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CHAPTER 2 - UNDERPAINTING |  |
UNDERPAINTING
Fundamentals involving the how and why we paint are questions that beg our attention. To naively splash about, as so many do, plastering canvasses, paper and other surfaces with paint, whether water or oil-based is to court disaster; worse, coupled with blissful ignorance, leads to generations of painters with little or know comprehension of craft, emphasising instead a conceptual or theoretical model of painting which rely little on the acquisition of demonstrable skill. This is not a conclusion the author has reached by himself alone, among many are Whistler's comments, "I don't teach art; with that I cannot interfere; I teach the scientific application of paint." [locate quotation?]
Familiarising ourselves with the historical reasons for painting on a variety of surfaces will help to elucidate former painting practices, and perhaps suggest some useful strategies for today.
Previous to 1460, all paintings were done on wood panel; poplar lime or willow according to Cennini. [locate quote?] Artists used ink to establish the subject matter as can be seen in the slightly damaged section of Unkown German Master 1479 in the National Gallery of Victoria's collection. [check source and date?] Corrections could be made, and compositions easily altered, as 'improvements' were determined. The author has experimented with ink and ink washes himself, by lightly working at first, and then gradually, when confidence in a form increases, become more definite, a great deal of flexibility is achieved, despite the fact that the final result is a strongly valued underpainting.
Additionally, by laying out the initial compositions for review, and allowing customers to observe them partially completed, additions or subtractions could then be easily negotiated. For instance, a patron may wish his/her image to be increased in size, or the inclusion of an additional patron might be desired. A final commitment had as yet, to be determined. [quotation form an artist here]
Artists often are asked to include portraits based on financial considerations. In a large group portrait, the more visible the subject the increase in their financial obligation to the artist. [Rembrandt's Nachtwatch here] At this stage in the painting process an artist may make changes with relative ease in this fast-drying system. The advantage of working with ink were many; easy cleanup, low cost, and the permanent establishment of form previous to the next step, colour.
We are now aware of an establishment then, of a split application of paint, first, the establishment of values, often called the underpainting, or dead colouring [quote here], followed by the application of colour. In the 15th C. the most common form of colouring would have been egg tempera. This process involves the mixing of raw pigment with the egg yolk and white to form a durable, inflexible surface. The clean application of paint, which had clarity and required craftsmenship, created a linear style. However, the down side of working with egg tempera, it's overly cool tones and size limitations led artists to continual experimentation, much the same as we do today with raw materials. [panels vs. linen discussion]
There were many forays into the combination of oil with colour, and oil varnishes were not unknown; egg tempera paintings were often varnished with oil, but the right drying oil, as opposed to a non-drying oil like olive oil seems to have been located and processed around the late 15th century. [historical verification here] Linseed oil, a product of the flax plant, dried quickly, was stable, and allowed for an infinite variety of blended tones. This discovery, often attributed to van Eyck, must have seemed revolutionary, and is best appreciated by working in both methods and comparing the results.
Previously, egg tempera painters were required to make coloured transitions from light through dark by mixing each individual step, in a chromatic change from light through dark. A knee, covered by drapery, and lit from above, would require ten to twelve different gradations to be mixed previous to paint application. As egg tempera dries quickly, there is little opportunity for blending, although by skilful manipulation an optical blend may be achieved. Additionally, to mix the different gradations takes considerable time, and forces an artist to focus on the work in a piecemeal fashion rather than being able to work the composition as a whole. In other words, the background, or the sky, or the drapery would have been the focus for the day. It was not practical to mix hundreds of colours each day, as would be required to match the blending ability of just a few oil colours.
The advent of oil paint, and the ability for an artist to create, in an instant, a blend which was seamless must have seemed akin to a miracle. Artists retained their two pallette painting system for a long time afterwards - mimicking the work they had previously done in ink but now in oil. In this compositional stage artists were free to contemplate relationships between, and then radically alter designs, if necessary. [include description of altered underpainting] They replicated the monochromatic manner of painting, ie. ink, by substituting a fast drying earth tone in combination with lead white, raw umber for example. Lead white dried quickly, was strong, stable and available; raw umber was equally fast and stable, in addition, quite cheap. These two, used in combination and painted thinly would dry overnight. Changes were easily made in oil, and the artist could work for many days in this monotone manner. Titian is famous for turning his compositions to the wall for weeks before looking at them again, making alternations and returning them to the wall. [Titian information here]
Once explored, a variety of paint options then becomes readily apparent as the underpainting is manipulated and it's application varied; including the purposeful texturing of surface, dead colouring, and highlighting. Sir Charles Eastlake notes:
The bright minute touches of an unglazed Venetian picture must have appeared quite raw, and almost snow tipped--glazing was indispensable to lower and harmonize the work. Looking, however, to such a final process, the bright touches might be most sparkling. It is a mistake to aim at this harmony too soon; the attempt leads to want of vigour in handling, want of light, and ultimate flatness and dullness. [p. 357]
Note: following this Chapter would be an
analysis of the effect underpainting has on the final look of
paintings complete with lab reports.