowledge the from Dr. George F. Kunz, who

a fairly complete collection of semi-precious minerals, all of which represented the pigments used by the ancients and with which I conducted many of

gave

me

my

experiments.

[8]

Permanent Painting

CHAPTER

THE HISTORY OF PAINTING

THE
tions

decorative art of using colors is probably as old as man. have the instinctive effort of

We

the barbarian,

ored earths, and

of

who bedecked his body with colwe have the frescoes and wall decorain the temples

and the painting of the columns

Luxor and Karnak,

as evidence of the use of pig-

ments for decorative purposes. There seems to be doubt that from the earliest day of decorative painting down to the fourteenth century, the media used consisted of some albuminous or gelatinous comlittle

pound mixed with water. The white of egg or the entire egg mixed with lime was evidently the principal

medium used

to

fasten colors, although

many

other substances were used, such as the liquid obtained by boiling parchment and the skins of animals
in water,

which

is

practically the

same thing as using

glue.

In the method of painting with the white of egg which has always been known as tempera, the paint was generally applied to a ground of gesso, which is the Italian word for gypsum, or plaster of Paris, and the pigments which were used, and the methods of

[9]

Permanent Painting
preparation of the wood foundations for painting were so perfect that absolutely no decomposition takes
place in gesso tempera painting, for we have brilliant examples that are over 600 years old practically in their pristine condition. Pliny mentions the use of

milk as a medium, and while

it

is

doubtful whether

we have any authentic samples of early paintings with milk, we have the custom still in vogue, for there are thousands of tons of kalsomine or water colors made
at the present

day

in

which the binding material

is

the gluey substance that is contained in milk. In addition to these media the early monks used almost every conceivable substance of a sticky
casein,
is

which

nature, such as wax, honey, wine boiled until it is slightly thickened (glucose or sugar), the juice of

various plants, and from the eighth century on we begin to have evidence of the use of drying oils in the form of some nut oil (more than likely linseed oil

mixed with a varnish),

of
oil,

for in Italy before the days

we

vernice,

have, according to Cennini, the mention of from which evidently our word "varnish"

has been etymologically derived.

Oils were

known

to the ancients as

an

article

of

food and as a material for anointing the body, sufficient evidence for this being found in the Bible, and
as

many

priests busied themselves with painting

and

used the materials at hand, there is no doubt that many of them used cooking oils such as olive, flax

and nut

oil in

many

of their works.

Eastlake, in his

[10]

Permanent Painting
most valuable book,* makes the statement that Aetius,
,

a medical writer of the fifth and the beginning of the sixth century, mentions at great length, a drying oil

and it was this early length what we probably and after mentioning this, as "linseed oil," recognize he makes the statement, "walnut oil is prepared like
in connection
art,

with works of
full

writer

who

described at

pounding or pressing the or them into boiling water after nuts, by throwing It has a use besides a medibeen bruised. have they
that of almonds, either by
cinal use, being applied

for

it

dries,

and

by gilders or encaustic painters, preserves gildings and encaustic

paints for a long time."

Jan

The popular statement that the brothers Hubert and Van Eyck were the first to paint permanent

oil, is only true in so far that both of these evidently investigated all the work that had been previously done, as the Italian historian, Facius, speaks of Van Eyck as having consulted the previous author-

pictures in

men

ities

with much profit, t Facius, whose full name was Bartolommeo Facio, appears to have first published his work in 1456, but we have ample evidence as far
III, in 1239,

back as Henry

showing that

was practiced
fact that the

England work by Sir Charles Eastlake

libraries,

in

as a trade.

oil painting In view of the

is

to be.
is

found
*

in

few

and that

his celebrated
I

book

therefore not easily accessible,

quote from

his in-

Materials for a History of Oil Painting.

t Eastlake's Material for the History of Oil Painting, p. 25.

[11]

Permanent Painting
vestigations
III)
oil is

as

follows:
in

mentioned

"In 1239 (23d of Henry connexion with painting. SimI, viz.,

ilar notices

appear in numerous account- rolls belong-

ing to the reign of

Edward

from 1274

to 1295

and
the

in others dated 1307, the 1st of

Edward

II."

series exists in the records of Ely Cathedral, A great extending from 1325 to 1351. number of the same kind are preserved in accounts

Another
dates

belonging to the reign of

to

Edward

III,

to the decoration of St. Stephen's Chapel,

and relating from 1352

Partial translations (unfortunately without 1358. the original text) of some of the last-mentioned " records have been published in Smith's Antiquities of Westminster."* The extracts made by that writer
relate to glass-painting, architecture,

and decorations

generally. the reign

Of certain weekly accounts (belonging to of Edward I), amounting originally to one

in
t

hundred and forty-two had found eleven only,

number, he

states that

he

In the course of a recent

investigation forty-four have been discovered. ever interesting in other points of view, these

Hownumer-

ous documents throw but

of
oil

little

light

on the practice

painting.

The same

materials constantly re-

appear, but there is no direct allusion to their use, Such except as regards the process of varnishing. as the refer to the commonest passages following
operations of this kind:
*

"To
p.

the
76.

same (Stephen Le

London, 1837.

f Ib.,

[12]

Permanent Painting
Joigneur) for varnishing two coffers, 8d.";* and else, "To Richard de Assheby for preparing with white,
covering with ochre, and varnishing the King's
ber,

Cham-

according

to

contract.

32

shillings." t

few

specimens of the mandates and accounts above adverted to, beginning with those of the thirteenth century, will therefore suffice. The first in order of time is familiar to many, having been originally published

by Walpole.
1239.
lains.

"The King to his treasurer and chamberPay from our treasury to Odo the goldsmith

and Edward his son one hundred and seventeen shiland ten-pence for oil, varnish, and colours bought, and for pictures executed in the Queen's Chamber at Westminster, from the octaves of the Holy Trinity
lings

(May

25th)

feast of St.

in the 23rd year of our reign, to the Barnabas (June nth) in the same year,

namely, for fifteen days." $ It is here necessary to remark, in anticipation of the inquiry respecting varnishes, that the word vernix
or vernisium, in the earlier notices of painting, does not mean a fluid composition, but dry sandarac resin, which, when melted and boiled with oil, formed a
*

"Eidem (Stephanno

le

Joignur) pro vernicione

ii.

coffro
et

rum

Viii.

d."
t "Richardo de Assheby pro bealbacions ocriacione camere Regis ad tascham xxxii. s." t

ver

nacione

"Rex

thesauriario et camerariis suis salutem.

et

nostro

Odoni aurifabro

Edwardo

filio

solidos et decem denarios pro oleo, vernici, et coloribus emptis, et picturis factis in camera reginae nqstrae apud Westm. ab octavis Sanetae Trinitatis anno regni nostri xxiii. usque ad festum Sancti Barnabe apostoli, eodem anno, scilicet per xv. dies."

Liberate de thesauro sup centum et septemdecem

[13]

Permanent Painting
varnish, in the modern sense of the term. The proofs of this will be given hereafter. It may be sufficient here to observe, that, in the English accounts, the

quantity of varnish is always noted by weight, and that of oil by measure. The above passage should be
translated "for
will be
fifteen
oil,

sandarac resin, and colours."

It

seen, that the order relates to the

work of

days only; but it does not follow that the oil varnish was used upon pictures, or operations in paintIn the portion of time specified ing, then executed.

some works may have been varnished and others prepared for it. The date of this mandate is a year before the birth of Cimabue.

In 1259, Master William, the painter, with his as-

and ten-pence for painting a Jesse (no doubt the usual genealogical tree of Christ) on the mantel-piece of the King's Chamber (The Painted Chamber), and "for renovating and
sistants, received forty-three shillings

washing the paintings on the walls of the said chamber," *

This supposes that these celebrated works, consisting

-the

from the Old Testament and from were varnished. Size paintings, withApocrypha, out such a protection, would hardly have been proof
chiefly of subjects

against this "ablution." The tempera, composed chiefly of yolk of egg, is firmer than size, and becomes very solid in time; but the colored remains of the
"Magistro Willelmo Pictori cum hominibus suis circa Jesse in Mantell, camini Regis depingendum et circa picturam parietum ipsius camere Regis innovandam et abluendam, xliii. s. x. d."
*

[14]

Permanent Painting
Painted Chamber (the varnish probably having become decomposed from damp during the lapse of ages) easily yielded to the sponge when they were

examined

in 1819. *

In the period from 1274 to 1277

(3rd to 5th of

Edward

I), an account, apparently relating to the Painted Chamber, contains the following items: "To

Reymund,

for seventeen Ib. of white lead,

ii. s.

x. d.

To

the same, for sixteen gallons (?) of oil, xvi. s. the same, for twenty-four tb. of varnish, xii. s.

To To
;

Hugo
etc. t

le

Vespunt, for eighteen gallons of

oil,

xxxi.

s.,'

Again: "To Reymund, for a hundred (Leaves) iii. s. To the same, for twenty-two ft>. of Elsewhere "To Robert King, varnish, xi. s. i. d." $ for one cartload of charcoal for drying the painting in
of gold,
:

the King's Chamber,

iii. s.

viii.

d."

entry appears to relate to the drying of surfaces painted in oil, but the precaution may also
last

The

have been necessary before varnishing tempera. The application of heat, even before painting in oil, according to the directions of Eraclius, will here be remembered "Ad solem vel ad ignem siccare permittes."
:

It
oil
*

can hardly escape observation, that the practice of

painting taught by Eraclius agrees in
"Reymundo pro
"Reymundo pro

many

details

See Gage Rokewode's Account of the Painted Chamber, 1842, p. 15. Eidem pro xvi. xviii. li. albi plumbi ii. s. x. d. Eidem pro xxiiii. li. verniz xll. s. Hugoni le Vesgal. olei xvi. s. punt pro xviii. gal. olei xxi. s."
t

C. auri

iii.

s.

Eidem pro

xxii.

li.

verniz

xi. s.

i.

d."

"Roberto King pro i. carecta carbonis ad picturam in Camera Regis desiccandam iii. s. viii. d."

[15]

Permanent Painting
with that exemplified in the English records and the circumstance may warrant a supposition that he composed his treatise in this country. 1289 (i7th of Ed;

ward
ber:
size,

I).

The following

materials are enumerated in

an account relating

to repairs in the Painted

Cham-

"white lead, varnish, green, oil, red lead, tin-foil, gold leaf, silver leaf, red ochre, vermilion, indigo,

* azure, earthen vessels, cloth, etc."

In 1292, oil and varnish are twice mentioned in a similar account, t In 1307, in consequence of a fire

(which occurred in 1298), repairs were again undertaken, and similar materials were used.

The

mixture of

records of Ely are more conclusive as to the oil with the colors; and, as the materials

are nearly the same as in the above extracts, it may be inferred that oil painting of some kind was employed
at

Westminster.

Of
the

this,

indeed,

there

are

other

proofs. 1325.
*

Among
plumbo,
allis

items
oil

flagons and a half of

"In
albo
albo,

an account, three are mentioned "for painting

of

vernicio, viridi, oleo, plumbo rubeo, stangno auro, argento, sinople, vermilone, ynde, asura, minutis emptis ad viridandam novam Camereram de petra et ad emendaciones picture mangne Camere Regis sicut patet This extract is given in the per particulas. Summa xii. li. vl. s. vi. d. ob. work last quoted, but with some inaccuracies for example, ranno for panno, and in the heading, verniorum for verinorum. There is no punctuation in the original account-rolls, but vernicio viridi should not have been connected. It would be unjust to point out these trifling oversights in an important and interesting work, without, at the same time, paying a tribute of respect to the memory of one who so often distinguished himself as an accurate and intelligent inves-

cole

(Fr.
et

colle),

ollis,

panno

'

tigator.

t Item in (sic) empt.

iii.

Summa

Summa ix. d. In 1. Ib. vernicio quarteronis olei empti. iiii. d. In ocra, plastro, filo et pelli emptis," etc.
[16]

Permanent Painting
the figures upon the columns."* The term "ymagines," in these and other English records of the time, is used

indiscriminately for painted figures and for statues. In the treatise of St. Audemar the latter are distinguished
as "ymagines rotunde." There can be little doubt that, in the above passage, painted figures were meant; and, in any case, oil colors were used.

appears in abundance, forty-eight flagons altogether; and this may explain its absence in other entries, where colors and
In 1336, in a similar account,
oil

other materials are mentioned without

also be observed that,
if,

oil.

It

should

in mutilated

nish" appears alone,

the oil

it

may

documents, "varalways be inferred that

(without which the vernix, or sandarac, was of no use) was originally included in the list of materials.

In the last mentioned account columns were

to be painted, t

In 1339 and 1341

oil

again appears; in the account

of the former date "for tempering the colours." $ In 1351 oil is mentioned "for making the painting
in the chapel."
*

In

all

these documents,
olei

when varnish

"In

iii.
iii.

pingend.
t
xiii.

lagenis et dimid. s. vi. d."

pro ymaginibus super columnas de-

J3.
"Item
in vii. iv. albi
olei

wmpt. de Thoma d'Elm x. s. iii. d. ob. prec. lagen. lagenis olei empt. de Thoma de Chayk iv. s. xi. d. prec. In xxviii. lagenis et dimid. olei empt. de Nich. de Wickam lagen. x. d. xxvi. s. i. d. ob'. prec. lagen. xi. d. In dimid. lagen. olei empt. v/d. In vas terren, pro oleo imponendo iv. d. quad. In i. longa corda empt. etc. pro le chapital deaurand. et column, depingend. viii. d., $ "In xxxi. lagenis et dimid. olei empt. de quodam nomine de Wickham pro coloribus temperandis xxl. s. prec. lagen. viii. d.," etc. "In oleo empt. pro pictura facienda in capella x. s.," etc. The above extracts relating to Ely Cathedral will be found in the
lagenis
x. d. ob'.

plumbi emp. de eodem

xii.

s.

prec.

i.

d.

In

In

vi.

Archaeologia, vol.

ix.

[17]

Permanent Painting
is

included in the items, the quantity, as usual,

is

noted

in weight.

The

last

accounts in the general

relate
;

list

before given

(1352-1358)

to

St.

Stephen's Chapel.

They

are very numerous but, as already observed, they afford no additional light respecting the particular apIn other respects they are plications of oil painting. of great interest and, like those of the time of Edward I, indicate a practice in art corresponding in almost
;

every particular with that described by Cennini. The large supplies of oil which appear in the Westminster and Ely records, indicate the coarseness of the
oil was required. The quantity to d' at Pinarolo, has exsupplied Giorgio Aquila, cited the surprise of Italian antiquaries * but it now

operations for which

appears that contemporary examples, quite as remarkSuch noable, are to be found in English documents.
as the following kind) at least remove
tices
all

(not the only entries of the doubt as to the nature of

the

oil

sometimes used, and the general purposes for

it

which

was provided.
:

extracts relate to St. Stephen's Chapel. Sept. "For nineteen flagons 19, 1352, (25th of Edward III) of painters' oil, bought for the painting of the chapel,
at 35. 4d.
*

The

the flagon, 435. 4d." t

March

19,

1353:

See a letter from the Padre Guglielmo Delia Valle, in the Giprnale di pisa, 1794. He endeavors to show, notwithstanding the plain expression, "non erat sufficiens in pingendo," that the oil may have been used for lamps. In xix. lagenis olei pictorum emptis t "Die Lune xix. Septembris. pro pictura capelle precium lagene iii. s. iiii. d. xliii. s. iiii. d."

[18]

Permanent Painting
for eight flagons of painters' for the oil, bought painting of the chapel, at 2s. 6d. the flagon, 2os." * May 13, in the same year: "To for de Hennay, seventy flagons and a half of John
painters' oil, bought for the painting of the same Contracting chapel, at 2od. the flagon, 1173. 6d." t

"To Thomas Drayton,

with this lavish use of

oil,

we

find such entries as the

Gilbert Pokerig, for two flagons of following: for the painting of the said chapel, 2d. size, bought To the same, for two earthen vessels for heating the
size,

"To

three halfpence." $

Eggs, which afforded the vehicle for the finer work are not mentioned: this may, however, be accounted for either by the incompleteness of the
in tempera,

records of this period, or by the nature of the work, as the item occurs in earlier documents, hereafter to

be noticed, belonging to the reign of Edward I (1274). It will be observed that the price of the oil used in
St.
is

Stephen's Chapel varies, and that sometimes

it

more than three times the price of that employed at Ely about the same time. The expression "painters It had Oil," applied to the former, may explain this. been probably purified and deprived of its mucilage
by exposure to the sun,
*

in the

mode

then generally

die Marcii. Thome Drayton pro viii. lagenis olei pictorum emptis pro pictura capelle precium lagene ii. s. vi. d. xx. s." t "Die Lune xiii. die Maii. Johanni de Hennaij pro ixx. lagenis et di. olei pictorum emptis pro pictura ejusdem capelle precium lagene xx. d. cxvii. s. vi. d."

"Die Lune

xix.

"Die .L*riv, Lune JV1JV. J~U11*~ xix. V11W die MBOMVU A ** */ U / Marcii (1353). de cole emptis em " pro pictura dicte capelle emptis pro cole calefaciendo i. d. ob."
f. V.

Gilberto VJ11-U
ii.

d.

Eidem pro

ii. lagenis pro "' Pokerig _ * _

'

ii.

ollis terreis

[19]

Permanent Painting
practiced for the preparation of linseed oil which was to serve for better kinds of painting (on surfaces where it was desirable to produce a gloss), and for
the composition of varnishes. This appears the more likely, as the oil was sometimes purchased of the * (then) principal painter, Hugh of St. Albans.

Cennino Cennini gives the most exact formulas for

the preparation of drying oil and varnishes, including prescribed methods for the grinding of colors in oil
for painting in oil

most noteworthy

on iron and on stone, and one of the facts that we have in conjunction

with this remarkable Italian investigator is, the fact, that the description of the varnish kettles for the melting of the gum, and the implements used for stirring are almost identical in shape with those that are used

and in his description of the preparation of drying oil which we now popularly term "gold size," is a slow-drying linseed oil that remains "tacky"
in the present day,

also

and dries without shrivelling. It is noteworthy of mention that our methods for making an oil size do not differ to-day from the formulas prescribed by Cennini.
for several days,

The

early

Italians

were better book-binders than

they were painters, and as nearly all of their subjects were of a religious nature, the madonnas with the gold* "Die Lune xxv. die Julii (1352) Eidem (Magistro Hugoni de Sancto Albano) pro xiii. lagenis olei pictorum emptis pro pictura diste The same quantity, capelle precium lagene iii. s. iiii. d. xliii. s. iiii. d." at the same comparatively high price, is entered on the 19th of SeptemThis extract has been already given. ber following.

[20]

Permanent Painting
all

en background, the saints with the golden halos, were so wonderfully prepared, that to this day we have

excellent examples of this art,

which

is

really a

mix-

ture of book-binding and painting. About the year 1400, the practice of oil painting

had become thoroughly established, due undoubtedly, and investigation of the Van Eycks. The examples of their oil painting which are in exto the research
in a condition that is absolutely a superficial examination of one of the paintings of Hubert Van Eyck in the National Art Gallery in London, shows a brilliancy and fresh-

istence to this

day are

remarkable.

Even

ness that pays an inexpressible tribute to the wonderful care exercised by this master and his brother.

[21]

Permanent Painting

CHAPTER

II

THE PIGMENTS USED BY THE ANCIENTS

THE
due

permanence of the old paintings is entirely to the fact that the painters had very few pigments to work with, and practically all of them were native earths which were in many instances The lapis lazuli which is the exceedingly brilliant. same thing as our ultramarine blue of to-day occurs in nature, and varies in shade from a greenish sky

blue to a dark ultramarine.

The

selection of various

shades of this most permanent pigment gave to all the painters who used it a blue which has not been
surpassed. For the yellow pigments there were ample yellow earths in the form of ochre and sienna, which while

not very brilliant were sufficiently bright for

poses.

all

pur-

The white

effect

about the gesso paintings was pro-

duced by whiting and gypsum, and as white lead was known 400 B. C., either as an artificial product or as a mineral known as cerusite which is a native carbonate of lead, the use of this pigment was well

known

and largely practiced, although its defects were noted by nearly every one of the early writers.
[22]

Permanent Painting
As
far as green
is

concerned, there were several

varieties of minerals that furnished green, principally

malachite, which is a form of carbonate of copper, and no doubt when properly glazed was found to be

amply permanent, although sulphur gases affected it. In addition to these pigments they had Grecian green or Graecum which the French later on called verte de grece, from which the term verdigris is derived. Whether this was metallic copper subjected to vinegar as we now know it, or whether it was the
turquoise mineral or clayey earth stained with phosphate of copper, as may have been the case, it is difficult to say, for the verdigris that

we know

in

modern

transparent, and has the qualities of a lake or and not the qualities of a paint. stain, Concerning the reds which the ancients used, we know that they were familiar with all the red oxides of iron, and the Italians used not only calcined sienna which is a brownish red and now recognized as burnt sienna, but they also calcined ochre, which made a yellower red. The bright red or vermilion used from the thirteenth century on under the name of sinopia, deserves a chapter for itself, and will be described
art
is

later on.

As regards the blue colors, indigo was used by the Phoenicians. This is an organic compound which at
that time, according to the latest researches on the subject, was obtained from the extract of a certain
fish.

We

now

recognize this substance as Indican,

[23]

Permanent Painting
which is chemically analogous to indigo, and is found as a product of decomposition, even in the human beThe dark blue dye that was used in Egypt, and ing. cases is is still preserved in some of the

mummy

recognized as this particular indigo, and as the color is mentioned by Cennini, there is ample evidence of

never was permanent, however, and all our philosophies on the colors of the ancients can only
its

use.

It

refer to those

which have stood the

test of time.

Concerning the blacks, we have evidence that russ which is equivalent to our lampblack was manufactured as far back as 1352, and that in the fourteenth century the calcining of paints even to the ancients

was a familiar operation. * There are about 215 tube colors for sale to-day for the use of painters, and out of this entire amount there

may have any possible use, and ninety-nine painters out of a hundred could get
are not over twelve that

along almost perfectly with seven or eight pigments. The remainder of this vast number of pigments in existence are not only useless, but are a positive detridefect which

ment, because every one of them has some inherent makes it a menace to the permanence

of paintings.

Inasmuch as we are concerned with

painting only as

it has been tried since the time of and as a large number of the paintings Van Eyck, in a perfect state of preservation which are still extant
* Notes See Eastlake, o. 133. Public Library in Strassburg.

from a German manuscript

in

the

[24]

Permanent Painting
have been made since those days, it behooves us to look into the materials and pigments that were used, and as there is no need for any improvement in the
matter of pigments,
the old ones.
to 3000 years we find that the used by the Egyptians, Phoenicians and those pigments
If
it

would be very well

to stick to

we go back 2000

described by Pliny were practically the same as those that were used by the painters of the fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. earths

in the time of Pliny, it having been collected in the furnaces where zinc was melted. But the media used before the discovery that oil could be used in painting, had much to do with the

were used, although it was a manufactured pigment

is

In every case native likely that zinc oxide

permanence and

brilliancy of the colors, for assuming that the principal media in those days was always water with a glutinant such as the white of egg, glue

obtained by boiling parchment in water, or some similar adhesive material, there was no re-action between
the colors when they were dry, so that we have many examples of brilliant tempera paintings that are 600 and 700 years old. The Flemish painters as well as the Italians confined themselves to very few colors, and all the colors used by the painters prior to the time

of

artificial
list:

chemical colors are included in the

fol-

lowing

Red: Sinopia, or

cinnibar,

which

is

the

same

as

our vermilion, but inasmuch as the native sinopia was

[25]

Permanent Painting
used, a variety of shades were obtained by selecting ores ranging from orange to a very deep red.

of iron, which were native, and burnt ochres and burnt siennas. The burnt ochres and burnt
siennas are
all

Red oxides

equivalent to the

Mars

colors of to-day.

Yellow: native ochre, native sienna. Green: pow.dered malachite, terre verte or green
earth.

Brown:
to cassel

native

umber and bituminous earth

similar

brown, vandyke brown, etc. Black: burnt ivory, charred bones and condensed

soot (lampblack).

White: plaster of Paris (gypsum), whiting (calcium carbonate). These two were used for gesso painting and later for oil painting. White lead (cerusite), zinc oxide moderately, and tin oxide, but from the evidence at hand white lead was used more than
any other white pigment.
Blue: the principal blue used was lapis lazuli, which is identical with the ultramarine blue of to-day. This ranges in color from a sky blue to a deep ultramarine, and was selected according to shade.
It

must not be inferred

that

all

the pigments used by

the painters of ancient times were absolutely permanent, for only those that have survived have been per-

manent pigments, orpiment, for

tri-sulphide of arsenic, other pigments.
is

instance,

which

is

the

a color which interacted with

[26]

Permanent Painting
A
lakes

number of

lakes

were used which are the ex-

woods, as well as of plants, such as the beet and cactus and red berries, but none of these red
tracts of

were permanent.

[27]

Permanent Painting

CHAPTER
SINOPIA

III

THE SEARCH FOR THE MASTERS' SECRET

MUCH
ters

upon the

time and thought has been expended so-called search for the secret of

the old masters.

This search was probably

started by Sir Joshua Reynolds, who had the idea that the permanence of the pictures of the old mas-

was

largely due to

some

secret

knowledge which

they possessed of certain colors, and that the socalled sinopia of the old masters was a red which

disappeared and had been duplicated after the sixteenth century. On the contrary it is quite certain that the early Italian and Flemish painters had no
secrets.

Their painting was conducted upon

sense

lines

of

common

and

intellectual

investigation.

Rubens, Rembrandt, Franz Hals and their contemporaries did not use over five or possibly seven colors, and the sinopia which they used was all of one origin.
Sinopia is evidently derived from the word sinopis,* and means a red earth from which the name cinnibar has been derived. We have therefore the cinnibar or red earth which was well known as far back as the twelfth century, and was found in an Austrian locality
*

Die Malerei der Alten, Johns.

[28]

Permanent Painting
now known
of Venetia.
as Idria, which at that time

was a province In Spain * this pigment has likewise

long been known and is still found there to-day. It occurs as a bright red earth varying in color from scarlet to deep red, which is nothing more nor less than
quick silver vermilion in with oxide of iron.
its

native

form, together

analyses made by the author of fragments of paintings of the fourteenth century, bright reds are conclusively proven to be sulphide of mercury or vermilion.
It is also well

From

known

that for thousands of

years the Chinese either made vermilion artificially, or carefully selected the bright particles from their native ores, and that the Chinese vermilion was in-

troduced into Venetia during the thirteenth century This celebrated explorer traveled by Marco Polo. eastward, and found the first passage to the Orient.

However, as the first authentic biography of Marco Polo was written by John Baptist Remusio 200 years after Marco Polo's death, there is some doubt as to some of the details of his trip. So we have, not only the introduction of the artificial and natural Chinese
vermilion into Italy during the thirteenth century, but we have the Spanish ores of Almaden, and ores from
the mines of Idria, from which all shades of bright red were selected for the production of this so-called sinopia, which was supposed to have been the brilliant

and permanent red which was one of the causes of

*

The Almaden Mines.

[29]

Permanent Painting
the superiority of the lost art, and one of the alleged great secrets of the old masters. In examining a piece of ore from the Idria section,
it is

noted that

many

bright shades of red

may

be ex-

and as sulphide of mercury when properly varnished and not exposed to brilliant sunshine does
tracted

not change, we have a satisfactory explanation of the celebrated permanent red.

There is no doubt that in addition to using this red as a body color, hundreds of artists glazed this natural or artificial red with madder lake, and the
condition of paintings of Franz Hals and his contemporary school is evidence of that fact.

Some

statements have been

made

that sinopia

is

color redder than vermilion, and was der, but as vermilion or cinnibar is
the shades of red

made from madcomposed of

deep
scarlet,
all

from minium

to

and

as

madder was known during that time, it is more than likely that the madder was used either as a glaze or mixed with vermilion, and in either case it was perall

manent, because

of the painters of that time var-

made referring to madwood lake, and Eastlake makes the statement "Lignum brasilium nascitur in partibus Alexandriae et est rubei coloris." Brazil wood has
der as a Brazil
origin in a part of Alexandria, and is of red color, but inasmuch as Brazil was neither discovered nor
its

nished their pictures. Some statements have been

exploited for several centuries afterwards, this state-

[30]

Permanent Painting
ment must be taken to refer to some particular wood which was called Brazil 'wood, and which was indigenous to the country around Alexandria, and cannot be confounded with the Brazil wood we know, which produces a maroon dye that is exceedingly fugitive.
concerned, not to waste painters their time in a search of this kind for these old masters
is
it

As

far as the secret of the old masters for

would be very wise

modern

whose pictures have lived to this day, were possessed of only one secret, which was common sense.

[31]

Permanent Painting

CHAPTER

IV

PHOTO-CHEMICAL DETERIORATION OF OIL PAINTINGS*

oil

ALL

paintings
oil

show unmistakable
visit the

age.

Students

who

signs of various art galleries

and copy old

paintings invariably glaze them

with a lake color or asphaltum, so that the lighter colors are toned down and show a yellowish brown tinge, which to all of us is an unmistakable sign of

The cause of this deterioration is age. the entire literature of oil paintings, as
writer could learn.

nowhere

in

far as the
all

number of

writers have

suggested a remedy, which suggests the causes, the remedy given being the exposure of a painting to
bright sunlight. The change in color is always more apparent in the high lights, and where light tints have
used, and inasmuch as water and tempera painting do not show

been

colors,
this

pastels,

particular

deterioration,

it

is

not

lie

in the

pigment

quite evident that the cause does itself, nor in the sub-stratum

upon which is painted, but in the medium which is used to bind the pigment to its foundation. In search* Read before the 7th International Congress of Applied Chemistry, London, May 28, 1909.

[32]

Permanent Painting
walls
for

ing for the cause, an analogous condition exists on of buildings which are painted in oil paint,
it is

always apparent that where the sun shines on

either retains
its

pristine color or becomes back of the picture there is Similarly, a distinct yellowing or browning of the pigment which gives a clear line of demarkation where the picture hung. Another piece of evidence is the fact that no such yellowing occurs where walls are painted with

a wall

it

more

brilliant.

distemper or water colors, but this particular reaction

is

used.

apparent in every instance where oil pigments are After finding the cause the task of finding a

remedy was more simple. A series of experiments were tried by the author in the following sequence, and with the following results That the cause is what may be termed the effect of light on a mixture of 'white lead, zinc oxide and lin:

seed

oil,

or a linseed

oil

varnish

is

evident because

paint chemists have long known that white lead in any form, whether it be called flake white, kremitz
tion
oil

white, silver white or white lead, has a reducing acon the pigment present in linseed oil, or linseed

varnish, and that this reducing action changes this pigment into another pigment which is yellow. It may fairly be asked whether such a reaction can take

To this question place if the linseed oil is bleached. the reply must be given that the bleaching of linseed oil does not destroy the color which is present, but
simply changes
it

from an

olive yellow to

an exceed-

[33]

Permanent Painting
ingly pale yellow, which can hardly be seen, so if we take refined or bleached linseed oil and mix it with

oxide,

white lead or a pigment containing white lead or zinc we have a very brilliant white which remains

we

If white as long as it is exposed to bright light. take this mixture and place it for six weeks in

an absolutely dark place, the white paint changes into the well known yellow tint and it is this particular change which produces in all paintings the distinct yellowness of age. Flaxseed, from which linseed oil is made, contains a coloring matter which is known as chlorophyll. This is the same coloring matter which
is

found

in all plants, in

many

of the

woods and

in

a large

number

of

gums and

resins, particularly in the

fossil resins.

