Technology of Flemish painting. Stages of creating a Flemish still life: a master class in painting

He worked in the technique of chiaroscuro (light-shadow), in which there is a contrasting contrast between the dark areas of the picture and the light ones. It is noteworthy that not a single sketch of Caravaggio has been found. He worked immediately on the final version of the work.

Painting of the 17th century in Italy, Spain and the Netherlands took the new trends as a breath of fresh air. The Italians de Fiori and Gentileschi, the Spaniard Ribera, Terbruggen and Barburen worked in a similar technique.
Caravaggism also had a strong influence on the stages of creativity of such masters as Peter Paul Rubens, Georges de Latour and Rembrandt.

The voluminous canvases of the caravagists amaze with their depth and attention to detail. Let's talk more about the Dutch painters who worked with this technique.

The very first ideas were taken by Hendrik Terbruggen. He visited Rome at the beginning of the 17th century, where he met Manfredi, Saraceni and Gentileschi. It was the Dutchman who initiated the Utrecht school of painting with this technique.

The plots of the canvases are realistic, they are characterized by the soft humor of the depicted scenes. Terbruggen showed not only individual moments of his contemporary life, but also rethought traditional naturalism.

Honthorst went further in the development of the school. He turned to biblical stories, but he built the plot from the everyday point of view of the Dutch of the 17th century. So, in his paintings we see a clear influence of the chiaroscuro technique. It was his works under the influence of the caravagists that brought him fame in Italy. For his genre scenes by candlelight, he received the nickname "night".

Unlike the Utrecht school, Flemish painters like Rubens and van Dyck did not become ardent supporters of caravagism. This style is indicated in their works only as a separate stage in the formation of a personal style.

Adrian Brouwer and David Teniers

For several centuries, the painting of the Flemish masters has undergone significant changes. We will begin our review of artists from the later stages, when there was a move away from monumental paintings to narrowly focused subjects.

First, Brouwer, and then Teniers the Younger, based on scenes from the everyday life of ordinary Dutch people. So, Adrian, continuing the motives of Pieter Brueghel, somewhat changes the technique of writing and the focus of his paintings.

It focuses on the most unattractive side of life. Types for canvases he is looking for in smoky, semi-dark taverns and taverns. Nevertheless, Brouwer's paintings amaze with their expression and depth of characters. The artist hides the main characters in the depths, exposing still lifes to the fore.

A fight over a game of dice or cards, a sleeping smoker or dancing drunkards. It was these subjects that interested the painter.

But the later works of Brouwer become soft, in them humor prevails over the grotesque and unrestraint. Now the canvases contain philosophical moods and reflect the slowness of thoughtful characters.

Researchers say that in the 17th century, Flemish artists begin to shrink in comparison with the previous generation of masters. However, we simply see a transition from the vivid expression of the mythical subjects of Rubens and the burlesque of Jordaens to the calm life of the peasants by Teniers the Younger.

The latter, in particular, concentrated on the carefree moments of village holidays. He tried to depict the weddings and festivities of ordinary farmers. Moreover, special attention was paid to external details and the idealization of lifestyle.

Frans Snyders

Like Anton van Dijk, whom we will talk about later, he began training with Hendrik van Balen. In addition, Pieter Brueghel the Younger was also his mentor.

Considering the works of this master, we get acquainted with another facet of creativity, which is so rich in Flemish painting. Snyders' paintings are completely different from the canvases of his contemporaries. Frans managed to find his niche and develop in it to the heights of an unsurpassed master.

He became the best in the depiction of still lifes and animals. As an animal painter, he was often invited by other painters, in particular Rubens, to create certain parts of their masterpieces.

Snyders' work shows a gradual transition from still lifes in the early years to hunting scenes in later periods. With all the dislike for portraits and depictions of people, they are still present on his canvases. How did he get out of the situation?

It's simple, Frans invited Janssens, Jordaens and other masters familiar from the guild to create images of hunters.

Thus, we see that 17th-century painting in Flanders reflects a heterogeneous stage of transition from previous techniques and attitudes. It did not proceed as smoothly as in Italy, but gave the world completely unusual creations of the Flemish masters.

Jacob Jordaens

Flemish painting of the 17th century is characterized by greater freedom compared to the previous period. Here you can see not only live scenes from life, but also the beginnings of humor. In particular, he often allowed himself to add a piece of burlesque to his canvases.

In his work, he did not reach significant heights as a portrait painter, but nevertheless, he became perhaps the best in conveying character in the picture. So, one of his main series - "Feasts of the Bean King" - is built on the illustration of folklore, folk sayings, jokes and sayings. These canvases depict the crowded, cheerful, bustling life of Dutch society in the 17th century.

Speaking about the Dutch art of painting of this period, we will often mention the name of Peter Paul Rubens. It was his influence that was reflected in the work of most Flemish artists.

Jordanes also did not escape this fate. He worked for some time in the workshops of Rubens, creating sketches for paintings. However, Jacob was better at creating tenebrism and chiaroscuro in the technique.

If you look closely at the masterpieces of Jordaens, compare them with the works of Peter Paul, we will see a clear influence of the latter. But Jacob's canvases are distinguished by warmer colors, freedom and softness.

