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PAINTER’S & COLOURMAN’S 
 
 COMPLETE GUIDE; 
 
 BEING A 
 
 PRACTICAL & THEORETICAL TREATISE 
 
 ON THE 
 
 PREPARATION OF COLOURS, 
 
 AND THEIR APPLICATION TO 
 
 THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF PAINTING: 
 
 IN WHICH IS PARTICULARLY DESCRIBED THE 
 
 WHOLE ART OF 
 
 HOUSE PAINTING. 
 
 BY P. F. TINGRY, 
 
 * 
 
 PROFESSOR OF CHEMISTRY, NATURAL HISTORY, AND MINERAL 
 IN THE ACADEMY OF GENEVA. 
 
 OGY, 
 
 THIRD EDITION, 
 
 CORRECTED AND IMPROVED BY A PRACTICAL CHEMIST. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 SHERWOOD, GILBERT, AND PIPER, 
 
 PATERNOSTER-ROW. 
 
LONDON: 
 
 GILBERT & RIVINGTON, PRINTERS, 
 st. John’s square. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 In preparing this Third Edition of the work of 
 Professor Txngry, the following alterations, ad¬ 
 ditions, and improvements, among others, have 
 been made. 
 
 It has been deemed expedient to separate 
 that portion of it which relates to Varnishes 
 from that which relates to Painting and Colours , 
 as many persons may be desirous of acquiring a 
 knowledge concerning these to whom the sub¬ 
 ject of Varnishes might not be interesting; at 
 the same time so much concerning Varnishes is 
 given in the present work as will be necessary 
 and useful to the Painter. The Varnisher’s 
 Guide forms, therefore, as well as the present, a 
 separate work. 
 
iv PREFACE. 
 
 Although, by this arrangement, the Painters 
 and Colourmaris Guide is reduced in size, and 
 consequently in price, not only is every thing of 
 importance stated by M. Tingry retained in the 
 present edition, but to it, have been added a 
 great variety of facts and valuable information 
 not contained in the former impressions : in 
 short, nearly the whole work has been re¬ 
 modeled and re-written ; in doing which neither 
 labour nor research has been spared. 
 
 As the subject of House Painting demanded 
 considerably more attention than was bestowed 
 upon it by M. Tingry, a copious chapter has 
 been added on this section of the art, besides 
 innumerable original observations on it in the 
 Introduction , as well as many others interspersed 
 throughout the work; so that it may now be 
 confidently recommended, not only to the artist 
 and amateur, but also to every one desirous of 
 becoming his own House Painter . 
 
 In a word, the Editor presumes, without 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 V 
 
 having for a moment lost sight of science, that, 
 from these alterations, additions, and improve¬ 
 ments, including, of course, an account of the 
 most recent facts and discoveries made public 
 concerning every branch of the art, and from a 
 resolute determination to impart knowledge in 
 the simplest style, and the most intelligible lan¬ 
 guage, this Work is the most complete Treatise 
 on Painting and Colours ever offered to the 
 British public. 
 
 The weights and measures are all stated agree¬ 
 ably to British standards. Whenever pints or 
 gallons are mentioned they are to be understood 
 as the old wine and not the new imperial mea¬ 
 sure. 
 
 J. J. 
 
 London , June, 1830. 
 
, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Historical Sketch of Painting—on the Newtonian Theory of Co¬ 
 lours—on the different kinds of Painting—on the Colours used 
 by Painters—on House Painting.1 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Descriptive Account of the Earthy, Metallic and other Mineral 
 Substances used in Painting, with a detail of the Processes 
 employed to extract them, and the methods of preparing and 
 modifying them . ............... 36 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Descriptive Account of the Animal and Vegetable Colouring Sub¬ 
 stances used in Painting, with a detail of the Processes em¬ 
 ployed to obtain them, and of the methods of preparing and 
 modifying them.Ill 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 On the Vehicles used for the Colours of Paints, as well as on certain 
 Gums, Glues, Driers, and Putty; and on the preservation and 
 repairing of Paintings..150 
 
vm 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 On the Composition of Colours. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 . 189 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Of the Instruments used in the Preparation and Application of Co¬ 
 lours—Precepts for Painting in Varnish and in Oil—Polishing. 211 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Of Painting in Distemper—Glues—Sizing—Composition of Colours 
 for Distemper—General Precepts for this Branch of the Art— 
 Common Distemper—Varnished Distemper or Chipolin— 
 Blanc de Roi or Royal White.239 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 HOUSE-PAINTING. 
 
 General Observations on House Painting—on Brushes—on the me¬ 
 thod of rendering Ground White Lead and other Paints ready 
 for application—on Driers—on Oil of Turpentine—Mementos 
 for the House Painter—Vanherman’s Impenetrable Paint—on 
 Stenciling—on the Imitation of various Woods and Marble in 
 
 Paint called Graining—Transparent Blinds.263 
 
 Addendum, Ultramarine . .298 
 
 Index 
 
 299 
 
THE 
 
 PAINTER’S AND COLOURMAN’S 
 
 COMPLETE GUIDE. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Historical Sketch of Painting—On the Newtonian 
 Theory of Colours—On the different kinds of 
 Painting—On the Colours used by Painters—On 
 House Painting. 
 
 Though it is commonly supposed that painting in 
 oil was not known before the fourteenth century, it is 
 probable, that the ancients employed it for ornamenting 
 their porticoes. The fragments of painting with which 
 the fronts of some of the edifices discovered among the 
 ruins of Herculaneum and Pompeii are still decorated, 
 and which have escaped the ravages of time and the 
 impression of the volcanic ashes^under which they were 
 for nearly eighteen centuries buried, appear sufficient 
 authority for this observation. 
 
 But the wars which hastened, and those which fol¬ 
 lowed the fall of the Roman Empire; the almost ge¬ 
 neral devastation which was the result of them; the 
 
 B 
 
2 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 conversion of polished nations by a series of calamitous 
 circumstances into Goths and Vandals; and the ages of 
 barbarism which succeeded, paralysed industry and 
 nearly obliterated all traces of civilization; in short, 
 changed or corrupted every thing, even the language 
 of the subjected nations. 
 
 It is unfortunate that such scourges, which poison 
 the sources of public happiness, should fall most heavily 
 on enlightened nations, who, thus oppressed, leave to 
 their descendants fragments only of that knowledge 
 which has escaped the general devastation. Hence 
 the career of discovery and of science has to be begun 
 anew; and hence genius, after much labour, again 
 arrives at results of which anterior ages have left some 
 faint traces. Had the valuable discovery of the art of 
 'printing preceded the discoveries in the mechanical 
 arts and in the sciences, how much labour and toil 
 would have been saved to the subsequent generations 
 of men. But thanks to that important art, we are not 
 very soon, if ever, likely to be plunged again into a se¬ 
 cond night of ignorance and of barbarism ! 
 
 The ruins of Pompeii remove every doubt in regard 
 to the use which the Romans made of oil painting to 
 ornament their buildings. Some pieces of their copper 
 coin, struck under the reign of Trajan, and dug up in 
 ancient ruins, are covered with a resinous varnish simi¬ 
 lar to what would result from a mixture of oil and 
 pitch. If the ancients were ignorant of the art of grind¬ 
 ing, mixing-up, and combining oil colours, of which, 
 however, there is no reason to suppose; and if they 
 did not carry to such an extent as the modems, those 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 mechanical processes which are so useful for the paint 
 of pictures, it cannot be doubted that the Greeks, in 
 particular, were acquainted with the art of giving lustre 
 to the colours which they employed in their fine com¬ 
 positions, and also of preserving them. 
 
 The names of a Timanthes, a Zeuxis, an Apollodorus, 
 a Polygnotus, a Pausias, and a Parrhasius, who, by their 
 compositions, added lustre to the ages of Pericles and 
 Socrates; who combined grace of disposition with 
 brightness of colouring; boldness of design with mel¬ 
 lowness of execution ; and who produced masterpieces 
 which exist only in the descriptions transmitted to us, 
 show how great were the losses which followed the 
 destruction of liberty among the Grecian republics. 
 Their means, without being so extensive as ours, were 
 sufficient, according to the expression of Parrhasius, to 
 give their works as much solidity as enabled them to 
 withstand the influence of the air. 
 
 But were Apelles, Protogenes, and Aristides, who 
 succeeded to the glory of these early painters, and in 
 some things even surpassed them, better acquainted 
 with the art of preparing colours, and the means of 
 giving them more body and solidity ?—If the preserva¬ 
 tion of the colouring was owing to a varnish, or to sub¬ 
 stances capable of making a varnish, did they mix them, 
 as some modem painters do, with the colouring parts, 
 even when distributed on the palette ?—or did they re¬ 
 serve them to be applied to the composition after it was 
 finished ? 
 
 There is no monument in existence which can enable 
 us to resolve these questions. The masterpieces of 
 
 B 2 
 
4 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Apelles, and those of the painters who preceded him, 
 disappeared with the generations who saw them pro¬ 
 duced. Gum-water and white of egg, still employed 
 for certain painting, were not perhaps neglected. Being 
 ill calculated, however, by their nature, to resist the im¬ 
 pression of moisture, and the washing rendered neces¬ 
 sary in consequence of their being dirtied by insects, 
 they could not be any security to artists that their works 
 would be handed down unimpaired to posterity. The 
 mixture of oils and resins With alcohol (spirit of wine) 
 which forms real varnishes, is alone endowed with the 
 valuable property of checking the ravages of time. See¬ 
 ing that no traces of the works of the ancient masters 
 remain, we must presume that our means were unknown 
 to them, and that they employed processes less effectual; 
 or that subsequent ages of barbarism have destroyed 
 what ages of refinement produced. 
 
 The Greeks were, however, in possession of a kind 
 of painting which resisted the influence both of the sun 
 and air, and which is not subject to those reflections of 
 light which oil paintings require, and which, to be seen 
 with advantage, must be placed in a particular position : 
 1 here mean Encaustic 'painting , or painting in wax, 
 which was lost, and was revived in the last century, 
 chiefly by the instrumentality of Count Caylus. 
 
 Encaustic painting possesses more strength than that 
 in distemper. Its uniform mellowness produces more 
 harmony in the tones, wdiich the spectator readily catches 
 in every position. This method of painting does not 
 admit of any kind of varnish being applied after the 
 work is finished. Wax being the essential basis of it, 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 5 
 
 combines exceedingly well with the colours, and pro¬ 
 duces, when ithas received from a pretty strong heat, that 
 inustion which makes it penetrate into the canvas, both 
 consistence and pliability in the painting. The canvas, 
 when it has thus imbibed the wax, exhibits a thin 
 flexible stratum, which is nevertheless susceptible of a 
 very fine polish. 
 
 Notwithstanding all those kinds of degradation which 
 the fine arts experienced under the Lower Empire, and 
 particularly towards its fall, Greece might, perhaps, 
 still boast of masterpieces of encaustic from the hands 
 of Polygnotus of Thasos, had they not, after nine cen¬ 
 turies of admiration, become a subject of envy or emu¬ 
 lation to the Roman praetors, who caused them to be 
 transported to the then capital of the world, where they 
 shared the fate of so many other valuable monuments 
 of antiquity. 
 
 And here it may be opportune to observe, that the 
 greater part of the mechanical, we may say of all the 
 arts, began to be attended with conspicuous success 
 only at that period, when the facts relating to them were 
 sufficiently connected to admit their being formed into 
 a theory. This statement is more particularly applica¬ 
 ble to those arts which depend on the effect of chemical 
 combinations. 
 
 But although the theory now applied to certain 
 manipulations in the arts, founded on the employment 
 of chemical combinations, is deduced from numerous 
 and leading facts, so intimately connected with these 
 manipulations, that it is a necessary and expected re¬ 
 sult, the cause of those combinations would perhaps 
 
 B 3 
 
6 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 have remained long unknown but for those Societies 
 established for the purpose of exciting the energies of 
 the human mind. The respect attached to these as¬ 
 sociations of learned men, and artists of distinguished 
 merit, and occasionally the support of governments, 
 have contributed much to those interesting discoveries 
 for which modern times are celebrated. 
 
 In regard to painting, some of the happiest results 
 arising from these associations were, that the study of 
 history was facilitated to young artists ; that they were 
 surrounded, in some measure, with masterpieces of the 
 old painters ; that their judgment was exercised with 
 respect to chasteness of execution, propriety of arrange¬ 
 ment and correctness of design: this was rendering 
 them familiar with real beauty, and inspiring them at 
 length with the genius of the Greeks. 
 
 This genius, which among the Athenians in particu¬ 
 lar, was exalted by the establishment of liberty, which 
 was kept in full activity by commerce, and by which a 
 spirit of enterprize was communicated by prosperity, 
 necessarily raised them above that simplicity of man¬ 
 ners by which nations who apply to agriculture, to those 
 arts which are purely mechanical, or to a pastoral life, 
 are characterized. This genius was formed to direct 
 taste, to create it even, and to soar to the sublime in all 
 its great conceptions. This was the case at Athens by 
 the intercourse which the Greeks kept up with their 
 neighbours; the latter were made to participate in their 
 glory. 
 
 The fine arts have their conquests; and their con¬ 
 quests are the more certain as they become mingled 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 7 
 
 with and increase our dearest enjoyments. They pro¬ 
 duce, among other fruits, emulation ; and conduct, by a 
 sure path, to that taste for real beauty , which announces 
 the progress of civilization. 
 
 In tracing out these grand effects, one is naturally 
 led to inquire into the cause which produced them. 
 This cause we can look for only in that rational liberty 
 which inspires men with the desire of employing all 
 the resources of their talents ; which, by an insensible 
 gradation, raises one individual above another; which 
 induces them to divest themselves of all envy, on ac¬ 
 count of merit different from their own, or which sur¬ 
 passes it; and which makes them seek happiness in a 
 continued intercourse with virtuous citizens, whom the 
 public opinion has invested with respect. Such was 
 the use which Athens made of her liberty during the 
 period of her splendour : it was in this manner that 
 plain citizens, but distinguished by particular talents, 
 concurred to produce those important results with 
 which the interests of nations are so intimately con¬ 
 nected ; which raise them into notice, and which turn 
 to the greatest benefit of mankind the intercourse they 
 maintain with others *. 
 
 * The ingenious author does not appear to us to have given a satisfactory 
 account of the causes which produced that high state of cultivation of the 
 fine arts, and of painting among the rest, which existed in Greece and 
 Rome, and which has rendered both land-marks in art for the succeeding 
 generations of mankind. If we are at all at liberty tp reason upon such 
 subjects from what we know of the progress of the fine arts in modern times, 
 we must look for other causes than those which have been adduced by 
 M. Tingry. 
 
 So far from thinking that the cause which produced them was what our 
 
 B 4 
 
8 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The Greeks, from various causes, were able to ex¬ 
 tend much further those advantages which we make to 
 depend on different learned societies, such as those 
 established in Italy, in France, and in other countries 
 of Europe. Their progress, therefore, was much more 
 rapid than ours, and their enterprises were more marked 
 with grandeur. 
 
 But the best institutions are not sheltered from the 
 instability attached to human affairs. The prosperity 
 of the Greek republics was soon blasted by their intes¬ 
 tine divisions. The fine arts languished, and seemed 
 to expire along with the flame of liberty: and if the 
 intercourse afterwards renewed between the nations of 
 ancient Greece, and those of Asia and India in parti¬ 
 cular, by the conquests of Alexander the Great, seemed 
 to revive the arts in their ancient country; if it seemed 
 to recall the flourishing period of a Pericles, it was 
 only, as we may say, to afford an opportunity of col- 
 
 author is pleased to term rational liberty , we believe the chief cause of the 
 great progress made by the Greeks in the fine arts arose from the accumula¬ 
 tion of wealth , in large portions, among comparatively a few opulent citizens 
 and Patricians, who, desirous of exhibiting their wealth and their magni¬ 
 ficence, encouraged men of genius by ample rewards to pursue the study 
 and practice of those arts,—and hence the perfection to which those arts 
 arrived. It is true a general taste for such arts appears to have deeply per¬ 
 vaded the intelligent Athenians; but we must never forget the miserable 
 Grecian Helots and the slaves of Rome, in an estimate of what is called 
 Grecian and Roman liberty. For ourselves we are disposed to consider the 
 liberty so much vaunted of both Greece and Rome as, in great measure, an 
 empty boast, and useful only to comparatively a small number of their 
 citizens. We cannot, however, entertain a doubt, from the evidence which 
 has come down to us, of the high powers of the Grecian mind: an inspec¬ 
 tion of their sculptures at the British Museum is alone sufficient to prove 
 this had we no other memorials.— Editor . 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 9 
 
 lecting those valuable materials which Italy and other 
 countries were afterwards, in some measure, to natu¬ 
 ralize and to improve. 
 
 The Thebaid, the most remote part of Egypt, which 
 is now a desert, notwithstanding the ravages of time, 
 still attests the influence of the fine arts on the people 
 of that country. It would appear, from the recent 
 observations of some travellers who visited the ruins of 
 Thebes, that the ancient inhabitants of Egypt were 
 well versed in the branches of design and of painting. 
 The freshness which still characterizes some fragments 
 discovered in ancient galleries buried amidst ruins, 
 seems to prove that the painters were then acquainted 
 with the same means, or others equivalent to them, 
 which modern painters employ to preserve their works 
 for posterity. 
 
 Upon an examination made some time since, of the 
 paintings on a mummy case belonging to the University 
 of Cambridge, it appeared that the varnish which 
 covered the colours could not be dissolved or in the 
 least affected by common water, and that it equally 
 resisted the dissolving power of strong spirits; hence 
 it is concluded, that such cases were not covered either 
 with sizes or simple gums, but with an oil varnish. It 
 was, however, found, that the colours themselves were 
 not prepared or mixed with oil; for where the external 
 glossy varnish was abraded or otherwise removed, even 
 common water would wash away the colours and affect 
 the chalk under them *. 
 
 * That Greece obtained its first knowledge of the arts, and among others 
 that of painting, from the Egyptians, there can be no doubt; but the Greeks 
 
 B 5 
 
10 
 
 INTRODUCTION, 
 
 The colouring materials used by the ancients were 
 not very numerous, yet of considerable variety. They 
 had white lead variously prepared; a white from cal¬ 
 cined egg shells, and preparations from cretaceous and 
 argillaceous earths. 
 
 Of blacks they had various kinds, similar to lamp, 
 ivory, blue, and Frankfort black, as well as others simi¬ 
 lar to Indian and common ink; they used also what 
 the moderns do not, the precipitates of the black and 
 blue vat of the dyers. They had also a kind of ver- 
 
 greatly improved upon the knowledge and models of their masters. Mr. 
 Craig’s observations on this subject ( Lectures on Painting, delivered at the 
 Royal Institution in 1821, and since published are too important to be 
 omitted. 
 
 “ Leaving, however, the field of conjecture and mere probability, we arrive 
 at a fixed point to rest on,—though gloomy be the situation,—it is in the 
 catacombs of the ancient Egyptians. The early inhabitants of that country 
 had a practice of painting in curious devices and figures, the coffins destined 
 for the dead; many of these were not only painted and finished in various 
 colours, but were also partially gilt; and all this by means so durable as to 
 continue uninjured down to modern times. That these were of great anti¬ 
 quity cannot be doubted; for nothing of the kind is likely to have been per¬ 
 formed after the expedition of Cambyses into Egypt, who, according to 
 Herodotus, enforced the adoption of his own manners and customs. We 
 turn then to the Greeks, who borrowed most of their arts from Egypt, and we 
 find that the first who had any claims to the title of painter was Cleophantus 
 of Corinth. Further advances were soon afterwards made by Cimon the 
 Cleoneean. In what century of the world these masters lived is not at this 
 time known; but we learn that about the year 750 before Christ, the paint¬ 
 ings of the Greeks were in such estimation, that Candaules, king of Lydia, 
 gave its weight in gold for one painted by Bularchus. From this time, 
 during a period of more than four hundred years, the art continued to im¬ 
 prove under the guidance of a succession of masters down to the time of 
 Apelles, in whom the painting of the Greeks seems to have reached its 
 highest point of excellence."—P. 21. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 11 
 
 milion, red-lead, various earths burnt and unburnt; 
 Venetian red, Indian red, Spanish brown, burnt terra 
 de Sienna and scarlet ochre; they had also dragon’s 
 blood. Their yellow pigments were similar to some of 
 the modems, such as orpiments, king’s and Naples yel¬ 
 low : but, it is said, they had neither gamboge, nor 
 turbith mineral; nor was gall-stone known to them as a 
 pigment. 
 
 They had several blues, such as lapis cyanus , lapis 
 armenus, indigo, and, possibly, bice and smalt; but 
 they had neither Prussian blue, verditer, nor litmus. 
 
 Their greens were verdigris, terra vert, and malachite; 
 sap-green, green verditer, and Scheeles green, were, it 
 is supposed, unknown to them. They produced innu¬ 
 merable tints of green like the moderns, from combina¬ 
 tions of blue and yellow vegetables. 
 
 From the researches of Sir Humphry Davy {Philo¬ 
 sophical Transactions for 1815) made at Rome, on the 
 colours used by the ancients , he found the reds to be 
 minium, ochre, and cinnabar. The yellows were 
 ochre, orpiment, and massicot. The blues were formed 
 from carbonate of copper, or cobalt vitrified with glass. 
 The purples were made of shell-fish, and probably also 
 from madder and cochineal lakes. The blacks and 
 browns were lamp-black, ivory-black, and ores of iron 
 and manganese. Their whites were chalk, white clay, 
 white lead. 
 
 He found that Egyptian azure, the excellence of 
 which is proved by its duration for seventeen hundred 
 years, may be easily and cheaply made with fif¬ 
 teen parts by weight of carbonate of soda, twenty of 
 
 B 6 
 
12 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 powdered opaque flints, and three of copper filings, 
 strongly heated together for two hours : the product is 
 a substance of exactly the same tint and of nearly the 
 same degree of fusibility, and which, when powdered, 
 produced a fine deep sky-blue. 
 
 Sir Humphry thinks, that next to coloured frits, 
 the most permanent pigments are those furnished by 
 peroxides or persalts, such as ochres, carbonates of 
 copper, patent yellow, chromate of lead, arsenite of 
 copper, insoluble chloride of copper and sulphate 
 of barytes. 
 
 It does not appear that the ancients knew any thing 
 of spirit varnishes, distillation being comparatively a 
 modern invention; but with the solution of resinous 
 gums in expressed oils by boiling, &c. they were 
 acquainted; and thus their varnishes were, most pro¬ 
 bably, obtained. 
 
 Pliny describes the varnish used by Apelles under 
 the name of atrament ; and from his description it is 
 concluded that it was an oil varnish. Nay, although 
 it is generally considered that the ancients did not mix 
 their colours used for painting with oil, yet there are 
 several facts which induce us, nevertheless, to believe 
 that they did occasionally use oil in their paints ; what, 
 indeed, can be more probable ? The question is, how¬ 
 ever, not very likely ever to be settled. 
 
 Whatever might be the knowledge, and how ancient 
 soever that knowledge is, which the Chinese among 
 several other eastern nations possess, of the art of mix¬ 
 ing colours for painting, we know too little of those 
 nations, relating to their arts, to describe them with 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 13 
 
 any certainty. That the Chinese have long possessed 
 the knowledge of certain pigments, their mixtures and 
 uses, as well as of some beautiful varnishes, is beyond 
 dispute; but their application of these to painting, as 
 exemplified on their porcelain and japanned wares, is 
 almost completely devoid of every thing in the shape 
 of grace and nature; and hence, in an historical sketch 
 of ancient art, it will be sufficient for our purpose to 
 have mentioned those nations. Of the causes which 
 have retarded, and will probably for ages if not for 
 ever, continue to retard those nations in their progress 
 to the perfection of art, it is not necessary here to 
 speak : nothing perhaps but a gradual, and as it were 
 silent revolution and admixture of the people with 
 Europeans, so that our superior tastes and knowledge 
 may be introduced, can ever remove such a perversion 
 of the arts. 
 
 To this hasty sketch of the state of ancient painting 
 it may be added, that some of the ancient paintings 
 lately dug up from the ruins of Herculaneum appear to 
 be executed in Fresco. That Cimabue , who was born 
 at Florence in the middle of the thirteenth century, is 
 very properly called the father of modern painting; 
 now' indeed, after the lapse of so many centuries, be 
 come almost an ancient. That Raphael, Corregio, and 
 Titian displayed, in a pre-eminent degree, every excel¬ 
 lence of which the art is capable ; and that, in the time 
 of those three great men, the practice oi painting in oil 
 colours became general, and gave to the artist some 
 advantages which he did not before possess : yet it 
 should be here, nevertheless, observed, that Mr. Craig> 
 
14 
 
 THEORY OF COLOURS. 
 
 in his late lectures on painting, decidedly prefers paint¬ 
 ing in water colours to painting in oil . 
 
 We shall now proceed to give a brief account of the 
 Theory of Colours , as explained by the Philosophy of 
 Sir Isaac Newton: 
 
 One of the most interesting phenomena in nature 
 ever subjected to philosophical research, is that which 
 accompanies the emission of the solar light. Mankind 
 were far from imagining that this subtile fluid, this agent 
 of the numerous phenomena which constitute the life 
 of nature, this generator of the varied colours which 
 ornament the organized bodies that cover the earth and 
 people the seas, belonged to the order of compound 
 substances. The decomposition of it, discovered by 
 the immortal Newton, and traced out in all its details 
 by those astonishing experiments which compose his 
 optics, soon became the basis of the theory which that 
 learned author has established in regard to the nature 
 of light, and to the origin of the colours that strike our 
 organs of vision. 
 
 Isaac Vossius, who lived before Newton, had enter¬ 
 tained an idea, and even asserted, that the colours 
 which tinge those objects that present themselves to 
 our eyes existed in the solar rays. But this theory, 
 supported by no kind of experiment capable of serving 
 as an authority, was classed among the number of those 
 ingenious hypotheses which occupied the philosophers 
 of his time. The idea of Vossius was however realized 
 by the experiments which the immortal Newton made 
 with the prism. 
 
THEORY OF COLOURS. 
 
 15 
 
 This philosopher indeed proved that the rays of 
 .ight, which he subjected to experiments both by ana¬ 
 lysis and synthesis, were composed of seven primitive 
 rays, each different from the other, not only by the 
 variety of their colour but also by their different refran- 
 gibility. 
 
 From this decomposition of light he proved that 
 these coloured rays, when separated from each other, 
 and in some measure insulated, excite in us the sensa¬ 
 tion of a fixed and primitive colour. The following is 
 the order observed in the decomposition of a ray of 
 light received on the refracting surface of a prism, com¬ 
 mencing at the lowest: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, 
 indigo, and violet *. 
 
 The facility of separating colours, in analysing a 
 bundle of rays, is the effect of the different refrangibility 
 of each of these rays. Newton has proved also that the 
 degree of the reflection of each coloured ray is propor¬ 
 tioned to that of its refraction. 
 
 • The ray of light having passed first through a hole in a window shutter 
 of a darkened room, and being afterwards intercepted by a glass prism, 
 became separated into seven distinct colours when thrown upon a dark 
 ground ; these colours were all differently refracted, the red the least, and 
 the violet the most. If considered as forming a circle, the proportions which 
 each colour fills up in the circle is as follows: red 45; orange 27 ; yellow 
 48; green 60; blue 60; indigo 40; violet 80; in all 360. Sir Isaac 
 next shewed that the same colours, when again put together, recomposed 
 white light. This may be proved rudely by mixing together seven different 
 powders having the colours and proportions above stated ; or by painting the 
 rim of a wheel or a circular plane with the seven prismatic colours, and causing 
 it to revolve rapidly round on the axis. In all these cases the mixture of 
 colours will be a greyish white: for no colours can be obtained of such deli¬ 
 cate tints as those obtained from light.— Editor. 
 
16 
 
 THEORY OF COLOURS. 
 
 The theory of colours was the necessary consequence 
 of these experiments; the aggregate of which composes 
 the system of optics, that masterpiece of human genius. 
 It indeed follows from it. 
 
 1st. That a ray of light is composed of all the primi¬ 
 tive colours, pure and unalterable, and therefore free 
 from every secondary mixture that might weaken its 
 essence. 
 
 2d. That every colour is produced merely by the de¬ 
 composition of a ray of light. 
 
 This phenomenon depends on the essential composi¬ 
 tion of the bodies which concur to produce it; on the 
 peculiar configuration of their surfaces, on their degree 
 of density, and on their interior disposition, which ren¬ 
 ders them capable of absorbing a certain portion of the 
 ray of light, and of transmitting another to our senses. 
 The coloured body appears then under the simple 
 colour of the ray which is reflected. 
 
 In some bodies the difference in the texture of their 
 surface, in the nature of the laminae of which they are 
 composed, as well as in their thickness, produces more 
 varied phenomena of refraction and reflection, which 
 concur to promote the union of several primitive 
 coloured rays, and consequently to produce the appear¬ 
 ance of secondary or compound colours : changing ma¬ 
 terial colours arise from this cause. 
 
 Intermediate colours might easily be made in the 
 series of those given by the prism ; but one remarkable 
 effect is, that the less compound a colour is, it is so 
 much the brighter and more perfect. By rendering it 
 gradually more complex, it is at length destroyed, the 
 
THEORY OF COLOURS. 
 
 17 
 
 ray of light being restored, such as it was before its 
 decomposition. 
 
 According to the theory of optics, white, which re¬ 
 sults from the union of all the primitive coloured rays, 
 and which constitutes a ray of light; black, which 
 absorbs them entirely, and which is only the effect of 
 that absorption, are not colours. The theory of mate¬ 
 rial colours seems to contradict these ingenious results, 
 which arise from a philosophical examination of the 
 nature of light. White and black exist in substance. 
 They seem even to concur towards increasing the num¬ 
 ber of the primitive colours, in the order of material 
 bodies. They become, at least, in the hands of the 
 artist, new means and new agents to modify the tones 
 of the positive colours of an earthy or metallic nature. 
 
 The philosophy of the heavens seems to be richer in 
 colours than that of the earth. The former admits of 
 seven primitive colours; and four only are found in the 
 latter, if we suppress white and black. Of this kind 
 are yellows, reds, and greens, to which add the blue of 
 ultramarine. * Indigo, blue, violet, and orange, are the 
 secondary results of certain mixtures, by which art, the 
 imitator of nature, has found means to approach those 
 tones that belong to the seven primitive colours. 
 
 By admitting white and black, which are employed 
 on the palette of the painter, we shall have six colour¬ 
 ing substances, with which all the different tints of 
 nature may be imitated. It is by the help of simple 
 or compound mixtures, that art is able to display the 
 magic of illusion in fine paintings. 
 
18 
 
 THEORY OF COLOURS. 
 
 A knowledge of mixtures is not the least part of the 
 art of painting. It is by means of these mixtures that 
 the art has been enriched by establishing another order 
 of colours ; that is to say, the factitious, secondary, or 
 intermediate colours. It will be here proper to give a 
 general view of the effect of these mixtures, and of the 
 peculiar attributes of the primitive material colours. 
 It will consist of a certain number of precepts, which 
 are generally considered as inseparable from the art. 
 
 Black increases the obscurity of all colours, and even 
 effaces them, if the quantity be considerable and pre¬ 
 dominant. 
 
 White renders yellows, reds, and blues, lighter. The 
 strength of the tints depends on the respective quanti¬ 
 ties of the two substances mixed. When mixed with 
 blue, the result is a more or less light tint, which re¬ 
 presents the azure colour of a beautiful sky. 
 
 White, judiciously mixed with yellows and reds, pro¬ 
 duces a tint which approaches to flesh colour. If a 
 little white lead be ground with very clear gum-water, 
 by adding a small quantity of liquid red, and a little 
 lemon yellow, you will obtain tints of flesh colour which 
 may be varied ad infinitum ,. With reddish brown, the 
 result will be beautiful crimson ; with red, a beautiful 
 carmine colour. 
 
 White, mixed with a little black, produces a more 
 or less dark grey: with blue and a small quantity of 
 black it gives a beautiful pearl grey. 
 
 Yellow and blue give rise to several kinds of green, 
 the brightness and splendour of which depend on the 
 
THEORY OF COLOURS. 
 
 19 
 
 manner in which they are combined : with thin liquid 
 blue, you will obtain an exceedingly rich colour for 
 miniature painting. 
 
 Golden yellow and violet compose admirable liquid 
 earth colours for miniature painting. 
 
 A yellow colour may, in like manner, be obtained 
 with an orange colour and yellowish green. 
 
 Red or vermilion loses some of its splendour and 
 hardness when the lights are brightened with white or 
 with Naples yellow. 
 
 Reddish brown and lemon yellow, mixed with gum- 
 water, give an aurora colour. By adding thin liquid 
 blue you will obtain a brown wood colour, which is a 
 valuable discovery for miniature painting. 
 
 Liquid red, mixed with violet, exhibits a rich purple : 
 a greater or less quantity of either of these substances 
 gives a crimson of different degrees of redness. 
 
 Liquid red, with meadow green, gives a wood colour, 
 which is employed in miniature painting to represent 
 terraces and the trunks of trees *. 
 
 Painters mix carminated lakes with cinnabar or ver¬ 
 milion to produce the beautiful effect of bright red, in¬ 
 tended to represent certain red parts, such as the mouth, 
 the apertures of the nostrils, &c. 
 
 All arts admit of general principles, which have been 
 established by long experience. If those, a sketch of 
 which has here been given, are acknowledged by the 
 
 • When mention is made of a liquid colour, or of its mixture with gum- 
 water, the case is applicable to miniature painting. The other combinations 
 of colours relate to the other kinds of painting, and particularly to oil painting. 
 
20 
 
 THEORY OF COLOURS. 
 
 great painters; if they follow them in the execution of 
 their masterpieces, they ought not to remain unknown 
 to artists who devote themselves to house-painting, &c. 
 nor to amateurs who are desirous of being initiated 
 in every branch of this art. 
 
 In general, great colourists devote their whole atten¬ 
 tion to manage the white in shades, in order that they 
 may avoid mealy and opaque tones. A mixture of 
 oxide of lead and antimony, known under the name of 
 Naples yellow, is a great assistance to them. It sup¬ 
 plies the place of white in all cases when it is neces¬ 
 sary to brighten the half tints, or to give reflection 
 without experiencing all its inconveniences. With 
 yellow also bright greys may be produced'in the shades, 
 by mixing it with different blacks, and even with ultra- 
 marine, when the composition is required to be rich 
 and highly finished. 
 
 Artists often agree in employing denominations wdiich 
 express the state or extent of the composition of a sub¬ 
 stance. Thus painters have given the name of virgin 
 tints to those which are composed of only tw r o sub¬ 
 stances, such as white and blue, white and red, white 
 and yellow', white and lake, and so of the other simple 
 combinations wdiich would result from the mixture of 
 other colours without the white ; such, for example, as 
 the green produced by Naples yellow and Prussian 
 blue; the orange colour which results from a mixture 
 of Naples yellow and red lead; the violet produced by 
 a mixture of vermilion and Prussian blue. These vir¬ 
 gin tints form second local colours, which some painters 
 
THEORY OF COLOURS. 
 
 21 
 
 introduce on their palette; like secondary colours, 
 which are not simple shades of a coloured body, but 
 the mixture of two or more primitive colours. 
 
 All simple or compound colours, and all the shades 
 of colour which nature or art can produce, and which 
 might be thought proper for the dilferent kinds of paint¬ 
 ing, would form a very extensive catalogue, were we 
 to take into consideration only certain external cha¬ 
 racters or the intensity of their tint. But art, founded 
 on the experience of several centimes, has prescribed 
 bounds to the consumption of colouring substances, 
 and to the application of them to particular purposes. 
 To cause a substance to be admitted into the class of 
 colouring bodies employed by painters, it is not suffi¬ 
 cient for it to contain a colour: to brightness and 
 splendour it must unite also durability in the tint or 
 colour which it communicates. 
 
 But though a coloured substance may seem impro¬ 
 per for the usual purposes of the different kinds of 
 painting, it does not thence follow that it ought to be 
 rejected entirely. Colours, the employment of which 
 cannot be generalized without inconvenience, are ap¬ 
 plied every day to particular uses in distemper and in 
 the art of varnishing. Such, for example, are certain 
 colours extracted from vegetables, which compose the 
 light and dark Dutch pinks ; and which painters, jea¬ 
 lous of the duration of the tints they employ, justly 
 omit from their grand compositions. Such, also, are 
 other substances furnished by the mineral kingdom, 
 orpiment and realgar, which do not harmonize with 
 
22 
 
 THEORY OF COLOURS. 
 
 the colours most in use, and which at length develope 
 destructive qualities, which they extend even to all ( 
 metallic colours in contact with them, or which are 
 near them. This destructive effect arises from the 
 arsenic which forms a part of them. 
 
 That piece of board distinguished by the name of the a 
 painter’s palette is a real repository of the primitive co- 
 lours, arranged in a line. Another line, parallel to the 
 former, is destined for the compound or secondary co- i 
 lours. The simple colours are white, Naples yellow, t 
 ochre de rue , Sienna earth, still more beautiful than 
 ochre de rue , red or burnt ochre, red earth or binut ochre 
 de rue , vermilion, lake, Prussian blue, Saxon blue, 
 ultramarine, black from burnt vine twigs, ivory black, 
 &c. All these colours are ground in oil of poppy, and 
 have the necessary consistence. 
 
 Sometimes, when colours are applied to strata of 
 paint, or to too recent sketches, the paint sinks, and 
 assumes a grey appearance, which conceals the real 
 colour of the tints. White of egg, beat up with a little 
 spirit of wine, and then applied with a clean dry sponge, 
 will restore their former lustre; but in all cases, with¬ 
 out excepting those even which require celerity of ex¬ 
 ecution, the painter who is desirous to ensure the dura¬ 
 bility of his work, will take care not to apply varnish 
 until the colours have become thoroughly dry, under 
 the white of egg, which will not be the case until the 
 end of a year. After this interval, the same sponge 
 which served to apply the white of egg, if dipped in a 
 little water* will remove it, under the form of a yellowish 
 
 4 
 
DIFFERENT KINDS OF PAINTING. 
 
 23 
 
 froth. As long as gentle friction with the sponge pro¬ 
 duces froth there is reason to conclude that the white 
 of egg is not entirely removed. 
 
 This intermediate application of white of egg, be¬ 
 tween the period when valuable paintings are finished 
 and that when they are varnished, is attended with two 
 advantages, as it defends the colours from the prejudicial 
 action of the air, and frees them from a yellowish tint 
 which arises from the oil, or perhaps from the colours 
 themselves. If these conditions be strictly observed, 
 the colours will appear under the varnish in all the 
 beauty and richness of their tints. Some of the English 
 painters, too anxious to receive the fruits of their com¬ 
 position, neglect these precautions. Several artists even 
 paint with varnish, and apply it with the colours. This 
 precipitate method gives brilliancy to their compositions 
 at the very moment of their being finished; but their 
 lustre is temporary, and of short duration. It renders 
 it impossible for them to clean their paintings ; which 
 are besides liable to crack and to lose their colour. In 
 a word, it is not uncommon to see an artist survive his 
 works, and to have nothing to expect from posterity. 
 
 It will be now desirable that the young artist should 
 become acquainted with the different kinds of 'paint¬ 
 ing which have been practised in various ages. Some 
 of these have been alluded to in the preceding part of 
 this Introduction; but w r e shall here present the reader 
 with the result of our researches on this curious as well 
 as useful subject. 
 
 Painting in Distemper is generally considered the 
 first kind of painting adopted by the ancients. Dis- 
 
24 
 
 DIFFERENT KINDS OF PAINTING. 
 
 temper was a sort of water colour painting, the ground 
 of which was whiting mixed with yolk of egg. The 
 vehicle employed for the colours was^a mixture of yolk 
 of egg with the milky juice expressed from the young 
 stalks of the fig-tree, except in the case of blue, or of 
 colours inclining to blue, on which occasion the vehicle 
 
 w'as common g 
 
 lue.' s In this process every colour was 
 
 used that was proper for any mode of painting. The 
 strongest size was always used in the last coating of 
 colours. There is, besides, reason for assuming that 
 such pictures were, at least in the time of Apelles, 
 varnished. 
 
 Painting in Fresco is performed on a ground of plas¬ 
 ter spread over a wall, or other surface, of which plaster 
 the artist puts on only so much as he can paint over 
 while it remains in a moist state : for if artificial means 
 be used to delay the drying, the colours become spotted 
 and imperfect when dry. The materials of painting in 
 fresco are also limited, as no pigment can be used that 
 will not bear the action of lime. Hence, although some 
 admirable paintings were formerly executed in fresco, 
 the extreme difficulty and nicety of such an art have 
 caused it to be laid aside. 
 
 Encaustic Painting has been sufficiently described 
 in page 4. 
 
 Painting in Oil scarcely needs to be described; it 
 consists in mixing the colouring material with either 
 linseed, nut, or poppy oil, &c. by finely levigating them 
 together, and applying the paint of a suitable consist¬ 
 ence to the cloth or other material to be painted. The 
 discovery of mixing oils with the colours for painting. 
 
DIFFERENT KINDS OF PAINTING. 
 
 25 
 
 is ascribed to John Van Eych, of Bruges, who died in 
 1441. The discovery soon spread over Europe, and 
 has ever since Jbeen the most usual mode in which 
 painters have chosen to depict their objects. Yet there 
 are some serious objections, nevertheless, to this mode 
 of painting; one of which is the constant tendency 
 which oil has to become discoloured by age, and hence 
 to alter the colours with which it is combined in the 
 painting ; indeed, Mr. Craig considers minting in 
 water colours, of which we have next to speak, as far 
 preferable to that in oil. It should be stated here, 
 that some of the earliest painters in oil laid on 
 their colours on red, or other dark grounds, so that 
 the subjects of their pictures have become scarcely dis¬ 
 cernible, while the productions of others who painted 
 thinly over a white ground remain to the present time, 
 with very small variation of the original colour. Hence 
 a white ground is of the utmost importance in paint¬ 
 ing. By white ground here is not to be understood a 
 snowy white, but rather the yellowish white which is 
 given to what is termed by the painter primed cloths , 
 and on which most oil paintings are now executed. 
 
 Painting in Water Colours , as now practised , had its 
 origin with Mr. Sandby, and so far as his principle has 
 been pursued, it is founded in the soundest deductions 
 of reason and philosophy. It consists, of course, in the 
 admixture of the colouring materials with some gummy 
 matter which is soluble in water, and then applied of a 
 suitable consistence to the ground, which, for water 
 colour painting, should be the pure surface of a fine 
 white paper. One of the principal objections to paper 
 
 c 
 
26 
 
 DIFFERENT KINDS OF PAINTING. 
 
 is its not being to be obtained in one piece of a size 
 sufficiently large for a large picture; and another, its 
 extreme frangibility. But it has been contended, never¬ 
 theless, that even Titian, and others, painted a part of 
 their pictures in distemper, and afterwards executed 
 the remainder in oil; and that water colour painting, 
 such as it is now understood and practised, is the most 
 permanent mode of painting at present known *. It is 
 not, however, our province to determine this question; 
 we must therefore proceed to notice, 
 
 Painting in Crayons. Crayon, the French name for 
 'pencil , is a solid substance, either natural or artificial, 
 adapted for making marks on paper or other materials. 
 Crayons for painting are, of course, formed of different 
 materials and of various colours. They were at first 
 called chalks, from chalk , itself a white crayon, and 
 serving as a basis of many other colours. Painting in 
 crayons has its admirers, and where the picture can be 
 kept dry it will continue for a long time to retain its 
 colour, although we do not think this style of painting 
 is one which will ever be greatly in request. Indeed it 
 is by many considered “ as transient and fleeting as 
 the flower of the field.” 
 
 Painting in Enamel consists in painting with metal¬ 
 line colours, ground, and used like other colours with 
 a pencil, then covering them with a powdered enamel, 
 which is vitrified by fire in a furnace. This art is very 
 
 * A paper on Printing in imitation of Coloured Drawings, by Mr. W 
 Savage , will be found in vol. 43, p. 67, of the Transactions of the Society of 
 Arts, which those interested in drawing should consult. It is not consistent 
 with the objects of this work to do more than notice that paper here.— Editor. 
 
COLOURS. 
 
 27 
 
 ancient, and appears to have been first practised on 
 earthenware. Pictures in enamel are still occasionally 
 painted ; but the art of enamelling is chiefly employed 
 in the embellishment of porcelain, and other earthen¬ 
 ware. Among modem painters in enamel Mr. Bone is 
 particularly distinguished. 
 
 Writers on the higher branches of painting, among 
 whom we may mention here Mr. Craig , to whose lec¬ 
 tures we have before alluded, usually consider the fol¬ 
 lowing as the Colours necessary to the painter : blue , 
 yellow , orange , red , purple , violet , and green ; to which 
 must be added black and white , although white implies, 
 in optics, the presence of, and black the absence of, 
 every colour. 
 
 Colours are also distinguished by the painter into 
 warm and cold. By warm colours are understood those 
 which attract and appear to approach the eye : they are 
 yellow , orange , and red , and such compounds as de¬ 
 cidedly incline to them. The cold colours are violet , blue , 
 and green , and such mixed colours as have blue for their 
 principle. Yet the three compound colours, as denomi¬ 
 nated optically, may be either warm or cold, as partak¬ 
 ing most of the red or yellow on one side, or of the 
 blue on the other. Hence, although our definitions of 
 warm and cold colours are true to a certain extent, they 
 are, nevertheless, liable to considerable modification. 
 
 To the colours have been attached emblematical 
 i significations; thus yellow has been understood to re¬ 
 present lustre and glory; red , power and love; blue , 
 
 C 2 
 
28 
 
 COLOURS. 
 
 divinity; purple, authority ; violet, humility ; and 
 green, servitude. 
 
 Colours are harmonized by their intermediate com¬ 
 pounds : red and yellow by orange; blue and yellow by 
 green ; and red and blue by purple or violet. Colours 
 may be contrasted, and even beautified, by placing 
 them on other colours of a compound nature, in which 
 one element is the same as the colour to be contrasted. 
 White suits well on any darkish-coloured ground, and 
 with any light one, except yellow and blue,both ofwhich 
 lose a great part of their brightness by the vicinity. 
 Light-yellow has much clearness and beauty on purple 
 and green ; light blue suits well on green, violet, and 
 yellow not very pale; light-green, inclining to yellow, 
 has a good effect on purple, violet, and blue; but red 
 upon red, purple upon red, or blue upon a darker blue, 
 should never be allowed, unless there be means of con¬ 
 trasting the upper colour so by some opposite one in 
 its neighbourhood, as to restore the degree of colour it 
 will seem to have lost by being placed on a darker tint 
 of its own kind. 
 
 But though the preceding directions constitute the 
 chief in regard to the disposing of his colours, which 
 the painter in the higher branches of his art may se¬ 
 curely follow, yet his subject must be so contrived that 
 near each colour there shall be introduced some small 
 portion of its opposite, that the value and true colour of 
 each may be made evident, without enforcing it so as 
 to injure the principle of harmony, which is above all 
 considerations to be studied. Thus, near white must 
 
HOUSE PAINTING. 
 
 29 
 
 be introduced some small portion of dark, or its white¬ 
 ness will not appear ; near orange or scarlet, parts that 
 have a tendency to blue, grey, or cool green ; near 
 purple, somewhat of yellowish green ; and near blue, 
 something inclining to orange, tawny, or red brown. 
 
 Having given in the preceding parts of this Introduc¬ 
 tion some historical sketches of the progress of the art 
 of painting, as well as some account of the theory of 
 light and colours, we will now descend from the superior 
 branches of the art to the humble, yet nevertheless more 
 useful and convenient, art of House Painting. 
 
 Here it may be observed, that many colouring bodies 
 which artists who paint pictures reject are, notwith¬ 
 standing, extensively employed by the house painter. 
 The changes which take place in the tone of colours do 
 not produce such important effects as in a painting, 
 where very often the least change in the tints destroys 
 the harmony, contradicts the rules of perspective, and 
 substitutes for the real tones of nature tones which are 
 absolutely foreign to it. 
 
 In the application of the colours which house painters, 
 &c. intend for varnish, the transition is insensible, be¬ 
 cause it is general. Nothing offends the eye which 
 becomes accustomed to that transition, which may even 
 deviate from the first tone; and if the effect no longer 
 appears to be the same, where remembrance recalls the 
 first moment when the painting possessed all its fresh¬ 
 ness, it however exhibits nothing disgusting. This 
 consideration is sufficient to authorize the use of more 
 common, and consequently less expensive colouring 
 
 c 3 
 
30 
 
 HOUSE PAINTING. 
 
 substances, in cases in which the artist has to supply 
 an extensive consumption. 
 
 It will be here useful to make a few observations on 
 the Laws of Harmonious Colouring adapted to House 
 Painting , and this we are enabled more effectually to 
 do, by reference to a very ingenious treatise on the sub¬ 
 ject published at Edinburgh a short time since by Mr. 
 D. R. Hay , who defines harmonious arrangement of 
 colours to be such combinations as, by certain prin¬ 
 ciples of our nature, produce on the sense, by which 
 they are perceived, the effects of pleasure or delight. 
 
 “ These combinations,” says Mr. Hay , “ which had 
 been previously recognized as the foundation of excel¬ 
 lence in colouring, long before any theory had been 
 advanced on the subject, received full confirmation, 
 from the phenomena discovered by Buffon , and illus¬ 
 trated by succeeding philosophers, to which he gave 
 the name of accidental colours , and which are ob¬ 
 served when the eye becomes fatigued by the con¬ 
 tinued action upon the retina of the light of any par¬ 
 ticular colour. 
 
 “ If we look steadily for a considerable time upon a 
 spot of any given colour, placed on a black or white 
 ground, it will appear surrounded with a border of 
 another colour. For instance, if a spot be red, a green 
 border will appear, and if we direct our eye to another 
 part of the white or black ground, we shall perceive a 
 green spot of the size and form of the red spot. This 
 is the accidental colour of red; and by this means 
 the accidental colour of every tint may be found. 
 
 “ The strength or intensity of a colour is therefore 
 
HOUSE PAINTING. 
 
 31 
 
 much increased by being placed near its contrasting or 
 accidental tint; and it will be observed that its value, in 
 reference to brilliancy, will not be in the ratio of its 
 actual strength or intensity, but will depend much for 
 its force and beauty on the manner in which it is 
 grouped or disposed in respect to the parts immediately 
 contrasted with it. Thus red derives peculiar clearness 
 from being contrasted with green—blue with orange— 
 yellow with purple; and their various mixtures and 
 compounds will be subject to the same laws. 
 
 “ In arranging the colour’s for an apartment, whether 
 a few or a great variety are to be employed, the effect 
 of the whole, as well as the several component parts, 
 will depend on the skilful arrangement, as pointed out 
 by the accidental or contrasting colours. But as the 
 direct union of two such opposite elements as any of 
 the prismatic or original colours with its contrasting 
 one, is harsh and unpleasant, a third is required to 
 make a full concord; this is called the harmonizing 
 colour , and will consist of the original, diluted with the 
 colour in the next weakest degree of brightness—thus 
 orange will form the harmonizing colour to yellow, red 
 to the orange, violet to red, &c. 
 
 “ But as harmony consists more in the media which 
 unite the several colours, than in the colours them¬ 
 selves, and as the greatest distinctions in nature are 
 reconciled by an imperceptible adjunct, it becomes 
 necessary, in completing the arrangement of colours for 
 an apartment, that a neutralizing colour, possessing 
 the properties of both contrast and harmony should be 
 introduced. This will always be found the most diffi- 
 
 C 4 
 
32 
 
 HOUSE PAINTING. 
 
 cult part; it is this which gives tone, keeping and 
 repose to the whole, and prevents that confusion which 
 an assemblage of parts of equal strength will always 
 produce. 
 
 “ An able writer attributes the inexpressibly pleasing 
 effect of the mode of house-painting practised by the 
 Italians to their knowledge of the rules of harmony 
 alone; and observes that their bold and vivid tints 
 melt into each other with all the skill and harmony of 
 a piece of brilliant music. This proficiency, he adds, 
 is not confined to the decoration of palaces, but is seen 
 in dwellings of a much humbler cast, and indeed in 
 general practice. 
 
 “ In the opinion of the same author, house-painting 
 might, with study and acquirement of correct taste, 
 and more extensive information, resume its rank as a 
 liberal art. 
 
 “ The house-painter’s styles must not only be as 
 various as the uses of the apartments which he de¬ 
 corates, but must vary according to the different tastes 
 of his employers. He must also take into consideration 
 not only the style of architecture, the situation, whether 
 in town or country, but the very rays by which each 
 apartment is lighted, and whether they proceed directly 
 from the sun, or are merely reflected from the northern 
 sky. He must confine himself to neither a vivid, 
 sombre, nor cold style of colouring; all must be 
 equally at his command, and, in all, the same strict 
 attention to harmony must be observed. 
 
 “ The house-painter has often another very serious 
 difficulty to encounter—a variety of highly and va- 
 
HOUSE PAINTING. 
 
 S3 
 
 riously coloured furniture is shown to him, to which 
 the colouring of the different parts of the room must be 
 suited. It is here that his powers of balancing, har¬ 
 monizing, and uniting are called forth; it is this which 
 obliges him, as Sir Joshua Reynolds says of the artist, 
 ever to hold a balance in his hand, by which he must 
 decide the value of different qualities, that when some 
 fault must be committed, he may choose the least. 
 
 “ In toning and harmonizing the colours in a pic¬ 
 ture, an artist has the assistance of light and shade, 
 and can make his shade accord with the tone in such a 
 manner as to improve the general harmony; but as the 
 house-painter’s colours are all liable to be placed in 
 full light, they must be toned in themselves, to prevent 
 that unnatural crudeness so annoying to the eye 
 
 In treating of the colours for house-painting indivi¬ 
 dually , Mr. Hay makes some very pertinent observa¬ 
 tions which are of considerable importance to the 
 painter, for which we cannot here find room, but must 
 refer the ingenious artist to the work itself. We may, 
 notwithstanding, observe, that he names ten colours as 
 those which are principally used, or from which are 
 compounded the numerous tints that we find prevail in 
 the different kinds of painting. Most of the colours 
 mentioned admit of almost an infinite variety of 
 shades; even of white have been named eight dif¬ 
 ferent tints, from the purest to that of French ivhite , 
 
 * The Laws of Harmonious Colouring adapted to House Painting , by D 
 R. Hay, of the firm of Nicholson and Hay, House Painters, Edinburgh.— 
 Edinburgh, printed for D. Lizars, 1828. 
 
 c 5 
 
34 
 
 HOUSE PAINTING. 
 
 which is, properly speaking, the lightest shade of purple. 
 Of red , too, besides scarlet , crimson , 'pink , and rose, 
 how many others exist ? Of yellows , greens , and blues 
 what an almost innumerable variety ! Indeed it has 
 been said that there are one hundred and ten standard 
 colours , and that their various tints and mixtures could 
 be multiplied to thirty thousand ! However we cannot 
 go into such details. But it will be, nevertheless, ex¬ 
 tremely convenient to give a tabular view of the chief 
 colours, and their contrasting and harmonizing colours, 
 as a guide to the young artist. For the facts we are 
 indebted to Mr. Hay's work ; the tabular arrangement 
 is our own. 
 
 t 
 
 Chief Colours. Contrasting Colours. Harmonizing Colours. 
 
 White .Black .. Light shade of Yellow. 
 
 „ _ _ . ( Orange, Pomona, or 
 
 Yellow .Deep Purple. £ Yellowish Green. 
 
 Orange .Intense Blue. Red. 
 
 Red (Scarlet).Intense Green. Crimson. 
 
 . ^ 
 
 Blue (ultramarine).. Orange.. Indigo. 
 
 Green. • Intense Red. Yellow. 
 
 Purple or Violet- • • • Yellow ... Crimson. 
 
 Black. .White 
 
 i 
 
 Light shade of Yellow 
 [Grey or Dove.] 
 
 Indigo is the medium between the deepest blue and violet. 
 
HOUSE PAINTING. 
 
 35 
 
 It must be admitted that, notwithstanding the pre¬ 
 ceding colours , with their contrasts and harmonizing 
 tints are, under all circumstances, the best that can be 
 mentioned, especially for house painting, yet the in¬ 
 genious artist will, doubtless, occasionally refer to what 
 is stated in regard to colours and their contrasts, when 
 applied to the higher branches of the art, in a pre¬ 
 ceding section. He cannot fail, besides, to observe, 
 that red is a very good contrast to white; that a grey 
 or dove colour harmonizes well with white or black, &c. 
 In truth, after all, considerable latitude is allowable in 
 the combination, contrast, and harmonization of co¬ 
 lours. No one can, nevertheless, for a moment doubt 
 that white and black are complete contrasts, and are 
 seen to the greatest advantage when placed in juxta¬ 
 position : the same may be said of many other colours. 
 
 We must now conclude these introductory observa¬ 
 tions. In the next chapter we shall describe the dif¬ 
 ferent substances which the painter employs. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 Descriptive account of the Earthy, Metallic, and 
 other mineral substances used in Painting, with a 
 detail of the processes employed to extract them, and 
 of the methods of preparing and modifying them. 
 
 The account given in our Treatise on Varnishes, of 
 the substances which enter into their composition, 
 must tend to regulate the application of them in a more 
 certain manner. The substances which are applied 
 to painting are much more numerous, and the pro¬ 
 cesses by which many of them are obtained, are more 
 varied, and require, therefore, in the painter his most 
 sedulous attention, in order that the best results from 
 his art may be obtained. 
 
 We have deemed it necessary to arrange the sub¬ 
 stances used in painting under three heads. In the 
 present chapter we shall treat of earthy, metallic , and 
 mineral substances; in the next of animal and ve¬ 
 getable colouring substances; and under the third 
 head we shall treat of the vehicles used for the colours 
 of paints, as well as of certain Gums, Glues, and Driers. 
 
 In regard to the colouring substances used in painting, 
 it may be mentioned generally, that in those earths or 
 other substances in which a red colour is predominant, 
 iron may be suspected as the basis of such colour; 
 there are, nevertheless, several exceptions to this, in- 
 
COLOURiNG SUBSTANCES. 
 
 37 
 
 stanced in red lead and vermilion , as well as the 
 vegetable and animal reds; although in the two last 
 named, many philosophers have attributed their colours 
 to the presence of iron finely attenuated. For some 
 time after the discovery of oxygen, it was supposed 
 that the red colour of the blood was owing to the iron 
 contained in it; but this opinion is not, at the present 
 time, generally entertained. 
 
 Many of the earths also owe their brown and yellow 
 colours to the presence of iron, instanced in the nu¬ 
 merous ochres and umbers; in dyeing, the most per¬ 
 manent buffs are produced by the intervention of iron 
 Yellow is besides obtained from lead , quicksilver , and 
 arsenic; as well as innumerable vegetable substances. 
 It may be noted, however, that the most permanent 
 colours are those obtained from earthy and metallic 
 substances. 
 
