Links to further research:
Excerpts from Ms. Fr 640 that relate to this research
Relevant excerpts from other sources
The context of the 'recipe' within Ms. Fr 640
Notes from secondary sources
The historical questions this research will address
Schematic Plan
'Experiment 1' Distemper Painting Plan
Field notes - week by week annotation notes
066r_Women's Shadows (in oil)
065r_Men's Shadows (in oil)
Annnotations : Distemper, Shadowing Flesh tones and Blacks
1) Distemper
p093v_a1”>Visaige a destrempe</title>
<ab id=“p093v_b1”>Pource que les couleurs a destrempe sont promptem{ent} seiches<lb/>
& quon nauroict pas loisir de parachever les ombres &<lb/>
touches qui sont au visaige On mouille le derriere du<lb/>
visaige qui est sur toile avecq une esponge mouillee Puys<lb/>
avecq un petit pinceau on faict les ombres qui ne se deffont<lb/>
point Apres on pose la carnation qui nempesche point que les<lb/>
ombres desja faicts ne paroissent Et encores dune carnation<lb/>
plus vive on touche les endroits plus releves Et avecq une<lb/>
aultre pinceau en hachant on faict les ombres Les trais<lb/>
dombre ne se deffont point pource quilz sont de bistre qui tasche<lb/>
la toile co{mm}e la rouille Ledict bistre est bon avec pour faire les<lb/>
ombres a destrempemesle car a huile il na point de corps & ne seicheroit<lb/>
qua grand peyne On mesle parmy lesdict bistre pour umbre de locre<lb/>
de ru & un un peu de vert de vessie Le meilleur bistre est<lb/>
celuy gras & luisant des cheminees des grandes cuisines Il est<lb/>
difficille a broyer & crie sur le mabre</ab>
Translation we have been give. 93v: <title id=“p093v_a1”>Faces [painted] with distemper</title>
<ab id=“p093v_b1”>Because colors [painted] with distemper dry quickly and one would not have enough time to complete the shadows and touches on the face, one wets the reverse of the face, on canvas, with a wet sponge. Then, with a small brush, one does the shadows, which don’t come off. Then one lays the flesh tones, which does not prevent the already painted shadows from showing [through]. And one touches again the more prominent areas with brighter flesh tones. And with another brush one does the shadows in hatching. The strokes [that make up] the shadows do not come off because they are [made] of bistre, which stains the canvas like rust. The said bistre is good for painting the shadows in distemper, for in oil it lacks body and would dry with great difficulty. One should mix the said bistre for shadows with ocher de rux and a little sap green. The best bistre is the fat shiny one from the fireplaces of large kitchens. It is difficult to grind and grates on the marble slab.</ab>
2) Shadowing
Gendered shadowing for flesh
A)<id>p065r_1</id>
<head>Umbres</head>
<ab>Pourceque les noirs font diverses couleurs les uns un noir rougeas{tre}<lb/>
les aultres tirant sur le bleu aultres sur le vert Choisis ceulx<lb/>
qui retirent sur le jaulne pour faire beaulx umbres a <m>huile</m> Car<lb/>
lumbre mesmem{ent} des hommes est jaulnastre Et pour cet effect use<lb/>
de la <m>geiete</m> broyee bien fort laquelle tu mesleras dun peu d<m>ocre <add>jaulne</add></m> & de<lb/>
<m>blanc de plomb</m>. Ou bien apres que tu as broye ton <m>blanc de plomb</m><lb/>
<del>bro</del> et <del>nettoye p</del> ramasse avecq la <figure/> broyes y la <m>geiette</m> Ainsy il<lb/>
sera plus desiccatif & faisant de soy mesme un noir jaulnastre<lb/>
le peu de blanc mesle le rendra parfaict pour umbre dhomme<lb/>
Les noirs qui font un noir verdastre sont propres pour lOmbre<lb/>
des femmes Prens doncq du noir de <figure/> un peu de <m>verd de<lb/>
vessie</m> & du <m>bistre</m> & tu auras un parfaict ombre de femme a destremp{e}</ab>
<note>
<margin>left-top</margin>
La pouldre<lb/>
de <m>bled orbere</m><lb/>
est plus obscure>lb/>
que la <m>terre<lb/>
dombre</m> & en<lb/>
faulte de la<lb/>
<m>terre dombre</m><lb/>
ladicte pouldre<lb/>
serviroit mays<lb/>
elle nha point<lb/>
de corps</note>
Translation we have been given: 065r_1 Shadows
<id>p065r_1</id>
<head>Shadows</head>
<ab> Because blacks appear in different hues, some reddish black, others bluish, and others greenish, choose those verging on yellow in order to obtain beautiful shadows in <m>oil</m>, for shadows are yellowish, especially those of men. And for this effect use very strongly crushed <m>jet</m>, which you mix with a bit of <m>yellow ocher</m> and <m>white lead</m>. Or else, after you have crushed your <m>white lead</m> and gathered it with the <figure/>, crush the <m>jet</m> into it. Thus it <sup>the black</sup> will be more desiccative, and a yellowish black on its own. When mixed with a bit of white, it will be perfect for men’s shadows. Blacks which appear greenish black are appropriate for women’s shadows. Take then some black of <figure/>, a little <m>sap green</m> and some <m>bistre</m>, and you will have a perfect shading for [flesh tone] in distemper for a woman.</ab>
B)<id>p066r_2</id>
<head>Umbres</head>
<ab>Pour femme <m>Aspalte</m> <m>terre dumbre</m> & un peu de <m>laque</m></ab>
</div>
Approximate translation we have been given:
Shadows
<ab>For woman: <m>asphaltum</m>, <m>umber</m> and a bit of <m>red lake</m>.</ab>
3) Blacks
Either I will experiment with a range of black pigments by sourcing or manufacturing them and then painting out the full range in oil and in distemper to examine the different tones, or I will follow this recipe:
<id>p063v_1</id>
<head><m>Velvets</m> and <m>blacks</m></head>