Peter Rubens

When discussing the masterpieces of Flemish painting, one cannot fail to mention Rubens. Peter Paul was a recognized master during his lifetime. He is considered a virtuoso of religious and mythical themes, but the artist showed no less talent in the technique of landscape and portraiture.

He grew up in a family that fell into disgrace due to the tricks of his father in his youth. Soon after the death of a parent, their reputation is restored, and Rubens and his mother return to Antwerp.

Here the young man quickly acquires the necessary connections, he is made a page of the Countess de Lalen. Additionally, Peter Paul meets Tobias, Verhacht, van Noort. But Otto van Veen had a special influence on him as a mentor. It was this artist who played a decisive role in shaping the style of the future master.

After four years of internship with Otto Rubens, they are accepted into the guild association of artists, engravers and sculptors called the Guild of St. Luke. The end of the training, according to the long tradition of the Dutch masters, was a trip to Italy. There, Peter Paul studied and copied the best masterpieces of this era.

It is not surprising that the paintings of the Flemish artists in their features resemble the technique of some Italian masters of the Renaissance.

In Italy, Rubens lived and worked with the famous philanthropist and collector Vincenzo Gonzaga. Researchers call this period of his work the Mantua period, because the estate of the patron Peter Paul was located in this town.

But the provincial place and Gonzaga's desire to use it did not please Rubens. In a letter, he writes that with the same success, Vicenzo could use the services of artisan portrait painters. Two years later, the young man finds patrons and orders in Rome.

The main achievement of the Roman period was the painting of Santa Maria in Valicella and the altar of the monastery at Fermo.

After the death of his mother, Rubens returns to Antwerp, where he quickly becomes the highest paid master. The salary he received at the Brussels court allowed him to live in grand style, have a large workshop, and many apprentices.

In addition, Peter Paul maintained a relationship with the Jesuit order, which brought him up in childhood. From them he receives orders for the interior decoration of the Antwerp Church of St. Charles Borromeo. Here he is helped by the best student - Anton van Dyck, which we will talk about later.

Rubens spent the second half of his life in diplomatic missions. Shortly before his death, he bought himself an estate, where he settled, took up landscapes and depicting the life of peasants.

In the work of this great master, the influence of Titian and Brueghel is especially traced. The most famous works are the canvases "Samson and Delilah", "The Hunt for the Hippo", "The Abduction of the Daughters of Leucippus".

Rubens had such a strong influence on Western European painting that in 1843 a monument was erected to him on the Green Square in Antwerp.

Anton van Dyck

A court portrait painter, a master of mythical and religious subjects in painting, an artist - all these are the characteristics of Anton van Dyck, the best student of Peter Paul Rubens.

The painting techniques of this master were formed while studying with Hendrik van Balen, to whom he was given as an apprentice. It was the years spent in the workshop of this painter that allowed Anton to quickly gain local fame.

At the age of fourteen he wrote his first masterpiece, at fifteen he opened his first workshop. So at a young age, van Dijk becomes an Antwerp celebrity.

At the age of seventeen, Anton was accepted into the guild of St. Luke, where he became an apprentice with Rubens. For two years (from 1918 to 1920), van Dyck paints portraits of Jesus Christ and the twelve apostles on thirteen boards. Today, these works are kept in many world museums.

The painting art of Anton van Dyck was more focused on religious themes. He writes in the workshop of Rubens his famous paintings "Coronation with a crown" and "Kiss of Judas".

From 1621, the period of travel begins. First, the young artist works in London, under King James, then goes to Italy. In 1632, Anton returned to London, where Charles I knighted him and gave him the position of court painter. Here he worked until his death.

His canvases are exhibited in the museums of Munich, Vienna, the Louvre, Washington, New York and many other halls of the world.

Thus, today we, dear readers, have learned about Flemish painting. You got an idea about the history of its formation and the technique of creating canvases. In addition, we briefly met with the greatest Netherlandish masters of this period.

Today I want to tell you more about the Flemish method of painting, which we recently studied in the 1st series of my course, and I also want to show you a small report on the results and the very process of our online learning.

On the course, I talked about the ancient methods of painting, about primers, varnishes and paints, revealed many secrets that we put into practice - we painted a still life based on the work of the Little Dutch. From the very beginning, we have been working, taking into account all the nuances of the Flemish painting technique.

This method replaced the tempera, which was written before. It is believed that, like the basics of oil painting, the method was developed by the Flemish artist Early Renaissance - Jan Van Eyck. This is where oil painting begins its history.

So. This is the method of painting that, according to Van Mander, was used by the painters of Flanders: Van Eycky, Dürer, Luke of Leiden and Pieter Brueghel. The method is as follows: on a white and smoothly polished adhesive ground, a drawing was transferred with gunpowder or in another way, which was previously executed in full size separately on paper (“cardboard”), since drawing directly on the ground was avoided so as not to disturb its whiteness, which played great importance in Flemish painting.

Then the drawing was shaded with a transparent brown so that the ground showed through it.

The named shading was made either with tempera and then it was done like an engraving, with strokes, or with oil paint, while the work was done with the utmost care and already in this form was a work of art.

