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*

t
 A

TREATISE
ON

FRESCO, ENCAUSTIC, AND TEMPERA

PAINTING.
 A

TREATISE
ON

FRESCO, ENCAUSTIC, AND TEMPERA

PAINTING;
BEING THE

SUBSTANCE OF LECTURES

DELIVERED AT

THE SOCIETY OF BRITISH ARTISTS,

AND AT THE

SCHOOL OF DESIGN, LEICESTER SQUARE,

XBT THE YEARS 3.838-39-40,

By EUGENIO LATILLA,
MEM. SOC. BRIT. ART.

LONDON:
PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR, 78, NEWMAN STREET.

1842.

3S50
Printed by J. L. I ox & Sons, 75, Great Queen Street,
Lincoln’?-Inn Fields.
 PREFACE.

Many have been the struggles of unaided genius

in this country, to sow the seeds of pure taste and

sound judgment in the fine arts, even at the sacri¬
fice of private interest, and in opposition to the
full tide of prejudice and discouragement. Barry,

Fuseli, Flaxman, Stothard, and Hilton, are exam¬

ples of this ; and though their conceptions would
have adorned any age, they were suffered to pass
through life without a single national commission,
or any work of sufficient scope to elicit fully the

high powers they possessed.

Public and private bodies have likewise exerted

their influence in cultivating a love and just appre¬
ciation of the ebullitions of intellect; but to little

purpose are institutions formed, or even premiums

awarded, where there is not patronage for that
 Y1U

character or class of art that can alone dignify a

nation, or be profitable to its manufactures.

A more general desire, however, is at length

awakened to vie with, and rival other lands that
have acquired fame and wealth by their works ;

and the most effectual means of establishing the

arts in their highest principles and pretensions lias,

at length, been resorted to, in the appointment of
a Commission to introduce into England the mas¬
terly practice that is raising into fame the schools

of Germany and France, namely—Fresco Painting;

a medium justly characterized by Fuseli as “the

real instrument of history,” and which Vasari de¬

scribes as “ truly the most virile, most sure, most

resolute, and most durable of all modes.”*

The admirable project of embellishing the New

Houses of Parliament in fresco is an event, there¬
fore, that will be hailed by all lovers of high art
as the means, if judiciously conducted, of exalting

British genius, and adding increased lustre to the

British name.
In the evidence before the Committee of the

House of Commons appointed to take into con¬

sideration the promotion of the fine arts in con-

* “ Veramente il piu. virile, piu sicuro, piu risoluto, e durabile,

di tutte gli altri modi.”
 IX

nection with the rebuilding of the Houses of Par¬

liament, much valuable theoretical information was
elicited from artists and amateurs as to the advan¬
tages of fresco, and its suitability to large works.
Throughout the whole evidence, however, such a
total absence of practical knowledge on the subject

was evinced, that I have been induced, having for

many years made fresco and mural adornment mat¬
ters of study, research, and experiment, to bring be¬
fore the public the following “Treatise on Fresco and
Encaustic Painting,” wherein are detailed the modes
practised by the Greeks and Romans, and those of

the Italians under the enlightened patronage of

Giulio II. and Leo X., with the various stuccoes, co¬

lours, mediums, and methods of applying them; also

the manner of making Cartoons in Tempera,* a pro¬
cess indispensable to painting successfully alfresco.

In this treatise I have endeavoured to obviate

the difficulties which present themselves to artists
unacquainted with the different modes, in order

that the student of history may be induced and

urged to attempt the master tones of fresco, or
the rich impasto of encaustic, at a period when the

* In a note to Chap. V. I have mentioned an improvement of

my own, upon the old method of painting cartoons, which will be
found a valuable addition, as it gives the artist nearly the faci¬
lities of oil, in scumbling and blending his tints.

b
 X

Legislature has wisely resolved on introducing

mural embellishment upon a grand scale.

On the minutes of evidence I would make a few

remarks, as it contains statements that may mislead

or convey erroneous notions of fresco.