<ab>One must make the main layer very thick, and the folds and highlights of the lighten a lot with white and on the ends of its light, you apply a white line. For blue and green velvets, with coal made from peach pits which is very black. Concerning the <m>lacquer</m>, the <m>carbon black</m> that produces a reddish black on lacquer for velvets. The common charcoal produces a whitish black.</ab>
More detail on annotation plans
Shadows
The 93v recipe will also allow for experimentation with shadows. As the author describes 'hatching' for shadowing flesh tones in distemper, I intend to incorporate these recipes into my experimentation into 93v:
p059r_1 <head>Shadows</head>
<ab>First shadows which are closer to the daylight have to be light and very faint then the last ones very dark to enhance strongly the relief. The Italians usually make three shadows, the first one very faint, the second one darker and the third one very dark, then put these three shadows together by hatching them from the darkest to the lightest</ab></div>
56_v_1<note>
<margin>left-middle</margin>
The Italians hatch with a flatten rough brush which makes some serration.</note>
<note> <margin>left-middle</margin>
And do not apply their shades at once like the Flemish but apply them by hatching from the lighter towards the light then a darker and then an even darker to make more contrast.</note>
This will offer the opportunity to try out an 'Italian' method of shadowing.
An alternative pigment combination for women's shadows is at 66r:
<head>Shadows</head>
<ab>For woman: <m>asphaltum</m>, <m>umber</m> and a bit of <m>red lake</m>.</ab>
I am also interested in this recipe:
065r_1
Shadows
‘Because blacks produce various colors, some reddish black, others bluish, and others greenish, choose those verging on yellow in order to obtain beautiful shadows in oil, for men’s shadows are similarly yellowish, and for this effect use very strongly crushed … which you mix with a bit of yellow ochre and white lead, that is after you have crushed your white lead and gathered with the (figure) crushed with the … This way it <sup> the black <sup> will be more desiccative, and on its own producing a yellowish black, when mixed with a bit of white it will be perfect for men’s shadows. Blacks which produced a greenish black are appropriate for women’s shadows. Take then some black of <a gap was left here as if he wanted to add something> a little sap green and some bistre, and you will have a perfect woman’s shadow in distemper.’
I will therefore paint the face of a woman on canvas in distemper, and use black, a little sap green, and some bistre for the shadows. This will allow this recipe to be incorporated to some extent into the 93v directions.
To act as a point of contrast and to understand the process of creating shadows in oil, I would also like to paint some faces in oil using the techniques for shadows suggested by Ms. Fr640.
Recipe
<id>p057v_2</id>
<ab>You must make at least three layers of flesh color in order to paint faces in <m>oil</m>, and to begin, one places the black and shadow where it is appropriate. After, the highlighting with <m>lead white</m> must not be placed on the black. Where <m>ceruse</m> penetrates, the flesh colors and will yellow in five or six months, but the <m>lead white</m> does not change.</ab>
Seems to offer a method of painting in oils that is quite different to that suggested for distemper, and that it would be possible to follow. I intend to use 057v as the basic oil painting 'recipe' and paint a male face in oils trying to use 'recipe' 065_1 for the pigments.
'Recipe 063r_4 could also be used as a guide for pigments to use for the male portrait, which would incorporate experimentation with the unusual black he terms 'jet'.
063r_4
Shadows
‘German painters shade their flesh tones with jet, crushed with scudegrun and ochre’.
Blacks
063r_4
Shadows
‘German painters shade their flesh tones with jet, crushed with scudegrun and ochre’.
Following this could be incorporated into following a recipe for shadowed flesh in oil paint. I must identify how 'jet' could be used as a pigment and would like to attempt to make it myself.
I am very interested in the discussions of the different tones of various black pigments in Ms. Fr 640. The recipe below for painting velvets would be very interesting to follow because subtle differences in the blacks of velvets were very important in the early modern period.
<id>p063v_1</id>
<head><m>Velvets</m> and <m>blacks</m></head>
<ab>One must make the main layer very thick, and the folds and highlights of the lighten a lot with white and on the ends of its light, you apply a white line. For blue and green velvets, with coal made from peach pits which is very black. Concerning the <m>lacquer</m>, the <m>carbon black</m> that produces a reddish black on lacquer for velvets. The common charcoal produces a whitish black.</ab>
However the most revealing approach might be to use the Ms. to identify a range of suggested blacks and either acquire or attempt to make those pigments and evaluate whether they correspond in tonal terms to the description in this Ms. by painting them out very simply.
Ms. Fr 640 gives a list of black pigments:
<id>p058v_1</id>
<head>Blacks</head>
<ab>Coal black, ordinary black lead black, burnt ivory black, peaches stones black, black smoke, black light, burnt oxes’ feet bones black</ab></div>.
This plus the 'jet' indicated elsewhere and 'carbon black' (which is differentiated from black made from 'common charcoal') means that there are potentially 9-10 different blacks identified in the Ms. Some of these I would expect to be very similar in final colour, but the differentiation is interesting and perhaps they would all give different tones.
Many of them are available from Kremer pigments.