According to a drawing shaded with oil paint, after drying, they wrote and finished painting either in cold halftones, then adding warm ones (which van Mander calls “Dead Tones”), or finished the work with colored glazes, in one step, semi-hulled, leaving the brown preparation to shine through in midtones and shadows. We used exactly this method.

The Flemings always applied paints in a thin and even layer in order to use the translucence of the white ground and get a smooth surface on which, if necessary, one could glaze many more times.

With the development of the pictorial skill of artists the methods described above have undergone some changes or simplifications, each artist used his own method slightly different from the others.

But the basis for a long time remained the same: the Flemish painting was always done on white adhesive ground (which did not draw oil from the paints) , a thin layer of paint, applied in such a way that not only all layers of painting, but also the white ground, which was, as it were, a source of light illuminating the picture from the inside, took part in creating the overall pictorial effect.

Your Hope Ilyina.

Flemish and Italian painting methods

The Flemish and Italian techniques belong to oil painting. In computer graphics, this knowledge can help you find your own creative way of working on an illustration.

A. Arzamastsev

ITALIAN OIL METHOD

Titian, Tintoretto, El Greco, Velasquez, Rubens, Van Dyck, Ingres, Rokotov, Levitsky and many other painters you know built their work on their works in a similar way. This allows us to speak of their painting technology as a single method that was used for a very long time - from the 16th to the end of the 19th century.
Much prevented artists from continuing to use the Flemish method, so it did not last long in its pure form in Italy. Already in the 16th century, the growing popularity of easel painting required shorter deadlines for the execution of orders by simplifying the technique of painting. This method did not allow the artist to improvise while working, since the drawing and composition cannot be changed with the Flemish method. Secondly, in Italy, in a country with bright and varied lighting, a new task arose - to convey all the richness of lighting effects, which predetermined a special interpretation of color and a peculiar transmission of light and shadow. In addition, by this time, a new basis for painting, the canvas, had become more widely used. Compared to wood, it was lighter, cheaper and made it possible to increase the size of the work. But the Flemish method, which requires a perfectly smooth surface, is very difficult to write on canvas. A new method, named after the place of its origin, Italian, made it possible to solve all these problems.
Despite the fact that the Italian method is a sum of techniques that are characteristic of each artist individually (and it was used by such different masters as Rubens and Titian), we can distinguish a number of common features that combine these techniques into one system.
The beginning of a new approach to painting dates back to the time when colored grounds appeared. The white ground began to be covered with some kind of transparent paint, and subsequently the chalk and gypsum of the white ground began to be replaced by various colorful pigments, most often neutral gray or red-brown. This innovation significantly accelerated the work, as it immediately gave either the darkest or the middle tone of the picture, and also determined the overall color of the work. Drawing with the Italian method was applied to colored soil with charcoal or chalk, then the outline was outlined with some kind of paint, usually brown. Underpainting began to be carried out depending on the color of the soil. We'll take a look at some of the more common options here.
If the ground was taken as medium gray, then all the shadows and dark colored draperies were painted with brown paint - the drawing was also outlined with it. Lights were applied with pure white. When the underpainting dried up, they began to paint, prescribing light in the colors of nature, and leaving the gray color of the ground in halftones. The picture was painted either in one step, and then the color was immediately taken in full force, or ended with glazing and semi-glazing for a slightly lighter preparation.
When a completely dark primer was taken, its color was left in the shadows, and the highlights and midtones were painted with whitewash with black paint, mixing them on the palette, and in the most illuminated places the paint layer was applied especially pasty. The result was a picture, at first all painted in one color, the so-called "grisaille" (from the French gris - gray). After drying, such preparation was sometimes scraped, leveling the surface, then the picture was finished with colored glazes.
In the case of using an active color primer, underpainting was often carried out with paint, which, with the color of the primer, gave a neutral tone. This was necessary to weaken in some places the too strong effect of the color of the primer on subsequent layers of paint. At the same time, the principle of complementary colors was used - for example, on a red ground, they painted it in a grayish-green tone. "

Note.
1 The principle of complementary colors was scientifically substantiated in the 19th century, but was used by artists long before that. According to this principle, there are three simple colors - yellow, blue and red. By mixing them, three compound colors are obtained - green, purple and orange. The compound color is complementary to the opposite simple one, that is, from their mixing, a neutral gray tone is obtained. This is very easy to check if you mix red and green, blue and orange, purple and yellow.

