Amber Varnish, petroleum, oil of spike, turpentine, Aschen, Masticot

Ingredients

petroleum, oil of spike, turpentine (Therebentine de Venise), amber varnish, aqua di rasa (oil of turpentine), Aschen, Masticot, Labeur de vert

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

To improve the properties of oil paints, particularly for making greens ('Labeur de vert'), painters added specific additives to the palette. A French painter recommended a few drops of petroleum, oil of spike, or clear turpentine to 'nourish' the color (p. 227). Orazio Gentileschi used a drop of amber varnish from Venice to make white spread better, soften easily, and dry faster (p. 227). Rubens used 'white oil of Turpentine from Venice' (aqua di rasa) extracted au bain Marie; the artist would dip the brush lightly into this oil before mixing colours on the palette to ensure they spread easily and did not 'die' (p. 227, 228).

Evidence

"a marginal note on fol. 9r divulges the secret of a French painter who adds ‘on the palette a few drops of petroleum or of oil of spike, or very clear turpentine’, because ‘this nourishes the coulour and what is nourished cannot die’."

Remarks

Mayerne documents a body language of colors: colors can 'die' and 'darken in silence' if not treated with care (p. 233). Colors 'die' when oil heaped on top dries into a skin and blackens in the air (p. 228).