 Blue and Green colours, in natural pigments in par¬ 
 ticular, often indicate the presence of copper; yet we 
 find both blue and green produced by iron; blue also 
 by cobalt ; and the fine blue of ultramarine by some 
 colouring material not yet, perhaps, determined, al¬ 
 though it has been stated to be a particular combina¬ 
 tion of iron and sulphur. 
 
 The chief blacks are produced by incineration of 
 vegetable or animal matter, the basis of all such being, 
 of course, charcoal. But some blacks, not of a very in¬ 
 tense kind, are also obtained from minerals; these are 
 mostly sulphurets or oxides of some metal; an indif¬ 
 ferent charcoal is also obtained from the fuel called coal. 
 
 The whites are obtained either from the earths , 
 
38 
 
 COLOURING SUBSTANCES. 
 
 metallic oxides, metallic carbonates, or animal shells, 
 bones, fyc. 
 
 It is rather remarkable that no white matter, used as 
 a pigment is extracted from vegetables; it is true we 
 have the alkaline salts, many gums, and starch ; but 
 these may be considered as either ingredients in or 
 vehicles for other colouring matters. 
 
 In analysing, therefore, new substances offered to 
 the notice of the painter, it will be desirable to keep 
 the preceding observations in view, in order that our 
 analytical processes may be, in all probability, much 
 shortened, and the best results of our inquiries most 
 satisfactorily obtained *. 
 
 It is necessary also here to observe, in order to faci¬ 
 litate the knowledge of the terms used in this treatise, 
 that modern chemistry having attained the rank of an 
 exact science in many of its combinations, and espe¬ 
 cially of those substances used in painting, a know¬ 
 ledge of that science is extremely necessary for the 
 painter, in whatever department, who is desirous of 
 becoming a proficient in his art. It is not consistent 
 with the limits of this work to give an epitome of che¬ 
 mistry, but it may be nevertheless useful to state that 
 many of the preparations of lead, iron, Sac. used in 
 
 • Persons who desire to obtain a competent knowledge of Chemistry are 
 referred to those able modern writers who have treated with perspicuity and 
 talent on that science ; they are numerous, but Braude's and Thomson's Che¬ 
 mistry may be particularly mentioned, as well as lire's Chemical Dictionary, 
 and Berzelius on the Blow-pipe , translated, with the addition of valuable 
 notes by Mr. Children. Jennings's Family Cyclopaedia may be also men¬ 
 tioned as containing much useful chemical information. 
 
COLOURING SUBSTANCES. 
 
 39 
 
 painting, have now applied to them different names 
 from those which they formerly had, in consequence of 
 the component parts of those substances having been 
 correctly ascertained. 
 
 Thus red lead or minium is now called red oxide of 
 lead , it being found that it is a compound of lead and 
 oxygen; the term red is added to it to distinguish it 
 from other oxides of the same metal, possessing larger 
 or smaller portions of oxygen. White lead is now 
 called carbonate of lead , being composed of lead and 
 carbonic acid. Litharge , it should also be mentioned, 
 is an oxide of lead , but it contains less oxygen than 
 red lead. The process of obtaining most of the oxides 
 of metals was formerly called calcination , but now 
 more properly oxidation. This last term has, however, 
 a much more extensive meaning than calcination, 
 which implies a process carried on by the agency of 
 heat. Oxidation is often produced by heat; but it 
 also takes place in the ordinary temperature of the 
 atmosphere, and is exemplified in the rusting (i. e. 
 oxidation) of many of the metals: hence the rust 
 formed on metals, whether lead, copper, or iron, &c. is 
 an oxide produced by the metal absorbing oxygen 
 from the atmosphere. The rust of copper used for 
 producing a beautiful green in painting, formerly, and 
 now usually called verdigris , is, however, a sub-acetate 
 of copper; that is, copper combined with the acetic 
 acid, by a process well known in the wine countries, 
 where the acetic acid exists in the husks and stalks of 
 grapes after the juice is expressed from them. See the 
 preparations of copper , lead , iron , 
 
40 
 
 COLOURING SUBSTANCES. 
 
 The chief acids with which the painter has concern, 
 are the sulphuric acid , formerly called oil of vitriol; 
 the nitric acid, formerly called aquafortis ; muriatic 
 acid (the basis of which is chlorine) formerly spiri t of 
 salts; the acetic or pyrolignous acid , in a diluted state 
 called vinegar ; and the carbonic acid , called by its dis¬ 
 coverer, Dr. Black, fixed air; the base of this last is 
 carbon , or pure charcoal , which, united to oxygen, 
 forms that gaseous acid so universally known in all 
 kinds of fermented liquors. 
 
 The sulphuric acid (consisting of sulphur and 
 oocygen), combines with various bodies, forming sul¬ 
 phates; it is found abundantly combined in nature 
 with almost innumerable substances. With lime it 
 forms gypsum , so well known; alabaster is also one of 
 the forms of sulphate of lime; white chalk , marble , 
 and other lime stones are carbonates of lime. Sul¬ 
 phuric acid combines also with many of the metals, 
 forming likewise sulphates; thus green copperas, pro¬ 
 perly sulphate of iron, is a combination of iron and 
 sulphuric acid; blue copperas is a combination of 
 copper and the same acid, and now called sulphate of 
 copper; white copperas is composed of zinc and the 
 same acid, and now called sulphate of zinc; while 
 sugar of lead is composed of lead and the acetic acid, 
 and hence more properly denominated acetate of lead. 
 The other acids mentioned also combine with many of 
 the metals and other bodies, forming respectively 
 nitrates, muriates, &c. &c. 
 
 The combinations of sulphur with many bodies, 
 without being previously converted into an acid, are 
 
 4 
 
COLOURING SUBSTANCES. 
 
 41 
 
 called sulpliurets. It is found in nature thus com¬ 
 bined with many metals. Galena , the ore whence the 
 greater part of the lead of commerce is obtained, is a 
 sulphuret of lead. Native cinnabar is a sulphuret of 
 mercury , and is the chief ore whence quicksilver or 
 mercury is obtained. Sulphur may be artificially com¬ 
 bined with some metals, forming sulphurets; thus 
 quicksilver poured into melted sulphur combines with 
 it, forming a reddish black mass, which, being sub¬ 
 limed, becomes the factitious cinnabar of the shops, 
 properly red sulphuret of mercury; this, being finely 
 levigated, becomes the vermilion , so well known to the 
 painter. 
 
 It should be noted, in concluding these chemical 
 preliminaries, that some gases affect the colours, and 
 more especially the more delicate colours of paints, 
 much more than others, although w r e are not in pos¬ 
 session of sufficient data to give rules on this subject; 
 nor can we name all the gases which are more imme¬ 
 diately injurious to colours. 
 
 It is a curious fact, that when white lead is exposed 
 to the vapours of sulphuretted hydrogen , it becomes 
 black, being converted into a sulphuret. This white 
 pigment, employed with oil, and covered with varnish, 
 which excludes the air, may however be preserved for 
 many hundred years, as the paintings of the fifteenth 
 century prove. When the varnish is abraded or de¬ 
 cayed, the whites of ceruse are apt to contract black 
 specks and spots, which ruin fine paintings: minia¬ 
 tures, in water colours, are frequently injured in the 
 same way. 
 
42 
 
 COLOURING SUBSTANCES. 
 
 M. Thenard having turned his attention to these 
 facts, discovered, a few years since, that water, 
 which he calls oxygenated water , that is, water having 
 six times its usual volume of oxygen, on being applied 
 to a fine picture of Raphael, spotted black, removed 
 the stains, as if by enchantment, without affecting the 
 other colours in the slightest degree. 
 
 Hence it is also concluded, that white paint, of 
 which lead is the basis, so soon turns yellow in 
 crowded cities, in consequence of the atmosphere in 
 such cities being highly impregnated with sulphu¬ 
 retted hydrogen. In corroboration of this, it may be 
 also observed, that, in the open country, and in the 
 open air, free from the contamination of smoke, 
 white lead paint becomes -even whiter by exposure 
 to air. 
 
 Besides the effect of air on paint, its colours are more 
 or less affected by the presence or absence of light; 
 and although varnish excludes air, the painting is still, of 
 course, more or less pervious to light, which occasion¬ 
 ally alters the colours of even varnished pictures. In 
 what the affections of light on colours consist does not 
 appear to be accurately known; but that light does, in 
 very many instances, alter the colours of paint, is 
 proved beyond dispute. 
 
 Whatever be the causes of the discolouration of 
 paint, the subject is highly deserving the attention of 
 the ingenious painter, and more especially of him who 
 is engaged in the higher branches of the art; and not¬ 
 withstanding his colours are often protected from the 
 immediate contact of air by a varnish. 
 
BOUGIVAL WHITE. 
 
 4 3 
 
 On the chief Whites used as Pigments. 
 
 As whites are pigments which constitute the bases 
 of many other colours, as well as forming, with oil and 
 other vehicles, important pigments of themselves, we 
 shall first treat of the chief substances which are usu¬ 
 ally employed for white , although not exactly in the 
 order which we have prescribed in this chapter. 
 
 Bougival White. 
 
 Painters often employ white substances for grounds. 
 White lead is distinguished by great durability. It 
 forms an excellent priming, proper for receiving other 
 colours ; but there are a great many cases, particularly 
 in painting in distemper, which admit the use of a 
 more common and less expensive white, such as that 
 of Bougival, Spanish white, white of Troye, &c. 
 
 Bougival white takes its name from the place whence 
 it is extracted, near Marly, a few leagues from Paris. 
 It is a very fine marly earth. Normandy, Auvergne, 
 and many other districts, contain beds of a white 
 earthy matter, commonly known as tobacco-pipe clay. 
 This earth, when very white, is much better for house¬ 
 painting than earth of a calcareous nature, such as 
 chalk. The celebrated Wedge wood, whose manufac¬ 
 tory of earthemware equals the finest porcelain, was 
 exceedingly nice in his choice of this clay, some of 
 which he obtained from Normandy. But the same 
 nicety is not necessary in painting. Body and white¬ 
 ness are the principal characters required. Bougival 
 
44 
 
 CREMNITZ WHITE. 
 
 white, if not a pure clay, possesses that whiteness 
 which assigns it a conspicuous place in the order of 
 colouring bodies. 
 
 It is sold in oblong cakes, into which it is cut, after 
 the small stones and sand mixed with it have been 
 separated by washing. 
 
 Washed chalk is often substituted for it, but it is 
 easy to detect the fraud. Washed chalk gives less 
 body to painting than clay, and does not unite so well 
 'with oil when applied to that kind of painting. 
 
 According to some experiments made with Bougival 
 white, from Marly, it contains nearly one-third of 
 chalk. This mixture renders it inferior in oil painting 
 to real Spanish white, and to white of Moudon. 
 
 Cremnitz White. 
 
 The composition of Cremnitz white seems still to be 
 very uncertain. Three substances, which have nothing 
 in common but the name given to them, are sold under 
 this denomination. Expeiiments made with specimens 
 obtained from different colourmen, did not justify the 
 opinion that this white is merely oxide of tin; in 
 several was found oxide of bismuth; and in two par¬ 
 ticular cases carbonate of lead. It did not appear that 
 any of them contained oxide of tin. 
 
 Two of these specimens seemed to be mixed with a 
 great deal of chalk. The Cremnitz white, which con¬ 
 tained this mixture, was in cakes of about two or three 
 inches square, and different in thickness; but it never 
 exceeded an inch. 
 
 Cremnitz white, made with bismuth oxidated by 
 
CREMNITZ AND BRIAN£ON WHITES. 45 
 
 means of nitrous acid, or in any other manner, pos¬ 
 sesses no advantage over that which has lead for its 
 basis. It is more liable to be altered by the action of 
 the light, and of the vapours which arise from stagnant 
 water, privies, &c. 
 
 Another Cremnitz White. 
 
 The following is a beautiful pearl white: 
 
 Take the oxide resulting from the rapid solution of 
 tin in nitric acid, to which add a fourth part of oxide 
 of zinc, and an eighth of white clay, extracted from 
 Briangon chalk washed in distilled vinegar. (See 
 below). This mixture, when thoroughly washed, dried 
 and sifted through a silk sieve, gives a very white 
 powder of a mean gravity; and so secure from all 
 changes effected by the action of the light and of va¬ 
 pours, that no composition of this kind can be com¬ 
 pared to it. It is certainly too expensive for house 
 painting; but it may be useful for objects which require 
 other processes than those employed in common. It 
 would, no doubt, be attended with great advantage in 
 painting pictures. 
 
 Were it necessary to substitute any other metallic 
 substance, lead ought to be preferred to bismuth. 
 
 To prepare Briangon White. 
 
 Select the whitest specimens, and rasp them with a 
 piece of the skin of the sea-dog. Put the powder into 
 a jar, with a quart of good vinegar for every pound of 
 the powder : stir the mixture daily for two weeks, and 
 decant the vinegar without agitating the deposit : then 
 
46 
 
 SPANISH WHITE. 
 
 pour clean water over the deposit, and, having stirred 
 it, throw the whole upon a filter, by which means the 
 water of the first washing will be separated. Continue 
 to pour more water over the sediment on the filter, till 
 the w^ater which passes is found to be insipid. Then 
 spread out the filter with the sediment on a hair sieve, 
 sheltered from dust, and dry it till it appears under the 
 form of a white powder. The vinegar here separates 
 from this argillaceous matter all the soluble parts, which 
 might alter its unctuosity; and particularly the ferru¬ 
 ginous particles which are often mixed with it. 
 
 The division of Briancon chalk-may be effected by 
 pounding it in water, which must be frequently de¬ 
 canted when it contains only the fine parts. 
 
 Spanish White. 
 
 Spanish white is a pure clay, which may be washed 
 in vinegar to separate such calcareous parts as are 
 mixed with it. But this process ought to be employed 
 only in particular cases, when it is necessary to have it 
 exceedingly pure. Its argillaceous nature contributes 
 to the solidity of the ground, when it is employed in oil 
 painting or for varnish. It acquires body; but in these 
 cases it must be used very dry, like all other earths. 
 When moist, their union with oil and varnish is im¬ 
 perfect : they granulate under the brush. 
 
 Rolls of washed chalk, which possess none of the 
 qualities required in Spanish white, are often sold in 
 the shops under the same denomination. 
 
 The difference, however, between real Spanish white 
 and the chalk attempted to be sold in its stead, may be 
 
GYPSUM. 
 
 47 
 
 easily ascertained. Nothing is necessary but to pour 
 upon the specimen a few drops of nitric acid or strong 
 vinegar. If the Spanish white be pure, there will be 
 no effervescence ; if an effervescence takes place, it is 
 owing to a mixture of chalk. In this case, take some 
 small fragments of the white and immerse them in half 
 a glass of vinegar: if they disappear entirely with effer¬ 
 vescence, the whole is calcareous ; if any part remains, 
 it will be argillaceous. The quantities of each of these 
 earths may then be estimated merely by the eye. 
 
 Gypsum , or Sulphate of Lime. 
 
 Gypsum, or sulphate of lime , is a genus of calca¬ 
 reous earths, consisting of several species. The chief 
 of which are alabaster and plaster of Paris. When 
 deprived of its water of crystallization, either by being 
 powdered and boiled alone in an iron vessel, or baked 
 in an oven, or calcined in an open fire, it is exceedingly 
 useful in the arts. In this state it is employed in 
 building, and in decorations for apartments. It is 
 often used also with success in agriculture. 
 
 Plaster of Paris , as prepared gypsum is usually 
 called, when mixed with water, in order to be cast in 
 moulds, is subject to certain rules. To give it a proper 
 consistence, the water wdiich it has lost by calcination 
 is sufficient. If too large a quantity be added, it 
 weakens its force, prevents it from acquiring body, and 
 renders it what is called drowned plaster. 
 
 In preparing it to be employed as a white colour in 
 house-painting, it ought to be mixed w T ith a great deal 
 of water. This superabundance of liquid keeps all its 
 
48 
 
 ARTIFICIAL SULPHATE OF LIME. 
 
 parts separated, and favours the required division. 
 When divided in this manner, it forms a very valuable 
 article for whitewashing apartments, and for painting 
 in distemper. 
 
 The last operation is very simple. When diluted 
 with a great deal of water, stir the mass with a broom, 
 and suffer the powder to be precipitated. Decant the 
 supernatant water as soon as it is clear ; then wash the 
 matter a second time, and dry the sediment after the 
 liquor has been poured off. 
 
 This wdiite is exceedingly fine, and more delicate 
 than that of chalk when the calcined gypsum is pure ; 
 that is to say, without any mixture of clay. 
 
 Plasterers do not hesitate to substitute this substance 
 in the room of white lead, wdiich is not superior in 
 beauty, but which is more durable and dearer. When 
 too thick a coating is applied, it rises in scales, which 
 is not the case when white lead is employed. 
 
 Artificial Sulphate of Lime. 
 
 Put eight pounds of rock lime into a four-gallon pan; 
 pom* water upon it by degrees till it falls into powder; 
 fill the pan with water, and let the lime be well mixed 
 with it; when it has subsided for a minute, place a 
 fine hair sieve on the top of a cask sufficiently large, 
 and pass the thin part of the mixture through it; add 
 more water to the lime in the pan, mix well, and pour 
 the more liquid part as before through the sieve. This 
 process is to be repeated till six gallons of the mixture 
 are obtained. Into another cask put eight pounds of 
 alum and six gallons of water; when the alum is dis- 
 
WHITE OF MOUDON. 
 
 49 
 
 solved, pour the solution into the mixture of lime, 
 which must be stirred well with a wooden spatula for 
 half an hour; let it remain for three hours, and then 
 stir it again. The next morning it will be fit for use. 
 If too thick, water must be added : it should be about 
 the consistence of thick cream. See Vanherman's 
 House Painter, page 17. 
 
 This preparation is sometimes called satin~white , 
 and is used chiefly by paper stainers. 
 
 Although this is called artificial sulphate of lime , the 
 chemical artist must not forget that alum is composed 
 of alumina, potash, and sulphuric acid; and as, in the 
 above process, no means are taken to separate the 
 potash and alumina, the mixture not only contains sul¬ 
 phate of lime , but also alumina and potash. 
 
 White of Moudon or of Morat, 
 
 Is obtained from the Pays-de-Vaud, in Switzerland; 
 it is an argentine, silky white, of an exceedingly fine 
 grain. The names are given to it, because the place 
 where it is extracted is in the neighbourhood of Moudon 
 and Morat. It is a real Spanish white, a pure clay, 
 which is employed with success in our manufactories of 
 paper-hangings. Our druggists often sell it as an ab¬ 
 sorbing earth, under the name of nitrous panacea, and 
 even under that of magnesia; though it stands the 
 action of acids without giving the least signs of effer¬ 
 vescence. This earth would^afford a great resource to 
 a manufactory of white lead: when united to that 
 oxide, it forms, in oil painting, pearl or dark greys, 
 which are durable, and possess great lustre, 
 
 D 
 
50 
 
 WHITE LEAD. 
 
 White Lead , or Carbonate of Lead. 
 
 Lead, when in the state of an oxide, or as a white 
 carbonate, has the peculiar property of combining with 
 the fixed oils, with which it forms an indurated sub¬ 
 stance, which resists the action of the atmosphere, and 
 tends admirably to preserve the materials over which it 
 is laid. White lead has been therefore long used as 
 one of the chief pigments. It is unfortunately of a 
 very poisonous nature : and although many attempts 
 have been made to supply an article equally useful, 
 without such deleterious qualities, they have not been 
 hitherto successful. 
 
 White lead , carbonate of lead , or' ceruse , as it was 
 formerly called, is prepared in the large way, by ex¬ 
 posing sheet lead to the action of the vapour of vi¬ 
 negar. 
 
 It is found in the shops in the form of a heavy white 
 powder, interspersed with occasional lumps; it is in¬ 
 soluble in water. It is often adulterated with chalk, 
 which may be discovered by pouring distilled vinegar 
 on the suspected carbonate, and then adding oxalic 
 acid to the solution. The formation of a precipitate 
 proves the presence of the chalk. 
 
 Flake white appears to be merely carbonate of lead, 
 rendered more pure by being washed, and levigated 
 with water, and formed into drops by being passed 
 through a funnel, and laid on chalk to dry. It may be 
 however made, by dissolving litharge in diluted nitrous 
 acid, and adding prepared chalk to the solution. 
 
 White lead is obtained by different processes; the 
 following is considered one of the best. 
 
WHITE LEAD. 
 
 51 
 
 Sheets of lead about two feet long, five inches broad, 
 and a quarter of an inch thick, are rolled up in loose 
 coils, and placed in earthern pots, each capable of 
 holding six pints of fluid, but into it as much vinegar 
 only is poured as will rise so high as not to touch the 
 lead, which rests on a ledge half way down. The pots 
 are then buried in fresh stable litter, where they remain 
 for about two months, during which time the vapours of 
 the vinegar, elevated by the heat of the dung, oxidize 
 the surface of the lead, and the oxide combines with 
 the carbonic acid gas evolved from the fermenting ma¬ 
 terials of the bed. The carbonate appears as a white 
 scaly brittle matter on the surface of the lead, and 
 is separated by spreading the coils upon a perforated 
 wooden floor, covered with water, and drawing them to 
 and fro by rakes, which process detaches the white lead, 
 and causes it to sink through the water and the holes of 
 the floor to the bottom of a vessel placed below. It is 
 afterwards ground in mills with water, and then dried 
 in earthern pans, placed in stoves. It was formerly 
 ground dry, by which method, from its deleterious 
 nature, the workmen suffered severely. 
 
 To obtain white lead of a very fine quality, it ought 
 to be levigated several times. It is sometimes pre¬ 
 served for delicate purposes under water, in glass 
 vessels; but it is, nevertheless, more commonly to be 
 obtained as flake white , or in the still more common 
 form as above described. 
 
 Mr. John Sadler obtained a patent, in 1821, the 
 process described in which, for obtaining white lead, 
 consists in decomposing the subacetate of lead, com- 
 
 d 2 
 
52 
 
 WHITE LEAD. 
 
 monly called Goulard's extract, by submitting it to the 
 action of carbonic acid, either in closed or open vessels, 
 when a precipitate is formed, which is the carbonate of 
 lead, or white lead. This precipitate is separated and 
 dried in the same way as white lead is usually treated. 
 Whether, upon the whole, this be a preferable method 
 to the common ones now in use, we do not particularly 
 know, but we presume it must be, or a patent would 
 not have been obtained for it. Yet we do not exactly 
 comprehend how a subacetate can be decomposed by 
 the weaker acid—the carbonic ; and can scarcely think 
 agitation alone equal to the effects said to be produced. 
 Is all the process specified ? 
 
 Another patent for the manufacture of white lead by 
 the agency of steam, was obtained by Mr. John Ham, 
 of Bristol, in 1826. We think this deserving the notice 
 of the manufacturer; but our limits prevent detail. 
 See Journal of Arts, vol. xiv. p. 90. 
 
 As the preparation of white lead is of considerable 
 importance, we cannot omit a notice of one other 
 patent obtained by Mr. Groves, in 1826, for converting 
 sulphuret of lead, commonly called lead ore, into white 
 lead, by the agency of nitrate of potash and sulphuric 
 acid. From the specification, as described in the 
 Journal of Arts, vol. xiv. page 369, and from the con¬ 
 centrated sulphuric acid employed, we are obliged to 
 consider this preparation a sulphate, and not a car¬ 
 bonate of lead ; and we are not prepared to state that a 
 sulphate of lead is equally useful as a pigment with the 
 carbonate. Indeed, from the strong attraction which 
 the sulphuric acid has for almost all bases with which 
 
ROUEN WHITE,—CARBONATE OF LIME. 53 
 
 it is combined, we should say, a priori, that no sul¬ 
 phate is so likely to form a good oil pigment as a car¬ 
 bonate. To the inquirer in regard to pigments, it 
 may be useful to know that native sulphate of lead is 
 found in Anglesea, Cornwall, and in Scotland, crystal¬ 
 lized in prisms and octoedra. For other preparations 
 of lead, see forwards. 
 
 Rouen White. 
 
 Rouen white is a marl, consisting of clay and car¬ 
 bonate of lime. It is obtained pure, by mixing the 
 marl with water, to separate from it the sandy or coarse 
 particles. The water is decanted, while still turbid 
 with the lightest matter, which forms a sediment by 
 rest. When this deposit has acquired the consistence 
 of a paste, it is taken out, and divided into small 
 masses of about a pound weight each. 
 
 The mixture of chalk with clay renders the latter 
 less fit than if pure for painting in oil, or for varnish. 
 This white, however, is better for that purpose than the 
 white of Troyes. 
 
 White Chalk or friable Carbonate of Lime, White 
 of Troyes, Whiting. 
 
 All these substances are carbonates of lime. They 
 are often mixed with impurities, from which they are 
 freed, as already described under Rouen white. 
 
 Chalk is well known to every one; it abounds in the 
 eastern and southern districts of this country. When 
 levigated and washed, it is called whiting, which is 
 found in the shops in powder, in lumps, and sometimes 
 
 d 3 
 
54 
 
 CARBONATE OF LIME. 
 
 in balls. Troyes white is sold in large square cakes, 
 weighing ten or twelve pounds each, and in rolls and 
 cylinders of from sixteen to twenty ounces. It is cut 
 also into long square sticks, to give it the appearance 
 of tobacco-pipe clay, none of the qualities of which it 
 possesses. This is a fraud which may be easily de¬ 
 tected by means of strong vinegar, which, with chalk, 
 produces an effervescence; but which has no action on 
 tobacco-pipe clay, nor on real Spanish white. 
 
 The use of chalk for the common white-washing of 
 apartments is generally prevalent; but gypsum is far 
 superior. It serves also for different grounds, either 
 coloured or not, which are applied in distemper. It is 
 rendered more durable by being mixed up with size. 
 But if it be employed as priming, intended to receive 
 colouring parts, the washing it is subjected to in the 
 manufactories is not sufficient: it must be made to 
 undergo the same operation a second time, when not 
 separated from those parts which escape washing on 
 too large a scale. The application of it in the prepa¬ 
 ration of paper-hangings, is prejudicial to certain 
 colours, and particularly to Prussian blue. Chalk, 
 carefully washed, is not attended with the inconve¬ 
 nience of altering and destroying the colours. 
 
 Carbonate of lime of every kind is proper only for 
 painting in distemper ; with oil and varnishes it becomes 
 brown; and with the latter it has the inconvenience of 
 splitting. Besides, it is not fit for priming, like clay 
 mixed with a little white lead. Colours which contain 
 chalk have no lustre, and they are not durable, even 
 though the chalk be mixed with a little white lead. 
 
PREPARATIONS OF ZINC. 
 
 Oxide of zinc , or flowers of zinc. 
 
 The discovery of a white colour, unalterable by the 
 action of oil, light, and vapour, has long been a desi¬ 
 deratum to painters. All the known compositions of 
 this kind were attended with the inconvenience of 
 assuming, after a certain period, tints different from 
 those which the artist was desirous of fixing. A 
 brownish or yellowish appearance destroyed the effect, 
 and left the painter very far short of what he intended. 
 
 Guyton de Morveau suggested oxide of zinc as a 
 substitute for white lead and the oxide of bismuth. 
 But, nevertheless, the use of this article as a pigment 
 has not been hitherto much adopted. 
 
 It is obtained by fusing zinc in an earthein tube 
 placed obliquely in a furnace. The metal soon in¬ 
 flames, and emits thick white fumes, wdiich are con¬ 
 verted into white flakes that adhere to the sides of 
 the tube, and are called flowers or oxide of zinc. 
 
 If the zinc contain iron, the oxide will be of an 
 orange-yellow colour: the metal is purified by throw¬ 
 ing into it, while in fusion, a small portion of the 
 flowers of sulphur. 
 
 The following is Vanlierman's mode of obtaining the 
 oxide of zinc. 
 
 Put zinc into a large deep crucible, placed in a fur¬ 
 nace, and inclining to an angle of forty-five degrees, 
 and having a cover to shut up occasionally, to increase 
 the fusion; when the metal is melted, take off the 
 cover, and stir the mass with an iron rod, when, if the 
 heat be sufficient, on the contact of air, a crust will be 
 formed, which must be removed, by scraping into a 
 
 d 4 
 
56 
 
 PREPARATIONS OF ZINC. 
 
 pan, placed in front of the crucible. Stir the melted 
 matter again, and a crust will again be formed : thus 
 proceed till all the metal is converted into oxide. 
 
 The dearness of zinc, as compared with lead, h&s 
 hitherto prevented the use of this article as a pigment; 
 and although, if cheaper, from its comparative harm¬ 
 lessness it would no doubt be more employed, yet we 
 very much question whether, were it even cheaper than 
 lead, it would supersede the use of that valuable yet 
 pernicious pigment: for we believe that no substance 
 has been yet discovered which enters into such in¬ 
 timate union with expressed oils as lead. 
 
 In order to obtain the oxide of zinc pure, it should 
 be washed with water in a similar why to that which 
 we have directed for the purification of some of the 
 earths, namely, by mixing it with water, suffering it to 
 remain a short time, till the grosser particles have sub¬ 
 sided, and then pouring off the supernatant liquid, 
 containing the fine impalpable oxide which will subside 
 to the bottom, when removed to another vessel. The 
 oxide may be dried on chalk stones, and afterwards 
 ground with linseed oil in a similar way to that of 
 grinding white lead. 
 
 Sulphate of Zinc , or White Vitriol. 
 
 Sulphate of zinc , white vitriol, or white copperas , is 
 a combination of the sulphuric acid and zinc. 
 
 This article is prepared in Germany by roasting 
 blende or sulphuret of zinc, and afterwards exposing it 
 to the air, when the sulphur attracts oxygen, and is con¬ 
 verted into sulphuric acid ; the metal being at the same 
 
BARYTA. 
 
 57 
 
 time oxidized, combines with the acid. After some 
 time the sulphate is extracted by solution in water; 
 the solution being evaporated, the mass is run into 
 moulds. Thus prepared, the white vitriol of commerce 
 generally contains a small portion of iron, sometimes 
 of lead. Sulphate of zinc is now, we believe, pre¬ 
 pared also in the large way in this country from the 
 ores of zinc with which some parts of this country 
 abound, particularly the Mendip hills, in Somerset¬ 
 shire. If, however, this article be desired perfectly 
 pure, it may be made by dissolving metallic zinc in a 
 weak solution of sulphuric acid in water; and, after 
 the effervescence is over, filtering the solution, and 
 boiling it till a pejlicle begins to form on the surface, 
 when it should be set by to crystallize. But such pure 
 sulphate of zinc is rarely if ever required in painting. 
 
 Sulphate of zinc is used chiefly as a drier when 
 mixed in small quantity with oil paints : it is not, how¬ 
 ever, calculated for white, and other delicate colours, it 
 being apt to deteriorate the colour. But it may be 
 nevertheless advantageously used to increase the drying 
 quality of oxide of zinc when ground in oil, as well as 
 for many of the earthy dark-coloured paints. 
 
 Baryta. 
 
 Baryta , barytes, ponderous spar, or heavy earth, 
 is a natural product not uncommon in this country. It 
 is found most usually combined with either the sul¬ 
 phuric or carbonic acid, forming with them a sulphate 
 or carbonate respectively. 
 
 Sulphate of barytes, or cawk, is inodorous and in- 
 
 d 5 
 
58 
 
 SULPHATE OF BARYTES* 
 
 sipid, yet poisonous. Its colour is white, with shades 
 of yellow, red, blue, and brown; it is transparent, semi¬ 
 transparent, or only translucent; it is hard, brittle, and 
 heavy, its specific gravity being 4.7. It breaks with a 
 straight foliated structure; the fragments are shining 
 and pearly. At a high temperature it fuses into a white 
 enamel, and was used by Wedge wood in the manufac¬ 
 ture of jasper ware. 
 
 Mr. William Duesbury , of Bosel, Derbyshire, ob¬ 
 tained in 1825 a patent for the purification of impure 
 native sulphate of barytes, from its colouring matters, 
 so as to render it equally fit for the purpose of the arts 
 to which the white sulphate of baTytes is usually ap¬ 
 plied. The process is described in vol. xii. page 288 
 of the Journal of Arts. The patentee describes this 
 article as being a substitute for white lead ; but that it 
 is more particularly applicable to water than to oil; on 
 walls in distemper, as grounds for washes, and in the 
 patterns of printed paper hangings—in all these it is 
 found to be a constant white. 
 
 The carbonate of barytes , although inodorous and 
 insipid, is highly poisonous. Its colour is white, or 
 yellowish grey; it is translucent, with a shining, some¬ 
 what resinous lustre; its specific gravity is 4.33. Like 
 the sulphate, it may be fused into a white enamel by 
 the blow-pipe, and dissolves in diluted nitric acid. 
 
 It has been found in large quantities near Murton in 
 Cumberland, and also at a lead mine near Minsterly in 
 Shropshire. It is sometimes called Cocks' comb spar. 
 
 According to Mr. Brande, artificial sulphate of 
 barytes is used as a pigment, under the name of perma- 
 
CARBONATE OF BARYTES. 59 
 
 nent white. Mr. Vanherman, a practical painter, says 
 that the natural sulphate acts on gums and mucilages, 
 and changes the whiteness. He therefore recommends 
 the carbonate. Both may, however, be right, as it is 
 very possible that the natural sulphate contains some 
 matter which is injurious, to its whiteness, and from 
 which the artificial sulphate may be free. (See the 
 notice of Duesbury's patent above). 
 
 Mr. Vanlierman directs the natural carbonate of 
 barytes to be thus prepared : 
 
 The spar is first reduced to powder under iron 
 stampers, and ground under the stone on edge in water, 
 the fine particles being made to pass, as the grinding 
 goes on, into a back, about three-fourths full of water, 
 attached to the trough of the edge stone by a pipe with 
 a brass cock. There must be a second back, communi¬ 
 cating by a pipe with the first, into which the barytes 
 is left to precipitate; when a sufficient quantity is col¬ 
 lected, it is to be put out on chalk stones, and thence to 
 a stove or other place to be dried. 
 
 This preparation, as a^water-white for ceilings, does 
 not require grinding ; but for miniature painting it 
 should be levigated and washed over, and then mixed 
 with gum water. If made into cakes, like other water 
 colours, it would be an acquisition to the colour-box. 
 
 Vanherman calls this article Album perpetuus , and 
 says that it is the only article yet discovered that re¬ 
 tains a durable white as a water colour. 
 
 As oil paint it is not desirable, except as a stone 
 colour, or mixed with white lead ground in oil, in the 
 proportion of three-fourths of the latter to one of the 
 
 d 6 
 
60 
 
 LIME. 
 
 former, which is a good second for priming and second 
 colouring. In this respect it does not, however, appear 
 to be superior to many other of the simple earths, as it 
 does not combine with oil like the preparations of 
 lead. 
 
 The water-colour painter should not forget that car¬ 
 bonate of barytes is a deadly poison, and that the pen¬ 
 cils imbued with it ought not to be put into the mouth. 
 
 In addition to the various whites which we have 
 described, a few others must be also mentioned, which 
 are occasionally used in some of the processes of 
 painting. 
 
 Lime. 
 
 Pure or caustic lime, called in common language 
 quick-lime , rarely enters into the composition of paints; 
 but some kinds of lime, obtained from hard and com¬ 
 pact lime-stone, are excellent for the white-washing of 
 cielings, being merely slacked by water and then made 
 into a thin pap, and laid on with a proper brush. It is 
 true, in the neighbourhood of London, as such lime is 
 not plentiful, it is usual to employ whiting , that is, 
 levigated and washed chalk, with size, for such pur¬ 
 poses ; but there is a dulness about such colours. Lime 
 made from compact lime-stone, and properly selected, 
 produces a much more lively and brilliant white. We 
 may just add, that for most purposes of chemical com¬ 
 bination with metallic solutions, where colour is of con¬ 
 sequence, lime from lime-stone will, in general, be found 
 superior to lime from chalk: we may also state, that 
 mortar made with the lime obtained from good lime- 
 
OXIDE OF BISMUTH—PEARL WHITE. 
 
 61 
 
 stone, will always be found superior to that made with 
 chalk. 
 
 Pearl White , or Oxide of Bismuth . 
 
 The nitric acid dissolves bismuth (a reddish white 
 metal somewhat harder than lead, and of the specific 
 gravity of 9.85. It is found in Cornwall, and in various 
 other parts of Europe) very quickly, and the solution 
 being evaporated affords crystals; these being dissolved 
 in water render that fluid milky, and a white precipi¬ 
 tate is produced, which is an oxide of bismuth, or ma- 
 gistery of bismuth , as it was formerly called. This pig¬ 
 ment is used chiefly as a paint by the ladies for the 
 skin, the use of which however we cannot recommend. 
 Such preparations of bismuth are liable to be turned 
 black by sulphuretted hydrogen: hence, as water colours, 
 when exposed to the air, in towns particularly, they 
 tarnish. 
 
 A pearl white is also sometimes made from finely 
 pulverized oyster-shells, cleared, of course, from their 
 sordes. Another may be also made from egg-shells. 
 
 We may just mention that from all the shells of fish, 
 as well as from egg-shells, can be obtained, by calcina¬ 
 tion in a strong fire, a very good, and in many cases a 
 very useful quick-lime. 
 
 It should be observed of lime, as well as of chalk, oys¬ 
 ter-shells and egg-shells , when used as paints, whether 
 calcined or not, that when mixed with metallic, and many 
 other salts, they frequently decompose them, and often 
 destroy their colours; care should therefore be taken to 
 avoid such mixtures. 
 
62 
 
 PREPARATIONS OF SILVER AND GOLD. 
 
 Calcined hartshorn is also considered a useful earthy 
 white for water colours; and although not so liable to 
 be decomposed by the metallic, or other salts, as some 
 of the preceding whites, it will be always advisable to 
 avoid mixing it with such bodies. 
 
 Preparations of Silver and Gold. 
 
 Silver and gold are used as colouring materials 
 chiefly in the state of leaf for plating or gilding in¬ 
 numerable metallic and other substances. The modes 
 of preparing and applying gold and silver leaf it is not 
 here necessary to describe, as the former processes be¬ 
 long to the gold-beater , and the latter to the carver and 
 gilder; yet as gold in particular is occasionally used 
 by the painter, it may be useful to observe, that a gold 
 colour is applied in several ways, either by direct ap¬ 
 plication of the leaf to the parts intended to be gilt, or 
 by dissolving gold in nitro-muriatic acid, or aqua regia, 
 which is made with two parts of muriatic acid and one 
 of nitric acid; by evaporation a muriate of gold is ob¬ 
 tained that may be applied in various ways; or by 
 grinding gold leaf with honey or sugar, and afterwards 
 washing away the honey or the sugar; a gold powder 
 will be thus obtained that can be applied to various 
 purposes of painting figures of a gold colour, particu¬ 
 larly in enamel and porcelain painting. 
 
 The Purple Precipitate of Cassius 
 
 Is produced by mixing a solution of muriate of tin with 
 a solution of muriate of gold , prepared as above di- 
 
MOSAIC GOLD—COBALT. 
 
 63 
 
 reeled. This precipitate is employed chiefly in paint¬ 
 ing porcelain. 
 
 A preparation, although having no gold in it, is used 
 as a pigment for giving a gold colour to small statue or 
 plaster figures; and also, it is said, to be mixed with 
 melted glass, to imitate lapis lazuli; it has been long 
 known in the arts under the name of 
 
 Aurum Mosaicum , Musivum , or Mosaic Gold. 
 
 It is thus made : Melt twelye ounces of tin, and add 
 to it three ounces of mercury ; triturate the amalgam 
 with seven ounces of sulphur and three of muriate of 
 ammonia. Put the mixture into a matrass bedded 
 rather deep in sand, and keep it for several hours in a 
 gentle heat, which is afterwards to be raised and con¬ 
 tinued for several hours longer. If the heat has been 
 moderate, and not continued too long, a golden-coloured 
 scaly porous mass, the mosaic gold, will be found at 
 the bottom of the vessel; but if the heat has been too 
 strong the mass will be black, and consequently spoiled. 
 This composition is a sulphuret of tin. 
 
 Preparations of Cobalt. 
 
 Cobalt is a metal of a reddish grey colour and diffi¬ 
 cultly fusible ; its specific gravity is 7.7. It is found in 
 nature combined with oxygen, with arsenic, with sul¬ 
 phur, with iron, &c. The finest specimens are ob¬ 
 tained in Saxony ; but many cobalt ores are also found 
 in various parts of Great Britain. 
 
 The colouring power of oxide of cobalt on glass and 
 verifiable mixtures is astonishingly great, one grain of 
 
64 
 
 AZURE—ZAFFRE—SMALT. 
 
 which gives a full blue to 240 grains of glass; conse¬ 
 quently the more oxide of cobalt the glass contains the 
 more intense the colour becomes. Its chief use is in 
 colouring porcelain, earthenware, and glass; but the 
 painter also occasionally employs it in oil painting, and 
 some kinds of distemper. It is brought principally 
 from Germany to this country in the state of zaffre > 
 smalt , or azure . Hence we find mixtures of cobalt 
 under various names; as, 
 
 Azure , Enamel Blue , Zaffre , Smalt , Saxon Blue , 
 Vitreous Oxide of Cobalt , fyc. 
 
 The vitreous oxide of cobalt is manufactured on a 
 large scale in Saxony, where mines of cobalt are abun¬ 
 dant ; hence it has acquired the name of Saxon blue. 
 This oxide of cobalt requires great care before it can be 
 applied to delicate kinds of painting. It must be ground 
 for a very long time; and as the glass is exceedingly 
 hard, this mechanical labour, to many painters, is 
 highly disagreeable. It is designed for drapery of a 
 soft blue colour; but it is attended with the fault of 
 being somewhat dry, and this is owing to the vitreous 
 nature of its composition, which prevents it from ad¬ 
 hering to the canvas, and from forming a body with other 
 colours. Were it not for the tenacity of the oil, which 
 serves it as a cement or varnish, it would fall into dust. 
 
 Zaffre is prepared by calcining the ores of cobalt, 
 by which the sulphur and arsenic with which the cobalt 
 is combined are volatilized, and an impure oxide of 
 cobalt remains, which is mixed and fused with about 
 twice its weight of powdered flints. 
 
THENARD’s BLUE—ULTRAMARINE. 
 
 65 
 
 Smalt and azure are made by fusing zafire with 
 glass; or by calcining a mixture of equal parts of 
 roasted cobalt ore, common potash, and ground flints; 
 a blue glass is thus obtained, which while hot is dropped 
 into water, and afterwards reduced to a very fine 
 powder. 
 
 Strewing smalt is a coarse granulated smalt, of a 
 shining blue colour; it is used chiefly for the purpose 
 of being strewn over the ground of some painting, par¬ 
 ticularly sign painting. 
 
 Besides these preparations of cobalt, another, a very 
 beautiful colour, may be mentioned, called 
 
 Thenard\s Blue , 
 
 Which is made by dissolving roasted cobalt ore in di¬ 
 luted nitric acid, then evaporating the solution to dry¬ 
 ness and dissolving the residue in water; to this solu¬ 
 tion add phosphate of soda; the precipitated powder 
 must be well washed in water, and while moist mixed 
 with eight times its weight of alumina, prepared by the 
 addition of ammonia to a solution of alum; the alumina 
 must be used before it is dry. The compound is then 
 to be spread on thin plates, dried in a stove, and reduced 
 to fine powder, which must be, lastly, exposed to a red 
 heat for half an hour in a covered crucible. 
 
 For Egyptian Azure , see Preparations of Copper. 
 
 Ultramarine. 
 
 Ultramarine is extracted from lapis lazuli , lapis 
 cyanus or azure stone , which is of a bright blue colour, 
 and so hard as to strike fire with steel. The finest spe- 
 
66 
 
 ULTRAMARINE. 
 
 cimens are brought from China, Persia, and Great Bu- 
 charia. 
 
 The best method of obtaining ultramarine appears to 
 be the following: 
 
 Put the lapis lazuli into a crucible placed in a strong 
 fire ; when it is red hot throw it into distilled vinegar, 
 or pyrolignous acid ; repeat this till all the lapis falls 
 into powder; grind this powder in vinegar, and lay it 
 on blotting paper to dry; when dry let it be ground 
 very fine w ith linseed oil on a porphyry slab; on the 
 great fineness of this grinding depends both the quality 
 and the quantity of the ultramarine. Next melt together 
 three ounces and a half of black resin, three ounces of 
 yellow resin, tw r o ounces and a half of Burgundy pitch, 
 to which when melted add two ounces and a half of 
 Venice turpentine; while all these are in a melted state 
 add to them three ounces and a half of the lapis lazuli, 
 weighed before it is ground in the oil. When all these 
 ingredients are well mixed, pour, the whole mass into a 
 basin of clear water; when it is sufficiently cool knead 
 it well with the hand under the water, and continue 
 squeezing it until the blue colour exudes from it; when 
 the water is charged with the ultramarine pour it into 
 another basin, and the colour will fall to the bottom of 
 the w r ater, which should be carefully poured off, and 
 the ultramarine dried in the sun or before the fire. 
 
 Hot water may now be poured on the mass, and again 
 kneaded with it, when a fresh quantity of colouring 
 matter will be obtained, but inferior to the first. The 
 process may be repeated as long as any colouring matter 
 can be obtained. 
 
 8 
 
ULTRAMARINE ADULTERATIONS. 
 
 67 
 
 Ultramarine is a truly valuable colour, and superior 
 to Saxon or enamel blue in the richness and mellow¬ 
 ness of its tone. It is not sandy like Saxon blue ; it 
 never deceives by the effect of time the hope of the 
 artist who has applied it. In this point of view alone 
 it is worth a greater price than has been fixed on it. 
 
 Method of ascertaining whether Ultramarine he 
 adulterated. 
 
 As the price of ultramarine, already very high, may 
 become more so on account of the difficulties of ob¬ 
 taining lapis lazuli, it is of great importance that 
 painters should be able to detect its adulterations. 
 Pure ultramarine, when brought to a red heat in a cru¬ 
 cible, stands that trial without changing its colour. As 
 small quantities only are subjected to this test, a com¬ 
 parison may be made, at a very little expense, with the 
 part which has not been exposed to the fire. If adul¬ 
 terated, it becomes blackish or paler. 
 
 This proof, however, may not always be conclusive 
 when ultramarine of the lowest quality is mixed with 
 azure or Saxon blue ; but if it be mixed with oil, it is 
 found to have very little body compared with its bright¬ 
 ness. It is well known that vitreous matters, such as 
 azure, exhibit no more body than finely ground sand 
 would do: ultramarine treated with oil assumes a 
 brown tint. 
 
 From the researches of C. Guyton, an account of 
 which was read at the National Institute at Paris, in 
 1800, it would seem that ultramarine is a particular 
 combination of iron and sulphur. 
 
68 PREPARATIONS OF IRON-PRUSSIAN BLUE. 
 
 According to Mr. Brande , however, “ Lapis lazuli 
 consists of silica 46, carbonate of lime 28, alumina 14, 
 sulphate of lime 6.5, oxide of iron and water 5. The 
 blue colour is probably derived from some principle 
 which has hitherto escaped analysis.” 
 
 The possibility of making ultramarine was first ob¬ 
 served when the blue matter found in a soda furnace 
 was shewn, by Vauquelin, to have the properties of that 
 pigment; since then the experiments of Gmelin and 
 Guimet have proved successful, but the processes are 
 expensive. By following Gmelin’s process, M. Hermb- 
 stadt has obtained most beautiful ultramarine. See 
 Journal of Science , N.S. vol. iv., page 216; and also 
 Nos. 11, page 182, and 12, page 412. 
 
 An artificial ultramarine , has been also lately pre¬ 
 pared in France by M. Tunel, the process for making 
 which he keeps at present secret; it is sold at less 
 than half the price hitherto paid for this pigment. 
 
 For the difference between lapis lazuli and lapis ar- 
 menus , see bice, under the preparations of copper. See 
 also the preparations of gold. 
 
 Preparations of Iron. 
 
 Iron is a metal too well known to need being de¬ 
 scribed here. It is the basis of many useful pigments. 
 
 Prussian Blue. Prussiate of Iron. 
 
 Prussian blue is a combination of iron with an acid 
 
 of a peculiar nature, called the Prussic or hijdrocyanic 
 acid , which, by the latest chemical researches, consists 
 of Prussine or cyanogen , a gaseous body, and hydrogen. 
 
PRUSSIAN BLUE. 
 
 69 
 
 Prussic acid is a liquid, having a strong pungent odour, 
 very like bitter almonds; its taste is acrid, and it is 
 highly poisonous. It exists in many vegetables ; and 
 is obtained in some quantity by distillation with water 
 from the kernels of many of the drupaceous fruits, and 
 from the leaves of many plants of the laurel tribe, &c. 
 
 Our business is not, however, with the Prussic acid, 
 but with its compound, Prussian blue, so called from 
 its having been discovered by Diesbach, a colour- 
 maker of Berlin, in 1710. 
 
 Prussian blue is usually thus prepared : equal parts 
 of subcarbonate of potash and dried blood, or shavings 
 of horn, are heated red hot in a crucible, and six or 
 eight pints of water are poured upon the mixture when 
 quite cool. The solution, being filtered, contains hy- 
 drocyanate of potash, together with subcarbonate of 
 ! potash and some other products. It is then mixed 
 j with a solution, containing two parts of alum, and one 
 of sulphate of iron ; a precipitate is obtained, at first 
 of a green hue, but which, by being washed with di¬ 
 luted muriatic acid, acquires a fine blue tint, and being 
 dried, is the Prussian blue of commerce. 
 
 The affinity of the Prussic acid for iron is great, so 
 that the acids generally do not decompose Prussian 
 blue ; but nevertheless the alkalies and lime do so. 
 
 Many other forms might be given for the manufac¬ 
 ture of Prussian blue, but our limits prevent their ad¬ 
 mission ; one, however, lately made public by M. Gau¬ 
 tier (see the Journal of Science, vol. 24, page 208), those 
 interested in the subject are invited to consult. 
 
 Prussian blue is much used in house and in other 
 
70 
 
 ARTIFICIAL SAXON BLUE. 
 
 kinds of painting. It is, however, often attended with 
 one inconvenience. When ground with oil it assumes l 
 a yellow tint, which some correct by a little violet 
 lake. This yellow tint seems to arise from the action 
 of the oil. Another fault which seems to confine the I 
 use of this colour is, that the blue it produces is hard, 
 and does not harmonize with that fine carnation which 
 gives charms to the physiognomy when artfully inter¬ 
 sected by beautiful veins. Ultramarine alone answers 
 this purpose when employed by the hand of an artist. 
 
 Artificial Saxon Blue. 
 
 Saxon blue may be successfully imitated, by mixing 
 a divided earth with Prussian blue at the moment of its 
 formation and precipitation. 
 
 Into a solution of 144 grains of sulphate of iron pour 
 a solution of prussiate of potash *. At the time of the 
 formation of the prussiate of iron add, in the same 
 vessel, a solution of two ounces of alum, and pour in 
 at the same time the solution of potash,—but only in 
 such quantity as may be supposed necessary to decom¬ 
 pose the alum: for a superabundant proportion of alkali 
 might alter the prussiate of iron. It will be therefore 
 much better to leave a little alum, which may after¬ 
 wards be carried off by washing. 
 
 As soon as the alkaline liquor is added, the alumina 
 precipitated becomes perfectly mixed with the prussiate 
 of iron, the intensity of which it lessens by bringing 
 
 * Prussiate of potash is now to be obtained at almost any of the colour 
 shops, it being an article very commonly used in dyeing. 
 
OXIDES OF IRON—PRUSSIAN RED. 
 
 71 
 
 it to the tone of common Saxon blue. The matter is 
 then thrown on a filter, and after being washed in clean 
 water, is dried. This substance is a kind of blue ver- 
 diter, the intensity of which may vary according to the 
 greater or less quantity of alum decomposed. It may 
 be used for painting in distemper. 
 
 Oxides of Iron , 
 
 Being perfectly innoxious, axe not liable to the same 
 objections as those of lead and of arsenic ; but they do 
 not combine so intimately and effectually with oil as 
 those of lead. The brown, red, and purple oxides of 
 iron are nevertheless, when ground in oil, very useful 
 pigments. Indeed, it has been stated that the only 
 simple purple known is the purple oxide of iron , called 
 formerly colcothar of vitriol and crocus martis ; this 
 colour is sometimes called pompadour, by others purple 
 brown. It is made by simply calcining sulphate of 
 iron in an open vessel till it acquires the desired colour; 
 or it may be'made by mixing iron filings into a paste 
 with sulphur and water, and afterwards calcining the 
 mass in a crucible in a strong heat, till the sulphur is 
 dissipated and the colour required obtained. 
 
 Prussian Red. 
 
 The Prussians prepare by means of an open fire (from, 
 we presume, common sulphate of iron), a red oxide of 
 iron, which is calcined several times, and the washing 
 is conducted in such a way as to prepare several sedi¬ 
 ments by one operation, differing in beauty according 
 to the time employed in the subsiding. The first sedi- 
 
72 
 
 OCHRES. 
 
 ment formed in a determinate time is coarser than the 
 second, and so on in succession. The last sediment is, 
 of course, the finest. The red obtained by this process 
 is delicate, and has occasionally a place on the palette 
 of the painter. 
 
 The colours obtained from artificial oxides of iron 
 are deeper than those of the natural ochres or oxides , 
 an account of which will be subsequently given: in 
 short, the artificial oxides of iron are more pure than 
 the natural ones found in the yellow, brown, and red 
 ochres ; hence their superiority as pigments, whether 
 they be obtained from the decomposition of the sulphate 
 of iron, or in any other way. 
 
 It may be added too, that to increase the intensity of 
 the red of any of the oxides of iron, after being washed 
 and dried, they must be again submitted to the action 
 of fire in a crucible, so that the access of air to them 
 might be easy, in order that the oxidation may be 
 rendered more complete. Of course, such nicety in 
 these colours*for house painting is not in general re¬ 
 quired. 
 
 The different reds obtained from the decomposition 
 of sulphate of iron, as well as from the residua of the 
 operation by which nitrate of potash is decomposed to 
 convert it into nitric acid, are much sought after by 
 porcelain painters, &c. 
 
 OfOchres , the chief colour ing ingredient in which is Iron. 
 
 Ochres are mixtures of argillaceous and calcareous 
 earths and oxides of iron, to which last substance their 
 colour is generally owing. 
 
VENETIAN RED—INDIAN RED. 
 
 73 
 
 Of all the metals iron is that which yields most rea¬ 
 dily to the chemical action resulting from its contact 
 with different substances, while exposed to humidity 
 and to the air. Salts, acids, sulphur, arsenic, and even 
 water become, under certain circumstances, the origin 
 of modifications of it. 
 
 Spanish Brown , Venetian Red , Indian Red , and all 
 the Yellow Ochres are natural products, and appear to 
 be combinations of oxide, and occasionally carbonate 
 of iron, with argillaceous and other earths. When 
 washed, or otherwise freed from gross impurities, they 
 form useful pigments for common purposes. Many of 
 the yellow ochres when burnt become of a red colour, 
 and are then occasionally used for more delicate pro¬ 
 cesses. Spanish brown and some other browns are 
 obtained plentifully in the West of England; so are 
 also several of the yellow ochres; Venetian Red is 
 brought from Venice ; but it is also produced in France, 
 Germany, and many other places. 
 
 Indian Red , 
 
 Called sometimes Persian ochre , because brought, we 
 presume, from Persia, is a fine purple, used chiefly if 
 not entirely in portrait and other delicate painting. 
 This is a dear colour. According to a paper in the 
 46th volume of the Transactions of the Society of Arts , 
 a red earth is sold at Quebec at 3d. per pound, ob¬ 
 tained from the Magdalen Islands, in the Gulph of St. 
 Lawrence, which is said to be as beautiful and useful as 
 Indian red. 
 
74 
 
 OCHRES—YELLOW-RED. 
 
 Natural Yellow Ochres 
 
 In many cases save the artist the trouble of artificial 
 oxidation, nature producing them of very yarious colours 
 on a large scale. They are produced in all countries in 
 the neighbourhood of volcanoes, and in some where no 
 evidence of volcanic procedure exists. They form ar¬ 
 ticles of commerce, having various shades of yellow, 
 and are known to painters under various names : as 
 Dutch or Spruce ochre, English ochre , Bristol ochre , 
 Oxford ochre , &c. The Diitch ochre is generally con¬ 
 sidered the best; but some English ochres obtained in 
 the Mendip hills, in Somersetshire, afford a very bright 
 yellow. They unite readily with oil, but require some 
 of the oxides or the acetate of lead to make them dry 
 speedily. 
 
 jRed Ochre. 
 
 Natural Red Ochre is very abundant in volcanic coun¬ 
 tries ; as is the case in Auvergne, where very beautiful 
 kinds are found; clay forms the greater part of it, 
 which renders it soft to the touch. Red ochres are 
 also plentiful in other places not volcanic, as the Men¬ 
 dip hills, in Somersetshire. 
 
 Ochres are easily purified by simple washing. They 
 mix readily with water, and the sand and stones which 
 they contain being heavier than themselves, subside. 
 The water, turbid with the ochre, is decanted, by mak¬ 
 ing it pass into a trough lower than the vessel in which 
 it was washed; when the ochre has subsided the clear 
 water is drawn off. The ochre is then taken out, and 
 being dried is divided into small masses. 
 
UMBER. 
 
 75 
 
 When an ochre is composed of oxide of iron and 
 clay, it resists the action of most acids. If an effer¬ 
 vescence be produced, the composition is of a marly 
 nature. Calcareous earth is found in these ochres in 
 different proportions. In this case the ochre is drier. 
 It possesses less body than an ochre which is entirely 
 argillaceous, when employed in oil or varnish painting. 
 
 It is seen by this short view of these ochres that iron, 
 by its different degrees of oxidation, natural or arti¬ 
 ficial, becomes the base of several kinds of colour; and 
 that it renders a very extensive service to painting. In 
 this respect no metallic substance is equal to it. See 
 a preceding section on the oxides of Iron. 
 
 Besides the preceding ochres, which are used as pig¬ 
 ments, the following earths, as they are commonly called, 
 require some notice. 
 
 Umber, Brown Ochre, 
 
 Is found in the shops under two names, Turkey Umber 
 and English Umber. They are both of a colour more 
 or less brown, but Turkey Umber is most esteemed; it 
 is found in Umbria, a district of Italy, whence it de¬ 
 rives its name ; but the best comes from Turkey, or 
 rather from the island of Cyprus, where it occurs in 
 beds. i 
 
 Turkey umber is brought to this country in masses of 
 various sizes, some almost in a state of powder. Its 
 colour is clove-brown ; it is soft, easily cut, and readily 
 falls to pieces in water. Its specific gravity is 2 . 06 . 
 It consists of oxide of iron, oxide of manganese, Silica, 
 and alumina. 
 
76 
 
 TERRA DE SIENNA. 
 
 It is very much employed in painting browns. When 
 slightly burnt it acquires a more intense colour. 
 
 An inferior umber is obtained in this country, and 
 called English Umber. 
 