The Italian method involves two stages of work: the first - over the pattern and form, and the most illuminated places were always prescribed with a denser layer, the second - over the color using transparent paint layers. This principle is well illustrated by the words attributed to the artist Tintoretto. He said that of all the colors he liked black and white the most, since the first gives strength to the shadows, and the second - the relief of the forms, while the rest of the colors can always be bought at the Rialto market.
Titian can be considered the founder of the Italian method of painting. depending
From the assigned tasks, he used either neutral dark gray or red soil. Grisaille painted his paintings very pasty, as he loved the picturesque texture. Characteristic for him is not a large number of paints used. Titian said: "Who wants to become a painter should not know more than three colors: white, black and red, and use them with knowledge." With the help of these three colors, he brought the painting of the human body almost to complete completion. He applied the missing golden-ocher tones with glazes.
El Greco used a peculiar technique. He drew on white ground with energetic hard lines. Then I applied a transparent layer of burnt umber. After letting this preparation dry, he began to prescribe light and semitones with white, leaving an untouched brown background in the shadows. With this technique, he achieved a gray pearl shade in halftones, for which his works are famous and which cannot be achieved by mixing colors on a palette. Further painting was carried out on a dry underpainting. Lights were prescribed widely and pasty, somewhat lighter,
than in the finished painting. The picture was completed with transparent glazes, giving depth to colors and shadows.
El Greco's painting technique made it possible to write quickly and with little consumption of colors, which made it possible to use it in works of large size.
From the point of view of technology, Rembrandt's manner is very interesting. It represents an individual interpretation of the Italian method and has had a great influence on artists of other schools.
Rembrandt painted on dark gray grounds. He prepared all the forms in the paintings with a very dark brown transparent paint. By this brown
In preparation without grisaille, he painted impastly in one step, or in places he took a more whitened color in order to complete the work with glazes. Thanks to this technique, there is no blackness in it, but a lot of depth and air. It also lacks the cold tones characteristic of works performed on gray ground without a warm lining.
The traditions of Italian painting were also borrowed by Russian artists of the 18th and 19th centuries. On dark, brown soils, underpainting in a gray tone, which remained in halftones, A. Matveev wrote, V. Borovikovsky - on gray, and K. Bryullov - on dark brown soil. interesting
A. Ivanov used the technique in some of his studies. He performed them on thin light-brown cardboard, covered with a transparent oily primer made of natural umber with green earth. He outlined the drawing with burnt sienna and painted over the brownish-green preparation with very liquid grisaille, using the color of the ground as the darkest tone. The work ended with glazing.
It should be noted that along with such advantages as speed of execution and the ability to transmit more complex lighting effects, the Italian method has a number of disadvantages. The main one is the not very good preservation of the work. What is the reason? The fact is that white, with which, as a rule, underpainting is performed, loses its hiding power over time and becomes transparent. As a result, the dark color of the soil begins to show through them, the picture begins to “blacken”, sometimes halftones disappear on it. Through the cracks in the paint layer, the color of the ground also becomes visible, which dramatically affects the overall color of the picture.
Each method has its own advantages and disadvantages. The main thing is that it must correspond to the task set for the artist, and, of course, any method always requires consistent and thoughtful application.

RUBENS Peter Paul

An excerpt from the book by D. I. Kiplik "Painting Technique"

Rubens was fluent in the Italian style of painting, which he learned while in Italy, influenced by the passion for the works of Titian, which he studied and copied. In the first case, I wrote on a white adhesive primer that did not draw in oil. In order not to spoil its whiteness, Rubens made sketches in drawings and paints for all his works. Rubens simplified the traditional Flemish brown shading of the drawing by applying light brown transparent paint to the entire area of ​​white ground, onto which he transferred the drawing (or the latter was transferred to white ground), after which he laid the main shadows and places for dark local tones (not excluding blue) the same transparent brown paint, avoiding falling into blackness. On top of this preparation was the registration of grisaille with the preservation of dark shadows, and then painting in local tones followed. But more often, bypassing grisaille, Rubens painted a la rima, with complete completeness, directly from the brown preparation, using the latter.
The third variant of Rubens' painting style was that, over the brown preparation, the painting was carried out in local elevated, that is, lighter, tones, with the preparation of halftones with bluish-gray paint, after which glazing followed, over which the final lights were applied in body.
Being carried away by the Italian style of painting, Rubens performed many of his works in it, moreover, he painted on light and dark gray grounds. Some of his sketches and unfinished works were made on light gray ground, through which the white ground shines through. The same kind of lining was often used by Dutch painters, with the exception of Teniers, who always kept white
soil. For the gray ground, white lead, black paint, red ocher, and a little umber were used. Rubens avoided too pasty colors and in this respect always remained a Fleming.
Rubens's constant concern was to maintain warmth and transparency in the shadows, which is why when working a la prima in the shadows, he did not allow either white or black paint. Rubens is credited with the following words, with which he constantly addressed his students:
“Start painting your shadows lightly, avoiding introducing even an insignificant amount of white into them: white is the poison of painting and can only be introduced in highlights. Once white breaks the transparency, golden tone, and warmth of your shadows, your painting will no longer be light, but will become heavy and grey. The situation is quite different with respect to lights. Here paints can be applied in body as needed, but it is necessary, however, to keep the tones clean. This is achieved by putting each tone in its place, placing them one next to the other in such a way that with a slight movement of the brush it is possible to blur them without disturbing, however, the colors themselves. You can then go through such a painting with decisive final blows, which are so characteristic of great masters.
Rubens often made his works, even of large sizes, on wood with a very smooth ground, on which paints lay down well even for the first time, which indicates that the binder of Rubens' paints had a significant viscosity and stickiness, which modern paints do not have. one oil.
The works of Rubens did not need a final coating of varnish and dried out rather quickly.

FLEMISH METHOD OF OIL PAINTING.