An artist explained, that fresco was painting

with transparent or glazing colours, though the

effect, when dry, was that of being solid. This, I

beg to say, is not the case; for transparent colour

on the stucco will appear so, in the same way as

painting with transparent colour on white paper.

It is true that the Greeks occasionally made slight
decorative figures in this manner, but all the grand

subjects, both by the Greeks and Italians, were

in a powerful impasto, as are the frescoes of the

V at i can.*

Some years ago, I painted a Bacchante in fresco

with transparent colour for — Thellusson, Esq.,

which, of course, was equally transparent when dry;

but this style does not bear comparison with the

Greek or Italian stucco solidly painted.

The frescoes (so called) in the Roman Catholic

chapel at Moorfields, and the Town Hall at Man¬

chester, were referred to in the evidence as failures;

* I have some frescoes by Paul Veronese, in which also, the

impasto is very powerful.
 XI

but no one explained why they were so. I, there¬

fore, take this occasion to expose an imposition,

probably the result of ignorance, practised in both

instances, which has operated injuriously to the in¬

troduction of fresco in other parts of the country.
Having closely examined these paintings, particu¬

larly those at Manchester, I perceived them to be

not genuine fresco, but what the Italians term
mezzo-fresco ; which is beginning upon a large sur¬
face of wet plaster, and finishing with tempera, &c.,
though the pictures at Manchester are finished with
oil, or varnish colours. This method is well known

by painters in fresco to be extremely perishable.

Vasari describes it as “the most short-lived,” and
“ the retouches,” says he, “ soon turn blackwhich

has been precisely the case with those at the Town

Hall, in addition to which the colours are scaling

off in many parts.

It was remarked by another artist, that from

cartoons the general powers of a painter cannot be

known. According to the common idea of car¬

toons, I grant it would be difficult to judge of

them, but not so with those painted in the manner
of Raffaelle or Julio Romano, in which the high¬
est powers can be exercised. Cartoons, the size
of the intended pictures, would alone enable the
 xii

Commission to judge of the abilities of the artists,

and he who shewed himself incapable of making

large cartoons, would be found still more incapable

of painting large frescoes. Many can design subjects

admirably in small, who would be utterly at a loss

in works of magnitude; for which reason small de¬

signs should be disregarded. Large cartoons, by

various artists, could be exhibited at once in the

situations they were intended to occupy, when the

fitness and harmony of the whole would be seen;

besides which, cartoon painting is the best possible

preparatory study for fresco.

Respecting the subject of competition, there ap¬

peared much difference of opinion in the evidence,

yet it is no doubt the most just, as well as the most

certain course to bring to light the real talent of

the country.* It is true that some of those who

enjoy the sway in art, though following perhaps
some minor branch of it, will not be disposed to

compete in a work of a high class, where probably

the zeal and ambition of younger aspirants might

eclipse their efforts; for many, condemned at pre-

* The first cupola of modern times, at Florence, by Brunel¬

leschi, and the splendid bronze doors of the Baptistry, by Lorenzo
Ghiberti, when he was only twenty years of age, were the happy
results of competition, not, as is too often the case with us, for
cheapness, but excellence.
 Xlll

sent to uncongenial employment, thirst for the

higher scope that a national work can alone afford

them.
For carrying into effect the establishment of a
British School of Fresco, opportunities for the exer¬

cise and trial of artists should be given in some

public building, as Westminster Hall, according to
Mr. Barry’s suggestion, for which, cartoons in tem¬
pera of the proper size should be required. The
designs selected might then be executed in fresco,
and compensatory premiums adjudged; first, for the
successful cartoons, and secondly, for the frescoes
which are painted from them. Thus, an interest¬
ing monument of the first essay of British skill

in fresco, would be obtained and preserved, at a

moderate expense.
About thirty-five years ago there were some fresco
and encaustic pictures painted in this country by
Rigaud. Those at Packington in Warwickshire I

have not seen, but understand them to be in excel¬

lent condition. The encaustic ceiling of the Court
Room of Trinity House, which consists principally of
groups of cherubs, is in a fine state of preservation.
It has not turned black like oil, neither is it cracked,
which in England is considered, though without
 XIV

foundation, a certain concomitant of encaustic.*

The Greeks, on the contrary, looked upon it as the

most enduring, and the specimens extant prove the

justness of their opinion.f

The only recent attempt at encaustic of which I

am aware, is that of the Banqueting Room of His

Grace the Duke of Beaufort, at Beaufort House,
painted by myself. This encaustic is one of my own

discovery, and resembles fresco in effect, with rather

more depth of colour, and admitting a higher finish.