 The umbers are all useful browns in oil, and occa¬ 
 sionally in other painting, particularly when burnt. 
 
 Terra de Sienna , 
 
 A brown bole, or ochre, with an orange hue, brought 
 from Sienna, in Italy, and used in painting both in its 
 crude and in its burnt state. It is used chiefly when 
 ground in oil to give the dark shading in imitation of 
 mahogany; as burnt spruce ochre is to give the red, 
 both being laid upon a ground of yellow. 
 
 Several pigments are known under the name of 
 Terra Yerte, or Green Eartlt. The following may 
 be particularly noticed: 
 
 Green Earth of Saxony. 
 
 Nature often prepares colours, to which art can make 
 no addition, when artists know how to limit the use of 
 them. Of this kind is the green earth of Saxony, Hun¬ 
 gary, and Italy. 
 
 These coloured earths are sometimes silicious, some¬ 
 times argillaceous; their colours depend chiefly on 
 the oxide of iron, or the oxide of copper which 
 they contain. The earth of Kerhausen, in Hungary, 
 is of this kind. When earths thus contain colour¬ 
 ing matter they may be employed in distemper, but 
 they are not often fit for oil painting until they have 
 been corrected. The colour would otherwise become 
 
TERRA VERTE—COLOGNE EARTH. 77 
 
 a dark and obscure green; in this case the colour 
 requires to be mixed with one part or a part and half 
 of white lead. Green earth of Saxony, requires also a 
 nearly similar correction for this kind of painting. 
 
 Green Earth of Verona , Terra Verte, or Mountain 
 Green , 
 
 Occurs near Verona , wdience its name, and also in 
 many other parts of Europe; it is frequent in the 
 amygdaloid or almond-stone, found in various parts of 
 Great Britain and Ireland. It is of a celandine green 
 colour, and sometimes has darker shades. When 
 mixed with oils it has not the same fault as the greens 
 mentioned in the last article. It is equally proper for 
 distemper and oil painting; but it is more commonly 
 used in the first way by artists in water-colours, and by 
 them called mountain green. 
 
 The colour of this earth was formerly supposed to be 
 produced by an oxide of copper; but, according to the 
 analysis of it in Dr. Ure’s Dictionary of Chemistry, 
 its colouring matter is oxide of iron 28. mixed with 53. 
 of silica, potash 10. and a small portion of magnesia. 
 The colour is durable, but not so bright as what may be 
 obtained artificially from copper. See other Greens 
 under the Preparations of Copper. 
 
 Cologne Earth 
 
 Has been by some considered an umber; its colour is 
 black or blackish brown, mixed with brownish red ; it 
 is light, and bums with a disagreeable smell; found 
 near Cologne; it is used both in water colour and oil 
 
 E 3 
 
78 
 
 CASSEL EARTH—BLACK LEAD. 
 
 painting. It appears to be a kind of bitumen. An in¬ 
 ferior earth of the same kind is occasionally met with 
 in England. 
 
 Cassel Earth is also occasionally used for dark shad¬ 
 ing in miniature painting; but Mr. Craig, in his lec¬ 
 tures, speaks of “ the disagreeable brownness of Cassel 
 earth.” 
 
 Black Lead, Carburet of Iron, Graphite, Plumbago. 
 
 This substance was for a long time supposed to be a 
 preparation of lead, whence its name; but the accurate 
 analyses of modem chemistry have determined that it 
 consists of carbon, or pure charcoal, and iron. It is, 
 however, a very indestructible substance; and as an 
 ingredient in the formation of crucibles, and as pencils 
 and crayons for drawing, &c. it demands a notice in this 
 work. 
 
 It is found in various parts of the world, but the best 
 is produced at Borrowdale, in Cumberland, whence 
 Great Britain and the greater part of Europe are sup¬ 
 plied with it. Its goodness may be known by rubbing 
 the powder between the finger and thumb: if it leave a 
 smooth polish it is good; if it produce little or no 
 polish, or fall from the fingers easily after it is rubbed, 
 it is not good. 
 
 There has been lately introduced a black lead called 
 Mexican black lead, by some said to be imported from 
 Mexico, by others from Spain. From the specimens 
 which w'e have seen, its softness and extreme friability 
 render it unfit in its cmde state for pencils ; it is, ne¬ 
 vertheless, a very pure black lead, and for a variety of 
 
ARTIFICIAL BLACK LEAD PENCILS. 
 
 79 
 
 manipulations equal, if not even superior, to Cumber¬ 
 land lead. 
 
 The following method of making 
 
 Artificial Black lead Pencils 
 
 Demand attention:—Melt together fine Cumberland 
 or Mexican black lead, in powder, and shell lac. Let 
 this compound be repeatedly powdered and re-melted 
 till it becomes of a uniform consistence; it is then to 
 be sawn into slips, and mounted in the usual way 
 
 Of course the proportion of the ingredients proper for 
 forming pencil lead can only be determined by actual 
 experiments. As shell lac is soluble in rectified spirits 
 of wine, we conceive that its being previously softened 
 by heat with that menstruum would render its mixture 
 at once with the black lead, by kneading, complete, 
 and the re-melting as directed above avoided. 
 
 Black lead pencils can now be obtained in the shops 
 of different degrees of blackness, so that, in Drawing , a 
 variety of shades are introduced, and this beautiful art 
 thus rendered, by the use of such pencils alone, a very 
 pleasing kind of painting, and peculiarly suited to the 
 accomplishments of a lady. To this we may add, that 
 black lead ground in water in a similar manner to ordi¬ 
 nary paints, and afterwards dried, and again reduced to 
 powder, and tied in muslin, can be used for giving in¬ 
 numerable shades to drawings in a very expeditious 
 manner. For this novel method of painting the So¬ 
 ciety of Arts awarded Mr. G alp in, of Charmouth, their 
 silver Isis medal. Journal of Arts, vol. xiii. p. 35. 
 
80 
 
 CRAYONS. 
 
 Crayons. 
 
 Crayon is the French term for pencil; hence the 
 pencils made of black lead, blood-stone, red chalk, 
 charcoal, &c. are crayons ; the term is, however, more 
 extensively applied, and chiefly to a composition of 
 coloured earths made into a paste, and then rendered of 
 the proper size and shape for use. 
 
 The following is well recommended as a general 
 paste for crayons: 
 
 Take of spermaceti three ounces; boiling water one 
 pint; melt the spermaceti in the boiling water, and add 
 to the mixture one pound of bone-ashes, finely levi¬ 
 gated ; the colouring matter must of course be added 
 besides, to impart to the crayons the tint required. 
 Let the paste be well kneaded, and when about half 
 dry form it into crayons. 
 
 Some use instead of the above, pipe-clay mixed of 
 course with the various colours; and, instead of water, 
 ale-wort to make the paste. 
 
 The perfection of crayons consists chiefly in their 
 softness ; it being impossible to paint with them when 
 hard. In all compositions for crayons white lead and 
 flake white must be carefully avoided, as the slightest 
 touch with either of these will ton black. 
 
 Alumina , that is, pure clay, or chalk , well purified 
 by washing, &c. is the best basis for crayons. Many 
 coloured earths may, however, be made into crayons 
 without any admixture, by merely being washed, 
 kneaded, rolled, and dried. Colours naturally so hard 
 as not to mark easily on paper, require to be mixed 
 
CRAYONS—ROAD DUST. 
 
 81 
 
 with alumine, or other earth of a loose texture, by 
 which their hard quality may be corrected. 
 
 Carmine is thus treated for crayons: grind the 
 carmine upon a grinding-stone with rectified spirits of 
 wine till it become smooth; the different tints of this 
 colour are then given by mixing it in various propor¬ 
 tions with either alumina or purified chalk thus : to 
 three parts of carmine add one of the white earth;—to 
 one part of carmine add another of earth;—to one- 
 fourth of carmine add three-fourths earth;—and the 
 lightest tint should be made of the white earth, faintly 
 tinged with carmine. As these different tints are levi¬ 
 gated, they should be laid immediately on a chalk 
 stone, that the moisture may be absorbed, so as to 
 render the mass sufficiently dry to be formed into 
 crayons, which may be known by its losing most of its 
 adhesiveness when taken in the hand: when formed 
 into pencils they may be laid on glass to dry. 
 
 These directions are sufficiently ample for forming 
 crayons of any kind or colour by the exercise of a very 
 little ingenuity. 
 
 Drawing Slate or Black Chalk is greyish, or bluish 
 black; it consists of silex, alumina, carbon, and oxide 
 of iron; its specific gravity is 2.11. The best kinds 
 come from Italy; it is also found in France, Spain, and 
 the Isle of lsla in the Hebrides. It is used in crayon¬ 
 drawing, whence its name. 
 
 Road Dust. 
 
 This article, obtained from the breaking down and 
 E 5 
 
82 
 
 ROAD DUST. 
 
 pulverization of the materials with which our public 
 roads are made and repaired, has been latterly a good 
 deal employed, when mixed with other matters, as a 
 common paint. The constituents of road-dust must 
 yary with the materials of which the road is made or 
 repaired. Roads made and repaired with lime-stone 
 produce, of course, a calcareous powder, chiefly a car¬ 
 bonate of lime, yet, from the attrition which the ma¬ 
 terials undergo, such dust, when fresh, is well calcu¬ 
 lated, with a certain mixture of quick-lime, for making 
 plastering mortar; it is hence concluded, that the at¬ 
 trition on the road decarbonizes, in a slight degree, the 
 lime-stone. 
 
 The roads near London are repaired with flints, and 
 occasionally with granite; hence the road-dust around 
 the metropolis consists chiefly of siliceous matter; in 
 all road-dust there is, besides some decaying vegetable 
 matter, and a small portion of animal matter, produced 
 from the dung of animals. We thus see of what road- 
 dust must be composed; and although we are not quite 
 disposed to dignify this material with the name of 
 Crotia, as a late writer* on house-painting has done, 
 it may, nevertheless, be occasionally used, as we shall 
 subsequently point out, with advantage for coarse pur¬ 
 poses. One condition is necessary in the use of this 
 material, namely, that it should be either reduced to an 
 impalpable powder, before being mixed with oil or 
 other liquid, or subsequently ground fine with oil, as, 
 unless so treated, when dried it will readily rub off. 
 
 * Every man his own House Painter and Colourman, 8$c. by T. H. 
 Vanherman. 
 
PREPARATIONS OF MANGANESE. 83 
 
 The best mode of purifying it is by washing, as men’ 
 tioned for many of the w T hite earths. 
 
 Black Oxide of Manganese. 
 
 Manganese is a metal of comparatively modern dis¬ 
 covery; it is of a grey colour, somewhat resembling 
 iron externally; but it posseses neither ductility nor 
 malleability; it is, nevertheless, brittle, though not pul- 
 verizable; it is also difficult of fusion, but readily melts 
 with most of the other metals, quicksilver excepted. 
 When exposed to the air it becomes an oxide: its 
 specific gravity is 8. 
 
 It is usually found in nature as an oxide; that called 
 the Black oxide , in Derbyshire Black wadd, is the most 
 common. It is to be obtained in various places in this 
 country; in Devonshire, Somersetshire, Derbyshire? 
 &c. as well as in other parts of the world. There are 
 several varieties of this oxide, varying in colour from 
 iron-grey to black ; all are brittle; several soil the 
 fingers. It is a peroxide, and is not soluble in acids 
 It is used for obtaining oxygen gas, by being merely 
 exposed to heat in a retort or other proper vessel; it is 
 also largely employed by bleachers in the preparation 
 of chlorine ; it is used too in glass-making, having the 
 property of freeing it from colour when fused with it, 
 hence it is called Glass-maker's soap ; when added in 
 excess it imparts a red or violet colour; it is also em¬ 
 ployed in porcelain painting; and being mixed with 
 the materials of common earthenware before they are 
 formed into vessels, it imparts to them a black colour. 
 Besides the peroxide, there are several other oxides of 
 this metal. One, a protoxide, is made by digesting the 
 
 E 6 
 
84 
 
 BLACK WADD—PARKER’S CEMENT. 
 
 peroxide in muriatic acid, which absorbs a portion of 
 its oxygen, and leaves an oxide of a deep olive green , 
 which might form, we presume, a very useful pigment. 
 The Black oxide of manganese is remarkable for pro¬ 
 ducing spontaneous inflammation when mixed with 
 some oils, particularly linseed oil; the cause of this 
 phenomenon is not at present known : but it is evident, 
 that although the oxides of manganese form many use¬ 
 ful dark colours as pigments, care is necessary in 
 mixing them with oils, that they should be those only 
 in which combustion is not excited by the mixture. 
 
 For common out-door work black wadd has been 
 latterly employed as a paint, particularly for iron; the 
 proper vehicle for it is oil of tar: for, as we have 
 before stated, with linseed oil it produces combustion. 
 
 According to Mr. Brockedon , (Transact . of the 
 Society of Arts , vol. 46.) the black manganese of the 
 shops is a very useful grey colour of much body; it 
 dries almost immediately with oil. 
 
 Parker's Cement 
 
 Has also been recommended by Vanlierman as a 
 coarse, yet cheap and useful paint for barns, coarse 
 paling, carts, waggons, &c.; it is of a dark chocolate 
 colour, and is particularly useful as ground for other 
 paints. It is made into a paint by simply mixing it 
 with raw and boiled linseed oil in equal parts, or com¬ 
 mon linseed oil with white vitriol (sulphate of zinc) as 
 a drier, would, we presume, answer equally well. 
 
 This cement is composed, according to Gray (Suppl. 
 to Phar. page 226) of the indurated marl, called clay* 
 
PREPARATIONS OF ARSENIC—KING’S YELLOW. 85 
 
 balls, or the waxen vein found in the London clay 
 strata, by calcining and grinding them without any 
 admixture whatever. 
 
 Preparations of Arsenic, 
 
 Arsenic is a metal of a steel-blue colour, brittle, and 
 easily fusible; its specific gravity is 8.3. It may be 
 distilled at a temperature of 360. Its vapour has a 
 strong smell of garlic , by which, when exposed to 
 heat, many of its combinations are know n. When heated 
 in the air it readily takes fire, burns w r ith a blue flame, 
 and produces copious wdiite fumes of oxide. Oxygen 
 combines wfith arsenic in two proportions, one forming 
 the oxide of Arsenic, Arsenioas acid , Arsen ic or com¬ 
 mon white Arsenic of the shops ; the other, the Arsenic 
 Acid. The arsenic as found in this country is brought 
 chiefly from Bohemia. It is imported in casks, and 
 consists of semi-transparent lumps, white, brittle, and 
 of a glassy fracture; when reduced to powder it is of 
 a dull white colour, and much heavier than pow r dered 
 cream of tartar. All the preparations of arsenic are 
 violent poisons. Native arsenic has been found in 
 various countries of Europe, and also in Cornwall. 
 Arsenic is an occasional ingredient in glass; the fol¬ 
 lowing are its chief preparations as pigments. 
 
 King's Yelloiv , 
 
 Is a preparation of arsenic and sulphur; it is a beauti¬ 
 ful yellow, but is, nevertheless, somewhat fugacious. 
 It is besides poisonous, and is now r generally dis¬ 
 approved in consequence of its deleterious qualities. 
 
86 ORPIMENT—REALGAR—SCHEELE’s GREEN. 
 
 The following is the form by which it may be, however, 
 obtained. 
 
 Sublime in a retort 20 parts of pulverized arsenic 
 with one part of flowers of sulphur in a sand heat. 
 The colour will be found in the upper part of the glass, 
 whence it must be carefully removed, and levigated till 
 it becomes a fine powder. It may be rendered a deeper 
 or lighter colour by increasing or diminishing the pro¬ 
 portion of sulphur. 
 
 Orpiment, or Yellow Sulphuret of Arsenic, 
 
 Is also a combination of arsenic with sulphur. When 
 slightly calcined it forms souci yellow. This substance 
 is now also disapproved as a pigment, for the same 
 reason as is assigned for the disuse of King’s Yellow. 
 
 Realgar , or Red Sulphuret of Arsenic, 
 
 Is obtained by slowly melting together metallic arsenic 
 and sulphur, or by heating white arsenic with sulphur. 
 
 It is said, that the only difference between this article 
 and orpiment consists in the proportion of the sulphur 
 which they respectively contain; that orpiment con¬ 
 tains the least and realgar the most sulphur. But 
 Mr. Brande says, that orpiment only differs in form, and 
 of course, colour, from realgar. The same objections 
 to the use of realgar as a pigment, as to the two pre- : 
 ceding articles, have been made. 
 
 Sclieele's Green, 
 
 Is a useful pigment; it is prepared by mixing arsenite 
 of potash with a solution of sulphate of copper; 
 
PREPARATIONS OF COPPER—VERDIGRIS. 
 
 87 
 
 a fine apple-green precipitate is the result, and is 
 called, from its discoverer, Scheele's Green . The 
 same complaints have not been made against this article 
 as against others above named, into which arsenic 
 enters as a compound. 
 
 Or, precipitate a solution of 2 lbs. of sulphate of 
 copper in water, by a solution of eleven ounces of 
 white arsenic and 2 lbs. of sub-carbonate of potash in 
 two gallons of boiling water; wash the precipitate. By 
 varying the proportions of sulphate of copper, arsenic, 
 and sub-carbonate of potash, a beautiful blue pre¬ 
 cipitate may be obtained. 
 
 For another preparation into which arsenic enters, 
 see the Preparations of Copper, article Schweinfurfs 
 Green . 
 
 Preparations of Copper. 
 
 Copper, in its metallic state, rarely, if ever, enters 
 into the composition of a paint, but combined with 
 acids, and particularly with the acetic acid, its uses as 
 a pigment are important. 
 
 Verdigris . Subacetate of Copper. 
 
 Verdigris is a bluish green substance, manufactured 
 chiefly in the south of France, at Montpellier, and in the 
 environs of that city. It is made by spreading the husks 
 and stalks of grapes, after the juice is expressed from 
 them for wine, upon plates of copper, in jars. The acetic 
 acid which is produced in the husks, &c. by their being 
 moistened, and having the acetous fermentation excited 
 in them, combines with the copper, and converts the 
 
88 
 
 FRENCH VERDIGRIS. 
 
 surface of the plates into a green rust. This rust is 
 scraped off, and is the verdigris of the shops, which is 
 brought to this country in leathern bags of various 
 sizes, from ten to twenty pounds each. It is now, how¬ 
 ever, prepared in this country, but none which we have 
 seen equals the French verdigris. 
 
 Verdigris is very liable to adulteration ; when bought 
 in 'powder it may always be suspected ; and the means 
 of detecting such adulteration are difficult. As a pig¬ 
 ment, if adulterated, its defects will be often visible 
 enough when used. Verdigris makes one of the most 
 elegant and permanent greens with which we are ac¬ 
 quainted. 
 
 In powdering this substance, care should be taken 
 that it does not enter the mouth, either by breathing or 
 otherwise, as it is a deleterious poison. 
 
 In regard to the manufacture of verdigris, we may 
 just mention, that Montet, a chemist of Montpellier, gave 
 a correct detail of the operation in the Memoirs of the 
 Academy of Sciences , for 1750 and 1753, but which it is 
 not necessary here to repeat. It is, however, essentially 
 as we have above stated. 
 
 Verdigris should be chosen dry, of a bluish green 
 colour, and as free from spots as possible. It is much 
 employed in oil painting and in distemper, as well as 
 for colouring prints and drawings; but it requires more 
 care in the application than any other colour, whether 
 used alone, which is seldom the case, or employed in 
 compositions. It may be considered as one of the first 
 ingredients in mixtures; but is not sufficiently pure for 
 delicate painting w ithout purification; and, therefore, 
 
DISTILLED VERDIGRIS. 
 
 89 
 
 when used for that purpose, it is subjected to the fol¬ 
 lowing process. We may just add here, that the best 
 medium for making verdigris an oil paint, is oil of tur¬ 
 pentine, or rather, turpentine varnish, in which last it 
 is best to be ground, in order to preserve the delicacy 
 of its colour. When it is ground in linseed oil, the 
 colour is very much deteriorated, and becomes, in fact, 
 a dirty yellow green not to be desired. 
 
 Distilled Verdigris. Acetate of Copper. 
 
 Distilled verdigris is found in commerce attached to 
 sticks in elegant green crystals. It may be, however, 
 obtained by digesting verdigris in acetic acid, and by 
 evaporating the solution, it will be found in green pris¬ 
 matic crystals. 
 
 Acetate of copper, when new, is of a beautiful trans¬ 
 parent green colour; when old and pulverulent, it is a 
 dull green. In this last state it is more proper for oil 
 paintings. In general, all colours of a saline nature, 
 intended to be ground with oil, must be deprived of their 
 water of crystallization; this is accomplished by re¬ 
 ducing them to powder, and exposing them to the sun, 
 or to the heat of a stove, before they are mixed with 
 the oil. 
 
 Colours prepared with crystallized verdigris, ace¬ 
 tate of copper, are much brighter than those obtained 
 from common verdigris or the subacetate of copper. 
 But the high price of this colour frequently prevents it 
 from being employed. It is, therefore, reserved for 
 painting expensive articles; and is applied by the var- 
 
90 
 
 LIQUID VERDIGRIS. 
 
 nisher also to certain delicate articles, such as works of 
 papier mache, metals, &c. 
 
 Those who paint pictures grind this colour with oil of 
 poppies, and put it into small bladders, which they 
 prick, and extract by pressure the quantity they are 
 desirous of using. This colour covers exceedingly well. 
 It possesses transparency, and is employed with suc¬ 
 cess for glazing to represent sheets of water. When 
 applied to metal, the reflection of the light produces a 
 very fine effect, which is still heightened by the colour. 
 This pigment, when mixed with copal varnish, and 
 applied to foil, produces a very rich effect. 
 
 Liquid Verdigris for colouring Maps , 8fC. 
 
 Put an ounce of pulverized verdigris into the bottom 
 of a matrass, with eight or ten ounces of good distilled 
 vinegar. Place the matrass on a warm sand bath, 
 and shake it from time to time, till the liquid has ac¬ 
 quired a beautiful dark green colour inclining to blue. 
 Leave the mixture at rest, that it may become clear, and 
 pour it into a clean vessel, which must be closely shut. 
 This preparation is used for colouring maps and prints. 
 The colour may be lowered, if necessary, by adding a 
 little water or distilled vinegar in the shell into which 
 the brush is dipped. 
 
 Having disposed of subacetate and acetate of copper, 
 we shall now proceed to supply the artist with several 
 forms for useful pigments; none of which, however, 
 equals the articles which have just been described, 
 
ENGLISH VERDIGRIS. 
 
 91 
 
 English Verdigris. 
 
 Take of sulphate of copper twenty-four pounds ; of 
 acetate of lead twelve pounds; of sulphate of zinc 
 sixteen pounds; of alum two pounds. Let them be all 
 coarsely powdered, put in a pot over the fire, and stirred 
 till they are united into a mass. 
 
 Or , 
 
 Take of sulphate of copper twenty-four ounces, dis¬ 
 solved in a sufficient quantity of water; of sugar of 
 lead thirty ounces, dissolved also in water; mix the 
 solutions, filter, and crystallize by evaporation. This 
 quantity will yield about ten ounces of crystals, and is 
 esteemed by some persons superior paint to common 
 verdigris. 
 
 Or, 
 
 A verdigris may be made by putting plates of copper 
 into a cask, between layers of vine twigs, and moisten¬ 
 ing them with sour wine. 
 
 Or, 
 
 Take clippings of copper two pounds; muriate of 
 ammonia one pound; moisten them w r ith water; when 
 the corrosion is complete, wash the pigment. 
 
 Or, 
 
 Take sulphate of copper one pound; alum, or Epsom 
 salt, one pound; dissolve these in two quarts of water, 
 and filter. Add subcarbonate of potash sufficient to 
 precipitate the pigment; wash it thoroughly, and diy it. 
 
92 
 
 EGYPTIAN AZURE—OTHER BLUES. 
 
 Or, 
 
 Copper may be corroded with vinegar, tartar, and 
 common salt. 
 
 We do not give the method of preparing the sulphate 
 of copper , blue vitriol , or blue copperas , so often di¬ 
 rected to be used in the preceding and some subsequent 
 forms, because it is an article now to be obtained so 
 readily at any of the colour-shops. We may, however, 
 just state that it is sometimes obtained by evaporation 
 from the water of some copper-mines; at others, by 
 roasting copper pyrites, in the same way as mentioned 
 under sulphate of zinc; or by direct solution of copper 
 in diluted sulphur acid; in either case, the liquor is 
 boiled down, and set by to crystallize. Some of the 
 manufacturers of copper articles at Birmingham pre¬ 
 pare also, at a cheap price, a sulphate of copper. 
 
 Egyptian Azure. 
 
 Take fifteen parts, by weight, of carbonate of soda, 
 twenty of powdered opaque flints, and three of copper 
 filings; let these be heated together for two hours in a 
 strong fire ; the result is, when powdered, a substance 
 of a fine deep sky-blue, similar in every respect to the 
 blue used by the ancient artists, the excellence of 
 which a duration of seventeen hundred years has fully 
 proved: this composition is easily and cheaply made. 
 See Sir Humphry Davy in Phil. Transact . for 1815. 
 
 Other. Blues, 
 
 Whose composition is either copper or cobalt, may be 
 here named. 
 
SCHWEINFURT GREEN. 
 
 93 
 
 Flanders , ox Antwerp blue , has a colour bordering on 
 the green; it is used chiefly in landscapes. Saunders ’ 
 blue is used for a shade to ultramarine, mazarine 
 blue, &c. 
 
 Schweinfurt Green. 
 
 Dissolve in a copper vessel, by heat, one part of ver¬ 
 digris, in a sufficient quantity of pure vinegar; add to 
 the solution one part of white arsenic ; a dirty green 
 precipitate results, which must be dissolved by the 
 addition of more vinegar; let the mixture be boiled ; 
 a granular precipitate falls in a short time of a most 
 beautiful green colour, which must be separated from 
 the liquor, and washed and dried. This green has a 
 bluish shade; a deeper and more yellow green, of 
 equal beauty, may be produced by dissolving a pound 
 of common potash in a sufficient quantity of water, and 
 adding to the solution ten pounds of the above green 
 colour; warm the whole over a moderate fire; but if it 
 be boiled too long, the colour approaches Scheele’s 
 green; but it always surpasses it in beauty and splen¬ 
 dour. The remaining alkaline fluid may be used in 
 making Scheele’s green, for which, and some other 
 preparations into which copper enters, see the Prepa¬ 
 rations of Arsenic. 
 
 A fine Green for Oil Paint. 
 
 Dissolve any quantity of sulphate of copper in four 
 times its weight of boiling water; dissolve, likewise, 
 some carbonate of potash in water; and also some 
 borate of soda (borax) in water; pour the solution of 
 
94 
 
 MOUNTAIN GREEN-MOUNTAIN BLUE. 
 
 potash to the first solution, in sufficient quantity to ; 
 decompose the sulphate of copper, then add the solu¬ 
 tion of borax till the colour has acquired its greatest 
 intensity. The precipitate must be washed by re¬ 
 peated affusion of water, and then dried. It may be I 
 ground in oil, with the addition of acetate of lead. I 
 The addition of turpentine and white-lead will, accord¬ 
 ing to Vanherman (from whom the substance of this 
 form is taken) gives additional body and lustre. We 
 should, however, be very much disposed to question 
 whether white lead will improve the colour; that tur¬ 
 pentine varnish will do so, we do not, however, doubt: 
 most of the preparations of copper combine well with 
 terebinthine vehicles. 
 
 Mountain Green , or Green Bice , 
 
 Or green chrysocolla , is a native copper ore, and is 
 essentially an oxide of copper, of a lighter or deeper 
 green; it is found under different forms in China, Ger¬ 
 many, and Siberia; that which is found in the last- 
 named country is in stalactites, and termed malachite. 
 Mountain green is also obtained by art, the mode of 
 obtaining whieh does not appear to be publicly known; 
 it may be, most probably, procured by some of the pro¬ 
 cesses named under the head Several Colours for Stain¬ 
 ing Rooms , below. 
 
 Mountain Blue, 
 
 Or blue chrysocollu , is also an ore of copper ; it is of a 
 deep blue colour, and may be also, we presume, readily 
 imitated by art from some of the solutions of copper. 
 
BLUE BICE—BLUE VERDITER. 
 
 95 
 
 In short, there appears to be scarcely any end to the 
 tints of green and blue to be obtained from copper for 
 pigments. See the following preparations. 
 
 Blue Bice 
 
 Is a pigment in the form of a blue powder. It has the 
 best body of all bright blues used in common work, as 
 house painting, &c. It should be ground very fine ; it 
 is as durable a colour as prussian blue. 
 
 This article is obtained from lapis armenus , a stone, 
 the basis of which is chiefly carbonate, or sulphate of 
 lime: it was formerly brought from Armenia , whence 
 its name, but it now comes from Germany and the 
 Tyrol. It is of a blue colour, mixed with green, white, 
 and red. It has a good deal of resemblance to lapis 
 lazuli , the chief difference between which and lapis ar¬ 
 menus consists in this last being more soft, and instead 
 of having spangles of gold, it has green spots. Encyclo¬ 
 pedic , Tome XXV. Art. Pierre d'Armenie. According 
 to Fourcroy, the blue colour of this stone is produced 
 by an oxide of copper; we have, therefore, arranged 
 bice as one of the copper preparations. 
 
 Blue Verditer. 
 
 We are indebted to M. Pelletier for an interesting 
 detail of the various processes he employed to procure 
 to his country the fruits of a new manufacture, which 
 may be seen in the Annales de Chimie, Yol. XIII. 
 p. 47. 
 
 Dissolve copper, cold, in diluted nitric acid, and pro¬ 
 duce a precipitation of it by means of quick-lime, so that 
 
 4 
 
96 
 
 GREEN VERDITER. 
 
 all tlie acid shall be absorbed. Let the precipitate be 
 washed, and spread out on a piece of linen cloth to 
 drain; place this green precipitate on a grinding-stone, 
 and add a little quick-lime, in powder, when the green 
 colour will be immediately changed into a beautiful 
 blue. The proportion of lime added should be from 
 seven to ten parts in a hundred. Let the colour be 
 dried. 
 
 Blue verditer is proper for distemper and for varnish: 
 but it is not fit for oil painting, as the oil renders it 
 very dark. If used with oil it ought to be brightened 
 with a great deal of white. 
 
 Green Verditer. 
 
 Green verditer does not require the same care in the 
 preparation as the preceding. It is the general result 
 of the precipitation of copper, dissolved in nitric acid, 
 effected by means of chalk or a white marl. In the 
 latter case, the divided clay, which forms part of it, 
 gives pliability to the verditer, when employed as a 
 colour. If too much charged with copper it w^ould not 
 be fit for oil 'painting, as the oil would produce too 
 dark a green. In this case it must be corrected by the 
 addition of a little white lead or Spanish white. 
 
 This colour, however, is much better calculated for 
 distemper; and the painter may supply its place in 
 oil-painting with verdigris, mixed with two or three 
 parts to one of white lead. With small proportions of 
 verditer, the lightest shades of sea-green may be 
 represented. 
 
COLOURS FOR STAINING ROOMS—STUCCO. 
 
 97 
 
 Several Colours for Staining Rooms. 
 
 Besides this and the preceding precipitate of Blue 
 verditer from nitrate of copper, several verditers having 
 green or bluish shades, may be also prepared from 
 solutions of sulphate of copper (Blue vitriol) in water, 
 the precipitate being made by the addition of either 
 quick-lime, chalk, or the fixed alkalies. They are all 
 suited for water-colours, or rather for the colouring of 
 apartments, being employed with a proper size. 
 
 A mixture for staining rooms bf an elegant green 
 colour may be made thus: take of sulphate of coppery 
 four pounds; whiting (that is, levigated chalk), three 
 pounds; water, one gallon. Dissolve the sulphate of 
 copper in the water, gradually made hot in a vessel of 
 stone-ware; when it is dissolved, add the whiting in 
 fine powder, and mix them well together; a sufficient 
 quantity of size must be added to prevent the colour 
 being rubbed off the wall. 
 
 Stucco may also have imparted to it an elegant green, 
 by mixing a solution of sulphate of copper with the 
 ingredients of which the stucco is made, provided that 
 lime or chalk enter into its composition, in order that 
 the sulphate of copper may be decomposed; but care 
 must be taken in smoothing the stucco, that a copper , 
 not an iron trowel be used, or the colour will be 
 spoiled, in consequence of the stronger affinity which 
 iron has for the sulphuric acid in the sulphate of 
 copper. 
 
 F 
 
98 
 
 PREPARATIONS OF QUICKSILVER. 
 
 Preparations of Quicksilver, 
 
 Native Cinnabar , Factitious Cinnabar , Vermilion , or 
 Red Sulphuret of Mercury. 
 
 The metallic combinations which constitute the 
 greater part of ores, depend on operations which nature 
 performs in silence; which she varies, and which it 
 was reserved for modern chemistry to discover. Native 
 Cinnabar, the natural combination of sulphur and mer¬ 
 cury, affords a specimen of these results. Seven parts 
 of mercury and one of sulphur form Factitious Cinna¬ 
 bar, that brilliant needly mass, of a beautiful red 
 colour, the brightness of which depends on proper 
 proportions of the two component principles, as well as 
 on the greatest possible division of them. This pre¬ 
 paration assumes a very high colour under the muller, 
 and when divided in this mechanical manner, it ex¬ 
 changes the name of cinnabar for that of vermilion. 
 It is manufactured chiefly in Holland; but a very fine 
 vermilion is brought also from China.' It is sometimes 
 adulterated with red-lead. The adulteration may be 
 detected by exposing the suspected article to heat in a 
 crucible; if lead be mixed with it, it will remain at the 
 bottom of the crucible, while the real vermilion is vo¬ 
 latilized by the heat. The best is of a deep rich crim¬ 
 son colour. 
 
 The sulphur is liquified in large earthem jars, or in 
 iron pots, and the mercury is mixed in the proper pro¬ 
 portions. These two matters become heated to such a 
 degree, by the mere effect of the combination, as to 
 inflame; and when this result takes place, the cinna- 
 
 8 
 
VERMILION—TURBITH MINERAL. 
 
 99 
 
 bar is more easily sublimed, because the excess of 
 sulphur is destroyed. The matter when cold is pul¬ 
 verized and sublimed in flat earthen vessels, which 
 are covered by other vessels of the same substance. 
 These subliming vessels are arranged in long sand 
 furnaces, called galleries, where the sublimation is 
 effected only by a very strong heat. 
 
 If the first sublimation does not produce cinnabar of 
 a beautiful colour when ground, the matter is subjected 
 to a second sublimation, the effect of which is to 
 destroy the quantity of sulphur greater than that essen¬ 
 tial to the most perfect combination, in regard to the 
 tone of colour required in vermilion. 
 
 The art of preparing fine vermilion is in very few 
 hands. It is suspected that some material is used in its 
 levigation which very much improves its colour; that 
 material has been by some supposed to be urine. We 
 have stated the quantity of mercury may be seven parts 
 to one of sulphur, but the London and Dublin Dispensa¬ 
 tories direct forty ounces of quicksilver to eight ounces 
 of sulphur. 
 
 Vermilion is employed in various kinds of painting; 
 for colouring sealing-wax; and, in general, for all 
 ornaments which require a high and strong colour 
 agreeable to the eye. It has no rival but in carmine, 
 which, though it produces a mellower and fuller 
 colour, is no less pleasing. 
 
 Turbith Mineral , or Sub-oxysulphate of Mercury , 
 
 Is a compound of quicksilver and sulphuric acid, and 
 used occasionally as a pigment, of a bright lemon 
 
 f 2 
 
100 PREPARATIONS OF LEAD—NAPLES YELLOW. 
 
 colour; but it is necessarily dear, and is not now much 
 in request. It was formerly used in medicine, but is 
 now expunged from the London Pharmacopoeia. Its 
 mode of preparation may be seen by reference to the 
 Phar. Collegii Regalis, Lond.\ published in 1788, page 
 83, under the article Hydrargyrus vitriolatus, or vitri- 
 olated quicksilver , but which it does not appear neces¬ 
 sary that we should here describe. 
 
 Preparations of Lead. 
 
 White Lead has been already noticed under the 
 Whites in the preceding part of this chapter; we shall 
 here treat of the remaining preparations into which 
 lead enters as a pigment. 
 
 Naples Yellow. 
 
 The nature of Naples yellow has not been long 
 known. The secret of preparing it was in the posses¬ 
 sion of a Neapolitan, who mixed calcined lead with a 
 third of its weight of powdered antimony, and exposed 
 the mixture to a potter’s furnace. From the researches 
 of Fougeroux de Bondaroy, (Memoires de VAcademie 
 des Sciences , 1772,^ the formula was modified in the 
 following manner:— 
 
 Take twelve ounces of white lead, two ounces of the 
 common antimony (sulphuret of antimony), half an 
 ounce of calcined alum, and an ounce of muriate of 
 ammonia, all in powder; and having mixed them tho¬ 
 roughly, put them into a capsule or dish of crucible 
 earth, and place over it a covering of the same sub¬ 
 stance. Then expose it at first to a gentle heat, which 
 
NAPLES YELLOW—PATENT YELLOW. 
 
 101 
 
 must be gradually increased till the capsule is mode¬ 
 rately red. The oxidation arising from this process 
 requires at least three hours’ exposure to heat before it 
 is completed. The result of this calcination is Naples 
 yellow, which must be ground with water on a 'por¬ 
 phyry slab, by means of an ivory spatula, as iron or 
 steel imparts a green colour to it. The paste is then 
 dried and preserved for use. It is a yellow oxide of 
 lead and antimony. 
 
 There is no necessity of adhering so strictly to the 
 doses as to prevent their being varied. If a golden 
 colour be required in the yellow, the proportions of the 
 antimony and muriate of ammonia must be increased. 
 In like manner, if you wish it to be more fusible, in¬ 
 crease the quantities of antimony and calcined alum. 
 
 Sulphuret of antimony, which contains a little iron, 
 is the most proper for this composition. 
 
 Naples yellow is fit for every kind of painting, not 
 excepting that on porcelain and enamel. 
 
 Patent Yellow , or Montpellier Yellow. 
 
 Patent yellow is a compound of oxide and chloride 
 of lead. It was for many years prepared only by the 
 patentee in this country, who was extremely jealous of 
 his process: the patent has, we presume, long since 
 expired. This pigment is made by submitting litharge 
 and common salt, in certain proportions, to the action 
 of an intense fire in suitable crucibles. 
 
 The following is the substance of the process given 
 in the former editions of this work. 
 
 Take fifty pounds of litharge, finely powdered; dis- 
 f 3 
 
102 
 
 PATENT YELLOW. 
 
 solve twelve pounds of common salt in about fifty 
 pounds of water; mix a portion of this solution with 
 the litharge, so as to form a thin paste; let the whole 
 remain for some hours; when the surface begins to 
 grow white, stir.the mass with a strong wooden spatula; 
 as the consistence of the mass increases, add more of 
 the solution; and if the whole be not sufficient to keep 
 the paste of the same consistence, add simple water. 
 The stirring is a necessary part of the process. The 
 paste will be then very white, and in the course of 
 twenty-four hours becomes uniform and free from 
 lumps. It is then to remain for the same space of time, 
 stirring it at intervals to complete the decomposition of 
 the salt. 
 
 The paste is now to be well washed to carry off the 
 caustic soda which adheres to it; to extract the whole 
 of it, the mass is also put into a strong linen cloth and 
 subjected to a press. 
 
 The remaining paste is distributed in flat vessels; 
 and these vessels are exposed to a strong heat, in order 
 to effect a proper oxidation, which converts it into a 
 solid, yellow, brilliant matter, sometimes crystallized 
 in transverse striae. This is patent, or Montpellier yel¬ 
 low, which may be applied to the same purposes as 
 Naples yellow. 
 
 The soda separated by the washing may be con¬ 
 verted to many purposes in the arts. 
 
 The following form is given for making Patent Yel¬ 
 low in Grafs Supplement to the Pharmacopoeias , 
 1818. 
 
 Common salt 1 cwt., litharge 4 cwt., ground to- 
 
OXIDES OF LEAD. 
 
 103 
 
 gether with water, kept for some time in a gentle heat, 
 water being added to supply the loss by evaporation, the 
 natron then washed out with more water, and the white 
 residuum heated till it acquires a fine yellow r colour. 
 
 Patent yellow is a very bright and permanent yellow, 
 especially for oil colours; but it has been latterly in 
 a great measure superseded by Chrome Yellow, or 
 Chromate of Lead, which will subsequently be de¬ 
 scribed. 
 
 The Oxides of Lead. 
 
 Lead readily combines with oxygen, even without 
 heat, or the intervention of any other body, except at¬ 
 mospheric air and moisture. Oxygen combines, how¬ 
 ever, with lead in various proportions, forming with it 
 several oxides of different colours. The oxides used in 
 painting and the arts are usually obtained by the 
 means of heat. 
 
 According to Fourcroy (Elements of Chemistry , 
 Vol. 2, page 386,) the white dust formed on the surface 
 of lead exposed to the action of common air is not a 
 pure oxide of lead, but oxide of lead combined with 
 carbonic acid absorbed from the atmosphere. The 
 same author also states, that all the oxides of lead, and 
 more especially minium , absorb carbonic acid when 
 exposed to the air: in order, therefore, to preserve 
 oxide of lead pure, it should be kept from the contact 
 of air; or the carbonic acid which it has absorbed from 
 the air may be separated by heating it before it is used, 
 if such a process should be deemed necessary. For 
 other observations on white lead , see page 50. 
 
 f 4 
 
104 OXIDES OF LEAD—MASSICOT-LITHARGE. 
 
 Lead exposed to heat readily melts, and its surface 
 then becomes covered with a pellicle of a grey colour; i 
 if this pellicle be removed, it is immediately succeeded 
 by another; and so on till the whole mass is, at length, j 
 reduced to a grey powder. This oxide is not used in 
 painting; it is, however, used largely in the glazing 
 of earthenware. It is generally considered as in the 
 lowest state of oxidation. 
 
 Massicot , or Yellow Oxide of Lead . 
 
 After the preceding operation, if the temperature be 
 increased, the grey oxide assumes a yellow colour, and 
 when this colour is sufficiently developed, it is dis¬ 
 tinguished by the name of massicot , or more correctly, 
 yellow oxide of lead . This oxide was employed in 
 painting before Naples or patent yellow was known; 
 but it is now little, if at all used. 
 
 Litharge , or Vitreous Oxide of Lead , 
 
 Is usually considered of the same degree of oxidation 
 as massicot; yet it contains, w T e believe, more oxide 
 than that substance. It is obtained on a large scale at 
 the lead-works, by causing streams of air from powerful 
 bellows to be poured on melted lead, the surface of 
 which is immediately converted into litharge, that is at 
 once blown off by a blast of air. 
 
 The colour of litharge varies; but the best is in 
 shining scales of a reddish hue, and is, if pure, wholly 
 soluble in olive, linseed, and other expressed oils; in 
 a small quantity by being merely mixed with them, and 
 occasionally shaken; but in large quantities by being 
 
OXIDES OF LEAD—LITHARGE. 
 
 105 
 
 boiled at once with them, and having a portion of water 
 added to moderate the heat. The best litharge is made 
 in or near London. 
 
 Litharge is used in painting chiefly as a drier, being 
 ground in oil, and mixed with the colours; it is also 
 boiled with linseed oil to render it more disposed to 
 dry. It is also largely used for the manufacture of 
 patent yellow, as before mentioned. Of course it can¬ 
 not be applied as a drier to white and other delicate 
 colours; but for all dark and coarse colours it is an 
 extremely useful ingredient. 
 
 This pigment was formerly known in commerce 
 under two names, Litharge of Gold and Litharge of 
 Silver: the distinctions are now unknown. 
 
 It is not only very remarkable that most of the oxides 
 of lead, and especially litharge, readily combine with 
 the fixed and some of the animal oils, but also that this 
 combination is of a singular and intimate kind, so as to 
 form, under ordinary circumstances, an indestructible 
 compound. Thus, in regard to litharge, if five pounds 
 of powdered litharge be boiled in eight pints of olive 
 oil, with a small addition of water to modify the heat, 
 in a few hours the litharge combines with the oil, 
 forming a hard and white mass when cold, which is 
 known in Pharmacy by the common name of Diachy¬ 
 lon . This disposition of lead, thus to combine with 
 fixed oils, renders it very useful as a pigment, a sub¬ 
 stitute for which, although all its preparations and 
 combinations, and even the effluvia from them are 
 poisonous, has not yet, unfortunately, been found. 
 
106 
 
 RED LEAD. 
 
 Red Lead—Red Oxide of Lead — Minium. 
 
 This pigment is obtained by exposing Massicot to 
 the flame of a reverberatory furnace for forty-eight 
 hours, or till it becomes of a fine red colour; in this 
 process it appears that frequent stirring is necessary, in 
 order that every portion of the oxide should come in 
 contact with the air, so that an absorption of oxygen 
 should take place. 
 
 Red Lead is employed extensively in house and 
 coach painting, and for reds, and as a ground to ver¬ 
 milion, which is applied to the painting of decorations 
 requiring durability. 
 
 It combines with the fixed oils in a similar way to 
 litharge, by producing a hard and indestructible com¬ 
 pound; but in boiling it with oil, unless the heat be 
 much urged, its colour still remains red; if the heat be 
 in excess, the compound becomes of a brown colour. 
 
 Of course, red lead, as a paint, requires with the 
 fixed oils no drying material, as unless soon used after 
 being ground in oil, it hardens into an unmanageable 
 mass. The same observation applies to patent yellow *. 
 
 * In the last edition of this work, three degrees of the oxidation of lead 
 were described; the grey oxide was called the first; Massicot and Litharge 
 the second; and Red Lead the third. We have not preserved this nomen¬ 
 clature in the present edition, because we do not believe that our knowledge 
 of the different oxides of lead is yet sufficiently accurate to warrant the 
 arrangement. That the grey oxide contains a slight dose of oxygen, mas¬ 
 sicot and litharge more, and red lead yet more oxygen, we do not doubt; 
 but Dr. Thomson mentions four oxides; Dr. Ure says “there are cer¬ 
 tainly two , perhaps three oxides of leadMr. Brande says there are three 
 oxides of lead; massicot he calls the protoxide; Red Lead the deutoxide; 
 and an insoluble brown substance the peroxide ; this last being, according to 
 him, lead saturated with the highest dose of oxygen, namely, fifteen parts to 
 ninety-seven parts of lead; while red lead contains only 97 parts of lead and 
 
CHROME YELLOW. 
 
 107 
 
 Chrome Yellow—Chromate of Lead. 
 
 Chrome is a metal discovered by Vauquelin in 1797. 
 Its colour resembles iron; its specific gravity is 5.9. It 
 is brittle and difficult of fusion. Chromic acid, or the 
 red peroxide of chrome, is most easily procured from na¬ 
 tive chromate of lead, first found in its natural state in 
 Siberia; it may also be procured from native Chromate 
 of Iron. Chromate of lead, a beautiful yellow colour, 
 was for some time, on account of its scarcity and high 
 price, confined to the use of portrait painting; but, for 
 some time past, it has been prepared artificially in this 
 country, so as to have superseded, in a great degree, 
 the use of patent yellow among coach-painters and 
 house-painters throughout the kingdom. Besides the 
 extreme richness and beauty of its colour, this pigment 
 is said to possess so much body, that one pound of it 
 will go as far as four pounds of patent yellow. It is so 
 fine that it requires no laborious grinding, but will 
 spread readily under the brush, and may be laid on 
 with varnish; it is not poisonous like King’s yellow; 
 it will stand better than most other pigments; sul¬ 
 phuretted hydrogen-gas only impairing its beauty; 
 against which, however, it may be protected by var¬ 
 nish. It makes also a beautiful green with Prussian 
 blue. Care should be taken to obtain it pure, as it is 
 
 11.25 parts of oxygen. From these differences, we are led to conclude, 
 that the doses of oxygen in lead, in the different preparations of it, are much 
 more numerous than are stated by chemists; we fear the desire of sys¬ 
 tematizing, of proving that oxygen always combines with the metals in 
 definite proportions, is extremely detrimental to the progress of chemical 
 philosophy. Editor. 
 
 F 6 
 
108 
 
 CHROME YELLOW. 
 
 apt to be adulterated with white lead or patent yellow, 
 from both which it cannot be distinguished by the eye, 
 except in its want of beauty and intensity of colour; 
 patent yellow is, however, a much more heavy pigment 
 than Chrome yellow: of course, chemical analysis 
 would soon detect these adulterations, but artists are 
 not often willing to enter into such inquiries. 
 
 The following method of preparing this substance is 
 from Vanherman. 
 
 “ To one pound of chromate of iron, dissolved in two 
 gallons of warm water, add two pounds of white lead 
 ground in water; mix these ingredients well, and then 
 add one pound of sugar of lead; stir the whole and 
 suffer it to precipitate, when you will obtain a deep 
 yellowy which may be put in the filter and afterwards f 
 dried. If the colour be required of a light or lemon 
 tint, more sugar of lead must be added.” 
 
 A Dr. Bollman some years since prepared chrome 
 yellow at Battersea of a very superior kind; but we are 
 not acquainted with the process which he employed. 
 
 Chromate of lead is now applied to dyeing cloth in 
 this country; a chromate of potash is first obtained, and 
 the cloth being submitted to a w*eak solution of acetate 
 of lead a decomposition takes place ; the potash unites 
 with the acetic acid in the acetate of lead and the chro¬ 
 mic acid in the potash combines with the lead, thus 
 forming a beautiful yellow colour. In a similar way we 
 suspect sometimes the chromate of lead for the painter 
 is now obtained. 
 
 Oxide of Chrome , a fine Green. 
 
 This article, as a pigment, is prepared thus: a chro- 
 
OXIDES OF CHROME—BLUE, 
 
 109 
 
 mate of mercury is formed as usual by precipitation 
 from chromate of potash, and a nitrate of mercury, as 
 neutral and concentrated as possible. The oxide of 
 chrome, obtained by heating the chromate of mercury, 
 will bear the greatest perfection of colour if it be put 
 into an unglazed porcelain crucible, and exposed to 
 the heat of the furnace during the time required for 
 baking the porcelain. The oxide produced will be a 
 fine grass green . 
 
 Blue Oxide of Chrome. 
 
 The concentrated alkaline solution of chrome is to 
 be saturated with weak sulphuric acid, and then to 
 every 8 lbs. is to be added 1 lb. of common salt, and half 
 a pound of sulphuric acid; the liquid will then become 
 green. To be certain that the yellow is totally de¬ 
 stroyed, a small quantity of the liquor is to have pot¬ 
 ash added to it and filtered; if the acid be still yellow 
 a fresh portion of salt and of sulphuric acid must be 
 added; the fluid is then to be evaporated to dryness, 
 re-dissolved and filtered by caustic potash. It will be 
 a greenish blue colour, and being washed must be col¬ 
 lected upon a filter.— Bull . JJniv. 
 
 We give the two preceding forms, presuming that 
 they are both elegant and useful pigments; but we know 
 nothing of their use. 
 
 Dichromate of Lead , 
 
 Is of a full red colour, and is prepared by digesting a 
 solution of the yellow chromate of potash upon car¬ 
 bonate of lead, at a boiling temperature, in the pro¬ 
 portion of one part of the former to two of the latter, 
 stirring up the solid matter very frequently. 
 
110 
 
 ACETATE OF LEAD. 
 
 This pigment stands the glazing heat of a potter’s 
 kiln, and is a good red on ordinary kinds of stone-ware. 
 It is also, we presume, a good oil-colour. See Journal 
 of Science, No. XII. N. S. Page 359. 
 
 Acetate of Lead or Sugar of Lead, 
 
 Although not in itself a pigment, is so very useful 
 when mixed with many paints, that in a description of 
 colouring materials, it ought not to be passed over. 
 
 Sugar of lead, as found in commerce, is usually im¬ 
 ported from the continent in large packages; it has a 
 crystalline yellowish white hue not very unlike some 
 kinds of raw sugar, whence, and from its sweetish taste, 
 it has obtained its common name. It may be obtained 
 very easily from many of the oxides of lead, or from 
 white lead, by means of the acetic acid. It is rather 
 remarkable, that the colleges of London, Dublin, and 
 Edinburgh, give different forms for its preparation in 
 their respective pharmacopoeias. It is, however, obtained 
 by digesting white lead in about ten times its weight 
 of distilled vinegar or pyrolignous acid; the solution 
 being filtered or purified by decantation, and evaporated 
 till a pellicle appears on the surface, it is set by to crys¬ 
 tallize; the crystals are, of course, the acetate of lead. 
 
 The chief use of this article in painting is as a 
 drier; and particularly so for white and other oil 
 paints where a delicacy of colour is wanted to be pre¬ 
 served, as it appears to possess scarcely, if any, tinge- 
 ing property. 
 
 The painter should not forget that this, as well as all 
 the other preparations of lead, is highly poisonous. 
 
ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE COLOURS. 
 
 Ill 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Descriptive Account of the Animal and Vegetable 
 colouring substances used in painting , with a detail 
 of the process employed to obtain them , and of the 
 methods of preparing and modifying them. 
 
 Of Lakes. * 
 
 The term lake is applied to those colours which are 
 obtained by precipitating the colouring matter with 
 some earth or oxide. It appears that the word lac or 
 lake is derived from India, and that it is there employed 
 to express a colour or a solid colouring part. The prin¬ 
 cipal lakes are carmine , Florence lake , and madder lake . 
 But almost all vegetable colouring matters may be pre¬ 
 cipitated into lakes of more or less beauty by means of 
 alum or oxide of tin. 
 
 The preparation of the crayons used in painting is 
 not, however, confined to the chemical process above 
 mentioned: there is one which is simpler and less 
 tedious; it is that which serves as a basis to the pre¬ 
 paration of Dutch and other pinks. It consists in mix¬ 
 ing a fine argillaceous matter with the coloured solu¬ 
 tion, and subjecting the whole to careful evaporation, 
 or in exposing the liquid paste on pieces of chalk 
 covered with a clean cloth, to prevent the colour from 
 adhering to the chalk. 
 
112 
 
 OF LAKES. 
 
 This method is more economical than the chemical 
 process; but it requires a very nice choice in the quality 
 of the white designed for the operation, and in particu¬ 
 lar the precaution of previous washing, to remove the 
 fine sandy parts with which even the finest white clays 
 are mixed. 
 
 Lakes differ both in colour and quality. They are 
 more or less capable of resisting the action of the air 
 and the light. The lakes most in request are those 
 called carminated (a term derived from carmine , a co¬ 
 lour which we shall presently describe) because they 
 strongly resist the destructive influence of light. Their 
 colouring part is extracted from cochineal. They are 
 imitated with colouring parts extracted from some ve¬ 
 getable substances; but the latter produce generally 
 inferior lakes, their colouring parts being easily altered 
 by the combined action of air and light. Such are, 
 however, still of some use when reserved for temporary 
 articles, as printed calicoes, paper hangings, &c.; but 
 they must be entirely banished from the pallet of the 
 painter who sets any value on the opinion of posterity. 
 
 It is not easy to distinguish whether a lake has really 
 been prepared from cochineal, or from some vegetable 
 colouring substance. Means have been found, by cer¬ 
 tain re-agents and various mixtures, to give such splen¬ 
 dour to inferior lakes, that the most skilful painters are 
 often embarrassed in their choice. The dread of em¬ 
 ploying uncertain colours renders them timid, and often 
 makes them neglect colours the duration of which they 
 cannot foresee. 
 
 If vinegar, we axe told, be poured upon lakes, the 
 
CARMINE. 
 
 113 
 
 colouring part of which has been derived from Brasil 
 wood or madder, &c. they will instantly turn yellow ; 
 but we shall soon see what little confidence ought to be 
 placed in this and other processes, an attention to which, 
 and their results, demands more time than an artist is 
 in general disposed to bestow upon them. As, however, 
 the subject is important, we prepared some real as well 
 as false carminated lakes, that we might subject them to 
 the action of some re-agents. 
 
 The annexed table exhibits the results of those com¬ 
 parative experiments. 
 
 Carmine. 
 
 This kind of fecula, so fertile in gradations of tone by 
 the effect of mixtures, and so grateful to the eye in all 
 its shades; so useful to the painter, and so agreeable to 
 the delicate beauty, is only the colouring part of a 
 dried insect, known under the name of cochineal . 
 
 A mixture of 36 grains of chouan seed, 18 grains of 
 autour bark, and as much alum, thrown into a decoc¬ 
 tion of 6 gros of pulverized cochineal and 5 pounds of 
 water, gives at the end of horn five to ten days, a red 
 fecula, which, when dried, weighs from 40 to 48 grains. 
 This fecula is carmine. The remaining decoction, 
 which is still highly coloured, is reserved for the pre¬ 
 paration of carminated lakes. 
 
 The above was the process given for obtaining car¬ 
 mine in the second edition of this work. The following 
 is from Ure’s Dictionary of Chemistry, article Lake. 
 
114 
 
 CARMINE-CARMINATED LAKE. 
 
 Another process for Carmine. 
 
 Take four ounces of finely powdered cochineal, four 
 or six quarts of rain-water that has been previously 
 boiled in a pewter kettle; boil the cochineal in this 
 water for six minutes; some add, during the boiling, 
 two drachms of powdered cream of tartar. Eight 
 scruples of rock-alum are then to be added, and the 
 whole kept upon the fire one minute longer. As soon 
 as the gross powder has subsided to the bottom, and the 
 decoction is become clear, the latter is to be 
 
 decanted into large cylindrical glasses, covered over and 
 kept undisturbed till a fine powder is observed to have 
 settled at the bottom. The superincumbent liquor is 
 then to be poured off from this powder, and the powder 
 gradually dried. 
 
 From the decanted liquor, which will be still much 
 coloured, the rest of the colouring matter may be se¬ 
 parated by the addition of the solution of tin, when it 
 will yield a carmine little inferior to the first product. 
 
 A pound of good cochineal will produce about an 
 ounce and a half of carmine, and about a pound and a 
 quarter of red lake. 
 
 Carminated Lake , 
 
 No. I. 
 
 The decoction which floats over the coloured pre¬ 
 cipitate, carmine, being still highly coloured, the addi¬ 
 tion of alum, which is afterwards decomposed by a so¬ 
 lution of carbonate of soda, precipitates the alumina, 
 which in precipitating carries with it the colour of the 
 
CARMINATED LAKE. 
 
 115 
 
 solution. According to the quantity prescribed for the 
 r composition, two or three ounces of alum may be em- 
 j ployed. The greater or less quantity of this substance, 
 
 5 the base of which combines with the colouring fecula, 
 determines the greater or less intensity in the colour of 
 t the lake resulting from it. When the process is con¬ 
 ducted on a small scale, the precipitate may be received 
 on a filter; it is then washed with warm water; and 
 when it has acquired the consistence of soft paste, it is 
 formed into small cakes or sticks. It is this substance 
 which constitutes the beautiful carminated lakes used 
 for crayon painting. 
 