Vibert, the well

fact without

known French

having been able to trace

painter, knew this it to its chemical

cause, and this led him to abandon entirely linseed oil as a binding medium and to substitute petroleum

and colophony compounds with which he painted most of his pictures. Nearly all of his subjects contain little or no light colors, such as whites or straw colors,
but as his particular forte lay in painting pictures of cardinals, the original brilliancy of his paintings still remains, and there is no reason why his pictures

should not endure for centuries, if they are properly protected from any influence of the elements and ob-

noxious gases of modern civilization. A long series of experiments were, therefore, made
[34]

Permanent Painting
and commercial chlorophyll, which is the coloring matter of flaxseed, grass, and the fossil resins, was taken and mixed with white lead and zinc oxide (zinc white), exposed to the sunlight for a short time and then placed in a dark closet for varying periods from six weeks to three months. In every instance the white turned yellow; sometimes a bright canary yellow, sometimes a dirty yellowish brown, but the yellow effect was always obtained. A similar line of experiments was made in which gum damar was dissolved in turpentine, naphtha and benzol, and Gum damar and turpenthe results carefully noted. tine showed only an exceedingly slight decomposition, and gum damar containing a small percentage of benzol and a large percentage of naphtha showed no
is not very sensitive but shades, fortunately we have the photographic plate. Photographs taken of these various mixtures on plates which are not over sensitive to

decomposition.
these

The human eye

to

the

yellow show up these results with better effect than human eye can discern them in the original

chlorophyll experiment. Another line of experiments

was carried
used.

out, in

which bleached linseed

posed for
.three

oil

was

This turned

exceedingly yellow in three months, but

when
it

exbe-

months

to the bright sunlight

came

white again, and upon being placed in a dark closet for another three months no change took
brilliant

place.

Those parts of the painted experiment which

.[35]

Permanent Painting
in the

had been bleached by the sunlight remained white dark closet at the end of the experiment. This

would, therefore, prove that when a picture has turned yellow it can safely be exposed to the sunlight in order to bring it back to its natural brilliancy, provided, of course, that no part of it has been painted with asphaltum or bitumen, for the asphaltum and bitumen instead of bleaching in the light become
black.
ical

To

those

who

are interested in this photo-chem-

experiment, the author refers to his paper on "The Influence of Sunlight on Paints and Varnishes," Journal Society of Chemical Industry, April 15, 1908, No.
7,

Vol.

XXVII.

all of the varnishes, with few exceptions, contribute largely to this deterioration of oil paintings, because the coloring matter in a dark place or away from the brilliant light changes from a neutral

Nearly

or invisible to a yellowish tint, which is due to a direct decomposition of chlorophyll into one of its lower
bodies.

A similar line of experiments were conducted with such resins as Manila copal, West Coast copal,

and Zanzibar copal, all of which turned yellow even though no linseed oil was present. It is, therefore, easy to conclude that these and all fossil resins contain coloring matters similar to those present in grass, flaxseed, and in some instances, turpentine.

Furthermore,
for

all

of these fossil resins

when used

making varnish are reduced or fluxed in a solution of linseed oil. The varnishes which, however, do not
[36]

Permanent Painting
show
this

same

effect are the alcohol varnishes

com-

posed of solutions of bleached shellac, sandarac, and

mastic, although these
resisted

toward turning yellow.

the

action

show also some slight tendency The one resin which, however, of darkening when mixed with
damar.

white lead was

gum

As

there are three well

arts, the

known

varieties of this

gum

used in the

au-

thor has found that Batavia, Singapore and Pedang, when selected for brilliancy of color in their original
these

are the safest to use, but there are varieties of three gums which are originally yellow and should be avoided either as a varnish or as a medium
state,

The objection may be urged that for oil painting. the solution of gum damar is not sufficiently binding
compared with linseed oil, but to this the answer must be made that an oil painting is never exposed to the elements and is certainly more tenacious and less liable to decomposition than the media used by
as
the ancients such as white of egg, mucilaginous mathave authentic records where paintings ter, etc.

We

executed by the Romans with poor and weak media have lasted for upwards of twenty centuries. Of the solid white pigments, which induce the

and varnishes, white lead is the and zinc sulphide, or lithopone, is the weakest. It has been urged that lithopone, which is a mixture of zinc sulphide and barium sulphate barium sulphate being the old permanent white or
decomposition of
oil

strongest in its action

blanc fixe

should be substituted for

all

white pig-

[37]

Permanent Painting
ments in oil painting, but this cannot be urged at present for the reason that the majority of the lithopories

upon by light and turn gray, although there are a variety of patents for the manufacture of lithopone which are alleged to be permanent. On examare acted

ining these

we

find that their brilliancy

is

superin-

duced by the addition of a soluble salt such as nitrate of soda, and when lithopone, either according to the
special American patents or the German patents, is mixed with gum damar solution no change takes place, but when mixed with linseed oil, either bleached or unbleached, the soluble salt produces the same
effect as white lead in so far that
it

reduces the color-

ing matter from a neutral and invisible tint to a yellow or yellowish pigment, and, therefore, no advantage is

gained at present by the use of this so-called permanent lithopone. Zinc oxide, or zinc white, is therefore,
as yet, the most permanent pigment, although permanent white or blanc fixe is absolutely inert but it has the inherent weakness that it has no hiding power and
is

more of a glaze than an opaque pigment. However, if linseed oil is insisted upon by the paintreally

er the raw, unbleached, unrefined product should be used for it is reasonable to assume that it cannot

grow any darker

visibly hidden, but

as long as the coloring matter is not may improve, for upon exposure

the coloring matter will surely bleach, and upon replacing the painting in a poorly lighted room it will

not

grow any darker than

it

originally

was when

the

38]

Permanent Painting
painters use poppy oil, which is other painters use walnut oil, but the author finds that while poppy oil and walnut oil are

painter used

it.

Some

almost colorless

theless

not so prone to become yellow with age, they neverdo become yellow and have in addition the

fault of drying exceedingly slowly, which interferes largely with the progress of the painting. The driers' that painters use are also to be avoided. The one color, megilp,

which contains both lead and manganese,

frequently exhibits a dirty pink, and the sugar of lead drier turns the oil yellow even quicker than white
lead does.

Summing up

the facts before us,

it

is

reasonable to

conclude that in order to make a painting permanent a medium like damar or mastic varnish, which has

back of it a long history and is not experimental, may be advocated for general use as a varnish with which to glaze a painting and preserve its permanency. It
has very few defects and much in its favor. In looking over the works of the Flemish artists, particularly those by the Van Eycks, which may be seen in the

London

galleries,

it

is

quite

evident that

all

these

painters used a

other than tempera. It is medium that the contained little exceedingly likely linseed oil, and possibly a varnish composed of an
soluble

medium

easily

gum,

either like

damar or

mastic.

39]

Permanent Painting

CHAPTER V

THE CAUSE OF THE CRACKING OF PAINTINGS AND THE REMEDIES

is

very interesting to note that the

little

which

IT

is

written on this subject varies with the actual facts presented in the case, and in addition is

relatively incomplete. Nearly all writers give, as the cause of the cracking of paintings, two or three ordinary phenomena, when, as a matter of fact, the

cause of the cracking of paintings may be due to a large variety of causes. The following are the principal causes for the cracking of paintings
:

The application of such pigments as, for instance, umber or zinc white over lampblack, graphite,
1.

black lead, asphaltum or lake. 2. The application to a picture of a varnish over

a surface that has not been thoroughly dried. The effect of dry atmosphere on a painting, 3.

which contracts the canvas and leaves the paint

in its original size.

film

The unequal tension or compression of a can4. vas due to moisture.

5.

The

application of a

flat

drying paint over a

glossy paint.

[40]

cracks.

Photo-micrograph of a section of an oil painting shoeing A. A. is a photograph of the warp of the canvas. The oblong white surfaces are thin films of paint which are cracked through tension and drying.

Permanent Painting

.
I

orier

of fact, the

The
:e

fo!

cracking of PC ation of such r

r

or zinc white over Ian-

ohaltum or
t

lake,

plication to a pictu

has no
dry atr
the canvas

and
M

;o rtqut^o1oH<4

Permanent Painting
6.
7.

The application of megilp over The use of bitumen as a glaze.

a soft ground.

learn from practical painters who apply and varnishes to the surfaces of carriages, automobiles and railway cars, that a proper ground must
I.

We

colors

be prepared so that each coat will be dependent upon the other, and that the priming coat shall be harder

than the layer above never have surfaces

it.

Practical painters, however,

like

canvas to paint, excepting

directly applied by means of a glutinant to a wall or similar foundation. notice, even in the climate of North America, where

when

these surfaces are

We

the temperature variation

is

about 130

R,

that the

paint film on nearly all vehicles is permanent without cracking or peeling for several years. The principal cause is that a priming coat is applied of a hard drying

rubbed down so as to present a smooth layer, and that a gloss coat is never placed over a gloss coat, but a gloss coat is always applied over a flat coat, in which case we have what is known as a "mechanical bond." Canvas made of linen is exceedingly susceptible to
paint which
is

and uniform

the

influence

of

moisture,

and prepared canvas

is

is

generally sold with a coating that and has a better grain so that the
takes
hold.

sufficiently

flat

first

layer at least

In order, therefore, to prevent crackgood and to ing remedy it when it has taken place, it is essential to apply a good coat of paint on the back of [41]

Permanent Painting
the canvas,

or to

mount

the finished picture

upon

another sheet of canvas which has been previously The paint which has been found most suitpainted.
able for the prevention of the absorption of moisture by a finished picture, and which in many instances will

up minute hairline cracks that have already started, is a mixture composed of one pound of red lead, dry, one pound white zinc, ground in oil, thinned with sufficient raw oil and turpentine to make a ready
close

This for use paint, having the consistency of cream. mixture cannot be kept ready for use, because the red lead will combine with the oil and form a species of cement which dries very hard, and yet has some flexThe application of such a mixture to the back ibility.
of a canvas

makes

it

mospheric influences,
painting.

impervious to moisture and atand preserves an otherwise weak

the cracking occurs through the influence on the back of the canvas, it is due absolutely exerted to an engineering condition which is known as "comThe accompanying diagram pression and tension." so that we may have cracking illustrates this fact, due to a curvature of the painted which is entirely surface which is known as tension, or a compression of the canvas side, which is known as compression. The artistic painter can demonstrate this for himself, if he will take an ordinary kodak film, which is perfectly flat, and paint one side of it with a mixture
of,

When

say, zinc white or

reduced with turpentine only,

[42]

A
The Engineering
line
is

N EUTR AL AXIS

^-CANVAS
features of a painting at rest in

which the centre

the neutral axis.

CRACK5
PRODUCED
THROUGH TENSION

B
The canvas
in

NEUTRAL
AXIS

compression and the paint in tension, the tension producing cracks owing to the expansion of the paint films.

WRINKLES

NEUTRAL
AXIS

The paint in compression and the canvas in tension, which is the cause of paint films being forced from the canvas as indicated by the arrow.

Permanent Painting
it will not curl, and bend the surface which has been painted in an outward direction, whereupon he will find that the painted surface will show minute delicate cracks, which explains the theory of tension, and the theory of compression. The side in tension which is

fasten

it

to a

board so that

when

it

is

dry,

the painted side, invariably cracks. This then goes far toward explaining why pictures painted on metal or on wood have stood for centuries and have not

cracked, and why unprotected pictures painted on canvas have cracked. Even wood panels are better protected when they are varnished on the reverse side

than when they are permitted to warp. The author cites as an illustration a painting by

Michau on an oak panel which had for two centuries remained evidently in a perfectly flat condition in Belgium, but became badly warped when brought over to America, and only the application on the edges and the reverse side of two coats of the red lead and zinc paint, prevented what might have been a bad cracking of the panel
the United States
itself.

The

climate in the winter in

shows an abnormally dry condition, and in the summer an abnormally moist condition, so that a painting which will curve outwardly in the
winter through the contraction of the underside, will curve inwardly in the summer time, and this alternate bending inwardly and outwardly would eventually

show some
2.

cracks.

One

of the most fruitful surfaces for the crack-'

[43]

Permanent Painting
the varnishing of a picture before it is dry, and complaints are frequently heard that some varnishes are less liable to crack than others. This

ing of pictures

is

is

show a tendency

largely the case with the alcohol varnishes which to crack, and owing to their brittle-

ness they should only be used under certain conditions. the alcohol varnishes dry by evaporation they dry very rapidly. Many of the paints expand in the drying

As

and some few of them ultimately contract, so that

in either case varnishing even after apparent dryness with an alcohol varnish will produce very bad cracks. It has been generally stated, as an axiom, that a picture should be six months old before it be varnished.

This
it is

is merely an arbitrary figure, and in every instance far better to wait a year if it can be conveniently

done, than to varnish a picture in six months. Where, for instance, a very slow drying pigment like any one

of the lakes, lampblack, black lead, etc., are used, and the picture is varnished before these pigments are

thoroughly dry, cracking is bound to ensue. We therefore have the familiar phenomenon of a varnished
picture which cracks in some places and is perfectly intact in others. This is due entirely to the so-called It is therefore selective drying of the pigment itself.

wise under any circumstance to expose a picture to a

current of air and to the bright light before varnishing. This can always be obviated by properly paint3.

ing the underside of the canvas. the underside is not desirable,

Where
the

a painting of picture can be

[44]

Permanent Painting
stretch upon metal or of white of canvas by means a mixture of lead and
either

mounted

Venice turpentine.
4,

The

climatic influence

which has

be'

described,

and which
is

will

cause crack;

on canvas,

more

noticeable in climates like

the eastern part of the United States than Germany or England where the atmosphere
tively moist the year round. Paintings catpreserved in any climate when they are prop If the tected against dampness or dry air.
is

applied had the sam

efficient

is technically ca* of expansion," as the pigments the there would be no trouble from this source.

which

paint film of an oil painting is exceedingly absorb moisture, and when the air is dry it the moisture just as slowly, whereas ca very readily and dries out very readily.

dry wood, absorbs moisture readily than canvas. There are a large n slowly on paintings copper which have been ter
ticularly
>

served for many centuries, so that where can use either well seasoned wood or c -;

a
;

advisableTo do
5.
-iff

so.

tive

drying qualities of paints an

v
~"f""

n>qo

9-t)

$}im

^jrt.

.rtfeui

iiib

for the painter to follow the

The tollowing experiment

Phofo-micro raph of cracks

<

in

dust encysted in the varnish.

fissures.

a painting, and dirt or These cracks are open

Permanent Painting
mounted
either

of canvas by

upon metal or upon another stretch means of a mixture of white lead and
which has been previously

Venice turpentine.
4.

The

climatic influence

described,

and which
is

on canvas,

more

cause cracks particularly noticeable in climates like those in

will
it

the eastern part of the United States than Germany or England where the atmosphere
tively

is

in

is

rela-

moist the year round.

in

Paintings can be best

they are properly pro-

preserved

any climate

when

If the material tected against dampness or dry air. is which the had the same expanupon paint applied

sion

and contraction which

is

technically called "co-

efficient

of expansion," as the pigments themselves, there would be no trouble from this source, but the paint film of an oil painting is exceedingly slow to

absorb moisture, and when the air is dry it gives up the moisture just as slowly, whereas canvas absorbs very readily and dries out very readily. Wood, particularly

dry wood, absorbs moisture readily but more

slowly than canvas.

There are a large number of old

paintings on copper which have been technically preserved for many centuries, so that where a painter

can use either well seasoned

advisable to do so.
5.

wood

or copper,

it

is

tive

In the proper chapter (see page 187), the reladrying qualities of paints are given, and it is wise

for the painter to follow the rules laid

down.

The following experiment

[45]

will illustrate a fruitful

Permanent Painting
source of cracks in painting and many other pigments will act in a similar manner to a greater or lesser degree.

burnt

Materials like minium, which is red lead, or umber, dry with great rapidity, particularly

turpentine is added. Apply either one of these pigments over a ground work of pigments composed of lampblack or a lake, and it will be readily noted
that within

when

two weeks the top coat

the bottom coat will expand, so that, pigments do not dry co-ordinately, cracks will develop and the surface will resemble alligator hide, sometimes minutely, and sometimes with scales almost as large
as those of the alligator hide
6.
itself.

and two because these

will contract

of megilp. This refers to the previous paragraph, and comes under the same heading, for megilp is a powerful

The use

oxidizing agent, and will produce a cracking when mixed with any pigment if placed over a soft drying

ground. The same phenomenon results if megilp is used excessively with even a slow drying color such
as

madder

of this fact,

lake or lampblack. Megilp, irrespective is a material which should not be used

by any painter, for in addition to its rapid drying of qualities, it has a destructive influence on many
the finer colors.

Bitumen as a glaze has been productive of more damage than painters are aware of. It will produce cracks over almost any pigment to which it be applied, for it dries principally by evaporation, whereas
7.

[46]

Permanent Painting
ground upon which it is placed dries by oxidation. photo-chemical defects have been described under the heading of asphaltum, page 89, and need not be rethe
Its

peated here, but its physical defects are so patent, and it has been productive of so much disaster in the production of cracks, owing to unequal tension which
it

produces, that

it

should never be used.

[47]

Permanent Painting

CHAPTER

VI

CANVAS, WOOD AND METAL AS FOUNDATIONS

is

IT

ture

obvious that the best foundation for any picThe next choice is a is a sheet of metal.

panel of oak or mahogany thoroughly seasoned, and last and least, a stretch of canvas. Copper has been used for centuries as a foundation for pictures, and as such cannot be improved upon, particularly if the copper be rolled out sufficiently thin and fastened Next in choice and to a well seasoned piece of wood. perhaps just as good, is zinc, but as both copper and
zinc are exceedingly smooth, it is always advisable to roughen the surface by means of sand or emery

powder, which gives it the appearance of ground glass, after which it takes the first coat of paint with
perfect ease.

would only follow the precept and of coach painters, who, from time imme.experience morial have followed the same rule, pictures would
If artistic painters

be

much more permanent and less liable to crack. The coach painter, and in this category must be inthe

cluded

railway car painter and the automobile

[48]

mahogany panel showing serious cracks produced by varnishing the picture before the underlying coat was sufficiently dry.
(Painting in the possession of the author.)

Painting on

Permanent Painting

JDATIC
obvious that the best
f<

ture

is

a sheet of n

oak or mahogany the and

r

least,

a stretch
a

Copper has
-res,

centuries as
i

cannot be :opper be rolled out to a well seasoned piece

<

and and
Iways advisable
the
ap:

and
vith

ick.

The
clud
148]

in ~

Permanent Painting
painter, prepare the metal or

wooden surface by first rubbing with sandpaper, emery cloth or pumice stone.
imperfections in the surface are generally removed by the application of a first coating of what is known as "rough stuff." Rough stuff may be a
to

Any

finely
clay,

powdered mineral such as slate or silicious which a little lampblack and white lead is

added.

which

is not oil but Japan varnish, composed of a hard, quick-drying varnish containing very little oil. After two or three days, is

The medium

or sooner, this coating is sufficiently dry to be rubbed again, and a coat of white lead and lampblack is then
applied, or pure white lead

mixed with the same Japan

as "Gold

varnish which

is

known

Size Japan," or

"Coach Makers Japan." After this second coat is rubbed it presents a good surface for subsequent painting, which is exceedingly hard, but yet not brittle. This description refers, of course, to painting on a solid foundation like wood or metal, for on canvas
such a treatment is ill advised owing to the unequal expansion and contraction between the canvas and the hard coating of such a priming paint.

From experiments which the author has made, it would appear that a sheet of aluminum -j^ of an inch thick rubbed with either linseed oil and finely powdered emery, or with pumice stone and water, presents a surface upon which a mixture of zinc white and white lead may be applied, forming a surface most desirable for subsequent painting, and giving a film which
[49]

Permanent Painting
should be permanent for all time. Under no circumstances should the priming coat of any picture dry with a high gloss, otherwise no union takes place be-

tween the
applied.

film of paint

and the metal

to

which

it

be

The unequal expansion between an

elastic

coat and a rigid metal are very undesirable, but in spite of any good advice that may be given on this
subject,

painters

will

continue

to

paint

on canvas,

and such being the

case, the best advice to give is

Flemish painters, and the canvas either on a or metal foundation wood paste with white lead and Venice turpentine.
to follow the precepts of the old

Where canvas
is is

is

mounted on a wooden

stretcher,

and

sufficiently dry, the best application for the back a hard drying semi-elastic paint, composed of red

lead, white lead

and zinc oxide, raw

oil

and turpentine.
is

This should be applied until a thick glossy coating

obtained.
hibits

Such a coating prevents cracks, and

in-

any chemical action through the underside of

of ready

the canvas.

not always This statement refers to the canvas ready for immediate painting. Where a paintj er has the time a canvas may be purchased mounted
is

The purchase

made canvas

to

be recommended.

upon a proper stretcher and treated in the following manner: A first coat of white lead is applied to the front and back of the canvas, and then a second coat of zinc oxide on the front of the canvas is properly rubbed down and smoothed. This makes an admirable
[50]

Permanent Painting
surface which has sufficient tooth to take subsequent
coats.
It

glue

has often been advised to prime canvas with a size, but the glue is continually subject to the

which it will absorb on a damp day and release again on a dry day, so that continual contraction and expansion take place, which is one of the causes of the cracking of paintings. A good hard coat of paint composed of white lead, more zinc and
influence of moisture,

coach painter's japan properly applied to the surface of canvas will, in a few days, lay the lint sufficiently hard so that it can be sandpapered smooth. The next coat,

which should also be a coat that does not dry glossy and that contains sufficient turpentine, will make a perfectly smooth foundation, and a paint of this sort is less subject to expansion and contraction than one painted on a glue size. Any painter can prepare a dozen canvases after this method, and if they are placed in the sun and allowed to ripen with age, they eventually become hard without becoming brittle. For a canvas which is to be rolled up, a totally different method must be pursued. Such a canvas must have a very flexible foundation, and this can best be obtained by using raw linseed oil with a mixture of white lead and lampblack as a first coat. This mixture will take several days to dry. It should be very thinly applied, each coat containing less lampblack
until a white surface is obtained.

The

rear side of

the canvas

where

it is

to be rolled up, should be treated

[51]

Permanent Painting
solely with a coat of

raw

linseed oil

and nothing
flexible

else.

canvas so treated will remain

for

many

years.

[52]

Permanent Painting

CHAPTER

VII

PREPARATION OF CANVAS IN COMMERCIAL PRACTICE

for oil painting
is

stretched

upon large

frames, and receives a sizing coat of glue and CANVAS

water. After this sizing coat is dry, three coats white lead in oil slightly tinted with black to The first coat is produce a gray color are applied.
of

generally a very thick mixture of lead, oil, turpentine and drier which is applied to the canvas by means
knife.

of a stick, and then scraped off with a curved steel This is done for the purpose of pressing the material into the fibre of the canvas, and likewise
for the purpose of producing a perfectly smooth surface. The two following coats are usually applied

by means of brushes, and the material is thinned down with turpentine so that it will dry perfectly flat. The canvas is then stripped from the frame and rolled up, and after a few months becomes decidedly brittle. Up to date there has been no improvement in the preparation of canvas and it is difficult to believe that
in this
still

age of progress the preparation of canvas is a hand-made procedure. Canvas ought really to
[53]

Permanent Painting
be coated on both sides, and the coatings should be so very flexible that the question of cracking when
the canvas
is

rolled

up should be

entirely eliminated.

panels is not to be recommended in America, unless the wood is thoroughly seasoned. After it has been seasoned and planed, it should be

The

use of

wood

allowed to soak for several weeks in a linseed

varnish in order that
it

oil

may

absorb sufficient material

The hygroscopic condito prevent future warping. tions in America are totally different from those preIn Europe a painting on wood remain perfect for centuries, because the amount of moisture in the air remains fairly uniform for a given locality, but even on the sea coasts in the United
vailing in Europe.
will

States the moisture conditions in the atmosphere vary so remarkably that it is below normal in the winter
time,

and above normal

is

the

atmosphere numbers, 100 representing a saturated condition of

the atmosphere during a rain storm. Fifty is exceedingly dry, but in the winter on a clear day the humidity in

Humidity in generally expressed by arbitrary

in the

summer.

the atmosphere is expressed by the figure 30. In such an atmosphere materials may be said to be

anhydrous.

An

oil

tected either

painting on wood, unless it be properly proby successive coats of paint on all sides,

or has been previously soaked in oil, varnish or shellac, will warp in the winter time with a curvature on the
side of the painting, the reverse side being convex.

[54]

Permanent Painting
The
result
is

that the obverse or painted side

becomes

cracked.

therefore preferable to paint on metal or on the composition known as academy board, which is a
It is

wood pulp or paper surface formed by cementing together several thicknesses of pasteboard or cardboard, and applying a coat of oil paint on what ultimately becomes the obverse
side.

[55]

Permanent Painting

CHAPTER VIII
RENOVATION AND CLEANING OF PICTURES

THERE
is

perhaps no subject on which so little definitely known as the renovation or cleaning

is

of

oil paintings, for

the reason that no set rules

that

anyone who athave some knowledge oils and of the pigments, varnishes that were used; otherwise good results are not obtained, and in many
can be given.
It
is

essential

tempts to clean a picture should

instances the painting is ruined. If we attempt to clean a picture with soap and water, which is very

frequently done, and it happens to be an old painting of the tempera type, soap and water would dissolve the
entire picture with ruinous results, but if the painting

made on wood or metal such preliminary cleaning can be resorted to, but no strong friction or attrition should take place on account of the danger of
is

on the other hand, we attempted to wood alcohol and turpentine, and it were painted with the same colors and media used by Vibert, and recommended by him, the picture would be almost instantly dissolved and effaced from
abrasion.
If,

clean a picture with

[56]

Permanent Painting
canvas. It therefore becomes imperative to experiment on the edge of a picture, preferably that part which is usually protected by the frame, with various solvents, in order to determine exactly what
its

will take place.

remedy for cracks is concerned, the referred to the chapter on "The Cause of the Cracking of Pictures Its Prevention and Remedy."
far as the
is

As

reader

Therefore, this chapter will only deal with renovation, and it is assumed that the person who attempts to
clean a painting is familiar with the materials used, and inasmuch as perhaps ninety-nine paintings out

of one hundred that look like

oil paintings are oil the remedies paintings, given by the author are for this class of pictures entirely.

determine the mount, whether If it is canboard or canvas. wood, academy be courses two vas, pursued first, paint the back may
first essential is to
it

The
is

of the picture (see page 41), or second, mount the canvas with a mixture of white lead and Venice turpentine

on
of

another
chemical
these

canvas.
solvents

number
varnish,

There are a large which remove old

be

but

should

only

used

by

skilled operator.
ical

The most important

of these chem-

solvents

amyl
alcohol

are acetone, benzine, naphtha, benzol, acetate, (fusel amyl alcohol oil), ethyl

methyl alcohol (wood alcohol), and various mixtures of these substances. The least harmful and the weakest is or(grain
alcohol),
terpineol,

[571

Permanent Painting
dinary benzine, such as is used for cleaning gloves and garments, but it is not sufficiently strong to dissolve
old dried cracked varnish.

At

the

same

time, a solvent

strong enough may likewise be strong enough to destroy the painting itself. Whether the picture is varnished or not, or-

which

is

to dissolve cracked varnish

dinary wood alcohol is taken either on a clean cotton rag or a sponge, and lightly rubbed in one corIf it be varnished, the wood alcohol wi ! ner.
1

very

likely

dissolve

the

varnish

without

touching

the painting, but if there is any difficulty in dissolving the varnish, a mechanical mixture of turpentine and

wood
sion as

alcohol

would have

to be used,

and as a general
Forcible abra-

rule this will take off all the varnish.

must never be resorted to, a rule, take off some of the

oil

for any wet rag will, The dried linpaint.

seed

pentine, but

or other drying oil film is not soluble in turis attacked by wood alcohol after prolonged use. Therefore, if pure turpentine will cleanse a picture, it is wise to let it go at that, and as a general rule,

painting,

assuming always that the picture is an stiff brush will very frequently aid

oil

in

cleansing almost every part of a picture without the addition of wood alcohol, so that we have here only

two re-agents which are necessary. It is necessary to warn everyone not to try the so-called paint removers, benzol or carbon tetrachloride mixtures which are sold, because in many instances the use of these materials is very harmful because the solvent action is
[58]

Permanent Painting
entirely too great. Ordinary naphtha or gasoline, such as is used for cleaning gloves, can be very safely recom-

mended, because

its

solvent action

is

not as great as

that of turpentine and wood alcohol, so that, with the aid of these three materials, almost any varnish can be

removed, and any adherent foreign substance easily

washed
but this soap
is

off.

The use
is

of soap and water is recommended by many, always more or less dangerous unless the
It always finds its way into absorbed by the canvas and the under-

absolutely neutral.
is

cracks,

lying paint, so that in

many
that,

instances a painting be-

comes so badly buckled

even though

it is

cleaned,

the cracks and defects are magnified. (Great care must be taken not to use a soap which is alkaline. The

soaps which are neutral are principally the shaving

soaps,

soap

may

Ivory Soap, and genuine castile soap). The be mixed with tepid water and applied with

a sponge to the surface of the painting, thereby removing the thickened dust and dirt from its surface.

An

application of this kind will seldom, if ever, do any harm, except on a painting which is badly cracked, and where water is liable to soak into the canvas and swell it, or where the painting is based on an aqueous

mixture.
affected
flake

Colors which have become darkened with age or by the sulphur fumes of the atmosphere, like

white, and English or chrome vermilion, can be only properly renovated if the surface is abraded,

[59]

Permanent Painting
and
this

of a ball
bread.
it

can be frequently accomplished by means made of the inside of a fresh loaf of rye

The ball is gently rubbed on the picture after has been cleaned with soap and water, and this is to be done in a good light. The rubbing given by

means of the ball of bread will remove the outer layer and bring the color up to its original brilliancy. It is essential that experiments be tried on a very small part, preferably in a corner or on an edge of the
picture with various solvents, in order to determine

whether any harm would be done or not. After washing a picture it may be rubbed with a clean woolen rag which has been dipped in pure spirits of turpentine, for spirits of turpentine will very often dissolve a varnish like mastic or damar but will not attack the

dry linseed oil film of the painting beneath. The same may be said of benzine. A mixture of benzine and
turpentine will frequently do no harm, but its application must always be followed by washing with tur-

pentine alone.