The design throughout is original, though in Greek

taste. The single figures in the large panels were

not, as has been supposed, taken from Herculaneum,

but nature, as also the fruits and flowers in the ara¬

besques. The character of the composition being

bacchanalian, scrolls of the acanthus, with boys and

panthers, the size of life, are introduced in the cove.

The ornaments, drawn and executed by assistants,

may rank among the most masterly specimens ever

produced in this country ; they are drawn in a grand

* It is generally thought that the pictures of Sir Joshua Rey¬

nolds have cracked owing to their being painted with a portion
of wax, though it is entirely attributable to his too free use of
Venice turpentine.
f I have in my possession an encaustic picture from Pompeii,
which is still perfect in colour, and entirely free from cracks.
 XV

gusto, and painted in a vigorous impasto, strongly

resembling the style of Giovanni da Udine, the very
reverse of the method pursued under the direction
of house-painters and upholsterers, which is a sys¬

tem of japanning, or tea-tray painting, by no means

artistic. I speak thus with freedom of a part of the
work not by my own pencil, in justice to those who,
by their exertions in a work of a high class, proved
themselves equal to any thing that may be required
in the way of ornament, thereby entirely subverting

the evidence taken before a former Committee,

where it was represented as necessary to send to

France, both for designers and painters of ara¬

besques.
In the various mouldings of the cornice and
stucco ornaments, I applied the Greek principle of
colour to an extent that in description might alarm,

though, as a whole, it has received the approbation

of many of the first artists and men of taste.
This room was to have been painted by Germans;
and the idea had so possessed men’s minds that
English artists were unfit for a work of the kind,
that the public papers ascribed it to them. Though
much desire appeared on the part of some of the

members of the Committee that Cornelius, or some

other German artists, should be employed for the
 XVI

new Houses of Parliament, yet it is to be hoped

that the present Commission will be more just, as

well as more patriotic, and first prove that English¬

men have failed, before they invite a foreigner,

unless it be to take a part with the rest of the com¬

petitors.
That talent is not wanting is evident, by the

superlative excellence attained in those branches

that receive support; and equal success would

most probably follow the encouragement of the

higher grades. The national glory depends greatly

on its intellectual contributors, and original produc¬

tions in poetry, painting, sculpture, and architec¬

ture, form lasting sources of revenue, that requite

the outlay of the State a thousand-fold.

If the Legislature considers the nation’s honour

and advantage in this matter, Englishmen will adorn

the Senate Houses where Englishmen legislate, and

they will exert their energies to compete, not only

with Germany and France, but Rome herself.

 CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

On the rise and progress of art among the Greeks, and the
introduction of Fresco and Encaustic painting ... 1

CHAPTER II.

On the rise and progress of art among the Italians, and of

Fresco painting in particular ... ... ... ... 13

CHAPTER III.

On Fresco for mural decoration ... ... ... ... 29

CHAPTER IV.

On Encaustic for mural decoration ... ... ... ... 33

CHAPTER V.

On Tempera... ... ... ... ... ... ... 38

CHAPTER VI.

On Oil painting for mural decoration ... ... ... 44

 VI

CHAPTER VII.

On Design for Fresco ... ... ... ... ... 47

CHAPTER VIII.

On conducting large works in Fresco ... ... ... 53

CHAPTER IX.

On Colours used in Fresco ... ... ... ... ... 57

CHAPTER X.

On Greek Stuccoes ... ... ... ... ... ... 59

CHAPTER XI.