Here are the works of Renaissance artists: Jan van Eyck, Petrus Christus, Pieter Brueghel and Leonardo da Vinci. These works of different authors and different in plot are united by one method of writing - the Flemish method of painting. Historically, this is the first method of working with oil paints, and legend attributes its invention, as well as the invention of the paints themselves, to the van Eyck brothers. The Flemish method was popular not only in Northern Europe. It was brought to Italy, where all the greatest artists of the Renaissance up to Titian and Giorgione resorted to it. There is an opinion that Italian artists painted their works in this way long before the van Eyck brothers. We will not delve into history and clarify who was the first to apply it, but we will try to talk about the method itself.
Modern studies of works of art allow us to conclude that the painting of the old Flemish masters was always done on white adhesive ground. The paints were applied in a thin glazing layer, and in such a way that not only all layers of painting, but also the white color of the ground, which, translucent through the paint, illuminates the picture from the inside, took part in creating the overall pictorial effect. Also noteworthy is the lack of
in painting he whitewashed, with the exception of those cases when white clothes or draperies were painted. Sometimes they are still found in the strongest lights, but even then only in the form of the thinnest glazes.
All work on the picture was carried out in strict sequence. It began with a drawing on thick paper in the size of the future picture. It turned out the so-called "cardboard". An example of such cardboard is Leonardo da Vinci's drawing for the portrait of Isabella d'Este.
The next stage of work is transferring the pattern to the ground. To do this, it was pricked with a needle along the entire contour and borders of the shadows. Then the cardboard was placed on a white polished primer applied to the board, and the drawing was transferred to charcoal powders. Falling into the holes made in the cardboard, the charcoal left light contours of the pattern on the basis of the picture. To fix it, a trace of coal was outlined with a pencil, pen, or the sharp tip of a brush. In this case, either ink or some kind of transparent paint was used. Artists never painted directly on the ground, as they were afraid to destroy its whiteness, which, as already mentioned, played the role of the lightest tone in painting.
After transferring the drawing, they started shading with transparent brown paint, making sure that the ground everywhere shone through its layer. Shading was done with tempera or oil. In the second case, in order for the binder of paints not to be absorbed into the soil, it was covered with an additional layer of glue. At this stage of work, the artist solved almost all the tasks of the future picture, with the exception of color. In the future, no changes were made to the drawing and composition, and already in this form the work was a work of art.
Sometimes, before finishing a picture in color, the whole painting was prepared in the so-called "dead colors", that is, cold, light, low-intensity tones. This preparation took over the final glazing layer of colors, with the help of which they gave life to the whole work.
Of course, we have drawn a general outline of the Flemish method of painting. Naturally, every artist who used it brought something of his own to it. For example, we know from the biography of the artist Hieronymus Bosch that he painted in one go, using the simplified Flemish method. At the same time, his paintings are very beautiful, and the colors have not changed color over time. Like all his contemporaries, he prepared a white, not thick ground, on which he transferred the most detailed drawing. I shaded it with brown tempera paint, after which I covered the picture with a layer of transparent flesh-colored varnish, which isolates the primer from the penetration of oil from subsequent paint layers. After drying the picture, it remained to prescribe the background with glazes for the previously composed tones, and the work was completed. Only sometimes some places were additionally prescribed with a second layer to enhance the color. Peter Brueghel wrote his works in a similar or very close way.
Another variation of the Flemish method can be seen in the work of Leonardo da Vinci. If you look at his unfinished work, The Adoration of the Magi, you can see that it was started on white ground. The drawing translated from cardboard was outlined with transparent paint like green earth. The drawing is shaded in one brown tone, close to sepia, composed of three colors: black, crayon and red ocher. The whole work is shaded, the white ground is nowhere left unwritten, even the sky is prepared in the same brown tone.
In the finished works of Leonardo da Vinci, the lights are obtained thanks to the white ground. He painted the background of works and clothes with the thinnest overlapping transparent layers of paint.
Using the Flemish method, Leonardo da Vinci was able to achieve an extraordinary rendering of chiaroscuro. At the same time, the ink layer is characterized by uniformity and a very small thickness.
The Flemish method was briefly used by artists. It existed in its pure form for no more than two centuries, but many great works were created in this way. In addition to the already mentioned masters, they were used by Holbein, Dürer, Perugino, Rogier van der Weyden, Clouet and other artists.
Paintings made by the Flemish method are excellently preserved. Made on seasoned boards, solid soils, they resist damage well. The virtual absence of whitewash in the pictorial layer, which from time to time lose their hiding power and thereby change the overall color of the work, ensured that we see the paintings almost the same as they were drunk from the workshops of their creators.
The main conditions that should be observed when using this method are a scrupulous drawing, the finest calculation, the correct sequence of work and great patience.

While studying the technique of some of the old masters, we come across the so-called “Flemish method” of oil painting. This is a layered, technically complex way of writing, the opposite of the "a la prima" technique. The multi-layered nature implied a special depth of the image, shimmer and radiance of colors. However, in the description of this method, such a mysterious stage as the “dead layer” is invariably encountered. Despite the intriguing name, there is no mysticism in it.

But what was it used for?