If thick films of varnish

still

remain,

and are unattacked, they had better be

like

left

alone and

the entire picture re-varnished with a harmless damar or mastic varnish.

medium

The use of

stale

bread handled as an eraser, or the

to,

use of soft rubber should not be resorted

provided

turpentine, benzine or wood alcohol will remove the surface dirt and varnish. Any form of abrasion may

become a menace for the obvious reason, that, if on a flesh color madder lake was used as a glaze, it takes
[60]

Permanent Painting
very
little

of an inch of

rubbing to remove the one one-thousandth madder lake which has been applied for

a given

effect,

and which when removed leaves a

ghastly result.

Paintings that have turned yellow with age are best

treated by first placing them in the bright sunlight for two or three days before the application or washing

with turpentine. In many instances where a brilliant sky blue has turned to a dirty olive color, the sun

back much of the pristine brilliancy, and the rubbing with turpentine and a small percentage of wood alcohol will bring out the colors sometimes
will bring

more

brilliantly

than they were on the day that they

were applied.

Where

sulphur fumes have decomposed the lead

the use of peroxide of hydrogen, and be theoretically the proper method to

color and formed a brownish result, chemists have

recommended
while this

may

pursue, it is not necessary, and sometimes dangerous, for the reason that even though peroxide of hydrogen will bring back flake white and chrome yellow to
their original color,
it

may

bleach an adjacent lake

beyond redemption, and as these sulphur de-compositions of color are usually on the surface, the wood alcohol and turpentine treatment with very slight abraproduce all the results necessary. The renovation of pictures in the hands of and cleaning an intelligent person is not a very difficult problem,
sion,

will

but

it

is

very easy to spoil any good painting by the

[61]

Permanent Painting
use of nostrums and recipes which are destructive
their effect.
in

Very often a good picture assumes a bluish haze commonly called "bloom," which remains on it for
years.
It is due largely to the absorption of moisture the varnish itself, and can easily be removed by by a gentle application of two or three coats of turpen-

tine,

each successively wiped off and then finally var-

nished with a good hard varnish like amber or a mixture of amber, mastic and damar. Paintings that

have been glazed with asphaltum must, however, be handled differently, for in the chapter on the "Asphaltum and Bitumen," it will be noted that asphaltum becomes darker with exposure rather than
lighter,

due

to the liberation of carbon.

This can be

removed by slight rubbing with and benzine, but inasmuch as it evidently turpentine was the artist's original intention to produce a different color effect by means of this glazing, the picture will have a totally different tone value and effect when the smut remaining from the asphaltum is removed, and
almost invariably
the restoration of a picture of this kind should be given to some painter for re-glazing after the smutty residue of the asphaltum bitumen is thoroughly washed
off.

After a picture has been thoroughly cleaned and bleached by means of sunlight, it is essential to varnish it immediately. Two coats of thin varnish properly dried, particularly

where the second coat

[62]

is

ap-

Photo-micrograph of cracks invisible showing encysted matter and fissures.

to the

naked eye

Permane

mting
ch are destructive
in

nes a bluish haze

,'

which remain? on
a'

it

for

largely to the

^ture

removed by
turpenvar-

hard
vtre

of amber, mastic and da have been glazed with asphaltum

that
rr

/be

handled differently, for in the chapter on the "Asphaltum and Bitumen/' it will be noted that asphaltum becomes darker with exposure rather than
lighter,

due to the

libers

n be
vith

invariably removed turpentine and benzine, but was the artist's original i: color effect by means of

almost

vidently ve a different
picture will
\

have a
;

totally different

t<

effect

remaining from

tli

ami

the

restoration of a
M to

some paintc
asphab
\tre

utty

'ue of the

hed
.ea

has
'

and
var-

'$'
"'
'

propis

'
;

!>afiieulai~

coat

ap-

/::::: :.:..

...

'::..:/....

Permanent Painting
plied after the first coat is thoroughly dry, is by far preferable to the application of one heavy coat of

varnish.

[63]

Permanent Painting

CHAPTER

IX

THE SCHOOL OF IMPRESSIONISM

FROM
all

time immemorial painters have depicted scenes as they saw them. blue sky was painted with a mixture of white and blue. sunset of

yellow and orange was painted with yellow and a mixture of yellow and red. The principle upon which
painting is executed is that there are three primary pigments, red, yellow and blue, which, with the addition of white and black, furnish all the tints necessary for the production of any given shade, or mixture of complementary colors, so that if a green is desired, yellow and blue may be mixed, and if a light

green
is

is wanted, white is added, and if a dark green wanted either more blue or black is added. Without going into the discussion of the physics

of this subject, it may be accepted that the result of the mixture of two pigments is a subtractive phenom-

enon.

In other words,

when yellow and

blue are

mixed, the yellow and the blue are simply subtracted from the white light which falls on them with the result that
still

green

is

further,

if red,

obtained, and carrying out this theory yellow and blue are mixed in their
is

proper proportions, each of these colors

[64]

subtracted

Permanent Painting
from the white
light with the result that a

pigment

is

obtained which produces an approach to black, and black is regarded as a minus or zero quantity.

In the blending of light we have the opposite effect, so that when we take three colored lights, or allow the
rays which pass through sheets of glass composed of scarlet, green and violet, to impinge upon each
other,

we do

not obtain a subtractive color but an

is,

additive color; that

the

same point form white.

these three colors falling upon In other words, the sum

total of the colored rays of scarlet,

green and violet

when added

phenomenon gether form black, and the primary form white, and that the primary

together are white, so that we have the that the primary pigments mixed tocolor sensations

color sensations

are not identical with the primary colors but lie between or adjacent to the primary colors of the spec-

trum.

That

blue. The spectrum, as is well known, is composed of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. The pigments may always be expressed in the form of paint and the color sensations may always be

and and

violet,

is, the color sensations are scarlet, green while the primary colors are red, yellow

produced by

light.

The Lumiere
tions,

Bros.,

of

Lyons,

France,

having

worked upon the theory of the primary

developed the

color sensa-

now

well

known

process of color

photography.
starch grains

They arranged close together colored tinted with transparent dyes, so that
[65]

Permanent Painting
when
light
it

these starch grains are viewed by transmitted is impossible to discern the scarlet from the

green or the violet, the result being that the mixture produces what we call "white light." In photographing a yellow flower, and examining the yellow under
the microscope we find that it parts of scarlet and green.
is

composed of equal True impressionistic

painting is based upon this phenomena with the proper modifications for the obvious reason that it is practically impossible for any painter to put such small
dots or points of pigments of green and violet so that when viewed at a distance they appear sky blue, and yet when we take green and violet light, or green and
violet microscopic particles so small that the eye cannot deferentiate, the resulting color is sky blue, and not a mixture which the painter would expect it to
be, because, as has been already explained, the mixture of pigments is subtractive and the mixture

of light and light sensations is additive. If, thereon a or a neutral fore, painter will paint gray ground, small patches of alternate pale green and pale violet
fifteen or

and such a composite is viewed from a distance of twenty feet or more, the resulting impression will be sky blue. True impressionistic painting is
based entirely upon such phenomena. There is one other influence which causes impressionism, which is due entirely to a defect of the eye. Those

who have been

in a

photographic dark room, which

is

illuminated entirely by a red light, will have often no-

[66]

Permanent Painting
ticed

that

upon emerging from the dark room

into

the white light, everything appeared green. This is caused by the fact that in the first place, the physical power of the nerve-fibrils of the eye which are sensitive

sees only the

red are temporarily exhausted, and the eye complementary color which is green. If, a brilliant red sunset is painted by means of therefore,
to

the massive application of scarlet and red, the foliage may be gray, but after viewing it steadily for a few

moments it appears perfectly green, so that we have a green impression where it really does not exist, because the eye complements one color for another.
Unfortunately the theory of impressionistic painting has not been properly disseminated and not properly taught, so that we have some of the vilest and

most impossible attempts at impressionistic painting which are based not upon science, but upon the fads which exist. Human beings are prone to say that they admire a daub because some one else who is supposed to matter of

know has pronounced

fact, it possesses

it

good,

when

as a

no merit whatever, and its entire workmanship is so crude and so impossible that it would make little or no difference even if it were hung upside down. There is a remarkable future for true impressionistic painting, but there is no future and no "raison d'etre" for the impossible daubs which masquerade under the name of impressionistic painting, and if a painter will study the theory as propounded by Ducos
[67]

Permanent Painting
Dunaron, which
is

not very

difficult to learn,

and

will

study the chemistry of light as propounded by Vogel and Rood, he or she will be able with a little practice
to

master the new branch of the art which

is

coupled

with a science.

of applying masses of in which are likely to dry paint promontory patches crack or have their own significance, and rapidly peel
for impressionistic painting

The danger

may

be plastic, but

its

plasticity should really be produced by means of light and shade effects.

[68]

Permanent Painting

CHAPTER X
VOLATILE SOLVENTS

THE
is

two oldest solvents known are turpentine and oil, but from the data at hand, it is very likely that lavender oil was known many
lavender
Chemically, lavender
oil

centuries before turpentine.

analogous to turpentine, in fact, it is a species of turpentine containing an aromatic ingredient. Lavender

oil is not used at present by oil painters to any great extent, but turpentine is largely used. Vibert was the first great painter to recommend the use of benzine as a diluent for paint, and on this sub-

ject

much

is

to be said.
oil,

Vibert did not believe in the

use of linseed

but used a resin varnish reduced

with benzine.
the

Benzine is nothing more nor less than same material of lower gravity as what we know

troleum

under the name of gasolene, petroleum essence, pespirits, or naphtha, and is identical in chemical composition with the material used as a motive power in automobiles. There is another material which is with an "e," "benzene," whereas the petroleum spelled essence is spelled with an "i," benzine. The chemical name for benzene is benzol, but this is never to be
for oil painting, as
its

recommended

solvent

power

[69]

Permanent Painting
much too great. If benzol (benzene) were used by a painter as a diluent over a freshly painted surFor face, it would dissolve the work of yesterday.
is

spirits as

the purposes of uniformity, I shall refer to petroleum naphtha, which is the name by which it is
best

known

in

America.

It

has the advantage over

turpentine that it evaporates much more rapidly, and leaves no residue, nor does it exert any drying influ-

ence by

itself.

[70]

Permanent Painting

CHAPTER

XI

PICTURE VARNISHES
are on the market no less than nine

sometimes sold under fannames, out of which only three are recommended. The varnishes used are damar, sandarac, amber, copal, shellac, spirit varnish, oil copal and mastic. There may be some excuse for the use of spirit varnishes such as shellac or sandarac, which are made by dissolving these two gums in alcohol, and adding a small percentage of oil to prevent them from
different varnishes
ciful

THERE

becoming too

brittle.

The

principal advantage in us-

ing a spirit varnish /is that it dries dust free in 10 or 15 minutes, but inasmuch as a spirit varnish binds very poorly on a linseed oil film, it is not to be recom-

mended.
of oil copal varnishes, excepting where old are to be imitated, is likewise to be deprepaintings cated, for no copal varnish which is made by fusing copal or kauri gum with linseed oil retains its original
color,

The use

or absence of color.

If a

piece of

wood

is

painted with flake white or zinc white and varnished with an oil copal varnish, it will be found that when
it is placed in a dark closet, it turns a dirty yellow at the end of three months, and if the experiment is

[71]

Permanent Painting
repeated, mastic or damar being used, it is found that no change in color takes place. Therefore, the only excuse for using an oil copal or oil kauri varnish is
if an old master is copied, the effect of time and the yellowing of age can be imitated. This can be best accomplished by the use of an oil varnish, and putting the painting away in a dark corner.

that

Mastic varnish
It
is

is

perhaps the most reliable of

all.

dissolving gum mastic in spirits of turpentine, this solution taking place in the cold and with occasional shaking. After the solution has been
obtained, it is necessary to filter it either through cotton or filter paper. When placed away and allowed
to ripen with age,
it

made by

the

life

of which

is

produces a flexible, glossy varnish, generally conceded to be ten years.

Perhaps the next in the line is damar varnish, although this varnish is not as flexible as mastic, nor is the life of damar much over five years, but neither mastic nor damar turn yellow with age unless some drying
oil is

added

to them.

Bleached

and

orange shellac

when

dissolved in

methyl or ethyl alcohol have been used for many years Both of these varnishes arc as picture varnishes.
very opaque when made in the usual way, so that in order to clarify them, they are either filtered many
times,

quick-silver vermilion is shaken with the varnishes, which after a day or two carries down the wax, and leaves a layer of clear varnish. This clear

or

varnish

is

often sold under the

name

of French var-

[72]

Permanent Painting
nish,

and
oil

is

der or

frequently mixed with either oil of lavenof bergamot to produce flexibility. If pro-

gressive drying takes place under a varnish of this type, surface cracks are likely to ensue for obvious reasons,* and this is true of every varnish when applied before a painting be properly dry, but more so of the

quick and hard drying varnishes. There is much varnish sold under the

name

of

amber varnish, which is made of a fossil kauri resin, and there is no doubt that the fossil kauri resin is
It is a popular fallacy used amber varnish, for it is very likely that they called all hard resins amber. True amber must be so thoroughly tempered with oil,

superior to the genuine amber.

to suppose that the ancients

and
ly,

is

so very difficult to fuse,

its

that

use

is

properly fused it high heat necessary for melting. The conclusion to be arrived at from the foregoing statements is that only two varnishes should be used
for ordinary purposes,

and dries so very slownot recommended, and where it is is almost black on account of the

damar and
It

mastic, and of the

can be purchased from reliable firms, but where there is any doubt as to its purity, it can be very easily made by dissolving a pound
is

two mastic

preferable.

of mastic in a quart of pure spirits of turpentine. When properly made, it has the color of refined lin-

seed
*

oil.

It is better to

use

it

in a thin layer than to

it

make a

thick solution

and flow

on.

See chapter on "The Cause of the Cracking of Paintings and the Remedies."

[73]

Permanent Painting

CHAPTER

XII

DRIERS

THE

use of driers in artistic painting is as someone stated "an invention of the devil."

Copal megilp, which is merely super-saturated drying oil, has ruined many a good painting. There are circumstances where the use of a drier for artistic painting is permissible, such as, for instance, interior wall decorations where freedom from dust

is essential, or for temporary painting for the purposes of reproduction for colored or black and white illustrations in books or magazines, but for portrait

or landscape painting where the painter desires permanence, driers are to be deprecated. The pigments themselves have peculiar characteristics in this ties

regard (see chapter on "The drying qualiof pigments"), and the painter may help himself in case he desires a painting to dry rapidly, for if he
has dark colors which do not dry, all the umbers and siennas are rapid driers, and if he has light colors

which he desires
spirits

to

dry he

may

use in any instance

of turpentine and sunlight.

is

Turpentine
less.

an excellent drier and perfectly harmit

It is quite true that

flattens the color,

but this

[74]

Permanent Painting
is no objection, because the free use of turpentine enables the painter to varnish his picture so much the sooner, and the use of sunlight is also of great assist-

we have absolute evidence that zinc white, which is at first a slow drier, dries progressively until it becomes brittle, but may be made to dry rapidly
ance, for
in the

beginning by simply exposing it to bright light. Ordinary zinc white when mixed with raw linseed oil

and placed in the dark, will remain soft and wet sometimes as long as ten days, yet on a bright, clear spring or summer day when exposed to the bright light it will skin over and dry in 12 hours. Care, however, must always be taken never to expose a fresh
oil

painting to the heat of the summer sun, for linseed before it has begun to oxidize melts like wax.
is

likewise an effective drier, and some painters use the precaution of surrounding a painting with a curtain of cheese cloth which keeps the dust

current of air

from

it,

but admits the

air.

Driers decompose many pigments. In fact, nearly every one of the lake colors is rapidly affected by the
action of driers.

Madder
drier,

lake,

when mixed with

its

lead or
liancy.

manganese

soon loses

pristine bril-

[75]

Permanent Painting

CHAPTER

XIII

LINSEED OIL AND OTHER DRYING OILS

THE
oil

principal oils used by painters are linseed

oil,
oil.

and poppy

nut

Linseed

and occasionally a little waloil in its normal state is

the best and the only

oil that a painter should use. paler than linseed oil, but dries much slower, while poppy oil is the palest of all the nut oils, and dries slower than walnut oil.

Walnut

oil is

Linseed

oil is

the oil extracted

from flax-seed and

may be a great deal of talk concerning adulterated oils, it must be said in justice to the manufacturers of artists materials that in no instance has
the author ever found a single sample of oil which was labeled linseed oil that contained any impurity whatever, so that

while there

buy

linseed oil

secure in

is perfectly safe for any painter to from a credited manufacturer, and rest the knowledge that the material is absoit

lutely pure.

the

great objection, however, to the purchase of majority of samples of linseed oil for artistic painting, is that the oil is generally refined or bleached,

The

which
seed

is

a serious mistake.

Refined or bleached

lin-

oil

means

linseed oil in

which the color

is

hid-

[76]

Permanent Painting
den, for in the bleaching of linseed
extracted,
it

oil

the color

is

not

is

simply changed from a greenish color

is

to a barely visible yellow. *

The

point which the author wishes to bring out

that the painter is far better off, if he is going to use linseed oil for the reduction of his pigments, to use only raw linseed oil unbleached, but well settled. If

the yellowish green, or the decidedly yellow raw linseed oil is used, the painter has the advantage in that the resulting mixture with white or light pigments

darker, and the highest tones are tones which the subsequent produced will show. On other hand, if the bleached the painting and almost colorless linseed oil is used, it cannot bleach
will

never grow

much

that are

is put away in a dark darker on account of the place, grow of the generation original coloring matter in the oil. In other words, the coloring matter contained in bleached oil reverts with many pigments like flake

any further, and

it

if

the painting

is

bound

to

white and zinc white to

its

original greenish state.

Painters will do well to bear this in

mind when

paint-

ing portraits.
all

The use

of bleached de-colorized linis

seed, poppy, or walnut oils

to be deprecated

under

circumstances.

Linseed
it

oil

dries

much

better in the sunlight than

fre-

does in the dark.

The recommendation which one reads

*

quite

treatment of this subject, the reader is referred to page 32, on the "Photo-Chemical Deterioration of oil paintscientific

For a more

ings."

[77]

Permanent Painting
his

quently, that a painter should press linseed oil for own uses, is just as ridiculous in these days as the

recommendation that a painter should grind his own Pure raw linseed oil is obtainable in every civilized community, and what a painter should do is to buy a gallon of it, place it in small bottles which are corked only with a tuft of cotton and stand them on a shelf where they may remain for years, although it is unwise for a painter to use linseed oil which is
colors.

more than

five

years old, because

it

is

likely to de-

compose and become what is technically termed as "fatty," which is equal to a kind of rancidity that we generally associate with the edible fats. At the same time, linseed oil that has become slightly thickened with age is of great value when mixed with the drying pigments, such as zinc oxide and umber, because a film is obtained which is far more flexible than that
obtained with the aid of driers.

When

linseed oil
it is

is

boiled

it

paler than

in its

raw

state.

becomes very much This may sound like

a contradiction, because nearly all boiled oils are dark, but that is due to the fact that they are generally
boiled with a drier like lead or manganese, and these metals go into solution and form chemical soaps
alter the color of the oil. Any painter may try the experiment himself by taking raw linseed oil, placing it in a clean agate-ware dish, and heating it slowly

which

and carefully

until

it

begins to froth.

be noted that the

oil is

somewhat
[78]

On cooling, it will thicker and very much

Permanent Painting
paler,

and
it

in addition to this,
its

it

dries in

much

less

time

than

does in

raw

state.

Such

oil

should never

be used with the quick-drying pigments, but may be very safely used with all the blacks, zinc white, peroil

manent white and any of the lakes, but boiled linseed which contains an added drier like manganese,
used with any

litharge, zinc or lime, should never be

lake pigment.

oil in the process of drying goes through It generates both very peculiar transformation. carbonic acid and water.*

Linseed

Even assuming
is

ground with

oil

that every pigment is dry when it for the painters' use, we can thereif

fore readily see that

flake white

is

mixed with an

ultramarine blue, a sulphide of lead is likely to result, owing to the generation of water in the actual drying
of the paint
itself.
is

The
seed

painter

poppy In other words, dry from the top down. a skin is first formed, and underneath this skin the
oil,

oil

probably aware of the fact that linand walnut oil, but linseed oil par-

ticularly,

paint remains soft sometimes for years. Graphite and lampblack show this peculiar phenomenon more than any other pigment. Either of these two will on the and sometimes a year afterward surface, dry will be soft and wet underneath the skin which has

formed.
* To those interested in the chemical philosophy the author refers the reader to page 82, "Chemistry Mixed Paints," by Maximilian Toch.

of

this

& Technology

subject,

of

[79]

Permanent Painting
Linseed
oil
it

increases in bulk

when

it

dries,

which
It

means

that

does not dry by evaporation like tur-

pentine, but dries by

what we know as oxidation.

absorbs oxygen from the air, and forms a material which is known among chemists as linoxin, and linoxin is

nothing more nor

linseed
oil.

less

than dry linseed

of linseed
oil

oil

or ox-

idized

film

creases in size depending

upon

paint inthe nature of the seed

made, from 10 to 20%, which accounts for the wrinkling which very frequently takes To obviate this wrinkling painters do not add place. additional oil to their paint, but add turpentine, or

from which

it

is

benzine.

[80]

Photograph of an oil painting showing serious cracking throughout, due to the contraction of the paint. Not sufficient sizing material had been applied to the canvas before the painting was executed, which is evidenced by the warp and woof of the canvas showing through the
paint.

nan en t Painting
-reases in bulk
^t

when

it

dries,

which

does

vaporation like turow as oxidation

whi<

orms a material oxin, and linox<>d oil

'i.

or ox-

film

ii

depending upon ti is made, frot counts for the wrinkling which

i

/e

paint inthe seed

hich ac-

which

it

akes

add obviate this wrinkling place. additional oil to their paint, but add turpentine, or
benzine.

To

iio
\

oi

i)nit tui

.litinq

[80]

Permanent Painting
CHAPTER XIV
CLASSIFICATION OF THE PIGMENTS AND THEIR DESCRIPTION
The pigments which
list

are in use, and a fairly complete

of those found on the market throughout the civilized world, are as follows
:

List of Colors
Crimson Alizarin Orange
Alizarin

Brown Pink
Burnt Carmine Burnt Roman Ochre Burnt Sienna Burnt Umber Cadmium Yellow Cadmium Yellow Pale Caledonian Brown

Alizarin Scarlet

Alizarin Yellow
Alizarin Green
Alizarin Carmine

Alumina White or Lake White Antwerp Blue Asphaltum

Aurelian
Bistre

Bitumen Black Lead

Blue Black Blue Verditer

Cappah Brown Carbon Black Carmine Carmine Lake Carnation Lake

Cassel Earth

Bone Brown
Brilliant

Ultramarine

Blue

Cerulean Blue Charcoal Gray Chinese Blue Chinese Vermilion Chinese White

Bronze Green

Brown Madder Brown Lake Brown Ochre

[81

Chrome Chrome Chrome Chrome

Greens, 1,2

&3

Orange Oxide Red

Permanent Painting
Cinnabar Greens,
1,

&

Citron Cobalt Cobalt Cobalt

Yellow
Blue

Indian Indian Indian Indian

Purple (Oil) Purple (Water)

Red
Yellow
Pink

Green
Violet

Indigo
Italian

Cologne Earth Constant White

Megilp Cork Black Cremnitz White Crimson Lake Crimson Madder Davey's Gray Deep Madder Emerald Green
Copal
Extract of Vermilion
Field's

Ivory Black Jacqueminot Madder Jaune Brilliant King's Yellow (Oil) King's Yellow (Water) Lamp Black Leitch's Blue

Lemon Yellow
Light Red Madder Carmine Madder Carmine, extra Madder Lake Magenta
Malachite Green

Orange, Ver-

milion Flake White

French Blue French Ultramarine French Vermilion French Veronese Green Foundation White
Gallstone

Mars Mars Mars Mars Mars

Brown
Orange Red
Violet
^

Yellow

Gamboge
Geranium Lake Geranium Madder Gold Ochre Green Lakes, 2 & Harrison Red
Hooker's Green,
Indian Lake
1

Mauve Mauve Lake

Megilp Mineral Gray
3

Minium Monochrome Tints

(warm)
2

&

Monochrome
(cool)

Tints

[82]

Permanent Painting
Mummy
Naples Yellow (Oil) "Naples Yellow, Light Naples Yellow, French Naples Yellow, Medium Naples Yellow, Deep Naples Yellow, Reddish Naples Yellow, Greenish

Permanent White Permanent Yellow Pink Madder

Primrose Aureolin Primrose Yellow Prussian Blue
Prussian Brown Prussian Green (Oil) Prussian Green

Neutral Orange Neutral Tint (Oil) Neutral Tint (Water) New Blue

(Water) Pure Scarlet Purple Lake

Purple Madder Raw Sienna

Nottingham White Olive Green (Oil) Olive Green (Water) Olive Lake Olive Madder Orange Madder Orange Mineral Orange Vermilion
Orient Madder

Raw Umber
Rembrandt's Madder Roman Ochre Roman Ochre (cool)

Roman

Sepia

Orpiment Oxford Ochre Oxide of Chromium, Oxide of Chromium,

Transparent Payne's Gray (Oil) Payne's Gray (Water) Permanent Blue

Rose Doree Rose Lake Rose Madder Rubens Madder Sap Green (Water) Sap Green (Oil) Scarlet Lake
Scarlet
Scarlet

Madder Red

Scarlet Vermilion

Permanent Permanent Permanent Permanent

Green, Lt. Green, Med. Green, Deep Violet

Sepia (Oil) Sepia (Water)

Silver White Sky Blue

Smalt

[83]

Permanent Painting
Terra Rose Terre Verte

Tours Red Tours Orange Mineral Transparent Gold Ochre Tuscan Red
Ultramarine (Genuine) Ultramarine Ash

Verona Brown Veronese Green Violet Carmine

Viridian

Warm

Sepia

Yellow Carmine Yellow Lake Yellow Ochre

Zinc White Zinnober Green, light Zinnober Green, extra
light

Vandyke Brown Vandyke Madder Venetian Red

Verdigris

Zinnober Green, Me-

Vermilion
Vermilion, pale

dium
Zinnober Green, Deep

Later I shall attempt to separate these pigments into various classes. First, the pigments which can be
indiscriminately mixed with each other, and will not interact and are not affected by light. Second, pigments which alone are permanent, but which cannot

be mixed with each other.

are
fairly

Third, pigments which permanent under normal conditions, but not permanent when exposed to strong sunlight. Fourth, pigments which are fugitive, and which should under all circumstances be excluded from the artist's
palette, existing only for the

purpose of illustration
in illustrations

for half-tone color work,

in magazines.

and for use

Perhaps the only excuse for the use of the fugitive pigments is for the purpose just referred to, but even then every possible shade and
[84]

Permanent Painting
gradation of color can be obtained by the use of the

more permanent

colors.

ALIZARIN COLORS (RED)

The
all

alizarin colors are identical in composition with

madder lakes, and up to the last generation the madder root was specially cultivated for the purpose
the

of

making a permanent red lake. The growing of the madder plant and the extraction of the color from the root, was a great industry in France. The red trousers worn by the French military were dyed with
madder,
order to give the proper impetus to this industry, but with the advent of the coal tar dyes, an
in

artificial

madder was produced which

This
is

is

known

as

alizarin.

identical in every respect with the

color extracted
ical

from the root of the plant. The botanname of the plant is Rubia Tinctorium, and as such was known to the Flemish and Italian painters. Alizarin or madder lake may be considered as a

permanent color under certain conditions. Franz Hals was well aware of the correct way in which to use this
lake in order to produce the vivid flesh tints of his

Rubicond noses and sunburnt cheeks countrymen. were portrayed by him in a manner which after a
lapse of three centuries have

shown that this color, when intelligently used, is permanent. If madder lake is used as a glaze over a color which
[85]

Permanent Painting
has been allowed to dry thoroughly, it will remain permanent, but if madder or alizarin lake is mixed

with any mineral or metallic color such as ochre, lead, sienna, etc., a chemical decomposition takes place, with
the result that the lake
to
is

bleached.

It is

reasonable
his
flesh

suppose

that

Rembrandt did not glaze

that

Franz Hals and Jan Steen did, way as the flesh tints of the Rembrandt's of to-day are more or less bleached. The "Anatomy Lesson" in the Hague, shows upon close examination that the flesh tones of the demonstrator and the spectators have suffered from exposure to light, very likely due to the fact that the lake used in glazing was mixed with the under-coat. It is, therefore, reasonable to assume
paints in the
that alizarin or lakes should be used as glaza Alizarin properly dried surface. ing colors over or madder lakes, however, will not decompose when

madder

mixed with various blacks such as black lead, ivory lamp black and carbon black. Madder lake may be mixed with any oxide of iron color which has been burnt, but may not be mixed with any raw iron color. For instance, madder or alizarin may be mixed with Indian red, forming a color known as Tuscan red, which is perfectly permanent. It may also be mixed with burnt sienna, burnt ochre, burnt umber, etc., but is fugitive when mixed with raw ochre, raw sienna or raw umber. The chemical colors like flake white (white lead), zinc oxide, chrome yellow, Naples yellow and chrome green all bleach it, but
black,
.

[86]

Permanent Painting
colors like quick silver, vermilion, all of the blacks do not affect it.

cadmium yellow and

it is

The
a

safest

way
is

in

which

to use

ground which

thoroughly dry.

Madder

as a glaze over lake deepis

ens considerably when placed in a dark place, but revived when subjected to bright sunlight.

ALIZARIN

YELLOW AND GREEN

These two colors are taken as one, for the reason

that both alizarin yellow and alizarin green do not exist, all the alizarin colors up to date being of a red

or maroon shade. The name, therefore, is a misnomer, and should not be permitted. Alizarin yellow is a fairly permanent yellow lake made of an aniline yellow. There are, however, some alizarin yellows on the market which are made from the extracts of bark like quer citron, and these are not permanent. The author has made a yellow lake from the paranitraniline which is perfectly permanent when used alone, has great brilliancy and strength, but cannot by any means be called an alizarin yellow. The same is true of alizarin green, which as such, does not exist, and all the so-called alizarin greens on the market are not permanent, but are green lakes made from coal tar dyes which readily decompose when they are mixed with ochre or any one of the

oxide of iron colors.

is

The use

of both of these colors

unwarranted.

[87]

Permanent Painting
ALUMINA WHITE OR LAKE WHITE
This
is

ground
glass.

in linseed oil,
It is

the hydrated oxide of alumina which is and is almost as transparent as

simply used as a medium for reducing or other pigments as, for instance, when it attenuating is desirable to glaze with burnt sienna, it is of advantage to
that

mix burnt sienna with alumina, because

the burnt sienna assumes
all

in

way

the qualities of

permanent, and is not affected by other pigments. As however, the amount of oil necessary to grind alumina into the paste form is
a lake color.
is

Alumina

very large, the oil contained in the mixture is prone It has a variety of advantages, howto turn yellow.

which makes it exceedingly useful and can be generally recommended.

ever,

ANTWERP BLUE
Antwerp blue
it is

is

either a mixture of Prussian blue

or Chinese blue with

aluminum hydrate, in other words, a Prussian blue reduced with a transparent base, and is not to be recommended where absolute permanency
white,
if
is

desired.