 In operating on a large scale, the whole of the alka¬ 
 line liquor judged necessary after a few trials to decom¬ 
 pose the quantity of alum intended to be employed, 
 may be divided into three or four separate portions. 
 As many cloth filters as there are alkaline portions be¬ 
 ing then prepared, the first portion of alkaline liquor is 
 poured out, and the coloured precipitate resulting from 
 it is received on one of the filters : the coloured liquor 
 which passes through the filter receives the second por¬ 
 tion of alkaline liquor, and the latter produces a second 
 precipitate which is received on a new filter. This 
 operation is then continued till the last portion of alka¬ 
 line liquor has been employed. The lakes deposited on 
 the filters are washed in warm water; and when they 
 have drained, they are carried along with their cloth to 
 the chalk driers. The first precipitation gives a car¬ 
 minated lake of a very high colour; the second is some¬ 
 what lighter; and the rest go on decreasing in the same 
 manner. By these means the artist obtains from the 
 
116 
 
 CARMINATED LAKE. 
 
 same solution various shades of colour which are much 
 mellower, and more delicate than those resulting from a 
 mechanical mixture of white clay in different propor¬ 
 tions, or lake saturated with colour by one operation. 
 
 If the manufacturer of crayons prefers in these opera¬ 
 tions to mix the solution of cochineal with fine white 
 clay, well washed, he may obtain the same shades by 
 diluting different quantities of clay with one measure 
 of the decoction of cochineal. For example, a pound 
 of decoction saturated with colour, and a quarter of a 
 pound of clay; the same quantity of decoction, and 
 half a pound of clay ; a pound, and so on. This opera¬ 
 tion, which is conducted in the same manner as that for 
 Dutch pink, is speedier than that performed by a chemi¬ 
 cal decomposition with alum and an alkali. The lakes 
 obtained are exceedingly beautiful; but unless the clay 
 be very fine they never have the brightness, softness, 
 and mellowness of the former; as the saline matters 
 employed form a mordant which is not furnished by the 
 second method. 
 
 A beautiful tone of violet, red, and even of purple 
 red, may be communicated to the colouring part of 
 cochineal by adding to the infusion of it a solution of 
 tin in nitro-muriatic acid (aqua regia). The effect will 
 be greater, if, instead of this solution, a solution of 
 muriate of tin be employed. 
 
 Carminated lake from scarlet cloth. 
 
 Carminated lake may be composed also, without em¬ 
 ploying cochineal in a direct manner, by extracting the 
 
CARMINATED LAKE. 
 
 117 
 
 colouring matter from any substance impregnated with 
 it, such as the shearings of scarlet cloth. 
 
 Boil one pound of fine wood ashes in forty pints of 
 water in an iron vessel for a quarter of an hour; then 
 filter the solution through a piece of linen cloth till the 
 liquor passes through clear. 
 
 Put the liquor on the fire, and having brought it to a 
 state of ebullition, add two pounds of the shearings or 
 shreds of scarlet cloth dyed with cochineal, which 
 must be boiled till they become white ; then filter the 
 liquor again, and press the shreds, to squeeze out all 
 the colouring part. 
 
 Put the filtered liquor into a clean vessel and place 
 it over the fire. When it boils, pour in a solution of 
 ten or twelve ounces of alum in two pounds of spring 
 water which has been filtered. Stir the whole with a 
 wooden spatula till the froth that is formed be dissi¬ 
 pated ; and having mixed with it two pounds of a strong 
 decoction of Brasil wood, pour it upon a filter. After 
 filtration wash the sediment with spring water, and re¬ 
 move the cloth filter containing it to the chalk driers. The 
 result of this operation will be a beautiful lake ; but it 
 has not the soft velvety appearance of that obtained by 
 the first method. Besides, the colouring part of the 
 Brasil wood which unites to that of the cochineal in the 
 shearings or shreds of scarlet cloth, lessens the unalte- 
 rability of the colouring part of the cochineal. For this 
 reason purified potash ought to be substituted for the 
 wood ashes. 
 
 In this process the alum undergoes decomposition by 
 the solution of wood ashes, which is a carbonate of 
 
118 
 
 FLORENTINE LAKE. 
 
 potash. The alumina, in precipitating, combines with 
 the colouring matter of the cochineal, which the alkali 
 has taken from the scarlet cloth. 
 
 This method is more complex than the preceding. 
 Besides, it is not economical for colour-makers who 
 may be at a distance from cloth-dressers. 
 
 Another carminated Lake , called Florentine Lake . 
 
 Take the sediment of cochineal, which remains after 
 the preparation of carmine, together with the red liquor 
 that remains after the preparation of the same, and boil 
 them in the requisite quantity of water; then let the 
 whole be precipitated with the solution of tin; the pre¬ 
 cipitate must be frequently edulcorated with water. 
 Boil also two ounces of fresh cochineal and one of 
 cream of tartar in a sufficient quantity of water; let the 
 decoction be poured off clear and precipitated with the 
 solution of tin, and the precipitate be washed. Dis¬ 
 solve, at the same time, two pounds of alum in water; 
 precipitate the alumina with a lixivium of potash, and 
 let the white earth be washed repeatedly in boiling 
 water. Lastly, mix both precipitates together in their 
 liquid states, put upon a filter and dry the mixture. 
 
 For the preparation of a cheaper lake instead of 
 cochineal, one pound of Brazil wood may be treated in 
 the preceding manner.— Ure. 
 
CARMINATED LAKE FROM MADDER. 
 
 119 
 
 False carminated Lakes , in which the colouring 'part 
 is different from that of Cochineal . 
 
 Carminated Lake from Madder. 
 
 No. II. 
 
 Notwithstanding the unfavourable opinion entertained 
 in regard to lakes extracted from vegetables, a colour¬ 
 ing substance is found in the root of madder, to which 
 the addition of alum gives a very warm tone of ex¬ 
 ceedingly bright purple red, and of such durability as 
 places this lake far above that obtained from a decoction 
 of Brasil wood. 
 
 Boil one part of madder in from twelve to fifteen parts 
 of water till it be reduced to about two parts. Then 
 strain the decoction through a piece of strong linen 
 cloth, which must be well squeezed; and add to the 
 decoction four ounces of alum. The tint is then a 
 beautiful bright red, which the matter will retain if it 
 be mixed with proper clay. In this case expose the 
 thick liquid which is thus produced on a linen filter, 
 and subject it to one washing to remove the alum. The 
 lake, when taken from the driers, will retain this bright 
 primitive colour given by the alum. 
 
 But if in the process for making this lake decompo¬ 
 sition be employed, by mixing an alkali with the solu¬ 
 tion, the alum w r hich is decomposed deprives the solu¬ 
 tion of its mordant, and the lake obtained after the sub¬ 
 sequent washings appears of the colour of the madder 
 bath without any addition: it is of a reddish brown. 
 
120 
 
 MADDER LAKE. 
 
 In this second operation seven or eight ounces of alum 
 ought to be employed for each pound of madder. 
 
 This kind of lake, obtained by decomposition, is ex¬ 
 ceedingly fine; but it does not possess that bright red 
 colour so much sought after : it may, however, be com¬ 
 municated to it, if the washed precipitate be mixed 
 before it be dry with solution of alum. 
 
 If arseniate of potash or sugar of lead be added to 
 the solution of alum and madder, a rose-coloured lake 
 will be obtained on the addition of carbonate of soda. 
 It is that marked No. 3 in the comparative table. 
 
 The following is another process of obtaining lake 
 from madder, communicated to the Society of Arts by 
 Sir H. C. Englefield, a few years since. 
 
 Another process for Madder Lake. 
 
 Enclose two ounces troy of the finest crop madder 
 in a bag of fine and strong calico, large enough to hold 
 three or four times as much. Put it into a large marble 
 or porcelain mortar, and pour on it a pint of cold, clear, 
 soft water. Press the bag in every direction, and 
 pound and rub it about with a pestle as much as can be 
 done without tearing it; and when the water is loaded 
 with colour, pour it off. Repeat this process till the 
 water comes off slightly tinged, for which about five 
 pints will be sufficient. Heat all the liquor in an 
 earthen or silver vessel till it is near boiling, and then 
 pour it into a large basin, into which a troy ounce of 
 alum dissolved in a pint of boiling soft water has been 
 previously put. Stir the mixture together, and, while 
 stirring, pour in gently about an ounce and a half of 
 
 5 
 
LAKE FROM BRASIL WOOD. 
 
 121 
 
 saturated solution of subcarbonate of potash. Let it 
 stand till cold to settle; pour off the clear yellow 
 liquor; add to the precipitate a quart of boiling soft 
 water, stirring it well; and when cold separate, by fil¬ 
 tration, the lake, which should weigh half an ounce. 
 
 If less alum be employed the colour will be some¬ 
 what deeper; with less than three-fourths of an ounce, 
 the whole of the colouring matter will not unite with 
 the alumina. 
 
 Fresh madder root is equal, if not superior to the 
 dry. 
 
 Lake from Brasil Wood. 
 
 Brasil wood affords two different carminated lakes, 
 and of very rich colours, if the process which facili¬ 
 tates the removal of its colouring part to the alumina 
 disengaged from the alum, or to proper clay, be varied. 
 These two shades are obtained by employing chemical 
 decomposition, or by simple mixture without decompo¬ 
 sition. The two processes we use are as follow: 
 
 Boil four ounces of the raspings of Brasil wood 
 in fifteen pounds of pure water, till the liquor is re¬ 
 duced to a pound and a half or two pounds. The liquor 
 has then a dark red colour, inclining to violet; but the 
 addition of four or five ounces of alum gives it a bright 
 red, inclining to rose-colour. When the liquor has 
 been strained through a piece of linen cloth, if four 
 ounces of carbonate of soda be added with caution, on 
 account of the effervescence which takes place, the 
 colour, which by this addition is deprived of its mor¬ 
 dant, will resume its former tint, and deposit a lake 
 
 G 
 
122 
 
 LAKE FROM BRASIL WOOD. 
 
 which, when washed and properly dried, has an exceed¬ 
 ingly rich and mellow violet-red colour. 
 
 If only one half of the quantity of carbonate of soda 
 be employed for this precipitation, the tint of the lake 
 becomes clearer; because the solution still retains the 
 undecomp'osed aluminous mordant. 
 
 In the last place, if the method employed for Dutch 
 pink be followed, by mixing the aluminous decoction 
 of Brasil wood with pure clay, such as Spanish white 
 and white of Morat, and if the mixture be deposited on 
 a filter to receive the necessary washing, you will ob¬ 
 tain a lake of a very bright dark rose-colour. The 
 lake which we have prepared in this manner, making 
 use of pure clay from Morat, is marked No. 5 in the 
 comparative table. 
 
 The first lake is harder than the second, because, not¬ 
 withstanding the washing, it retains salts which adhere 
 strongly to the clay; but the second is too soft. Its 
 colour, heightened by the mixture of alum, seems to 
 have a superiority over the aluminous lake of madder, 
 which brings it near to the lakes made from cochineal. 
 
 By the same processes a very beautiful lake may be 
 extracted from logwood. In general, lakes of all co¬ 
 lours, and of all the shades of these colours, may be 
 prepared from substances, the colouring part of which 
 is soluble in boiling water; because it is afterwards 
 communicated by decomposition to the alumina pre¬ 
 cipitated from alum, by means of an alkali; or the 
 tincture may be mixed with a pure and exceedingly 
 white argillaceous substance, such as real Spanish 
 white, or white of Morat. It is the property of alumina, 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON LAKES. 
 
 123 
 
 and of all clays, to form a kind of combination with 
 the divided oily or resinous substances with which they 
 are in contact, and to retain them. 
 
 When lakes are prepared by the medium of alum, 
 which is decomposed by the application of an alkaline 
 liquor, carbonate of soda is to be preferred to carbonate 
 of potash, because the new salt, which results from the 
 decomposition of the alum by means of the former, is 
 far more soluble than that which might be formed by 
 potash. The washing of the lake then succeeds better, 
 and no salt remains to make it hard. 
 
 Lakes enter into the composition of solid colours. 
 They may be employed to colour changing spirituous 
 varnishes; but in this particular case it would be simpler 
 to extract the tincture from cochineal itself, since no¬ 
 thing is required but the colouring part. 
 
 It has been commonly believed that real carminated 
 lakes, the colouring part of which is obtained from cochi¬ 
 neal, can easily be distinguished, by means of vegetable 
 acids, from those in which the colouring part is a vege¬ 
 table product. The latter, as asserted, do not stand the 
 test of immersion in these acids withoutbecoming yellow. 
 In order, however, to ascertain the truth of the commonly 
 received opinion, we exposed to the action of different 
 re-agents five kinds of lake, the composition of most of 
 which has been above so minutely detailed, that the pro¬ 
 cesses may be applied to every substance the colouring 
 part of which is soluble in water. We shall here exhibit 
 a comparative table of the effects resulting from the 
 different processes employed. The experiments were 
 made in large watch glasses exposed to the open air; 
 
 G 2 
 
124 
 
 OBSERVATIONS ON LAKES. 
 
 and as the action of the light has a more sensible in¬ 
 fluence on some colouring parts than on others, it was 
 thought proper to subject the mixtures to it. 
 
 Re-agents act in a different manner on the same sub¬ 
 stance. Some, to produce their effect, require only a 
 momentary contact; while others require more time, 
 and do not manifest their influence till they have pro¬ 
 duced a kind of solution. This circumstance induced 
 us to vary the experiments: we put the same mixtures 
 into bottles closely shut, and kept an account of the 
 results observed at the moment of contact, twenty-four 
 hours after, and at the end of three weeks. They are 
 exhibited, such as we observed them, in the annexed 
 table. It should be also observed that carbonate of 
 potash was not employed in the first experiments. 
 
 This short view of these results will, no doubt, be 
 sufficient to establish the essential differences between 
 the various colouring parts applied to the composition 
 of carminated lakes; and to prove the insufficiency of 
 the means hitherto considered as the most certain, for 
 distinguishing real carminated lakes from those which 
 are only an imperfect imitation of them. Lemon juice, 
 or any other vegetable acid, and particularly vinegar, to 
 which was ascribed, but w ithout any reason, the pro¬ 
 perty of changing to yellow the bright or purple red 
 given to these counterfeited lakes, and even the mineral 
 acids which we employed, exhibit characters entirely 
 opposite in these colouring parts, which are foreign to 
 that of cochineal. We every where see that the de¬ 
 velopment of the red colour, under different tones of 
 shade, is the certain result of the first contact, except 
 
Comparative Table of the results of the mixture of some re-agents with different carminated lakes, observed at different periods in close vessels. 
 
 RE-AGENTS. 
 
 No. 1. 
 
 Lake from cochineal with alum 
 the alkali of soda. 
 
 At the time of 
 mixture. 
 
 Twenty-four 
 hours after. 
 
 Three weeks 
 after. 
 
 No. 2. 
 
 Lake from madder with alum decom 
 posed by soda. 
 
 At the time c 
 mixture. 
 
 Twenty-four 
 hours after. 
 
 Three weeks 
 after. 
 
 No. 3. 
 
 Lake from madder with arseniate of 
 potash and sugar of lead. 
 
 At the time of 
 mixture. 
 
 Twenty-four 
 hours after. 
 
 Three weeks 
 after. 
 
 No. 4. 
 
 Lake from Brasil wood with alum de 
 composed by soda. 
 
 At the time of 
 mixture. 
 
 Twenty-four 
 hours'after. 
 
 Three weeks 
 after. 
 
 No. 5. 
 
 Red from Brasil wood and alum mixed 
 with earth of Morat. 
 
 At the time of 
 mixture, 
 
 Twenty-four 
 hours after. 
 
 Three weeks 
 after. 
 
 Caustic ammonia. 
 
 Acetic acid, or 
 strong distilled 
 vinegar. 
 
 Diluted sulphuric 
 acid. 
 
 Muriatic acid. 
 
 Carbonate of 
 potash. 
 
 Brightened. 
 Not dissolved. 
 
 The same tint, 
 Not dissolved. 
 
 Bright red. 
 Dissolved. 
 
 Dark rose co¬ 
 lour. Dis¬ 
 solved. 
 
 Dark violet 
 colour. Not 
 dissolved. 
 
 Purple. 
 
 Purplish red. 
 
 Beautiful red. 
 Dissolved. 
 
 Pale red. In 
 a kind of jelly. 
 
 Purple red. 
 
 Red of wine 
 lees. Altered, 
 
 Blood red. In 
 part dissolved, 
 
 Chesnut. In 
 part dissolved. 
 
 Dark cinnamon 
 colour. In 
 part dissolved. 
 
 Brick colour 
 inclining to 
 brown. In 
 part dis 
 
 Dark reddish 
 brown. In 
 part dissolved. 
 
 Brighter red. 
 
 Light brown. 
 
 Brick red co¬ 
 lour, or light 
 brown. 
 
 A little altered, 
 In part dis¬ 
 solved. 
 
 Dark cinna¬ 
 mon colour. 
 In part dis¬ 
 solved. 
 
 Dark walnut- 
 tree colour. In 
 part dissolved. 
 
 Dark walnut- 
 tree colour. In 
 part dissolved. 
 
 The same. In 
 part dissolved 
 
 Brick red. 
 Not dissolved. 
 
 Brick red. 
 Dissolved in 
 part. 
 
 Yellowish 
 brown. Not 
 dissolved. 
 
 Dark orange. 
 In part dis¬ 
 solved. 
 
 Brick red, as by 
 ammonia. 
 
 Light yellow. 
 
 Red chesnut 
 colour. Not 
 dissolved. 
 
 Altered. Not 
 dissolved. 
 
 Pale red. Dis¬ 
 solved in a 
 great part. 
 
 Green colour, 
 and destroyed. 
 Not dissolved. 
 
 Brown. In 
 part dissolved. 
 
 The same. 
 Dissolved. 
 
 Violet purple. 
 Not dissolved. 
 
 Dark red. Dis¬ 
 solved in part. 
 
 Bright scarlet. 
 Not dissolved. 
 
 Red inclining 
 to purple. Not 
 dissolved. 
 
 Reddish 
 brown. Not 
 dissolved. 
 
 Coffee brown. 
 In part dis- 
 
 Bright rose 
 
 Reddish 
 
 brown. 
 
 Dark violet red. 
 
 Darker. In 
 part dissolved. 
 
 Purple red. In 
 part dissolved. 
 
 Bright rose co¬ 
 lour. Dissolved. 
 
 Dark brown. 
 In part dis¬ 
 solved. 
 
 Dark reddish 
 brown. Not 
 dissolved. 
 
 Violet purple. 
 Not dissolved. 
 
 Purple red. 
 Not dissolved. 
 
 Scarlet red, a 
 little dull. 
 Dissolved in 
 part. 
 
 Red inclining 
 rose colour. 
 Not dissolved; 
 
 Dark violet 
 Not dissolved. 
 
 Violet inclining 
 to brown. 
 
 Poppy colour. 
 
 Purple. 
 
 Rose inclining 
 to poppy co 
 lour. 
 
 ^Common 
 
 violet. 
 
 Green colour, 
 destroyed. 
 Not dissolved. 
 
 Reddish 
 brown. In 
 part dissolved. 
 
 Reddish 
 brown. In 
 part dissolved. 
 
 Walnut-tree 
 colour. In 
 part dissolved. 
 
 Destroyed. 
 Not dissolved. 
 
 Comparative results of the mixture of the same re-agents with the same lakes exposed to the air and the sun, observed at the end of a month. 
 
 No. 1. 
 
 No. 2. 
 
 No. 
 
 No. 4. 
 
 No. 5. 
 
 Caustic ammonia. 
 
 Acetic acid, or 
 strong vinegar. 
 Diluted sulphurous 
 acid. 
 
 Muriatic acid. 
 
 Dry lake. Colour preserved below, and a 
 little less bright above. 
 
 Dry, and of a rose colour. 
 
 Aluminous crystals of a pale rose colour. 
 
 A kind of transparent saline jelly of a beau¬ 
 tiful purple colour. 
 
 Dry. Brick colour below, and a little pale 
 above. 
 
 Dry. Of a reddish brown colour. 
 Precipitate of a light rust colour. 
 
 Kind of jelly of a capuchin colour. 
 
 Dry lake of a dark brick red colour, a little 
 pale at the surface. 
 
 Dry. Of a pale brick colour. 
 Dry lake, and of a brown colour. 
 
 Pulverulent lake of a dark mordorS co¬ 
 lour. 
 
 Dry lake, with a surface like talc : a little 
 pale above, colour preserved below. 
 
 Dry. Purple red colour. 
 
 Precipitate of a bright brick red colour. 
 
 Dry lake of a flesh colour. 
 
 Dry lake colour preserved, with some white 
 specks above. 
 
 Dry. Purple colour inclining to brown. 
 Dark red, of the consistence of thick soup. 
 Precipitate of a dark red colour. 
 
 To face page 124 . 
 

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 L 
 
 
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 Ztr 
 
 ?i'vki^, . £ tA^ /ft-* 2, 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON LAKES. 
 
 125 
 
 in madder red, which acids speedily destroy. They 
 change this colour to that of rust, which is more or less 
 dark, according to the time it has been exposed to the 
 acid and to the influence of the light. 
 
 These results seem to confirm the great similarity 
 between the colouring part extracted from Brasil wood 
 and that of cochineal; since acids contribute to their 
 development in the same tone of colour, though with 
 modifications which may readily be observed. 
 
 Every one of the substances here mentioned becomes 
 then, in the hands of an intelligent painter or amateur, 
 the certain means of enabling him to ascertain the 
 nature of lakes. The effects arising from the applica¬ 
 tion of acids are not sufficiently distinct at the moment 
 of their mixture, though they possess shades which do 
 not escape the notice of an expert eye; but an interval 
 of forty-eight hours will be sufficient to render their 
 difference very sensible to persons in the least accus¬ 
 tomed to the effect of such mixtures. The sulphuric 
 acid employed was a mixture of the sulphuric acid of 
 the shops and water, in the proportion of one to four. 
 The muriatic acid was applied in the state in which it 
 is sold. 
 
 If the results be accurately compared, it will be ob¬ 
 served that they vary in the mixtures according as they 
 are exposed in open vessels, or in vessels closely shut. 
 In the first case, the evaporation of the liquid may 
 serve to account for the little influence of the re-agent. 
 Caustic ammonia on such occasions produces no effect, 
 in consequence of its great volatility. The muriatic 
 acid participates in the same inconvenience. A view 
 
 G 3 
 
1 26 
 
 TURMERIC ROOT. 
 
 of the two comparative tables will be sufficient to give 
 weight to the present observation, and to determine as 
 to the preference which ought to be given in the em¬ 
 ployment of these mixtures to vessels which can be 
 closed with corks. The effects may then be observed 
 with more certainty, and to a greater extent. 
 
 Some of the re-agents seize on the base of the lake, 
 and dissolve it. This effect may furnish a new subject 
 of observation, when it is required to discover the 
 nature of that base which may be composed of alu¬ 
 mina, resulting from the decomposition of alum or pure 
 clay; or, in the last place, of chalk. This solution, 
 then, is better perceived in vessels which prevent the 
 evaporation of the liquid than in those which afford a 
 free access to the exterior air. We have exhibited these 
 particular cases in the comparisons which constitute 
 the first comparative table by the expressions dissolved , 
 dissolved in part , or not dissolved. In all cases the 
 influence of light is not to be overlooked. 
 
 Turmeric Root 
 
 Is brought both from the East and West Indies; it 
 produces a bright yellow colour, but as a yellow it is 
 extremely fugacious ; treated as a lake it has more pre¬ 
 tensions to permanence in the following preparation. 
 The alkalies and alkaline earths change the yellow of 
 turmeric to a brick red; hence to the chemist it is an 
 excellent test of the presence of these substances either 
 in spirituous or aqueous infusions. Turmeric root was 
 formerly called terra merita. 
 
ORANGE LAKE.-GREEN LAKES.-INDIGO. 
 
 127 
 
 Orange Lake 
 
 May be made from a tincture of turmeric root in 
 spirit of wine, the colouring matter in which may be 
 precipitated with oxide of tin, and afterwards brightened 
 with a solution of that metal in some of the more power¬ 
 ful acids, namely, the nitric or muriatic. 
 
 Green Lakes. 
 
 By pressing, and then washing in water, the sub¬ 
 stance of many green leaves of plants, and afterwards 
 treating it with alcohol, a matter is obtained by eva¬ 
 poration, and purified by rewashing in hot water, of a 
 deep green colour; it dissolves entirely in alcohol, 
 ether, oils, and alkalies; and is not altered by expo¬ 
 sure to air. 
 
 If an earthy or metallic salt be mixed with the alco¬ 
 holic solution, and then an alkali or a subcarbonate be 
 added, the oxide or earth is thrown down in combina¬ 
 tion with the green matter, forming a cake, the colour 
 of which is moderately permanent in air. 
 
 Cabbage leaves afford an abundance of such green 
 matter, on digesting which in hot alcohol for a few 
 hours, the whole of the colouring matter from them is 
 dissolved, the leaves becoming crisp and white. Such 
 lakes may be, no doubt, turned to some account by the 
 ingenious painter.—See Branded Journal , vol. vi. p. 36. 
 
 Indigo . 
 
 The East and West Indies, as well as many parts of 
 America, produce a plant called by the Spaniards anil; 
 
 G 4 
 
128 
 
 INDIGO. 
 
 by naturalists its generic name is indigofer a*. When it 
 has arrived at a certain height, and its leaves are in good 
 condition, they are cut down and thrown into a vat, and 
 covered with water, in which they remain till a con¬ 
 siderable fermentation ensues, and the water acquires a 
 violet colour. The water is then drawn off into another 
 vessel, where it is agitated till it becomes frothy all over 
 the surface, and every part intimately blended. The 
 matter is then left to subside; after which the water is 
 poured off, and the blue feculence at the bottom is dried 
 in the pieces we find it. 
 
 There are several kinds of indigo ; the Flora or Gua- 
 timala , a South American product; the East India and 
 Carolina indigo, all of which are subdivided in com¬ 
 merce into various names and qualities. Good indigo 
 is known by its exhibiting when cut with a knife, or 
 scratched with the nail, a copper-like appearance. 
 Flora indigo, which floats in water, is always con¬ 
 sidered the best; all other indigoes sink in that fluid. 
 
 Indigo can be applied only to painting in distemper 
 with or without varnish. It is not proper for oil paint¬ 
 ing, because the oil renders it black or green, and it 
 loses in drying a part of the vigour of its tone. In 
 general indigo is not employed: in painting pure; it 
 is always mixed with white: if pure it would become 
 black. White lead, indigo, and a particle of black, 
 
 * According to Heyne the indigofera pseudo-tinctoria, cultivated in the 
 East Indies, produces the best indigo ; but others extol the indigofera anil, 
 the ind. argeniea, the ind. disperma, which yields the Guatimala kind, and 
 some the Mexicana. —Ure, Journal of Science, No. XIII. 
 
INDIGO. 
 
 129 
 
 in proper proportions, give a beautiful pearl grey. In 
 distemper indigo is employed for painting the sky, sea, 
 and all the distant parts of the landscape. 
 
 The use of indigo is not confined to painting in dis¬ 
 temper. When subjected to certain chemical processes, 
 it may be applied to miniature painting. Dissolved in 
 sulphuric acid, and diluted with water, it gives to 
 woollen and silk a durable and beautiful blue, varying 
 in intensity by the quantity of indigo employed. This 
 blue of indigo, and the yellow of indigo produced by 
 nitric acid when mixed in certain proportions, give a 
 beautiful and solid green, which may be employed 
 in that kind of miniature painting which serves to 
 ornament silk, fans, &c. 
 
 These three colours, when intended for paper grounds, 
 must be weakened with water. The mucilage proper 
 for the latter kind of painting ought to be made not of 
 gum arabic, but of gum tragucanth, which has more 
 body. 
 
 Besides the uses and preparations of indigo as above 
 described, it should be noted that indigo is employed 
 largely in domestic economy, and in coarse water¬ 
 colours, when ground with different quantities of starch , 
 for imparting various shades of blue. These prepara¬ 
 tions of indigo are well known in commerce ; they are 
 made up in small circular cakes, or in small lumps, and 
 are designated by various names, such as Jig-blue , 
 queen’’s-blue , &c. &c. 
 
 Sometimes, indeed, instead of indigo in these mix¬ 
 tures, Prussian blue is used ; but it is very inferior as a 
 
 G 5 
 
130 
 
 INDIGO. 
 
 colouring material, and is, therefore, considered an 
 adulteration. 
 
 The chief use of jig-blue , &c. in domestic economy, 
 is for giving to linen a blueish tinge. By mixing any of 
 these blues with a yellow, a coarse green of various 
 shades is readily made. 
 
 For much curious information concerning indigo, the 
 reader may consult the second volume of Bertho- 
 let’s Dyeing , edited by Dr. Ure ; and also a paper 
 in the Annals of Philosophy by Mr. Walter Crum; 
 this last being, according to Dr. Ure, the most ela¬ 
 borate and accurate analysis of indigo ever yet given. 
 Whether a substance which Mr. Crum obtained from 
 indigo, of a purple colour, and which he calls phenicin , 
 may be useful as a pigment, yet remains to be seen. 
 
 In all the analyses of indigo, the chief of its con¬ 
 stituents appears to be carbon; that is, pure charcoal. 
 
 Since the preceding observations on indigo were 
 written, a paper by Dr. Ure has been published in the 
 Journal of Science , No. XIII. p. 160, which the painter 
 should consult. By it we learn, that although Flora 
 indigo has been hitherto considered the best, some 
 East Indian indigo is superior to that, and obtains a 
 better price. From the analysis of this ingenious che¬ 
 mist we find, that wdiile Caracca Flora indigo contains 
 only 54J per cent, of real indigo, some of the East In¬ 
 dian kind contains 75 per cent, and was sold at the last 
 October sale at 7s. per pound. We may add also that 
 another paper in No. XII. of the same Journal, on in¬ 
 digo, deserves notice; by it we learn, that sometimes 
 
BLACKS.—LAMP BLACK. 
 
 131 
 
 in the manufacture of indigo, lime, or some of the al¬ 
 kalies, is used, and in consequence indigo thus becomes 
 adulterated. By the analysis there given, Calcutta in¬ 
 digo contains 79.5 per cent, of pure indigo. 
 
 Blacks . 
 
 As has been before observed, some blacks of an in¬ 
 different colour are obtained from earths and the mi¬ 
 neral kingdom; but the best blacks, as pigments, are 
 obtained either from animal or vegetable matters. The 
 black obtained from galls, and other substances which 
 contain the gallic acid and tannin, known so universally 
 as ink , needs scarcely to be mentioned. A few blacks 
 can be- obtained from vegetables without any prepa¬ 
 ration, such as the juice of the cashew nut , anacardium 
 occidentale; the toxicodendron yields also a juice 
 which produces nearly the same effect; the cuttle-fish 
 emits a black liquor, which might possibly be a perma¬ 
 nent colour. But all these are necessarily difficult to 
 be obtained; the painter is therefore obliged to have re¬ 
 course to art for all such pigments, the basis of which, 
 in all vegetable as well as animal matter, appears to be 
 carbon , or pure charcoal. 
 
 Lamp Black.—Soot from the decomposition of resins 
 and oils by fire. 
 
 Lamp black is produced from the thick smoke ex¬ 
 haled by oleous and resinous bodies in a state of com¬ 
 bustion. It is prepared in the large way from the 
 combustion of common turpentine, or the refuse arising 
 
 G 6 
 
1 32 
 
 GENUINE LAMP BLACK. 
 
 from its purification, or from yellow or black resins. 
 But, nevertheless, the finest lamp black can be ob¬ 
 tained from the decomposition of oil in lamps, whence 
 it was originally procured, and whence its name. It is 
 attended with the inconvenience of becoming red, and 
 not, therefore, employed in delicate colours. Its chief 
 use is in oil colours applied to the coarser kinds of 
 painting. 
 
 It may be employed, however, in the more delicate 
 kinds of painting, if washed to separate the foreign 
 matters from it, and then reduced to the state of pure 
 charcoal by being made red hot in a close vessel, leav¬ 
 ing only a small aperture for the escape of the oleous 
 matters thus volatilized. 
 
 It might seem that the same black substance would 
 answer in all cases as a pigment; but it is well known 
 that a black which produces an admirable effect in a 
 fine composition, produces an inferior effect in a com¬ 
 position of another kind. Hence the distinction and 
 uses of several blacks; as smoke black , black from 
 beech wood , from peach stones , from ivory , from bones , 
 blue black , &c. 
 
 Genuine Lamp Black. 
 
 A beautiful black may be thus easily procured: sus¬ 
 pend over a lamp a funnel of tin-plate, having above it 
 a pipe to convey the smoke which escapes from the 
 apartment from the lamp. A very black and exceed¬ 
 ingly light carbonaceous matter will be formed at the 
 summit of the cone, in a state of finer powder than can 
 
BEECH BLACK.—FRANKFORT BLACK. 133 
 
 be given to any other matter by grinding. This black 
 goes a great way in every kind of painting. It may be 
 rendered more pure by calcination, as stated above. 
 
 The funnel ought to be united to the pipe, which 
 conveys off the smoke, by means of wire, because solder 
 w^ould be melted by the flame of the lamp. 
 
 It seems almost superfluous to add, that the smoke 
 from the combustion of innumerable vegetable sub¬ 
 stances, when thus collected, affords blacks of different 
 degrees of fineness. An American gentleman, in the 
 Journal of Arts, vol. xii. p. 371, recommends the black 
 obtained from the burning of camphor, which mixed 
 with gum arabic is far superior, he says, to Indian ink. 
 
 Beech Black.—Beech Charcoal. 
 
 Beech, like every other kind of wood, furnishes by 
 combustion a charcoal, which, when well ground and 
 mixed with white lead, gives a blueish grey colour. 
 When applied in distemper or in oil painting it will be 
 proper to reduce it to an impalpable powder, free from 
 those small brilliant specks contained in charcoal badly 
 ground. This may be easily accomplished by grinding 
 it with water, and re-grinding it after it has been 
 dried. 
 
 Black from Wine Lees.—Frankfort Black . 
 
 Black from the calcination of wine lees and tartar, 
 sometimes with the addition of ivory or stones of 
 peaches and other fruit, is manufactured on a large 
 scale in some districts of Germany; at Frankfort on 
 
134 BLACK FROM PEACH STONES AND VINE TWIGS. 
 
 the Maine, whence its name, in the environs of Mentz, 
 and in France, by subjecting the materials to heat, 
 in large cylindric vessels, or in pots, having an aper¬ 
 ture in the cover to afford a passage to the smoke, and 
 to the vapours which escape during the process. When 
 no more smoke is observed the operation is finished. 
 The residuum, a mixture of salts and of finely divided 
 carbonaceous matter, is then washed several times in 
 boiling water, and afterwards reduced to the proper 
 degree of fineness by grinding. 
 
 If this black be extracted from dry lees, it is coarser 
 than that obtained from tartar; because the lees contain 
 earthy matters which are mixed with the carbonace¬ 
 ous part. 
 
 This black goes a great way, and has a velvety appear¬ 
 ance. It is the chief ingredient in copper-plate print¬ 
 ers’ ink. 
 
 The best is said to be made at Frankfort , whence its 
 name. 
 
 Black from Peach Stones. 
 
 Peach stones, burnt in a close vessel, produce a char¬ 
 coal, which, when ground, is employed in painting to 
 give an old grey. 
 
 Black from Vine Twigs. 
 
 Vine twigs reduced to charcoal give a blueish black, 
 which goes a great way. When mixed with white it 
 produces a silver white, which is not produced by 
 other blacks : it has a pretty near resemblance to the 
 black of peach stones; but to bring this colour to the 
 
IVORY BLACK.—INDIAN INK. 
 
 135 
 
 utmost degree of perfection, it must be carefully- 
 ground. 
 
 Ivory Black.—Bone Black . 
 
 Put into a crucible, surrounded by burning coals, 
 fragments or turnings of ivory, or of the bony parts of 
 animals, and cover it closely. The ivory or bones by 
 exposure to the heat will be reduced to charcoal. When 
 no more smoke is seen to pass through the joining of 
 the cover, leave the crucible over the fire for half an 
 hour longer, or until it has completely cooled. There 
 will then be found in it a hard carbonaceous matter, 
 which, when pounded and ground with water, is washed 
 on a filter with warm water, and then dried. Before it 
 is used it must be again subjected to the muller. 
 
 Black furnished by bones is reddish. That produced 
 by ivory is more beautiful. It is brighter than black 
 obtained from peach stones. When mixed in a proper 
 proportion with white lead, it forms a beautiful pearl 
 grey. Ivory black is richer. The Cologne and Cassel 
 black are prepared from ivory. Ivory black is prepared 
 in the large way in this country from bones; it is ge¬ 
 nerally a very indifferent black, abounding in impu¬ 
 rities, and suited only to the coarser kinds of painting. 
 The artist who desires a delicate ivory black should 
 prepare it himself, as above directed. 
 
 Indian Ink 
 
 Is brought from China in small black pieces, having^ 
 figures impressed upon them. It is extensively used 
 as a dark shading in water-colours. The actual com- 
 8 
 
136 
 
 BISTRE. 
 
 position of this ink is not known; but Dr. Ure states, 
 that fine soot from the flame of a lamp or candle, re¬ 
 ceived by holding a plate over it, and mixed with clean 
 size, made with shreds of parchment, or glove-leather, 
 not dyed, will make an Indian ink equal to that which 
 is imported. When made in this country, it is usually 
 mixed with a little musk, to give it the smell of the 
 foreign article. 
 
 Bistre. 
 
 Bistre is obtained from wood-soot, thus: take any 
 quantity of the soot of dry-wood, that of beech is the 
 best; put it into water, in the proportion of two pounds 
 to a gallon; boil them half an hour; when the liquor 
 has stood to settle, pour off the clear part from the 
 sediment, and if another sediment forms, repeat the 
 process; but it must all be done before the liquor has 
 time to cool. Evaporate to dryness, and good bistre 
 will be the result. The test of its goodness is, a warm 
 deep-brown colour, and its transparency when moist¬ 
 ened with water. Bistre has much the same effect in 
 water-painting, as brown pink has in oil; it is, of 
 course, used by painters to wash over their designs. 
 Bistre dissolved in an alkaline solution, by boiling, will 
 make a brown indelible ink. 
 
 Another kind of bistre is made from the most glossy 
 and perfectly burnt soot, reduced to a very fine powder, 
 then baked with a little gum-water, and formed into 
 cakes. This is a useful and permanent brown colour. 
 
LITMUS-ARCHIL. 
 
 137 
 
 Litmus. — Archil. 
 
 The Canary and Cape de Verd islands produce a 
 kind of lichen or moss, which yields a violet colour 
 when exposed to the contact of ammonia, disengaged 
 from urine, in a state of putrefaction, by a mixture of 
 lime. When the usual processes are finished, it is 
 known by the name of litmus. In the nomenclature of 
 the dyer, however, this article is known under different 
 names; in the process of making it, after a few days, it 
 acquires a purplish red colour, when it is called archil; 
 it at length becomes blue, when it is called litmus. 
 
 Cudbear is also a preparation from the same lichen. 
 
 Litmus is prepared on a large scale at London, Paris, 
 and Lyons. In the last-mentioned city another kind 
 of lichen, which grows on the rocks like moss, is em¬ 
 ployed. This lichen is very abundant in Auvergne. 
 The litmus resulting from it is inferior to that of the 
 Canaries. 
 
 The ammonia, disengaged by means of lime from 
 urine in a state of putrefaction, unites with the resinous 
 part of the plant, developes its colouring part, and com¬ 
 bines with it. In this state the lichen forms a paste of 
 a violet-red colour, interspersed with whitish spots, 
 which give it a marbled appearance. 
 
 Litmus is employed in dyeing, to communicate a 
 violet colour to silk and woollen. It is used also for 
 colouring the liquor of thermometers. The vamisher 
 prepares his violet and lilac varnishes with it; but the 
 colour is not durable. 
 
138 
 
 ANNATTO. 
 
 Annatto , Annotto, or Roucou. 
 
 Annatto is formed from the pellicles or pulp en¬ 
 veloping the seeds of the bixa orellana , a liliaceous 
 shrub, rising from 15 to 20 feet high, a native of South • 
 America. It is reduced by evaporation to a sort of 
 extract, and dried slowly, being spread out on boards. 
 
 Annatto is found in commerce under three dif¬ 
 ferent forms. The best is in rolls, about four or five 
 inches long, and somewhat less than an inch in diame¬ 
 ter ; it is called Spanish Annatto , and is thus imported. 
 It is also imported, enveloped in flags, of a soft, clayey 
 consistence, hence called Flag Annatto. Another kind is 
 found in the shops in cakes, weighing about four ounces 
 each; this is prepared in England, and sold chiefly to 
 the farmers for colouring cheese; it is a farrago of 
 colouring ingredients, of which Annatto is only a part. 
 
 Annatto, when genuine, is of a dull reddish colour. 
 It is difficultly acted upon by water; but it readily dis¬ 
 solves in rectified spirit of wine, to which it communi¬ 
 cates a high orange, or yellowish-red. Hence it is used 
 as an ingredient in varnishes, for imparting more or 
 less of an orange cast to the simple yellows. The alka¬ 
 line salts render it perfectly soluble in boiling water, 
 without altering its colour; hence its use in dyeing. 
 What is called Nankin Dye appears to be nothing 
 more than annatto dissolved with an alkaline salt in 
 water. 
 
 The natives of the West India Islands used formerly 
 to employ annatto for painting their bodies, &c. It is 
 chiefly used in Europe for imparting the first tint to 
 
SAFFLOWER. 
 
 139 
 
 woollen stuffs intended to be dyed red, blue, yellow, 
 and green, &c. 
 
 It forms also part of the composition of changing 
 varnishes, to give a gold colour to the metals to which 
 these varnishes are applied. 
 
 Safflower , Bastard-Saffron , or Cartliamus. 
 
 Safflower is the flower obtained from one or two 
 plants of the cartliamus genus, natives of the south of 
 Europe, and the Mediterranean coasts. It is of a dark- 
 red saffron colour; and is chiefly used in dyeing. It 
 consists of two colouring materials: one soluble in 
 water, and which is thrown away; the other soluble in 
 alkaline liquors. The latter colouring part is used by 
 the dyers, for various beautiful shades of cherry-colour, 
 poppy, rose-colour, &c. It is also employed for dyeing 
 feathers ; and it constitutes the Rouge , or Spanish 
 vermilion , employed by the ladies to heighten their 
 complexion. It is also used by varnishers in some of 
 their compositions; but the colour is not durable. 
 
 Bastard-saffron does not furnish its resinous colouring 
 part in perfection, until it has been deprived of that 
 which is soluble in water. For this purpose it is en¬ 
 closed in a linen bag, and the bag is placed in a stream 
 of running water. A man with wooden shoes gets 
 upon the bag every eight or ten hours, and treads 
 it on the bank until the water expressed from it is 
 colourless. 
 
 The flowers, after they have been strongly squeezed 
 in the bag, are spread out on a piece of canvass, ex¬ 
 tended on a frame, and placed over a wooden box, and 
 
140 
 
 ROUGE. 
 
 covered with five or six per cent, of their weight of 
 carbonate of soda. Pure water is then poured over 
 them; and this process is repeated several times, in 
 order that the alkali may dissolve the colouring part. 
 The liquor, when filtered, is of a dirty reddish-brown 
 colour. The colouring part, whilst held in solution by 
 an alkaline liquor, cannot be employed for colouring 
 bodies; the soda must be combined with an acid which 
 has more affinity for it than it has for the colouring 
 part. The precipitated colouring matter is used for 
 making Rouge , or Spanish vermilion, and in dyeing. 
 
 When carthamus is employed for a saffron-colour, it 
 does not appear that any use is made of the colouring 
 part which is insoluble in water: painters seek after 
 that only which the dyers reject. It is not improbable 
 that a much better effect would be produced by em¬ 
 ploying the washed carthamus alone, and forming it 
 into a soft paste, by mixing it with the liquor contain¬ 
 ing the colouring part, which might be afterwards pre¬ 
 cipitated with a diluted acid. 
 
 Rouge , Spanish Vermilion , or China Lake. 
 
 Pour into the alkaline liquor which holds in solution 
 the colouring part of bastard-saffron, such a quantity of 
 lemon-juice, previously depurated by standing, as may 
 be necessary to saturate the whole alkaline salt. At 
 the time of the precipitation, the latter appears un¬ 
 der the form of a fecula, full of threads, which soon 
 falls to the bottom of the vessel. Mix this feculent 
 part with white talc (chalk of Briangon), reduced to 
 fine powder, and moistened with a little lemon juice 
 
RED SAUNDERS. 
 
 141 
 
 and water. Then form the whole into a paste; and 
 having put it in small pots, expose it to dry. This 
 colour is reserved for the use of the toilet; but it has 
 not the durability of that prepared from cochineal. 
 
 Other forms have been given for producing this pig¬ 
 ment : it is sometimes mixed with French chalk. The 
 fineness of the powder and proportion of the precipi¬ 
 tate constitute the difference between the finer and 
 cheaper rouge. 
 
 When it is to be used for house-painting, &c. as for 
 the red inclining to yellow applied to different articles, 
 the liquor charged with the colouring part, precipitated 
 by acid of lemon juice, is formed into a paste with 
 white argillaceous or marly earth, which is divided 
 into small cakes, and then dried. 
 
 Red Saunders , or Red Sandal Wood. 
 
 Red Saunders is the wood of the pterocarpus santa - 
 linus , a lofty tree, a native of the mountains of India, 
 particularly the Onore district, and of Ceylon. Red 
 Saunders is brought home in billets, which are very 
 heavy and sink in water. It has an aromatic odour, is 
 extremely hard, of a fine grain, and a bright garnet red 
 colour, which deepens on exposure to air. It yields its 
 colouring matter to ether, to rectified spirits of wine, 
 and to proof spirit, but not to water. This property of 
 yielding no colour to water affords an easy mode of dis¬ 
 tinguishing red saunders from Brasil wood. It also 
 communicates its colour to volatile oil of lavender, but 
 not to oil of turpentine. In consequence of its colour- 
 
142 
 
 ALKANET ROOT.-PURPLE LAKE. 
 
 ing matter dissolving in spirit of wine, it may be em¬ 
 ployed in colouring varnishes. 
 
 Alkanet Root. 
 
 Alkanet root is the product of the anchusa tinc- 
 toria , a perennial plant, native of the south of Europe, 
 where it is cultivated in great abundance, particu¬ 
 larly near Montpellier. It is found in our gardens, 
 but its roots do not here acquire the beautiful co¬ 
 lour for which the foreign are esteemed. They are 
 brought to this country chiefly from France; they are 
 in twisted pieces, which have a withered dusky red, 
 easily separated bark, in which the colouring matter 
 chiefly resides ; the smaller roots are therefore the best, 
 as they have proportionally more bark than the larger. 
 
 Alkanet root imparts a fine deep red colour to alco¬ 
 hol, ether, oils, fats, and wax; but to water, even hot, 
 only a brown colour. Its chief use, therefore, by paint¬ 
 ers, is in imparting to oils a red colour more or less 
 deep, to obtain which of the deepest hue the application 
 of heat is necessary. 
 
 Sulphate of iron strikes a black with the watery infu¬ 
 sion of this root, and sulphate of zinc throws down a 
 copious dark-coloured precipitate. 
 
 A Purple Lake 
 
 May be also obtained from alkanet root thus: take 
 two ounces of the root finely powdered, and boil a few 
 minutes in a lixivium made of sub-carbonate of potash 
 sufficiently diluted; and after the liquor has grown 
 
SAP GREEN. 
 
 143 
 
 cold, precipitate the colouring matter with a strong 
 solution of roche alum. The precipitate must be dried 
 without being washed for use. 
 
 This has been recommended for the formation of a 
 purple lacker; but we presume it will be also found 
 useful as a pigment. 
 
 Sap Green 
 
 Is made from the juice of buckthorn, being the 
 rhamnus catharticus, an indigenous shrub, or rather 
 tree, growing in woods, hedges, and near brooks. Buck¬ 
 thorn berries, when ripe, are black, and somewhat 
 smaller than black currants. They are said to be 
 sometimes mixed with those of the black-berried alder 
 and of the dog-berry tree; but as the buckthorn berry 
 has four seeds, while the others bear only two and one, 
 it may be easily distinguished. 
 
 To make sap green, the juice of the berries, which 
 are to be kept until they are perfectly ripe and well 
 bruised, is obtained from them, being placed in hair 
 bags and submitted to the action of a powerful press. 
 The juice is then mixed with a little alum, dissolved in 
 a sufficient quantity of water, and the whole evaporated 
 over a slow fire till it is brought to the consistence of 
 honey. The extract is then hung up in a stove or other 
 warm place to dry. 
 
 Some add, besides alum, a portion of gum arabic. 
 When sap green is to be used, dilute it with a little 
 water, to which it will communicate a beautiful sea- 
 green colour. It is used in many kinds of water- 
 
144 
 
 GAMBOGE. 
 
 colours, but chiefly in fan-painting, by draughtsmen 
 who draw plans, and other work of the same kind. 
 
 It ought to be chosen compact, heavy, and of a beauti¬ 
 ful dark green colour. 
 
 We ought also to observe, when treating of the juice 
 of buckthorn, that from the juice of the unripe berries 
 of this plant, with the addition of alum, a yellow 
 colour is obtained; and that the French miniature 
 painters obtain from buckthorn berries a delicate and 
 highly prized green, which they call verdevissa. 
 
 Gamboge. 
 
 Gamboge is a gum resin obtained from the stalag- 
 matis cambogiodes or gamboge tree, a native of Siam 
 and Ceylon. It is brought to this country in rolls or 
 lumps of different sizes. When broken it is of an 
 orange colour, but when moistened with water it yields 
 a very brilliant yellow colour. A greater quantity of it 
 is, however, dissolved by spirit of wine than by water; 
 hence it is a very useful ingredient in many varnishes. 
 
 As it imparts a beautiful yellow colour to water, it is 
 exceedingly proper for water colours; in this respect 
 it is used both for washing and for miniatures; indeed 
 gamboge is used as a water colour pigment on so many 
 occasions, that we cannot enumerate them. 
 
 Gamboge is not liable to vary much in its qualities; 
 it should be, however, smooth in its fracture, and of an 
 orange yellow without impurities. It may be observed 
 that it is a violent purgative, and should not be ad¬ 
 mitted into the mouth or stomach. 
 
PINKS.-DUTCH PINKS. 
 
 145 
 
 Various Pinks. 
 
 Dutch Pink. 
 
 Dutch pink is a bright yellow pigment, much used 
 in house-painting, &c., as well as in painting in dis¬ 
 temper and in oil. It is seldom employed by artists 
 who paint pictures, because they prefer the yellows 
 obtained from metallic substances, which are more 
 durable. 
 
 Dutch pink consists of earthy parts combined with 
 the colouring matter of certain plants. The basis of 
 the best is clay. Sometimes the base is a mixture of 
 clay and chalk, and in certain cases it is carbonate of 
 lime (chalk) only. The last mentioned composition of 
 Dutch pink is inferior to the other two. It is much 
 better suited to painting in distemper than to oil 
 painting. 
 
 Dutch Pink from Woad. 
 
 Woad, the isatis tinctoria , is a plant now cultivated 
 extensively for the purposes of the dyer, not only in 
 this country, but in France and other parts of Europe. 
 When cultivated it is superior for dyeing to the uncul¬ 
 tivated kind. The use of its colouring matter is not 
 confined to dyeing, it is extended also to painting, 
 under the denomination of Dutch pink. 
 
 To make Dutch pink, boil the stems of woad in a 
 solution of alum, and then mix the liquor with clay, 
 marl, or chalk, which will become mixed with the 
 colour of the decoction. WTien the earthy matter has 
 
 H 
 
146 
 
 DUTCH PINKS. 
 
 acquired consistence by evaporation, form it into small 
 cakes, or pass the coloured mass when in a semi-fluid 
 state through a funnel upon dry chalk, when the water 
 will be absorbed by the chalk and leave the pink in 
 the shape of large drops, which are afterwards to be 
 dried. 
 
 Another Dutch Pink 
 
 Is made with an aluminous decoction of woad and 
 with chalk. But the use of chalk renders this pink in¬ 
 ferior to the preceding. These compositions would 
 perhaps acquire some additional qualities were the clay, 
 marl, or chalk mixed with a second, or even a third, 
 decoction of the plant. 
 
 Another Dutch Pink from French Berries. 
 
 The small or narrow-leaved buckthorn, rhamnus in - 
 fectorius , an evergreen plant, indigenous to the south 
 of Europe, produces berries which, when collected 
 green, are called graine d' Avignon, or yellow berries, 
 in this country French berries. These seeds, when 
 boiled in a solution of alum, form a Dutch pink supe¬ 
 rior to the former. A certain quantity of clay or marl 
 is mixed with the decoction, by which means the 
 colouring part of the berries unites with the earthy 
 matter, and communicates to it a beautiful yellow 
 colour. 
 
 The colouring part of Dutch pinks is darker accord¬ 
 ing as the earthy substance employed is less mixed 
 with any of the carbonates of lime. Clay or earth of 
 glum contributes to the durability of the colour; a 
 
DUTCH PINKS. 
 
 147 
 
 Butch pink, therefore, resulting from the decomposition 
 of sulphate of alumina might be substituted for the 
 mixtures here described. 
 
 Brownish Yellow Dutch Pink by the decomposition of 
 
 alum. 
 
 Boil a pound of French berries, half a pound of the 
 shavings of the wood of the barberry shrub, and a 
 pound of wood ashes, for about an hour in twelve 
 pounds of water. Then strain the decoction through a 
 piece of linen cloth. 
 
 Pour gradually into this mixture, whilst warm, a so¬ 
 lution of two pounds of alum in five pounds of water : 
 a slight effervescence will take place; and the alum 
 being decomposed, the alumine which is precipitated, 
 will combine with the colouring part. The liquor 
 must then be filtered through a piece of fine linen, and 
 the paste which remains on the cloth, when divided 
 into square pieces, is to be exposed on boards to dry. 
 This Dutch pink is brown, because the alumine in it 
 is pure ; the intensity of the colour shows the quality 
 of this pink, which is superior to that of the other 
 compositions. 
 
 Dutch Pink with Spanish White , and White Lead, 
 preferable for Oil Painting. 
 
 By using Spanish white and white lead, the result 
 will be a Dutch pink, superior to any of the preceding. 
 
 Boil a pound of French berries and three ounces of 
 alum, in twelve pounds of water, to four pounds. Strain 
 the decoction through a piece of linen, and squeeze it 
 
 H 2 
 
148 
 
 DUTCH PINK WITH SPANISH WHITE. 
 
 strongly. Then mix it with two pounds of white lead, 
 ground with water and dried, and a pound of pulverized 
 Spanish white. Evaporate the mixture till the mass 
 acquire the consistence of a paste ; and having formed 
 it into small cakes, dry them in the shade. 
 
 When these cakes are dry, reduce them to powder, 
 and mix them with a decoction of yellow berries. By 
 repeating this process a third time, you will obtain a 
 Dutch pink containing so much colouring matter that 
 it will be brown. 
 
 In general, the decoctions must be warm when they 
 are mixed with the earth. They ought not to be long 
 kept, as their colour is speedily altered by the fermenta¬ 
 tion. Care must be taken also to use a wooden spa¬ 
 tula for stirring the mixture, 
 
 Dutch pink is employed in distemper and in oil; 
 it is said, and with some foundation, not to be durable, 
 especially when the earthy part contains much chalk. 
 Those, therefore, who wish to select the best must pre¬ 
 fer that which produces the least effervescence with 
 acids : many samples of English manufacture occasion 
 very little effervescence. 
 
 When only one decoction of woad or of French ber¬ 
 ries is employed, the Dutch pink is of a bright-yellow 
 colour, and is easily mixed for use. When the colour¬ 
 ing part of several decoctions is absorbed, the compo¬ 
 sition becomes brown, and is mixed with more diffi¬ 
 culty, especially if the paste be argillaceous : for it is 
 the property of this earth to unite with oily and resin¬ 
 ous parts, to adhere strongly to them, and to incorpo¬ 
 rate with them. In the latter case, the artist must not 
 
ENGLISH PINK.—ROSE PINK. 149 
 
 be satisfied with mixing the colour: it ought to be 
 ground; an operation which is equally proper for every 
 kind of Dutch pink, even the softest, when intended 
 for oil painting. 
 
 English Pink 
 
 Appears to be nothing more than an inferior Dutch 
 pink ; its colour is less brilliant, and it is therefore used 
 for more common purposes than Dutch pink. 
 
 Rose Pink 
 
 Is a very delicate colour, inclining more to purple 
 than scarlet. It is prepared from chalk coloured with a 
 decoction of Brasil wood, with the addition of an alka¬ 
 line salt. It is a very fugacious colour and of little 
 value. It loses its colour, in a great measure, if even 
 suffered to become dry; it is therefore the practice of 
 the colourmen to keep it in a damp, dark cellar, excluded 
 from both light and air. 
 
 H 3 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 On the Vehicles used for the colours of paints, as 
 well as on certain Gums, Glue, Driers, and 
 Putty ; and on the preservation and repairing of 
 paintings. 
 
 Water. 
 
 It may seem superfluous to mention water as one of 
 the vehicles for paints; but as this useful and necessary 
 fluid is used in making gum-water paints,many coloured 
 washes, and in mixing distemper colours, a few obser¬ 
 vations on it may be useful. 
 
 The preparer of colours should have constantly 
 before him this truth, that all water obtained from 
 the earth, whether from springs or from other sources, 
 contains always more or less extraneous matter, and 
 will very often affect the colours of paints, by im¬ 
 proving them in some instances, by deteriorating them 
 in others; and, therefore, where a colour or mixture of 
 colours of a specific hue is desired to be produced, the 
 purest water should always be procured. Spring water, 
 in consequence of its sparkling brilliancy, is as a bever¬ 
 age generally preferred ; but such water is almost 
 always hard, i. e. it contains a large quantity of calcar¬ 
 eous or other matter, which, on the application of soap, 
 separates in the form of a curdy white precipitate : as it 
 is not easy to tell, by mere inspection, to what mineral 
 
WATER—GUM-WATER—GUM ARABIC. 
 
 151 
 
 or earth the hardness of water is owing, the safest 
 course will be to avoid the use of it in painting. The 
 purest water is no doubt that which is distilled in glass 
 vessels; for copper vessels, notwithstanding all our 
 care, impart to water a portion, however slight, of the 
 copper of which they are composed. In the absence of 
 distilled water, rain water caught from the roof of a 
 house covered with tiles, if in the country, is most 
 probably the best succedaneum for distilled water, and 
 such the painter should aim always to obtain. Next 
 to this, water from a clear rivulet in perpetual motion 
 is the best: yet even such often contains calcareous 
 and other earthy matters : for although filtering stones 
 arrest the grosser impurities of water, they do not those 
 which are combined with it in a more intimate man¬ 
 ner ; such is carbonate of lime, which passes the filter 
 as readily with water as pure water alone. 
 
