Secret of the Old Masters

If you have never read "Secret of the Old Masters," by Albert Abendschein, you owe it to yourself to search out a copy of it. I believe it is out of print, but could probably be found online. In it Abendschein gives his findings through years of experimentation and research to find the secrets of the masters. He was mainly concerned with Titian, Paul Veronese, Velasquez, Rubens, Van Dyck, and Reynolds. These are the ones he focuses on in the book. I will try to hit on some of the more interesting points. He begins by going into his many different combinations to find the perfect medium, or varnish. Experiments included painting with straight varnish and pigments, then adding waxes or oils. There are too many ones to list here, but the one he saw fit for artistic uses was a copal varnish. Copal is far superior to other resins, and doesn't yellow as badly as Mastic or Dammar. One reason for the difficulty of the modern direct method of applying paint to copy masterworks, is that they painted in layers. It is well known that the masters painted in many thin layers to achieve a luminous painting. It is very difficult to replicate a color when it is actually the combination of several colors in thin layers in a certain sequence.



Another point touched on is the preparation of the ground to lend itself to more luminous paintings. The ground must be absolutely white so that as the painting ages, and the layers become more luminous, the subdued light of the white ground will lend itself to the painting. This is why he says you shouldn't use a colored or dull ground because it will eventually turn the painting that color or dull it out. The use of absorbent grounds is also seen as asking for trouble in the future because there is too much oil absorbed into it. It is then suggested that a varnish ground be used. It is believed that Sir Joshua Reynolds used a copal varnish mixed with white as his grounds. This allows the paint to be applied in any way desired without spotting or alternations of transparency and opacity.



By the end of the book, there is a clear path that is desired. That is one of a luminous painting that is very durable. Another recurrent theme is that less oil used is always better due to the undesirable qualities of drying oils. This leads to the final conclusion that these masters would actually "burn" the oil off of a final painting. It is believed that they would leave a painting in a bright sunny place to allow most of the oil to dry completely and be bleached by the sun. This would allow the colors to really show through without the problem of excess oil to yellow with age. By leaving a painting in the sun, it would appear, will give you a much more luminous painting that ages very well, and actually improve with age.