Of

itself,

or

when mixed with

zinc

it produces very beautiful sky blue shades, and properly varnished and painted on a solid surface, such as metal or wood, shows no change for many

years, but when Antwerp blue is mixed with flake white or zinc white and reduced with raw linseed oil,

[88]

Permanent Painting
turns decidedly green in a dark place, or in a poorly lighted studio, but regains its brilliant color when exit

posed to sunlight and air again. It Prussian blue used as a glaze, and

is is

weak form of
superseded

now

by ultramarine blue mixed with a transparent black.

ASPHALTUM
This
is

the

rieties of

same as bitumen and is a black gum, vawhich are found in Africa, Cuba and the

United States. It is a great mistake for artists' material manufacturers to sell asphaltum or bitumen to paintit in stock, as it is not only worthless, but has a tendency to ruin a painting on which it is used. When mixed with other pigments, it retards

ers or to carry

When used as a glazing color, it is of so-called alligator cracks, owing a cause frequently to the unequal expansion and contraction between it
their drying.

and the base upon which

feature of
it is

it

is

that

when

it is

applied, but the worst exposed to sunlight, it

decomposes into charcoal and water, and deposits a black soot on the picture. To those who are interested in a scientific dissertation on this subject, I would refer them to the article on the "Influence of Sun Light on Paints," Journal, Society of Chemical Industry, which systematically explains the effect of light on the hydro-carbon compounds, but as this is not a work on chemistry, the scientific illustrations will be
omitted.

[89]

Permanent Painting
Asphaltum or bitumen
the word, and it masters ever used
is

harmful in every sense of doubtful whether the great very In Italy it was used to a greatit.
is

er extent than in Flanders, for there are still many old pictures to be found in Italy which are a black smudge with here and there a faint trace of lighter

pigment. This black smudge was once a bright mass of colors glazed with bitumen, which can be revived by
cleaning carefully with methyl alcohol. glaze which is permanent can be made in imita-

by mixing raw sienna, burnt umber and carbon black or ivory black.
tion of asphaltum

AURELIAN
Aurelian
is

a pigment that has been introduced dur-

ing the last generation, and is sometimes sold under It is a double nitrite of the name of cobalt yellow.
as to

and potassium. There is a variation of opinion permanency. Some claim that it is absolutely permanent both in water and oil, and others claim that it decomposes with a white, but from the experiments made by the author its permanence depends entirely upon its purity. If the color is thoroughly washed by the manufacturer after it is precipitated in order to free it from soluble salts, it may be regarded as abcobalt
its

solutely permanent, because

it

is

not affected by sul-

is impure, phur gases nor by sunlight. it is very likely to decompose any lake which may be

If the color

[90]

Permanent Painting
and when mixed with raw linseed oil, it There are several good manufacturers of this pigment, whose aurelian yellow may be used and regarded as absolutely permanent. For safety's sake, it is advisable to use it alone and not to mix it with any lake pigment. Lake glazed
added
to
it,

loses its brilliancy in a short time.

over

it, after it is perfectly dry, does not affect either the lake or the aurelian.

AURORA YELLOW

(See

Cadmium

Colors)

BISTRE
This is a species of lamp black, which is the soot from the smoke of pitch pine. In the condensation, a small percentage of resin is admixed which probably accounts for the brownish color of this soot. It may be regarded as permanent, but when mixed with oil dries very badly. It is a deep brown, but it has been asserted that better or more permanent effects can be obtained by a mixture of lamp black and umber. It is used as a water color as well as an oil color.

BITUMEN

(See Asphaltum)

BLACK LEAD
This pigment is composed principally of graphite, which is the material used for making lead pencils. It is a form of carbon, and varies in purity from 60% to 90%, the other constituents being silica and
[91]

Permanent Painting
Black lead is popularly known under the name clay. of "stove polish." It has a metallic steel gray sheen, both when used as a water color and as an oil color, and
gives delicate grays which are free from blue. It is one of the permanent colors, and has absolutely no effect whatever upon any color with which it may be

mixed.

It is an exceedingly slow drier, and when it does dry it remains soft, so that care must be exercised not to use it too thickly, for, after it skins over

and

dries

from the

top, the interior

may remain

soft

for years.

white,
tual

it

In making a gray by mixing with zinc has the advantage of neutralizing the even-

produced by the zinc, and may be under regarded every circumstance as a perfectly soft and permanent pigment. The hard drying colors such as zinc, red lead, orange mineral, umber, etc., should be used with great care over black lead, for the obbrittleness

vious reason that cracks are bound to result, owing * to the non-equal tension in drying.

BLUE BLACK
This
derives
white,
is

its
it

a species of vine black and charcoal, and name from the fact that when mixed with

produces a very pleasing bluish gray, which Blue black is an excellent absolutely permanent. the pigment will somethat in so much so, fact, drier,
is

times dry up entirely in the tube.

*

Blue black
p.

is

slight-

See chapter on the Cracking of Oil Paintings,

40.

[92]

Permanent Painting
which accounts for its excellent drying and likewise accounts for its livering in the properties,
ly

alkaline,

tube.

When

once

it

has livered,

it

cannot very well be

There are, however, a number of good lamp blacks on the market sold in tube form, which are as fine, if not finer, than blue black and produce practically the same shade. Of the various samples examined, no two manufacturers appear to use the same material. In one instance, the author found the pigment to be composed of vine black, which is a species of charcoal. In anrestored to
its

original condition.

other instance a very pure lamp black appeared to be the base, which when mixed with white tinted out to
a relatively blue gray, and in a third instance, it appeared to be a mixture of charcoal tinted with Prus-

All three of these pigments may be resian blue. garded as permanent, for very particular uses in painting, particularly in landscape painting for producing sombre sky effects. Blue black may be mixed with zinc in any proportion, and while it is not so slow a drier as graphite or lamp black, it has relatively the same effect on zinc and prevents it from becoming brittle.

BLUE VERDITER

Blue verditer is the hydrated oxide of copper, but inasmuch as it is made by precipitating a copper solution with lime,
it

is

not always permanent in the

[93]

Permanent Painting
tubes, for
oil

and

has the property of combining with the It is quite stiffening into a livery compound.
it

a defective color, and should not be used for permanent painting, for the reason that hydrogen sulphide

blackens it and sulphuric acid bleaches it, and when it contains traces of lime it dries exceedingly hard and
is

liable to crack.

The same shade may be obtained by mixing such

permanent pigments as ultramarine, zinc oxide and hydrated chrome oxide, these three being unaffected by sulphureted hydrogen.

BONE BROWN
one of the pigments which has no license to bones are fully calcined they produce a very desirable black color, but when bones are partly calcined the color is brown, owing to the production of what is known as bone pitch. In chemical composition, bone pitch is the same as asphaltum, and this accounts for the fact that bone brown is a very bad
This
is

exist.

When

drier

and

is

not permanent to

light.

The same

effects

be produced by the use of many other more durable colors. Bone brown should be stricken from

may
the

list

of artists' colors.

BRILLIANT ULTRAMARINE BLUE

Brilliant
artificial

ultramarine

blue

is

assumed
is

to

be the

ultramarine blue which

made by

calcining

[94]

Permanent Painting
It is permanent sulphur, clay and sulphate of soda. to light when used alone and when used with certain

of the colors

upon which

it

has no influence, and will

be properly described under ultramarine blue.

BRONZE GREEN
a mixture of orange chrome yellow and Prussian blue. When pure, it is not affected by sun-

This

is

light, and when properly varnished, and protected is unaffected by sulphureted hydrogen. There is, however, no reason why bronze green

all

made from chrome yellow, as where possible lead colors should be avoided by the painter. Cadmium yellow and Prussian blue make a very permashould be
nent bronze green which
is

permanent but more ex-

pensive than the chrome yellow pigment.

BROWN MADDER
Brown madder differs nowadays from the brown madder made 50 years ago. Formerly the madder brown was prepared from madder root, and tinted with
a solid pigment, such as burnt ochre or burnt sienna Brown madder is now made in the same chemical

manner

in

which the red madder

is

made, with the

exception that the color is practically spoiled in the making by the addition of iron oxide, because inasmuch as iron compounds exert a continuous reducing

[95]

Permanent Painting
action on the pigment,
brilliancy
fairly

brown madder soon

It

loses its

and

is

destroyed.

may

be regarded as a

permanent color, but can be replaced in several ways, and is therefore not to be recommended. All the qualities of this pigment are described under the head of alizarin or madder lake. When mixed
with a metallic color
like lead, zinc

or iron

it

is

not

permanent.
lake

When

used alone and made of madder

it

and lamp black

is

permanent.

BROWN LAKE
This may be any red or maroon lake of an organic nature either calcined the same as burnt carmine or

saddened by the admixture of an iron compound. in the latter manner it is permanent for two or three years. When made in the former manner

When made
it

is

very fugitive.
lake

amber

lake and burnt and dries well. Some paintpermanent very ers make a perfect brown by mixing lamp black, cadmium and madder lake. This mixture is permanent,
is

Brown

made by mixing madder

but has the disadvantage of drying very slowly.

BROWN OCHRE
Brown ochre is similar in composition to all the other ochres, being a form of clay tinted naturally with iron ores or the hydrated oxide of iron. It is known
[96]

Permanent Painting
also

deep
but

under the name of Oxford ochre, and sometimes Roman ochre, and when used alone is permanent,
it

when mixed with any white pigment

turns con-

siderably darker after a lapse of several years. Brown ochre must never be used with any lake color

because the iron oxide in

a good drier, and used as a glaze. It
is

it

has a destructive

effect.

It

when properly thinned out may be

is analogous to raw sienna, but is in tinting power. weaker considerably A very dark ochre may contain nearly 40% hydrated oxide of iron, whereas French ochres contain only 20%, and are therefore nearer in composition

to siennas.

It

has a tendency,

when exposed
is is

to strong

sunlight for a long time, to darken, which due to the change in the oxide of iron. It

evidently

otherwise

an exceedingly permanent color, but has a destructive influence on all lakes with which it may be mixed. It
is

a good drier.

BROWN PINK
Brown pink
and
all

Italian pink.

of

its

similar in composition to Dutch pink It is a transparent olive yellow like It is made from either the progenitors.
is

Persian berry or quercitron bark, and when made from a vegetable coloring matter of this kind, has little or

no value as a permanent pigment. It is very easily decomposed in the presence of many of the metallic pigments, and when mixed with zinc or used as a glaze
[97]

Permanent Painting
will

fade in the bright sunlight perceptibly in four

weeks.

made
ies

For experimental purposes, however the author has a color of this nature on the paranitraniline serwhich,

when used

tically

permanent and does not bleach

slightly.

alone over a dry surface, is pracin the light, but

darkens very
useless as a

Brown

pink after a year

is

permanent color and is not recommended. Neither can the transparent yellow made by the author
this writing,

be recommended at

because the color has

only been under observation for four years.

BURNT CARMINE
Burnt carmine is made from ordinary carmine or carmine lake by heating it until the organic matter begins to char, so that what we really have is a decomposition of the color and an increase in the percentage of carIf you, therefore, take a lake and mix it with bon. carbon black, you obtain practically the same results. At the same time, any burnt lake of the carmine or
scarlet or

crimson order

is

a fugitive color,

weak

in

hiding power, poor obtained which are regarded as desirable by some. burnt lake should really not be used by any painter.

in glazing properly, but effects are

It may be a very beautiful color, and it may possibly have some uses for interior decoration where brilliancy

not required, but from the standpoint of the artists' palette, it is unfortunate that this color was ever inis

[98]

Permanent Painting
vented for a four weeks' exposure to the midsummer's sun decomposed it almost beyond recognition.

Any madder
same
result,

with a touch of lampblack produces the

and color manufacturers could produce such a combination under the name of permanent
burnt lake.

BROWN ROMAN OCHRE

This is a species of dark ochre obtained by burning the ochre and driving off the water which it contains, thus producing a rich brown which has some similarity
burnt sienna, but is very much weaker. It is a When mixed with whites it very permanent color. does not fade, but after eighteen months becomes
to

slightly darker, if that term may be used in conjunction with it, but in spite of its darkening it loses none

of

its

pristine brilliancy,

and was one of the colors

painters

used by the
results.

early
in

Italian

with

excellent

When
to
freely.

ground
It

harden

in the tube,

pure linseed oil, it has a tendency but may be broken up and used
hiding power, and

has very

little

may

there-

fore be used as a glazing color. It has less effect of madder lake than its unthe upon decomposition

burnt progenitor.

BURNT SIENNA
This
to
is a material very much similar in composition burnt ochre, excepting that its content of oxide of

[99]

Permanent Painting
much larger, and the physical characterfrom those of ochre. Ochre is opaque and burnt sienna is translucent. Burnt sienna is one of the most permanent colors in existence, excepting perhaps, the lighter shades which have not been so well calcined, and these have a strong tendency to darken and become redder. As a glazing color, it has valuable properties, and it can be mixed with
iron
is

very

istics differ

Painters generally allow the sienna to dry thoroughly, and then glaze a lake color over it. Exceedingly rich tints are produced in this manner
lake colors.

which are absolutely permanent, providing the lake itself is permanent. The mars colors are nearly all artificial siennas and Burnt sienna is an excellent are just as permanent. drier and will mix with almost every other permanent color.

BURNT UMBER
Burnt umber
tains oxides of
is

similar to burnt sienna.

It

con-

manganese and iron. It is made by heating raw umber, which is a dark olive green color,
is converted into a pleasing brown. a permanent color, and one of the best drying pigments in existence; so much so, that many painters

but

when heated

It is

mix umber with

their pigments for producing dark backgrounds in order to obtain a good drying surface. Burnt umber has more hiding power (opacity) than

[100]

Permanent Painting
the sienna colors and
liable.
is perfectly permanent and reCare must be exercised not to paint it over

a soft or semi-dry ground or cracks will result.

CADMIUM YELLOW
This description comprises
all

of the

cadmium

colors

from the palest yellow

the

to the deepest orange.

All of

colors are manufactured by precipitating a salt of cadmium with a salt containing a sulphide, so that the cadmiums are sulphides of cadmium,

cadmium

and according
all

to the speed of precipitation,

tempera-

ture of the solutions, admixture of acids or alkalies,

shades from brilliant yellow to the deepest orange

All
writers

are formed.
practically

agree in stating, and the

experiments of the author confirm it, that cadmium yellow may be regarded as a perfectly permanent
pigment. The artistic painter is fortunate in having Much has such a brilliant color at his command.

been written on the

place between this

supposed
it

reactions

that
It
is

take
said,

and other pigments.

though being a sulphide,

a
lead

should not be mixed with

color, because the sulphur in the cadmium would combine with the lead with a blackening effect. Cadmium sulphide is a Ordinarily, this is not so.

very stable chemical compound, and will not give up its sulphur as readily as artificial ultramarine blue
[101]

Permanent Painting
will
;

for instance, there should therefore be

no

hesi-

tancy in using

cadmium

sulphide with any lead com-

pound, although, to make assurance doubly sure, zinc white could be used as when a cadmium color
is

mixed with zinc there can not possibly be any

It is

visi-

ble effect of decomposition.

so very expensive.
this

cadmium sulphide is The dry pigment itself costs at writing about $3.00 a pound to manufacture, but
unfortunate, perhaps, that

no

artistic painter
all it

should be without this yellow, and

above

should only be bought from a manufacturer

of excellent reputation.

Cadmium
does
it

fail,

yellow may fail, and in many instances because it is improperly made and because
in

an emulsion of oil and water, or bewhich it is ground may be of a highly Manufacturers of tube colors ought to acid nature. learn the lesson that no tube color should be ground in
is

ground

cause the

oil in

a chemically bleached vegetable oil, for oils are principally bleached by means of a strong acid like sulphuric or chromic, and all traces of these acids are

not entirely washed out, so that much trouble may arise from the ultimate effect of this trace of acid, and even a good color like cadmium may be decom-

posed

if

the

oil

The cadmiums
be mixed with

be not entirely pure. are slow but reliable driers and

all

may

other chemical pigments, even flake

white, without decomposing.

[102]

Permanent Painting
CALEDONIAN BROWN
Caledonian brown may be a mixture of brown umber and raw sienna in varying degrees, or it may be a mixture of vandyke brown and sienna. In the latter In the former case case it would not be permanent. it would be, and in all events, no two manufacturers use the same mixture of pigments nor obtain the

same shades, and as the painter can obtain the shade he wants by mixtures of these permanent pigments,
there
is

really

no reason

why

this

color should be

added
colors.

to the already complicated list of painters' tube

It has a tendency to grow darker upon very and when it contains manganese is a exposure, long but when it contains large quantihard drier, good, It is easily of vandyke, it is a soft, slow drier. on the sienna and umber. produced palette by mixing ties

CAPPAH BROWN
Cappah brown is a species of decomposed bog earth similar in composition to a mixture of vandyke brown
and burnt umber. It is similar to umber on account of the manganese which it contains, and therefore is a

good

however, not very stable in bright sunlight and darkens somewhat on exposure owing to its content of bitumen. It can easily be spared from
drier.
It is,

the

list

of browns.
/

[103]

Permanent Painting
CARBON BLACK
is an extremely fine pigment stronger than black and intensely black, in fact, in blackness lamp

This

compares favorably with ivory black. It is permanent, and does not affect any other pigment with which it may be mixed. Its great strength (tinctorial power) can be shown very easily as follows: if one takes one part of carbon black and twenty parts of permanent white and mixes them together, the result will be a black which will approximate the shade of
it

lamp

black. In other words, it has such intense coloring properties that it stains every other color with which it may be mixed. Although it is absolutely

all circumstances, it is no better than ivory black and possesses a number of disadvantages. It is an extremely poor drier and retards the drying

harmless under

of every other pigment with which it may be mixed, so that ivory or bone black should be used in place of it.

CARMINE
Carmine is the coloring matter of the cochineal bug which is mordanted or fastened by means of alum. It is an intensely brilliant red, translucent and works well and dries fairly well, but it is exceedingly fugitive, and is not only bleached by the action of sunlight,
but
of the metallic pigments. can be produced with carmine that cannot be produced with the madder lakes, and
is

destroyed by

many

There

is

no

effect that

[104]

Permanent Painting
therefore carmine should never be used on any painter's palette.

CARMINE LAKE
a deep maroon which is made after is extracted from the cochimatter coloring neal bug. It may have a pleasing maroon shade, and

Carmine lake
first

is

the

it

may have good working

qualities,

but in six days in

the bright sunlight it shows a loss of brilliancy and begins to fade. This quality should eliminate it as a pigment for artistic use. It is decomposed in the pres-

ence of the ochres.

CARNATION LAKE
rivative.

Prior to 25 years ago this lake was a carmine deWithin the last 20 years the author has

found a carmine sold under the name of carnation which was evidently a wood extract and fugitive, and another sample which was a reduced form of madder lake. The former was fugitive and useless.
lake

The

latter,

while not very

brilliant,

was permanent,

so that, at this writing, it is impossible to say whether carnation lake, as a general statement, is permanent

or not, for it depends entirely upon the maker. Under the circumstance it is advisable not to use it for it is not essential, as the same shade of scarlet madder.
is

sold under the

name

[105]

Permanent Painting
CASSEL EARTH
This pigment may have been in former years an ochrey brown, but at present it appears to be identical with vandyke brown, and is not regarded as a permanent color. It will be properly described under the

name

of vandyke brown.

CERULEAN BLUE
In the present age cerulean blue is an artificial ultramarine blue of pale shade known commercially under Some manufacturthe name of artificial cobalt blue.
ers in order to give
it its proper tone grind this pale commercial ultramarine blue with a mixture of zinc oxide, and it has the property of appearing blue under gas light or electric light. The author finds that

when made by

reputable concerns,

it

is

perfectly per-

manent and can be mixed with almost any pigment excepting those containing lead.
of
Its existence

compli-

cates matters, however, for the ordinary cobalt blue

the

commerce mixed with white same shade and effect.

will

produce practically

CHARCOAL GRAY
This pigment appears to be a vine black reduced with permanent white. When badly washed in its original manufacture it has a tendency to become hard in the
[106]

Permanent Painting
tubes.
It

can easily be substituted by mixing lamp

black with permanent white, and although it is a permanent color and not affected by any other color, it is a hard drier, owing to its alkaline nature, and if

used on top of a soft drying color

lakes,
it

like

any one of the

would show a tendency

to crack.

CHINESE BLUE
name
is a ferrocyanide of iron sold also under the of Prussian blue, milori blue, steel blue, bronze It difblue, Antwerp blue and various other names. blue in fers from Prussian the fact that physically only

This

tint.

it produces a clear sky-blue Chemically it is unstable, for, when mixed with white lead and allowed to remain on the palette over

when mixed with white

night it will be blue where it comes in contact with the air, and decomposes into a pale, sickly green unIt does not show this defect derneath the surface.

when mixed with permanent white

or zinc oxide.

If

mixed with one of the charcoal or vine blacks which contain a slight amount of alkali, it loses its color and becomes brownish, but when properly made and thoroughly washed in its original manufacture and used It may have some alone, it is practically permanent. excellent working qualities, and may be a beautiful, rich color, but all its shades and delicate effects can be reproduced by means of more permanent blues. Therefore, there is no reason why this blue should be user!.
[107]

Permanent Painting
CHINESE VERMILION
Chinese vermilion
is

one of the oldest pigments

known

to artistic painters.

The reader

is

referred to

the chapter on synopia for a history of the use of this pigment. Whether the ancient Greeks and Romans

obtained vermilion from China or the Idria section, it is difficult to say, but the chances are that the Oriental

travelers

brought some of the native vermilion

with them in addition to that which was found in

Europe. Vermilion

is

a sulphide of mercury, and

is artificially

made by mixing sulphur and mercury

in the presence

It of an alkaline solution under heat and pressure. in shade from a to a deep scarlet, ranges light orange

and while it is perfectly true that when used alone as an oil color and exposed to the brilliant sun rays, it will darken considerably, when glazed over with madder, as is frequently done after it is thoroughly dry,
it is

it

is

remarkably permanent, or when properly varnished very stable. It is a good drier and has great

opacity.

CHINESE WHITE
Chinese white
that
it

is

a zinc oxide.

Its

name would imply

a color invented by the Chinese or found in China, neither of which is the case. It was invented in France, and probably to hide its origin some manuis

[108]

Permanent Painting
facturer called
it

Chinese white.

The

description will

be found under the head of zinc white.

CHROME GREEN, LIGHT, MEDIUM AND DARK

These greens are unfortunately named, because although there is some chromium in their composition from the chromate of lead which they contain, they are strictly speaking, not pure chrome greens, such as
guignet or viridian green. Chrome greens are essentially a double precipitate of chrome yellow and Prussian blue, and vary in shade according to the percent-

age of yellow or blue which they may contain. These colors may work very well and dry very well, but have the combined defects of chrome yellow and Prusis properly made, tremendous fairly permanent tinting power, but is acted upon by sulphureted hydrogen, and even when not subjected to the action of any gas, it loses its brilliancy within a very few years. It is not recommended as a necessary color and can be very

sian blue.

Assuming

that the color

to light, has

it is

well omitted.

CHROME ORANGE AND CHROME RED

Both of these colors are chromates of lead made
with the addition of lime and are not any more permanent than the other shades of chrome yellow. In chemical

composition they are equal to chrome yellow mixed

[109]

Permanent Painting
with a small percentage of red lead or orange mineral. In view of the fact that cadmium orange exists and is much more permanent, chrome orange should be
eliminated from the palette.

CHROMIUM OXIDE

(See French Veronese Green)

CINNABAR GREEN
The word cinnabar refers entirely to the sulphide of mercury, and when chrome green was first made, some
manufacturer called his product cinnabar green, intending to convey the idea that his mixture of chrome yellow and Prussian blue was as permanent as cinnabar
red or native vermilion.
trade.

The name has

stuck to

it

in the

examination of the pigments shows that it is by no means a pure chrome yellow and Prussian blue, but is reduced with either whiting, permanent
white or other reinforcing pigment, and owing to this reduction it is more permanent than the concentrated
color,

An

because

it

does not contain as

much pigment

that can spoil or deteriorate as the concentrated color In brilliancy, tone and strength, it is quite satdoes.
isfactory, but
it is

not permanent and

is

easily affected

by noxious gases.

CITRON YELLOW
is also known under the name of is usually composed of a mixture and primrose yellow, of chromate and oxide of zinc. Inasmuch as this color

Citron yellow

[110]

Permanent Painting
is

somewhat

soluble in water,

it

cannot be very thor-

oughly washed, and in the presence of moisture has a marked effect on almost every color with which it
be mixed. When used alone, it is quite permanent and not affected by noxious gases of any kind, and when varnished before it has any opportunity for deIn former composition, it is remarkably permanent. it was as a but this was years regarded fugitive color, due to defects in its manufacture. Now the color has a fairly large sale for coach painting, but as an artists' color there is no reason to use it, because the pale shades of cadmium mixed with permanent white produce identical effects with no serious results.

may

COBALT BLUE
This color is very difficult to describe, as it may be a pale shade of artificial ultramarine blue, or it may be a true oxide of cobalt, or it may be a salt of
cobalt

mixed with alumina and barium.

tube no

larger than your little ringer may sell anywhere from 25 to 40 cents, but that is no indication whatever of
quality or composition, and the majority of samples of cobalt blue as sold, that the author has examined,
its

consist of artificial ultramarine blue,

among

the

and as such are most permanent and useful pigments which

the artist can possibly use. Owing to the fact that cobalt and its chemical derivatives are expensive, the

high price

still

clings to the cobalt blue

which the paint-

[111]

Permanent Painting
er uses, but this
is

more or

less

unwarranted, because
is

the artificial cobalt blue

(ultramarine)

very inex-

pensive and exceedingly permanent, except when mixed with another pigment which contains lead, like

chrome yellow or chrome green. should also be kept away from colors containing copper, lead and iron, and such metallic bases as
flake white, white lead,
It

are affected by sulphureted hydrogen, for the slightest trace of acid will liberate sulphureted hydrogen

from cobalt or ultramarine

the other hand, ine cobalt blue which

blue.
still

On

it

is

possible to

buy genu-

powdered.

The

a brilliant blue glaze, finely beautiful blues produced on china

is

ware by means of vitrification are generally produced by means of oxide of cobalt, which turns blue at a
very high temperature.

When

these blue glazes are

finely powdered whether they be brought up in a medium of glass or of pottery is the same. As such, these blues have very little hiding power, but are exceedingly brilliant and strong and unchangeable. They are used as transparent glazes, but the artificial cobalt blue made from ultramarine is just as transparent, and when used alone just as permanent. At the same time, the minute broken bits of glass of which genuine cobalt blue is composed refract and reflect the light

with such brilliancy that the optical value of the color is enhanced.
Cobalt blue
smalt,
is

sold

powder

blue,

under the following names: Vienna blue, royal blue.

[112]

Permanent Painting
COBALT GREEN
facturers
is

Cobalt green is made in various ways. Some manumix a pale shade of ultramarine blue which

known commercially as artificial ultramarine green with a mixture of oxide of zinc. Sometimes it is
zinc

made by grinding oxide of

native oxide of cobalt.

and zaffer which

is

In any case the cobalt green

which has been examined

is apparently very permanent, but lacks very much in opacity, which, however, is no detriment, because the color is principally used as a glazing color. It appears to be a very expensive color

when made from

such
is

the salt of genuine cobalt, and as permanent under any and all conditions. It

may

also

be a composition of genuine cobalt blue

mixed with chromate of zinc or zinc yellow, in which case it would also be permanent, but if it is a mixture of ultramarine blue and chromate of zinc, it is not permanent, and has sometimes been known to decompose in the tube.
It is difficult for

position of cobalt green

the painter to tell what the commay be, but inasmuch as genis described under the name chromium is more permanent same shade, the use of cobalt

uine chrome green which

of viridian and oxide of

and of practically the

green

may

be eliminated.

COBALT VIOLET
This
is

also a chemical precipitate

made with phos-

phate of cobalt, and has evidently been used for nearly

[113]

Permanent Painting
a century. It is exceedingly permanent and translucent, but has not the tinctorial power of the purple

madders which easily replace it. There is a violet ultramarine which is sometimes sold under the name of cobalt violet. This color is a
beautiful, clear, transparent,

permanent

color.

When
it

used alone or as a glaze over any other dried color,

dries slowly.

COLOGNE EARTH
be a native vandyke brown tinted with lamp black, or a native vandyke brown which is calcined so that the organic matter chars and blackens.

This

may

somewhat better than vandyke brown, is fairpermanent, but not quite as translucent, and is If analogous to cassel earth and Rubens brown.
It dries

ly

the glazing color which David Teniers, the younger, is supposed to have used, was cologne earth, we have no reason to doubt its permanency, and all experiments made by the author show that it can be freely mixed

with other pigments without producing any decomposing effect.

CONSTANT WHITE
There
artificial

no question that sulphate of barium

is

this material
is

which is an one of the most useful

pigments for indiscriminate use. It is quite true that it lacks opacity, and that even when piled on thickly
[114]

Permanent Painting
shows a transparency which for many purposes is detrimental from the artistic and technical standpoint,
but due consideration must be given to the fact that it is a valuable pigment which can be indiscriminately

mixed with every pigment that is permanent without producing any harmful effect. For producing a permanent glaze, and substituting bitumen, which is easily decomposed, permanent white can be mixed with any one of the solid colors, and the same effect produced.
not affected by any gases, and when scientifically prepared, has little or no action on the oil. In other
It is

no tendency to turn the oil yellow This material is also sold under the name of blanc fixe, and although some manufacturers produce a permanent white which is
words, there
is

when

placed in the dark.

largely composed of zinc oxide, there are others grind the dry blanc fixe in oil, and still others

mix dry blanc

lake colors

fixe with zinc oxide. There are which are precipitated on this material, and therefore a quasi lake can always be made by the painter by taking a small proportion of the solid pigment and mixing it with a large proportion of constant white. It dries well and is very reliable.

who who many

COPAL MEGILP
When
ical

linseed oil

is

boiled with oxide of lead and

manganese

to a temperature of

above 500

F.,

a chem-

decomposition takes place, and the metallic com[115]

Permanent Painting
pounds are dissolved
is

in the linseed oil. Strictly speakin chemical the sense, a linseed oil metallic soap ing,

formed which is frequently used as a drier, and under some circumstances is reliable, but under others is not. For instance, as when megilp is mixed with any one of the blacks, such as lamp black, carbon black,
ivory black, gray black, etc., it hastens their drying, but should not be used with the colors which naturally

colors,

dry well. When megilp is mixed with the chemical a change in shade almost invariably takes place, and it is an established fact that after megilp
dry to the touch,
is
it

is

keeps on drying until the reis

sulting film

Where

hard, brittle and contractile. megilp is used indiscriminately, a picture

almost invariably likely to crack, and even though it may have some good qualities, its bad qualities so
far outweigh them that permanent painting.
it

should not be used for

CORK BLACK
This
It
is
is

a carbon black produced by calcining cork. It grayish in color but has extreme strength.
is is

a very slow drier, which

It is

characteristic of

all

carbons.

very permanent but has no advantage

over lamp black.