 Gum-water 
 
 Is made by dissolving gum arable , or gum tragacanth , 
 in water; it is employed in painting various ways; 
 sometimes as a vehicle for the colours themselves, and 
 sometimes as a vamisli for coating the colours which 
 have been previously painted. 
 
 Gum-Arabic dissolves wholly in water ; it appears 
 to be a pure mucilage. It is the produce of the acacia 
 vera , a tree growing in various parts of Africa; the 
 best, the whitest, hardest, and in the smallest tears, is 
 brought from many of the African ports which border 
 the Mediterranean. An inferior kind called gum Sene¬ 
 gal, in red and larger drops, is brought from South- 
 
 H 4 
 
152 
 
 GUM TRAGACANTH—SIZE. 
 
 west Africa; the mucilage from this last has not the 
 same softness as that from gum-arabic; in all cases of 
 painting the white gum is to be preferred. 
 
 Gum Tragacanth, or Gum Dr agon, is the produce of 
 a shrub, the astragalus verus , a native of the north of 
 Persia, whence the gum is brought to this country by 
 way of Aleppo. It is in thin and wrinkled worm-like 
 pieces, of a whitish semi-transparent colour, and a 
 slightly bitter taste, yet inodorous. It swells and 
 softens in water, hut does not form a homogeneous 
 fluid mucilage, unless triturated after digestion with a 
 large portion of water. In choosing this gum for 
 painting, that which is yellow, black, or mixed with 
 foreign bodies, must be rejected. The thick mucilage 
 produced by this gum, when soaked in water, is some¬ 
 times employed by miniature painters to render the 
 vellum on which they paint as smooth as a plate of 
 iron; this is done by placing it on a piece of fine linen, 
 tying it in a knot, and rubbing it over the vellum. 
 
 In painting in distemper a solution of gum tragacanth 
 is substituted for solution of gum-arabic in mixing up 
 colours of a saline nature. 
 
 The chief difference between this gum and gum- 
 arabic appears to be that, when dry, it is less liable to 
 crack than gum-arabic. 
 
 Size 
 
 Is gelatin dissolved in a greater or less quantity of 
 water. Gelatin is obtained from various animal sub¬ 
 stances ; from the skins of animals, from the mem¬ 
 branes, and many other parts of fishes, &c. &c. Hence 
 
ISINGLASS—GLUE—SIZE FOR KNOTS. l&J 
 
 we have gelatin under the name of glue, isinglass, &c. 
 Size is used for distemper and other purposes iii 
 painting. 
 
 Isinglass, or fish-glue, is prepared from certain parts 
 of the entrails of fishes; the best is obtained from the 
 sturgeon, and is almost exclusively prepared in Rus¬ 
 sia ; but very good gelatin may be obtained from many 
 parts of the cod, particularly the head. The sound or 
 air-bladders of fish generally may be employed in the 
 preparation of isinglass. Isinglass, when pure, ought 
 wholly to dissolve in water. The sounds of fishes are, 
 it is said, merely cleansed, rolled into shapes, and then 
 dried, to constitute isinglass; but the other parts re¬ 
 quire boiling in water till they are dissolved; the 
 liquor is then to be strained, suffered to cool, when the 
 fat or oil is carefully taken off, and the liquor again 
 boiled to a proper consistence, and then cut in pieces, 
 rolled into a semicircular twist, and afterwards dried. 
 
 Glue is too well known to need description. It is 
 usually obtained by boiling the skins, or cuttings from 
 skins, of various animals in water, and afterwards re¬ 
 ducing the decoction by evaporating the water to a 
 proper consistence. That which is of the palest co¬ 
 lour and the clearest is the best. 
 
 Size for Knots . 
 
 It often happens that if deal, in particular, be painted 
 without covering the knots with some impervious size 
 previously to painting it, the terebinthine matter in the 
 knot will ooze through the paint and disfigure it. To 
 prevent this it is usual to cover the knot with a size 
 
 H 5 
 
154 
 
 FIXED OILS. 
 
 composed of a strong solution of glue in water, mixed 
 with a small portion of red-lead previously to laying on 
 the paint, taking care that the size is completely dry 
 before the process of painting commences. 
 
 Fixed Oils 
 
 Are so called in contradistinction to volatile oils, be¬ 
 cause, under ordinary circumstances, they remain in 
 vessels, although exposed to the air, whereas volatile 
 oils have a continual tendency to escape in vapour 
 under similar circumstances. The fixed oils are those 
 most commonly used in painting, although some of the 
 volatile oils, particularly oil of turpentine, are also em¬ 
 ployed as vehicles for pigments. 
 
 Of fixed oils some are obtained from vegetables and 
 some from animals; those used principally in painting 
 are from vegetables. Some of the animal oils also enter 
 into the composition of coarse paints; but they are not 
 in general good vehicles for colours. 
 
 The chemical constituents of fixed oils vary; but 
 they generally consist, as stated by chemists, of car¬ 
 bon, hydrogen, and oxygen ; the carbon being by 
 far the largest proportion. Fixed oils have also been 
 separated into two substances, one white, solid, brittle, 
 and tasteless, called stearine ; the other an oily liquid 
 of a yellow colour, which is fluid at common tempera¬ 
 tures, called elaine. The proportion of these in dif¬ 
 ferent oils, both animal and vegetable, varies ; in butter 
 the stearine is 60, the elaine 40; in oil of almonds the 
 stearine is 76, the elaine only 24. When oil of olives is 
 congealed by a moderate degree of cold, these two 
 
OIL OF POPPY SEEDS. 
 
 155 
 
 substances are distinctly visible; the stearine in round 
 lumps, the elaine in a liquid state. Both these sub¬ 
 stances will combine with alkalies and form soap. We 
 consider spermaceti as nearly pure stearine. 
 
 Oil of White Poppy Seeds. 
 
 The seeds of the single white poppy , an annual 
 plant, papaver somniferum , a native of Asia, but now T 
 found in most of the southern parts of Europe, and 
 also in this country, yield, by being bruised and 
 pressed, a large quantity of a sweet and unctuous oil, 
 which is much used for delicate processes in painting, 
 it being nearly colourless. It acquires a drying quality 
 by age alone ; but several methods are used to give it 
 this necessary disposition for the painter. 
 
 Processes for imparting a drying quality to Oil of 
 Poppy Seed . 
 
 Into three pints of pure water put an ounce of white 
 vitriol in pow T der, and mix the whole with two pints of 
 oil of white poppy seeds. Submit this mixture in a 
 proper vessel to a degree of heat sufficient to keep it in 
 a slight state of ebullition. When one-half or two- 
 thirds of the water have evaporated, pour the whole 
 into a large glass bottle or jar, and leave it at rest till 
 the oil becomes clear; decant the clear oil for use. The 
 oil thus prepared becomes, after some weeks, exceed¬ 
 ingly limpid and colourless. 
 
 The preceding Is the substance of the methods of 
 imparting a drying quality to poppy oil, given in a 
 former edition of this work. The following, which is 
 
 H 6 
 
156 
 
 NUT OIL. 
 
 given in the Journal of Arts , Vol. ill. page 138, by 
 Mr. Pack, a practical artist, is, in our judgment, to be 
 preferred. 
 
 Mr. Pack observes that 44 the oil of white poppy seed 
 is much the best which can be used for pictures ; the 
 Flemish and Dutch schools used no other ; next to this 
 is linseed oil if pure; but if mixed with rape oil, as it 
 sometimes is, it is totally unfit for the artist. Drying 
 oil should always be prepared cold.” 
 
 Mix one ounce of litharge, finely powdered, with one 
 pint of the oil; shake the mixture very often; in a 
 month it will be clear and thin, which constitute its 
 excellence. 
 
 Remarks. —Many artists reject every preparation of 
 oil in which water has been employed as an interme¬ 
 diate substance. But it will be nevertheless found 
 occasionally useful, particularly where the artist cannot 
 wait a month for his oil; although even when boiled as 
 above directed, the oil takes some time to become fine 
 and pure. The drying material may, it is true, be 
 boiled with the oil without water; but as the heat ad¬ 
 ministered to the oil will be so much greater, the pro¬ 
 bability is that more or less colour will be added to it, 
 and, consequently, for delicate colours, the oil will be 
 totally unfit. A slight heat accelerates the clarification 
 of oil prepared with water. 
 
 Nut Oil , 
 
 Is obtained from the kernels of several kinds of nuts, 
 chiefly from walnuts or hazel-nuts, by contusion and ex- 
 
LINSEED OIL—DRYING OIL. 
 
 157 
 
 pression either with or without heat. That obtainedby heat 
 is the most proper for the painter; but in this country 
 nut oil is not a common vehicle ; and if sold as such> 
 there is much reason to fear that other oils supply its 
 place. It is nevertheless a very useful oil, and when to 
 be obtained, is much to be preferred to linseed oil, A 
 similar oil may also be obtained from beech nuts; 
 another from hempseed. 
 
 Linseed Oil. 
 
 The oil obtained from the seed of the linum usitatis- 
 simum , or flax plant, an annual cultivated in almost 
 every part of Europe as well as in this country, is the 
 most common vehicle for the colours of ordinary paint¬ 
 ing. It is abstracted from the seeds by contusion and 
 expression, for medical use without , but for the painter 
 with the aid of considerable heat. 
 
 Processes for imparting to Fixed Oils a drying 
 Quality. 
 
 First process. 
 
 Take of nut or linseed oil eight pints; of white lead 
 slightly calcined, sugar of lead also calcined, and of 
 white vitriol of each one ounce; of litharge twelve 
 ounces. A head of garlic or a small onion. 
 
 All the preceding ingredients being pulverized, ex¬ 
 cept the garlic or onion, which must be sliced, mix 
 them with the oil, and keep the whole in a slight state 
 of ebullition, till the oil ceases to throw up any scum, 
 
158 
 
 SECOND PROCESS FOR DRYING OIL. 
 
 till it assumes a reddish colour, and till the head of 
 garlic becomes brown. A pellicle will then be soon 
 formed on the oil, which indicates that the operation is 
 completed. Take the vessel from the fire, and the pel¬ 
 licle being precipitated by rest, will carry with it all the 
 unctuous parts. When the oil becomes clear, separate 
 it from the deposit, and put it into wide-mouthed 
 bottles, where it will in time become clear, and im¬ 
 prove in quality. 
 
 Second Process for drying Oil. 
 
 Take of linseed or nut oil one pint; of litharge one 
 ounce and a half; of white vitriol half an ounce. 
 
 The operation must be conducted as in the last pro¬ 
 cess. 
 
 The choice of the oil is not a matter of indifference. 
 If for painting articles exposed to the air, or for delicate 
 painting, nut or poppy oil will be requisite. For coarse 
 and common painting linseed oil may be used. 
 
 Negligence in the administration of the heat will 
 often communicate a colour to the oil, in other words 
 will burn it, and thus render it improper for delicate 
 painting. This inconvenience may be, in some degree, 
 avoided, by tying up the drying materials in a bag, 
 which must be suspended by a pack-thread fastened to 
 a stick made to rest on the edge of the vessel, so as to 
 keep the bag at the distance of an inch from the 
 bottom, a pellicle will be formed as in the first opera¬ 
 tion, but it will be slower in making its appearance. 
 
 In all these processes where preparations of lead are 
 employed, care must be taken not to stir the mixture 
 
SECOND PROCESS FOR DRYING OIL. 
 
 159 
 
 too much, although some stirring is absolutely neces¬ 
 sary ; for sometimes the oil is thus rendered too thick, 
 and assumes the consistence of a jelly. 
 
 The substance of the two preceding processes was 
 given in the previous editions of this work. We 
 cannot avoid considering the first in particular as con¬ 
 sisting not only of too many ingredients; but that the 
 ingredients themselves are in too large a quantity. We 
 think the twelve ounces of litharge alone amply suf¬ 
 ficient for one gallon of oil, without any one of the 
 other ingredients. The garlic is employed merely to 
 show the period when the whole aqueous portion of the 
 mixture has evaporated. 
 
 The previous calcination directed for white lead and 
 sugar of lead is a mere precaution in the process : 
 should these matters be employed without calcination, 
 they should be added to the almost boiling oil in small 
 portions at a time. 
 
 It should be noted, generally, that the process of 
 boiling oil , when no water is present, is one of extreme 
 hazard: for, whereas water boils at the degree of 212° 
 of Fahrenheit’s thermometer, oil on the contrary re¬ 
 quires the extreme heat of about 600 degrees, wdien it 
 becomes volatilized, and by a sudden application of 
 additional heat, may take fire even on the approach of 
 a candle, and explode. 
 
 The rationale of the process for obtaining drying oil 
 does not appear, even now, to be exactly understood. 
 In the former editions of this work, it would appear that 
 M. Tingry considered that the use of the preparations 
 of lead was “ to free oils from their greasy principles.” 
 
160 
 
 RESINOUS DRYING OIL. 
 
 But we cannot avoid considering that the combination 
 of the oxides of lead, with the oils themselves, imparts 
 to them more consistence, and of course a disposition 
 to harden on exposure to air, as one of the results of 
 the process: see what is said on this subject under a 
 former section on the oxides of lead. Perhaps some of 
 the oxide of lead combines with the elaine of the oil, 
 and sinks to the bottom as feculence; but this will not, 
 in our judgment, explain the whole phenomenon. 
 
 Drying oil is employed for several purposes; when 
 colourless it is much sought after by those who paint 
 pictures. It enters into the composition of varnish; 
 and serves itself as a varnish in oil-painting, either 
 employed alone, or diluted with a little oil of turpen¬ 
 tine. When used in house-painting, it will be advan¬ 
 tageous to use, for the last coat, the following resinous 
 drying oil , which exhibits all the qualities of a varnish. 
 It is best to be applied to bodies sheltered from the 
 rain and sun, by mixing with it delicate colours; but is 
 well adapted also for strong colours, such as yellow, 
 red, green, and particularly the ochres. 
 
 Resinous drying Oil. 
 
 Take ten pints of drying nut oil, if the paint be de¬ 
 signed for external work, or ten pints of drying linseed 
 oil, if for internal work; of yellow resin three pounds ; 
 of common turpentine six ounces. 
 
 Melt the resin in a gentle heat, to which add gra¬ 
 dually the oil, so as not to coagulate the resin; add 
 lastly the turpentine, applying only so much heat to the 
 whole, as will render it a uniformly transparent varnish. 
 
THIRD PROCESS FOR DRYING OIL. 
 
 161 
 
 Let it remain a short time while hot to deposit a few 
 impurities, and pour it off into wide-mouth bottles. It 
 should be used fresh: when suffered to grow old, it 
 deposits some of its resin. If it becomes too thick 
 it may be diluted with a little oil of turpentine; or 
 with oil of poppy if intended for painting sheltered 
 from the sun. 
 
 In general every first coating with oil applied to a 
 wall, cieling, &c. ought to be exceedingly warm, to 
 harden the surface which is to receive the painting. 
 
 Third Process for drying Oil. 
 
 A drying quality may be communicated to linseed or 
 nut oil by simply keeping it in a state of slight ebul¬ 
 lition by heat, adding to every pint three ounces of 
 litharge reduced to a fine powder. Some painters add of 
 litharge a fourth part of the weight of the oil employed. 
 But this is only necessary for baked oils used in painting, 
 where speedy drying, and the greatest durability are 
 required : floor-cloths, and all paintings of large figures 
 or ornaments, in which the argillaceous colours, such as 
 the yellow and red ochres, Dutch pink, &c. require 
 such strongly desiccative oils. But paints composed of 
 metallic oxides, such as those of lead, copper, &c. will 
 dry with oil, having a much less portion of desiccative 
 ingredients. Nay, both nut oil and linseed oil wholly 
 unprepared, if combined with litharge finely ground in 
 oil, and then mixed with the colouring matter in the 
 proportion to the oil employed, of three or four ounces 
 to the pint, will dry as speedily as if prepared oil had 
 
162 FOURTH AND FIFTH PROCESSES FOR DRYING OIL. 
 
 been employed. But of course litharge can be only 
 employed with colours which are not altered by it. 
 
 Fourth Process for drying Oil. 
 
 Take of nut oil two pints ; of water three pints; of 
 white vitriol two ounces. 
 
 Mix, and subject them to a slight ebullition till little 
 water remain; decant the oil, w T hich will pass over 
 with a small quantity of water, and separate the latter 
 by means of a funnel; after some time the oil will be¬ 
 come clear and very little coloured. 
 
 Fifth Process for drying Oil . 
 
 Take of nut, or linseed oil, six pints ; of water four 
 pints; of white vitriol one ounce; of garlic one head 
 sliced. 
 
 Keep this mixture in a state of ebullition during the 
 whole of the day: boiling water must from time to 
 time be added to supply the loss of that dissipated by 
 evaporation. The garlic will then assume a brown ap¬ 
 pearance. Remove the oil from the fire, and after the 
 impurities are deposited, decant it; it will become clear 
 in the vessel in which it is kept. By this process the 
 oil is rendered somewhat more coloured: it is used for 
 delicate colours. 
 
 Remarks —The preceding process requires the ut¬ 
 most attention. If the water mixed with the ingre¬ 
 dients, or that added during the process be too abun¬ 
 dant, and if towards the end of the operation it be not 
 
SIXTH PROCESS FOR DRYING OIL. 
 
 163 
 
 all made to disappear by careful evaporation, it will 
 unite with the oil, and communicate to it the colour 
 and consistence almost of cream: hence, unless well 
 conducted, the process will not succeed : but it affords 
 nevertheless a very simple method of obtaining an oil 
 exceedingly drying, and much less coloured than that 
 subjected to the direct action of fire : it requires, how¬ 
 ever, to b^ kept for some time. 
 
 House painters are less interested in these processes 
 than portrait or landscape painters, &c., because their 
 colours are, of course, less delicate, whereas the least 
 tint communicated to fine colours visibly alter their 
 tone; hence researches have been made to find out for 
 this particular case processes different from those 
 which we have already described, not excepting even 
 the last. 
 
 In the preparation of poppy oil it will be seen that 
 water is added, by the evaporation of which the tem¬ 
 perature is kept at a fixed point, and hence the oil 
 undergoes no decomposition. By varying the process 
 it may be rendered the sole cause of the drying quality 
 of the oil: it is on this principle the following process 
 is founded: 
 
 Sixth Process for drying Oil. 
 
 Take, in the winter season, of linseed, nut, or poppy 
 oil, any quantity, and mix it with dry snow, kneading 
 the mixture in a bason with a wooden spatula, or in a 
 mortar with a pestle. Form it into a solid mass, and 
 place it in a vessel with a large aperture, which should 
 be covered with a cloth to prevent the introduction of 
 
164 
 
 MODIFICATION OF THE LAST PROCESS. 
 
 foreign bodies. Expose the vessel in a place accessi¬ 
 ble to cold, but sheltered from the influence of the solar 
 rays. On the return of a milder temperature, the snow 
 will become water, and separate from the oil, with the 
 impurities of which the water will be charged. If a 
 severe temperature continue two months, the oil will 
 acquire a high degree of drying quality. A part of the 
 oil retains then a little water, and it forms^a pellicle 
 which, in colour and consistence, resembles Painter's 
 Cream ; for which composition see the next page. 
 
 The oil is either to be decanted from off the water, 
 or taken off with a spoon. Rest will be sufficient to 
 clarify it; or, to accelerate the separation of the ad¬ 
 hering particles of water, the oil may be exposed to 
 the heat of a water bath. 
 
 Modification of the last process. 
 
 If an oil, already rendered drying by one of the pre¬ 
 ceding operations, be used in this process, with as few 
 reacting ingredients and as little heat as possible, it 
 becomes drying in an eminent degree. 
 
 Such oil is very thick, and a part of it is so mixed 
 with water, that the result is a glutinous and almost 
 resinous matter, which adheres so much to the inter¬ 
 posed liquid, that it retains that form whatever process 
 be employed to break the union of the water and the 
 oil 
 
 On Oil of Hempseed being treated with snow, as 
 above directed, the separation of two distinct oils has 
 been observed; one heavier than water fell to the bot¬ 
 tom of the vessel, while the other occupied the upper 
 
painters’ cream. 
 
 165 
 
 portion of it, and the whole of the liquid obtained from 
 the melting of the snow formed a stratum between the 
 two oils. The heaviest oil was very little coloured ; it 
 was less so than the lighter oil, or even than the oil of 
 hempseed itself before its admixture with the snow. 
 The first stratum of oil formed two zones, the upper one 
 being clear, the lower opake and of a chamois colour. 
 The lighter stratum above the water was exceedingly 
 thick, and as if resinified. The stratum of water, &c. 
 was cloudy. 
 
 Is not the separation of the oil of hempseed into two 
 portions of different specific gravity, merely the sepa¬ 
 ration of the stearmc and elaine of the oil ? Is not the 
 highly drying quality of oil thus treated with snow, 
 produced in some way by impregnating the oil with a 
 quantity of oxygen ? and does water in the state of 
 snow become more readily decomposed than when in a 
 liquid state ? 
 
 The heaviest oil may be used for the preparation of 
 paste made with white lead or Cremitz white, employed 
 to repair broken enamel. 
 
 Painters' Cream. 
 
 Painters who leave long intervals between their pe¬ 
 riods of labour, cover the parts which they have painted 
 with a preparation which preseryes the freshness of the 
 colours, and which they can remove when they resume 
 their work. It is thus made : 
 
 Take of very clear nut oil three ounces; of mastich 
 in tears pulverized, half an ounce; of sugar of lead two 
 drachms avoirdupoise. 
 
166 DRYING OIL FOR PRINTERS’ INK. 
 
 Dissolve the mastich in the oil over a gentle fire, and 
 pour the mixture into a marble mortar on the powdered 
 sugar of lead; stir it with a wooden pestle, and add 
 water in small quantities till the matter assume the ap¬ 
 pearance and consistence of cream, and refuse to admit 
 more water. By whipping up the mixture with a 
 bunch of small twigs, 7\ ounces of water may be com¬ 
 bined with it. 
 
 Drying Oil for Printers' Ink. 
 
 Printers’ ink is a real black paint, composed of car¬ 
 bonaceous matter and linseed or other oil, which has 
 undergone a degree of heat superior to that of the differ¬ 
 ent drying oils already mentioned. A greater or less 
 consistence is given to it according to the strength of 
 the paper; and this depends on the degree of heat given 
 to the oil, or on the mixture of a greater or less dose of 
 carbonaceous matter. 
 
 The degree of heat applied to the oil is sufficient to 
 decompose it in part, and even to make it inflame. 
 Should this prepared oil retain unctuosity, it would fill 
 the eye of the letter, run upon the paper, and commu¬ 
 nicate to it a yellow semi-transparency: a proof of the 
 badness of the ink. 
 
 Boil linseed oil for eight hours in a large iron pot, 
 and add to it bits of toasted bread, for the purpose, it 
 is said, of absorbing the water contained in the oil. 
 Leave it at rest till next morning, and then expose it 
 eight hours more to the same degree of heat, or until it 
 has acquired the necessary consistence ; then add lamp 
 black, worked up with a mixture of oil of turpentine 
 
 13 
 
PROCESSES FOR DRYING OIL, FROM VANHERMAN. 167 
 
 and common turpentine. This operation is to be per¬ 
 formed in the open air, to obviate the bad effects of the 
 vapour of the burnt oil, and in particular to guard 
 against accidents by fire. 
 
 Observe , that the lamp-black should be the best and 
 finest which can be obtained; and it should be, besides, 
 subjected to the operation of burning, as directed under 
 that article. Other blacks are sometimes used in the 
 preparation of this ink, such as that from peach stones, 
 &c. In regard to the common turpentine, it should be 
 observed that the common turpentine of the shops con¬ 
 tains, it is to be feared, sometimes a portion of some 
 impure fixed oil, and hence is improper for this com¬ 
 position. The article called frankincense, in the shops, 
 is the purest and best of common turpentine, and is 
 best for the above ink. See the following articles : 
 
 Processes for drying Oil, from Vanlierman . 
 
 Into a tin pan, about three feet square and one foot 
 deep, pour three or four gallons of linseed oil, to which 
 add four ounces of coarse litharge for each gallon of oil; 
 stir the mixture two or three times a day with a broad 
 spatula, agitating it well for a fortnight, when the oil 
 will have acquired a strong drying quality equal to 
 boiled oil. 
 
 To make the same Oil white and limpid. 
 
 Expose it in shallow pans to the sun and air for three 
 or four days, and it will become as limpid as water. It 
 must, during the exposure, be guarded from the rain; 
 let it be afterwards strained and bottled for use. 
 
168 PROCESS FOR REFINING EXPRESSED OILS. 
 
 Linseed oil, and other expressed oils, may be de¬ 
 prived of their colouring matter without prejudice to its 
 quality, by adding to it gradually, in the proportion of 
 six gallons, half a pint of sulphuric acid, and agitating 
 the mixture well for five or six hours, then letting it 
 rest for a day, the clear oil may be poured off, and used 
 for the common purposes of linseed oil, or be boiled 
 with a small quantity of sugar of lead to give it a dry¬ 
 ing quality. 
 
 Another Process for Refining Expressed Oils 
 Has been made public by Mr. Mathew Wilks , of Dart- 
 ford, in a specification of his patent, dated December, 
 1822. 
 
 Into two hundred and thirty-six gallons of oil pour 
 six pounds of sulphuric acid; mix both by agitation 
 for three hours; well mix also six pounds of Fuller’s 
 earth with fourteen pounds of hot lime ; add this mix¬ 
 ture to the preceding, and agitate the whole for about 
 three hours. 
 
 Boil now this mixture with water, equal in quantity 
 to that of the oil, for three hours, during which it must 
 be continually agitated. The fire is then to be with¬ 
 drawn, the whole allowed to cool, and when cold the 
 water must be drawn off; the oil will be found clari¬ 
 fied, and after standing some time, be fit for use.— 
 Journal of Arts, vol. vii. p. 239. 
 
 We do not know what part of the above process can 
 be entitled to a patent; but this we know, that the pro¬ 
 cess of boiling sulphuric acid with expressed oil for re¬ 
 fining it, was practised in our presence more than thirty 
 
OIL OF TURPENTINE. 
 
 169 
 
 years since; and we know also, that the addition of 
 lime is not a new invention.—See lire’s Dictionary of 
 Chemistry , article Copal. 
 
 Oil of Turpentine , 
 
 Sometimes, but improperly, called Spirits of Turpen¬ 
 tine, and, in the slang of common painters, Turps , is 
 obtained from crude turpentine by distilling it with 
 water in a common still. A colourless, limpid, strong, 
 penetrating fluid comes over, having a peculiar odour, 
 and a hot, pungent, bitterish taste ; it is also extremely 
 light, volatile, and inflammable. It is, of course, an 
 essential oil, and one of the lightest of its class: its 
 specific gravity being only 792, while most of the other 
 essential oils exceed 900. It dissolves in hot alcoho], 
 and again separates from it as the spirit cools. In all 
 other respects it agrees with the other essential oils. 
 The residuum left in the still after its distillation is 
 yellow resin. 
 
 Oil of turpentine is used for various purposes in the 
 arts; chiefly, however, as a vehicle for paints and var¬ 
 nishes. White lead, ground in this fluid, forms the 
 dead white so well known to painters. 
 
 If oil of turpentine has been adulterated with any 
 fixed oil its colour will sometimes indicate it; but a 
 sure method of detecting the adulteration is the follow¬ 
 ing : Impregnate a bit of white paper with this oil, and 
 hold the paper before the fire. Pure oil of turpentine 
 will evaporate completely, without leaving any traces 
 on the paper, on which you may afterwards w r rite; but 
 
 i 
 
170 
 
 COMMON TURPENTINE—RESIN. 
 
 if it be mixed with fat oil, the paper will be transpa¬ 
 rent, and will not receive the impression of writing. 
 
 The volatile nature of oil of turpentine renders it pe¬ 
 culiarly well suited for oil painting, as by means of this 
 fluid the paint can be worked with much ease ; and as 
 it evaporates so rapidly, a greater body of paint is by 
 its means laid on: hence it is, with propriety, considered 
 a drier. 
 
 What is called Ethereal Oil of Turpentine is rarely, 
 if ever, found in the shops ; and for the ordinary pro¬ 
 cesses in painting is not necessary. If a peculiarly 
 pure oil of turpentine should be wanted for some spe¬ 
 cific purpose, it may be obtained by the artist’s sub¬ 
 mitting common oil of turpentine to another distilla¬ 
 tion . such was formerly called ethereal or rectified oil 
 of turpentine. 
 
 Crude , or Unstrained Turpentine , is the produce of 
 many different trees of the pine genus. It is imported 
 in casks from various countries, chiefly, at the present 
 time, from North America. It is this article, when 
 hardened by age, that is called the frankincense of the 
 shops. As we have said above, the residuum, after the 
 distillation of oil of turpentine from this substance, is 
 yellow resin. Black resin is merely yellow resin de¬ 
 prived of more of its terebinthine matter by a still 
 greater degree of heat. Gum Olihanum is sometimes 
 called frankincense, but it is a very different substance 
 from turpentine. 
 
 Turpentine is distinguished in the shops into Com¬ 
 mon or Horse Turpentine, Strashurgli , Venice , and Chio 
 Turpentine. 
 
VENICE TURPENTINE—TURPENTINE VARNISHES. .171 
 
 Common , Horse , or Strained Turpentine , is of a yel¬ 
 lowish white colour, somewhat opake, and of the con¬ 
 sistence of honey. It is sold as being merely the tur 
 pentine obtained from the pine, and freed from impuri" 
 ties ; but there is reason for believing that it contains a 
 portion of some fixed oil. 
 
 Venice Turpentine , although usually described in 
 books as an article imported from Venice , is never sold 
 as such in the shops. It is usually made either by melt¬ 
 ing black resin, and, after removing it from the fire, mix¬ 
 ing with it gradually an equal weight of oil of turpen¬ 
 tine ; or as follows : take of unstrained turpentine, com¬ 
 monly called frankincense, three pounds and a half; of 
 oil of turpentine one pint and a half; of linseed oil one 
 pint. Melt first the unstrained turpentine over a mo¬ 
 derate fire, and wdien it is melted and removed from the 
 fire, add gradually the oil of turpentine and linseed oil 
 previously mixed. Lastly, strain the whole, while hot, 
 through a hair sieve. 
 
 From what has been said, the preparation of 
 Turpentine Varnishes 
 
 may be easily anticipated. When a varnish is wanted, 
 without any regard to its tenaciousness when dry, the 
 first preparation, as Venice turpentine above, becomes 
 a very good varnish; but if a varnish of a light colour 
 be w r anted, united also with some tenacity, the second 
 preparation for Venice turpentine wfill be found the 
 best; but instead of using common linseed oil, an oil 
 prepared by some of the processes for drying oil above 
 should be used. We may multiply forms without end 
 
 I 2 
 
172 
 
 VARNISHES. 
 
 for turpentine varnishes, but these directions will be 
 amply sufficient for the oil painter. It is scarcely ne¬ 
 cessary to add that turpentine varnishes, if too thick, 
 may be always made thinner by the simple addition of 
 oil of turpentine ; and that the union may be complete, 
 the mixture should be subjected to a moderate heat. 
 
 There are, however, a few other varnishes, into some 
 of which turpentine enters, which it may be proper here 
 to describe, and which the oil painter will occasionally 
 find of use. For the convenience of reference we shall 
 distinguish them by numbers. 
 
 Varnish No. I. 
 
 Which may serve as a mordant for gold , and also for 
 dark colours. 
 
 Take of boiled linseed oil one pint; of Venice tur¬ 
 pentine eight ounces ; of Naples yellow five ounces. 
 
 Heat the oil with the turpentine, and mix the Naples 
 yellow finely powdered. 
 
 Great use is made of this varnish in applying gold 
 leaf; when the varnish is applied to solid and coloured 
 coverings, the Naples yellow may be omitted; but in 
 such case an ounce of litharge to each pint of varnish 
 may be substituted : the litharge will do no injury to 
 the ground colour. 
 
 Drying Varnish , with Spirit of Wine , No. II. 
 
 Take of gum juniper, in powder, eight ounces; of 
 gum mastich, in powder, two ounces; Venice turpen¬ 
 tine, made without any fat oil, two ounces; pounded 
 glass four ounces; of rectified spirits of wine two pints. 
 
VARNISHES—SPIRIT OF WINE. 
 
 17 3 
 
 Mix the gums and glass first together, and then add 
 the Venice turpentine, and lastly the spirit of wine. 
 Keep the whole in a gentle heat, shaking it daily till 
 all is dissolved, except the glass, which is added merely 
 to facilitate the dissolution of the gums; or the solution 
 may be more speedily effected by proceeding as ordered 
 in No. IV. 
 
 For other varnishes with spirit of wine, see Nos. VI. 
 VII. VIII. 
 
 Spirit of Wine is a light, transparent and colourless 
 fluid, obtained by distillation from various fermented 
 liquors, such as wine, malt liquors, cyder, perry, &e. 
 When highly rectified, that is, wholly deprived of water, 
 it is called alcohol. It is a highly inflammable sub¬ 
 stance: its constituents are, hydrogen about 14 parts; 
 carbon about 52 ; and oxygen about 34. The, spirit of 
 wine usually to be obtained in the shops always con¬ 
 tains a portion of water ; its strength is determined by 
 its weight. Rectified spirit of wine, as directed by the 
 College of Physicians, is in weight 835, distilled water 
 being 1000, and contains about 5 parts in 100 of water. 
 A wine pint of such spirit should not weigh more than 
 13 \ ounces avoirdupoise. The specific gravity of pure 
 alcohol is 796. Rectified spirit of wine is employed in 
 the preceding and many other varnishes ; it is the pro¬ 
 per solvent of all the resins, and gums consisting chiefly 
 of resin; as the proper solvent of gum (see gum-water) 
 is water. 
 
 Another spirit of wine is also occasionally used, 
 called Proof-spirit; this contains of alcohol 55 parts, 
 and of water 45 parts in 100 : a wine pint of it weighs 
 
 I 3 
 
174 
 
 VARNISHES. 
 
 about 15 ounces ; it is usually obtained by merely mix¬ 
 ing rectified spirit of wine and water in the proportions 
 here stated, but it is rarely used in varnishes. 
 
 Gum Juniper , or Sandarac , is obtained from the 
 Juniper us Communis , or common juniper, a well 
 known shrub. It is almost wholly soluble in alcohol, 
 with which it forms a white varnish, which dries 
 speedily. Powdered gum juniper is sometimes called 
 pounce . 
 
 Gum Mastich is the production of the pistacia len- 
 tiscus, a tree native of the south of Europe and Asia. 
 It dissolves entirely in aether; in alcohol about one-fifth 
 remains undissolved: its chief use is in varnishes. 
 Another species of the pistacia produces the Cliio Tur¬ 
 pentine. 
 
 Varnish No. III. 
 
 For mixing up Coloured Grounds . 
 
 Take of frankincense twelve ounces ; of Venice tur¬ 
 pentine two ounces; of oil of turpentine two pints. 
 
 Melt the frankincense, to which add the Venice tur¬ 
 pentine, and lastly the oil of turpentine. 
 
 In the former editions of this work glass was added 
 to the formula: but it is quite useless: and, indeed, 
 after what has been said under Oil of Turpentine , and 
 Turpentine Varnishes , it was scarcely necessary to in¬ 
 sert this form, as the ingenious painter, from our ob¬ 
 servations, can vary the ingredients at pleasure. See 
 what is said in regard to frankincense, under Oil of 
 Turpentine. 
 
VARNISHES. 
 
 175 
 
 Varnish No. IV. 
 
 For Valuable Paintings. 
 
 Take of mastich cleaned and washed twelve ounces; 
 of frankincense, one ounce and half: of camphor half 
 an ounce ; oil of turpentine thirty-six ounces; of white 
 glass pounded five ounces. 
 
 Reduce the mastich and frankincense to powder; mix 
 them with the pounded glass from which the finest 
 parts have been separated by a fine sieve; the camphor 
 may be readily reduced to powder by a small addition 
 of rectified spirit of wine; mix the whole with the oil 
 of turpentine in a short-necked glass vessel, which 
 must be placed in water gradually warmed till it boils : 
 keep the water boiling, and the mixture occasionally 
 stirred, till the solution of the ingredients is complete. 
 
 Remarks. If the varnish is to be applied to oil paint¬ 
 ings which have been already varnished, the turpentine 
 may be omitted. 
 
 Opinions in regard to the varnish proper for paint¬ 
 ings are very various. It is, however, clear that such 
 varnish ought, if possible, to be colourless, so that no 
 foreign tint should be communicated to the colours: it 
 ought also to unite to the most perfect transparency 
 pliability and smoothness. It should not, however, 
 have too much glazing, as the reflection of light is in¬ 
 jurious to effect. 
 
 Spirit of wine renders varnishes too dry for painting, 
 as they split and crack. Varnishes composed of essen¬ 
 tial oils which have too much body, give too great a 
 
 I 4 
 
176 
 
 VARNISHES. 
 
 thickness to the coating, so that they diminish the effect 
 of the colours. 
 
 The following formula has been employed for many 
 years, the varnish resulting from which has been ap¬ 
 plied with success to paintings in the most valuable 
 collections. See the observations on the Preservation , 
 $c. of Paintings , at the conclusion of this chapter. 
 
 Varnish No. V. 
 
 For Grinding Colours. 
 
 Take of frankincense four ounces; of mastich two 
 ounces; of Venice turpentine six ounces; of oil of tur¬ 
 pentine two pints ; of pounded glass four ounces. 
 
 Let these ingredients be treated in the same manner 
 as directed in No. IV. The varnish being ready, add 
 of prepared nut or linseed oil two ounces. 
 
 Remarks. The matters ground with this varnish dry 
 more slowly; they are then mixed up with No. III., 
 if it be for a common painting, or with particular var¬ 
 nishes for grounds. 
 
 Another Varnish with Spirit of Wine , 
 
 No. VI. 
 
 Take of gum sandarac six ounces ; of gum elemi four 
 ounces; of gum anima one ounce; of camphor half 
 an ounce ; of rectified spirit of wine two pints ; of 
 pounded glass four ounces. 
 
 Make the varnish as directed in No. IV. or in 
 No. II. 
 
VARNISHES. 
 
 177 
 
 No. VII. 
 
 Another Varnish with Spirit of Wine. 
 
 Take of gum sandarac six ounces; of shell-lac two 
 ounces: of yellow resin, Venice turpentine, and pounded 
 glass, of each four ounces; rectified spirit of wine two 
 pints. 
 
 Make the varnish as directed in No. II. or No. IV. 
 
 Remarks. This composition is very similar to what 
 is commonly called French Polish , so much used for 
 furniture; for which, however, see our treatise on 
 Varnishes. 
 
 Another Varnish with Spirit of Wine , 
 
 No. VIII. 
 
 Take of purified mastich six ounces; of gum sanda¬ 
 rac three ounces ; of very clear Venice turpentine three 
 ounces; of coarsely pounded glass four ounces; of rec¬ 
 tified spirit of wine two pints. 
 
 Make the varnish as directed in No. II. or No. IV. 
 
 Black Varnish No. IX. 
 
 . Asphaltum and oil of turpentine, with a small quan¬ 
 tity of drying oil, make a good black varnish. 
 
 Asphaltum is a bitumen, sometimes called Jews ’ 
 Pitch : it is a smooth, hard, brittle, black or brown sub¬ 
 stance, breaking with a polish, easily melting by heat, 
 and when pure burns without leaving any ashes. It is 
 found in a soft or liquid state on the surface of the Dead 
 Sea; but by age grows dry and hard. A similar kind 
 of bitumen is found in various parts of the world: in 
 
 I 5 
 
178 
 
 COPAL VARNISH. 
 
 China and America, particularly on the island of Tri¬ 
 nidad ; and also in the Carpathian hills, France, &c. 
 Its specific gravity varies from 1.07 to 1.65. It is solu¬ 
 ble chiefly, if not only, in oils and aether. 
 
 Copal Varnish. 
 
 Copal , or Gum Copal , as it is sometimes improperly 
 called, is an important article in the composition of 
 varnishes, to many of which it gives its name. The 
 natural history of copal does not appear to be satisfac¬ 
 torily ascertained; it is said, however, to be the pro¬ 
 duct of an American tree. It is usually in large drops, or 
 tears, of a yellowish white colour, hard, and semi-trans¬ 
 parent. It neither dissolves in water, like the pure gums, 
 nor in rectified spirit of wine, under ordinary circum¬ 
 stances, like other resins ; in this respect it approaches 
 the nature of amber. It may, however, be dissolved by 
 digestion in linseed oil, rendered drying by quick lime, 
 with a heat very little less than sufficient to decompose 
 the oil. See p. 157 and 159, on the boiling of oil. This 
 solution, diluted with oil of turpentine, forms a beautiful 
 varnish. 
 
 For particular forms of several copal varnishes we* 
 must refer to our treatise on varnishes, most of the pro¬ 
 cesses of which are attended with considerable trouble. 
 We may, however, here observe, that camphor added to 
 oil of turpentine, in the quantity of half an ounce to a 
 quart of the oil, renders it a solvent of copal; and that 
 camphor and rectified spirit of wine form a more ready 
 solvent of copal than even camphor and turpentine. 
 That a good varnish may be obtained by pouring upon 
 
 8 
 
DRIERS-TAR. 
 
 179 
 
 the purest lumps of copal, reduced to a fine mass in a 
 mortar, colourless oil of turpentine to about one-third 
 higher than the copal, and triturating the mixture occa¬ 
 sionally in the course of the day. The next morning 
 it may be poured off into a bottle for use. Successive 
 portions of oil of turpentine may thus be worked with 
 the same copal mass. 
 
 Oil of lavender, and some other of the essential oils, 
 are also solvents of copal, probably because they con¬ 
 tain camphor. It should be particularly stated that the 
 varnish made with copal and oil of lavender, although 
 good for drawings and paints, is not fit for paintings, 
 as it dissolves the paint beneath, and runs down while 
 drying. Se Varley in Tilloch’s Mag. vol. 51. 
 
 Of the Driers for Paints 
 
 Little more needs to be said: they consist chiefly of 
 litharge , sugar of lead , and white vitriol; to which may 
 be added oil of turpentine , and on certain occasions 
 spirit of wine. 
 
 On common Tar , Coal Tar , and Oil of Tar. 
 
 For common purposes, such as covering pales, gates, 
 and other wood work, as well as the wood of houses, 
 where the preservation of 'the wood is the principal 
 object, common tar (that is, tar obtained from various 
 species of the pine), laid on warm alone, or mixed with 
 a portion of some red or dark-coloured ochre or earth, 
 is a very useful preservative from the effects of the 
 weather. The general use of tar (as well as pitch, 
 which is merely tar deprived of its oil by distillation), 
 
 i 6 
 
180 
 
 TAR. 
 
 in ships, not only for the wood-work, but for cordage, 
 demonstrates its great utility. 
 
 But the tar obtained from the pine is nevertheless 
 comparatively dear. In the production of gas from coal 
 a great quantity of tar is obtained, which is much 
 cheaper than pine tar: at the present time it can be 
 purchased for three pence per gallon. This tar is now 
 also used pretty extensively as a.paint, without any 
 admixture, and without heat, being merely laid on the 
 wood-work with a brush. It should, however, be laid 
 on, if possible, in warm weather; and in order that the 
 painting may be effectual, two coats should be given. 
 The chief drawback to this paint is its offensive smell; 
 but that goes off in a few days. 
 
 Some prejudice has been excited against the use of 
 coal tar as a paint. It has been asserted that it rots the 
 wood to which it is applied. From our own obser¬ 
 vation and experience we do not give the least credit to 
 this. We have, besides, made it our business to inquire 
 both of professional and non-professional men whom we 
 presume to be well acquainted with coal-tar and its 
 effects, and their opinions coincide with our own. It 
 has been suspected that the destructive quality of coal- 
 tar is owing to the acid which it contains (pine tar, we 
 must also remember, contains an acid), and it has been 
 suggested that the addition of a small portion of slaked 
 quick dime would neutralize the acid, and thus render 
 it harmless ; this may be done, but we cannot think it 
 necessary. 
 
 Different colours, of a dark kind, may be readily 
 
OIL OF TAR—ANIMAL OILS. 
 
 181 
 
 given to coal-tar, by mixing with it red or yellow ochre, 
 or other coloured earths. 
 
 The use of oil of tar, as a vehicle for coarse paint, is 
 described under the section oxide of manganese. 
 
 On Animal Oils as vehicles for Paints. 
 
 x4s we have seen, the vegetable oils obtained from 
 poppy seed, from nuts and from linseed, with the ad¬ 
 dition of the essential oil of turpentine, and the var¬ 
 nishes are most usually employed as vehicles in oil 
 painting; and they are so employed, because when 
 pigments are mixed with them they soon become hard. 
 Whereas many animal oils, and particularly the animal 
 fats, are indisposed to assume such a condition; and 
 hence are most commonly rejected by the painter. 
 
 As has been mentioned in a preceding part of this 
 chapter in regard to fixed oils generally, they consist of 
 carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen; and it has been sup¬ 
 posed that those oils which contain the largest quantity 
 of oxygen dry the soonest: hence the conclusion has 
 been drawn that, in adding oxygen to such oils by the 
 medium of some metallic oxide, they are thus rendered 
 drying. We doubt very much this theory; although 
 we are not prepared to offer a more rational one, unless 
 indeed as regards lead in particular, its general disposi¬ 
 tion to dissolve in and to harden expressed oils, will not 
 give us a different solution of the matter. However, in 
 regard to animal oils, we think that as they, as well as 
 vegetable oils, consist of two substances as proximate 
 principles, namely siearine, a hard substance when in 
 ordinary temperatures, and elaine , a soft substance in 
 
182 
 
 ANIMAL OILS—PUTTY. 
 
 similar temperatures, we are disposed to consider the 
 indisposition for drying in fat and other animal oils to 
 be owing, in part at least, to the large quantity of the 
 elaine which they contain, and hence any thing which 
 abstracts from them a portion of their elaine will render 
 them more disposed to dry. We think, therefore, that 
 a caustic alkaline salt offers such a medium; but it re¬ 
 quires peculiar nicety in its application: for if used in 
 so caustic a state as the ley for soap, the whole sub¬ 
 stance of the oil will be, by long boiling, converted 
 into that substance ; but if used in a partially caustic 
 state, and boiled with the oil for a few hours, we pre¬ 
 sume that some of the elaine will be combined with the 
 alkali, without touching the stearine; and if all which 
 we desire could not be obtained during one process of 
 boiling, two or even three may be adopted, and pos¬ 
 sibly such oil would be rendered much more suitable 
 for the processes of painting. Having had much expe¬ 
 rience in the refining of spermaceti, we throw out this 
 hint for those who may be interested in converting 
 fish-oil into oil fit for painting. After fish-oil has been 
 thus purified, it may be treated with the metallic oxides 
 in the same way as linseed or nut-oil, to render it more 
 effectually drying. The mode of depriving oils of 
 colour will be found under the processes for drying oil 
 from Vanherman. 
 
 Putty 
 
 Is used by the painter for filling up holes which occa¬ 
 sionally occur in wood and other work so as to render 
 the surface smooth and even to receive the paint. It is 
 
PRESERVATION AND REPAIRING OF PAINTINGS. 183 
 
 made with dry whiting finely powdered and mixed 
 with as much linseed oil as will form it into a stiff 
 paste like dough, .which should be well kneaded, or 
 well beaten with a heavy piece of wood till it is ren¬ 
 dered uniformly smooth and tenacious. 
 
 It should be kept in a glazed pan, covered with a 
 wet cloth, or with water. If it grow hard, it may be 
 heated by the fire, or by pouring boiling water over 
 it, and while warm, beating it as at first, with the ad¬ 
 dition of a small portion of oil. 
 
 To render it more tenacious, some persons add to it 
 a portion of white lead; but this does not appear 
 necessary: and, besides, lead should never be used 
 when it can be avoided. 
 
 On the preservation and repairing of Paintings . 
 
 As every thing that relates to the preservation or 
 repairing of paintings is of great importance to artists, 
 and amateurs, we cannot, perhaps, more appropriately 
 conclude this chapter than by the following obser¬ 
 vations. 
 
 The variety of destructive varnishes which are often 
 applied to paintings, occasions some complication in 
 the means employed to remove them, in order to substi¬ 
 tute others in their place. 
 
 A new painting has often no other covering than 
 white of egg. This varnish is of the simplest kind: it 
 consists only of two or three ounces of proof spirit of 
 wine (see page 173), in which one eighth of an ounce 
 of refined sugar and the white of an egg has been dis¬ 
 solved. The white of egg with the sugar in powder is 
 
184 PRESERVATION AND REPAIRING OF PAINTINGS. 
 
 beaten up with the proof spirit. The varnish is then 
 applied with a very soft sponge to the picture, placed 
 in a horizontal position. If a few drops of the juice of 
 garlic be mixed with the varnish, or if the vessel in 
 which the white of egg is beaten be only rubbed with 
 it, the flies will avoid the painting. 
 
 When it is necessary to remove this coating, a sponge 
 moistened with warm water is slightly applied to the 
 surface of the picture. A kind of froth is then formed, 
 w hich must be washed off with water: this operation 
 must be repeated till no more froth appears. This 
 method will remove not only white of egg varnish, but 
 also that made with gum arabic, isinglass, or any other 
 matter soluble in water. There is no reason to be under 
 any apprehension for the picture, because the water has 
 no action on oil colours. 
 
 Great masters rarely varnish their pictures after they 
 are finished: they protect their tints by a coating of 
 white of egg, and do not varnish till a year after, when 
 the colours are completely dry. The method above 
 described for removing this coating requires care and 
 attention. After it is removed, the picture is left to 
 dry, and the varnish is applied with proper precau¬ 
 tions. 
 
 More difficulty occurs with old paintings. Besides 
 varnishes on which alcohol and oil produce no effect, 
 they are often spoiled by foreign bodies, the nature of 
 which is unknow n, and which resist the action of soap. 
 Oil of turpentine may, indeed, remove many stains; 
 but it attacks the colours, and softens the oil with 
 which they are mixed. Olive oil, and also butter, may 
 
PRESERVATION AND REPAIRING OF PAINTINGS. 185 
 
 be substituted for it with advantage, these not attacking 
 the colours, or at least having only a very slow effect 
 on them. 
 
 Resin, the basis of the old varnishes, gives some 
 hold to an alkaline solution composed of one ounce of 
 carbonate of potash (the pearl-ash of the shops), and 
 eight ounces of water. This liquid is very much em¬ 
 ployed, but it requires great care : for it may affect the 
 colours of the painting, in consequence of the disposi¬ 
 tion which the alkali has to combine with resin and 
 with oil. Long habit, and the eye of a painter are 
 therefore required to judge of the proper use of this 
 method. 
 
 Rectified spirit of wine is a powerful agent not only 
 in removing oily stains, but also the resinous consti¬ 
 tuents of varnish; and it does not alter the colours 
 mixed with prepared oil; it exercising no action on 
 them, unless some essential oil, such as oil of lavender 
 or turpentine, has entered into their composition. It 
 will be proper therefore to ascertain the nature of the 
 oil which was employed, by making experiments on a 
 comer of the picture. 
 
 In general it is proper to begin cleaning the picture 
 by first drawing a sponge dipped in warm water over 
 the surface of it; if no froth be produced, the varnish is 
 of a resinous nature. This washing is often sufficient 
 to call forth the colours, and restore their original 
 lustre. 
 
 But if the painting be covered with varnish, rendered 
 yellow by time, opake, and which obscures the colours, 
 place it in a horizontal position, and having poured 
 
186 PRESERVATION AND REPAIRING OF PAINTINGS, 
 
 rectified spirit of wine over it, keep it moistened in 
 this manner for some time without employing friction. 
 If cold water be then applied to the surface, it will 
 remove the spirit, and the portion of resin which has 
 been dissolved or softened. Care must, however, be 
 taken not to use friction, lest the ground should be 
 attacked. When the surface is dry, the operation is 
 repeated till the varnish is wholly removed. 
 
 Sometimes a painting is covered with a varnish com¬ 
 posed of fat oil and insoluble resin, such as copal. In 
 such case the attempt will not succeed, neither spirit 
 nor alkalies act beneficially on such varnishes. Even 
 essential oils, which might seem proper on some occa¬ 
 sions, would only whiten the varnish, and consequently 
 injure the painting. 
 
 If, however, the picture be of great value, and is 
 worth the expense, (ether may be employed with suc¬ 
 cess : its power of dissolving copal renders it peculiarly 
 proper for this purpose; besides, a consideration of 
 moment, it does not attack the drying oil with which 
 the colours are mixed. This method is expensive, if 
 pure sulphuric aether be employed; but the loss, by its 
 rapid evaporation, may in some degree be prevented by 
 dipping a cloth in aether, and applying it to the paint¬ 
 ing, and then closely pressing it down with a metallic 
 plate or piece of glass. It is scarcely necessary to add, 
 that in the application of aether no candle or other 
 flaming body should be brought near it, or a combus¬ 
 tion would be the result; the same may in fact be 
 stated of the application of rectified spirit of wine. 
 
 When a picture is dirtied with smoke and dust, a 
 
PRESERVATION AND REPAIRING OF PAINTINGS. 187 
 
 sponge dipped in ox-gall, drawn over it, will restore its 
 original splendour. If it has not been varnished, it will 
 revive the brightness of the colours, provided it be 
 gently rubbed ; and in this manner it may be prepared 
 for receiving the varnish. 
 
 Ox-gall is a saponaceous fluid obtained from the 
 gall-bladder of the ox ; it is sometimes preferable to 
 soap for removing oleous and other matters from various 
 bodies. 
 
 Flies also* dirty paintings, and hence it is necessary 
 to wash them frequently : the operation is troublesome, 
 and attended with danger. It is said that the odour of 
 laurel oil, commonly called oil of bays, is disagreeable 
 to those insects, and that it drives them away from 
 apartments in which it is kept. As it is of a solid 
 consistence, it may be easily employed. 
 
 Some observations on restoring the colours of old 
 pictures deserve attention in the introductory matter of 
 the second chapter, p. 41. to which the reader is referred. 
 
 Varnishes made with oil of turpentine keep much 
 longer than those made with spirit of wine. Turpen¬ 
 tine varnishes even improve by age : they should be 
 kept in a place exposed to a good light, but excluded 
 from the direct rays of the sun. In the course of some 
 months they become thick, and acquire an oily consist¬ 
 ence which renders the application of them much more 
 advantageous. 
 
 If the varnish, No. IV., be applied to a picture when 
 
188 PRESERVATION AND REPAIRING OF PAINTINGS. 
 
 newly prepared, the oil speedily makes its way to the 
 colours of the painting, if it has not been before var¬ 
 nished, and the application is less economical than if it 
 were a year old. It will be proper, in particular, not 
 to apply the coatings too soon after each other, espe¬ 
 cially if the picture has been newly painted. Some 
 amateurs injudiciously apply three coatings of varnish 
 in the course of two or three hours. 
 
 An interval of two or three days should be left after 
 the application of the first coating, and then a second 
 coating will be sufficient to give the painting brilliancy, 
 and to defend it both from the attacks of moisture and 
 of time. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 On the Composition of Colours. 
 
 Haying in our previous chapters described the various 
 colours used in painting, and also the vehicles most 
 proper for them, we are now in a condition to treat of 
 the composition of colours , to which subject we shall, 
 therefore, devote the present chapter. 
 
 Black. —In the choice of matters designed for black, 
 considerable discrimination is necessary : for the car¬ 
 bonaceous parts of peach stones, of beech wood, of 
 ivory, of vine twigs, of bones, of lamp black, &c. 
 produce black of various shades and qualities. Black 
 from peach stones is dull. Ivory black is strong and 
 beautiful, when it has been well levigated under the 
 muller. Black from beech wood, when ground, has a 
 blueish tone. Lamp black is brownish. It is im¬ 
 proved by being kept for an hour in a red heat in 
 a close crucible. Black furnished from vine twigs, 
 when ground, is weaker, and of a dirty grey colour, 
 when coarse; but it becomes blacker the more the 
 charcoal has been divided. It then forms a black very 
 much sought after, and which goes a great way. . 
 
 Painters usually prefer blacks made from burnt vine 
 twigs or peach stones, to black of Cassel or Cologne, 
 and even to that of asplialtum. 
 
 For a permanent, although a very inferior black in 
 
190 
 
 COMPOSITION OF COLOURS. 
 
 out-door oil painting, the black oxide of manganese is 
 now employed. 
 
 The consumption of lamp-black is greatest in 
 common painting. The oil paint applied to iron grates 
 and railing, and the paint applied to paper snuff-boxes, 
 to those made of tin plate, and to other articles with 
 dark grounds, consume a very large quantity of this 
 black. Great solidity may be given to works of this 
 kind by covering them with several coatings of the 
 golden varnish No. I., which has been mixed with 
 lamp black washed in water, to separate the foreign 
 bodies introduced into it by the negligence of the work¬ 
 men who prepare it. 
 
 After the varnish is applied the articles are dried in 
 a stove, by exposing them to a heat somewhat greater 
 than that employed for articles of paper. Naples yel¬ 
 low, which enters into the composition of black varnish, 
 is the basis of the dark brown used for tobacco-boxes of 
 plate iron, because this colour changes to brown when 
 dried with the varnish. 
 
 White , when employed without any mixture, is in 
 general very dull. Those who paint decorations are 
 accustomed to heighten it with a small quantity of 
 blue, which renders it brighter, and less liable to be¬ 
 come yellow by age. All whites, or all white matters, 
 are not equally proper for painting in varnish or in oil. 
 Chalk is only fit for distemper, because the two other 
 kinds of painting give it a brown tint. 
 
 For a distemper white, then, take Bougival white, 
 (or other white, the basis of which is clay), and having 
 ground it with water, mix it with size. It may be 
 
COMPOSITION OF COLOURS. 
 
 191 
 
 brightened by a small quantity of indigo or charcoal 
 black, ground exceedingly fine. 
 
 The white intended for varnish or for oil requires a 
 metallic oxide, or carbonate, which gives more body 
 to the colour. Take white lead, therefore, reduced to 
 powder, and grind it with oil of poppy and a quarter 
 of an ounce of white vitriol, or sugar of lead, for each 
 pound of oil. Apply the second coating without the 
 addition of the white vitriol, and suffer it to dry. Cover 
 the whole with a coat of the varnish No. II. This 
 colour is durable, brilliant, and agreeable to the eye. In¬ 
 stead of white vitriol, sugar of lead may be employed, 
 which will not affect the colour as white vitriol does. 
 
 Boiled linseed oil, or even common linseed oil, might 
 be employed in the room of oil of poppy ; but the 
 colour of it would in some degree injure the purity of 
 the white. Painters are accustomed to mix on the 
 grinding slab, along with the colour, an ounce of un¬ 
 prepared oil of poppy or nut oil, for every pound of 
 matter to be ground, to facilitate the extension of it, 
 and to retard the evaporation and drying of the boiled 
 oil. 
 