On Italian Stuccoes, as used in the Fifteenth Century ... G3

 ON

FRESCO PAINTING.

CHAPTER I.

ON THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF ART AMONG THE

GREEKS, AND THE INTRODUCTION OF FRESCO
AND ENCAUSTIC PAINTING.

“ Such is the influence of the plastic arts on

society, on manners, sentiments, the commodities
and the ornaments of life, that we think ourselves
generally entitled to form our estimate of times
and nations by its standard. As our homage attends
those whose patronage reared them to a state of
efflorescence, or maturity, so we pass with neglect,
or pursue with contempt, the age or race which
want of culture or of opportunity averted from
developing symptoms of a similar attachment.”
Thus said that genius, philosopher, and scholar,
Fuseli, and the enlightened part of mankind concur
in the sentiment. Poets and historians record em-
B
phatically the brilliant eras of Pericles, Augustus,
and Leo X., while ignominious silence, like night,
shades many an intervening period.
High art has by all great nations, ancient and
modern, been esteemed a basis and medium for
promoting civilization and refinement. Where it is
zealously cultivated, an empire assumes in its cha¬
racter the distinctive marks of intellectual supe¬
riority and power; while the ebullitions of genius
in depictive poesy, which disseminate taste and
knowledge, upon high principles, through the va¬
rious ramifications of society, cannot fail giving
to commerce value, to industry an impetus, and to
human nature added dignity.
It is not to the honour of a people to continue
in a state of partial civilization ; neither can the
excursive mind of man rest satisfied in seeking
merely the necessaries for subsistence, or even
the enjoyment and gratification of sense. Such a
state, though somewhat beyond that of the brutes,
ill becomes the being’ who was formed in the
Creator’s image. Man must always be considered
with reference to his intellectual capacities; he
contemplates the past, the present, and the future.
All things, physical or metaphysical, are objects of
his analysis, and he rises superior to the sphere in
which he moves ; but infinity, space, and the know-
 3

ledge of that wisdom and power by which all things

exist and have their being, shew to man his infe¬
riority, and, without circumscription or boundary to
his inquiries, the greatness of Omnipotence is dis¬
played in proportion as his research extends, for the
further he penetrates, wider plains for observation
present themselves to view ; one thing accomplished
is but the means of apprehending what is still
beyond.
“ Creation widens, vanquished nature yields ;
Her secrets are extorted—art prevails.”

That benefit as well as dignity accrue to a nation

by the cultivation of the elegant arts is indisputable.
There are few to be found in the present day with
similar sentiments to the narrow-minded prelate,
who declared that a pin-maker was a more valuable
member of society than Raffaelle; yet, - notwith¬
standing its increase and superior estimation, art, as
an instrument in educating the mind, as wrell as the
eye, is in England but partially understood and
acknowledged.
The parent mother knows full well the advantage
of little illustrated books in facilitating the first
impressions of her offspring; and now that these
publications abound, the infant mind is taught to
reflect at an earlier period, and is sooner, and with
less difficulty, expanded and matured.
 4

But the primer and the child’s book are far from
being- the only ones aided by design ; our history
and our poetry are adorned and elucidated with
scei^s from nature and imagination, which exhibit
the fact, or assist the illusion.
Our scientific works, also, are rendered lucid
and perspicuous by graphic delineation ; and intri¬
cacies and phenomena are by this means explained,
thft would otherwise, in the absence of the reality,
be ambiguous or unintelligible.
The reader of Homer will best understand the
author by reference to Flaxman’s outlines, unless
he is versed in Greek antiquities and customs.
The beautiful facts of Holy Writ will be the
better conceived by an acquaintance with the Car¬
toons of Raffaelle; instance that of “ The Sacri¬
fice at Lystra,” where the priest of Jupiter is about
to offer the victim to Paul and Barnabas. This
scene, with very slight alterations, was taken from a
Greek bas-relief (now at Florence), and therefore
enables us to form a correct notion of the occurrence.
AVIiat should we have known of the Egyptians,
their temples, their customs ? Of Thebes, with its
hundred gates ? or the magnificence of Carnac,
without the remains of art handed down to us ?
We should be as ignorant of these as we are res¬
pecting Jerusalem, of which, though so much has
 5