CREMNITZ WHITE, CREMS OR KREMS WHITE

In all respects this white is similar in chemical composition to flake white or white lead. It is chemically
[116]

Permanent Painting
produced by what is known as the "quick process," and is made directly from a solution of acetate of lead.
It
is

exceedingly heavy, but crystalline in structure,

and very

It easily affected by sulphureted hydrogen. should not be used in painting portraits because zinc white is far more permanent. However, it has one

good feature and

is useful for one purpose. In prea cremnitz canvas white mixed with paring turpentine produces a flat ground which has what the painter calls "tooth." The surface has a fine grain, to which sub-

sequent colors adhere well, and as such

missible.

its

use

is

per-

CRIMSON LAKE
This is a beautiful shade of cochineal lake, and is manufactured from the coloring matter which remains after the carmine has been precipitated or extracted from the cochineal bug. It is, however, a useless color.
not only dries badly, but when submitted to the It should sunlight for 10 days, it bleaches badly.
It

never be used under any circumstances for permanent painting, and is similar to carmine lake.

CRIMSON MADDER
This
largely as the a form of madder lake manufactured very from alizarin, which is chemically the same madder produced from the root. It is very
is
it

permanent as long as

is

used alone or when used

[117]

Permanent Painting
as a glaze over a thoroughly dry surface, but when mixed with any one of the chemical colors, or the native earth colors,
it

decomposes rapidly, and therefore

It dries slowly.

should not be used indiscriminately.

DAVEY'S GRAY
Davey's gray
is

a permanent color which

is

from a

silicious earth, either clay or slate, tinted

It is
it

prepared with

artificial cobalt.

extent, because

is

not used in America to any great assumed that the color may be

produced by a mixture of constant white, lamp black and cobalt blue. It is permanent and has no effect on
other colors, but
is

or

when made with

affected by sulphureted hydrogen, artificial ultramarine blue decom-

poses lead colors.

DEEP MADDER
This
or
is

when glazed over

it

a permanent glazing color when used alone other colors which are dry. In

shade

approaches carmine lake and should be used

It dries very slowly, but the place of carmine lake. can be generally recommended as a safe pigment. Must

not be mixed with ochre, lead or native earth pigments.

EMERALD GREEN
There
is

apparently no green which

It is also

is

as brilliant as

emerald green.

known under

the

name

of

[118]

Permanent Painting
Paris green or emeraude green.
talline color,
its

It is a peculiarly crys-

and when ground exceedingly

fine loses

contain green aniline, which is added for the purpose of giving it staining power, because emerald green of itself is a defective
brilliancy.

Some samples

Being a compound of very easily decomposed by sulphur gases, although it is fairly permanent to light. It is one of the fugitive colors for whose existence there may be some excuse, because it is exceedingly brilliant, and when used with extreme care and varnished over as soon as it is thoroughly dry, there is no reacolor.
is

and exceedingly weak arsenic and copper, it

son

why

it

should not

last

50 or 100 years.

Marine painters use it for painting the starboard light, and sometimes produce a most brilliant effect by
with a hydrated oxide of chromium, then painting a ring of emerald green, and in the center placing a touch of zinc white. This gives the effect
starting

of luminosity.

Emerald green
used alone.
It

dries slowly and should always be sometimes destroys lake colors in a

few hours.

EXTRACT OF VERMILION
This is a misnomer, for there is no such thing as an extract of vermilion. The color is generally a very
pale vermilion of scarlet shade, and the description under the head of Chinese and English vermilion an T

swers the description of extract of vermilion.

[119]

Permanent Painting
FIELD'S
This color

ORANGE VERMILION

is composed of the sulphide of mercury, same as extract of vermilion, Chinese vermilion, etc., and differs only in shade, being somewhat deeper than cadmium orange or orange chrome yellow. It is

the

regarded as permanent when used alone and

is

a fairly

good

drier.

FLAKE WHITE
The Dutch were the first to manufacture white lead, by what is known as the Dutch process, which consisted in submitting sheets of lead to the heat of de-

composing manure and the vapors of vinegar. They found that the metallic lead was decomposed after 3 or 4 months, and flakes of white replaced the metallic lead. The Dutch called this pigment scheel white, which means scale or flake, and when we use the term
"flake white"

we always

refer to white lead.

There

is

no question that

defects, its principal

sulphur gases. junction with many other pigments, is its tendency Much of the yellowness to turn a painting yellow.

flake white has certain one being that it is affected by Another defect, which it has in con-

due to the decomposition which takes place and the oil or varnish used as a medium. At the same time, there are many pictures which are
of age
is

between

flake white

[120]

Permanent Painting
hundreds of years old in which the flake white has been rejuvenated even after it has turned brown or yellow through the effect of gases. From a mechanical
standpoint flake white is an unctious paint which works very well under the artist's brush, and when properly dry and glazed over with zinc, cannot be

considered as fugitive or easily decomposed. It has the advantage over zinc, that it does not dry continuously, nor does it become' exceedingly brittle with age, but zinc has so far replaced it that there is really no reason why it should be promiscuously used.

FRENCH BLUE
This
luely
is

an

artificial

ultramarine blue which

fairly

is

abso-

permanent to light, dries either be used as a glaze or as a

never
be

well,

solid color.

and can It must

chrome yellow, chrome green, emerald green, or any pigment containing a metallic base, excepting zinc. When mixed with
flake

mixed with

white,

zinc,

or apparent, and for this reason remarkable colors that we have.

any re-action that may take place is not visible is one of the most
It
is

identical

in

composition with the genuine lapis lazuli or natural ultramarine blue, and the author cannot find that it

any respects to the natural stone. contains a large amount of sulphur, which is very easily liberated in the presence of an acid, and in view of the fact that there is free acid in the atis

inferior in

It

mosphere

in

any

city, it is

well to bear in

mind

that

[121]

Permanent Painting
this

pigment should never be mixed with any other pigment which the free sulphurous acid is likely to In the chapter on drying oils evidence decompose. will be adduced which will demonstrate that decomposition can take place only in the presence of water

or moisture, so that the decomposition of ultramarine blue by acid with flake white can be prevented.

FRENCH ULTRAMARINE
The same
blue.
It

as

was

first

French blue or artificial ultramarine made in France but to-day Germany

and the United States are the largest producers of ultramarine blue. When used alone or when mixed with zinc white it is absolutely permanent. There are no less than twenty shades of French ultramarine ranging from the palest cobalt to the deepest ultramarine. Other varieties are also made, such as green, violet, purple and red, which will be described in their proper
places.

FRENCH VERMILION
The same
as Chinese or English vermilion.

FRENCH VERONESE GREEN

French Veronese green is now a permanent pigment which does not possess very much opacity, but
[122]

Permanent Painting
can be readily mixed with any other pigment without

any injurious effects. There is a story extant that Paul Veronese was the discoverer or inventor of this color, but it is doubtful whether this is true, in view

chromium was
that he lived.

of the fact that the production of hydrated oxide of evidently not known during the time

The

true Veronese green

named

for

him was more

likely a clay colored with hydrated oxide of iron known to this day under the name of terre

verte or green earth, although from the evidence which we have at hand, terre verte was used long before

Paul Veronese was born. Veronese green is similar to the genuine chrome green, of which there are two kinds, the solid or opaque kind, known under the name of chromium
oxide,

name

and the transparent kind, known of viridian. Viridian is sometimes

under the

known un-

of guignet green, but it is generally believed that guignet green is the oxide of chromium

der the

name

and not the hydrated oxide. It must be borne in mind that the hydrated oxide is a transparent color similar to a lake, and the oxide of chromium is an opaque pigment with intense hiding power. Both the oxide and the hydrated oxide are very permanent under any and all conditions, and can be mixed with other pigments with the exception that the hydrated oxide and madder lake show some slight decomposition, but as has been properly pointed out, there is seldom, if any, opportunity, where
[123]

Permanent Painting
madder
to

lake must be mixed with oxide of chromium produce any given shade. Veronese green is a good drier and a reliable color.

FOUNDATION WHITE
is the ordinary white lead of commerce which generally a very pure article, and is identical with that which the house painter uses. As such, it is not by any means the best foundation white, and cannot

This

is

compare with a mixture of zinc oxide and white lead. For foundation purposes, such a mixture dries very well, and produces a surface which is neither too hard nor too soft, and after it has dried sufficiently hard, presents a surface to which other pigments adhere very well. Such a surface has what is technically

known

as "tooth," so that

when we speak

of a pig-

ment having "tooth," we refer to a physical surface to which other colors adhere properly. Foundation white may be made by the painter of a
mixture of ordinary house painters' pigments, such as It zinc white and white lead ground in linseed oil. should be thinned only with turpentine so as to dry
little picture varnish with a gloss. (mastic dissolved in turpentine or damar varnish) may be mixed to give elasticity but as these varnishes become brittle

in time, fat oil (a fatty linseed oil) is preferable and a small quantity in foundation white is to be recom-

mended.
[124]

Permanent Painting
GALL STONE OR EXTRACT OF GALL
This is a true organic color with which the bile of the gall bladder is strongly tinted. When this bile is combined with lime and magnesia, it forms small
nodules
It has its origin durancients used almost any material which had tinctorial power, but as it possesses

ing the time

known as gall when the

stones.

no particular merit and

not to be

is

exceedingly fugitive,

it

is

recommended

for painting.

GAMBOGE
Gamboge
is
is

a semi-soluble resin which

tree in India,

is

obtained
It

from a particular

Ceylon and Siam.

a coloring matter which has many of the characteristics of the yellow coloring matter in linseed oil, in fact, a chemical examination of it indicates that it is

analogous to xantophyll and is not as fugitive as the yellow coloring matter obtained from turmeric, Persian berry, etc. find it on the market in com-

We

bination with alumina as a base, and as it has no hiding power whatever, it must be regarded as a stain

or a true lake, for it is quite transparent. It is seldom sold in its pure state, and as an oil color, the dye which

gamboge
It

contains

bleaches

is mordanted on alumina as a base. somewhat when exposed to strong sun-

when placed in the dark, which is characteristic of the coloring matter of many of the vegetable oils. It is of a true resinous
light but recovers its color again

[125]

Permanent Painting
nature,

and therefore

acts like a varnish

It is

gum,

for

it

not very stable, dries with a considerable gloss. and while it may dry fairly well by itself, it acts similar to bitumen, retarding the drying of other colors.
It is

therefore not to be generally recommended.

GERANIUM LAKE
It is

very unfortunate that in the early 70^5 when

the dye known as cosine was invented, many brilliant lakes were made for the painter, which exceeded in

strength and effectivenss any coloring matter that had been known before that time. There are two shades of

geranium, the bluish and the yellowish, both of them exceedingly brilliant, some of which are precipitated on alumina and some on minium or red lead. In any
case,

geranium lake
it

is

so fugitive

that in 24 hours

begins to bleach, and

when made of cosine, many a painter

has had his work completely destroyed by the use of

pigments of this class. It is unfortunate that these colors were ever sold to painters. They should under no circumstances be used. The madder lakes easily replace geranium lake and should be used instead.

GERANIUM MADDER
When
madder
this
it is

pigment

is

made
it

safe to use

perfectly permanent.

It is

of a very bright form of as a glazing color, as it is like all the madders which

[126]

Permanent Painting
are easier to use as glazes than in mixtures with any pigments which may have an ultimate effect, that is, the color will change in time. It dries very slowly and must not be mixed with ochre, raw sienna or flake
white.

GOLD OCHRE OR GOLDEN OCHRE

Ordinarily this pigment is French ochre toned with chrome yellow, and the painter should not use it, for
far preferable to use ordinary ochre, toning it, if necessary, with cadmium yellow. All the ochres have a slight tendency to darken upon exposure. They must not be mixed with any of the lake colors, but
it is

when mixed with any

tically

permanent.

Ochres

of the mineral colors are pracall dry very well and when

once dry are permanent.

GREEN LAKE
This pigment is prepared in various ways, and is generally conceded to be a fugitive color which has little or no value. When made of an aniline dye alumina it will fade within a week, but on precipitated

when made

of zinc yellow and Prussian blue diluted

it

with alumina,

will

retain

its

brilliancy

for

many

years. There is another variety on the market which is made of Dutch pink or quercitron bark extract and Prussian blue, which is not as permanent as that made from zinc yellow. The color is not to be recommended.

[127]

Permanent Painting
HARRISON RED
This
is

new pigment

of the aniline series which

is

exceedingly brilliant and probably ten times as strong

In shade it approximates as quick silver vermilion. a mixture of light and dark English vermilion, but in
tinctorial

power more permanent

milion
Its
it

It is much is remarkably strong. to light than vermilion, and like verhas a tendency to darken and not to fade.
it

composition

is

as helio fast red,

line

and

similar to a proprietary red known is made by one of the large ani-

named
rison.

manufacturers in Germany and they probably it in honor of the American artist, Birge Har-

This pigment possesses some analogies to the paraniadvantage of not bleedIn other words, after it is dry, and when white ing.
traniline colors, but has the
is

painted over

it

the

and turn the white into a brown as

para reds. Harrison red

red does not bleed through is the case with

may be

said to be

permanent when
;

thoroughly diluted with alumina lake and white it does show slight traces of decomposition after three

months' exposure to the sun, but not sufficient to condemn it, and it may be said that the only disad-

vantage concerning
its

this

color,

known

at present,
is

is

inability to dry.

oil it

mixed with sometimes remains absolutely moist and smeary

Harrison red
is

When

for six or seven weeks, which, of course,

a serious

[128]

Permanent Painting
At the same time the addition of a disadvantage. drier or a drying oil changes the brilliancy of its shade, so that it might be well in the use of this color
to reduce
it

the light.

It

only with turpentine and then expose it to mixes well with madder lake without

showing very much decomposition.

HOOKER'S GREEN
This pigment
power. Some
is

similar to the green lakes just deit

scribed, with the exception that

in

has some hiding

make it more manufacturers, use a mixture of chrome permanent, orange yellow, Prussian blue and alumina, which is not as brilliant as the pigment made from yellow lake or gamboge, but
order to
it is

much more permanent. One sample examined by

is

the author appeared to

be a mixture of Prussian blue and raw sienna.

a mixture

Such

permanent and dries

well.

INDIAN BLUE
This color
is

(Sec also Indigo)

obtained from the leaves of certain

Within plants which are found principally in India. the last few years it has been made the subject of research, as in the case of madder, so that it is now
manufactured
artificially

from coal

tar.

The pigment

present in artificial indigo is identical with that in the In its overnatural, but the artificial color is purer.

[129]

Permanent Painting
tone
it is

similar to Prussian blue, but

all

is

much weaker,
and when a
it

and somewhat transparent, having

istics

of the character-

of a lake color.

It

dries poorly,
is

manganese or lead
decomposed.
fades
rapidly.
It

drier
it

added

to

it

is

quickly
it

When

is

exposed

to the sunlight

is,

therefore,

useless

for

artistic

painting.

INDIAN LAKE
Indian lake is a deep red lake which is assumed to be the lake that exudes from the tree from which

gum

shellac is recovered, and is one of the lakes which was probably used by Sir Joshua Reynolds, which tend-

ed to destroy his pictures to such a great extent. In permanency it is better than carmine, and not by any

good as madder, and like all organic lakes quickly decomposed when mixed with some of It is fugitive and unreliable, the iron oxide colors. dries very badly and should not be used.
as
is

means

INDIAN PURPLE
Indian purple is a complex mixture originally made by taking a weak form of Prussian blue and mixing it

As such, it was very deep toned and Later on, carmine but was muddy, fairly permanent. was added to this mixture, but it was found that, alwith vermilion.

though the

brilliancy of the colors

was enhanced,

it

[130]

Permanent Painting
less permanent than before. Nowadays it is made by coloring or mixing ultramarine blue with' madder lake, during the process of manufacture of

was

the

madder, and
It

color.

is regarded as a fairly permanent can be readily duplicated on the palette.

INDIAN RED
This
in
its
is

a true oxide of iron

is

which contains no water

it

combination,

extremely permanent, and can

is

be generally

recommended when

unsophisticated.
artist

Unfortunately a number of manufacturers of

tube colors spoil this good and permanent color by adding a lake in order to enhance its brilliancy, and

doing so destroy the permanent value of the pigThe name Indian red is supposed to have originated from two sources; the first, because a native form of hematite or red oxide of iron which contains silica was found, and is still found, in the Orient, particularly in Persia, and, in the second place, from the further fact that the North American Indians used the
in

ment.

native red ochre or hematite as a

wash

for the wig-

wams, and as a coloring matter for personal decoration.

In either case, the colors chemically are the

same and are bright red oxides of iron. Much of the Indian red, however, which is used by color makers,
is artificially

prepared by burning copperas (sulphate of iron), until the acid is entirely driven off, and only the oxide remains. When this is washed it forms
[131]

Permanent Painting
a bright red, solid color which can be mixed with nearly every other permanent pigment, and may be
tions.

regarded as fairly permanent, with one or two excepUpon long and extreme exposure the bright
Indian red loses
its brilliancy and turns darker, which due to the chemical change or decomposition from

is

the ferric to the ferrous state.

iron
is

The

ferrous oxide of
artistic painter is

a black oxide with which the

not acquainted. The is the bright, red oxide. The darkening effect of Indian red is due to the slight change from the ferric to the ferrous
ferric oxide of iron

oxide.

The same

is

true

when Indian
tint.

red

is

mixed

with zinc oxide to produce a flesh

The author

exposed a sample so made for three years to the bright daylight, and at the end of three years a very slight darkening effect had taken place, but inasmuch as
artistic paintings are rarely, if ever, exposed to the bright sunshine throughout the entire year, Indian red must be regarded as one of the permanent and reliable

pigments. Indian red dries very well and has enormous hiding power (opacity). When mixed with zinc oxide
to

produce a ground for flesh tints it is very reliable. There are many shades of Indian red. Some produce a violet when mixed with white and others a distinct

When

pink or rouge. All are permanent when pure. Indian red is toned with madder lake it is
Indian

frequently called tuscan red or Pompeian red. red does not decompose madder lake.

[132]

Permanent Painting
INDIAN YELLOW
This color
is

similar in

many

of

its

characteristics

to gall stone yellow,

and inasmuch as

it is

made from

the excrement of camels, its coloring matter is samewhat similar to the biliary coloring matter, and while
it

is brilliant

gall stone yellow,

and transparent, it is just as fugitive as and is not to be recommended. It

dries badly.

INDIGO
from the indigo plant which East Indies, and has been in use for many centuries. It is used both as an oil color and a water color but possesses no particular advantage. As an
This
is

a color extracted

grows

in the

oil

color indigo dries very slowly, fades

light,
is

when exposed

destroyed or reduced when mixed with chrome yellow, white lead and the majority of metallic It can be safely substituted by a mixture of paints.
to

Prussian blue and lamp black, or better

ture of

still,

by a mix-

Antwerp blue and lamp

black,

Antwerp blue

being a reduced form of Prussian blue. It is of doubtful value, and it is a question whether any of the old painters used it to any great extent. While it is accepted that it makes a very desirable green when mixed with raw sienna or a yellow lake, it is not as good as a mixture of Prussian blue and raw sienna, and as yel

low lake
color
is

in

almost any form

is

fugitive the resulting

not to be recommended.

Indigo should therefore be excluded from the palette.

[133]

Permanent Painting
ITALIAN PINK
This
is

the

same as Dutch pink or yellow

it

lake, its

name

is

a misnomer, because
It is

yellow, and not a paint.

a transparent olive quite fugitive. It dries

is

very poorly and should not be used.

IVORY BLACK
Ivory black
is

prepared from charred ivory, and

contains only about 20% of carbon black, the balance of it being phosphate of lime or bone material, but it
is

unlike any other black, on account of

its

intensity.

In fact, it is so black by comparison, that on an ivory black ground a stripe of lamp black is distinctly discernible, or visa versa, a stripe of ivory black will make It is perfectly permaa black mark on lamp black.

nent and dries very well, and can be mixed indiscriminately with any other permanent color.

JAUNE BRILLIANT
also known under the name of bulliant yelname being a translation from the French. It is made in two ways, the one producing a permanent and the other an unreliable pigment. The permanent brilliant yellow is made of zinc yellow mixed with

This

is

low,

its

zinc oxide to give

it

permanent

color.

By

hiding power, and is a brilliant, the other method one part chem[134]

Permanent Painting
ically

pure lemon chrome yellow

is

parts of white lead.

The

latter is stronger

mixed with twenty and has

more hiding power than the former, but is easily affected by sulphureted hydrogen, and is not as permanent as the zinc yellow. It dries very well and should
be used alone.

JACQUEMINOT MADDER
brilliant

merely a bluish shade of madder, very strong, and permanent, and ranks with all the other madder lakes. It dries very slowly and for flower
is

This

painting is absolutely permanent when used as a glaze over a dry ground. It is frequently mixed with ivory black to produce a brown lake.

KING'S
This
turers
is

YELLOW

make

prepared in several ways. Some manufacit similar to the formulas of brilliant yel-

low just described. Others mix chrome yellow and flake white. Formerly, it was made by grinding the mineral orpiment, which is a sulphide of arsenic, and has been used as a pigment for several thousand years. When used absolutely alone, it has some qualities which may 'recommend it, but it is almost impossible to use a pigment of this kind alone, for the mere addition of a
drier is sufficient to destroy the of brilliancy orpiment, hence manufacturers have been

small

amount of

[135]

Permanent Painting
led to
it by using zinc yellow or chrome yellow In any case, orpiment is useless and not to be recommended, as King's yellow has all the charac-

make

as a base.

teristics

of brilliant yellow with which

it is

analogous.

LAMP BLACK
This pigment
is

now made by condensing

the

smoke

of various burning coal tar oils. It is almost a pure form of carbon, is intensely strong, and differs from carbon black and ivory black in that it produces a distinctly bluish
is

gray shade when mixed with white.

It

a very bad drier, and remains very flexible for a long time. Therefore, f^is always advisable, when a

gray

is

to be

made, that zinc oxide and lamp black

be used, because the flexibility of lamp black overcomes the brittleness of zinc. Lamp black can be mixed with

any other pigment. It is not chemically acted upon, nor It can be mixed with any is it acted upon by light. inert. is When it refuses to and absolutely pigment to it the be sunlight and fresh air, exposed dry may which hastens the drying very considerably. Lamp black, however, may be mixed with drier without any harm, but sunlight and air are more reliable.

LEITCH'S BLUE
This is similar in some respects to marine blue, but not as permanent.
[136]
artificial ultra-

It

is

made by

Permanent Painting
mixing
artificial

An

old variety

ultramarine blue and Prussian blue. was made by mixing genuine cobalt

blue and Prussian blue.

slightly,

In either case

it

bleaches

and

is

not as reliable as either cobalt blue

It dries better

or ultramarine alone.

than ultramarine
It

and can be produced on the

palette.

has a tendency

to turn slightly greenish in the dark but revives exposure to light.

on

LEMON YELLOW
This may be either chromate of barium or a chromate of strontium, and has many of the characteristics of a brilliant yellow lake, and at the same time is much more permanent than any organic color. It can be mixed with almost every color, excepting those containing hydrated oxide of iron, such as siennas or ochres, and where a yellow lake is desired of exceptional
brilliancy,

a mixture

of

constant

white

and
It
is

lemon yellow produces very desirable similar in many respects to chromate of

be regarded as a
reliable,

results.

zinc,

and may
It

permanent

color.

cannot

supplant zinc yellow and

may

therefore be omitted.

LIGHT RED
The author finds that some of the light reds on the market are evidently brilliant shades of Indian red, and almost pure oxide of iron. Others are mixtures
[137]

Permanent Painting
of burnt sienna and oxide of iron, and still others are forms of burnt ochre, which are oxides of iron and
clay.

In any case, any one of these three colors are

perfectly permanent and reliable, and the description for Indian red would hold good for light red. All of the light reds are good driers, and we find that from

the earliest days

of decoration

as

practiced by the

Egyptians down
used by
all

to the present day, light red has

been

painters.

When mixed

with zinc white

or flake white the tendency for light red is to darken slightly and become brownish, but this is not perceptible for many years, and only occurs upon extreme exposure.
It is

a very reliable pigment.

MADDER CARMINE, MADDER CARMINE EXTRA AND MADDER LAKE

These are lakes prepared from the madder root that somewhat as to shade and brilliancy. They are all similar in composition to the alizarins, and are all permanent, except when mixed with the ochre and sienna pigments, white lead, chrome yellow, chrome green and metallic pigments of that nature. The madder lakes should only be used as glazes, and can very safely be mixed with constant white to produce brilliant and more roseate shades. They all dry slowly and when they "sadden" they can be revived by placing .them in the sunlight for a few hours.
differ

[138]

Permanent Painting
MAGENTA
one of the newer, aniline pigments, Magenta on an alumina base, and while extremely precipitated brilliant when freshly applied, has absolutely no value whatever as an artistic color. In one week, magenta bleaches perceptibly, and is very easily affected by any
is

of the inorganic pigments. It mended and should not be used.

is

not to be recom-

MALACHITE GREEN: ALSO KNOWN UNDER THE NAME OF MOUNTAIN GREEN

This pigment was known to the Grecians, and is also a semi-precious jewel. It is sometimes found in huge slabs and used in the making of table tops, pedestals and other articles of ornament. It is a brilliant minergreen streaked with a light green, and is a hydrated carbonate of copper. Whether made artifior from the green mineral, it has the cially, prepared serious defect that it is affected by sulphur gases, and
al

may

either bleach or darken according to the nature

of the gas which attacks it, but when properly varnished and used alone, it is quite permanent. In view of the fact that there are other greens which are ab-

permanent, and from which similar shades be prepared, there is no necessity for the use of malachite green.
solutely

may

This pigment dries well and has been used for over
three thousand years.
cient Egyptians.
It

was well known

to the an-

139

Permanent Painting
MARS COLORS BROWN, ORANGE, RED, VIOLET AND YELLOW

MARS BROWN
color, unburnt, and similar in raw umber. It is a very good drier, but must not be mixed with any of the lakes. Of itself, it is a perfectly permanent pigment.

This

is

a natural

composition to

MARS ORANGE
This has sometimes been called extract of burnt
sienna, because
it

is

composed

entirely

of hydrated

oxide of iron which has been properly precipitated and washed. It is very uniform in composition, and identiIt has generally been recal with ordinary iron rust.

garded as a perfectly safe and permanent pigment, but It attacks not only every lake this is not a fact. with which it may be mixed, but is such a hard drier It makes most beauthat it has a tendency to crack.
yellowish tints when mixed with zinc diluted with constant white, it has and when white, of a lake, but owing to its chemcharacteristic every ical composition, it darkens upon extreme exposure, and the beautiful clear tones which it produces when mixed with white have a tendency to sadden upon
tiful,

clear

exposure.

[140]

Permanent Painting
MARS RED
This
is

similar in all respects to

it

the exception that

mars orange, with has been heated until the water

off,

of combination

is
it

driven
is

and while
it

it

is

identical
It is

with light red,

soft,

much more
lakes,
it

transparent.
is

a
to

affect a

supposed very doubtful whether it does, but in order to practice precaution, it may be wise not to mix it with several of the lakes, but to
color,

permanent

and although
is

number of

use the lakes over

it

as a glazing color.

It dries well,

and

is

permanent.

MARS VIOLET
Mars
violet is a

very dark form of crocus martis, or

Indian red.

It is similar to the color

is

mortum, and
oxide of iron.

known as caput nothing more nor less than a purple It has a distinctly bluish shade, is very
is

durable, dries well and

permanent

to light.

MARS YELLOW
Mars yellow has or extract of raw
also been called extract of ochre,
it is composed of two pigments. It frequently cannot be distinguished from a good quality of raw sienna, is permanent, dries well and is translucent. It has been suggested frequently that mars yellow, or a good form of raw sienna should be used

sienna, because

the coloring matter of these

[141]

Permanent Painting
as a substitute for the yellow lakes, and this can easily be done when these colors are mixed with constant

white.
all

As a glazing color, it is permanent, but, like of the oxides of iron which contain water in combiit

nation,

must not be mixed with an organic color

such as any one of the lakes.

MAUVE AND MAUVE LAKE

This
is

which begins

a most undesirable though brilliant color, to deteriorate almost the same day that

it is applied. It is made from one of the fugitive aniline dyes, but could be made from permanent dyes,

although there is no sample on the market which the author has examined that is fit for the artist's palette.
In these modern days mauve lake should be replaced by a permanent mauve which would not be difficult to produce, and which would be as permanent as madder, but such a pigment does not exist, to the best of the
author's knowledge.

MEGILP

(Sec Copal Megilp)

MINERAL GRAY
a nondescript color which is made from a gray or gang rock, and tinted with the blue ot It has very little strength or tinctorial lapis lazuli.

This

is

solid

power. Its principal characteristic is its high price. It can very easily be imitated by a mixture of cheaper
[142

Permanent Painting
would be just as permanent. It has, however, no defects. It dries well, is permanent to light, and permanent when mixed with every pigment excepting those containing lead, which it does not
colors which
affect as quickly as ultramarine blue, because its sul-

phur content is so extremely low. Zinc white, lamp black and a trace of ultramarine produce the same shade.

MINIUM
Minium is a very brilliant orange red. It is a pure form of oxide of lead made by calcining flake white. Its shade is similar to that of orange vermilion.
It is perfectly

permanent

to light, but

is

ble to the action of sulphureted

hydrogen.

very susceptiIt has the

same shade as scarlet quick silver vermilion, and is a powerful drier. It is best to use it alone and it ought to be varnished as soon as possible. When not varnished it bleaches to a straw color on long exposure, which is due to the acid gases in the air.

MONO CHROME
These are mixtures of white

TINTS
raw umber, burnt etc., and on account

lead,

umber, lamp black, ivory black, of the lead content are affected by sulphureted hyWhen these drogen, which tends to darken them.
colors are

made on a

zinc white base they are

much

[143]

Permanent Painting
more permanent, in fact, may be regarded as perfectly permanent. They dry well and can be reproduced on
the palette.

MUMMY
Mummy
the
is

a form of bitumen or asphaltum used

as a glazing color. It was supposed to be permanent, because the bitumen or asphaltum which is found in

mummy
it

cases
so old,

cause
in its
it is

was

was assumed to be permanent, beand had not undergone any change

;

drying condition but when used as an oil color, treacherous, and should not be used for the same reason that no asphaltum or bitumen should be used.
It
is

retards the drying of an otherwise

to be

good color, and condemned from every point of view.