 White is prepared also with white lead, ground with 
 a little oil of turpentine, added to oil of poppy, and 
 mixed with the varnish No. III. The colour may be 
 used also w r ith oil of turpentine mixed with oil, and 
 without varnish, which is reserved for the tw T o last 
 coatings. If a dull white be not required, the colour 
 is heightened with a little Prussian blue, or with a 
 little indigo, which is here preferable, or with a little 
 prepared black. The latter gives it a grey cast. In 
 
192 
 
 COMPOSITION OF COLOURS. 
 
 this particular case, if a very fine durable white be re¬ 
 quired, grind it with a little oil of turpentine, and mix 
 it with the varnish No. II. 
 
 Sometimes a white is desired without any gloss what¬ 
 ever ; this is made by merely grinding white lead in oil 
 of turpentine. It is an expensive colour, in conse¬ 
 quence of the large quantity of the oil of turpentine 
 which evaporates during the grinding. When this 
 colour consists of white lead and the oil of turpentine 
 only, it is called dead white ; but painters, for conve¬ 
 nience occasionally mix linseed or other drying oils 
 with it. And as oil of turpentine almost wholly eva¬ 
 porates when thus combined with lead, it is advisable 
 to iuix a portion, however small, of some drying oil or 
 varnish with it, to render the lead more tenacious. It 
 should not be, however, forgotten, that from the natural 
 volatility of lead, its deleterious qualities are necessarily 
 increased, by being combined with the oil of turpen¬ 
 tine ; and, therefore, such a preparation of paint ought 
 not to be encouraged. But oil of turpentine so much 
 facilitates the operations of painting, that few painters 
 would like to be debarred its use. 
 
 Of compound Colours , consist ing principally of 
 White Lead . 
 
 Light Grey. —White lead ground with a little nut oil, 
 or oil of poppy, and mixed with a small quantity of 
 lamp black, forms a grey colour. With this matter, 
 therefore, mixed w r itli black in different proportions, a 
 great Variety of shades may be formed from the lightest 
 to the darkest grey. 
 
COMPOSITION OF COLOURS. 
 
 193 
 
 If this colour be intended for distemper, it is mixed 
 with water. If intended for oil painting, it is ground 
 with nut oil, or oil of poppy ; and with the addition of 
 oil of turpentine if designed for varnish. This colour is 
 durable, and very pure if mixed with the varnish No. 
 IV.: the varnish No. III. renders it so solid that it 
 may be struck with a hammer, if after the first stratum 
 it has been applied with varnish, and without size. 
 
 These light grey grounds are much used for rooms, 
 especially those exposed to the strong light of the sun. 
 The varnishes above mentioned are stronger than those 
 made with spirit of wine. They are attended with the 
 inconvenience of emitting some smell for a few months; 
 but this may be easily prevented by finishing with a 
 spirituous or colourless varnish. When applied alone, 
 and without colour, the glazing is brighter, and the 
 colour of the ground appears with more lustre, but it is 
 easily scratched. For the last coating the varnishes 
 Nos. II. and VI. are proper; and for the darkest grey 
 No. VII. 
 
 Pearl grey .—If a blue be substituted for the black in 
 the preceding composition, or if this blue be combined 
 with a slight portion of black, you will obtain silver or 
 pearl grey; but that the ground may not be altered by 
 a foreign tint, the colour for the first coating must be 
 ground with oil of turpentine mixed with a little oil of 
 p°ppy; for the succeeding coats, grind with the var¬ 
 nish No. IV. softened with a little oil of poppy, and 
 mix the colour with the same varnish. The pearl grey 
 will be still brighter, if the last coat be covered with the 
 spirituous varnish No. II. mixed with a little colour. 
 
 K 
 
191 
 
 COMPOSITION OF COLOURS. 
 
 Flaxen grey .—In this colour, which is treated as the 
 other greys, lake is used instead of black. Take the 
 quantity, therefore, of white lead which you may think 
 necessary to employ, and grind it separately. Then 
 mix it up, and add the lake and Prussian blue, also 
 ground separately. The quantities of the last two 
 colours ought to be proportioned to the tone of 
 colour required to be given to the article to be 
 painted. 
 
 This colour is proper for distemper, for varnish, and 
 oil painting. For varnish, grind it with the varnish 
 No. V. to which a little oil of poppy has been added, 
 and then mix it up with the varnish No. III. For oil 
 painting, grind with unprepared oil of poppy and mix 
 up with resinous drying nut oil. The painting is bril¬ 
 liant and solid. 
 
 It will be proper to stop up the holes formed by the 
 heads of the nails in wainscoting, with a cement made 
 of white lead or with putty. 
 
 The first coat of colour, taking flaxen grey for an 
 example, is white lead without any mixture, ground 
 with oil of turpentine added to a little oil of poppy, 
 and mixed up with oil of turpentine. If any parts 
 of the first be uneven, it will be proper to rub it lightly 
 with pumice stone. This operation contributes greatly 
 to the beauty and elegance of the polish when the 
 varnish is applied. 
 
 The second coat is composed of white lead changed 
 to flaxen grey by the mixture of a little Cologne earth, 
 as much English red or lake, and a particle of Prussian 
 blue. First make the mixture with a small quantity of 
 10 
 
COMPOSITION OF COLOURS. 
 
 195 
 
 white lead, in such a manner that the result shall be a 
 smoky grey, by the addition of the Cologne earth. The 
 red which is added makes it incline to flesh colour, and 
 the Prussian blue destroys the latter to form a dark 
 flaxen grey. The addition of white lead brightens the 
 tone. This coat and the next are ground, and mixed 
 up with varnish as before. 
 
 This mixture of colours, which produces flaxen grey, 
 has the advantage over pearl grey, of defending the 
 white lead from the action of the air and of the light, 
 which makes it assume a yellowish tint. Flaxen grey 
 composed in this manner is unalterable. Besides, the 
 oil of turpentine, which forms the vehicle of the first 
 coat, forms a colour, the tone of which decreases a 
 little by drying. This observation ought to serve as a 
 guide to the artist, in regard to the tint, which is 
 always stronger in a liquid mixture than when the 
 matter composing it is extended in a thin coat, or 
 when it is dry. 
 
 Every kind of sizing which, according to usual 
 custom, precedes the application of varnish, ought to be 
 proscribed as highly prejudicial when the wainscoting 
 is made of fir. Sizing may be used for plaster, but 
 without any mixture. A plain coating of strong glue 
 and water spread over it is sufficient to fill up the 
 pores in such a manner as to prevent any unnecessary 
 consumption of the varnish. 
 
 Colour of oak wood .—The basis of this colour is 
 formed of white lead; three-fourths of this and a 
 fourth of ochre de rue, umber earth, and yellow ochre : 
 the last three ingredients being employed in proportions 
 
 k2 
 
196 
 
 COMPOSITION OF COLOURS. 
 
 according to the required tint, give a matter equally 
 proper for distemper, for varnish, and for oil. 
 
 Colour of walnut-tree wood. —A given quantity of 
 white lead, half that quantity of ochre de me, a little 
 umber earth, red ochre, and yellow ochre, compose a 
 colour proper for distemper, for varnish, and for oil. 
 
 For varnish, grind with a little drying nut oil, and 
 mix up with the varnish No. III. 
 
 For oil painting, grind with oil of poppy added to 
 drying oil or oil of turpentine, and mix up with plain 
 drying oil or with resinous drying oil. 
 
 Colour of mahogany. —The basis of this colour is 
 spruce ochre ground in oil, which, when dry, must have 
 a slight coating prepared from the same ochre pre¬ 
 viously burnt and then ground in oil; this imparts the 
 red tint: the dark tint and veins are made with terra de 
 sienna, ground also in oil, and laid on immediately 
 after the red tint, by which they are both amalgamated. 
 Of course the different grains, veins, and knots in this 
 and the preceding colours are to be made by the work¬ 
 man according to the nature of the work to be imi¬ 
 tated. 
 
 [A more minute account of imitating Woods in Paint 
 will he given under House Painting .] 
 
 Yellow , and all its transitions to the varied tones to 
 which it is brought by art, are often employed in paint¬ 
 ing. The different bases of this colour, as well as reds, 
 mixed with white, by an expert hand, give the tones 
 which resemble flesh colour. 
 
 Naples yellow , or patent yellow, and the yellow 
 ochres, are mixed with white lead ground with water, 
 
COMPOSITION OF COLOURS. 
 
 197 
 
 if intended for distemper; or drying nut oil and oil of 
 turpentine, in equal parts, if intended for varnish ; and 
 mixed up with the varnish No. IV. if for delicate ob¬ 
 jects ; or with the varnish No. III., give a very beau¬ 
 tiful colour, the splendour of which depends, however, 
 on the proportion of the white lead ; and this must be 
 varied according to the particular nature of the colour¬ 
 ing matter employed. If the ground of the colour be 
 ochre, and if oil painting be intended, the grinding 
 with oil added to oil of turpentine may be omitted, as 
 the latter alone will be sufficient; with fat oil, however, 
 more pliability and more body are obtained. 
 
 Chrome yellow is also excellent as an oil colour; 
 we have had no experience of it as a colour for dis¬ 
 temper ; but we presume, if not mixed with any ac¬ 
 tive reagent it will make a fine distemper colour. 
 
 Jonquil is employed only in distemper. It may, 
 however, be used with varnish. A vegetable colour 
 serves it as a base. It is made with Dutch pink and 
 white lead. 
 
 It is ground with the varnish No. V. and mixed up 
 with the varnish No. III. 
 
 A beautiful lemon yellow may be formed by mixing 
 together realgar and orpiment. But these colours are 
 poisonous; it will, therefore, be better to substitute in 
 their room Dutch pink and Naples yellow. This com¬ 
 position is proper for distemper and for varnish. When 
 ground, and mixed with the varnishes indicated for the 
 preceding colour, the result is a bright solid colour 
 without smell, if a spirituous varnish be applied for the 
 last coat. 
 
198 
 
 COMPOSITION OF COLOURS. 
 
 For a straw colour artists recommend a mixture of 
 white lead and orpiment, in quantities proportioned to 
 the tone of colour required. The case is the same with 
 regard to the composition of the golden yellow colour 
 about to be mentioned. The success of these mixtures 
 is not always certain; and there seems to be reason to 
 suppose that it arises from some deception on the part 
 of the colourman, who substitutes white of an argil¬ 
 laceous nature for white lead. Besides wdiich it is 
 known that a mixture of white lead and orpiment, after 
 a time, becomes a brown colour, and therefore another 
 basis instead of w^hite lead is desirable for such colours. 
 See the next article. 
 
 Golden yellow .—Cases often occur in which it is 
 necessary to produce a gold colour without employing 
 white lead. A colour is then given to a composition, 
 the greater part of which consists of yellow. This is 
 accomplished by Naples or patent yellow, brightened 
 by Spanish white, or by white of Morat mixed with 
 yellow’ ochre and realgar. The last substance, even in 
 small quantity, gives a golden colour to the mixture, 
 and which may be employed in distemper, in varnish, 
 or in oil. When intended for oil, it is ground with 
 drying or pure nut oil added to oil of turpentine, and 
 mixed up with drying oil. 
 
 A more common gold colour may be formed by 
 mixing with ground spruce ochre a little ground burnt 
 ochre of the same kind, which imparts the reddish tint. 
 
 Buff colour. — Chamois-colour. —Yellow’ is the foun¬ 
 dation of buff colour, which is modified by a little red 
 lead, or still better by vermilion, and white lead in 
 
COMPOSITION OF COLOURS. 
 
 199 
 
 small quantity. This colour may be employed in dis¬ 
 temper, in varnish, and in oil. For varnish, it is 
 ground with one half common oil of poppy, and one 
 half of the varnish No. V. It is mixed up with the 
 varnish No. III. For oil painting it is ground and 
 mixed up with the drying oil designed for it. 
 
 Olive green is a composition, the shades of which 
 may be diversified. If black and a little blue be mixed 
 with yellow, you will have olive-colour. The yellow 
 ochres, with a little verdigris and lamp black, form this 
 colour; or yellow ochre and blue, such as Prussian blue, 
 alone. It is proper for oil and for varnish. 
 
 When intended for distemper, it will be necessary to 
 make a change in the composition. Yellow ochres, in¬ 
 digo and white lead, or Spanish white, are the ingre¬ 
 dients which must be employed. 
 
 It is ground, and mixed up with the varnishes Nos. 
 V. and III. For oil painting, it is ground with oil 
 added to oil of turpentine, and mixed up w r ith drying 
 oil. 
 
 Blue is derived either from vegetables, as indigo; 
 from metallic substances, as Prussian blue and Saxon 
 blue; or from stony mineral substances, as ultra- 
 marine ; which last, in consequence of its high price, is 
 particularly reserved for pictures. 
 
 When Prussian blue or indigo has been employed 
 without mixture, the colour produced is too dark. It 
 has no splendour, and even appears black : it is, there¬ 
 fore, usual to dilute it with white. 
 
 As much white lead as may be thought necessary 
 for the whole of the intended work is ground with 
 
 K 4 
 
200 
 
 COMPOSITION OF COLOURS. 
 
 water, if for distemper; and with oil, if for varnish 
 made with oil of turpentine, or merely with the latter, 
 which is equally proper for oil painting; and a quan¬ 
 tity of either of these blues sufficient to produce the 
 required tone is added. 
 
 For varnish, the white lead is generally ground with 
 oil of poppy added to a little oil of turpentine, and is 
 mixed up with the varnish No. IV. if the colour is de¬ 
 signed for delicate objects, or with the varnish No. III. 
 if for wainscoting. This colour, when ground, and 
 mixed up with drying oil, produces a fine effect, if 
 covered by a solid varnish made with spirit, or oil of 
 turpentine. 
 
 In the last place, if this oil colour be designed for 
 expensive articles, such as valuable furniture subject to 
 friction, it may be glazed with copal varnish made with 
 oil of turpentine. 
 
 This colour produces very little effect in distemper, 
 because it is not very favourable to the play of the 
 light; but it soon acquires brilliancy and splendour be¬ 
 neath the transparent varnish. Painting in distemper, 
 when carefully varnished, produces a fine effect. 
 
 Prussian blue is, however, very apt to pass more or 
 less speedily to green. It is probable that the white 
 lead or oxide of bismuth, frequently employed to lessen 
 the intensity of the blue, contributes to produce this 
 change. These colours acquire a yellow tint from the 
 action of the light, which combining with the blue 
 gives a green colour. The oil may also produce this 
 effect. 
 
 According to this principle, therefore, which appears 
 
COMPOSITION OF COLOURS. 
 
 201 
 
 well founded, some colouring matters must tend to¬ 
 wards the preservation of the original colour of the 
 Prussian blue. Some painters employ with success 
 umber and a little vermilion to fix the white of the 
 white lead, and to prevent it from passing so easily to 
 yellow. Blacks produce the same effect; and espe¬ 
 cially the black from vine twigs, which combines per¬ 
 fectly with the colour of Prussian blue. We are even 
 assured that this mixture, made in proportions regu¬ 
 lated by experience, exhibits, under the hand of the 
 painter, a brighter and more brilliant tone, which after 
 the lapse of several years, rivals, in some measure, the 
 blue of ultramarine. 
 
 It is well known that a mixture of Prussian blue and 
 the black of vine twigs exhibits, under the muller, 
 a colour inclining to violet. It then assumes a yel¬ 
 lowish tint, which gradually decreases, and which dis¬ 
 appears at the end of three or four years, and then 
 assumes a very rich and very durable blue tone. 
 
 This mixture answers the same end in house-paint¬ 
 ing. The pearl grey assumes an azure tint, which is 
 permanent, and which prevents the white lead from in¬ 
 clining to yellow. 
 
 Another blue made with Saxon blue .—Saxon blue 
 gives a tone of colour different from that of the Prussian 
 blue, and of indigo. It is employed for sky blues. The 
 case is the same with blue verditer. Both these blues 
 stand well in distemper, in varnish, and in oil. 
 
 The first requires to be ground with drying oil, and 
 to be mixed with the varnish No. III. If intended for 
 
 K 5 
 
202 
 
 COMPOSITION OF COLOURS. 
 
 oil painting, it is mixed up with the resinous drying oil, 
 which gives body to this vitreous matter. 
 
 The blue verditer may be ground with the varnish 
 No. VIII. added to a little oil of turpentine; and may 
 be mixed up with the varnish No. II. if the colour is to 
 be applied to delicate articles. Or the varnish No. V. 
 added to a little drying oil may be used for grinding ; 
 and the varnish No. III. for mixing up, if the paint is 
 intended for cielings, wainscoting, or similar purposes. 
 This colour is soft and dull, and requires a varnish that 
 may heighten the tone of it, and give it play. A copal 
 varnish made with oil of turpentine is proper for this 
 purpose, if the article has need of a durable varnish. 
 
 Green Colour and its Compounds. 
 
 Sea Green. —Every green colour, simple or com¬ 
 pound, when mixed up with a white ground, becomes 
 soft, and gives a sea green, of greater or less strength, 
 and more or less delicacy, in proportion to the respec¬ 
 tive quantities of the principal colours. Thus, green 
 carbonated oxides of copper, such as mountain green, 
 verdigris, crystallized acetate of copper, green com¬ 
 posed with blue verditer, and Dutch pink, or any 
 other yellow, will form, with a base of a w hite colour, 
 a sea green, the intensity of which may be easily 
 changed or modified. The white ground for painting 
 in distemper is generally composed of Bougival white, 
 chalk, or Spanish w hite ; but for varnish or oil painting- 
 white lead is employed. 
 
 Sea green for distemper. —-Grind separately w r ith 
 
COMPOSITION OF COLOURS. 
 
 203 
 
 water, mountain green and white lead; and mix up 
 with size and water, adding white lead in sufficient 
 quantity to produce the degree of intensity required in 
 the colour. Watin recommends the use of Dutch pink 
 and white lead, in proportions pointed out by expe¬ 
 rience ; because the colour thence resulting is more 
 durable. 
 
 In the case of a triple composition, you must begin 
 to make the green by mixing Dutch pink with blue 
 verditer, and then low^er the colour to sea green by 
 the addition of white lead ground with water. 
 
 Sea Green for varnish .—Varnish requires that this 
 colour should possess more body than it has in distem¬ 
 per ; and this it acquires from the oil which is mixed 
 with it. This addition even gives it more splendour. 
 Besides, a green of a metallic nature is substituted for 
 the green of the Dutch pink, which is of a vegetable 
 nature. A certain quantity of verdigris, pounded and 
 sifted through a silk sieve, is ground separately with 
 nut oil, half common and half drying; and if the colour 
 is intended for metallic surfaces, it must be diluted with 
 the varnish No. III. or with No. IV. 
 
 On the other hand, the white lead is ground with oil 
 of turpentine, or with oil to which one half of the latter 
 has been added; and the two colours are mixed in pro¬ 
 portions to the degree of intensity intended to be given 
 to the mixture. It may readily be conceived that the 
 principal portion of this composition consists of white 
 lead. 
 
 If this colour be designed for articles of considerable 
 value, crystallized verdigris dried and pulverized ought 
 
 K 6 
 
204 
 
 COMPOSITION OF COLOURS. 
 
 to be substituted for common verdigris, and the paint¬ 
 ing must be covered with a coat of the transparent copal 
 varnish made with oil of turpentine. 
 
 The sea greens which are composed of metallic co¬ 
 louring parts are durable, and do not change. 
 
 The last compositions may be employed for sea green 
 in oil painting; but it will be proper to brighten the 
 tone a little more than when varnish is used, because 
 this colour becomes darker by the addition of the yel¬ 
 low, which the oil assumes in the course of time. 
 
 Green for doors , shutters , iron or wooden railing , 
 palisades , balustrades , and for all articles exposed to 
 the air. —Green is, in general, agreeable to the eye: 
 for nature seems to have adapted its particular organi¬ 
 zation to the daily impression of this colour, which is 
 in greater request than any other. Green being the 
 colour of the fields, preference is given to it to harmo¬ 
 nize with nature in the decoration of gardens and 
 walks. 
 
 White lead is usually the base of this colour. When 
 it is required to bring it. to the most agreeable tone, 
 grind two parts of white lead with nut oil, and one part 
 of verdigris with oil of turpentine. Then mix up the 
 two colours with one half common drying nut oil and 
 one half resinous drying nut oil. This colour appears 
 at first to be a pale blue, which the action of the light 
 will soon convert to green, and in this state it is very 
 durable. 
 
 Remark. —What is said in a former chapter relative 
 to grinding verdigris in oil and in varnish , should be 
 carefully attended to in the preceding mixtures into 
 
COMPOSITION OF COLOURS. 
 
 205 
 
 which verdigris enters as an ingredient. See Verdi - 
 gris. 
 
 Compound Colours for rooms may be employed in 
 distemper, or with varnish, and they will be more du¬ 
 rable the less economy has been consulted in making 
 choice of the materials, and if white lead has been pre¬ 
 ferred to Spanish white or to chalk. In general, colours 
 designed for varnish or for oil require a metallic white. 
 
 Compound Green. —For this colour, take two pounds 
 of white lead, four ounces of Dutch pink, and an ounce 
 of Prussian blue or indigo. This mixture produces a 
 green, the intensity of which may be increased or di¬ 
 minished by the addition of yellow or blue. You must 
 grind with oil to which a fourth part of oil of turpentine 
 has been added, and mix up with the varnish No. III. 
 or No. IV. Both these contribute to the durability of 
 the colour. If you are desirous of destroying the smell 
 of the oil of turpentine, varnish with Nos. II. VII. or 
 VIII. 
 
 Green colour for articles exposed to friction and per¬ 
 cussion , such as the wheels of carriages , fyc. —The great 
 wear to which carriages are exposed by friction and 
 continual washing, requires that a durable varnish 
 should be employed when they are painted. Whatever 
 care may be taken by coachmen, it is impossible that 
 continual washing should not produce an alteration in 
 the best varnish. To render the work solid, you must 
 first apply a ground composed of boiled linseed oil, 
 white lead previously dried over a pretty strong fire, to 
 make it lose the white, and white vitriol in the propor¬ 
 tion of a quarter of an ounce to each pound of matter. 
 
206 
 
 COMPOSITION OF COLOURS. 
 
 The second coat must be composed of the preceding 
 green colour, that is to say, two parts of white lead and 
 one part of verdigris pulverized and ground with boiled 
 nut oil, added to a fourth part of fat oil of poppy, and 
 mixed up with drying oil. The third coat consists of 
 the same colour, mixed up with copal varnish made 
 with oil of turpentine. 
 
 Red for the bodies of carriages, coach wheels , fyt \— 
 Artists differ in regard to the composition of the first 
 coats. Watin recommends Berri red, an argillaceous 
 ochre, mixed with litharge. Others prefer red lead. 
 
 The cheapest, however, will always be preferred. If 
 Bern red, or other red ochre, such as Spanish brown, 
 be employed, grind with oil half fat and half drying, to 
 which add a little ground litharge, and mix up with 
 drying oil for the first coat. The second should be red 
 lead, ground with drying oil, added to one half of oil 
 of turpentine. The third should be the same with the 
 addition of vermilion. Varnish the whole with copal 
 varnish made either with oil or turpentine, or with the 
 same oil and linseed oil; for which see our treatise on 
 varnish. The varnish should be heightened with a 
 little vermilion; the drying may be hastened by expo¬ 
 sure to the sun, or a strong current of air. 
 
 The red is often prepared, from motives of economy, 
 with red lead without vermilion. 
 
 Red for buffets. —Varnish with vermilion is not con¬ 
 fined merely to the wheels and bodies of carriages; it 
 often forms the ground; and in this case it ought to be 
 treated in the same manner. It requires, however, a 
 little more labour. After the first coat is applied it is 
 
COMPOSITION OF COLOURS. 
 
 207 
 
 rubbed with pumice stone ; the varnish is then laid on 
 at several times and polished. This operation will be 
 noticed hereafter. The same colour is employed also 
 for the decoration of buffets. Grind red lead with 
 boiled oil, added to oil of turpentine, and mix up with 
 the varnish No. III. The second coat is formed of 
 vermilion, heightened with a little Naples yellow. 
 Then apply a third coat of the varnish of the second, 
 with but little vermilion. This varnish is very durable. 
 It is one of those which are susceptible of a fine polish. 
 
 Mixed Reds. 
 
 Bright Red .—A mixture of lake with vermilion gives 
 that beautiful bright red which is employed for varnish¬ 
 ing small appendages of the toilette. It ought to be 
 ground with varnish and mixed up with the same, after 
 which it is varnished and polished. The varnish No. 
 V. is used for grinding ; No. III. for mixing up ; and 
 No. IV. (or copal varnish made with oil of turpentine) 
 for varnishing. 
 
 Crimson—Rose colour .—Carminated lake, that which 
 is composed of earth of alum (alumina), combined with 
 the colouring part of cochineal, with white lead and 
 carmine, forms a beautiful crimson. It requires a par¬ 
 ticle of vermilion and of white lead. The dearness of 
 these two colours confines the use of this varnish to va¬ 
 luable articles. 
 
 Violet is made either with red and black, or red and 
 blue ; and to render it more splendid, with red, white, 
 and blue. To compose violet, therefore, applicable to 
 varnish, take red lead, or what is still better, vermilion, 
 
208 
 
 COMPOSITION OF COLOURS. 
 
 and grind it with the varnish No. IV., to which a 
 fourth part of boiled oil and a little white lead have 
 been added; then add a little Prussian blue ground in 
 oil. The proportions requisite for the degree of inten¬ 
 sity to be given to the colour will soon be found by ex¬ 
 perience. The white brightens the tint: the vermilion 
 and Prussian blue, separate or mixed, give hard tones, 
 which must be softened by an intermediate substance, 
 that modifies the reflection of the light to their advantage. 
 
 Cliesnut .—This colour is composed of red, yellow, 
 and black. The English red, or red ochre of Auvergne, 
 ochre de rue, and a little black, form a dark chesnut 
 colour- This composition is proper for painting of 
 eveiy kind. If English red, which is drier than that 
 of Auvergne, be employed, it will be proper, when the 
 colour is designed for varnish, to grind it with drying 
 nut oil. The ochre of Auvergne may be ground with 
 the varnish No. V., and mixed up with that of No. III. 
 
 Chocolate —Is composed of red and black. The 
 shades of chocolate may be much diversified. With 
 Spanish brown and lamp black, and the addition Of* 
 white vitriol as a drier, a dull yet durable chocolate is 
 obtained. With brighter reds and ivory black, with 
 the addition of litharge, a better chocolate is produced; 
 and if mixed up with drying oil, with the addition of 
 the varnish No. III. its appearance will be improved. 
 
 Purple — Pompadour .—As has been stated under the 
 oxides of iron , purple brown is almost the only simple 
 purple known. It may be prepared with drying oil and 
 litharge; its brilliance may be increased by a mixture 
 with the varnish No. III. As purple is a composition 
 
COMPOSITION OF COLOURS. 
 
 209 
 
 of red and blue, a combination of these colours will 
 afford an infinite variety of purples. 
 
 General Observations on the Composition of Colours. 
 
 The most experienced artists grind dark colours with 
 linseed oil when the situation will admit of its being 
 used ; because it is more drying. For articles without 
 doors, nut oil is preferable. It is even customary to 
 add to the above ingredients a little ground litharge: 
 it hastens the drying of the colour, and gives it body. 
 
 But if it is intended to cover these colours with var¬ 
 nish, as is generally practised in regard to wainscoting, 
 they must be mixed up with oil of turpentine to which 
 a little oil has been added. The colour is then much 
 better disposed to receive the varnish. 
 
 Mixing up with oil of turpentine is not, however, free 
 from inconveniences, when the paint is applied to w T hite 
 wood. Some of these compositions fall off in scales, in 
 consequence either of the first coat having been applied 
 too thick, or carelessly, or of simple earths having been 
 substituted for metallic oxides. The inconvenience in 
 the application of colours mixed up with varnish may 
 be obviated by putting only a small quantity of colour 
 into the last coating of varnish, to facilitate the beauti¬ 
 ful reflection of the light from the coloured ground, or 
 by omitting it entirely. The varnishes applied in this 
 manner all resist percussion, even with a hammer, with¬ 
 out scaling off; they are both brilliant and durable. 
 
 Although we have confined ourselves to the Compo¬ 
 sition of the principal colours, it will be readily per¬ 
 ceived that an immense variety of shades may be ob- 
 
210 
 
 COMPOSITION OF COLOURS. 
 
 tained by varying the quantities of some of the colour¬ 
 ing substances. The ingenious artist and amateur will, 
 of course, avail themselves of all the resources of the 
 art, for the gratification of taste and the demands of the 
 opulent. 
 
 It may not be superfluous to add, that in applying 
 varnishes as coverings to paint, particularly in cold 
 weather, they work better if made somewhat warm; 
 and even in mixing varnishes with oil colours warmth 
 will be often found very convenient: varnishes, in this 
 respect, differing very much from oils, in consequence 
 of the resinous matter which they contain being ren¬ 
 dered more liquid by heat. 
 
 Of the composition of coarse paints it does not seem 
 necessary here to speak; what is useful to be known 
 concerning them will be found in the preceding or in 
 subsequent parts of our work. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Of the Instruments used in the Preparation and 
 
 Application of Colours—Precepts for Painting in 
 
 Varnish and in Oil — Polishing. 
 
 It is generally believed, and without much examina¬ 
 tion, that the higher branches of the art of painting re¬ 
 quire more practice or experience than funds. A pa¬ 
 lette for the distribution of the colours, an easel to main¬ 
 tain the pictures at different heights, a rod to support 
 the hand which directs the pencil, a few casts to serve 
 as a guide in the drapery and different attitudes, brushes , 
 and a brush-holder , are, it is said, the whole apparatus 
 of the painter. 
 
 But although, doubtless, in this as well as in another 
 branch of the fine arts, we may apply the maxim which 
 has been long current, namely, poeta nascitur non fit , 
 so in painting we may also say, pictor nascitur non fit — 
 the painter is born, not made; yet it is nevertheless 
 true, that no painter, however naturally endowed, has 
 ever arrived at eminence in his profession without con¬ 
 siderable practice, discipline, care, and knowledge. 
 Hence, also, a good education; an extensive acquaint- 
 
212 
 
 PREPARATION OF COLOURS. 
 
 ance with history, both ancient and modern, as well as 
 of mythology; a knowledge of anatomy, as far at least 
 as regards the form and the muscles of the body; an 
 extensive knowledge of the world; a certain ease of 
 circumstances, capable of maintaining independence 
 during the long period of study, and of facilitating tra¬ 
 vel, so that he may become familiar with the beautiful 
 productions of antiquity to correct his taste, and to fix 
 it on the truly sublime and beautiful in composition, 
 and to enable him to acquire correct ideas respecting 
 every species of painting, and a regard to human na¬ 
 ture, and in particular genius—are the chief requisites 
 to constitute a great painter. Genius connects the great 
 painter with the great poet, and conducts them to the 
 same end by different routes: it is the province of both 
 to shew us what has often been thought, but never 
 before so well expressed. The one captivates our 
 senses by warmth of colouring, judicious arrangement, 
 and correctness of design; the other seizes on the 
 mind, conducts it by the magic, the delicacy, and ele¬ 
 vation of his thoughts, and by the harmony of his 
 numbers. Venus displays as many graces under the 
 pencil of Apelles as under that of Homer. 
 
 The scarcity of eminent painters proves that much 
 knowledge and great talents are necessary to arrive at 
 excellence; a point to which all artists ought to aspire. 
 Nor is the knowledge of the preparation and mix¬ 
 ture of colours to be despised even by the first geniuses 
 of painting. It is true that many artists content them¬ 
 selves with the colours which are usually found in the 
 
PREPARATION OF COLOURS. 213 
 
 shops; hut he who is desirous of excelling in his pro¬ 
 fession, will find that it is not always his interest to 
 rest satisfied with the preparations offered to his notice 
 by the tradesman ; cupidity, if nothing else, too often 
 prompting to sophistications which require consider¬ 
 able ingenuity to detect. Hence the necessity of his 
 making himself acquainted with chemistry , so far at 
 least as regards colours and some of the acids , and 
 their multifarious combinations. By such means he 
 will best know how to combine the various pigments 
 without destroying either their colours or their effects 
 in his pictures ; and he will thus, by the study of che¬ 
 mistry, also learn the best means of rendering his 
 colours permanent, their admixtures more effective, 
 and his works durable. 
 
 So much, however, has it been the practice to rely 
 on the 'preparers of colours, that, in regard to water 
 colours in particular, boxes, containing cakes of colours, 
 are now found in almost every shop ; some of such 
 colours are bad enough ;* others again are tolerable; 
 but it will be a great rarity to find all the colours, even 
 of the best boxes, unexceptionable; and hence the 
 necessity for the artist to become acquainted with the 
 preparation of colours himself. Such prepared colours, 
 recommended in a late work on the art, are thirty-one 
 in number, as follow : Indigo, Prussian blue, Antwerp 
 blue, ultramarine, cobalt, vermilion, carmine, lake, 
 Venetian red, Indian red, light red, madder lake, red 
 lead, gamboge, Italian pink, terra de sienna, yellow 
 ochre, Roman ochre, Indian yellow, gall-stone, yellow 
 
PREPARATION OF COLOURS. 
 
 214 
 
 lake, brown pink, turkey umber, burnt terra de sienna, 
 burnt umber, Cologne earth, Vandyke brown, sepia, 
 lamp black, Indian ink, constant white *. The work 
 referred to seems to prefer, however, a selection from 
 this list; namely, a box containing the twelve follow¬ 
 ing colours: indigo, Prussian blue, yellow ochre, Ita¬ 
 lian pink, Venetian red, lake, burnt sienna, raw umber, 
 Vandyke brown, sepia, lamp black, carmine. Mr. 
 Smith says, that from nine of these he composes twenty- 
 seven tints. A reference to the introductory portion of 
 our work will shew that the tints of paints are almost 
 innumerable f. 
 
 We may mention here, in regard to colours for minia¬ 
 ture 'painting , that a solution of two-thirds gum ara- 
 bic and one-third sugar-candy, so as to attach the first 
 covering to the ivory very strongly, will be necessary. 
 In subsequently going over, less of the vehicle may be 
 used, because if the first coat of colours have a suffi- 
 
 * The Young Artist's Assistant in the Art of Drawing in Water Colours, 
 by Thomas Smith. London : Sherwood & Co. A useful work containing 
 numerous exemplifying plates, to which the student in this branch of the 
 art may advantageously apply. 
 
 f Most of the paints in the above list will be found described in preceding 
 sections of our work ; but it is to be regretted that fancy or caprice too often 
 gives a name to a colour: one colour, sepia , in the above list, is not, how¬ 
 ever, described among our pigments ; it is, we presume, designed for the 
 dark-coloured substance emitted by the sepia officinalis, or cuttle fish ; sepia, 
 as a colour, is a blackish brown. We may just mention here, that our 
 work is not designed to give a history of every pigment which the fancy of 
 artists might prompt them to employ, but of those only which are the most 
 valuable and useful. 
 
PREPARATION OF COLOURS. 
 
 21 5 
 
 cient quantity of it, the moisture of those that follow 
 will partly dissolve the gum, and incorporate them with 
 it.— Craig’s Lectures , page 353. 
 
 The preparation of colours in the large way it is not 
 our intention to describe, except as we have already 
 done, or shall hereafter do, when treating of particular 
 articles or methods in the various parts of our work. 
 It will be sufficient here to observe, that colours for the 
 purposes of commerce are usually rendered fit for the 
 use of the painter by being first reduced to powder in 
 mills , whose moving power is either that of water, 
 wind, the horse, or steam, and afterwards ground 
 with oil or other vehicles, also in mills adapted for 
 the purpose, so as to be readily mixed of a proper 
 consistence by the painter himself when he proceeds 
 to his work. 
 
 In the small way, and with the finer colours, another 
 method is adopted ; this method is within the reach of 
 almost every body. 
 
 The instruments which painters employ who prepare 
 their own colours are, nevertheless, extremely simple 
 and few in number. A smooth square table , or slab, of 
 porphyry, or other hard stone. It should be sufficiently 
 large to enable the operator to sweep over it with his 
 arms conveniently: from eighteen inches to two feet 
 square w ill be found large enough. A muller to levi¬ 
 gate the materials upon the stone; a spatula, or flexible 
 knife, to bring the colour scattered over the grinding 
 stone by the levigation, again under the muller, or to 
 remove it w hen sufficiently ground. Brushes of various 
 
216 
 
 PREPARATION OF COLOURS. 
 
 kinds, and pots for containing the colours, and for mix¬ 
 ing them. These generally constitute the apparatus 
 necessary for the preparation of paint. 
 
 But as many colours cannot be used in the state in 
 which they are purchased in the shops, an iron pestle 
 and mortar of a suitable size will be also necessary, 
 together with a few sieves , such as a hair sieve , a brass 
 wire sieve , and a silk sieve * 9 to separate the grosser 
 from the finer parts. The use of these different sieves 
 must be regulated by the judgment of the operator; but 
 we may observe that, 
 
 Hard bodies should be pulverized and passed through 
 the hair or silk sieve ; or, in other cases, the bias j wire 
 sieve may be most appropriate. This preliminary is 
 applied to the various kinds of ochres, chalk, clay, &c.; 
 and to solid substances, such as white lead, litharge, 
 verdigris, patent yellow, &c.; and thus renders them 
 more completely divisible by the muller; at the same 
 time it separates many foreign bodies which are often 
 met with in various colouring substances. It is scarcely 
 necessary to add, that in the pulverization of verdigris, 
 the preparations of lead , arsenic , &c., the utmost care 
 should be taken, as the powder arising from such sub- 
 
 * The artist or amateur who desires to, obtain many of his pigments in 
 the utmost degree of purity, will require, besides the articles here men¬ 
 tioned, a few others which his good sense will readily suggest; but a cru¬ 
 cible to burn umber, terra de sienna, ochre, lamp-black, &c. will be found 
 very convenient; although the earths (which should be broken in small 
 pieces) may be burnt in small quantities over a common fire, by being placed 
 in the fire-shovel and heated red hot. 
 
PREPARATION OF COLOURS. 
 
 217 
 
 stances is extremely deleterious, the mouth and nose 
 should be always covered with a handkerchief. 
 
 Some colours are usually kept in powder for the use 
 of the painter; all the verditers, and many other pig¬ 
 ments are in this state. But several, especially of the 
 finer kinds, are kept in drops; such is Dutch pink and 
 the lakes. 
 
 In the large way, a great many flat pieces of chalk 
 are employed for the purpose of forming drops thus: 
 the colour to be formed into drops is levigated or 
 mixed with water to the consistence of a paste suf¬ 
 ficiently thick to be forced, by a round stick, through 
 the tube of a tin funnel of the size desired. For lakes, 
 a small one, for Dutch pink, &c. a large one is used. 
 When the drop is forced through the funnel, it is 
 received upon the chalk, which, being dry, imbibes 
 the moisture in the drop, and thus leaves it of the 
 form desired. The drops are afterwards dried in a 
 stove or other warm place. The amateur in lakes, &c. 
 will find, therefore, a few lumps of chalk, and a tin 
 funnel necessary to complete his elaboratory. 
 
 It should be also added here, that whenever a funnel 
 is employed for the purpose of decanting or otherwise 
 using acids, it should be of stone ware or glass , as acids 
 will be spoiled by using tin funnels. 
 
 When the colours are to be used in distemper paint¬ 
 ing, they must be ground in water, in order that the 
 lightest particles may not escape by the action of the 
 muller. The ground-matter is to be reduced to the 
 consistence of thin paste; and when the muller glides 
 over the stone without making any noise, and the trace 
 
 L 
 
218 
 
 PREPARATION OF COLOURS. 
 
 it leaves on the colour is smooth and not granular, the 
 operation is finished : this last observation applies also 
 to colours ground in oil or varnish —impalpable smooth¬ 
 ness being the criterion in the perfect levigation of a 
 paint. 
 
 One of the most essential points to be observed in 
 the preparation of a colour is, as we have just said, the 
 extreme division of its parts. Grinding in water is 
 speedily performed, it readily loosening the earthy par¬ 
 ticles ; but when varnish, oil of turpentine, or other oil 
 is employed, the case is not the same. The artist who 
 attends to the profit arising from his labour will soon 
 be sensible of this precept: for use will teach him that 
 a colour becomes most profitable when it is reduced to 
 the utmost possible state of division. He will not, 
 therefore, consider the time which he employs in the 
 operation as mis-spent. The minute division of colours 
 is one of the principal causes of their beauty, and of the 
 mellowness of their tones. The touch, sight, and hear¬ 
 ing concur to determine the sufficiency of this division. 
 We can readily perceive that a colour grinds more 
 easily at the commencement than at the end of the 
 operation, the granular parts roll with greater freedom 
 under the muller than when they are more attenuated ; 
 this arises most probably from the air being admitted 
 under the muller more readily at the beginning of the 
 operation than at its conclusion. The hand which per¬ 
 forms the circular motion may, therefore, easily dis¬ 
 tinguish when the division of the parts has attained its 
 utmost limits. 
 
 The eye also perceives this change in the superior 
 
PREPARATION OF COLOURS. 
 
 219 
 
 fineness of the parts; the colour itself is also more 
 intense; but the alteration may be distinguished even 
 by the ear. 
 
 At the commencement of grinding, the friction of the 
 matter with the instrument excites a noise, which, as the 
 operation proceeds, gradually decreases, and is scarcely 
 heard towards the end. Sometimes in the progress of 
 the operation, the addition of more oil, or other liquid, 
 becomes necessary to facilitate the process, and to im¬ 
 part to the paint a proper consistence; care however 
 must be taken not to render it too liquid. And some¬ 
 times, under peculiar circumstances, it may be neces¬ 
 sary to add more colouring matter: both these states 
 can only be judged of by the tact of the operator. A 
 too liquid consistence is less fatiguing, but the process 
 will not be so soon accomplished: on the other hand, 
 it will be more rapid, as the consistence of the matter 
 is thicker; hence time is gained at the expense of a 
 little more fatigue. Two or three trials will indicate 
 the proper consistence which should be given to the 
 matter, to render the operation at once easy and expe¬ 
 ditious. 
 
 The perfection of this operation, and the speediness 
 of its execution, depend very much on the quantity of 
 the paint subjected each time to the action of the 
 muller. There is, it is true, no fixed rule in regard to 
 this point; but those who should presume that the pro¬ 
 cess would be expedited by employing a great deal 
 would mistake. It depends on the extent of the stone, 
 the length and strength of the workman’s arms, and 
 consequently the greater or less difficulty he may find 
 
 L 2 
 
220 
 
 PREPARATION OF COLOURS. 
 
 in keeping the muller in continual motion: when heavy 
 matters, such as those obtained from metallic bodies are 
 ground, eight ounces at once will be sufficient. 
 
 When the grinding is finished, the matter is removed 
 with the flexible knife or spatula, and put into the 
 colour-pot. The same operation is to be, of course, re¬ 
 peated with additional portions of the ingredients, till 
 the necessary quantity of paint is obtained. The 
 colour is then to be diluted with the varnish, oil or 
 other liquid to be employed, in order to give it the re¬ 
 quisite consistence. This is wfliat is called, according 
 to the technical term, mixing up the colour. In this 
 respect extremes must be avoided; a paint when too 
 liquid runs, and will not cover the thing to be painted 
 w ith sufficient exactness; if too thick it can with diffi¬ 
 culty be extended, disfigures the work, takes a larger 
 quantity, and hence is more expensive, and requires 
 more labour in its application. The paint, on being 
 taken from the pot, ought not to drop from the brush 
 when turned round two or three times in the hand, by 
 raising it obliquely to check the thread which is 
 formed. 
 
 Should the paint, during the operation of applying 
 it, become too thick, a little more varnish must be 
 added, if it be mixed with varnish; and oil of tur¬ 
 pentine if it be mixed with the latter, or with other oil. 
 But if the thickness of the paint arise from the varnish, 
 it will be proper to heat the oil of turpentine before it 
 is added to the mixed matter, in order to prevent the 
 coagulation of the resin in the varnish. 
 
 All matters designed for priming are ground with 
 
PRECEPTS FOR VARNISHES. 
 
 221 
 
 water as regards distemper, or spirit of wine , or with 
 essential oils, such as oil of turpentine, or with fat 
 drying oils. Colours ground with spirit of wine, and 
 which are mixed with varnish, should be employed im¬ 
 mediately ; but the volatility of spirit of wine, and the 
 rapidity of its evaporation, render this process inconve¬ 
 nient. The varnish with which the colour is mixed up 
 is usually employed in its stead; and each time that a 
 quantity of colour is put on the stone, a little drying 
 nut oil is added, if the colour can bear the slight 
 change in the tint which results from it; or with the 
 same quantity of oil of poppy, if the nature of the 
 ground prevent the use of every thing which might 
 communicate a foreign tint. 
 
 When colours are ground in oil of turpentine , the 
 operator ought to stand where there is a current of air, 
 to avoid the vapour from the oil, which is in many re¬ 
 spects unwholesome. 
 
 In other cases the colours must be ground with 
 drying oils, or with varnishes, the consistence of which 
 requires that they should be mixed with a half or a 
 third of oil of turpentine. This is the practice followed 
 in regard to copal and amber varnish, and in regard to 
 all colours intended for oil painting. 
 
 Precepts for the application of Varnishes when used as 
 vehicles for coloured Paints. 
 
 1st. Certain kinds of varnish designed for delicate 
 articles, which are often exposed to friction, as boxes, 
 &c. and certain toys, such as fans, boxes for holding 
 counters, &c. must not contain any matter which com- 
 
 L 3 
 
222 
 
 PRECEPTS FOR VARNISHES. 
 
 municates a strong smell to them, or which would 
 render them slow in drying. In these particular cases 
 spirit varnishes are to be preferred; the colours are 
 then to be ground with the varnish No. VIII. to which 
 about an ounce of oil of poppy should be added, to 
 render it pliant; and the colours are mixed up with 
 the same varnish. But as it evaporates very speedily, 
 it requires to be used immediately. 
 
 2d. Under some circumstances, a more solid varnish 
 than those mentioned in the last paragraph is required 
 for, mixing up certain colouring parts; such in par¬ 
 ticular as those prepared from minerals. The colours 
 in this case must be ground with drying oil to which a 
 little fat oil has been added. At other times the colours 
 are mixed up with turpentine or copal varnish. 
 
 3d. There are other circumstances which require 
 greater solidity in the varnish, and which proscribe 
 every vehicle incapable of promoting this essential 
 quality. In this case the colours are ground with 
 drying oil, to which a little fat oil has been added, if 
 the colour contains a considerable quantity of a me¬ 
 tallic oxide. If this oil render the matter too thick, a 
 little oil of turpentine must be mixed with it; and it is 
 then diluted with a resinous drying oil or with a fat 
 varnish prepared from copal , linseed oil, and oil of 
 turpentine; or with an amber varnish similarly pre¬ 
 pared. 
 
 4th. Painters employ two methods of varnishing 
 apartments. Some apply the colouring substances in 
 distemper , a process which will form the subject of a 
 subsequent chapter, and then cover it with as many 
 
PRECEPTS FOR VARNISHES. 
 
 223 
 
 coats of coloured or uncoloured varnish as are required. 
 Others grind and mix up the colours with varnish, 
 which in this case serves as a vehicle. Both these 
 methods have their advocates: but without troubling 
 the reader with the arguments which have been ad¬ 
 vanced in favour of each of these methods, the second 
 appears to us to be accompanied with several advan¬ 
 tages which the first does not possess. 
 
 When, however, the plaster of an apartment is new, 
 before the application of a coloured varnish, a size, not 
 too strong, made by dissolving glue in water should be 
 applied warm, that it may penetrate the plaster. But 
 the plaster should have time to dry before it is covered 
 with the glue. 
 
 Another method favourable to the preservation of 
 wood, and useful in preventing moisture, is to prime 
 the wood with white lead, to which a sixteenth part of 
 litharge has been added ; these are ground with oil and 
 one third oil of turpentine. Colours in varnish applied 
 to this first coat answer exceedingly well. 
 
 5th. A careful artist, who desires to impart to his 
 colours on wainscot all the splendour of which they are 
 susceptible, removes all the small inequalities from the 
 surface after the application of the first coat, and parti¬ 
 cularly those rendered more apparent by the knots and 
 fibres of the wood, by rubbing pumice stone gently 
 over these inequalities. This operation may be per¬ 
 formed on every kind of painting, but in particular on 
 that with oil of turpentine: it adds greatly to the uni¬ 
 formity of the tone and splendour of the varnish. It 
 should be observed that ceilings, if old, must be care- 
 
 L 4 
 
224 
 
 PRECEPTS FOR VARNISHES. 
 
 fully cleaned and brushed to remove the dust from the 
 mouldings. 
 
 6th. In all cases of house-painting, turpentine is to 
 be preferred to spirit, or to copal varnishes. There are 
 some spirit varnishes which may, however, answer 
 tolerably well; but in general the consistence and 
 tenacity of varnish made with oil of turpentine are not 
 to be expected from spirituous varnishes. Delicate 
 persons may dislike its strong odour; but in summer 
 this objection is of little import. Besides, if desired, 
 this strong odour may be prevented, by simply covering 
 the strata of varnish with a stratum of spirit varnish as 
 soon as the former is dry. 
 
 7th. Some colours w T hich are dear, such as vermilion 
 and oxides of copper, are advantageously modified by a 
 ground of some much cheaper colour. Thus, red lead 
 is united with English red, and vermilion, which is 
 reserved for the last stratum. The same economy in¬ 
 duces painters to use a ground for a green colour of 
 yellow ochre mixed with boiled oil, oil of turpentine, 
 and varnish, before applying the green colour itself. 
 But this ground is best suited for external objects; for 
 apartments, white lead as a ground for green is to be 
 preferred. 
 
 8th. When varnishes are very little coloured, as is 
 the case when they form glazing, it is more difficult to 
 make a regular application of them than when they are 
 mixed with the ground. The essential point in their 
 application is to leave no marks of the brush. It must 
 be rapidly drawn over the surface in large strokes; 
 forwards and backwards will be sufficient: if drawn 
 
PRECEPTS FOR VARNISHES. 
 
 225 
 
 several times over the same place, the varnish rolls 
 under the brush. To produce uniformity in the glazing, 
 too much varnish must not be employed at once, be¬ 
 cause undulations and ridges will be formed which 
 have a very disagreeable effect; nor should the strokes 
 of the brush cross one another; when they do, the 
 effect is as disagreeable as in the preceding case. 
 
 For the application of glazing varnishes large flat 
 brushes are employed : they perform the work very 
 quickly. 
 
 9th. The strong smell which immediately follows the 
 application of paints prepared with varnish arises chiefly 
 from the evaporation of the oil of turpentine. It is 
 sometimes also mixed with the smell of the resins 
 which the varnishes contain, and sometimes with the 
 odour of some of the colouring materials; such is that 
 of verdigris. 
 
 These disagreeable, and sometimes even deleterious 
 odours, may be weakened by the diffusion of some bal¬ 
 samic substance of an agreeable odour; but such addi¬ 
 tion is, however, a very incomplete corrective: musk, 
 oil of cinnamon, essence of lemon, essence of bergamot, 
 oil of thyme, of lavender, rosemary, &c. may be em¬ 
 ployed for the purpose; or very dry new hay will an¬ 
 swer still better. 
 
 Or several tubs filled with water have been sometimes 
 placed in the apartment: the water appears to condense 
 the odorous vapour similarly to a refrigerator in the 
 common process of distillation. This method has been 
 employed with complete success in apartments var¬ 
 nished with verdigris and with turpentine varnish. 
 
 L 5 
 
226 
 
 PRECEPTS FOR VARNISHES. 
 
 When the varnish is dry, the remaining vapours may 
 be dissipated by nitrous fumigation , so effectual for 
 purifying foul air : thus, pour into a glass or stoneware 
 vessel half an ounce of oil of vitriol, and having added 
 to it half an ounce of powdered saltpetre, stir the mix¬ 
 ture with a glass or pipe-clay tube. The diffusion of 
 the fumes may be facilitated by carrying the cup about 
 the apartment. This process may, it ought however to 
 be observed, alter the beautiful gloss of the varnish, if 
 it be delicate and not completely dry. 
 
 10th. Colours applied under varnish, as well as those 
 designed for oil painting, require great attention to 
 cleanliness on the part of those who employ them. 
 The surfaces to which they are applied should be rubbed 
 or brushed, and even washed if necessary: they must, 
 however, be well dried afterwards. 
 
 The same care must be extended to all apartments, 
 whether painted in oil or varnished. But varnish is 
 more liable to be injured by dirt than oil painting, and 
 the means of repairing it cannot always be the same, 
 because dust adheres more strongly to varnish than to 
 oil. 
 
 A few strokes of the brush, with simple washing, will 
 be sufficient for varnishes which are usually kept clean. 
 If, however, the dust be incrusted, soap and water ap¬ 
 plied with a sponge will be necessary, taking care to 
 cleanse the sponge well after every application to the 
 varnish. 
 
 Some employ an alkaline ley called second water. 
 When it contains only l-16th or l-20th of pearl-ash, it 
 is called weak second water ; when 1-10th, it is called 
 
PRECEPTS FOR VARNISHES. 
 
 227 
 
 strong. Some even leave it an hour or two on the var¬ 
 nish before it is rubbed off with a sponge dipped in 
 common water; but this method is attended with in¬ 
 convenience : the alkali acts strongly on delicate var¬ 
 nishes, depriving them of their brilliancy; and if they 
 contain vermilion, or Prussian blue, it alters or de¬ 
 taches them. But although this process be improper 
 for cleansing varnishes, it is exceedingly proper for oil 
 paintings, and particularly for those with grey grounds. 
 The quantity of pearl-ash may be even increased in 
 cleansing these to l-8tli of the water employed. 
 
 Others employ oil of vitriol diluted with water for the 
 same purpose, in such a manner that the acidity may 
 be equal to strong vinegar. This solution is very cleans¬ 
 ing ; but it tarnishes the varnish, and therefore the ap¬ 
 plication must be immediately followed by a thorough 
 washing with pure water. This acid is, how r ever, much 
 more proper for oil paintings than for those with var¬ 
 nish ; but in using it for oil painting, the surface should 
 be afterwards well dried with soft and very warm cloths. 
 
 Muriatic acid w r ill answer much better for cleansing 
 paint than oil of vitriol, it forming with the dust a deli¬ 
 quescent salt, which washing easily removes, and when 
 diluted with water, does not act either on resins or on 
 the most delicate colours; but it is unfortunately dearer 
 than vitriolic acid. 
 
 But whatever be the means used to clean varnish or 
 paintings by washing, they must not be left till they 
 have been completely dried with clean and very warm 
 cloths. Moisture is exceedingly hurtful to them , for 
 this reason they ought to be protected from fogs. 
 
 L 6 
 
228 
 
 PRECEPTS FOR VARNISHES. 
 
 11th. During the process of applying oil colours, if 
 any of them fall on the clothes, it may in general be in¬ 
 stantly removed by rubbing the cloth strongly with 
 crumb of bread. But oil of turpentine applied in suffi¬ 
 cient quantity to wash out the colour both of oil paint 
 and of varnish will be found preferable, because more 
 effectual. 
 
 12th. If any colour be left which you wish to pre¬ 
 serve, cover it with water, and deposit the vessel in a 
 cool place. The brushes may be kept in the same 
 manner, after being freed by oil of turpentine from the 
 paint adhering to them; it will be also most convenient 
 to wipe them. 
 
 Spirituous varnishes are exceedingly drying, and pos¬ 
 sess great splendour; for these reasons they are to be 
 preferred. Varnishes made with turpentine are also 
 brilliant, but they are less drying, and emit a strong 
 odour for a long time, unless covered with a spirituous 
 varnish. Oil painting is very durable; it is even sus¬ 
 ceptible of some of the brilliancy of varnish, provided 
 the colours have been mixed with the resinous drying 
 oil, page 160; or if it be covered by a varnish made 
 with oil of turpentine or spirit of wine; but it is slow 
 in drying. This character, which is a proof of its soli¬ 
 dity, causes it to be rejected by those who sacrifice 
 every thing to expedition. The time of its drying may, 
 however, be much shortened by the use of driers; but 
 it must be, nevertheless, admitted that oil painting has 
 rarely the brightness and lustre of that made with var¬ 
 nish. Hence the preference given to paintings with 
 varnish. But as oil painting has still its advocates, and 
 
PRECEPTS FOR OIL PAINTING. 
 
 229 
 
 is besides cheaper, and has also particular rules, we 
 shall now proceed to give some account of it. 
 
 Precepts for the application of Oil Painting. 
 
 4 
 
 Although in the preceding section w^e have treated of 
 the application of colours when mixed with varnish , 
 we desire to premise here that many of the observations 
 which we have made in that section will be found ap¬ 
 plicable to oil paintings, and therefore before the stu¬ 
 dent peruses the following precepts, he is requested to 
 attend carefully to what has been already advanced. 
 
 Oil painting has a character of solidity which causes 
 it often to be preferred to that executed with varnish or 
 in distemper. Besides, there are some circumstances, 
 independent of taste, which require the use of it; as 
 when it is necessary to apply a colour to objects ex¬ 
 posed to the influence of the weather. This kind of 
 painting is used also very extensively for interior work. 
 
 All kinds of oil cannot be indiscriminately used for 
 this kind of painting, even when they form part of those 
 which reasons, founded on experience, have indicated 
 as alone proper for this use ; such as oil of poppy, nut 
 and linseed oil, rendered drying by particular pro¬ 
 cesses. 
 
 Painting designed for objects exposed to rain, sun¬ 
 shine, &c. requires nut oil to the exclusion of every other 
 kind, because it nourishes and developes the colour. 
 Linseed oil, in this case, destroys the colour, so that at 
 the end of a very little time the work must be renewed; 
 yet it ought nevertheless to be observed, that linseed oil 
 
230 
 
 PRECEPTS FOR OIL PAINTING. 
 
 is now the general vehicle for common paints, both for 
 exterior as well for interior work. 
 
 In the case of painting exposed to weather, the 
 colours must not be ground or mixed up with nut oil to 
 which oil of turpentine has been added; because the 
 latter whitens the colour when exposed to the sun, in 
 the same manner as pure linseed oil would do. 
 
 Linseed oil may be recommended in painting de¬ 
 signed for articles which are sheltered from the incle¬ 
 mency of the weather. 
 
 There are particular precepts for this kind of paint¬ 
 ing which it will be proper never to deviate from. 
 
 1st. When it is necessary to grind and mix up bright 
 colours, such as whites, greys, &c. nut oil or oil of pop¬ 
 py is used. For dark colours, such as chesnut, brown 
 and olive, pure linseed oil is preferable, if the painting 
 be designed for internal objects. 
 
 2d. Each coat is applied cold. It is never employed 
 in a state of ebullition, except when it may be necessary 
 to prepare a new wall, or new and damp plaster, in 
 order to make the paint adhere. Without this precau¬ 
 tion the paint rises, and falls off in scales. The first 
 coat on soft wood requires also a little heat, that it may 
 penetrate better. 
 