been written, we possess but very indefinite ideas,

since scarcely a monument of its former greatness
is preserved, and not even one stone remains upon
another. m
Of Babylon, again, notwithstanding the records
of Herodotus, Strabo, Xenophon, Diodorus, and
Josephus, how little do we know ! Who can deter¬
mine or portray with authority (seeing that not a
vestige of art remains) its mighty walls, its hanging
gardens, or its palaces of unequalled dimensions,
which have passed like a tale that is told ?
How different to this is our cognizance of Greece !
from whence streams of intelligence and information
have flowed down to us through her treasures of art.
With these impressed on our minds, we familiarly
enter into the spirit of the ancient writers; their
kings, warriors, statesmen, philosophers, and poets,
are all known to us ; we are as well acquainted with
Pericles and the Csesars, as with Henry VIII. or
Charles I.
Where art is not found conjointly with history
and poetry, we are at a loss, after a lapse of years,
to comprehend the descriptions, and our conjectures
are often as vague as they are vain.
Our ideas of the Olympic games are formed upon
the splendid examples of Grecian sculpture ; and of
the gladiators we have the most accurate represen-
 6

tations possible ; they themselves, with their extra¬

ordinary muscular developments, having served as
the models.
Unfortunately, no paintings by Apelles have sur¬
vived the devastations of the cities which they for¬
merly adorned ; but the sculpture of Phidias and
Praxiteles have been the grand models of imitation
to the present day.
By the principles of science, derived from Hippo¬
crates, Pythagoras, Euclid, and Plato, the Greek
painters were led to form a just standard of excel¬
lence. They acquired precision and boldness from
the knowledge of the construction of the human
body, its proportions, the unity of its parts, and the
laws of its mechanical evolutions.
The systems of the Greeks were founded upon
analysis and synthesis. The doctrines and truths of
nature were, during successive ages, unfolded by
deep research, and with the advance of science may
be traced the rise of art.
It was from the absence of fundamental pre¬
cepts, demonstrating causes and effects, that paint¬
ers and sculptors, from the 5th to the 14th century,
were unable to infuse dignity or vigour into their
works. Compare such mechanical labours with
the creations of Phidias ! In his Panathenaic frieze,
the horses and their riders are in motion; the men
 7

are intelligent beings of the finest mould; the

chargers are heated with impetuosity, snorting and
prancing, instinct with life and energy ! The perfec¬
tion of nature and art united.
In order to examine fresco and encaustic, as in¬
troduced by the Greeks, it is necessary to trace
briefly the first principles of painting, which, accord¬
ing to Pliny, they derived, with those of sculpture
and architecture, from the Egyptians.
Painting was the discovery of Giges ; though the
well-known legend imputes it to the Corinthian
maid, who traced the resemblance of her departing
lover by the shadow from a lamp.
The earliest attempt at delineation was the skia¬
gram, or representation of a shadow in black on a
light ground. This was drawn with the cestrum, a
pointed iron instrument, used as a pen for writing
on tablets of wax.
The figures on the most ancient Greek vases,
commonly called Etruscan, were probably skia¬
grams ; the figures being entirely black, and badly
drawn ; very similar to the sculpture of the Dscda-
lean school, and bearing some affinity to the Egyp¬
tian hieroglyphics, though with a spirit and ani¬
mation of style that rendered them greatly supe¬
rior.

The monogram was the next step in advance.