The term “dead colors” (doodverf - nid. death of paint) is first found in the work of Carl van Mander “The Book of Artists”. He could call paint that way, on the one hand, literally, because of the deadness that it gives to the image, on the other hand, metaphorically, since this pallor, as it were, “dies” under the subsequent color. Such paints included bleached yellow, black, red colors in different proportions. For example, cold gray was obtained by mixing white and black, and black and yellow, when combined, formed an olive tint.

A layer painted with “dead colors” is considered a “dead layer”.

Stages of painting "Dead layer"

Fast forward to the workshop of a Dutch artist of the Middle Ages and find out how he painted.

First, the drawing was transferred to the primed surface.

The next step was modeling the volume with transparent penumbra, subtly turning into the light of the ground.

Then imprimatura was applied - a liquid paint layer. It made it possible to preserve the drawing, preventing particles of charcoal or pencil from getting into the upper colorful layers, and also protected the colors from further fading. It is thanks to imprimatura that the saturated colors in the paintings of Van Eyck, Rogier van der Weyden and other masters of the Northern Renaissance have remained almost unchanged to this day.

The fourth stage was the “dead layer”, in which bleached paints were applied to the volumetric underpainting. The artist needed to preserve the shape of the objects without violating the light-shadow contrast, which would lead to the dullness of further painting. “Dead colors” were applied only to the light parts of the image, sometimes, imitating gliding rays, white was applied in small dotted strokes. The picture acquired additional volume and an ominous deathly pallor, which, already in the next layer, “came to life” thanks to multi-layered color glazing. Such a complex painting seems unusually deep and radiant, when light is reflected from each layer, as from a flickering mirror.

Today, this method is not often used, however, it is important to know about the secrets of the old masters. Using their experience, you can experiment in your work and find your way in all sorts of styles and techniques.

Compiled based on materials collected by V. E. Makukhin.

Consultant: V. E. Makukhin.

On the cover: A copy of Rembrandt's self-portrait by MM Devyatov.

Preface.

Mikhail Mikhailovich Devyatov is an outstanding Soviet and Russian artist, painting technologist, restorer, one of the founders and leader for many years of the restoration department at the Academy of Arts. Repin, founder of the Laboratory of Technique and Technology of Painting, initiator of the creation of the Restoration Section of the Union of Artists, Honored Art Worker, Candidate of Art History, Professor.

Mikhail Mikhailovich made a huge contribution to the development of fine arts with his research in the field of painting technology and the study of the techniques of old masters. He was able to capture the very essence of phenomena, and present it in a simple and understandable language. Devyatov wrote a series of excellent articles on the technique of painting, the basic laws and conditions for the durability of a picture, the meaning and main tasks of copying. Devyatov also wrote a dissertation entitled “The Preservation of Oil Paintings on Canvas and Features of the Composition of Soils”, which is easy to read like an exciting book.

It is no secret that after the October Revolution, classical painting was severely persecuted, and much knowledge was lost. (Although some loss of knowledge in the technology of painting began earlier, this was noted by many researchers (J. Wieber "Painting and its means", A. Rybnikov Introductory article to the "Treatise on Painting" by Cennino Cennini)).

Mikhail Mikhailovich was the first (in the post-revolutionary period) to introduce the practice of copying into the educational process. Ilya Glazunov picked up this initiative of his in his academy.

In the Laboratory of Technique and Technology of Painting created by Devyatov, under the guidance of a master, a huge number of primers were tested, according to recipes collected from surviving historical sources, and a modern synthetic primer was developed. Then the selected soils were tested by students and teachers of the Academy of Arts.

One of the parts of these studies were diaries-reports that the students had to write. Since we have not received accurate evidence of the process of work of outstanding masters, these diaries, as it were, lift the veil over the secret of creating works. You can also trace the connection between the materials used, the technique of their use and the safety of the thing (copy) from the diaries. They can also be used to trace whether the student has mastered the lecture materials, how he uses them in practice, as well as the student's personal discoveries.

Diaries were kept approximately from 1969 to 1987, then this practice gradually disappeared. Nevertheless, we are left with very interesting material that can be very useful for artists and art lovers. In their diaries, students describe not only the progress of the work, but also the comments of teachers, which can be very valuable for the next generations of artists. Thus, while reading these diaries, one can, as it were, “copy” the best works of the Hermitage and the Russian Museum.

According to the curriculum compiled by M. M. Devyatov, in the first year students listened to his course of lectures on the technique and technology of painting. In their second year, students copy the best copies made by senior students in the Hermitage. And in the third year, students begin direct copying in the museum. Thus, before practical work, a very large part is given to the assimilation of the necessary and very important theoretical knowledge.

In order to better understand what is described in the diaries, it would be useful to read the Articles and Lectures of M. M. Devyatov, as well as the methodological manual compiled under the guidance of Devyatov for the course Questions and Answers in Painting Techniques. However, here, in the preface, I will try to dwell on the most important points, based on the above books, as well as the memoirs, lectures and consultations of Mikhail Mikhailovich's student and friend - Vladimir Emelyanovich Makukhin, who is currently teaching this course at the Academy of Arts.

Soils.