 3d. No colour mixed up with pure oil, or oil to which 
 a little oil of turpentine has been added, ought ever to 
 form a thread at the end of the brush. 
 
 4th. The colour must be stirred in the pot from time 
 to time, before any of it is taken up with the brush, in 
 order that it may preserve the same consistence and the 
 same tone. If the ground, in consequence of metallic 
 
PRECEPTS FOR OIL PAINTING. 231 
 
 colours being used, does not retain the same tint, it 
 may be brightened by pouring in a little of the same oil 
 as that with which the colour has been mixed up. 
 
 Some painters, who are negligent in regard to the 
 consistence proper to be given to the colour, before it is 
 employed, think they can accomplish the required end 
 by adding oil of turpentine to the colour from time to 
 time, when they think it too thick. 
 
 This method, in ordinary painting, is not attended 
 with much inconvenience; but it does not answer the 
 purpose in delicate painting: for the addition of cold 
 oil of turpentine lessens the splendour of the colour. 
 The proper consistence should therefore be given at 
 first; and if it be found necessary to add a little more 
 of the vehicle, it ought to be warm : it requires to be 
 well mixed before it is used. 
 
 5th. When the painting is designed for apartments, 
 the first coat ought to be ground in oil, and mixed up 
 with oil of turpentine. 1st. Because the latter carries 
 off the odour of the oil. 2d. Because the colour applied 
 over a coat mixed up with oil, to which oil of turpen¬ 
 tine has been added, or with pure oil of turpentine, be¬ 
 comes more brilliant, whereas it would penetrate into a 
 coat with pure oil. 3d. Because oil of turpentine tho¬ 
 roughly hardens the colours mixed up with it; but if 
 mixed with oil it makes it penetrate to the colour. 
 When you are desirous, therefore, to varnish an oil co¬ 
 lour, the first coat ought to be mixed up with oil, and 
 the last two with pure oil of turpentine. When you do 
 not intend to varnish, the first coat ought to be mixed 
 
232 
 
 PRECEPTS FOR OIL PAINTING. 
 
 with pure oil, and the last two with oil to which oil of 
 turpentine has been added. Oil of turpentine unites a 
 practical utility to the two advantages before mentioned: 
 it facilitates the extension of the colour. 
 
 6th. If the painting be intended for copper, iron, or 
 any other hard substance, the smoothness of which pre¬ 
 vents the adhesion of the colours by making them glide, 
 a little oil of turpentine must be added to the first coat, 
 which will cause the oil to adhere. Besides, metals in¬ 
 tended to receive varnish or colours must be roughened 
 a little, in order that the colour may lay hold of them: 
 this is performed with pulverized pumice stone, or tri- 
 poli, which is rubbed over with a piece of rag, on each 
 coat being applied. The article must then be exposed 
 to the sun to facilitate the extension of it, if the varnish 
 has a considerable degree of consistence; after which it 
 is carried to a stove to hasten its desiccation. The 
 operation of polishing is not performed till several coats 
 are applied and have become dry. When such var¬ 
 nishes are used you may begin the polishing with 
 pumice stone, and afterwards finish it with tripoli. 
 
 7th. If the wood contain resinous knots, which is 
 the case in particular with deal, the colour runs in these 
 knots, and does not adhere. If simple oil be employed, 
 litharge, mixed with a little of the ground colour, is 
 prepared separately, and reserved for these resinous 
 parts. If the painting be in oil, and intended to be 
 covered with polished varnish, more litharge must be 
 added: it masks the wood, and hardens the resinous 
 particles which exude from it. One coat will be suffi- 
 
PRECEPTS FOR OIL PAINTING. 
 
 233 
 
 cient, and will give body to the wood: the labour may 
 be shortened by rubbing the place with a head of gar¬ 
 lic. See page 153. 
 
 8th. Some colours, and in particular those which 
 have an argillaceous ground, as the Dutch pinks, boles, 
 &c., as well as lamp-black, burnt vine twigs, &c., are 
 long in drying when employed with oil. It will, there¬ 
 fore, be proper to add drying matter to them, according 
 to the colour : litharge to dark colours, and white vitriol 
 (or rather sugar of lead) to bright colours, mixed with 
 drying oil: this method is always attended with success. 
 Driers are, however, in general unnecessary in paints 
 consisting of metallic oxides, particularly those of lead. 
 
 9th. If the addition of drying matter becomes neces¬ 
 sary, it must not be added till the moment wdien the 
 colour is applied, because it tends to render it thicker. 
 
 10th. One principle, which ought never to be for¬ 
 gotten, because it is applicable to all kinds of painting, 
 and more particularly to the one in question, is, that a 
 new coat ought never to be applied till the preceding is 
 dry. It will be proper also to brush off the dust, which 
 sometimes covers the last coat, and which, if mixed 
 with the new one, w r ould alter the uniformity of its 
 tint: this observation is applicable, above all, to bright 
 colours, such as whites and greys. 
 
 11th. All kinds of painting require that each coat 
 should be of an uniform thickness throughout; and as 
 this depends on the consistence, it will be proper to 
 preserve it in the same state. Habit and experience 
 will be a better guide, in this respect, than any precepts. 
 Too thin a coat cracks in drying; one too thick be- 
 
23 4 
 
 POLISHING. 
 
 comes wrinkled and unsightly. The addition of a little 
 ground colour, or of some of the vehicle, will correct 
 one of these faults. 
 
 It will not, however, be attended with any inconve¬ 
 nience if a little more liquidity be given to the first 
 coat than to the succeeding; because it is designed ra¬ 
 ther to adhere to the substance which it covers, than to 
 fix the tone of the required colour. But the succeed¬ 
 ing ones, and particularly the last, ought to have suffi¬ 
 cient consistence to prevent the shrinking of the paint; 
 the addition of a little oil of turpentine will, if it be too 
 thick, bring it to the proper point. 
 
 12th. If a solidity capable of resisting percussion 
 and friction be required in the paint, this end will be 
 better obtained by applying the first coat with a 
 metallic oxide, such as patent yellow, white lead or 
 litharge, reduced to fine powder, ground in boiled oil, 
 and mixed up with oil to which a little oil of turpen¬ 
 tine has been added, than by the same colour mixed 
 up with oil. 
 
 Although the process of polishing is dispensed with 
 in all cases of varnishing or painting applied to 
 common apartments, and to external objects, yet as the 
 operator might be sometimes required to perform it, we 
 shall here describe it* 
 
 Polishing. 
 
 The processes used in polishing are different, ac¬ 
 cording to the nature of the varnish which requires it. 
 Hard varnishes, such as those resulting from the solu¬ 
 tion of amber and copal in a drying oil, or even in oil 
 
POLISHING. 
 
 235 
 
 of turpentine, as well as certain oil colours, can bear 
 the contact of hard bodies employed for polishing. It 
 is not, however, attended with complete success, but 
 when the ground is charged with a determinate number 
 of coats of a colour which, by painters, is called the 
 priming, it gives to the whole a certain thickness and a 
 great deal of consistence *. 
 
 The priming is prepared by grinding white lead very 
 fine in pure oil, and mixing it up with oil of turpen¬ 
 tine. Seven or eight coats of it are applied before it is 
 polished. The white lead employed for this purpose 
 must have been subjected to a certain degree of heat, 
 which destroys its whiteness, and prevents it from 
 weakening the colours applied over it. 
 
 In this state it is called by painters calcined white 
 lead: the colour of it inclines a little to yellow. It 
 will be proper not to give too much heat to the white 
 lead intended for different coats of priming, because it 
 has too much influence on the coloured grounds which 
 it ought to support. The coats of priming are applied 
 over a coat formed of uncalcined white lead, ground in 
 linseed oil, and mixed up with equal parts of linseed 
 oil and oil of turpentine. 
 
 When the priming has received all the coats it 
 requires, and when very dry, pumice stone, finely pul¬ 
 verized, and sifted through a silk sieve, is mixed up 
 with a sufficient quantity of water. Some of this 
 powder is spread over a piece of cloth, rolled up in the 
 
 * It ought to be noted here that priming, in its usual acceptation among 
 painters, implies the first coat only, although here applied to many coats. Ed. 
 
236 
 
 POLISHING. 
 
 form of a ball, and the ball is moved over the surface 
 of the colour, to polish it uniformly; to determine with 
 precision to what degree this has been effected, the 
 polished part is frequently washed with water. When 
 this operation is finished, two or three coats of the 
 colour which has been chosen are applied, the motion 
 of the brush being softened to avoid striae; and it is 
 then glazed with two coats of transparent and colour¬ 
 less varnish, should this number be thought sufficient: 
 but if the varnish itself is to be polished in the same 
 manner as the priming; in a word, if it be required to 
 imitate that which covers the pannels of carriages, 
 seven or eight coats must be applied. 
 
 When the last coats of the varnish form undulations 
 which disturb the reflection of the light, it will be 
 necessary to polish it. This last polishing may be per¬ 
 formed with advantage, by employing tripoli, reduced 
 to fine powder, mixed up with a little oil, and placed 
 on a ball of serge, or, what is better, of chamois leather. 
 The fat part may then be removed with a little bran, or 
 with meal, rubbed over it by means of a clean linen 
 cloth. The polishing is then completed with a bit of 
 serge or cloth, without tripoli. 
 
 It is in this manner that the varnish which supplies 
 the place of glazing on certain kinds of furniture, and 
 the coloured or uncoloured varnishes applied to me¬ 
 tallic bodies or plates of metal, are polished. The 
 latter require only uniform friction with a piece of 
 cloth. It is very seldom that there is any need of 
 beginning with tripoli and oil. The finest polishing is 
 that performed by the lathe. 
 
POLISHING. 
 
 237 
 
 Those who renew the colours on the pannels and 
 bodies of carriages, do not rub them with a piece of 
 serge and pulverized pumice stone. They wear down 
 the old colour to the wood, with a fragment of pumice 
 stone and water. Some even employ a piece of felt 
 and fine sand for this operation. This process is alone 
 suited to work of this kind. 
 
 If you wish to render the colour more drying, add 
 half an ounce of litharge to each pound of colour. If 
 the colour is bright, a drachm of white vitriol or sugar 
 of lead must be substituted for the litharge. 
 
 We might here, were we not circumscribed by the 
 limits of our work, extend our views to some other 
 branches of oil painting: such is one now in this 
 country become a considerable object both of utility 
 and luxury—namely, the Painting of Oiled Cloths , 
 which are used instead of carpets for rooms, staircases, 
 halls, and many other purposes. The same reason 
 prevents our describing the art of printing in water 
 colours on paper usually denominated Paper-hangings , 
 which is at once ingenious, elegant, and useful; as is 
 evinced by the many tasteful patterns which now deco¬ 
 rate the dwelling houses of almost every one removed 
 above the lowest stations in society. Although it is not 
 within our design to lay down precepts for the per¬ 
 formance of either of these ingenious arts, we can, 
 nevertheless, confidently recommend our work gener¬ 
 ally to those who practise them, assured as we are that 
 it contains a fund of valuable information in regard to 
 oils and colours and their combinations, by which such 
 artists cannot fail to profit and improve. 
 
238 
 
 POLISHING. 
 
 We might here also detail some of the methods 
 adopted for painting imitations in oil and varnish of 
 various woods and marbles; but as this will be more ap¬ 
 propriately described under our article House Painting, 
 in the eighth chapter, the reader is referred to this last 
 head, where, as well as the method of painting in water 
 colours, called Stenciling , it will be found. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Of painting in Distemper — Glues — Sizing — Compo¬ 
 sition of Colours for Distemper—General precepts 
 for this branch of the art—Common Distemper — 
 Varnished Distemper or Chipolin—Blanc de Roi or 
 Royal White . 
 
 The art of painting in distemper is much older than 
 that of painting in oil or in varnish. It is needless to 
 adduce any testimonies to prove this assertion, for we 
 may assign to it the same origin as that of white wash¬ 
 ing , which, when applied with art, is a kind of dis¬ 
 temper. 
 
 Although this kind of painting is chiefly employed in 
 houses , and, therefore, might be with propriety arranged 
 under our head House Painting , which will be next 
 treated of; yet as it is occasionally employed on other 
 subjects, we deem it most expedient to appropriate to it 
 a distinct chapter. 
 
 As in every kind of distemper Glue of some sort is 
 the principle which gives solidity to this branch of 
 painting, it will be useful to make some observations 
 
 On the various Glues. 
 
 The varnisher does not, indeed, confine the use of 
 glue to painting in distemper : he uses it also for cover- 
 
 10 
 
240 
 
 DISTEMPER—GLUES. 
 
 ing and preserving the paint with which certain articles 
 intended to be varnished are covered, such as paper or 
 other substances painted in gum; boxes, fans, &c. But 
 the kind of articles to which size is applied prescribes 
 a choice in the matters proper for furnishing the glue. 
 For delicate objects, pure glue, incapable of commu¬ 
 nicating any foreign tint is required. Isinglass, or that 
 obtained from remnants of parchment, will answer these 
 purposes. Glovers’ clippings, and those of white 
 leather, give a glue sufficiently pure for many kinds of 
 distemper. The glue extracted from the clippings of 
 sheep’s and goats’ skins may be used in the common 
 kind of distemper. In the latter cases the work may be 
 considerably shortened by dissolving common strong 
 glue in a certain quantity of water. 
 
 Whatever be the animal, or parts of the animal, from 
 which it is proposed to extract the glue, that is, the 
 gelatine , the process employed must be always the 
 same; namely, boiling in water , and that usually for 
 some period more or less considerable. 
 
 Isinglass , being colourless, is a glue of the first qua¬ 
 lity. The preparation of it is very simple : the twisted 
 pieces are bruised by means of a mallet, and then torn 
 to shreds, which are cut into small portions, and boiled 
 in a sufficient quantity of pure water. The decoction 
 being strained through a clean cloth, it is evaporated 
 over a slow fire until some drops of the decoction being 
 thrown on paper and cooled, assume the consistence of 
 a trembling jelly. It is then left to cool. In this state 
 it will keep five or six days in summer, and longer in 
 winter. 
 
GLUES. 
 
 241 
 
 Sometimes brandy is employed for diluting this glue ; 
 but as the temperature to which it is exposed dissi¬ 
 pates all the spirit, it will be better to add brandy to 
 isinglass, or other fish glue already prepared, and of a 
 rather strong consistence. The addition of the brandy 
 contributes towards its longer preservation, and acce¬ 
 lerates its desiccation when employed, but it lessens the 
 limpidity of the liquid. 
 
 This consistence would prevent it from being freely 
 extended over the works which are to be sized, were it 
 not diluted, at the time of its being employed, with a 
 little warm water. It is in the latter state of liquidity 
 that it is applied to articles which can stand the re¬ 
 quired degree of heat, such as wood, fans, &c. But 
 when it is apprehended that this temperature may pro¬ 
 duce bad effects on the colours or on the cut paper 
 figures, for cementing which it may be employed, it is 
 then diluted with cold water, and it is kept liquid at the 
 temperature of the atmosphere. 
 
 Certain delicate works require only a slight concen¬ 
 tration in the solution of glue. For example, if it be re¬ 
 quired to fix crayons, by Loriot’s process, from 150 to 
 200 grains of isinglass, rendered soluble in 16 ounces 
 of pure water, diluted with two parts of spirit of wine 
 at the time of its application, will be sufficient to give 
 the proper degree of strength to such works, and to 
 prevent the powder from being detached. The evapo¬ 
 ration is very much favoured by the spirit of wine. 
 
 Glue made from glovers' clippings, or from parch¬ 
 ment, is of the second quality ; it may be obtained 
 thus: 
 
 M 
 
242 
 
 GLUES. 
 
 Put to soak in warm water, for twelve or fifteen hours, 
 clippings of parchment, and then boil them for five or 
 six hours: strain the whole through a piece of open 
 linen, or through a hair sieve, to separate the insoluble 
 membranous portions. The decoction being left at 
 rest, will soon become a jelly: if it be made in summer, 
 the temperature which keeps the glue long in a state of 
 liquidity gives it time to clarify, so that the upper part 
 will appear an exceedingly clear and colourless trem¬ 
 bling jelly. When the clippings of parchment have 
 been well chosen, the whole of the clear part of the glue 
 may be separated, by means of a skimmer, from the fe¬ 
 culent part at the bottom of the vessel. 
 
 This glue may be employed in all cases where great 
 cleanness is required, and therefore may be substituted 
 for isinglass. It is in this state that it ought to be 
 used for sizing, and for that beautiful kind of distem¬ 
 per called chipolm, or blanc de roi (royal white). 
 
 All objects comprehended in the distemper applied 
 to cielings, walls, &c. do not require much nicety in 
 the choice of the glue: hence solidity being more at¬ 
 tended to than neatness, common glue dissolved in 
 water is very often used 
 
 Common glue may be thus prepared : take clippings 
 of sheep’s skin, goat’s skin, and of parchment, and boil 
 them for three or four hours in a sufficient quantity of 
 water (seven or eight parts in weight for one of matter). 
 When the decoction is reduced to a third, strain it 
 through a hair sieve or piece of linen: on cooling it 
 assumes the consistence of a strong jelly, which may 
 be weakened according to circumstances. In conse- 
 
GLUES—SIZING. 
 
 243 
 
 quence of the consistence here mentioned, this glue is 
 distinguished by the name of strong glue, a technical 
 term often employed in the formulae of different compo¬ 
 sitions, and which cannot be applied to the strong dry 
 glue sold in the shops. The addition of two pounds of 
 water will form a glue of moderate consistence; and 
 eight pounds of water to the same quantity will give 
 simply glue: it may still be rendered weaker, should 
 circumstances require it. 
 
 Such glue will not keep more than five or six days 
 in summer, even in a cool place. If the weather be 
 tempestuous, it will soon putrify: when it loses its con¬ 
 sistence and becomes more liquid, it has reached the 
 first stage of alteration, and can no longer be used in 
 distemper. 
 
 These various kinds of glue may be applied to differ¬ 
 ent kinds of works, according to their fineness. The 
 first is used to defend delicate painting, coloured paper, 
 paintings in water-colours, &c. from the action of var¬ 
 nish ; the second may be used, with the precautions al¬ 
 ready mentioned, for the same purposes; the last is em¬ 
 ployed for common sizing. 
 
 It should be observed, that although we have given 
 the above directions for the preparation of common glue 
 for distemper, it is most probable that the artist will 
 rarely, if ever, take the trouble to obtain it by that me¬ 
 thod, but will content himself with making a solution of 
 the common glue which he finds in the shops. 
 
 Sizing 
 
 Denotes that operation by which a solution of glue is 
 
 M 2 
 
244 
 
 SIZING. 
 
 spread over articles intended to be painted in distemper 
 or to be varnished. Size is applied cold : it fills up the 
 pores of the wood, paper, &c., and deposits in them a 
 matter impenetrable to spirit of wine and to the essen¬ 
 tial oils, the solvents of the resins employed in the 
 composition of varnishes. If several successive cover¬ 
 ings of it be applied, it may even serve as a varnish it¬ 
 self ; but being soluble in water, the least humidity, 
 and the consequent adhesion of dust, would soon 
 tarnish the objects to which it is applied, and destroy 
 their neatness and brilliancy. 
 
 Varnish, therefore, may be applied to this first coat 
 without injuring the colours, and without penetrating 
 further; and if the coats be increased so as to give to 
 the whole a sufficient thickness, it will bear the opera¬ 
 tion of polishing. 
 
 The varnishes applied in distemper generally bring 
 out the colours with additional lustre ; nevertheless 
 every kind of distemper does not produce the same re¬ 
 sult under varnish. Distemper, the basis of which is 
 chalk, does not possess this property in its whole ex¬ 
 tent ; it becomes brown under the first coat of varnish. 
 This application of varnish to distemper requires then 
 a choice in the bases, or in the colouring matters, 
 which constitute distemper in size. Clay supports var¬ 
 nish better than chalk; it also shrinks less; but the 
 colours taken from metallic substances are those which, 
 in distemper, harmonize best with the splendour of var¬ 
 nish ; of this kind is white lead ground and mixed up 
 with oil of turpentine for the first coat. 
 
 We have here specified cases which require that size 
 
PRECEPTS FOR PAINTING IN DISTEMPER. 245 
 
 should be applied cold ; there are others which require 
 that the jelly employed for sizing should have greater 
 strength; that it should be thick, and consequently 
 that it should be employed warm ; the last coat except¬ 
 ed, which must consist of weaker glue, if intended to 
 be covered with varnish. 
 
 The substances fit to be painted in distemper are 
 wood, walls, plaster, skins, cloth, pasteboard, paper. 
 But, before we give examples in these three kinds of 
 distemper, it will be proper to lay before the reader 
 the precepts which belong to this kind of painting. 
 
 General precepts for Painting in Distemper . 
 
 Distemper is often employed with a view of covering 
 it with painting which exhibits some particular subject. 
 In this case it will be necessary, 1st, That the ground 
 to which the distemper is to be applied should contain 
 neither grease nor lime. 2d, That it should be covered 
 with some preparation to render the surface very smooth. 
 This preparation is generally made of white, because it 
 heightens the colours better, which always borrow some¬ 
 thing from the ground. 3d, That the consistence of the 
 colour should be such that it may run or drop from the 
 brush in a thread, when taken from the pot. This con¬ 
 dition is contrary to that established in regard to paint¬ 
 ing in oil and in varnish : here if the colour does not 
 form a thread, it is too thick, and the work will be in 
 danger of becoming scaly. 4th, That all the coats, the 
 last excepted, must be applied warm, taking care, how¬ 
 ever, that the matter does not boil: for when too hot, 
 it injures the first coats and spoils the subject; and if 
 
 M 3 
 
246 PRECEPTS FOR PAINTING IN DISTEMPER. 
 
 applied to wood it may cause it to split. -Besides, a 
 solution of glue exposed to too high a temperature as¬ 
 sumes a fat character, and loses its tenacity. These 
 four conditions, according to artists, form the principal 
 laws of this kind of painting. 
 
 We shall, however, add a fifth; which is, that if the 
 coats are to be multiplied, they ought all to be of an 
 equal thickness. This equality depends on the strength 
 of the glue and the quantity of the matter applied: if 
 the coats vary in this respect the painting rises up in 
 scales. 
 
 If the ground to which the distemper is applied con¬ 
 tain grease or lime, this inconvenience may be removed 
 by scraping, in case it be a wall; or by a solution of 
 pearlash, if it be wood; canvas must be cleaned by 
 means of a ley. 
 
 If the walls intended to receive any subject in paint¬ 
 ing be very smooth, a coat of warm glue is applied? 
 which penetrates into them and disposes the surface of 
 the stone or plaster to incorporate with the colours. 
 But if they are rough, a coating of Spanish white, or 
 chalk mixed with a solution of glue, is employed to ren¬ 
 der the surface smoother. When this coating is dry, 
 it is scraped as clean and as even as possible. It may 
 readily be conceived that this operation is applicable 
 only to small inequalities : for if they were considerable 
 or accompanied with holes, it would be necessary to 
 equalize the surface with gypsum, and to allow the 
 latter sufficient time to assume body, which will not be 
 the case till it be thoroughly dry. 
 
 Painting in distemper is distinguished into three 
 
COMMON DISTEMPER. 
 
 247 
 
 kinds : Common Distemper; Varnished Distemper , 
 sometimes termed chipolin ; and Blanc de Roi, or royal 
 white. 
 
 Common Distemper. 
 
 If plain distemper is to be applied to a wall or par¬ 
 tition covered with plaster, some Spanish white or 
 white of Troyes is thrown into water, where it may be 
 easily broken and diluted if allowed sufficient time to 
 soak. A little charcoal black, diluted separately in 
 some water, is then added, to correct the too great 
 whiteness, and to prevent it from becoming yellow. To 
 the water mixed with white one half of a solution of 
 strong glue in water is added, exceedingly hot, but not 
 boiling, and it is then applied with a brush. The 
 coatings are repeated till the tint has become uniform. 
 This operation is simple, yet there is some difficulty in 
 giving an uniform tone to all the parts of the work, 
 when the surfaces to be covered are so extensive as to 
 require repeated mixtures. One of the great incon¬ 
 veniences of this kind of painting is, that the effect of 
 it cannot be seen till it is dry. Care must, therefore, 
 be taken to try each mixture on pieces of prepared 
 wood, having the same tint as the ground, that the real 
 tint may be obtained. 
 
 It sometimes happens also, that when painting in 
 distemper is applied to surfaces which have been 
 already painted, the colour does not adhere, and ex¬ 
 hibits the same phenomenon as if water were presented 
 to oil. 
 
 Of this circumstance there are two cases. The first 
 M 4 
 
248 
 
 COMMON DISTEMPER. 
 
 is explained by the dryness of the preceding coat: an 
 effect arising from the chalk. It rarely occurs with 
 Spanish white, and never with white lead. The dif¬ 
 ference in the strength of the solution of strong glue, 
 employed for the two coats, is a second cause of this 
 result. 
 
 If the sizing of the first coat be stronger than that of 
 the second, the only method of obviating the incon¬ 
 venience which takes place, is the addition of a little 
 ox-gall in the new coat. We have produced the same 
 effect by a solution of pearlash : for if the glue be too 
 strong, too abundant, or too much heated, it assumes 
 an unctuous character which the chalk is not able to 
 modify. Spanish, Bougival, or Morat white, will 
 ensure success, in consequence of their argillaceous 
 nature. 
 
 Distemper, if intended to serve as a ground for any 
 subjects painted in fresco or in oil colours, requires 
 another preparation, formed of a more solid substance, 
 wdiich may give more hold to the colours which it is 
 to receive. White lead will answer this purpose better 
 than Spanish white, which, however, is superior to 
 white of Troyes. This application will remove every 
 ' restraint in regard to the kind of painting : it may be 
 in gum, in fine distemper, or in oil. 
 
 By this attention, in regard to the choice of the 
 matters which are to serve as the ground, the paintings 
 with which apartments are decorated will always pro¬ 
 duce their effect, to whatever light they may be ex¬ 
 posed ; the greater the light, the livelier and more 
 beautiful they appear. They participate with crayon- 
 
PAINTING IN MILK. 
 
 249 
 
 painting in the property of not being subject to those 
 reflections of the light which prevent the beauty of a 
 painting from being seen, except under a certain point 
 of view. 
 
 This method holds the first rank among the common 
 kinds of distemper; but there are many cases which 
 do not require either the same precision or very long 
 details. 
 
 In regard to those kinds of distemper employed for 
 some particular articles in the interior part of houses, 
 we shall give, from Watin’s work, such examples as 
 may be useful. 
 
 Painting in Milk. 
 
 Take of skimmed milk, 4 pounds; lime, newly 
 slaked, 6 ounces ; oil of poppy, linseed, or nut oil, 4 
 ounces; Spanish white, 3 pounds. 
 
 Put the lime into an earthen vessel, or into a clean 
 bucket, and having poured over it a sufficient quantity 
 of milk, add gradually the oil, stirring the mixture with 
 a wooden spatula; then pour in the remainder of the 
 milk, and dilute the Spanish white. 
 
 Milk skimmed in summer is often found to be 
 curdled; but this is of no consequence for the present 
 purpose. The contact of the lime soon restores its 
 fluidity; but it must not be sour, because in that case 
 it would form with the lime an earthy salt, which at¬ 
 tracts the humidity of the atmosphere. 
 
 The lime may be slaked by immersing it a short 
 time in water, from which it is taken, that it may 
 effloresce in the air. 
 
 M 5 
 
250 
 
 PAINTING IN MILK. 
 
 Any of the above-mentioned oils may be employed ; 
 but, for a white colour, that of poppy ought to be pre¬ 
 ferred. The mixture of the oil with the lime forms a 
 kind of calcareous soap, in which state the oil unites 
 with the whole of the ingredients. 
 
 The Spanish white is pounded and carefully strewed 
 over the surface of the liquid with which it gradually 
 becomes impregnated, and falls to the bottom. This 
 process is applicable to every kind of distemper made 
 with chalk, or with white argillaceous earths. When 
 the white has fallen to the bottom, it is stirred with a 
 stick. This painting may be coloured, like every other 
 in distemper, by means of the different colouring sub¬ 
 stances employed in common painting. The above 
 quantity will be sufficient to give a first coat to a sur¬ 
 face of 24 square yards. 
 
 No doubt can remain in regard to the superiority of 
 this kind of painting when compared with the results of 
 distemper with size. It is stronger, and does not, like 
 the latter, detach itself in scales. The albumen which 
 composes it is not susceptible of decomposition, like 
 glue, which gives body to common distemper. The 
 latter, unless kept dry, becoming often decomposed by 
 the attraction of humidity from the atmosphere, and 
 hence the colouring body is readily brushed off in the 
 form of dust. 
 
 Besides, this preparation is less expensive, and par¬ 
 ticularly in countries where milk is abundant. It is 
 also attended with less trouble; it dries in an hour, 
 and the oil which forms part of it loses its odour in 
 passing to the saponaceous state by its combination 
 with the lime. 
 
PAINTING FOR FIRE-PLACES. 
 
 251 
 
 One coat will be sufficient for places which are 
 already covered with any colour, if the latter does not 
 penetrate through it, and produce spots; two coats on 
 new wood; one on staircases and on cielings. 
 
 Painting for Fire-places and Hearths in Kitchens , fyc. 
 
 The Genevese method. 
 
 The Genevese employ a kind of stone, known under 
 the name of molasse, for constructing fire-places and 
 stoves ; it is brought from Saura, a village of Savoy : it 
 has a greyish colour, inclining to blue, which is very 
 agreeable to the eye. This tint is similar to that com¬ 
 municated to common whitewashing with lime, chalk, 
 or gypsum, the dulness of which is corrected by a little 
 indigo, or by lamp black. 
 
 Pure clay, similar in colour to molasse , is found at 
 Yvoire: it is employed by the servant maids to scour 
 out or conceal the spots of grease or of charcoal which 
 stain hearths or chimney-pieces. They keep by them 
 some of this clay mixed up with a little water, and 
 apply it with a brush after the stains have been rubbed 
 with a fragment of the same stone. This is a kind of 
 plain distemper without size. 
 
 Some whitewashers employ this clay in their dis¬ 
 temper for articles much exposed to be dirtied; such 
 as kitchens, workshops, &c. They treat it with a solu¬ 
 tion of glue, as in the first example. The tone of its 
 colour, which is always uniform, presents one ad¬ 
 vantage not found in artificial mixtures, the true tone of 
 which cannot be known till the coat is dry. 
 
 Clay of a grey colour being very common, it may be 
 M 6 
 
252 
 
 DISTEMPER FOR PARQUETS. 
 
 of great use in families who wish to imitate this part of 
 the cleanliness of the Swiss. The advantage they 
 might derive from it would not be confined merely to 
 the gratification of the eye. The first step towards an 
 improvement in the convenience of domestic life, soon 
 leads to attempts towards other objects ; and it is 
 in this manner that people, without any direct design, 
 and even without perceiving it, remove from their habi¬ 
 tations every thing that might alter the salubrity of 
 them. The beneficial effects which result from conti¬ 
 nued care, in regard to every thing that tends to pro¬ 
 mote cleanliness, are too apparent not to be observed 
 and to be justly appreciated. Diseases which become 
 epidemical, and which often occasion great ravages^ 
 seldom appear with the same malignant characters 
 where cleanliness prevails. Cleanliness, therefore, 
 minute attention to cleanliness, both of furniture and 
 persons, together with sobriety, is the best preserver of 
 health. This observation is not foreign to a subject 
 which treats on the best method of giving elegant sim¬ 
 plicity to the interior of houses. 
 
 Distemper for Parquets or Floors of Inlaid Work. 
 
 The name of parquets is given to boards of fir inter¬ 
 sected by pieces of walnut-tree; or disposed in com¬ 
 partments, of which the walnut-tree forms the frame or 
 border; but to such works no other lustre is commu¬ 
 nicated than that which they receive from wax, and 
 from being frequently cleaned. Some of the floors in 
 France, and other countries on the Continent, are con¬ 
 structed in this manner. Floors have been also occa- 
 
RED FOR HALLS PAVED WITH TILES. 
 
 253 
 
 sionally executed of plaster, on which the lemon yellow 
 colour employed for parquets of oak, produces a very 
 good effect. 
 
 To obtain this colour, boil in 16 pounds of water 
 half a pound of yellow berries, and as much turmeric 
 root and bastard saffron; add to the mixture four 
 ounces of alum, or pearlash which is preferable ; and 
 having strained the whole through a silk sieve, add to 
 the strained liquor four pounds of w ater, in which a 
 pound of glue has been dissolved. 
 
 Apply two coats of this colour with a brush, and 
 when dry wax it, and polish the surface with a rubber. 
 
 Red for Corridors and Halls paved with Tiles. 
 
 A brush dipped in the water which comes from a 
 common ley, or in soapy water, or in water holding in 
 solution a twentieth part of pearlash, is in general 
 drawm over the tiles. This washing thoroughly cleans 
 them, carries off the greasy spots, and disposes all the 
 parts of the pavement to receive the distemper. They 
 are then left to dry. 
 
 On the other hand, dissolve in eight pounds of w T ater 
 half a pound of glue, and while the mixture is boiling, 
 add two pounds of red ochre, mixing the whole with 
 great care. Then apply a coat of this mixture to the 
 pavement, and suffer it to dry. A second coat is ap¬ 
 plied with Prussian red, mixed up wdth drying linseed 
 oil; and a third with the same red, mixed up with size. 
 When the whole is dry, rub it with wax. 
 
 Such is the method generally employed; and this 
 succession of coats is attended with peculiar ad- 
 
254 
 
 DISTEMPER IN BADIGEON. 
 
 vantages. The first ley, penetrating into the tiles, 
 forms a ground of adhesion to the second; and the last 
 receives from the second a great deal of solidity, and 
 prevents the slowness of the desiccation of the coat 
 with oil, which would adhere to the feet or be rubbed 
 off by the scrubber, were it not entirely dry. The third 
 coat may be dispensed with, if pulverized litharge be 
 mixed with the colour, which will then become more 
 drying. 
 
 The operation may be very much shortened by red¬ 
 dening the new tiles with a preparation composed of 
 the serous and colouring parts of ox blood, separated 
 in the slaughter-house from the fibrous part. This pre¬ 
 paration is exceedingly strong. If a single coat of red 
 bole, mixed up with drying linseed oil, be then applied, 
 it may soon after be waxed and rubbed. This appli¬ 
 cation is solid, costs less than the former, and the 
 colour is very permanent. 
 
 A very beautiful red colour is also communicated 
 with a solution consisting of a pound of madder 
 coarsely pulverized, four ounces of alum, and twelve 
 pounds of water. Two coats of it are applied to new r 
 tiles, after which it is waxed and rubbed. 
 
 This application produces a very fine effect; but it is 
 not so durable as the preceding. 
 
 Distemper in Badigeon. 
 
 Badigeon is employed for giving an uniform tint to 
 houses rendered brown by time, and to churches when 
 it is required to render them brighter. Badigeon , in 
 general, has a yellow tint. That which succeeds best 
 
CHIPOLIN. 
 
 255 
 
 is composed of the saw-dust or powder of the same 
 kind of stone and slaked lime, mixed up in a bucket of 
 water holding in solution a pound of alum. It is ap¬ 
 plied with a brush. 
 
 In and around Paris, and in other parts of France, 
 where the large edifices are constructed of a soft kind 
 of stone, which is yellow, and sometimes white, when 
 it comes from the quarry, but which in time becomes 
 brown, a little ochre de rue is substituted for the 
 powder of the stone itself, and restores to the edifice its 
 original tint. But at Geneva and Lausanne, and in the 
 neighbouring cities, where buildings are constructed of 
 molasse , the tint given by ochre de rue would be dif¬ 
 ferent from that intended. The late Lagrange, of Ge¬ 
 neva, invented a method, both simple and effectual, of 
 giving to old edifices a new appearance, and of reviving 
 their original tint: it is adapted to the nature of the 
 stone. Nothing is necessary, but to rub the surface of 
 the edifice with pieces of the same molasse , taking care 
 to select the hardest: by this process the stone will 
 acquire its former colour. 
 
 Varnished Distemper or Chipolin. 
 
 Painting in distemper covered with a varnish called 
 chipolin *, and royal white, which will furnish an 
 example of the third kind of distemper, is the most 
 
 * The origin of the word Chipolin is uncertain. Some think it is de¬ 
 rived from the resemblance between this painting and cipolin or chipolin 
 marble. Others have supposed it originated in the use which the first 
 painters in this branch made of the juice of onions. 
 
256 
 
 CHIPOLIN. 
 
 elegant of this sort; but the preparation it requires 
 renders it very expensive. It is to chipolin that we are 
 indebted for those brilliant decorations in varnish ap¬ 
 plied to candelabra with delicate sculpture, the argen¬ 
 tine white of which, set off with pale gold, produces 
 such beautiful effects by reflected light; but this truly 
 noble kind of painting, in consequence of the great 
 labour it requires, is reserved for valuable furniture, 
 and for ornamenting apartments in palaces. 
 
 Though this kind of painting is not frequently em¬ 
 ployed, we shall give a short account of the process, as 
 described by Watin in his Parfait Vernisseur. The 
 following is the order adopted in the distribution of the 
 labour for argentine white chipolin. In regard to 
 further details, the reader must recur to the work above 
 mentioned,: 
 
 1st. Wash the wainscoting with a warm decoction 
 of wormwood, to which a few heads of garlic are 
 added. Mix this decoction with parchment glue, 
 which, when cold, assumes the form of a jelly. This 
 process opens the pores of the wood, and disposes 
 it to afford the means of adhesion to the following 
 coats. 
 
 2d. A coat of warm glue with Bougival Spanish or 
 Morat white, which will give the work more solidity. 
 
 3d. Eight or ten coats of the same white, well mixed 
 and exceedingly fine ; taking care to preserve the same 
 degree of strength, and the same thickness in each 
 coat. But care must be taken, at the same time, not to 
 choak up the mouldings, and to apply the last coat 
 
CHIPOLIN. 
 
 257 
 
 with glue somewhat thinner than that used in the pre¬ 
 ceding coats. 
 
 4th. Soften the surface with pumice stone, to which 
 such a form has been given that it can be introduced 
 into the small cavities of the mouldings and sculpture. 
 Employ small sticks of different shapes to polish the 
 mouldings and the plain surfaces. The process of 
 polishing may be shortened by drawing immediately 
 over the work a soft brush dipped in water. 
 
 5th. Clean the cavities of the mouldings and sculp¬ 
 ture with small iron instruments prepared for that 
 purpose. 
 
 6th. After these preparations apply two coats of 
 colour made of white lead, to which a little Prussian 
 blue and black has been added, and mixed up with 
 parchment size, strained through a sieve to separate 
 the portions of size still granulated; these two coats 
 must be softened with a brush. 
 
 7th. Apply two other coats of thin glue, beaten up 
 cold, and strained through a sieve, to separate the por¬ 
 tions of jelly not diluted. They are applied cold, care¬ 
 fully softening the work, that there may be no need of 
 passing several times over the same place. 
 
 8th. Apply, with the same precautions, two or three 
 coats of the varnish No. III. or with some copal varnish, 
 and keep the place warm, to facilitate evaporation and 
 desiccation before the dust can adhere to it: the work 
 will then be completed. Such is the process for this pre¬ 
 paration, which requires eighteen or nineteen coats, and 
 a great deal of care in the execution. It is needless to 
 remind artists of the principle already laid down, that 
 
258 
 
 IMITATION OF CHIPOLIN. 
 
 a new coat must not be applied till the preceding be 
 dry . When the chipolin is intended for pieces of 
 sculpture, it is customary to heighten its splendour by 
 that of gold, which is applied and left unbumished on 
 all the projecting parts of the work. This addition in¬ 
 creases in a singular manner the richness and magni¬ 
 ficence of this kind of decoration. 
 
 The following method of imitating chipolin is much 
 shorter than the former, it enabling artists to complete 
 the operation in twenty-four hours. 
 
 Imitation of Chipolin. 
 
 Watin prescribes two coats of size made of Spanish 
 white, mixed up with strong parchment glue, hot, and 
 even boiling. 
 
 But observe, the application of size so hot swells the 
 wood and retards the desiccation; oak wainscoting is, 
 however, less liable to swell than fir. We should apply 
 the first two coats in this case with white lead of the first 
 quality: the tint is solid, and brings out the coloured 
 coats equally well. They ought to be applied with oil 
 of turpentine. Over these two coats we would apply 
 two others of colour mixed up with pretty strong glue, 
 kept liquid, and would polish after the first coloured 
 coats. These ought to be covered with two coats of 
 spirit of varnish, or the varnish No. III. or the colour 
 should be mixed up with the varnish. 
 
 The drying is quickened by keeping a fire in the 
 apartment which has been varnished, if the season be 
 unfavourable. 
 
 When the second coat is dry, rub it with pumice 
 
IMITATION OF CHIPOLIN. 
 
 259 
 
 stone to equalize and smooth the surface, and apply 
 i three coats of colour. If an azury grey white be re¬ 
 quired, mix with great care on a slab one ounce of 
 white lead, one drachm of lamp black, and as much 
 Prussian blue. Take a portion of this mixture, and 
 grind it slightly on the stone with the white lead which 
 is to compose the colour, adding the latter gradually, 
 that the ingredients may be better mixed. Sift the 
 whole through a silk sieve to complete the mixture. 
 
 Then add four ounces of this preparation to a pound 
 of varnish, and mix them with a brush. The varnish 
 proper for this purpose is No. VIII. It will be proper 
 not to mix up more matter at a time, because the var¬ 
 nish evaporates. Spread it in as uniform a manner as 
 possible, and when the coat is dry, rub it with a strong 
 new piece of linen cloth to polish it. This friction, 
 which at first requires considerable care, completes the 
 drying of the varnish and glazes it. For the second 
 coat take only one half of the powder, and mix it up 
 with the same quantity of varnish as for the first; and 
 for the third only half an ounce of powder. If you are 
 desirous of giving lustre to the work you must add a 
 fourth coat, not more charged with colour than the 
 third. Then rub the surface with a cloth, to give it 
 that splendour which always results from a perfect uni¬ 
 formity in the extension of the varnish. 
 
 This is the method which we have always employed 
 in painting in distemper, and we recommend it for 
 colours of every kind applied to wainscoting of white 
 wood, which is very liable to swell under size of 
 
260 
 
 ROYAL WHITE. 
 
 every kind, and which renders the first preparation 
 scaly. 
 
 Blanc de Roi, or Royal White. 
 
 This kind of distemper takes its name from the use 
 made of it in decorating the interior of palaces. It is 
 very much employed, and is easily executed, when not 
 intended to be covered with varnish : wdien fresh it is - 
 exceedingly beautiful. It is attended with the fault of 
 becoming soon spoiled in apartments constantly inha¬ 
 bited, and particularly in bed-rooms, because, not being 
 defended by varnish, the exhalations and other vapours 
 which emanate from living bodies act on the white 
 lead, and make it first turn yellow and then black. It 
 is employed chiefly for saloons, where the mouldings 
 and carving have been ornamented with gold, the pale¬ 
 ness of which is richly set off by the splendour of the 
 colour. It is not customary to varnish white grounds 
 when accompanied with gilding and beautiful orna¬ 
 ments. 
 
 In painting royal white, it will be proper to form the 
 ground with a coat of Spanish white, or white of Mo- 
 rat, mixed up with strong parchment size, and applied 
 boiling hot; paying attention, however, to the nature of 
 the wood, as already remarked. It requires the same 
 operations as chipolin ; but private individuals gene¬ 
 rally dispense with this nicety of execution, which 
 would require a long time, and occasion a very great 
 expense. 
 
 To render it very beautiful, the insipidity of the white 
 
ROYAL WHITE. 
 
 261 
 
 1 lead should be corrected with a small quantity of Prus¬ 
 sian blue or of indigo, in the same proportion nearly as 
 for pearl grey chipolin. Polishing with a cloth pro¬ 
 duces a very good effect; but the beautiful reflection of 
 ! the light depends as much on the manner in which the 
 last coats are applied as on the polishing which com¬ 
 pletes the smoothing of the surface. 
 
 In Switzerland, people are contented with the simple 
 i composition of royal white, heightening its dulness with 
 a little Prussian blue and black. This kind of painting 
 is reserved, in particular, for the upper apartments of 
 i country houses. Its solidity renders it superior to that 
 with white of Troyes. But if white lead be used, it 
 should be varnished for the reasons above stated. The 
 splendour given by this addition, and the easy means it 
 affords of guarding against the pernicious effects of 
 dust, are real advantages which counterbalance the 
 expense. 
 
 Although this preparation seems attended with no 
 insurmountable difficulty, even to the amateur, it re¬ 
 quires in the artist who undertakes it good taste, care, 
 and practice. Royal white, indeed, is not always pre¬ 
 pared with that care and attention which render it va¬ 
 luable. A skilful eye is often shocked to see the out¬ 
 lines of well executed wainscoting disappear under the 
 unequal and too thick daubing of the coats, in which 
 eyen white of Troyes is often substituted for white lead. 
 As this deception is frequently practised, people ought 
 to be on their guard against it. The employer, who 
 has a double interest to defend, may put the honesty of 
 the artist to the test by a very simple experiment. 
 
mz 
 
 ROYAL WHITE. 
 
 Place on charcoal a small quantity of the white matter 
 which is stated to be white lead; if it be chalk, it will 
 become brown when you blow the charcoal; but if it 
 be white lead, it becomes yellow, changes to a red 
 colour, and is soon reduced to lead. This revivifica¬ 
 tion of the lead is speedier when the fire is urged by a 
 blow-pipe. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 House Painting. 
 
 General observations on House Painting—on Brushes 
 —on the method of rendering ground White Lead 
 and other Paints ready for application—on Driers 
 —on Oil of Turpentine—Mementos for the House 
 Painter — Vanherman's Impenetrable Paint — on 
 Stenciling—on the Imitation of various Woods and 
 Marbles in Paint , called Graining—Transparent 
 Blinds. — Addendum , Ultramarine. 
 
 Although we have not in any one of the preceding 
 chapters of this work, omitted, upon every proper 
 opportunity, to introduce such observations as may be 
 useful, not only to the professed artist, but also to the 
 amateur in house painting , as well as to those who, 
 desirous of avoiding expense, become their own house 
 painters; and although we here give a chapter which 
 treats professedly on house painting, yet we desire 
 emphatically to impress upon the reader the absolute 
 necessity, in order to his becoming an adroit house 
 painter, that every preceding chapter of this work 
 should be most carefully read and even studied. 
 
 In the present chapter, if the professed artist should 
 , 8 
 
264 
 
 HOUSE PAINTING. 
 
 not obtain much additional instruction or information, 
 there is nevertheless a large body of persons who know 
 little or even nothing of the art of painting, and who 
 will, it has been suggested to us, gladly avail them¬ 
 selves of the knowledge which this chapter is more 
 especially designed to convey. In short, we may re¬ 
 peat a question which has been stated to us, namely, 
 What is the best method which a gentleman or any 
 other person desirous of becoming his own house 
 painter , but totally ignorant of paint and painting , 
 can pursue , to prepare and to lay on the paint ? To 
 the solution of this question we shall at once proceed. 
 
 In the first place, then, it should never be forgotten 
 that the best time for painting is in dry, warm, and airy 
 weather; that although out-door work cannot be done 
 at all in wet weather, yet that in-door work dries in 
 wet weather much more slowly than in dry; and, 
 therefore, for both kinds, the same dry and airy 
 w'eather is to be preferred: we say airy , because, when 
 in dry weather, there is a strong current of air passing, 
 then the effluvia of the paint will be the soonest car¬ 
 ried off, and the least injury done to the health of those 
 who are engaged in, generally, such an unwholesome 
 occupation as that of painting, particularly when lead 
 enters into the composition of the paint. 
 
 When the weather cannot be chosen; and more 
 especially when in-door painting is to be done in wet 
 weather, a good wood fire, kept in a newly painted 
 room, will be of advantage to it: we say wood, because 
 the smoke of wood is less injurious to white and other 
 light coloured paints than that of coal. Fire at all 
 
HOUSE PAINTING. 
 
 265 
 
 times promotes a change and circulation of the air. 
 The painter ought not, on any account, to paint a 
 room which has a chimney board before the fire-place. 
 
 In regard to the tools and implements necessary for 
 preparing paint, we have described those in chapter 
 VI., to which the reader will, of course, refer. We 
 may, however, state here relative to the brushes , that 
 all those which are employed in oil painting should, 
 immediately after they have been used, be immersed in 
 a pan of water, so that the water may cover entirely 
 the hairs of the brush. And, in regard to white in par¬ 
 ticular, it is most desirable that a set of brushes should 
 be kept for this colour only; as, if not so kept, con¬ 
 siderable trouble will be necessary to free a brush used 
 for coloured paint from its colouring matter. Brushes 
 may also, to preserve them pliant, and in a fit state for 
 use, be immersed in oil; but the colouring matter with 
 which they might be tinged will mix with the oil; oil is 
 therefore not so proper a liquid in which to keep 
 brushes used for different coloured paints as water. 
 The immersion of brushes either in water or in oil is 
 absolutely necessary ; as, in a few hours, when exposed 
 to the air, the hairs will become so dried together, as 
 often to be totally spoiled ; and in other cases not again 
 in a state to be used without the application of consi¬ 
 derable labour. 
 
 When brushes should be wanted for white in par¬ 
 ticular, and none is at hand, except those which have 
 been employed in some coloured paints, they may be 
 generally freed from the colour by washing them in oil 
 of turpentine; or warm soap and water. Of course 
 
 N 
 
266 
 
 HOUSE PAINTING. 
 
 before they are subjected to washing, they should be 
 well rubbed upon some rough place to discharge the 
 chief part of the paint which is upon them. 
 
 New brushes do not, in general, answer for painting 
 so well as those which have been for some time used: 
 the hairs, by use, becoming finer in the points, and 
 more suited to the laying on of the paints in an equable 
 and smooth manner. Hence two kinds of brushes for 
 common painting are found in the shops : one con¬ 
 sisting of coarse hairs, and only suited, while new, for 
 coarse purposes ; the other is known under the name ol 
 ground tools , and consists of white and fine hair. But 
 the common painting brushes become, by use, much 
 finer. It is scarcely necessary to say that sash tools , 
 that is, brushes for painting window frames and beading 
 in particular, should be kept of different sizes to suit 
 the different sized bars of the windows, beads, &c. 
 
 It ought also to be particularly impressed upon the 
 house painter, that especial care should be taken to 
 brush, or otherwise clear from dust, every thing which 
 is to be painted, previously to the laying on of the 
 paint. For this purpose new brushes answer very well, 
 and for which they are often used by painters ; and by 
 such means are rendered more fit for being afterwards 
 used as painting brushes. 
 
 It will be seen by the preceding parts of our work, 
 and more especially in chapter II. page 50, that white 
 lead , notwithstanding many other whites have been 
 recommended, is still the staple commodity of the 
 house painter*. It maybe ground in oil, according to 
 
 * We ought perhaps to notice here some observations of Vanherman, 
 
HOUSE PAINTING. 
 
 267 
 
 the directions given for grinding paint generally, in 
 page 215; but few persons will, we presume, be dis¬ 
 posed to submit to the trouble of grinding it in oil, seeing 
 that it can be so readily obtained of the colourman. 
 The only reason which would induce a person to grind 
 it himself is, that he will be more certain of having it 
 unadulterated: fpr that it is sometimes adulterated 
 with some of the white carbonates, chalk principally, 
 is unfortunately too true. But, how r ever, this being 
 waived, if a large quantity of ground white lead should 
 be wanted, it should be purchased in a cask. Casks of 
 white lead are kept ready for sale at the colourman’s, 
 of different sizes, and, of course, different weights, 
 and we may add too of many different qualities: Lon¬ 
 don white lead is generally preferred. 
 
 in his work, to which we have before more than once referred. Under the 
 head of impenetrable or anti-corrosive paint, speaking of the many mixtures 
 employed for the purpose of defending work from the weather, and after 
 condemning coal and other tar paints, he says, that white lead is not a 
 much better protection, it destroying the binding quality of the oil by robbing 
 it of its oxygen, and in less than twelve months it may be rubbed off the 
 work like dry whiting. He goes on to say, that many gentlemen accuse 
 their painters of adulterating the articles with whiting; but he adds, “this 
 is not the case, for the purer the lead the more it is jnclined to this fault, 
 and the greater the sophistication the more durable will it prove.” If this 
 be true, the discovery is a very notable one, and worthy of every attention; 
 but if the principles already laid down in this work, and the general expe¬ 
 rience of mankind can be relied on, this writer must be in error. We do 
 not expect to find every painter a chemist; but we think it behoves all 
 writers to weigh well their statements before they make them public. We 
 recommend, however, the curious to read Mr. Vanherman’s work : for al¬ 
 though we are obliged to differ from him on this subject, it contains many 
 others well worthy of attention. 
 
HOUSE PAINTING. 
 
 268 
 
 Before the head of the cask is taken out, which it must 
 be, of course, by loosening the hoops of one end, a 
 tolerably long nail should be driven into the middle of 
 the head intended to be taken out, so that the nail, 
 when the head is loosened, may be used as a sort of 
 handle to it. The head being removed, the hoops are 
 now to be driven dow r n over the cask, as tight as they 
 were before the head was removed, and all the lead ad¬ 
 hering to the removed head must be carefully scraped 
 off and put into the cask, for which the head will now 
 form a convenient cover. If some of the ground lead 
 should be immediately wanted, it may be taken out into 
 a proper sized pan, always remembering that the lead 
 in the pan should not fill more than one-fourth or one- 
 fifth of its space, in order that room may be given for 
 the addition of oil, &c. and for the convenience of mix¬ 
 ing. The lead remaining in the cask should always be 
 kept covered an inch deep or more with clean water: 
 without this precaution a thick skin will soon form 
 upon it, and thus, much of the lead will be wasted. 
 Care should also be taken, every time that lead is taken 
 out of the cask, to scrape down the lead adhering to the 
 sides of it beneath the water: for if this be omitted, 
 much waste will necessarily occur. 
 
 Having thus the grouild white lead in a pan, we are 
 now to proceed to mix it with oil, &c. so as to render 
 it in a suitable state for being used as paint. The 
 quantity of oil necessary for this purpose will depend 
 upon the purpose for which the paint is designed. If 
 it be intended as a priming , that is, a first coat on new 
 wood, it may be mixed considerably thinner than when 
 
HOUSE PAINTING. 
 
 269 
 
 it is designed for a second or a third coat. In general, 
 it will be found that from twelve to sixteen ounces by 
 measure of oil are required for one pound of ground white 
 lead.. It may be also stated here, that although, for 
 persons who do not regard the expense, nut oil or even 
 poppy oil may be employed, yet as linseed oil is always 
 much cheaper than either of these, notwithstanding its 
 smell is, for some time after it is laid on, much more 
 offensive, it is now most commonly employed in almost 
 all house painting where an expressed oil is required. 
 
 In mixing the ground lead with the oil, some atten¬ 
 tion is necessary: for the whole quantity of oil which 
 is designed to be used must not be poured upon the 
 ground lead at once, as thus doing would give the 
 operator much more trouble: it should be mixed by 
 the addition of small quantities of oil at a time, and 
 thus the paint becomes most readily and easily com¬ 
 bined with the oil into a smooth and pappy mass. 
 Having mixed the oil and lead of a suitable consistence 
 for painting, it will now be necessary to add a drier to 
 it; for this purpose sugar of lead ground in oil must 
 be added in the proportion of about half an ounce to 
 a pound of the paint. But for a first coat, and where 
 expedition is not necessary, the drier may be omitted; 
 or litharge for the first coat may be added, instead of 
 sugar of lead : we mention litharge, because it is much 
 cheaper than the last mentioned article. But in the 
 finishing coats of white lead paint, when delicacy of 
 colour is of importance, sugar of lead is to be preferred. 
 Before applying the first coat to new work, care must 
 be taken to size the knots , as mentioned in page 153 ; 
 
 N 3 
 
270 
 
 HOUSE PAINTING. 
 
 and also to stop the holes in the wood, if any, with 
 putty , the preparation of which is described in page 
 182. The first coat, which may be either composed 
 of ground white lead and oil, or of ground white lead, 
 oil, and a slight dose of lamp black or ivory black, to 
 impart a tinge approaching to a light lead colour*, 
 may be laid on with a common painting brush; but the 
 finishing coat should be laid on with the brushes com¬ 
 monly called ground tools ; and the paint should be of 
 a consistence sufficiently thick so as to work easily be¬ 
 neath the brush, yet not, when it is laid on, to run 
 down; a proof this of its being too thin. It is also 
 most usual with painters to mix a certain portion, one 
 or two ounces, of oil of turpentine with each pound of 
 the paint, which enables the painter to use it thinner, 
 and with more expedition than he otherwise could. 
 The chief, if not all, of the oil of turpentine soon eva¬ 
 porates from the paint, and leaves it of greater body 
 than without the addition of the oil of turpentine it 
 would otherwise be. However, by a person who has 
 patience and time, good white painting may be accom¬ 
 plished, in dry warm weather, without the least addi¬ 
 tion of oil of turpentine. 
 
 Besides the addition of the drier and oil of turpen¬ 
 tine to white lead paint, it will be sometimes found very 
 useful to add to it a small quantity of ground Prussian 
 blue, to impart to it a very slight blue tinge, which in 
 
 * Although first coats are usually given with white lead, yet sometimes, 
 where dark colours are the finishing colours, the first coats are given with 
 some dull red, or other dull-colour ; even Spanish brown is occasionally used, 
 being a cheap paint. 
 
HOUSE PAINTING. 
 
 271 
 
 crowded and smoky towns, London in particular, with¬ 
 out such addition, soon becomes of a dingy yellow; 
 and indeed, even with the Prussian blue, too soon be¬ 
 comes discoloured ; although it is believed that artists 
 will not encourage the use of this pigment in white 
 paint any where—their cupidity being more imperative 
 than their science. 
 
 It should not be forgotten that the more oil of turpen¬ 
 tine is used in a paint, the less gloss will there inva¬ 
 riably be upon it; so that when white lead is ground 
 wholly in oil of turpentine, such paint is entirely with¬ 
 out gloss, and well known under the name of dead 
 ivhite : it is an expensive colour, and we do not there¬ 
 fore recommend it; many persons, notwithstanding, 
 prefer such deadened colours. 
 
 On the other hand, if a white paint be desired of 
 more than ordinary brilliancy, recourse must be had to 
 some of the varnishes to mix with the ground white 
 lead instead of oil: several of these may be employed, 
 but No. V. page 176, will answer the purpose very well; 
 or the boiled oil mentioned page 157, may be employed 
 instead of common linseed oil. The operator should be, 
 however, aware, that in preserving as much as possible 
 the delicate whiteness of the paint, oil or varnish ought 
 to be used which contains the least quantity of colour¬ 
 ing matter: for, do what we will, a yellow tinge will fre¬ 
 quently be imparted. He will therefore most probably 
 find it a better,although perhaps a more expensive course, 
 to varnish the paint after it is dry, with some colourless 
 spirit varnish, such as Nos. VI. and VII. in pages 176, 
 177. In regard to the vehicles used for paints, notwith- 
 
 N 4 
 
272 
 
 HOUSE PAINTING. 
 
 standing what we have said of oil of turpentine above, 
 we believe it is nevertheless incontrovertibly true that 
 the colours of oil paints are less injured generally by 
 this oil than by any other vehicle with which we are 
 acquainted. 
 