NAPLES YELLOW
The old Naples yellow was a mixture of litharge, or oxide of lead and sulphide of antimony, a most unstable color which frequently decomposed itself, but
years color manufacturers have imitated it by mixing cadmium, yellow, ochre and white, and some
for

many

manufacturers produce better and more permanent Naples yellow than others. This is due to the fact
that this pigment may be a mixture of deep orange cadmium and zinc white, in which case it is exceedingly permanent, but where the zinc white is replaced by

[144]

Permanent Painting
phureted hydrogen.
it is easily affected by sulExcept for convenience there is no necessity for having this as a separate color, for the painter can mix up any shade of Naples yellow

white lead or flake white,

to suit himself.

NAPLES YELLOW REDDISH

Naples yellow reddish is the same as any Naples yellow, except that the orange form of cadmium has been used, or a slight tinge or oxide of iron added to
the zinc white.

Either form of imitation Naples yel-

and is practically perwhich cannot be said of the genuine. manent,

low
is

superior to the natural

NEUTRAL TINT
is a complex mixture of ultramarine, sienna, black or ochre and lamp black, and under all lamp circumstances is an excellent color which is perfectly

This

It can be reproduced on the palette and bought only for convenience. It dries well.

permanent.

is

NEUTRAL ORANGE
Neutral orange is a permanent color also of a complex mixture. It has many of the characteristics of

mars orange, but sometimes is made by mixing a brilliant yellow, free from lead, with a bright oxide of iron. When made from cadmium yellow, it is quite
[145]

Permanent Painting
expensive, but when made from zinc yellow or barium yellow, it is not quite as strong in hiding power, but
is

very desirable.

The

color dries well.

NEW BLUE
New
blue
is

an

artificial

ultramarine blue of the

cobalt shade,

perfectly

permanent,

excepting

when

mixed with white lead or

flake white, or

any other

It must not be used in concolor containing lead. a lead drier. with By itself it is absolutely junction dries and well. permanent

NOTTINGHAM WHITE
is

This is a form of white lead or flake white, which described under the heading of flake white.

OLIVE GREEN
a beautiful pigment, composed of a mixture of yellow lake and Prussian blue. It is not

Olive green

is

permanent and should not be used, for it dries badly and fades. Olive green may be made of raw sienna and Prussian blue, in which case it dries well and is absolutely
permanent,

and when mixed

with

constant

white

(blanc fixe) or diluted with blanc de lacque (alumina hydrate) produces a lake of any degree of transparency.

[146]

Permanent Painting
Olive green or olive green lake must not be mixed with any other lake.

OLIVE LAKE
Olive lake is a mixture of ultramarine blue and yellow lake which fades and is unreliable. The mixture described under the paragraph on olive green is to be

recommended

in its place.

OLIVE MADDER
Olive madder
is

madder

lake which

a misnomer, there being no true is green, but a mixture of ultra-

marine blue and certain forms of raw sienna or Prussian blue and sienna produce an olive green which
exceedingly permanent, and, although somewhat muddy, can be very safely used, except in the presence of lead pigments. It is a very good drier.
is

ORANGE MINERAL
ORANGE VERMILION

(See Minium)

(See Vermilion)

ORANGE MADDER
scarlet madder mixed with an aniline yellow or a yellow lake like Dutch pink or Italian yellow. This is a most undesirable pigment which remains wet for

weeks and

in the end, fades.

There

is,

however, no

[147]

Permanent Painting
reason

why

a lake color of an orange shade cannot be

the para yellows or para reds, but the author has not found any on the market.

made from

ORIENT MADDER
Orient madder
is

a deep variety of
It
is

cadmium

yellow,

and has

all

the

permanent

characteristics of the cad-

mium

series

of colors.

diluted with blanc de

laque (alumina hydrate) and has almost as much trans-

lucency as a true lake, but dries very slowly.

ORPIMENT
is the same as King's yellow, and was a sulphide of arsenic. Some samples of still found on market the are the arsenic orpiment The same color, and as such are not recommended.

Orpiment

originally

shade

may

and whites. mended.

be produced by mixing various yellows The true orpiment is not to be recom-

OXIDE OF CHROMIUM

(See French Veronese Green)

OXIDE OF CHROMIUM, TRANSPARENT

(See French

Veronese Green)

OXFORD OCHRE
of ochre found in England, and containing more oxide of iron very permanent,

This

is

muddy grade

[148]

Permanent Painting
than the French ochre.
It is

sometimes used as a base

for red pigments, and that is done when the ochre is heated to a red heat so that all the water of combi-

nation

is

driven

off,

and the hydrated iron

It is

is

changed

into a true oxide.

when mixed

perfectly permanent, except with the lakes. When burnt and sold
it

under the name of burnt ochre,

of the shades of mars orange.

is

similar to

some

PAYNE'S GRAY
Payne's gray
is

a mixture of black, ochre

if

and

blue,

and
is

is

permanent

the blue used

is

is

ultramarine.

The

water color Payne's gray

not permanent.

a different mixture which

It dries slowly.

PERMANENT BLUE

(See Ultramarine Blue)

PERMANENT GREEN

(See

Viridian)

PERMANENT VIOLET
This

may

of manganese, and

be a mineral color composed of phosphate when so prepared is not permanent

by any means, and does not deserve the name, or it may be a mixture of cobalt blue and madder lake which is more permanent, but the painter is referred to other violets which can be made from permanent pigments, and should be used in place of the so-called
permanent
violets.

[149]

Permanent Painting
Violet ultramarine
is

the most reliable of the violets

but should not be mixed with any color excepting, perhaps, constant white (blanc fixe) and zinc white. It
as transparent as a lake, and remains brilliant even in the bright sunlight.
is

PERMANENT WHITE
This
ter
is a pure zinc oxide described under the chapon zinc white, dries slowly and is permanent.

PERMANENT YELLOW
This
is

a mixture of chromate of

barium and zinc

white, or chromate of zinc and zinc white. The color is rather weak, but can be safely used with chromium oxide or the viridian colors, and is not affected by

sulphur gases or light. Generally it or to use, but dries rather slowly.

as canary yellow.
i

is

a very safe colis

It

also

known

PINK MADDER
alizarin or

weak variety of madder lake made from madder root. It is permanent and safe to use when not mixed with ochre, lead, or any one of
This
is

the chemical pigments.

perfectly dry surface,
it

When
is

used as a glaze over a

bright sunlight bleaches

quite permanent, although it to a very slight extent

[150]

Permanent Painting
It is a bad drier, but after the lapse of two years. under no circumstances must it be mixed with a drying oil, because all the drying oils contain metallic substances in solution which act deleteriously on all of the madders. The best way to dry pink madder or any

madder lake is to use well settled, old, raw linseed oil, and then expose the picture to the bright light, for the sun will dry madder lake without decomposing it. As
this color is largely

used as a glaze

it

is

the frequent

cause of cracks.

PRIMROSE AUREOLIN

(See Aureolin)

PRIMROSE YELLOW
This
is

a pale variety of chromate of zinc, or

it

may

be a mixture of chromate of zinc and chromate of

barium, or it may be composed of chromate of zinc and oxide of zinc. In any one of these cases, it is
a safe, permanent, reliable color.
particularly
color.
It dries fairly well, It is

when exposed

to light.

not affected

by sulphur gases but cannot be mixed with a lake

PRUSSIAN BLUE
Prussian blue is a chemical compound which is made from the cyanogen obtained from certain organic substances such as leather, horn, feathers, etc. There
[151]

Permanent Painting
a great variety of colors made in this manner, all of which are ferro-cyanides of iron. They are called steel blue, Chinese blue, Milori blue, bronze blue, Prusis

sian blue, Paris blue,

Antwerp

blue, etc.

All of these

colors are intensely rich, strong and inimitable, yet the pigment cannot be safely recommended for inWhen Prussian blue or any discriminate mixtures.

of

analogues are mixed with white lead of flake white, the rich sky blue or greenish tint which will result bleaches over night into a sickly green, but on
its

exposure to the light for an hour, it comes back to its This is a chemical effect known to original color. chemists as "reduction." For certain purposes, Prusis safe and permanent. Several of the ultramixed with black will give a shade or tint marines which will approximate Prussian blue, but rather than

sian blue

take any chances the painter is advised to avoid the use of Prussian blue, or any color which may be partly

composed of this material, excepting for sky effects when mixed with zinc. The so-called chrome greens are Prussian blue mixed with yellow, and although they are strong and brilliant, they lose their brilliancy after some years. Prussian blue is a good drier, and when used alone
is

perfectly

permanent, provided

it

is

unglazed or

When varnished with painted over a solid ground. an oil varnish, or when mixed with megilp or copal,
it

turns green, but used by

itself the
it

author can pos-

itively state that in three years

shows no change.

[152]

Permanent Painting
It

has very great opacity, and

It is far

is

similar to indigo in
is

appearance.
drier.

superior to indigo and

a good
zinc

The Prussian
and the sienna

blues can be safely

mixed with

colors.

PRUSSIAN

BROWN
heated,

When
driven

Prussian blue

is

and the cyanogen

converted into a form of oxide of iron, which has a rich, deep, chocolate color that is absooff, it is

permanent and perfectly reliable, and is such a compound that when mixed with madder lake it does not decompose the madder. It is not only a good drier, but a flexible drier, and after a lapse of many years Prussian brown remains soft and flexible without showing any tendency whatever to crack. It is frequently used mixed with burnt umber, in order to prevent the burnt umber from drying too hard.
lutely

stable

It is also

made by subjecting Prussian blue to ammonia, but this pigment is not as stable as the color made by the hot or burning process.

PRUSSIAN GREEN
Prussian green is a mixture of yellow lake and Prussian blue, undesirable and unreliable. better and more permanent Prussian green can be made by

mixing raw sienna with Prussian

153]

blue.

Permanent Painting
PURE SCARLET
(See
Scarlet)

PURPLE LAKE
Purple lake
is

a deep, crimson lake, generally

made

from the extract of hypernic, which is a variety of wood lake, and is not much more permanent than one It possesses no quality which of the aniline lakes.
should recommend
it

in

preference to purple madder,

which

is

very

much more permanent.

PURPLE MADDER
This is a deep variety of madder lake, just as permanent as any one of the madders, but it must not be mixed with a metallic drier, or with any one of the
lead pigments or ochres.
It is a

slow drier, but

its

drying can be hastened by exposure to sunlight.

RAW SIENNA
This
is

one of the safest pigments to use, and works

well with every color, except the lake colors. In composition it is similar to ochre, with the exception that
it

is

four times as

four times as strong, or in other words, contains much iron, but the iron which it conis

tains is the hydrated form, hence the color

cent.
It is

translu-

composed of a native earth originally found in and near Sienna, Italy, and was used by the ancient
[154]

Permanent Painting
There are a large variety of raw siennas, some of which approach closely a yellow lake. All of them are more or less adapted for the purpose of Sienna when used in dilute form is almost glazing. transparent, and under any circumstances excepting
painters.

those

absolutely permanent with the that it darkens very slightly after possible exception of raw sienna and white lead mixture many years.

mentioned,

is

or zinc white becomes

more mellow

in time.

It is

good

drier.

RAW UMBER
This pigment
is

somewhat

similar to the

raw

sienna,

with the exception that it contains manganese, and is found not only in Italy but in certain parts of Ger-

many, Cypress and Turkey, and among paint manufacturers the name of Turkey raw umber is applied to practically all the umbers which are found. in southern Europe. It is a translucent color having a peculiar olive brown shade, and cannot be said to be uniform for
there are

raw umbers which vary

in

shade from a light

yellowish olive to a very deep brownish green. It is a most excellent drier, but has a decomposing effect
glaze,

upon lake and

colors.

It

may
it

like the siennas

be very safely used as a has a tendency to darken

very slightly. It is a very strong drier and is often used like burnt umber with black to hasten the drying of the black.
[155]

Permanent Painting
permanent when used alone and permanent when mixed with blacks, umbers, siennas, ochres and zinc
It is

white.

REMBRANDT'S MADDER AND

RUBEN'S
It is

MADDER

Hals used madder

very likely that Rembrandt, Ruben and Franz lake, but Franz Hals evidently was

better acquainted with its technical use than any other painter of his time. The brilliant, rubicund flesh tints

careful

are almost perfectly preserved to-day, and a minute examination reveals the fact that he used

madder

lake as a glaze only after the under-coats were

thoroughly dry.

Why
called

these particular shades of

madder should be

Ruben's madder and Rembrandt's madder is merely a question of sentiment, as none of the lakes known under that name differ materially from any
ether madder lakes. In any case, they are reliable

when kept away from the ochre or lead colors, and are perfectly reliable when glazed over the dry colors
which otherwise decompose them.

ROMAN OCHRE
ochre is a native ochre, identical in compowith French ochre or Oxford ochre, and has some of the characteristics of a mixture of ochre and raw sienna. It is stronger in tinting power than the
sition

Roman

[156]

Permanent Painting
French ochre, which would indicate that it is a species of sienna, perfectly permanent and reliable, excepting
with lakes.

ROMAN OCHRE, COOL

The
it is

description of Roman ochre answers a different shade.

this,

only

ROMAN

SEPIA

(See Sepia)

ROSE DOREE
a yellowish shade of madder, and the general description of all the madder lakes applies to this pig-

This

is

ment.

ROSE LAKE
Rose lake
ina,
is

an aniline
brilliant

color, precipitated

on alum-

exceedingly

when

first

fectly unreliable and not to be

recommended

applied, but perfor any

painting purposes whatever.

ROSE MADDER, RUBEN'S MADDER

(See Madder Lake)

SAP GREEN
Originally this was a transparent green lake which was extracted from myrtle leaves, and known under

[157]

Permanent Painting
the chemical

name of chlorophyll. Whether used as color or a water color, it is thoroughly unreliable, because if it is a green made from the green
an
oil

coloring matter of certain plants, it will turn to a brilliant yellow in the presence of white lead during
after
to

the process of drying, and will turn dark green again it is exposed to the air. It is unreliable and not

be recommended.

colors,

The sap greens sold in tube however, are mixtures of yellow lake, Prussian

blue or ultramarine blue, and in any case are not permanent to light and therefore should be excluded. It
dries very badly.

SCARLET RED
of a very deep orange chrome yellow, it can easily be detected by its excessive weight. tube of it lying on the palm of the hand feels as if it were lead. In reality it is a lead
this

When

color

is

made

color toned with orange mineral. It entirely of orange mineral, which

may
is

be

made
that

also

a form of red
is
it

lead

and minium.

Its

principal defect

is

Inasmuch easily attacked by sulphureted hydrogen. as scarlet red and orange mineral are both identical
in

shade with orange vermilion,

it is

much

safer to use

orange vermilion, although orange mineral or scarlet red, when properly varnished and not mixed with any
color, is

permanent.
[158]

Permanent Painting
SCARLET LAKE
is madder lake mixed with orange mineral, and the author has seen samples of scarlet lake which lately were composed of orange mineral stained with paran-

This

itraniline red.

Madder

to bleach,

and a para

scarlet has a slight tendency scarlet has a slight tendency to

darken.

The

safest course

would therefore be

to use

any shade of quick silver vermilion, and when dry glaze it with madder.

SCARLET MADDER
SCARLET VERMILION

(See Madder Lake)

(See Orange Vermilion)

SEPIA
Sepia
this fish
is

either the juice of the cuttle-fish,

which

uses as a form of natural protection, or is the extract of walnut. The cuttle-fish, when passing

through a dangerous zone, obscures the water by ejecting an organic coloring matter, and then hides in this

darkened zone.
tracts are of

As an oil color, neither much use, although walnut

of these exstain gives a

very transparent glaze, but takes so long to dry that it cannot be recommended. Painters, as a rule, mix
their

own

of

madder

sepia for oil color, one form being a mixture lake and burnt umber, which is very

permanent, and another form being carbon black and

[159]

Permanent Painting
vandyke brown. However, lampblack, raw sienna and burnt umber make a very permanent sepia which, for
glazing,
well.
is

thoroughly

reliable,

and which

dries very

SILVER WHITE
This is a precipitated white lead. The painter can very well omit this pigment from his palette for zinc white or permanent white could be substituted.

SKY BLUE
a yellowish shade of blue, composed, as a ultramarine blue very faintly tinted with zinc yellow. It is a very permanent color and dries well. It is easy for the painter to mix his own shades for skies.
is

This

rule, of

SMALT
which has been colof course, no hiding for excuse its use is the lumand the principal power, It is perfectly perinous effects which it produces. manent, and finds its principal use for painting transparencies on glass. When sold as an oil color, in tubes, it is really ground and mixed in a vehicle of gum arabic and glycerine, and unless the painter is familiar with it, it is likely to curl from any oily surface to
This
is

powdered blue

glass,

ored with oxide of cobalt.

It has,

[160]

Permanent Painting
which
of
its
it

may

be applied, and thus defeats the object

use.

TERRE ROSE
This
iron,
is

a translucent clay colored with red oxide of

and when the red oxide, from which it is made, is thoroughly burnt and washed, it may be regarded as permanent under all conditions. It dries very well and works freely under the brush.

TERRE VERTE
This
is

a bluish green transparent color which

is

It clay tinted with a green hydrated oxide of iron. has always been regarded as a permanent glazing col-

or,

but

it

is

permanent only after

never before.

The

it is varnished, but iron oxide in terre verte is of

it

such a chemical nature that

changes

slightly,

and

this

process of decomposition is quite well understood by chemists. It has a disastrous effect upon the lake
colors,

and therefore

it

is

much

safer to use

it

alone.

TOUR'S ORANGE MINERAL, OR TOUR'S RED

This
is

a French oxide of lead

It

made by
permanent

calcining
to light.

white lead.
It

has the brilliant color of orange quick

silver vermilion,
is

and

is

perfectly

quickly affected

by sulphureted hydrogen, and

[161]

Permanent Painting
bleaches or pales slightly
acids.

when

subjected to sulphur

however, are not apparent after it is varnished. It is much cheaper than quick silver vermilion, but not as reliable. It is an excellent drier. It is also used as a base for making the vermilion substitutes, because it does not saponify or become hard in the tube. There are a large variety of these
defects,

These

substitute vermilions,

some of them stained with para

The para red darken in the sunlight, but the madder vermilions are more permanent. As a ground color Tour's red or orange mineral is very reliable.
red and some stained with madder.

vermilions

TRANSPARENT GOLD OCHRE

This
is

a species of ochre similar to

Roman

ochre,

and is really a form of raw sienna. The description of raw sienna applies to this pigment.

TUSCAN RED
When madder lake is precipitated on Indian red as a base and a pigment is formed which has a dull, rose shade that may be regarded as absolutely permanent. There is a painting in the National Gallery of
London, by Hubert Van Eyck, of a man with a rose
colored cloak, in which the colors evidently used were oxide of iron and madder lake over a white ground.

The author

finds that

some of the Indian reds on the

[162]

Permanent Painting
market are oxides of iron stained with madder, and,
is

as stated in a previous chapter, when oxide of iron thoroughly burnt so that it contains no water of

combination, it does not decompose madder lake. Tuscan red dries very well and is very reliable.

ULTRAMARINE BLUE
Ultramarine blue whether
is
it

is

artificial

or genuine

chemically the same, with the one difference that the genuine ultramarine blue is the powdered mineral

known

as lapis lazuli, and ordinarily is the blue known under that name, but the mineral itself is found at times in an impure state either admixed with slate or gangrock, or contaminated slightly with other minerals, and
the genuine ultramarine blue may run, therefore, from a very deep blue to a very pale ashen blue, in fact, the lapis lazuli which lies adjacent to the gang-rock is

ground up and sold under the name of ultramarine ashes, which is nothing more nor less than a very

weak

variety of genuine ultramarine blue. the standpoint of exposure to light or drying artificial ultramarine is just as good as the the quality,

From

genuine, and the only advantage that the genuine has over the artificial is that the genuine is not so quickly
affected by acids as the artificial is. It may be of interest to know that in 1814 Tessaert observed the accidental production in a soda oven at
St.

Gobain

(France)

of

blue

substance

which

[163]

Permanent Painting
Vanquelin declared
to

In the following year the

be identical with lapis lazuli. same observation was

made by Huhlmann (at St. Gobain, in a sulphate oven) and by Hermann in the soda works at Schoenebeck (Prussia). In 1824 La Societe'd'Encouragement pour Industrie

offered a prize of 6000 francs for the production

of

ultramarine which, in 1828, was awarded Guinet, a pharmacist of Toulouse, later of Lyons, who asserted that he first produced ultramarine in 1826. Vanquelin was one of the three "trustees"
artificial

to J. B.

holding the secret contrary to the rule of the Societe'. In December, 1828, Gmelin of Goettingen explained his process of making artificial ultramarine before the

Acadamie des Sciences of

which was,

Paris.

He

used as the basis

a mixture of precipitated hydrate of alumina and silex,

later on, superseded by China clay (kaolin). In 1829 Koettig produced ultramarine at the Royal Saxon Porcelain factory at Meissen.

In 1834 Leverkus, at Wermelskirchen, and later at Leverkusen, on the Rhine, produced the pigment. In 1837 Leykauf & Zeltner, at Nueremberg, introduced the manufacture of ultramarine into Germany.
Prices of ultramarine in 1830
Natural
Artificial
:

$50.25 per
4.05 per

pound pound
soda
of

Ultramarine is composed of alumina, and sulphur, as follows

:

silica,

Ultramarine (pure blue) containing a

[164]

minimum

Permanent Painting
silica

seems to be a more or

less well defined

chemical

body, i. e., a double silicate of sodium and aluminum with sulphur as a poly-sulphide of sodium, or as a
thio-sulphate.

Poor
Ultramarines
in Silica
.

Rich
in Silica
23.70 40.80
19.30 13.60 2.60

Alumina
Silica

29
38.50 22.50 8.20
1.80

Soda
Sulphur

Undecomposed

100.00

100.00

R. Hoffman gives the following proportions:

Alumina
Poor
Rich
in silica in silica

Silica

100 100

128 170

In resistance to alum the different products rank as

follows
:

Lapis Lazuli Artif. Ultramarine (rich in Artif. Ultramarine (poor in

first

silica) silica)

second
third

1859 Leykauf discovered the purple and red varieties of ultramarine which were produced by the
In

and nitric acids, and by heating ultramarine with calcium chloride, magnesium chloride and various other chemicals. In this way there were
action of hydrochloric

produced a variety of shades, and by the addition of such substances as silver, selenium and tellurium, even yellow, brown, purple and green shades were produced.
All of these colored ultramarines are exceedingly

[165]

Permanent Painting
permanent to light, but have little or no hiding power, and when used alone are perfectly permanent. The ultramarine blue which is made by means of a
potash salt instead of a soda salt has every analogy of color and shade to genuine cobalt blue, excepting that the genuine cobalt blue is not affected by acids
as rapidly as the artificial.

ULTRAMARINE, GENUINE

(See Ultramarine Blue)

ULTRAMARINE ASH
This

may

blue either
artificial

artificial

be called a weak variety of ultramarine It is obtained when or natural.

is

ultramarine blue

mixed with

clay, or

when

natural lapis lazuli is mixed with the gang rock 01 native earth that surrounds it. Both the genuine and
the artificial ultramarines are perfectly permanent

when

used alone, and permanent when mixed with zinc white and cadmium yellow, but not permanent when mixed with flake white or any color that may contain
lead.

VANDYKE BROWN
Vandyke brown
with cassel brown.
is

a native earth, and

is

identical

It is

popularly supposed that Van-

pigment as a glazing color in place of bitumen, and as it is composed of clay, iron oxide, decomposed wood and some bituminous products, it
dyke
first

used

this

[166]

Permanent Painting
is

fairly translucent

and adapts

itself for

glazing pur-

Because of the bitumen which it contains, it poses. dries very badly and very slowly, and has a tendency
is either too hard Concerning its permanence, there can be no doubt that it darkens considerably on exposure like all the bituminous compounds, and many painters use a permanent glaze composed of a mixture of ochre and black tinted with umber. Where the effect of age is to be simulated, there is no objection to its use.

to crack or wrinkle if the under-coat

or too soft.

VANDYKE MADDER
This is a madder lake mixed with either Vandyke brown, umber or black. If the artist prepares the pigment himself, it is safer for him to use lamp black and

madder lake, for the iron content of Vandyke brown or umber have a decomposing effect upon the madder.

VENETIAN RED
This
is

in the early

a pure bright form of oxide of iron which days was a native hematite, selected by

the artist for brilliancy of color. It was also made by the early Italian painters by calcining ochres and siennas, and then selecting the product as to shade and
brilliancy.

Venetian red is permanent, dries well, and but has a tendency to darken when exposed to bright light. The Venetian red of commerce is
is reliable,

[167]

Permanent Painting
a mixture of

gypsum and oxide

of iron which

is

more

pure oxide of iron, and neither fades nor darkens, but should not be mixed with any lake. It dries well, and has complete hiding

permanent

to light than the

power.
as a

It is

ground color for

to

frequently used as a mixture with white portrait painting, but should al-

ways be permitted

dry most thoroughly before being

painted over, for the reason that it dries so hard that it may crack under subsequent painting.

VERDIGRIS
produced by subjecting copper to the action of vinegar, and is therefore a form of acetate of copper. When used alone, and properly protected,
is
it is

This color

fairly

ical action

permanent to light, but has a violet chemon every one of the organic pigments and

and affects many of the inorganic pigments. It popularly supposed that the ancients used it as a glazing color, but this is very doubtful, in view of the fact that the ancients worked more with malachite
lakes,
is

green than they did with verdigris. It is thoroughly unreliable, and should not be used, even though it

may

not fade.

It is affected

by sulphur gases and dries

slowly.

VERMILION, PALE, MEDIUM AND DARK

(See French Vermilion)

[168]

Permanent Painting
VERONA BROWN
Verona brown is a fancy name given to a mixture of burnt sienna and burnt umber, or raw sienna and burnt
umber.
It is

a permanent color, unaffected by, but

has a deleterious action on, some of the lakes. As a glazing color, it is reliable, and is to be recommended.

VERONESE GREEN
It
is

supposed that Paul Veronese was the

first

painter to use this pigment, and if he did, it is very likely that the green he used was a mixture of raw sienna and permanent blue (lapis lazuli). There is a
tradition that the original Veronese green was terre verte or ground green earth, but green earth is so

it is

exceedingly weak and such an indistinct green that more than likely that the former combination was

the original green. When raw sienna and permanent blue are mixed they form a permanent and reliable

pigment.

VIOLET CARMINE
It

would appear

that this

pigment

is

made from

the

or Brazil wood, and as such is thorfrom the standpoint of permanence. unreliable oughly Similar shades can be made by mixing madder with other pigments which would be permanent, and there-

hypernic wood

[169]

Permanent Painting
fore violet carmine, when made from a has no place on the painter's palette.

wood

lake,

VIRIDIAN
a form of chrome oxide which is quite transand while not very brilliant as compared, for parent, with emerald green, is a thoroughly safe and instance,

This

is

reliable color.

It

years,
in the

and when

evidently has been known for exposed to the light does not
is it

many
show

any perceptible change, nor

It has all atmosphere. oxide of chromium, and has the same chemical com-

affected by any gases the characteristics of

position with the addition of water as a hydrate or water of combination. In its effect it is similar to a

and can be used for glazing. It forms a valuable pigment for the painter, and is thoroughly reliable.
lake,
It dries well.

WARM
This
is

SEPIA

generally

with madder lake.

made by mixing a sienna or ochre As a mixture for oil painting, this

mixture is very undesirable, for the iron in the ochre or sienna decomposes the madder, and as a water color the same result is obtained, with the exception that it
takes much longer to manifest not to be recommended.
itself.

This color

is

[170]

Permanent Painting
YELLOW CARMINE
This pigment
is

thing as yellow carmine.

a misnomer, there being no such The pigment sold is a yel-

low lake similar to

very rapidly, whatever.
is

Italian pink or Dutch pink, fades quickly decomposed, and has no merit

YELLOW LAKE
All yellow lakes which the author has examined are in the same class with Dutch pink, Italian yellow,

yellow carmine, etc., and are thoroughly undesirable. The author has, however, made a yellow lake from
paranitraniline which is intensely powerful, has ten times the tinctorial power of quercitron lake or Dutch
pink,

and has shown

itself

absolutely permanent

when

used alone for over one year, but when mixed with the metallic pigments, it does not bleach but darkens.

The author has not made

this

purpose ment, for the purpose of producing a permanent yellow glazing color. There is no reason why the reputable tube manufacturers should not produce a perfectly

in view, but simply as a

with any commercial matter of experi-

permanent yellow

lake.

YELLOW OCHRE
This is a native clay colored with about 20 per cent, of iron rust previously described under the head of
[171]

Permanent Painting
Roman ochre, etc., very permanent, and can be mixed with other mineral pigments. It has the same destructive effect upon the lake colors that the sienna earths
and other ochres have.
light

When

for a year, it has a tendency It is a good drier. slightly.

exposed to the bright to darken very

ZINC WHITE
This is a pure form of zinc oxide, permanent under any and all conditions, but having the defect of drying very hard. To overcome this it should always be mixed with pure raw unbleached linseed oil, and although it is a very slow drier at first, its drying is progressive, for it evidently combines with the linseed oil. It has been suggested by some writers that zinc oxide should be mixed with beeswax or castor oil, or other semi and non-drying compounds, but such advice should by no means be followed. When zinc white is mixed with a semi or non-drying medium and exposed to bright
sunlight in the
is

summer

time,
it

and run, even years after

it is very likely to sag has been applied. There

a great deal of discussion concerning the transparency or lack of opacity of zinc white, but this is

largely a fiction.

Any

painter,

who

uses a color in

microscopic quantities, cannot expect it to hide the pigment over which it is placed. Zinc white liberally applied, one one-hundredth of an inch thick, for instance, will totally obscure black, while

many

painters

[172]

Permanent Painting
apply their colors to the depth of one-eighth of an inch. Zinc oxide is popularly supposed to be unaffected by

sulphur gases. This is not strictly true. It is affected by sulphur gases just as quickly as white lead, the
oxide
difference being that the result in the case of zinc is not visible, because the sulphur compounds

of zinc, such as the sulphide with sulphureted hydrogen, sulphite of zinc with sulphurous acid, and sulphate of zinc with sulphuric acid, are all white com-

pounds, just as white as the zinc oxide itself, while lead forms a black compound with sulphureted hydrogen. Hence, we assume that these gases do not affect
zinc,

because

we cannot

we know

that they do.

see the result, but chemically Zinc oxide can be mixed with

any color and may be freely used.

ZINNOBAR GREEN, LIGHT, MEDIUM AND DARK

Because Zinnobar red or Zinnober was a permanent red, some manufacturers have made a Zinnobar green, and have sold it more or less on the implication of excellence on account of the name.

Zinnobar green of commerce; which is now made by only a few tube manufacturers, is a mixture of Prussian blue and chrome yellow, sometimes reduced
with whiting and sometimes with zinc. In any case, this color should not be used, and while it is not as
fugitive as emerald green, and not as quickly affected as a green lake, there are too many conditions under

'[

173

Permanent Painting
which this color may fail, and therefore it is not to be recommended. It is quite natural to suppose that this color has all the defects of Prussian blue and chrome yellow both as to decomposition and actinic quality, yet a sample of Zinnobar green, deep, used alone and
allowed to dry before being varnished over, will not show any decomposition for two years, but as there
are other
use,
it is

far wiser for

more permanent greens for the painter to him not to use Zinnobar green

on

his palette.