In his lectures, Mikhail Mikhailovich said that artists are divided into two categories - those who love matte painting, and those who love glossy painting. Those who love glossy painting, seeing matte pieces on their work, usually say: "It's rotten!", And they get very upset. Thus, the same phenomenon is joy for some, and grief for others. Soils play a very important role in this process. Their composition determines their effect on paints and the artist needs to understand these processes. Now artists have the opportunity to buy materials in stores, and not make them themselves (as the old masters did, thus ensuring the highest quality of their works). As many experts note, this possibility, which seems to make the work of the artist easier, is also the reason for the loss of knowledge about the nature of materials and, ultimately, for the decline of painting. In modern commercial descriptions of soils, there is no information about their properties, and very often even the composition is not indicated. In this regard, it is very strange to hear the assertion of some modern teachers that the artist does not need to be able to make the ground himself, because it can always be bought. Be sure to understand the compositions and properties of materials, even in order to buy what you need, and not be deceived by advertising.

Gloss (shiny surface) exhibits deep and rich colors, which matt makes uniformly whitish, lighter and colorless. However, gloss can make it difficult to see the big picture, as reflections and glare will make it difficult to perceive it all at once. Therefore, often in monumental painting, a matte surface is preferred.

Generally speaking, glossiness is a natural property of oil paints, since the oil itself is shiny. And the dullness of oil painting came into fashion relatively recently, at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century (Feshin, Borisov-Musatov, and others). Since the matte surface makes dark and saturated colors less expressive, matte painting usually has light tones, advantageously emphasizing their velvety. And glossy painting usually has rich and even dark tones (for example, old masters).

The oil, enveloping the pigment particles, makes them glossy. And the less oil, and the more the pigment is exposed, the more it becomes matte, velvety. A good example is pastel. It is almost pure pigment, without binder. When the oil leaves the paint and the paint becomes dull or “withered”, its tone (light-dark) and even color change somewhat. Dark colors lighten and lose their color sonority, while light colors darken somewhat. This is due to a change in the refraction of light rays.

Depending on the amount of oil in the paint, its physical properties also change.

The oil dries from top to bottom, forming a film. The oil shrinks as it dries. (Therefore, you can not use paint that has a lot of oil for pasty, textured painting). Also, the oil tends to turn yellow in the dark (especially during the drying period), in the light it is restored again. (However, the picture should not dry in the dark, as in this case some yellowing occurs more noticeably). Paints on traction primers (oil-free paints) turn yellow less because they contain less oil. But in principle, the yellowing that comes from a large amount of oil in paints is not significant. The main cause of yellowing and darkening of old paintings is old varnish. It is thinned and replaced by restorers, and under it is usually a bright and fresh painting. Another reason for the darkening of old paintings is dark grounds, since oil paints become more transparent over time and the dark ground seems to “eat” them.

Primers are divided into two categories - pulling and non-pulling (according to their ability to draw oil from the paint, and, therefore, make it matte or glossy).

Burning can also occur not only from the pulling soil, but also from applying a layer of paint to an insufficiently dried (formed only film) previous layer of paints. In this case, the insufficiently dried bottom layer begins to draw oil from the upper, new layer. This phenomenon is prevented by an interlayer treatment with compacted oil, and the addition of thickened oil and resin varnish to the paints, which speed up the drying of the paints and make it more uniform.

Oil-free paint (paint with little oil) becomes thicker (pasty) and easier to make a textured brushstroke. It dries faster (because it has less oil). It is harder to spread over the surface (hard brushes and a palette knife are required). Also, oil-free paint turns yellow less, as there is little oil in it. The pulling primer, pulling the oil out of the paint, seems to “grab” it, the paint seems to grow into it and hardens, “becomes”. Therefore, a sliding, thin smear on such a soil is impossible. On pulling soils, drying is faster also because drying occurs both from above and from below, since these soils give the so-called “through drying”. Fast drying and paint density make it possible to quickly gain texture. A striking example of impasto painting on pulling ground is Igor Grabar.

The complete opposite of painting on "breathing" pulling grounds is painting on impenetrable oily and semi-oily grounds. (Oil primer is a layer of oil paint (often with some additives) applied to the sizing. Semi-oil primer is also a layer of oil paint, but applied to any other primer. Semi-oil primer is also simply dried (or dried) painting, which after some time the artist wants to finish by applying a new layer of paint on it).

The dried layer of oil is an impermeable film. Therefore, oil paints applied to such a primer cannot give it part of their oil (and thus gain a foothold on it), and, therefore, cannot “burn out”, that is, become dull. That is, due to the fact that the oil from the paint cannot go into the ground, the paint itself remains the same shiny. The layer of painting on such an impenetrable ground is thin, and the stroke is gliding and light. The main danger of oily and semi-oily primers is their poor adhesion to paints, since there is no penetrating adhesion. (A very large number of works of even famous artists of the Soviet period are known, from the paintings of which paint is peeling off. This moment was not sufficiently covered in the system of education of artists). When working on oily and semi-oily primers, an additional agent is needed to bond a new layer of paint to the primer.

Pulling soils.

Glue-chalk primer consists of glue (gelatin or fish glue) and chalk. (Sometimes chalk was replaced by gypsum - a substance similar in properties).