 But it ought also be remembered by the house 
 painter, as it is sometimes desirable that painting 
 should be washed , that paint will undergo the opera¬ 
 tion of washing best, which is protected by a tenacious 
 varnish, or which has a considerable portion of oil in 
 its composition : it is obvious that the dead white 
 paint of oil of turpentine, or indeed any paint into 
 which oil of turpentine, as a vehicle, largely enters, 
 cannot endure the operation of washing without having 
 a portion of its substance rubbed off. And if such 
 effects have occurred to paints as mentioned by Van- 
 herman, and to which we have alluded in the last 
 note, it is probable, particularly in regard to white 
 lead, that they occurred from the use of too much oil of 
 turpentine : for, as far as we know, oil of turpentine does 
 not chemically combine with lead as the fixed oils do. 
 
 It is true that when the coat of painting is very 
 thick , sometimes rubbing off the external surface of it, 
 by washing with soap and water, and even perhaps 
 with a small portion of fine sand, when the vehicle of 
 the paint has been chiefly oil of turpentine, will im¬ 
 prove its whiteness ; so that in this respect such paint¬ 
 ing has an advantage. But such washing requires 
 more discretion than is usually possessed by domestic 
 servants. 
 
 We might now proceed through the whole range of 
 
HOUSE PAINTING. 
 
 273 
 
 colours, both in oil and in distemper, which are com¬ 
 monly used in house painting; but having been thus 
 minute on the mixing and application of white lead, 
 we presume that the simplest capacity will find little if 
 any difficulty in applying our directions to the mixing 
 and using of any other colour. 
 
 Whether the private gentleman will be disposed to 
 grind his colours himself, or at least have them ground 
 under his own inspection, will depend upon a variety 
 of circumstances. There can be no doubt that the 
 purest colours will be obtained by domestic manipula¬ 
 tion ; yet as ground yellow ochre, Spanish brown, Vene¬ 
 tian red, and some other colours, can be obtained at 
 the colour shops of good quality, such he will most 
 probably purchase already ground in oil. But the 
 finer colours, such as vermilion, verdigris, &c. he will 
 find it best to levigate with oil at home. We have 
 before mentioned the probability of ground white lead 
 being adulterated; and, therefore, if a pure article be 
 desired, that also should be ground at home; but it is 
 a poisonous article, and should be handled with much 
 caution. See page 50. 
 
 Concerning the driers for dark colours, such as 
 chocolate, olive, yellow, blue, brown, &c. &c. it should 
 be mentioned that, in all these and many others into 
 which none of the oxides of lead enter as a com¬ 
 ponent part, litharge or white vitriol is commonly pre¬ 
 ferred as a drier to sugar of lead. It should be noted 
 too that the ochres, and indeed all earthy paints, re¬ 
 quire more driers than those which are composed of 
 metallic oxides. The quantity of either of the pre- 
 
 N 5 
 
274 
 
 HOUSE PAINTING. 
 
 ceding driers needs not to exceed, on common occa¬ 
 sions, half an ounce' for each pound of paint. But 
 sometimes, where great expedition in drying is wanted, 
 double the quantity mentioned, or even more, might be 
 employed. See page 161. 
 
 The common lamp black of the shops, which is often 
 used when mixed with some of the reds, such as Ve¬ 
 netian red, or Spanish brown for chocolate, is peculiarly 
 troublesome, and requires much drying matter; it 
 would be always best to subject the lamp black to the 
 operation of burning, as mentioned under that article, 
 before employing it, and thus get rid of its greasy pro¬ 
 perties. 
 
 Oil of turpentine may be also used in those paints as 
 well as sometimes turpentine or other varnish, where 
 varnish in a paint might be desired. It is scarcely 
 necessary to add, that whatever drier is used, it should 
 be previously well ground in oil or varnish, so that it 
 may become intimately mixed with the paint. 
 
 It may also be useful here, as a memento to the 
 house painter, to recapitulate, in regard to colours 
 generally, what has been before either directly or indi¬ 
 rectly stated in this work, premising that the fifth 
 chapter concerning the composition of colours is par¬ 
 ticularly deserving the attention of the house painter. 
 
 That the best white for oil painting is white lead; 
 that common linseed oil, or, upon particular occasions, 
 boiled linseed oil, is the most convenient vehicle for 
 paints; that various shades of grey and lead colour are 
 made by an admixture of white lead and some of the 
 blacks—lamp black or ivory black. 
 
HOUSE PAINTING. 
 
 275 
 
 That innumerable shades of blue may be obtained by 
 a mixture of white lead and Prussian blue. 
 
 That green of the finest kind is to be obtained from 
 verdigris; but that the inferior greens may be pro¬ 
 duced by a mixture of the yellows from ochres, &c. 
 with Prussian and other blues. 
 
 That chocolate may be obtained from some of* the 
 reds, such as Venetian red, Spanish brown, &c. with 
 an admixture of black, such as lamp black or ivory 
 black. 
 
 That yellows are from ochres, patent yellow, Chrome 
 yellow, &c. 
 
 That reds are from vermilion, red lead, Venetian 
 red, &c. 
 
 That good broivns may be obtained from the umbers ; 
 that they may be also made artificially from reds, yel¬ 
 lows and blacks. 
 
 That pompadour is from the purple oxide of iron, 
 commonly called purple brown. 
 
 That the colour of various stones may be imitated by 
 white lead with black; by white lead with slight 
 tinges of ochre, &c. &c. 
 
 That out door work may be a chocolate composed of 
 Spanish brown and lamp black, or Spanish brown and 
 road dust, equal parts for red mixed with Vanherman's 
 incorporated oil. See forwards. A white composed 
 only of white lead and linseed, oil with a proper portion 
 of sugar of lead ; or a green consisting of yellow ochre 
 and Prussian blue; or, if expense be not an object, 
 of ground verdigris with a suitable portion of white lead. 
 
 N 6 ‘ 
 
276 
 
 HOUSE PAINTING-, 
 
 That for coarse paling, and where colour is of no 
 consequence, coal tar is a useful paint; it should be 
 laid on in warm weather and in two coats. If a more 
 agreeable colour than itself be desired, powdered 
 Spanish brown or a mixture of yellow ochre and pow¬ 
 dered blue may be added to it. 
 
 Concerning colours in distemper , after what has 
 been said in the last chapter, which treats specifically 
 of this branch of painting, it is not necessary to say 
 much ; yet we may observe that the house painter will 
 find in the second chapter, particularly under prepara¬ 
 tions of copper , many facts and observations in which 
 he will be greatly interested. We may observe also 
 that quick lime, from compact limestone, when colour¬ 
 less, is beyond question the most brilliant white¬ 
 washing material; and as a valuable purifier, should 
 be often employed, particularly in the crowded houses, 
 of a populous city. 
 
 On one branch of distemper , Stenciling, we 
 shall, in the next section of this chapter, make a few 
 observations. 
 
 We ought not, perhaps, to quit this part of our sub¬ 
 ject, without some notice of a paint to which Mr. Van- 
 herman, in his work so often referred to, has ascribed 
 so much value and importance, under the name of 
 impenetrable or anti-corrosive paint. While we admit 
 that the paints which he recommends under this title 
 are of some value, we can by no means subscribe to all 
 the eulogies which he has been pleased to pronounce 
 concerning them. 
 
PAINT FOR PALES—INCORPORATED OIL. 277 
 
 The application of road dust , called by Vanlierman 
 Crotia, as a basis for paint, is not very novel; we used 
 it in Somersetshire more than twenty years ago, in the 
 following manner, for paling. 
 
 A cheap Paint for Pales , Gates , fyc. 
 
 Take of road dust sifted fine, and whiting, of each 
 four pounds and a half; blue black, and queen’s blue of 
 each one pound and a half; of yellow ochre two 
 pounds. All these must be pulverized very fine , to 
 which is to be added boiling water sufficient to make 
 the whole into a stiff paste, add to it a sufficient 
 quantity of linseed oil bottoms, to make it of the con¬ 
 sistence of a pap. Lay it on with a hard brush. For 
 want of the oil bottoms, linseed oil itself may be used, 
 but it will be, of course, more expensive. 
 
 Vanherman, whose processes, we must admit, are 
 decided improvements on the preceding, gives, in his 
 work, various forms for invisible green , stone colour , 
 lead colour , &c. See. but the basis of all is crotia , road 
 dust, mixed with different colouring ingredients, to pro¬ 
 duce. the various colours; we can do no more than give 
 this short notice of them; those interested will, of 
 course, consult that Gentleman’s work, in which they 
 will also find a form for what he calls an 
 
 Incorporated Oil , 
 
 Consisting of linseed oil twelve parts, of boiled linseed 
 oil one part, and of sulphate of lime* three parts. 
 
 * The method of preparing Vanherman’s Artificial Sulphate of Lime is 
 described in page 48. 
 
278 
 
 STENCILING. 
 
 These he directs to be placed in a horizontal chum, 
 which is to be roused and whirled about for a quarter 
 of an hour, when the union will be found complete. 
 
 The proportion of this oil with any of his impene¬ 
 trable paints is one gallon to seven pounds of the 
 powder, or one pint to a pound. 
 
 On Stenciling. 
 
 The term stenciling appears to be derived, or cor¬ 
 rupted from the verb to stain del. It has been some 
 time in use among the painters of paper hangings , with 
 w r hom three modes of painting their paper have been 
 adopted. The first is effected by printing on the 
 colours; the second by using the stencil; and the third 
 by laying them on with a pencil, as in other kinds of 
 paintings. Of course, all these are in distemper or 
 water colours. Sometimes, however, varnish is used 
 for the purpose of preparing what is called flock paper. 
 When the colours are laid on by printing, the impres¬ 
 sion is made by engraved blocks of wood, so that the 
 figure to be expressed is made to project from the sur¬ 
 face, and being charged with the colouring matter, 
 properly prepared, imparts by pressure on the paper 
 the colour which is desired: there are as many separate 
 blocks as there are colours to be printed. 
 
 Penciling is only used in the nicer kinds of work, 
 and is performed in the same manner as other paintings 
 in water or varnish. 
 
 Stenciling of paper hangings is thus performed : the 
 figure designed to be painted is cut out in a piece of 
 leather or oil-cloth, (such piece of leather or oil-cloth is 
 
 o 
 
STENCILING. 
 
 279 
 
 called a stencil) ; this being laid on the sheet of paper 
 to be printed, is to be rubbed over with the colour pro¬ 
 perly tempered by means of a large brush; the colour 
 is, of course, only applied to those parts of the paper 
 where the cloth or leather is cut away. Here, as well 
 as in the block printing for paper-hangings, every colour 
 designed to be applied must have a separate stencil or 
 pattern. 
 
 Latterly the term stenciling has been applied to a 
 kind of painting, now grown somewhat common, by 
 which an imitation of paper hangings is made by 
 stenciling the colours at once on the naked wall, or 
 with a wall previously covered with plain paper. 
 
 The wall is first covered with the ground desired, 
 and the several colours are laid on at different intervals 
 after each has respectively become dry. The patterns 
 for such stenciling are commonly cut in pasteboard; 
 the most convenient size is about twelye or fifteen 
 inches square, so that the pattern may be easily em¬ 
 ployed by one person only. Great care must be taken 
 that the edges of the pattern, on every removal, cor¬ 
 respond exactly. Here also every colour must have a 
 distinct pattern. In the preparation of the colours for 
 all sorts of paper hangings and their imitations, stencil, 
 great care and nicety are required. 
 
 The principal difficulty in stenciling by the untaught 
 house painter, will be the obtaining of his patterns ; if, 
 however, he have any taste for drawing, this may be 
 soon obviated; and we do not doubt that an ingenious 
 person may, with attention and care, produce stencil 
 paintings, with four or even more colours, which may 
 
230 
 
 GRAINING. 
 
 compete with many printed paper hangings. Of course 
 he must have border patterns, as well as those for the 
 body of his work. 
 
 It is scarcely necessary to add, that all the pigments 
 which may be levigated or mixed with water, can be 
 used in stenciling; and that a suitable portion of size , 
 or in other cases, gum water , must be mixed with the 
 colours, to fix them permanently on the walls so that 
 they may not be rubbed off. The proper consistence 
 of the paint when applied will be soon learnt by the 
 operator himself; it should be so thick as not, of course, 
 to run on the paper or wall when laid on, yet suffi¬ 
 ciently thin to be worked easily with the brush. 
 
 On the Imitation of various Woods and Marbles called 
 Graining. 
 
 We have in Chapter V. on the composition of co¬ 
 lours , given some general observations in regard to 
 graining , as it is called by some, by others reining , as 
 being more particularly designed to imitate the veins 
 in wood and other substances; but as it is a kind of 
 painting now become very common in houses , and 
 withal a very pleasing and useful part of this branch of 
 painting, we have deemed it proper to enter here a little 
 more at large concerning it. * 
 
 As a preliminary we may observe that we perfectly 
 agree with the remarks of a late writer *, namely, that 
 
 * The Decoration Painters’ and Glaziers’ Guide, 4to. by Nathaniel 
 Whittock ; a work from which much useful information may be ob¬ 
 tained ; we have to acknowledge our obligations in this section particu¬ 
 larly to Mr. Whittock’s work.—Edit. 
 
IMITATION OF OAK. 
 
 281 
 
 an imitator of fancy woods should never imitate the 
 productions of the decorative painter, however beautiful, 
 but apply at once to nature herself as the foundation 
 of his proficiency, and hence he will form his own 
 style. In London, in particular, where patterns of woods 
 of various kinds can be so readily procured, he ought 
 never to imitate an imitation. 
 
 Oak being the wood which is generally preferred for 
 outside work, not only as being the most durable, but 
 also because it is one of the most beautiful of our 
 English woods, the artist will be disposed to recom¬ 
 mend the imitation of it for street doors, shutters, &c. 
 
 In fancy woods the first object of the painter is to dis¬ 
 cover the lightest part, which in all cases of wood will 
 be the ground colour, and of course the colour of the 
 last coat previously to the application of the graining. 
 The ground colour must be always quite dry before any 
 of the graining colours are laid on. 
 
 Imitation of Oak. 
 
 Oak may be imitated in various ways, both in dis¬ 
 temper and in oil; but the best, because it is the most 
 durable, especially for outside work, is that in oil. The 
 last coat of the ground for oak graining may be rotten- 
 stone and white lead mixed to the tint required. 
 
 The graining colour is to be spread very thinly over 
 the surface to be grained; it is composed as follows :— 
 
 Take of sugar of lead and of rotten stone, of each 
 eight ounces. Grind them together as stiffly as pos¬ 
 sible in linseed oil. Then melt sixteen ounces of white 
 wax gradually in an earthen pipkin, to which, when 
 
282 
 
 IMIITATION OF OAK. 
 
 melted, add eight ounces of oil of turpentine; these 
 being mixed, pour on the grinding stone to cool. 
 When cold, grind them with the previously ground 
 sugar of lead and rotten-stone. This mixture forms 
 what is called by Whittock, an excellent megilp* ; 
 it should be kept in a jar having a mouth wide enough 
 to admit a pallet knife, w^ell secured from dust, will keep 
 a long time, and be always fit for use. When used, if 
 it be too stiff, it should be softened with a little boiled 
 oil. 
 
 This method of imitating oak requires combs of vari¬ 
 ous sizes. These combs are made thicker than combs 
 for the hair, and not so long in the tooth. It is usual 
 to have the combs with the teeth regularly cut; but 
 combs cut irregularly will give the grain more like 
 nature; hence it has frequently happened that an old 
 comb with some of the teeth broken out will answer 
 better than new ones. Combs for graining may be ob¬ 
 tained at the comb-makers in London. If, however, 
 graining combs cannot be procured, large and small 
 tooth combs ground down with the grindstone, and the 
 teeth broken out irregularly, will, in the hands of an 
 adroit painter, produce good work. 
 
 A few minutes after the megilp has been laid on, the 
 comb, being held by the handle firmly with one hand, 
 and guided by the other, must be drawn over the work, 
 making the grain slant or look wavy, according to the 
 
 * This is one of those terms which are found in the vulgar slang of the 
 ordinary painter, of which it is difficult, if not impossible, to ascertain the 
 origin; and we feel reluctant to sanction its use, but as it has been previ¬ 
 ously used by the author mentioned, w'e therefore have employed it.— Edit. 
 
OAK IN DISTEMPER. 
 
 283 
 
 sort of oak required. Other combs must be used suc¬ 
 cessively till what is desired in the graining is accom¬ 
 plished. Besides the combs, a piece of wash leather 
 being doubled to a point, is also necessary to be used 
 with a sharp touch, to take out the light parts of the 
 oak; if the lines are wanted fine, the leather may be put 
 on the point of a stick. 
 
 It is most usual to leave the work in this state; but 
 it has not that soft appearance which is exactly ac¬ 
 cordant with nature. To remedy this defect take a hard 
 tool and dab the end of it all over the work just combed ; 
 this will break the lines and give a more natural ap¬ 
 pearance. The megilp should not be spread over more 
 than a square yard at a time, as it dries very fast and 
 soon becomes unmanageable. 
 
 When the whole work is combed, it should be allowed 
 to get quite dry. The dark touches are then added 
 with a little Vandyke brown ground in ale; and if a 
 still further variety be required, a very thin glaze of 
 umber ground in ale may be applied with a flat varnish 
 brush. 
 
 After the combs have been used they should be 
 washed in oil of turpentine and well brushed in soap 
 and water, so that they may be put away quite clean. 
 
 Oak in Distemper. 
 
 The colours for this are burnt and raw umber, and 
 Vandyke brown. They should be powdered and after¬ 
 wards ground very fine in water; they should then be 
 suffered to dry upon the slab, and when dry be kept in 
 
284 
 
 IMITATION OF MAHOGANY. 
 
 bottles for use. When used they may be ground in 
 beer which is sufficiently glutinous, for binding the 
 colour on the surface to be painted. 
 
 In graining oak in distemper, the ground must be 
 prepared exactly as we have before stated, unless it 
 should be desired of a deeper colour; in which case a 
 little umber must be added to the ground. Before any 
 of the distemper colour is laid on, the surface to be 
 grained should be washed with soap and water, to 
 cleanse it both from dirt and grease. 
 
 Instead of combs, as in the preceding case, the grain¬ 
 ing in distemper is made with tools , called in the ordi¬ 
 nary language of the painter, reining brushes. Here 
 also much will depend upon the taste and judgment of 
 the artist, and much upon the finishing with a dust¬ 
 ing brush, damp wash leather, &c. 
 
 The dark veins are put in with burnt umber; and if 
 required to be darker in parts, add a little Vandyke 
 brown : these veins must be formed with a camel’s hair 
 or sable pencil. 
 
 When the whole of the work is quite dry it may be 
 varnished, and is then of course completed. 
 
 Imitation of Mahogany. 
 
 We have given in page 196 the method of imitating 
 mahogany in oil. The ingenious painter will readily 
 find other methods, without being particularly directed 
 to them. As, however, painting mahogany in distemper 
 requires a different course, we have thought it best to 
 give the following methods a place in our work. 
 
SPANISH MAHOGANY—SATIN WOOD. 
 
 285 
 
 Honduras Mahogany. 
 
 The ground for this may be Venetian red and white 
 lead mixed according to the tint required. The only 
 colours necessary to represent this sort of mahogany are 
 different tints of Vandyke brown. The first tint is 
 spread evenly over the surface intended to be painted; 
 while quite wet dab it with a sponge in various places ; 
 this will take out the lights; then take the softener 
 and blend the edges of the light parts and the wet 
 colour together, taking care to use the softener in the 
 direction in which the dark veins are intended to run; 
 as soon as this is dry take a deeper tint of Vandyke 
 brown, and with the tool form the lightest of the dark 
 veins. These different veins of colour must be all 
 blended together and softened with the dusting brush ; 
 after which a badger hair softener should be used. 
 
 Spanish Mahogany 
 
 Is of a much finer red than Honduras mahogany; it is 
 produced by adding a little crimson lake to the ground. 
 In this mahogany the dark veins incline to crimson; a 
 little Vandyke brown and lake will impart the desired 
 tint. 
 
 Satin Wood. 
 
 The ground for satin wood is the same as for the 
 lightest oak. The ground should be Oxford ochre 
 ground in pale ale, and afterwards diluted with ale to the 
 required consistence. Lay this thinly on the whole of 
 the space intended to be grained. This being done, take 
 a small piece of sponge and let it drop accidently on 
 
286 
 
 WALNUT TREE. 
 
 various parts of tlie work; wherever it touches it will 
 take off some of the ochre just laid on. When you have 
 produced as much dapple as required, soften the edges 
 by passing the badger hair softener over the whole, 
 letting the brush move quickly backward and forward, 
 thus blending the thick edges left by the sponge, and 
 soften it among the yellow, leaving the ground colour 
 perfectly clear to shew the light dapple of the satin 
 wood. When the yellow is quite dry, take the flat brush 
 with the hairs separated, and dipping it into a very thin 
 glaze of umber and raw terra de Sienna ground in ale, 
 pass it over the work lightly in a wavy direction, and 
 immediately use the softener to blend it together in 
 parts, letting it touch a little harder upon the bright 
 lights than in the other parts, to remove the veins, just 
 laid on, from it. When dry, the work is finished. 
 
 Walnut Tree. 
 
 The ground is yellow ochre, a little umber and white. 
 The veins are drawn on the ground with the flat 
 brush; or, if a large surface is to be covered, with a 
 large tool, nearly worn out, filled with raw umber 
 ground in beer. To represent a knot, take the round 
 part out with the sponge, as well as the light parts 
 above and below the knot; let the work dry; and af¬ 
 terwards shew the darkest veins by drawing the flat 
 brush in various directions over the work, taking care 
 that it follows in some degree the grain first laid on; 
 mark the dark part of the knot with the same colour 
 and the touches above and below it, blending the whole 
 with the duster; when varnished it is complete. 
 
ROSE WOOD—BIRD’S EYE MAPLE. 
 
 287 
 
 Rose Wood. 
 
 The ground for this can scarcely be too brilliant; it 
 consists of vermilion, lake, and flake white, so as to pro¬ 
 duce a fine rose red, inclining more to pink than scarlet. 
 The ground being dry, take Vandyke brown nearly 
 opaque, and with a small tool beat the colour while wet 
 against the grain, that is, in an opposite direction to the 
 way in which it was laid on. Before the colour is dry 
 take a piece of wash leather on the point of a stick, and 
 freely take out the light veins which appear to be part 
 of the veins formed by a knot; take the darkest tint of 
 Vandyke brown, and with a sable pencil give free and 
 strong touches under the parts taken out with the 
 leather, and in other parts where the ground is thinly 
 covered. Blend and soften the whole with the badger 
 hair softener. Lastly, varnish. It should be observed, 
 that as rose wood is found of very different colours and 
 grains, the preceding directions will not exactly suit 
 every variety; the artist must himself vary his manipu¬ 
 lations in imitating this as well as many other woods. 
 The ground, therefore, for some of the more common 
 kinds of rose wood may be, instead of vermilion, lake, 
 and flake white, Indian red and white lead. 
 
 Bird's Eye Maple 
 
 Requires the same ground as oak. The grain is umber 
 ground in ale. 
 
£88 
 
 CORAL WOOD-RED SATIN WOOD. 
 
 I 
 
 Coral Wood 
 
 Is a scarce wood brought from Ceylon; it is used only 
 in the most valuable cabinet-work. The ground is white 
 lead and vermilion. The first broad veins are formed 
 by vermilion, rose pink, or in good work, drop-lake. 
 These must be finely ground in beer, and laid upon the 
 ground with the flat camel-hair brush. When this is 
 dry use Vandyke brown to give the additional veins; 
 after which, a comb may be applied to give the effect of 
 the dark vein running into the other. Let the whole be 
 softened and, when dry, varnished. 
 
 Rose pink, it is well known, is a fugitive colour ; but 
 Whitlock says, that when thus used, and well varnished 
 its colour remains good. 
 
 Red Satin Wood. 
 
 The ground is vermilion, lake, and white, over which 
 is thinly painted a smooth coat of drop-lake ground in 
 ale; while this is wet the lights are to be taken out 
 with a sponge; and while the colour is damp, a comb 
 may be passed over the whole with a light hand, and 
 may be waved and cross the lines in parts. This colour 
 must be dry before any other is applied. The broad veins 
 are formed with rose pink and vermilion, to which a little 
 crimson lake may be added. These veins are laid on 
 with a flat brush, leaving the light parts in the centre; 
 when dry, the small spots of black are given with a 
 sable pencil. Lastly, let the work, when dry, be var¬ 
 nished. 
 
 \_For the various methods of staining woods see our 
 Treatise on Varnishes .] 
 
IMITATION OF MARBLES. 
 
 289 
 
 Imitation of Marbles. 
 
 Marble in the nomenclature of the chemist is a stone, 
 chiefly, if not entirely, consisting of lime and carbonic 
 acid, hence marbles are carbonates of lime. But in the 
 nomenclature of the stone-mason and the painter, not 
 only are many stones composed of carbonate of lime 
 called marbles, but also some which contain other 
 bodies, such are porphyry and serpentine. It is not 
 necessary that we should describe the different marbles 
 minutely ; it will be sufficient to observe that the chief 
 are white or Parian marble; Cipolin or white veined 
 marble; Bardiglio or dove-coloured marble; Luma- 
 chella marble of a brownish grey colour; Florentine 
 marble of a greyish colour mixed with yellowish brown, 
 and exhibiting appearances of rocks, forests, &c.; 
 Syria , Arragon , and Sienna marbles are yellow, with 
 various coloured veins of ore; Brocatella marble con¬ 
 tains a mixture of yellowish red and purple cemented 
 by a white semi-transparent spar; green marbles dis¬ 
 tinguished commonly by the terms verd antique; Ser¬ 
 pentine is also a beautiful green.marble found plenti¬ 
 fully in Cornwall and the Isle of Anglesea; porphyry 
 is speckled and veined—it is usually reddish, brown, 
 or green. 
 
 Marbles may be, of course, imitated both in oil and 
 in distemper; if the imitation is to be exposed to the 
 weather, that in oil is to be preferred. 
 
 The same observations apply to the imitations of 
 marble as of wood ; the artist must go at once to nature 
 and copy from her productions. 
 
 o 
 
290 
 
 CIPOLIN—DOVE-COLOURED MARBLE. 
 
 Cipolin—white veined Marble. 
 
 Ground , white; the faint vein, a reddish grey, is 
 formed by mixing white, black and Indian red to the 
 tint desired. The veining must be scumbled , that is 
 spread very thinly over the ground. Painters gene¬ 
 rally permit the work to Airy every time a fresh vein is 
 added. These directions are for oil painting. To 
 paint this marble in distemper, the walls must be well 
 prepared with size and two coats of whitewash; the 
 third coat should be whiting mixed with milk. Lamp 
 black, Indian red, and damp blue, each ground in 
 milk, should be also ready for use: the milk will 
 be itself sufficiently glutinous without the addition 
 of any other vehicle. A separate brush is used for each 
 colour, and three or four long camel’s hair pencils, with 
 long handles, and a stick to rest the arm upon while 
 penciling the small veins, will be necessary. Every 
 thing required should be ready before the work is begun, 
 as the whole must be finished while it is wet. The 
 w orkman must begin at the top of the room and work 
 downwards, wetting no more than a yard or two at a 
 time, with a very thin coat of the wdiite ground in milk. 
 The laying on of the veins must depend of course on 
 the taste and skill of the artist, and scarcely any prac¬ 
 tical directions will serve him here. When the whole 
 work is completed and dry, it may be varnished, and it 
 will then have the effect of oil painting. 
 
 Dove-coloured Marble. 
 
 Ground , light lead colour; the broad veins of white 
 and black must be scumbled and afterwards blended 
 
FLORENTINE—SIENNA MARBLE. 
 
 291 
 
 with the duster. Innumerable varieties of this imitation 
 may be made by varying the colour of the tint. These 
 directions are for oil colours : such imitation is rarely 
 wanted in distemper. 
 
 Florentine Marble. 
 
 Ground , white, Indian red and black mixed together, 
 forming a light reddish neutral tint; veins of umber or 
 terra de Sienna are to be laid on while the ground is 
 wet. The forms of rocks or ruins of houses must be 
 given by patient working. This is for oil; for distem¬ 
 per mix whiting in milk to the consistence of thick 
 cream, to which add yellow ochre and red till it be¬ 
 comes a delicate fawn colour; in another vessel have 
 ready Indian red, and in another pure white. Dab on 
 with a large brush, and with great freedom, the fawn 
 colour in ten or a dozen different dabs of different 
 sizes. If this be done with apparent carelessness the 
 dabs will take different forms. Apply now the Indian 
 red freely between the dabs of the fawn colour; blend 
 the edges of the fawn and red together with a lkrge 
 duster; next with camel’s hair pencils draw a few thin 
 veins both of white and red over the colour previously 
 formed. When dry let the work be varnished. 
 
 Sienna Marble. 
 
 Ground , yellow ochre ; the various tints which are to 
 be first spread over the ground, are given by yellow 
 ochre, white, and raw and burnt terra de Sienna. 
 
 These must be tastefully given to the ground by a brush 
 for each colour, and afterwards blended by the softener. 
 
 o 2 
 
292 
 
 SIENNA MARBLE. 
 
 While the shading colour is wet other veins more removed 
 from the surface are put on with a sable pencil. The 
 colours for these are Venetian red and a little Prussian 
 blue. For the darker veins near the surface use lake, Ve¬ 
 netian red and blue mixed to the required tint. The 
 work may now be dried, and if the shading be not suf¬ 
 ficiently veined a glaze of raw and burnt terra de Sienna 
 may be applied where required: the darkest veins 
 should now be formed of lake and Prussian blue. The 
 preceding is for oil. Distemper requires a ground of 
 yellow ochre and whiting mixed with size. When the 
 ground is dry prepare raw and burnt terra de Sienna, 
 yellow ochre, whiting, lake, and damp blue; these must 
 be ground separately in beer: the whiting should be 
 mixed very thickly with the milk, of which a greater 
 quantity is always required than of any of the other 
 colours, it being the body colour in all distemper paint¬ 
 ing. The shading and veins are to be laid on first with 
 yellow ochre mixed with white, next a smaller shade of 
 raw terra de Sienna, then a dash of white alone, and 
 near to it some burnt terra de Sienna. When a yard 
 or two is covered, dab the brush used in the whiting 
 in four or five places over the work; then dip a large 
 duster in some very thin size without any colour, and 
 squeeze the wet out till it will not run freely : with this 
 brush thus moistened blend the different shades. 
 While wet put in the small veins with Indian red and 
 blue, and over them the still smaller veins with lake 
 and blue. Let the whole dry together. 
 
GREEN MARBLES. 
 
 29 3 
 
 Green Marbles , 
 
 Such as verd antique, Egyptian green and serpentine, 
 require the same ground, black. The first colour to be 
 laid on the ground for verd antique is white scumbled 
 on very thin, and according to nature. While the white 
 is wet rub off with a piece of wash-leather the colour in 
 the shape designed for shells or other fossil remains ; 
 the other shells are formed like circles, &c.; these 
 may be taken out of the white by a square piece of 
 cork notched in two or three places: press it hard 
 upon the work, turning it round with the finger and 
 thumb. A tool made of the feather of a goose quill, 
 with a great part of the feathers cut away, is now to be 
 passed over the white to take it out in small irregular 
 curling veins over the black; the work must now be 
 suffered to dry. When dry it is heightened by glazing 
 it over with distemper colour, in some places with 
 Prussian blue, in others with raw terra de Sienna, and 
 part is left black and white. When the distemper 
 colour is dry, the feather of a goose quill, prepared as 
 above directed, is to be dipped in whiting ground with 
 milk, and the light veins are carried over the distemper 
 colour ; the thicker veins may be touched with a sable 
 pencil, and a few dark veins of Prussian blue may be 
 made to curl lightly over the strong lights. When dry 
 it will be ready for the last glaze, which must be Prus¬ 
 sian blue and terra de Sienna so mixed that the last 
 shall preponderate. The whole when dry will be a 
 beautiful green, and may be varnished to finish the 
 work. 
 
 o 3 
 
294 BLACK AND GOLD MARBLE—PORPHYRY. 
 
 Other methods have been proposed for the imitation 
 of green marbles, but we cannot detail them ; those in¬ 
 terested in obtaining more minute particulars are re¬ 
 ferred to Whittock's W'ork before alluded to. 
 
 Black and Gold Marble. 
 
 The ground , black ; the large spots yellow ochre and 
 white mixed with a little vermilion: these must be 
 dabbed with freedom with the brush full of colour on 
 the ground, and while fluid small threads must be 
 drawm from them in all directions. The yellow and 
 white veins may both be painted at once in oil; when 
 dry and varnished the work is complete. 
 
 Porphyry . 
 
 The ground for red pophyry is Venetian red bright¬ 
 ened with a little vermilion and white to the tint re¬ 
 quired. The first layer of spots is produced thus : mix 
 a little of the ground colour and white, the latter pre¬ 
 ponderating ; dip a large brush in this mixture, and, 
 after expressing from it the greater part of the colour, 
 strike the handle of the brush, while holding it over the 
 work, upon the back of an old knife, and the colour 
 which remains in the brush will fall upon the work to 
 be spotted in small points. When sufficiently spotted 
 let the work dry; and if necessary another sprinkling 
 may be given of which Indian red may form the chief 
 colouring material; the last sprinkle is white, which 
 must be in very fine spots. The veins seen in porphyry 
 may be added after the sprinklings are dry, with a sable 
 
TRANSPARENT BLINDS. 
 
 295 
 
 pencil, and the threads drawn out with a feather. The 
 work is, lastly, to be varnished. 
 
 Every variety of spotted marble may be thus pro 
 duced, having regard to the ground which is the pre¬ 
 ponderant colour both in wood as well as marble. 
 
 Transparent Blinds. 
 
 The material on which transparent blinds are painted 
 is fine Scotch cambric or lawn. Care should be taken 
 that the cloth is of equal thickness all os 7 er, and without 
 lines, knots, or other defects: one of the pre-requisites 
 in this process of painting is to strain the cloth in a 
 proper manner. There are various ways of doing this; 
 and a very little ingenuity will soon suggest to the 
 artist the best method. 
 
 The size for works of a particular kind may be 
 isinglass dissolved by being boiled in water; but for 
 large blinds, parchment size is commonly used. (See 
 pages 153 and 240.) It should be laid on the cloth 
 quite hot, with a flat brush, taking care to lay it on 
 equally, and over every part of the cloth. Sometimes 
 it may be necessary to cover the cloth again with the 
 size, after the first coat is quite dry, with another coat ; 
 when this is done, care must be taken that the first coat, 
 is not rubbed up or otherwise disturbed. 
 
 In drawing the subject on transparent blinds a very 
 soft black lead pencil should be used; the outlines 
 must be, however, as light as possible, as all indenta¬ 
 tions in the cloth will be injurious. 
 
 The colours used are those which are most transpa¬ 
 rent, such are Prussian blue, lake, raw and burnt 
 
 o 4 
 
296 
 
 TRANSPARENT BLINDS. 
 
 umber, raw and burnt terra de Sienna, and Vandyke 
 brown. Various tints of the brightest transparency 
 may be produced by these colours; but when others 
 are required they become semi-transparent when used 
 with mastich varnish, which is the vehicle employed in 
 mixing the colour in this style of painting. 
 
 The proper distances having been marked by the 
 pencil, with a little Vandyke brown, let the whole sub¬ 
 ject be properly sketched with a camel’s hair pencil, 
 taking care, in drawing the trees, to mark wdiere the 
 strong masses of light are to be left. As this colour 
 must be laid on quite thin it will be dry in a few 
 minutes. 
 
 The sky will first command attention, the colours 
 for which are Prussian blue, lake, Indian red, and yel¬ 
 low ochre. In skies great care must be taken to let the 
 whole appear thin and transparent, even in the darkest 
 clouds. 
 
 We might proceed thus over every part of the picture 
 to be painted; but it is not here necessary that we 
 should do so ; the artist and amateur who desires to 
 excel in this particular branch will either supply what 
 we have omitted to state by the application of his own 
 genius and ingenuity, (and, indeed, as far as regards 
 the execution of the subject, must rely- upon his own 
 genius, ingenuity, and application, for obtaining excel¬ 
 lence in this, as well as in every other branch of the 
 higher grades of painting) or he will apply to works in 
 which the subject is treated more in detail, such is that 
 of Wliittock' 1 s , to which we have more than once ad 
 verted. 
 
TRANSPARENT BLINDS. 
 
 297 
 
 We may add, in conclusion, on transparent painting, 
 that sometimes the cloth is made transparent, by brush¬ 
 ing it over with white wax, dissolved in oil of turpen¬ 
 tine ; the frame on which the cloth is strained is then 
 placed before a fire, and the dissolved wax is laid on 
 with a brush while hot. 
 
 Some also produce a beautiful effect, where a strong 
 light is to appear, by spreading virgin wax over those 
 parts before any size is applied, and aftewards sizing 
 and painting in the usual way. 
 
 In transparencies, where jewellery or sparkling gold 
 is introduced, a fine effect is produced by cutting out 
 those parts, and pasting tissue paper over the holes : 
 the paper can be made nearly as transparent as glass, 
 by varnishing it with mastic varnish. 
 
ADDENDUM. 
 
 On Ultramarine. 
 
 Concerning the valuable and beautiful colour, ultra- 
 marine , from its present scarcity and high price, we 
 are desirous of communicating all the information which 
 we possess. 
 
 To those, therefore, who feel interested in this pig¬ 
 ment, an article in the Philosophical Magazine , for 
 April, 1830, is particularly deserving their attention, 
 and to which we refer them: for it is impossible to 
 abridge the contents of that paper ; we learn, however, 
 from it, that one ounce of ultramarine of the best qua¬ 
 lity sells now at from one to two hundred francs per 
 ounce. See also page 65 of the present work. 
 
INDEX 
 
 A. 
 
 Acetate of Copper. 
 
 -Lead. 
 
 Alabaster . 
 
 Alkanet Root.. 
 
 Animal Oils .. 
 
 - Substances used in 
 
 Painting. 
 
 Annatto. 
 
 Archil. 
 
 Arsenic, Preparations of .... 
 Artificial Sulphate of Lime .. 
 
 Asphaltum. 
 
 Aurum Mosaicum. 
 
 Azure. 
 
 -, Egyptian. 
 
 -, Stone. 
 
 B. 
 
 Baryta, Barytes. 
 
 Bastard Saffron. 
 
 Beech Black. 
 
 -Charcoal. 
 
 Bice Blue . 
 
 -Green .. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Bismuth.. • 61 
 
 -, Oxide of. ib. 
 
 Bistre. 136 
 
 Black. 189 
 
 -Beech. 133 
 
 -Bone or Ivory.135 
 
 -Chalk. 81 
 
 -Frankfort .. 133 
 
 -Lamp . 131 
 
 -Lead. 78 
 
 -Pencils . 79 
 
 -, artificial, ib. 
 
 -from Peach Stones.... 134 
 
 —-Vine Twigs. ib. 
 
 -Wine Lees. 133 
 
 -Wadd. 83 
 
 Blacks. 131 
 
 Blanc de Roi.261 
 
 Blue. 199, 201 
 
 -Antwerp . 93 
 
 -Bice... 95 
 
 -Black. 132 
 
 -Copperas . 92 
 
 -Enamel. 64 
 
 -Flanders . 93 
 
 -Mountain. 94 
 
 -Oxide of Chrome. 109 
 
 PAGE 
 
 89 
 
 110 
 
 47 
 
 142 
 
 181 
 
 111 
 
 138 
 
 137 
 
 85 
 
 48 
 
 177 
 
 63 
 
 64 
 
 92 
 
 65 
 
 57 
 
 139 
 
 133 
 
 ib. 
 
 95 
 
 94 
 
300 
 
 INDEX, 
 
 Blue, Prussian ..... 
 
 ■ , Queen’s .. 
 
 -, Saunders’. 
 
 -, Saxon . 
 
 -, artificial 
 
 -, Thenard’s • • • 
 
 -Verdi ter . 
 
 -Vitriol . 
 
 Bone Black . 
 
 Bougival White. 
 
 Brian?on White. 
 
 Brown Ochre • • • 
 
 -Purple ... •: 
 
 -Spanish. 
 
 Brushes. 
 
 Buckthorn Juice ... 
 Buff Colour . 
 
 PAGE 
 .. 68 
 .. 129 
 .. 93 
 
 •• 64 
 
 .. 70 
 
 .. 65 
 
 *. 95 
 
 .. 92 
 
 ... 135 
 .. 48 
 
 ... 45 
 
 .. 75 
 71 , 208 
 ** 75 
 
 ,.. 265 
 .. 143 
 ... 198 
 
 C. 
 
 Calcined Hartshorn ... 62 
 
 Carbonate of Barytes. 58 
 
 - Lead. 50 
 
 -Lime. 53 
 
 Carmine. 113, 114 
 
 Carminated Lake • • • • • • 114—119 
 
 Carthamus... 139 
 
 Cassel Earth. 78 
 
 Cassius Purple, Precipitate of. 62 
 
 Cawk. 57 
 
 Ceruse. 50 
 
 Chalk. 53 
 
 -, Black. 81 
 
 Chamois Colour. 198 
 
 Charcoal, Blacks from.. 131—135 
 Chemical Composition of Co¬ 
 lours . 36 
 
 Chesnut.208 
 
 China Lake . 140 
 
 Chipolin. 255 
 
 -, Imitation of.258 
 
 Chocolate .208 
 
 Chromate of Lead. 107 
 
 Chrome, Yellow. ib. 
 
 --, Green Oxide of .... 108 
 
 -. Blue Oxide of* 109 
 
 Cinnabar, Native. 98 
 
 -, Factitious . 99 
 
 Cobalt, Colours from. 63 
 
 Cochineal . 113 
 
 Colcothar of Vitriol. 71 
 
 Cologne Earth . 77 
 
 Colouring, Laws of Harmo¬ 
 nious . 30 
 
 Colours. 36 
 
 -, Cold. 27 
 
 -, Composition of.. 189—209 
 
 -, Compound, for Rooms 205 
 
 —:-, Contrasting. 34 
 
 -, Harmonizing. ib. 
 
 -, Mixture of. 18 
 
 -, Preparation of* • 211—221 
 
 -, Primary . 15 
 
 -, for Staining Rooms* • 97 
 
 -, Simple. 22 
 
 -, Theory of. 14 
 
 -, Used by Painters.... 27 
 
 -the Ancients 10 
 
 -, Warm . 27 
 
 -, Water.....25, 213 
 
 Copal Varnish • • • .. 178 
 
 Copper, Acetate of.. 89 
 
 -, Preparations of • • • • 87 
 
 -, Subacetate of.. ib. 
 
 Coral Wood, Imitation of • • • • 288 
 
INDEX. 301 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Crayons. 81 
 
 Cremnitz White.44, 45 
 
 Crocus Martis . 71 
 
 Crotia. 82, 277 
 
 D. 
 
 Dead White.169, 192 
 
 Distemper. 239 
 
 — — . . -, Badigeon. 254 
 
 -, Common.247 
 
 --, in Milk. 249 
 
 -, for Parquets and 
 
 Floors . 252 
 
 ■-, Precepts for* • • • 245 
 
 -, Varnished. 255 
 
 Drawing Slate. 81 
 
 Driers for Paints. 179, 273 
 
 Drying Oil, first Process for.. 157 
 
 -, second Process for 158 
 
 -, third Process for 161 
 
 -—, fourth Process for 162 
 
 -, fifth Process for ib. 
 
 •■■■ ■ -, sixth Process for 163 
 
 -■ -, for Printers’ Ink 166 
 
 -, Resinous.. 160 
 
 -, from Vanherman 167 
 
 Dutch Pinks.145—148 
 
 E. 
 
 Earth, Cassel. 78 
 
 -, Cologne. 77 
 
 -, Green of Saxony • • • • 76 
 
 -Verona. 77 
 
 Egg Shells. 61 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Egyptian Azure... 92 
 
 Elaine . 154 
 
 Enamel Blue. 64 
 
 English Pink. 149 
 
 Expressed Oils, to refine .... 168 
 
 F. 
 
 Fig Blue. 129 
 
 Fish Glue. 153 
 
 Fixed Oils. 154 
 
 Flake White. 50 
 
 Frankfort Black .133 
 
 Frankincense. 170 
 
 French Berries ... 146 
 
 G. 
 
 Gamboge. 144 
 
 Gelatine. 152 
 
 Glue. 153, 239 
 
 Gold, Mosaic. 63 
 
 -, Preparations of. 62 
 
 Graining....280—295 
 
 Green Bice . 94 
 
 -, Compound. 205 
 
 -, for various 
 
 Articles. ib. 
 
 -Earth of Saxony. 76 
 
 -Verona. 77 
 
 -, Mountain.94, 96 
 
 --Olive,. 199 
 
 -Oxide of Chrome .... 108 
 
 -, Sea. 202 
 
 -, Schweinfurt. 93 
 
302 
 
 INDEX, 
 
 Green Verditer.. 
 
 -, a fine, for Oil Paint .. 
 
 -, for Distemper. 
 
 -Doors, &c. 
 
 - Varnish. 
 
 Grey, Flaxen.. 
 
 -> Light. 
 
 -, Pearl. 
 
 Gum Arabic. 
 
 -Copal. 
 
 -Juniper. 
 
 -Mastich. 
 
 -Sandarac . 
 
 -Senegal. 
 
 -Water. 
 
 Gypsum. 
 
 H. 
 
 Harmonious Colouring. 
 
 House Painting.... 29, 263— 
 -, General Ob¬ 
 servations on. 
 
 -, Mementos for 
 
 I. 
 
 Imitations of Wood . 
 
 -Marble. 
 
 Indian Red. 
 
 -Ink. 
 
 Indigo... 
 
 Ink, Indian . 
 
 Instruments used in the Pre¬ 
 paration of Colours. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Iron, Preparation of. 68 
 
 -^Oxidesof.. 71 
 
 Isinglass. 153 
 
 Ivory Black . 135 
 
 K. 
 
 King’s Yellow. 85 
 
 L. 
 
 Lake, Carminated. 114—119 
 
 -, China. 140 
 
 -, Florentine.... 118 
 
 -, from Brasil Wood .... 121 
 
 -, Green . 127 
 
 -, Madder. 119, 120 
 
 -, Orange. 127 
 
 -, Purple. 142 
 
 Lakes.. Ill 
 
 -, Comparative Table of.. 124 
 
 Lamp Black. 131,13 
 
 Lapis Armenus. 95 
 
 -Cyanus. 65 
 
 -Lazuli. ib. 
 
 Lead, Acetate of. 110 
 
 -, Carbonate of. 50 
 
 -, Dichromate of. 109 
 
 -, Oxides of.103—106 
 
 -, Preparations of. 100 
 
 -, White.. • • 50 
 
 Lime . 60 
 
 -, Sulphate of.47, 48 
 
 Linseed Oil . 157 
 
 Litharge. 104 
 
 Litmus. 137 
 
 PAGE 
 
 96 
 
 93 
 
 202 
 
 204 
 
 203 
 
 194 
 
 192 
 
 193 
 
 151 
 
 178 
 
 174 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 
 151 
 
 ib. 
 
 47 
 
 30 
 
 -297 
 
 262 
 
 274 
 
 280 
 
 289 
 
 73 
 
 135 
 
 127 
 
 135 
 
 211 
 
INDEX 
 
 303 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Madder Lake.119, 120 
 
 Mahogany, Imitation of... 196, 284 
 
 Manganese. 83 
 
 Maple, Bird’s Eye, Imitation 
 
 of. 287 
 
 Marble, Black and Gold, Imi¬ 
 tation of. 294 
 
 -, Cipolin, Imitation of 291 
 
 -, Dove-coloured, Imita¬ 
 tion of . 290 
 
 -, Florentine, Imitation 
 
 of. 291 
 
 -, Green, Imitation of.. 293 
 
 -, Sienna, Imitation of.. 291 
 
 Marbles. 289 
 
 -, Imitation of. ib. 
 
 Massicot. 104 
 
 Metallic and Earthy Sub¬ 
 stances used as Paints .... 36 
 
 Minium. 106 
 
 Mosaic Gold . 63 
 
 N. 
 
 Naples Yellow. 100 
 
 Nut Oil. 156 
 
 O. 
 
 Oak Wood, Imitation of* 195, 281 
 
 Ochre, Brown. 76 
 
 -, Bristol . 74 
 
 -, Dutch. ib. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Ochre, English. 74 
 
 -, Oxford . ib. 
 
 -, Persian. 73 
 
 -, Red..,. 74 
 
 -, Spruce. ib. 
 
 -, Yellow.73, 74 
 
 Ochres. 72 
 
 Oil, Animal .. 181 
 
 —, Boiled... 155 
 
 — of Bays. 187 
 
 -Hempseed.157, 164 
 
 -Linseed . 157 
 
 -Nuts. 156 
 
 -Poppy Seed. 155 
 
 -Tar*-**. 84, 179, 181 
 
 -Turpentine. 169 
 
 Oils, Animal.•• 181 
 
 -, Drying.155—165 
 
 -, Expressed, to refine* • • 167 
 
 -, Fixed.. 154 
 
 -, Volatile. ib. 
 
 Oil Painting, Precepts for* • • • 229 
 
 Olive Green. 199 
 
 Orpiment. 86 
 
 Ox-gall . 187 
 
 Oxide of Bismuth. 61 
 
 -Chrome, Green • • • • 108 
 
 -, Blue *••• 109 
 
 -Cobalt... 63 
 
 -Iron. 71 
 
 -, the Purple ... ib. 
 
 -Lead. 103, 106 
 
 -, the Red. 106 
 
 Vitreous... 104 
 
 -Zinc 
 
 Oyster Shells* 
 
 55 
 
 61 
 
304 
 
 INDEX 
 
 P. 
 
 Paint, a cheap, for Pales &c • 
 
 -, Vanherman’s Impene 
 
 trable. 
 
 Painters’ Cream. 
 
 Painting Encaustic . 
 
 -of the Egyptians 
 
 -Greeks . • 
 
 - , -Romans • 
 
 PAGE 
 
 277 
 
 — in Crayons... 
 
 -Distemper* 
 
 - Enamel... 
 
 -Fresco ... 
 
 -Milk. 
 
 - Miniature. 
 
 -Oil. 
 
 -Water Colours 
 
 276 
 165 
 4 
 9 
 
 *• 3 
 
 *. 2 
 .. 26 
 23, 239 
 .. 26 
 .. 24 
 
 .. 249 
 .. 214 
 12, 24 
 . 25 
 
 —, Genevese method of 251 
 —, Historical Sketch of 1 
 —, on House, 29, 263—297 
 -the various kinds 
 
 of. 23 
 
 Paintings, on the Preservation 
 
 and Repairing of. 183 
 
 Paper Hangings . 278 
 
 Parker’s Cement... 84 
 
 Pearl White . 61 
 
 Permanent White. 59 
 
 Pink, Dutch.145 
 
 -, English. 149 
 
 -, Rose. ib. 
 
 Pinks, various. 145—149 
 
 Plaster of Paris. 47 
 
 Polishing ... 234 
 
 Pompadour. 71, 208 
 
 Ponderous Spar. 57 
 
 PACE 
 
 Porphyry, Imitation of. 294 
 
 Precepts in Distemper.243 
 
 ■-!-Oil Painting • • • • 229 
 
 -Varnishing. 221 
 
 Priming. 268 
 
 Proof, Spirit of Wine . 173 
 
 Prussian Blue. 68 
 
 -- Red. 71 
 
 Prussiate of Iron. 68 
 
 Purple Brown. 71, 208 
 
 -Precipitate of Cassius.. 62 
 
 Putty. 182 
 
 Q. 
 
 Queen’s Blue. 129 
 
 Quicksilver, Preparations of.. 98 
 
 R. 
 
 Realgar. 86 
 
 Red for Corridors, &c.253 
 
 -Indian . 73 
 
 -Lead... 106 
 
 -SandalWood. 141 
 
 -Saunders... ib. 
 
 -Sulphuret of Arsenic.... 86 
 
 ---Mercury .. 98 
 
 -Venetian. 73 
 
 Reds, various. 206, 207 
 
 Resin Black .. 169 
 
 -Yellow. ib. 
 
 Road Dust. 81 
 
 Rose Colour . 207 
 
 -Pink. 149 
 
INDEX 
 
 305 
 
 Rose Wood, Imitation of • • • • 
 
 Roucou. 
 
 Rouen White... 
 
 Rouge...139, 
 
 Royal White. 
 
 S. 
 
 Safflower. 
 
 Sap-green.. 
 
 Satin White . 
 
 -Wood, Imitation of • • • • 
 
 -, Red, Imitation of 
 
 Saunders’ Red . 
 
 Saxon Blue .. 
 
 -, Artificial . 
 
 Scheele’s Green.. 
 
 Serpentine, Imitation of • • • • 
 
 Size.... 
 
 -for Knots . 
 
 Sizing. 
 
 Smalt ... 
 
 -Strewing.. 
 
 Spanish Vermilion.139, 
 
 Spirits of Turpentine. 
 
 Spirit of Wine.* 
 
 Stearine. 
 
 Stenciling. 
 
 Stucco coloured. 
 
 Sugar of Lead . 
 
 Sulphate of Barytes. 
 
 -Copper. 
 
 -Iron . 
 
 -Lead. 
 
 -Lime. 
 
 -, Artificial... 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Sulphate of Zinc . • • • •.. 56 
 
 Sulphuret of Arsenic, Yellow.. 86 
 
 -Red .. jb 
 
 -Mercury, Red... 98 
 
 T. 
 
 Tar, Coal . 180 
 
 -Common..... 179 
 
 -Oil of. 181 
 
 Terra de Sienna... 76 
 
 -Merita. 126 
 
 -Verte. 76 
 
 Tools, Ground . 266 
 
 Transparent Blinds... 295 
 
 Turbith Mineral . 99 
 
 Turmeric Root. 126 
 
 Turpentine, Crude. 170 
 
 -Ethereal Oil ofib. 
 
 -Horse . ib. 
 
 -Oil of. 169 
 
 -Strasburgh. 170 
 
 -Venice .. • .171 
 
 -Varnishes. ib. 
 
 U. 
 
 Ultramarine. 65, 298 
 
 -, Artificial. 68 
 
 -, Adulterated • • • • 67 
 
 Umber English. 75 
 
 -Turkey . ib. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 287 
 
 138 
 
 53 
 
 140 
 
 260 
 
 139 
 
 143 
 
 49 
 
 285 
 
 288 
 
 141 
 
 64 
 
 70 
 
 86 
 
 293 
 
 152 
 
 153 
 
 243 
 
 65 
 
 ib. 
 
 140 
 
 169 
 
 173 
 
 154 
 
 278 
 
 97 
 
 110 
 
 57 
 
 92 
 
 71 
 
 52 
 
 47 
 
 48 
 
306 
 
 INDEX 
 
 V. 
 
 Vanherman, Note on. 
 
 Vanherman’s Incorporated Oil 
 
 -Impenetrable 
 
 Paint. 
 
 -Artificial Sul¬ 
 phate of Lime. 
 
 Varnish Black. 
 
 -Copal . 
 
 -Drying. 
 
 -Spirit.176, 
 
 -Turpentine. 
 
 -for Coloured Grounds 
 
 -Grinding Colours 
 
 -V aluablePaintings 
 
 Varnishes. . 171- 
 
 --—, Precepts for Using 
 
 -, some Observations 
 
 on.. 
 
 Vehicles for Paints . 
 
 Vegetable Substances used as 
 
 Paints. 
 
 Veining • • • • • • .. 
 
 Verdevissa. 
 
 Verdigris. 
 
 -, Distilled. 
 
 -, English . 
 
 -, Liquid. 
 
 Verditer Blue. 
 
 -Green. 
 
 V ermilion. 
 
 -, Spanish • • • • 139, 
 
 Violet Colour... 
 
 Virgin Tints.. 
 
 Volatile Oils 
 
 W. 
 
 PACE 
 
 Walnut Wood, Imitation of 196,286 
 
 Water. 150 
 
 -Colours.25, 213, 214 
 
 White, Bougival . 43 
 
 -Brianfon. 45 
 
 -Copperas. 56 
 
 -Cremnitz .... *. 44 
 
 -Flake. 50 
 
 -Lead . 50, 266 
 
 -Moudon... 49 
 
 -Morat. ib. 
 
 -Pearl. 61 
 
 -Permanent.,. 59 
 
 -Royal. 260 
 
 -Satin. 49 
 
 -Spanish. 46 
 
 -Troyes .. 53 
 
 -Vitriol . 56 
 
 Whites, the chief used as Pig¬ 
 ments . 43 
 
 Whiting. 53 
 
 Woad. 145 
 
 Woods, Imitation of. 280 
 
 Y. 
 
 Yellow.. 196 
 
 -, Chrome.107, 197 
 
 -—, Golden...198 
 
 -, Jonquil. 197 
 
 -, King’s. 85 
 
 -, Lemon. 197 
 
 -, Montpellier. 101 
 
 PACE 
 
 266 
 
 277 
 
 276 
 
 48 
 
 177 
 
 178 
 
 172 
 
 177 
 
 171 
 
 174 
 
 176 
 
 175 
 
 -179 
 
 221 
 
 187 
 
 150 
 
 111 
 
 280 
 
 144 
 
 87 
 
 89 
 
 91 
 
 90 
 
 95 
 
 96 
 
 98 
 
 , 140 
 
 207 
 
 20 
 
 154 
 
INDEX, 
 
 307 
 
 PAGB 
 
 Yellow, Naples. 100, 196 
 
 -, Oxide of Lead.104 
 
 -, Patent. 101 
 
 -, Straw . 198 
 
 Sulphuret of Arsenic.. 86 
 
 Z. 
 
 Zaffre. 64 
 
 Zinc, Flowers of. 55 
 
 -, Oxide of. ib. 
 
 -, Sulphate of. 56 
 
 THE END. 
 
 L O N DO N : 
 
 GILBERT & R1VINGTON, PRINTERS, 
 
 ST. JOHN’S SQUARE. 
 

 ERRATA 
 
 Page 55, line 14, for earthein read earthen. 
 
 - 79,- 5, for demand read demands. 
 
 -- 94,- 3 from the bottom, for Chrysocollu read Chrysocolla. 
 
 -165,-13, for stearinc read stearine. 
 
 -20, for Cremitz read Cremnitz. 
 
 - 272 ,- 17 ,/or last note, read the note page 266. 
 

 
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