[174]

Permanent Painting

CHAPTER XV

THE PERMANENT COLORS

THE
Lamp

following is a list of pigments which can be mixed with each other or used separately,

they interact

and which are not affected by upon each other

:

light,

nor do

black

Ivory black
Graphite

Plumbago, or any form of carbon or carbonaceous

black

Zinc white, or any form of oxide of zinc Permanent white, or any form of artificial barium
sulphate

Venetian red Indian red

Burnt umber

Raw umber Raw sienna

Burnt sienna and the various mars reds, orange, brown and purple. Oxide of chromium, transparent Oxide of chromium, viridian Terre verte

[175]

Permanent Painting
The vermilions made from
sulphide of mercury. native ultramarine or artificial blues, Blue, umber all burnt and oxide of iron browns. Brown,

Cadmium yellow to orange. From a chemical standpoint these are the only colors which may be mixed with
that will not react,

practically

each other

have purposely omitted a number of so-called permanent colors in this schedule, such as, for instance, the madder colors, which I find
I

and

will

decompose when mixed with ochres, as well as

oil.

if

faint trace of acid is left in the

have omitted

although they are permanent, they cannot be indiscriminately mixed with other pigments.
the
lakes, for

madder

[176]

Permanent Painting

CHAPTER XVI
PIGMENTS DANGEROUS TO HEALTH
all

of the pigments are poisonous, and

NEARLY have been

as

some

artistic

pamters from time immemorial accustomed to use the fingers in

shading and in grading tints, particularly in portrait work, it is essential to know which of the colors are poisonous and which are not, as pigments may easily
be absorbed through the skin as well as by taking them In medical practice, for instance, a soluinternally.
painted on the skin and is abinto the system. So likewise it is possible to absorb colors through the skin, particuThe unbroken skin is larly under the finger nails.
tion

of iodine

is

sorbed in

that

way

supposed to be impervious, yet lead poisoning may result through the actual manipulation of lead pigments, and it behooves the painter to be very careful in the use of his or her fingers in the manipulation of
certain pigments.

produced by the use of lead appears that the arsenic and copper which are more poisonous if taken interpigments nally are not so easily absorbed through the skin. First in the list of dangerous pigments is flake white,
results are
it

The worst

pigments, for

[177]

Permanent Painting
and produces lead poisoning. the have habit of blending colors on Many painters the palms of their hands either with a brush or with a finger, and due care should be taken to remove the colors as soon as the desired effect is produced on the canvas. The pigments which are absorbed into
is

which

easily absorbed

the skin are flake white, chrome yellow, chrome green, Naples yellow, red lead and orange mineral. These
are the lead colors principally used. The arsenic colors are Paris green, emerald green and orpiment.

There are a number of other poisonous colors such

as mercury vermilion, verdigris, etc., which are, however, not frequently used by the painter. Prussian blue

which

is a cyanide blue is supposed to be a poisonous in reality it is not. but Zinc white, permanent color, nonand ultramarine are white white, baryta

poisonous. All the blacks, siennas, umbers, ochres, carmine, red oxides and many of the lakes are nonpoisonous, but the best rule to follow
is

to clean the

hands with soap and water after having stained them

with colors.

[178]

Permanent Painting

CHAPTER XVII
PIGMENTS WHICH ARE AFFECTED BY SULPHUR GASES AND COAL SMOKE ALSO THE PIGMENTS WHICH ARE AFFECTED BY LIGHT
T

I
*

has been demonstrated by numerous writers, and * that in all particularly by Prof. Chas. Baskerville
large communities there exists sulphuric acid in the

Baskerville made a numL'er of determinations of the sulphur dioxide content of the air of New York City. Stations were established

throughout greater New York, including the high office buildings, parks, subways, and railroad tunnels. Very variable results, as might be
expected, were obtained. The determinations may, in part, be thus summarized:

SO a in parts per million Locality Elevated portion of the city near a high stack 3.14 Various parks 0.84 (maximum, others negative) Railroad tunnels 8.54 31.50
Subway Downtown region
Localities near a railroad

None
1.05 1.12

5.60
8.40

quantity of 1300 tons of sulphur dioxide, calculated as 80 per cent, sulphuric acid, is discharged every twenty-four hours into the air of New York City from the combustion of coal alone.
total

From an economic standpoint, this is an enormous, partly avoidable, waste, while from a sanitary standpoint, any disinfecting action it exerts on the organic wastes arising from the streets is greatly counterbalanced by its general injurious effects, t
t Paper read before the Society of Chemical Industry, Feb., 1909. These may be thus summarized:

[179]

Permanent Painting
presence in atmospheric air is a menace to hygienic welfare, has serious effects on susceptible persons and particularly exerts deleterious effects upon the respiratory organs. SOa in the air of manufactories tends to produce bronchitis and anaemia.
1.

Its
it

since

2.
is

It

exerts
violent

an injurious action on plant

than hydrogen

life.

In

this

action,

it

chloride, sulphuric acid, and fluorine; but owing to its less solubility and consequent slower condensation it has a wider distribution. In Manchester, England, in 1891, it was learned that the greatest injury to plant life is due to the emanaless

tions
3.

from dwelling houses.

The condensation
frosts

hoar

sulphurous
4.

seriously affects goods printed with for example, logwood, Brazil acid;

of sulphurous acid with moisture in fogs and colors sensitive to

wood

shades,

and

aniline black.

coal-gas,

dioxide proceeding from the combustion of coal and the quantity of which in towns is considerable, necessarily This may account for the definite destroys the ozone of the air. variations of the proportion of ozone observed at various localities.

Sulphur

5. In anti - cyclonic periods the amount of sulphur dioxide rises considerably and at such times this increase is accompanied by at least as large an increase in the amount of organic impurities. (Baskerville.)

there is much soft coal consumed in a certain district, the and stone become coated with particles of carbon. This deposit causes marble and other light-colored materials to take a funeral asSt. Paul's pect and not only that, it causes some stone to decay. Cathedral in London is a notable example of this as shown by Church. trick
is

Where

In other cases the sulphur gases attack the mortar or cement. This due to the fact that sulphur dioxide accumulates on the soot and other

solids,

where

it

is

oxidized to sulphuric acid.

In the manufacture of sulphuric acid used for purifying crude oil and for other purposes, the escape of sulphurous acid fumes from the Exits often constitutes a decided nuisance. Not only is vegetation injured and often killed in nearby sections, but the health of the
residents in the neighborhood is injuriously affected by breathing the poisonous vapors, throat troubles of a chronic nature often resulting. However, injuries are often attributed to sulphuric acid factories, when in fact they are innocent. Compliance with the requirements of the English Alkali Act of Lord Derby, effectually prevents any serious injury. Temporary discomfort and even serious injury may Manufacturers result, however, through an accident in the works. wish to avoid and also prevent the escape of sulphur dioxide, for all Corrective devices are applied by the that is lost diminishes profits.

works' owners.

[180]

Permanent Painting
air,

and many of the colors which we have regarded

as permanent to light, are not permanent to the efIn a general way this rule apfects of acid gases. colors affected by sulphureted hydroalso to the plies

gen. If we take, for instance, red lead, which is the red oxide of lead, and expose it to the air of a city, it apparently bleaches white. The same red lead when

varnished and covered with glass ages, and will not be affected.

may

be exposed for

We

note the former

change particularly on steel structures like bridges which have been painted with red lead and on which the color sometimes bleaches from a pure scarlet to a pale pink. On rubbing such a surface with linseed oil and turpentine the original color comes back in all
its

investigation, we find that the sulphuric acid has affected the color and formed a
brilliancy.

Upon

minute crystalline surface of sulphate of lead, which

is

white.

Chrome yellow

will be affected in the

same

Improperly washed prussian blue will likewise bleach, and flake white is affected in identically the same manner, with the exception, that the change cannot be noted by the eye, but if a flake white surface which has been exposed to the elements is rubbed with
way.
a black cloth, a white chalky deposit will stain the This is known as chalking, and mural decoracloth.

which cannot very well be varnished and proshould therefore be executed with pigments that are not affected by the acid gases of sulphur. Nearly all the pigments are affected, with the exception of
tions
tected,

[181]

Permanent Painting
the blacks. The ochres, siennas and the earth colors which are exceedingly permanent show this defect to a less degree, although, as compared with the chem-

prussian blue, the lakes, cadmium yelcolors, but paintings which are kept in a pure atmosphere under glass are necessarily preserved, and water colors are more susceptible than
ical colors like

low and the lead

any other form of painting. These acid gases are produced during the burning of coal, and as the combustion of coal is more or less
incomplete, soot may deposit upon the surface of a painting, particularly decorations in a locality where soft coal is used. This is particularly true of localities like Sheffield,

England

Pittsburgh, U. S. A., and

Chicago, U. S. A. There are, however, many paintings such as, for instance, the Horse Fair by Rosa Bonheur, which cannot be covered by means of glass,

and paintings of such magnitude should be kept carefully varnished to prevent any disintegration from the acid gases. The canvas upon which most of these large paintings are executed is either composed of flax which is equal to linen, or cotton fibre, or a mixture of both, and these fabrics are particularly susceptible
to the action of acid gases.

The chemical method

of

determining the difference between cotton and wool consists in dissolving out the wool with caustic potash, which leaves the cotton, intact, and vice versa, we

may

wool but

take an acid re-agent which will not attack the will dissolve the cotton. In time, therefore,
[182

Permanent Painting
would be weakened, and its strength reduced through the action of these moist acid gases, which demonstrates the advisability of either painting the back of a canvas, or mounting it upon a wood
the canvas

or metal support. In the case of a very large painting a sheet of metal could not be fabricated which

would be

sufficiently light

and

rigid for this purpose,

but a seasoned

wood support
all

could be constructed.

However under

circumstances the back of the can-

vas should be painted to prevent this disintegration. In case a canvas is very thin, and there is danger of the protecting coat on the back soaking through, it
advisable to put on a thin glue size before applying the protective coat.
is

In this

list

must be included

all

colors

which contain

such as lead, copper and antimony. The colors which are affected are as follows
metallic bases,
:

Flake White

Naples Yellow

White Cremnitz White Lemon Yellow made chrome yellow

Silver

Chrome Green
Paris
01

Green Emerald Green

Verdigris

Chrome Yellow

Zinnober Green

[183]

Permanent Painting

CHAPTER

XVIII

WATER
pigments UNDER and
oil will

IN

TUBE COLORS

if you take heavy white lead, oxide of iron, etc., grind them in linseed or poppy oil, the

normal conditions,
like

will settle

eventually float to the top and the pigment hard to the bottom, yet nearly all the tube

colors remain soft

of gravity

A
ed.

large

and fresh, and apparently the law overcome in some way. number of the colors are kept in suspension
is

because the manufacturer adds water to the oil, and makes an emulsion which keeps the pigment suspend-

This

is

particularly true of the whites,

and

it

must

be admitted that a small percentage of water added to the pigment or the oil during the process of manfacture does not do any ultimate harm, yet, some tube
that

manufacturers use such an excessive quantity of water where paint is very smoothly applied the water
rapidly

evaporates quite

and leaves the subsequent

film in a spongy, porous condition. If a picture were to be put away in a perfectly clean atmosphere free

from dust no harm would result, or if the precaution were taken to place a sheet of glass over the picture and slightly away from it, the picture would dry in
[184]

High power photo-micrograph

contains too

of

much water in

its

composition.

Flake White which The uneven

surface presents
dirt

an excellent lodging place for dust and which are hard to rernoi'e.

Permanent Painting

Lis,
oil

OLORS
if

you take heavy

etc.,

ead, oxide of iron,

eed or poppy oil, the ihe pigment

arly all the tube >arently the law
Pt in suspen

will
I

because

the

oil,

and

makes an en
ed.

suspend.

Thi:
<:

and
vater

it

be

must added

to the

of

mantube

facture d

me
tity

manufa<
that wh-.

of water

evaporat
filnTirrrr

~~

pplied the water the subsequent

'

i^-a picture

were

to flwHpnrtiiiT/.

owiiqatiwoapHjptt free
tfiftaiflteeautioti
,

frofinra^So -HebftsvUirb i< were taken to i and slightly awa

[184

MV.^Q aanjtu^ over trie oicture

re

would

dr

1 c
<.

<'***'*
c

Permanent Painting
a perfectly clean condition, and would remain so until it were varnished; but this is not the case, so that if we examine microscopically a paint film which contains excessive water,

we

find that the spongy,

is

porous

a lodging place for dust and dirt which cannot be readily removed for obvious
condition of the surface
physical reasons, and as it seems advisable to add water to nearly all of the tube colors which will settle

out rapidly and heavily, it is well to acquaint the painter with this fact in order that the picture be not
subjected to a dry atmosphere which
is

dusty.

[185]

Permanent Painting

CHAPTER XIX

THE PIGMENTS WHICH ARE ABSOLUTELY PERMANENT WHEN USED ALONE BUT ARE NOT PERMANENT WHEN MIXED WITH OTHER COLORS
Madder Lake Antwerp Blue
Prussian Blue Paris Blue

Vermilion made of
phide of mercury

sul-

Harrison Red Ultramarine Blue Cobalt Blue Hooker's Green (when made from Prussian blue and raw sienna)

Para Red
Lithol

Ochre
Flake White
list

Red

The foregoing

of colors

must be used with some

For instance, yellow ochre and madder lake when used alone are permanent, yet the two when mixed will decompose.

judgment. Many mixed with some mixed with each other.

of these colors are permanent other colors, but decompose

when when

[186]

Permanent Painting

CHAPTER XX
COLORS WHICH DRY SLOWLY AND IRREGULARLY
(FROM 3 DAYS TO 2 WEEKS)
Bone Brown
Alizarin

Yellow

Rose Pink Transparent Black

Sepia

Crimson Madder Carmine Lake Crimson Lake

Brown Madder
French Carmine French Carmine No. 2

Orange Cadmium

Lake Rose Doree Alizarin Green Yellow Lake Payne's Gray Italian Pink
Scarlet

Gamboge
Capucine Madder

Indigo

Lamp

Black

Mauve
Magenta
Indian Yellow

Carbon Black Olive Lake Alumina & Prussian

Brown Pink Blue American Vermilion Sap Green Madder Violet Carmine Alumina Vandyke Brown Cork Black and as a rule all of the Lake colors

[187]

Permanent Painting

CHAPTER XXI

THE FAILURE OF

SIR

JOSHUA

REYNOLD'S PAINTINGS

ures of his art, was Sir Joshua Reynolds, the obvious reason being that he was always after the search of the secret of the ancient masters, and as far as we can deduce, he never made a single investigation and hardly ever painted two pictures alike

ONE

lived

of the greatest portrait painters who ever and the man who made the most fail-

from the technical standpoint. During three years of his career, he painted on an average one portrait every three days. He was just as careless at times
in his imitative style as

he was

in the selection of his

pigments, for many of his clients refused to accept the pictures after he had finished them, because

they did not resemble the

sitter.

It

was

his

to paint simply the face and the hands, mitted his students to fill in the dresses

custom and perand the

background.

that has faded

In nearly every one of his pictures and decomposed only the face and
rest of the picture being in

hands are affected, the

perfect condition.

He

kept a diary which was written in a jargon of

[188]

Permanent Painting
Italian,

Latin, English

and French, and every time

made a note, it appears as if he was sure that he had made a new discovery, and had at last found what he always thought was the Venetian secret. The principal cause of his failure was the fact that
he
all

lakes were probably the

same

to him,

and he us-

ually mixed a lake with ochre, which is, of course, a radical mistake. During his life time many of his

had faded until the faces assumed the ghastly which in medicine is known to be due to chronic anaemia where the skin blanches and assumes a yellowish gray, and the line of demarcation around the This effect in his pictures is due lips is obliterated. to the fact that the lake which he used was not always madder lake, but weaker lakes produced from berries and wood, although even madder lake is incompatible with yellow ochre and with the siennas and umbers, so that none of the effects which he produced were
pictures
tint

permanent.
strange is the comparison between the work of Sir Joshua Reynolds and that of Franz Hals and his contemporaries. Hals used practically the same colors but always glazed with madder lake after the undercoat was thoroughly dry. Painters, as a rule,

How

know

that no earth color or metallic color should be mixed with a lake, but yet a lake may be used over

every one of the earth colors, including even ochre, provided the ochre has been allowed to become thor-

oughly dry.

The one

possible exception to this

may

be

[189]

Permanent Painting
the use of

madder

lake

mixed with English or Chinese

vermilion, because vermilion is a very stable chemical compound and the madder lake is therefore not de-

composed, with the possible exception that in time a mixture of madder lake and English vermilion will darken slightly when exposed to direct sunlight. If painters will limit the colors used on their palettes to the least possible number and use only those which do not interact, as well as exercise a little judgment in glazing over colors only after they are
thoroughly dry, absolutely permanent results will be obtained, and the mistakes made by the older men will
not be without
profit.

[190]

Permanent Painting

INDEX
Page
Abrasion in Cleaning Pictures Abrasion of Surface, When Necessary Absorption of Pigments through the Skin
58 59 177 55
181

Academy Board
Acid Gases, Action on Paint, of Acid in Oils Acetate of Copper Acetone

102 168

57

Aging of Linseed Oil Albumen as Paint Medium

Alcohol in Spirit Varnish Alizarin Colors
Alizarin Green Alizarin Yellow Alligator Cracks, Cause of Alligatoring Almond Oil

78 9 72 85 87 87 89 46
11
4

Alumina Hydrate Alumina White

Aluminum Amber Black Amber Varnish Amyl Acetate as Solvent Amyl Alcohol as Solvent "Anatomy Lesson," of Rembrandt Ancient Painters Media Used by
;

88 88 49 96
73 57 57

86
10

Ancient Pigments
Aniline Yellow

22 87
88, 107

Antwerp Blue Antwerp Blue,

Effect of Light and Air on

Arsenic Colors Artificial Cobalt Blue

152 178

in
[191]

Permanent Painting
Page
Artificial Cobalt Blue, as Cerulean Blue 106 Artificial Cobalt Blue, in "Davey's Gray" 118 Artificial Ultramarine Blue 163 Artificial Ultramarine Blue, Composition of 165 Artificial Ultramarine Blue, Effect of Acids on 121 Artificial Ultramarine Blue, Action with Other Pigments. .112 Artificial Ultramarine Blue with Prussian Blue 137

Asphaltum
Asphaltum, Effect of Light on

Asphaltum as Bone Pitch Asphaltum Glaze Asphaltum from Mummies

Asphaltum-glazed Aurelian
Paintings

89 36 94
32 144 62

90
101

Aurora Yellow (Cadmium Yellow) Barium Sulphate Baryta White

Baskerville, Prof.; Analysis of the Air in Cities

37 178 179

Benzene, (See Benzol) Benzine Benzine as a Solvent Benzine for Cleaning Pictures Benzol Benzol as a Solvent Benzol as a Paint Remover
Bistre

69 57 58 69 57 58
91

Bitumen
Bitumen, Effect of Light on Bitumen, Harmful Effects of

Bitumen from Mummies Bitumen in Vandyke Brown Bitumen Glaze, a Cause of Cracking of Paintings Blacks Used by the Ancients Black Pigments, Indirect Cause of Cracking Black Pigments, Nonpoisonous Black Pigments, Their Permanency
Black Pigments, Use
Black, Ivory
in Boiled Oil

89 36 46
144 167 41

24 44
178 182

79
134 91 115

Black Lead Blanc Fixe Bleached Linseed Oil Bleached Oils

76 77

[192]

Permanent Painting
Page
Bleaching of Colors Bleaching of Lake Pigments Bleaching of Madder Lake
181

189

"Bloom" on Pictures
Blue Pigments of the Ancients Blue Black Blue, Cerulean
Blue, Leitch's

86 62 26 92
106 136 93 78 94

Blue Verditer Boiled Linseed Oil

Bone Brown Bone Pitch

Brazil

Wood
Yellow
Blue
107,

94 30
134 152 95 103 103 26 96 95 96

Brilliant

Bronze Bronze Brown, Brown,

Green
Caledonian

Cappah Brown Pigments of the Ancients Brown Lake

Brown Madder Brown Ochre Brown Pink

Brown, Prussian Brown Roman Ochre

97
153

99
103

Brown Umber
Burnt Burnt Burnt Burnt Burnt Burnt

Carmine
Sienna

Umber Umber

98 99
1
.

Glaze to Imitate Asphaltum Umber, Action with Madder Lake

in

*.

Umber, Possible
its

Effect of
in in

its

Cadmium Yellow Cadmium Yellow, Cadmium Yellow, Cadmium Yellow, Cadmium Yellow

Rapid Drying

100 90 86 46
IOI

Bronze Green its Golden Ochre Effect on Madder Lake

as Orient

Use Use

95
127

Madder

87 148

Calcium Carbonate Used in the Gesso Paintings Calcined Ochre Used by the Ancients Calcined Sienna (See Burnt Sienna) Caledonian Brown Canvas, Action of Acid Gases on..
193]

26 23
103 ..182

Permanent Painting
Page
Canvas as a Foundation
Canvas, Deterioration of
48
182
53 53 57
51
50, 51

Canvas for Oil Painting, Preparation of Canvas in Commercial Practice Canvas Mounting
Canvas, Preparation of for Painting Canvas, Priming or Ground Coat Paint for

Cappah Brown Caput Mortuum (Mars Violet) Carbon Black Carbon Black in Burnt Carmine Carbon Black in Sepia Substitute Carbonate of Copper Carbon Tetrachloride as Paint Remover Carmine Carmine, Burnt
Carmine, Madder

103 141 104

98
159 139 58 104

98
138 130 105 105 10 166

Carmine Used in Indian Purple Carmine Lake Carnation Lake

Casein Used as

Medium

Cassel Brown (Vandyke Brown) Cassel Brown Used by the Ancients Cassel Earth Castile Soap for Cleaning Pictures Cause of Cracks in Paintings Causes Affecting the Permanency of Paint Films Cennini, Cennino, on Oil and Varnish

26
106

59 40
41

20
106 22

Cerulean Blue

Cerusite, Known to the Ancients 181 Chalking Charcoal in Blue Black 92 Charcoal (Vine Black) 93 106 Charcoal Gray 26 Charred Bones, Used as Black Pigment by the Ancients 68 Chemistry of Light Chinese Blue 107 88 Chinese Blue in Antwerp Blue Chinese Blue (Prussian Blue) 152 1 China Clay 1 Chinese Vermilion ..108 Chinese White
.

194]

Permanent Painting
Page
Chlorophyll ( Sap Green) Chlorophyll in Oil Chlorophyll, Bleaching and Recovery of Color
157 35 158 137 150 109 137
151

Chromate of Barium (Lemon Yellow) Chromate of Barium in Permanent Yellow Chromate of Lead Chromate of Strontium (Lemon Yellow) Chromate of Zinc ( Primrose Yellow) Chromate of Zinc (as Citron Yellow) Chromate of Zinc in Cobalt Green Chromate of Zinc in Permanent Yellow Chrome Green

no
113 150 109 178

Chrome Chrome Chrome Chrome Chrome Chrome Chrome Chrome Chrome Chrome Chrome Chrome Chrome

86 109 170 123 Red 109 Vermilion, Renovation of Paintings where Used. 59 Yellow 109 Yellow, Absorption by Skin 178 181 Yellow, Effect of Acid Gases on Yellow, In Chrome Green 109 Yellow, Tinting Material in Golden Ochre 127 Yellow, Used in Zinnobar Green 173 Cinnibar, Used by the Ancients 25 Cinnibar Green no Citron Yellow no Classification of Pigments 81 118 Clay, Base for Davey's Gray Clay, Basis of Brown Ochre 96 Clay, Occurrence in Black Lead 92

Green, Absorption by Skin Green, Effect on Madder Lake

Orange Oxide ( Veridian) Oxide (Veronese Green)

161 Clay, As Terre Verte and Terre Rose Cleaning of Pictures 56 Climatic Influences Affecting Paintings 45 Coach Makers' Japan 49 Coach Makers' Japan, Utility in Preparing Surfaces for Painting 51 Coach Painting, Application of Principles of, to Preparation of Surfaces 48 Coating to Protect Wooden Panels 43 Cobalt Blue .in
.

195

Permanent Painting
Page
Cobalt Blue, as Component of Leitch's Blue Cobalt Blue, as Component of Permanent Violet Cobalt Green Cobalt Violet Cobalt Yellow ( Aurelian) Cochineal Bug, Color from the Cochineal Lake Coefficient of Expansion, Consideration of
;

137 149 113 113

90
104 117 45 114 65 179 25 67 165 42 114 36

Cologne Earth Color Photography Application of Theory Colors Affected by Coal Smoke and Sulphur Gases Colors Used by the Ancient Painters Complimentary Color Sensations Composition of Ultramarine Compression and Tension in Paintings Constant White Copal Resins, Color Changes of Copal Varnish 71 Copal Megilp 74, 115 as Foundation of Copper Paintings 48 Copperas, Crude Material Used in Manufacture of Indian
. .
.

Red
Copper Carbonate Used by Ancient Painters Cork Black Cotton (Canvas) Foundations, Deterioration of Cracking Due to Climatic Conditions Cracking Due to "Compression and Tension" Cracks Due to Alcohol Varnishes Cracks Due to Selective Drying Cracks Due to Unequal Drying Rates of Colors Cracks Due to Varnishing an Undried Picture Cracking of Paintings Cremnitz White Crimson Lake Crimson Madder Crocus Martis Currents of Air, Acceleration of Drying by
Cuttlefish Juice

131

23
116 182

43 42 44 44 46

44 40
116 117 117
141

(Sepia)
versus Mastic for Coating Pictures
their

Damar Varnish Damar Varnish

Darkened Pictures, Davey's Gray

Renovation

75 159 71, 72 73 59 118

[196]

Permanent Painting
Page

Deep Madder
Description of Pigments Deterioration, Photo-Chemical, of Oil Paintings Dried Oil Films, Action of Solvents on Driers Drying of Linseed Oil

118 81

32 58 74 79
10

147 120 106 Cassel Earth, 114 Earth, Cologne Eastlake, Sir Charles, On Early Use of Oil in Painting... II Effect of Dry Atmosphere on Paintings 40 19 Eggs Used as Vehicle by Ancient Painters 25 Egyptians, Pigments Used by the 1 18 Emerald Green

Drying Oils, When First Used Drying Oils Drying of Linseed Oil, The Dutch Pink (Brown Pink) Dutch Pink, its Use in Orange Madder Dutch Process White Lead

76 80 97

Emeraud Green Emerald Green, Absorption by the Skin

Surfacing Renovation of English Vermilion in Paintings Eosine Colors (Geranium Lake) Eraser for Cleaning Pictures Ethyl Alcohol as a Paint Solvent Expansion of Paint Films, Unequal Extract of Gall Extract of Vermilion Facius on First Use of Oil in Painting "Fatty Linseed Oil" Ferric Ferrocyanide Blue Field's Orange Vermilion
;

178

Emery Cloth

for

Use

in

49 59 126 60 57 50
1

125 19

78
107 120

Filter

for

Canvas

White, Action of Acid Gases, etc., on White, Renovation of Darkened Pigment White, Toxic Qualities of Tints, Composition of, Used by Franz Hals Flexible Canvas Foundation Flexible Varnish Foundation White

Flake Flake Flake Flake Flesh

White

42 120
181

59 177 85
51

72 124

[197]

Permanent Painting
Page
French French French French French French
Blue
121

Ochre

Ultramarine Varnish Vermilion Veronese Green Fusel Oil as a Solvent Gall Stone

127 122

72 122 122
57 125 125 126 126

Gamboge
Geranium Lake Geranium Madder Gasoline Used for Cleaning
Gasoline as a Solvent

Gesso
Glazing with Burnt Sienna Glue Sizing on Canvas Gmelin, Process of Making Artif. Ultramarine Blue
51,

59 69 9 100
53 164 127

Golden Ochre "Gold Size" Japan Grain Alcohol as a Solvent Graphite (Black Lead) Graphite, Retarding Effect on Drying of Oil Gray, Charcoal Gray Shade of Black Lead Gray, Mineral
Green, Green, Green, Green, Green, Green, Green,
Alizarin

49
57 91

79
107

92
142

87
109 113 122 139 139 153

Chrome
Cobalt

French Veronese
Malachite

Mountain
Prussian
.