Chalk has the ability to absorb oil. Thus, the paint applied to the ground, in which there is a sufficient amount of chalk, seems to grow into it, giving up part of its oil. This is a fairly strong type of penetrating adhesion. However, often artists, striving for matte painting, use not only a very pulling primer, but also strongly de-oil the paints (preliminarily squeezing them onto absorbent paper). In this case, the binder (oil) may become so small that the pigment will not hold well in the paint, turning almost into pastel (for example, some of Feshin's paintings). By running your hand over such a picture, you can remove some of the paint like dust.

Old Flemish method of painting.

Pulling glue-chalk soils are the most ancient. They were used on wood and painted with tempera paints. Then, at the beginning of the 15th century, oil paints were invented (their discovery is attributed to Van Eyck, a Flemish painter). Oil paints attracted artists with their glossy nature, which was very different from matte tempera. Since only the pulling glue-chalk primer was known, the artists came up with all sorts of secrets to make it non-pulling, and thus get the sheen and color saturation that oil gives them so much love. The so-called Old Flemish method of painting appeared.

(There are disputes about the history of the emergence of oil painting. Some believe that it appeared gradually: at first, painting started with tempera was finished with oil, thus the so-called mixed technique was obtained (D. I. Kiplik “Painting Technique”). Other researchers believe that oil painting arose in northern Europe simultaneously with tempera painting and developed in parallel, and in southern Europe (with a center in Italy) various variants of mixed media appeared from the very beginning of easel painting (Yu. I. Grenberg "Technology of easel painting"). Van Eyck's painting "The Annunciation" was restored and it turned out that the blue cloak of Our Lady was painted in watercolor (a documentary film was made about the restoration of this painting. Thus, it turns out that mixed media was also in northern Europe from the very beginning).

The Old Flemish method of painting (according to Kiplik), which was used by Van-Eycky, Dürer, Peter Brueghel and others, was as follows: adhesive primer was applied to a wooden base. Then, a drawing was transferred to this smoothly polished ground, “which was previously carried out in full-size paintings separately on paper (“cardboard”), since direct drawing on the ground was avoided so as not to disturb its whiteness.” Then the drawing was outlined with water-soluble paints. If the drawing is translated with charcoal, then drawing with water-soluble paints fixes it. (The drawing can be transferred by covering the reverse side of the drawing with charcoal where necessary, overlaying it on the basis of the future picture and tracing it around the contour). The drawing was outlined with a pen or brush. With a brush, the drawing was transparently shaded with brown paint "in such a way that the ground shone through it." An example of this stage of work is Van Eyck's Saint Barbara. Then the picture could continue to be painted in tempera, and only completed with oil paints.

If the artist wanted to continue working with oil paints after shading the drawing with water-soluble paint, then he had to somehow isolate the pulling soil from oil paints, otherwise the paints would lose their sonority, for which artists fell in love with them. Therefore, a layer of transparent glue and one or two layers of oil varnish were applied over the drawing. The oil varnish, when dried, created an impenetrable film, and the oil from the paints could no longer go into the ground.

Glue-chalk soils have a very important feature - the oil applied to such a soil forms a yellow-brown spot, since the chalk, when combined with the oil, turns yellow and turns brown, that is, it loses its white color. Therefore, the old Flemish masters first covered the ground with weak glue (probably no more than 2%) and then with oil varnish (the thicker the varnish, the less its penetration into the ground).

If the painting was only finished with oil, and the previous layers were made with tempera, then the pigment of tempera paints and their binder isolated the ground from the oil, and it did not darken. (Before working with oil, tempera painting is usually covered with an interlayer varnish in order to bring out the color of the tempera, and for a better entry of the oil layer).

The composition of the adhesive primer, developed by M. M. Devyatov, includes zinc white pigment. The pigment prevents the soil from turning yellow and turning brown from oil. The pigment of zinc white can be partially or completely replaced by another pigment (then you get a colored primer). The ratio of pigment and chalk should remain unchanged (usually the amount of chalk is equal to the amount of pigment). If only the pigment is left in the primer, and the chalk is removed, then the paint will not adhere to such a primer, because the pigment does not absorb oil as chalk does, and there will be no penetrating adhesion.

Another very important feature of glue-chalk soils is their fragility, which comes from skin-bone fragile glues (gelatin, fish glue). Therefore, it is very dangerous to increase the required amount of glue, this can lead to ground cracks with raised edges. This is especially true for such primers on canvas, as this is a more vulnerable base than a solid board base.

It is believed that the old Flemings could add light flesh-colored paint to this insulating layer of varnish: “Oil varnish with an admixture of transparent flesh-colored paint was applied over the tempera pattern, through which the shaded pattern shone through. This tone was applied to the entire area of ​​the picture, or only to those places where the body was depicted ”(D.I. Kiplik“ Painting Technique ”). However, in "Saint Barbara" we do not see any translucent flesh tone covering the drawing, although it is obvious that the picture has already begun to be worked out from above with paints. It is likely that painting on white ground is still more characteristic of the Old Flemish painting technique.

Later, when the influence of Italian masters with their colored grounds began to penetrate into Flanders, light and light translucent imprimaturs (for example, Rubens) remained characteristic of the Flemish masters.

The antiseptic used was phenol or catamine. But you can do without an antiseptic, especially if you use the soil quickly and do not store for a long time.

Instead of fish glue, you can use gelatin.

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