Green Pigments Used by the Ancients 23, 26 Green Earth, Possibly the Green Used by Paul Veronese. 123 Green Lake 127 ..123 Guignet Green 164 Guignet, Production of Artif. Ultramarine Blue by Gum Damar, Effect of Light and Age on 35 168 in Venetian Red Found Gypsum, 22 on Gesso Used Paintings Gypsum, Hairline Cracks 42 of Madder Use Lake by Hals, Franz, 85, 156

[198]

Permanent Painting
Page
Hard-Drying, Semi-Elastic Paint for Backing Canvas
50 92
128 128

Hard-Drying
Graphite

Colors,

Effect

of

Application

of,

Over

Harrison Red Helio Fast Red History of Painting Honey, Its Utilization as a Paint Medium Hookers Green Humidity, Effect of, on Paintings Hydrated Oxide of Cooper (Blue Verditer) Hydrate of Alumina Hypernic Lake (Purple Lake) Hypernic Wood, Pigment Made from
Imitation of Bistre Imitation of Natural Sepia Imitation of the Yellowing of Age Impressionism, The School of Indian Blue Indian Lake Indian Purple Indian Red Indian Red, Dark (Mars Violet) Indian Yellow Indican Indigo Used by the Ancients

9
10

129 54 93

88
154 169 91 159 72

64
129 130 130
131 141

133
23,
23,

24 24
133 41 134

Indigo
Influence of Moisture on Canvas

Pink Pink Ivory Black

Italian Italian

Brown Pink)

97
134 143 59 135

Ivory Black, In Mono Chrome Tints Ivory Soap Used in Cleaning Old Paintings

Jaqueminot Madder Jan Steen; Method of Glazing Flesh Tints by Japan Varnish Used for Priming Jaune Brilliant Kauri Gum Varnish King's Yellow Koettig, Production of Ultramarine Blue by

86 49
71,

Krems White Lake, Brown

134 73 135 164 1 16

96
105

Lake, Carmine

[199]

Permanent Painting
Page
Lake, Carnation Lake, Indian Lake, Madder Lake, Mauve
,

105 130 138 142

Lakes

Known to the Ancients Lakes, Effect of Boiled Oil on

Lake White Lampblack Lampblack ( Bistre) Lampblack, Harmful Effects of the Slow Drying of Lampblack in Composition of Brown Madder Lampblack in Composition of Flexible Priming Lampblack, Slow Drying Action of

27 79 88
136 91
44,

46 96
51

79

143 Lampblack, Utilization in Mono-Chrome Tints Lapis Lazuli (Natural Ultramarine Blue) 163 Lapis Lazuli as the Coloring Matter of Mineral Gray 142 Lapis Lazuli Used by the Ancients 22, 26 121 Lapis Lazuli versus Ultramarine Blue Lavender Oil 69 Lead Poisoning 177 Leitch's Blue 136 Lemon Chrome Yellow 135 Lemon Yellow 137 Leykauf, Discovery of Purple and Red Ultramarine Blue (Artificial) by 165 Light, Effect of, on Asphaltum and Bitumen 36 Light Red 137

Linoxyn
Linseed Oil Linseed Oil, Aging of Linseed Oil, Bleached Linseed Oil, Drying Action of, with Zinc White Linseed Oil, Earliest Description of Linseed Oil, Unaffected by Blanc Fixe Linseed Oil, Quality of, Desirable List of Colors Litharge in Composition of Naples Yellow Livering of Blue Black in Oil Livering of Blue Verditer in Oil Lithopone, Action on Oil of Lumiere Process of Color Photography

80 76 78 76
75
ir

115

38
81

144 93

94
37 65 95

Madder, Brown

[200]

Permanent Painting
Page
Madder, Carmine

Madder

Colors,

Incompatibilities
/

of

86,

138 176

1 17 Madder, Crimson 135 Madder, Jacqueminot Madder Lake 138 Madder Lakes (Red and Alizarin Colors) 85 Madder Lake, Action of Driers on 75 Madder Lake, Action of Hydrated Iron Oxide on 86, 176 86 Madder Lake, Effect of Raw Mineral Pigments on Madder Lake Used as a Glaze 86 61 Madder Lake Glaze, Care Required in Cleaning Madder Lake in Composition of Brown Lake 96 Madder Lake in Composition of Permanent Violet 149 Madder Lake in the Composition of Vermilion Substitute. 162 Madder Lake in the Composition of Warm Sepia 170 148 Madder, Orient Pink 150 Madder, Madder, Purple 154 Madder, Rembrandt's and Ruben's 156 Madder, Rose 157 Madder, Scarlet 138 Madder, Vandyke 167

Magenta
Malachite Green

Mars Mars Mars Mars Mars Mars

Brown
Colors

Orange Red
Violet

139 139 140 140 140 141 141

141

Yellow

Masters' Secret, Search for Mastic Varnish

Mauve
Mechanical Bond Between Paint Coatings Media Used by Ancient Painters Mastic, Use of, by Flemish Artists
Megilp, Copal Megilp as a Cause of Cracking

28 72 142
41 10

39
74, 115

46
178

Mercury Vermilion
Metal as a Foundation Metallic Soaps as Driers Methyl Alcohol as a Solvent
[201

48
1

16

57

Permanent Painting
Page
Methyl Alcohol, Utility for Cleaning Decomposed Bitu-

men Glaze ........................................... 9 Milori Blue (Chinese Blue) ............................ 107 Milori Blue, Reaction of, with Other Pigments ........... 152 Mineral Gray .......................................... 142 Minium ................................................ 143 Minium, Drying Qualities of ............................. 46 Mixing Pigments, Principles of .......................... 64 Mixing of Pigments; Practiced by Sir Joshua Reynolds. .189 Moisture, Protection of Wood Panels Against ............ 54 Mono-Chrome Tints .................................... 143 Mountain Green ....................................... 139 ............................................... 144 Myrtle Leaves, Green Lake Made from .................. 157 Naples Yellow ......................................... 144 Naples Yellow, Reddish ................................. 145 Naphtha ................................................ 69 Naphtha Used for Cleaning Pictures ............... ..... 59 Natural Ultramarine Blue ............................... 131 Neutral Orange ......................................... 145 Neutral Tint ........................................... 145 New Blue .............................................. 146 Non- Permanent Colors ................................. 179 Nottingham White ..................................... 146 Ochre, Brown ......................................... 96 Ochre, Brown Roman .................................. 99 Ochre, Extract of (Mars Yellow) ...................... 141 Ochre, Oxford ......................................... 148 Ochre, Roman ......................................... 156 Ochre, Transparent Gold ............................... 162 Ochre, Yellow ......................................... 171 Oil Copal Varnishes ................................... 7 1 Oil of Bergamot ....................................... 73 Oil of Lavender .................... ................... 73 Oil Paintings, Photo-Chemical Deterioration of ......... 32 Oils, Acid in .......................................... 102 Olive Green ............................................ 146 Olive Lake ............................................. 147 Olive Madder .......................................... 147 Orange Chrome Yellow (Scarlet Red) .................. 158 Orange Chrome Yellow as Component of Bronze Green.. 95 Orange Madder ........................................ 147
.

Mummy

[202]

Permanent Painting
Page
Orange Orange Orange Orange
Orient

Mineral (Minium) Mineral (as Scarlet Red) Vermilion (Chinese Vermilion)

Vermilion,
Field's

143 158 108 120 148 148 135 148

Madder

Orpiment Orpiment (King's Yellow) Oxford Ochre Oxford Ochre (Brown Ochre) Oxide of Chromium ( Viridian) Oxide of Chromium (French Veronese Green) Oxide of Cobalt (Cobalt Blue) Oxide of Cobalt as Coloring Matter of Smalt Oxide of Iron (Indian Red) Oxide of Iron (Venetian Red) Oxide of Lead (Minium) Oxide of Lead (Tours Orange Mineral) Oxide of Manganese, Occurrence in Number of
Painters' Oil

97 170 122

HI
160
131 167

143
161

100
19

Painting, History of Paintings Yellow with Age, Renovation of Paintings, Photo-Chemical Deterioration of

9
61

Paint Removers Panels, Protection of Wood Paris Blue Paris Green (Emerald Green) Payne's Gray Permanent Colors, List of Permanent Glaze, Imitation of Asphaltum Permanent Green (See Veridian) Permanent Violet

32 58 43 152 118 149 175

90
149

Permanent White Pigments 38 Permanent White (Zinc White) 172 Permanent Yellow 150 Peroxide of Hydrogen for Restoring Discolored Lead Pigments 61 Persian Berry, Lake Made from 97
Petroleum Spirits Phoenecians, Pigments Used by the Phosphate of Cobalt (Cobalt Violet) Phosphate of Manganese (Perm. Violet) Photo-Chemical Deterioration of Oil Paintings
69 25 113 149 32

[203]

Permanent Painting
Page
Picture Varnishes
71

Pigments Pigments Pigments Pigments

Colors

Absorbed by the Skin 178 Affected by Light 179 177 Dangerous to Health which are Absolutely Permanent When Used Alone, but Not Permanent When Mixed With Otker
186 187

Pigments which Dry Slowly and Irregularly

Pink, Brown Pink, Dutch (See Pink, Italian

97

Brown Pink)
Use
in

Pink Madder
Plaster of Paris
;

Gesso Painting

134 150 9, 26
170 76 112
43,

Poisonous Pigments as a

Medium

Poppy Oil Powder Blue

Prevention of Cracking Primary Colors Primary Color Sensations

50 65 65

Primary Pigments
Priming, Coatings for Primrose Aurelian (See Aurelian)
5

64
5*

Primrose Yellow
Progressive Drying Protection of Canvas Prussian Blue Prussian Blue (Chinese Blue) Prussian Blue as Constituent of Antwerp Blue Prussian Blue, Permanency of Prussian Blue, Component of Leitch's Blue Prussian Brown Prussian Green

IS 1

73 183 151 107

88
181

137 153 153 154 154 165 130

Pure Scarlet (See Scarlet) Purple Lake

Purple Madder Purple Ultramarine Purple, Indian Quercitron Lake (Brown Pink) Quicksilver Vermilion, Use of,
nishes

97
In Clearing Shellac Var72 154 155

Raw Sienna Raw Umber

[204]

Permanent Painting
Page

Red Alizarin Colors Red Lead (See Minium) Red Lead (Scarlet Red) Red Lead, Bleaching of
Refined Linseed
Oil

85
158
181
23,

Red Oxides Used by Red, Chrome

Red, Red, Red, Red, Red, Red,
Indian Light

the Ancients

76 26
109 131 137
141

Madder (See Madder Lake) Mars

Venetian 167 Ultramarine, Discovery of, by Leykauf 165 Colors Used 28 Rembrandt, by 86 Rembrandt, Treatment of Flesh Tints by Rembrandt's Madder 156 Remedies for Bracking of Paintings 40 Renovation of Paintings 56 Renovation of Paintings Yellow with Age 6l Resin Color ( Gamboge) 125 Resin, Fossil; Color and Utilization of 36 Reynolds (Sir Joshua), and Secret of the Old Masters. 28 188 Reynolds (Sir Joshua), Failure of the Paintings of

Roman Ochre Roman Ochre, Cool Roman Sepia (See Sepia)

156 157

Rose Doree Rose Lake Rose Madder (See Madder Lake)

157 157

Rough

Stuff for Surfacing Royal Blue (Cobalt Blue) Rubens, Colors- Used by

49
112

28
156
*

Rubens Madder Rubia Tinctorium (See Red Alizarin Colors) Russ (Lampblack), Earliest Rye-Bread Ball for Cleaning Sandarac, Earliest Use of
Sandarac Varnish Sap Green
Scarlet Lake Scarlet Madder (See Madder Lake) Scarlet Vermilion (See Orange Vermilion)

24 60
13,

14 71 157 159

[205]

Permanent Painting
Page
School White (See Flake White) School of Impressionism Secret of the Masters', Search for Sepia
Sepia,

64 28
159 170 71, 72

Warm

Shellac Varnish Sienna, Burnt Sienna, Extract of (See Mars Orange) Sienna, Extract of Raw (See Mars Yellow) Sienna, Raw Sienna, Effect of Acid Gases on Silica (Silex) in Ultramarine Blue Silver White Sinopia Used by the Ancients

99

154 182
164,

Sinopia Sky Blue

Slow Drying Colors

Smalt Soap for Cleaning Paintings Solvents for Removing Old Varnish Spirits of Turpentine (See Turpentine) 71 Spirit Varnish Steel Blue (See Chinese Blue and Prussian Blue) Sulphate of Barium (See Constant White) Sulphide of Arsenic (See King's Yellow) Sulphide of Cadmium (See Cadmium Yellow) Sulphide of Mercury (See Chinese Vermilion) 180 Sulphur Dioxide in Air Sulphur Fumes, Discoloration Caused by, and its Removal 61 74 Sunlight, Drying Effects of 61 Sunlight, Bleaching Effects of Synopia (See Sinopia) 53 Sizing Coats for Canvas

165 160 23, 25 28 160 187 160 56 57

Tempera Tempera
Terpinol

Painting, Mediums Used for Paintings, Cleaning of

Solvent

9 56 57
161

Terre Verte Terre Verte (Veronese Green) Terre Rose

Tints,

123
161

Monochrome

143
117, 124

"Tooth" Desirable in Ground Coats Tours Orange Mineral

161

[206]

Permanent Painting
Page
Tours Red
Transparent Gold Ochre Turpentine
Turpentine, Cleaning Pictures with
161

162

Turpentine as Varnish Remover Turpentine, its Utility in Renovating Paintings

69 56 58 62 61,
162 166
163 112 121

Tuscan Red
Ultramarine Ash Ultramarine Blue Ultramarine Blue, Action with Other Pigments Ultramarine Blue, Effect of Acids on on White Lead Ultramarine Blue, Effect of Ultramarine Blue, Composition of with Prussian Blue Ultramarine Blue Ultramarine Blue, Silica Content of Ultramarine Blue, Brilliant Ultramarine Blue, French Ultramarine, Genuine (See Ultramarine Blue) Ultramarine, Purple Umber, Burnt
,
*.

79
165 137 164, 165

94
122
165 100
155

Umber, Raw Unequal Expansion of Paint Films Vandyke Brown Vandyke Brown (Cappah Brown) Vandyke Brown (Cologne Earth) Vandyke Madder Van Eycks, Medium Used by the Van Eyck, Hubert and Jan, Painting
Varnish,

50 166
103 114 167 39

in Oil

by

n, 21
73
13,

Amber Varnish Known

to the Ancients

16

Varnish as a Protective Coating

Varnish, Disintegrated, Removal of

62 58
167 168 108
19 120 162 169 169 123 23
1

Venetian Red
Verdigris Vermilion, Chinese Vermilion, Extract of Vermilion, Field's Orange

Vermilion Substitutes

Verona Brown Veronese Green

Veronese, Paul, Green Used by Verte de Grece

[207]

Permanent Painting
Page
Vibert
Vibert,

Medium Used by

34 69

Vienna Blue (See Cobalt Blue) Vine Black (See Blue Black) Violet Carmine Violet, Permanent
Violet Ultramarine Viridian Volatile Solvents Walnut Oil Walnut Oil, Early Knowledge of Warm Sepia Warping of Wooden Panels Water in Tube Colors White Pigments Used by the Ancients

169 149 150 170

69 76

170 54 184

26
116 120

White White White White

Lead (Cremnitz White) Lead (Flake White) Lead (Foundation White Lead, Ancient Use o

Wood Wood Wood Wood

Wool

15,

124 22

Alcohol for Cleaning Paintings as Foundation Lake (Purple Lake)

Panels,
as

56,

58 48
154

Warping of

54
182 125

Foundation Xantophyll
Yellow, Alizarin Yellow, Cadmium Yellow, Citron Yellow, King's

87
101

no
135
171

Yellow Lake
Yellow,

Lemon

137
171

Yellow Ochre
Yellow, Permanent Yellow, Primrose Yellow Sienna (See

150

Raw

151

Sienna)
14

Yolk of Egg Used

as a

Medium

Zinc (Metal Sheet) as Foundation Zinc Oxide (Chinese White) Zinc White Zinc White, Drying of, in Oil Zinc Yellow (See Primrose Yellow) Zinnobar Green

43 108 172 75
173

[208]

STANDARD WORKS
ON

l,

Colors?, anti

ANDES,

L. E. Drying Oils, Boiled Oil, and Solid and Liquid Driers: A practical work for manufacturers of Oils, Varnishes, Printing Inks, Oil-cloth and Linoleum, Oil-cakes, Paints, etc. 8vo, cloth, illustrated net, $5.00.

Iron Corrosion, Anti-fouling and Anti-corrosive Paints. Translated from the German by Charles Salter. Illustrated with engravings and half-tone cuts. 8vo., cloth,
illustrated
net, $4.00.

practical hand-book treating of Linseed Oil, Boiled Oil, Paints, Artists' Colors, Printers' Ink and TransColored). (Black Lampblack,

Oil Colors

and Printing Inks:

lated from the German by A. Morris and H. Robson, B. Sc. With 56 illustrations. 8vo, cloth, illustrated, 215

pp

net, $2.50.

BANNON, JOHN.

Linseed Oil Manufacture and Treatment. Varnish Manufacture. Superior, Medium, and Cheap Grades. A Practical Manual. i2mo, cloth. .net, $5.00.
.

of Mineral and Lake BERSCH, JOSEF. Pigments. Containing Directions for the Manufacture of all Artificial, Artists' and Painters' Colors, Enamel, text-book for ManuSoot, and Metallic Pigments. Translated facturers, Merchants, Artists, and Painters.

The Manufacture

,/

from the second revised edition by Arthur C. Wright,

B. Sc.
8vo, cloth, illustrated
net, $5.00.

BITMEAD, RICHARD.

French Polishing and Enameling:

practical work of Instruction, including Recipes for making Polishes, Varnishes, Glaze-Lacquers, Revivers, etc. net, $.60 i2mo, cloth

STANDARD WORKS ON
BRANNT, WM.
Companion.
sign writing,
glass;

T.

The

Painter, Gilder,

and Varnishers'
test

Comprising the manufacture and

of

pigments, the art of painting, graining, marbling, staining,

varnishing, glass staining, and gilding on together with coach painting and varnishing, and the principles of the harmony and contrast of colors. Twenty-seventh edition, revised, enlarged, and in great part

rewritten.

i2mo,

cloth, illustrated

net,

$1.50

\/

Varnishes, Lacquers, Printing Inks, and Sealing Waxes; their Raw Materials and their Manufacture, to which is added the Art of Varnishing and Lacquering, including the preparation of Putties and Stains for Wood, Ivory, Bone, Horn, and Leather. i2mo, cloth, with 39 illustrations net, $3.00

BROWN, WM.
numerous

N.

House Decorating and

i2mo, cloth

Painting.
net,

With
$1.50

illustrations.

Workshop Wrinkles for Decorators, Painters, PaperHangers, and Others. 8vo, cloth net, $1.00 The Art of Enameling on Metal. With figures and illustrations. i2mo, cloth, illustrated net, $1.00 CHURCH, A. H. Chemistry of Paints and Painting. Third
edition, revised

and

enlarged.

8vo, cloth

net,

$3.00
$3.25

CLARK,

R.

INGAM.
B.

A Few

Notes on Varnishes and Fossil

net,

Resins-;

4to, cloth, illustrated

COWELL, W.

Air, Ozone, and Water: a practical treatise of their utilization and value in oil, grease, soap, With tables and figures, paint, glue, and other industries. i2mo, cloth, illustrated net, $2.00

Pure

j DAVID. Polishes and Stains for Woods; V DENNING, use and prepare them. Being a complete guide to

how to
polish-

ing woodwork, with directions for staining, and full information for making the stains, polishes, etc., in the simplest

and most

satisfactory manner.

i2mo, paper

net,

$.40

DESAINT,

A.

Three Hundred Shades and

How

to

Mix

Them. 100 folding plates. Cloth net, $10.00 ELLIS, GEO. H. White Paint Analysis: A Collection of Notes on the Chemical Analysis of White and Tinted Paints, with detailed and practical methods given for the A useful book for the Chemist analysis of Mixed Paints. and Paint Manufacturer. 8vo, cloth, illustrated, net, $1.50 ENNIS, WILLIAM D. Linseed Oil and Other Seed Oils.

An
pp

industrial manual.

88 illustrations, 8vo, cloth.

net,

330
$4.00

PAINTS, OILS, VARNISHES

Notes on Lead Ores; FAERIE, JAMES, F.G.S. tribution and Properties. i2mo, cloth
their Disnet,

$1.00

FURNELL,
HALL,
C.

Students' Handbook of Paints, Colors, Oils, and Varnishes. 8vo, cloth, illustrated, 96 pp. ..net, $1.00
J.

./

H.

Illustrated.

Chemistry of Faults and Paint Vehicles. i2mo, cloth, 133 pp net, $2.00

HATT,

The Colorist. Designed to Correct the J. A. H. commonly held theory that red, yellow, and blue are the
method
colors, and to supply the much-needed easy of determining color harmony; together with a of color nomenclature and other practical inforfor artists and workers or designers in colors.

primary
system mation

2 color plates,

8vo, cloth, 95

pp
Glass

net,

$1.50

HERMANN,

F.

Painting

on

and Porcelain and

On the basis of Personal Practical Experience of the Condition of the Art up to date. Translated by Charles Salter. Second greatly enlarged edition. 8vo, cloth, illustrated net, $3.50
Enamel Painting.
J. N. hand-book

HOFF,
pp

for the

varnishes.

Paint and Varnish Facts and Formulas. A maker, dealer, and user of paints and Containing over 600 recipes. 8vo, cloth, 179
net,

$1.50

HURST, GEORGE H.
PP

A i Laboratory Hand-book on Paints, Colors, and Varnishes for Students. Jl With diagrams and figures. 8vo, cloth, illustrated, 248
Painters'

Guide:

net,

$1.75
Allied

Dictionary of Chemicals and

Raw

Products used hi the

Manufacture
Preparations.
ual.

of

Paints, Colors, 8vo, cloth

Varnishes,

and
net,

$3.00

Painters' Colours Oils,

Third edition,

and Varnishes A Practical Manrevised and enlarged. Profusely illus:

trated, with copious index.

8vo, cloth

net,

$3.50

of Color; a practical work for the Artist, Art Student, Painter, Dyer, and Illustrated with 10 colored Calico Printer, and others. net, $2.50 Svo, cloth plates and 72 illustrations.

Color:

A Hand-book

of the

Theory

JAMESON, LEWIS. The

date

Manufacturers' Practical up-toRecipe Book. Nearly 3,000 practical up-to-date recipes for manufacturing all kinds and qualities of colors, paints, varnishes, japans, enamels, oils, greases, lubricants, soaps, etc., and for all manufactures connected with the allied trades. Buyers' and sellers' simple and

STANDARD WORKS ON
reliable tests for materials, 8vo, adulterations, etc. cloth. net, $15.00 4 volumes, each Vols, I., II., III., pertaining to Paints, Oils, etc., as follows:

Contents: Vol. I., 569 pp. Pigments and Dry Colours, Paste and Mixed Paints, Paint Oils, Vehicles, and MediVol. II., ums, Distempers, and Sundry Paint Materials. 412 pp. Varnishes and Varnish Derivatives, Oils and other Varnish Materials, Oil and Spirit Varnishes, Printing and Litho Inks, Enamels, Anti-Foulings, Gold Paints, Vol. III., 477 pp. etc> Oils, Fats, Tallows, Waxes and Greases (Vegetable, Animal, and Mineral), for Burning, Lubricating, Leather Dressing, etc., and for all purposes.

JENNINGS,

A. S.

Paint and Color Mixing:

Hand-book mix colors.

for Painters, Decorators,

and

all

who have

Practical to

Containing seventy-two samples of paint of various colors, including the principal graining grounds and upwards of four hundred different color mixtures, with hints on color and paint mixing generally, testing
colors, recipes for special paints, etc.

8vo, cloth, illustrated,

net,

97 pp

$2.00

Commercial Paints and Painting. trand's Westminster Series)

8vo, cloth (Van NosIn Press

of

JENNISON, FRANCIS H.

The Manufacture

ments, from Artificial Colours: A useful handbook for colour manufacturers, dyers, colour chemists, paint manufacturers, drysalters, wall-paper makers, enamel and surface-paper makers. With fifteen plates illustrating the various methods and errors that arise in the different processes of production. 8vo, cloth, illustrated .net, $3.00
. .

Lake Pig-

JONES, M. W.
used
in

The Testing and Valuation of Raw Materials

and Color Manufacture.
i2mo,
net,

Paint

cloth

$2.00

LAMBERT, THOMAS. Lead

tables, diagrams, trated, 228 pp

and its Compounds. With and folding plates. 8vo, cloth, illusnet,

$3.50

LIVACHE, ACH.

and Kindred Industries. Describing the Manufacture and Chemical and Physical Properties of Spirit Varnishes; and Oil Varnishes; Raw Materials; Resins; Solvents and Coloring Principles; Drying Oils, their Extraction, Properties, and Applications; Oil Refining and Boiling; the Manufacture, Employment and Testing of Various Varnishes. Translated from the French by John Geddes Mclntosh. Second Edition greatly extended and adapted to English
of Varnishes

The Manufacture

PAINTS, OILS, VARNISHES

practice, with numerous original recipes, by the translator. Oil Crushing, Refining, and Boiling; the ManuVol. I. facture of Linoleum, Printing and Lithographic Inks, and India Rubber Substitutes. Illustrated, 8vo, cloth, 150 pp.
net,

$3.50

Varnish Materials and Oil Varnish Making. Illustrated, 8vo, cloth, 209 pp net, $4.00 (To be complete in three volumes.)
Vol.
II.
/

MUCKLEY, W.

A Hand-book for Painters and Art J. Students on the Character, Nature, and Use of Colors. Fourth edition. 8vo, cloth net, $1.60

vf

Oilmen's Sundries, and how to Make them: Being a collection of Practical Recipes for Blacking, Boot Creams and Polishes, Harness Oils, Pastes and Polishes, Leather Dressing and Renovators, Starch Glazes, Blues, Stove Pastes, Starch Tints, Straw-Hat Polishes, Metal and Plate Polishes, Furniture Creams, Wood Fillers, Floor

Waxes and
Blackboard
Insecticides,

Finishes, Inks, Pastes, Slating, Disinfectants,

Hearth-stone

and Gums, Cloudy Ammonia, Squares, etc. i2mo, cloth

Glues,
net,

$2.00

PARRY,
With

E.

J.,

tables

and COSTE, J. H. and figures. 8vo,

Chemistry of Pigments.
cloth, illustrated, 280 pp.
net,

$4.50

PATERSON, DAVID.
plates.

Colour Mixing: A manual intended for the use of Dyers, Calico Printers, and Colour Chemists. With figures, tables, and coloured

The Science

of

8vo, cloth, illustrated

net,

$3.00

PETIT, G. The Manufacture and Comparative Merits of White Lead and Zinc White Paints. Translated from the French by Donald Grant. i2mo, cloth, 95 pp. .net, $1.50 PULSIFER, W. H. Notes for a History of Lead, and an Inquiry into the Development of the Manufacture of White Lead and Lead Oxides. 8vo, cloth net, $4.00
.

RANAUD, PAUL. Enamels and

Enamelling:

an introduc-

tion to the preparation and application of all kinds of enamels for technical and artistic purposes. For enamel makers, workers in gold and silver, and manufacturers of Third German edition, translated by objects of art.

Charles Salter. With 8vo, cloth, illustrated

figures,

diagrams,

and

tables.

net,

$4.00

Recipes for the Color, Paint, Varnish, Oil, Soap, and Drysaltery Trade. Compiled by an Analytical Chemist. Svo, 347 pp., cloth net, $3.50

STANDARD WORKS
RIFFAULT: A
Practical Treatise on the Manufacture of Colors for Painting. By Riffault, Vergnaud, and Toussaint. Revised by M. F. Malepeyre, and translated from the French by A. A. Fesquet. 8vo, cloth, illustrated net, $5.00

MM.

SCHWEIZER,

Distillation of Resins, Resinate Lakes, for Typewriting Machines, Manifolders, etc. description of the proper methods of distilling resin-oils, the manufacture of resinates, resin-varnishes, resin-pigments, and enamel paints, the preparation of all kinds of carbon pig-

V.

and Pigments; Carbon Pigments and Pigments

ments, and printers' ink, lithographic inks and chalks, and also inks for typewriters, manifolders, and rubber stamps, With tables and 68 figures and diagrams. 8vo, cloth,
net, $3.50 Practical Handbook for Paint Manufacturers, Merchants, and Painters. With 60 illus. and one large diagram. 8vo, cloth, net, $3.00 >SSTANDAGE, H. C. The Artists' Manual of Pigments.

illustrated.
J.

183 pp

SMITH,
/

C.

Manufacture

of Paint.

Showing their Composition, Conditions of Permanency, Non-Permanency, and Adulterations; effects in Combination with each other and with vehicles; and the most
Reliable Tests of
Purity.

Third edition.

i2mo,
net,

cloth.

SUFFLING,

$1.00 E. R. Treatise on the Art of Glass Painting. Prefaced with a Review of Ancient Glass. With engravings and colored plates. 8vo, cloth net, $3.50

TERRY,
Book

G.

for Practical

Pigments, Paints, and Painting. A Practical Men. i2mo, cloth, illustrated.

net,

$3 .00

TOCH, M.

Chemistry and Technology of Mixed Paints.

58 illustrations. 8vo, cloth, 166 pp net, $3.00 Materials for Permanent Painting; a manual for manufacturers, art dealers, artists, and collectors.

With
pages

full

page

illustrations.

I2mo,

cloth,
net,

208

WRIGHT,

A. C. Simple Methods Materials. 8vo, cloth, ioo pp

$2.00 for Testing Painters' net, $2.50

D.
23

VAN NOSTRAND COMPANY,

Publishers and Booksellers,

MURRAY &

27

WARREN

STS.,

NEW YORK.

SEND FOR OUR COMPLETE CATALOGS,

RECENTLY PUBLISHED8vo, Cloth, 166 pp., Illustrated.

Price, $3.00 Net.

THE

TECHNOLOGY CHEMISTRY OFV/

MIXED PAINTS
BY

MAXIMILIAN TOCH
With Photo-micrographs and Engravings.

CONTENTS.
Preface.

Introduction.

Mixed

Paints.

The Manufacture

of

Pigments. White Lead. Zinc Oxide. Lithopone. Sulphate of Lead. Sublimed White Lead. The Oxides The Inert Filof Lead. Red Lead. Orange Mineral. Litharge

Mixed

Paints.

The White

Infusorial Earth and Extenders. Silica. Silex. Barytes. Barium Sulphate Blanc Fixe. Gypsum Calcium Carbonates. China Clay Kaolin. The Red Pigments. Venetian Reds. IndianPermanent Vermillion. Red. Burnt Ochre. American Sienna.
lers

The

Black Pigments.

Coal.

Charcoal.

Carnon Black.

Lamp

Black.

Bone

Graphite. Black.

Chrome

Mineral Black. Yellow.

Chrome Green.

Chromium Oxide.

Prussian Blue.

Ultramarine

Linseed Oil China Wood Oil. Benand Cobalt Blue. Dryers. zine. Benzol Turpentine. Fish Oil. Combining Mediums. Water Floor Paints. Cement Paintin the Composition of Mixed Paints.
of

The Analysis of Paints. The Analysis, Analysis of Oils in Paints. The Influence of Paint on Malted Liquors. The Microscope. The Spectroscope.

Damp

Resisting Paints.
Paints.

White

The

Index

D.

VAN NOSTRAND COMPANY,

Publishers

and

Booksellers,

23 Hurray and 27 Warren

Streets,

NEW

YORK.

RECENTLY PUBLISHED.
I2MO. CLOTH.
115

Pages.

Price $2.00 Net

THE CHEMISTRY
OF-

PAINT AND PAINT VEHICLES.

BY
'

CLARE

H.

HALL,

B. S.

EXTRACT FROM PREFACE.

attempted to sift from the great mass of analytical chemistry, those methods which apply particularly to the analysis of the same at time to the most important physical attention paints, calling characteristics of the raw materials. No chemist can be proficient in the analysis of paints, without a thorough knowledge of all the materials with which he comes in contact. This book, being written from the standpoint of a chemist, employed in the manufacture of paints and colors, Chapter IV has been included in an atteinpt to It is here that so often bridge the space between the laboratory and the factory. the results of previous analysis are rendered worthless by being placed in the hands of one who does not understand their interpretation nor the composition of the raw materials which he is using. Over this work the chemist should ha w-

In writing

this book, the author has

final

supervision."

CONTENTS.
Chap.
I.

The Determination of the Elementary Constituents

of Paints.

II.

Raw

Materials, Properties, Tests and Methods of

of

Analysis.
HI.

The Analysis
Paints.

Dry

Colors, Pastes

and Liquid

IV.

Matching of Samples.
Paint Vehicles. Appendix

V.

D.
23

VAN NOSTRAND COMPANY,

Publishers and Booksellers,

MURRAY AND

27

WARREN

STREETS.

NEW

YORK.

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY

BERKELEY

Return
This book
is

to desk

from which borrowed

the last date stamped below.

DUE on

INTERLIBbARY LOAN
OCT
UNIV.
I

7 iy/5

OF LUF., BERK.

REC'D LD
APR 25
JUN6 '63
1983

REC.

Ott

RECD.LD
JUN121963

LD

21-100ro.9,'47(A5702 E 16)476

'

223173.