 8

This was the outline of the figure, with portions of

detail.
The third was the monochrom, or painting with
a single colour ; such probably were the best of the
Greek vases, where the figures are relieved by a
black or brown back-ground. This process was
carried to the utmost perfection, and for drawing,
invention, and composition, these monoehroms are
justly held in the highest estimation.
In each stage the Greeks acquired excellence,
till all were perfected by the introduction of the
Polychrom, or science of colour; which, in the
hands of men already possessed of the grand linear
principles, could not fail of being an instrument of
power, and of completing the basis of pictorial
excellence.
The colours were at first few, and used in an
impasto of wax, tempered with oil, while warm.
The cestrum was used, not like the graver, as is
commonly supposed, but much in the way painters
now dexterously handle the spatula; drawing with
the point, and regulating the impasto with the side
of the instrument.
The first great painter in encaustic was Polygnotus,
of whose works lengthened descriptions have been
handed down. He was, as far as we can ascertain,
the founder of epic painting. The 7roixly^rj rrroa
 9

derives its name from the various pictures by which

he adorned it. These were of a grand monumental
character, as “ The Siege and Sacking of Troy,”
“ The Battle of Theseus and the Amazons,” “ The
Battle of the Lacedaemonians and Athenians, at
CEnoe, in Argolis,” “ The Triumph of Miltiades
and the Victors of Marathon.” This last cele¬
brated picture was painted by public desire, and
such was the admiration in which it was held, that
the Athenians offered to reward the artist with what¬
ever he might desire. Polygnotus nobly declined
asking any thing; upon which the Amphictyonic
Council proclaimed that he should be maintained at
the public expense wherever he went.
A chamber of the Propylsea was adorned entirely
with the paintings of Polygnotus; and from the
accounts of Pausanias, the Acropolis must have
been rich with his conceptions. Two immense
pictures are also mentioned as adorning the public
Hall at Delphi. Many opinions have been rashly
formed in deterioration of these works (probably
from the character of the descriptions by Pausanias),
which resemble Raffaelle’s episodes; that, for in¬
stance, of the liberation of Peter from prison, where
he is first seen asleep, the angel touching him by
the hand, while on one side of the same picture
the angel is seen leading him out. The anachro-
c
 10

nism cannot be commended, vet who does not re¬

gard the picture with intense admiration ? Greek
painting- should be judged of by Greek sculpture
and architecture, and the splendid works that are
extant, ought to teach ns to judge justly of those
that are not. It is unreasonable to suppose that
the applause of the enlightened Athenians could
have been bestowed on paintings inferior to the
sculpture of Phidias, who was the contemporary of
Polygnotus. But if art does not exist in proof, the
eulogiums of poets and historians are scarcely
accredited; evidently shewing that we are more
indebted to the arts for substantiating- our know-
ledge than we are willing to admit.
Arcesilaus, of Paros, Apollodorus, Parrhasius,
Zeuxis, and Aristides, all painted in encaustic with
the cestrum. This, however, was soon supplanted
by the pencil, in which Apelles, Protogenes, and
Timanthus excelled.
Pausias, in restoring some of the pictures of
Polygnotus, was reproved for handling weapons not
his own, because he had used the pencil on a picture
painted with the cestrum. It was probably after the
introduction of the pencil, by Apollodorus, that the
method of painting in fresco was adopted, though
it seems to have been in use at a much earlier pe¬
riod for plain walls of a single colour (the colour
 11

being mixed with the stucco), trowelled on, and

afterwards polished. Although a very ancient
mode of painting, the origin of fresco is involved
in obscurity; yet it is probable that the Greeks
owed much of their enlargement of practice to
this aggrandizing medium. Their love for art was
interwoven with all their associations. They gloried
in their artists, and these, in return, vied with each
other in their endeavours to advance the nation’s
greatness, while the hope of a crown of laurel gave
a further impetus to their genius and their exer¬
tions. The poets sung, the philosophers discoursed,
and painters and sculptors embodied and perpetu¬
ated their conceptions, as well as their deeds and
persons.
Taste, derived from art, exhibited itself through
the manufactures ; and those articles (and they are
numerous) which have descended to us, are re¬
markable for beauty and elegance of form. Fur¬
niture, apparel, ornaments, armour, weapons, culi¬
nary vessels, and pottery of all descriptions, are the
production of a people highly refined; even a common
earthenware lamp possesses an air of genuine taste
that has never been surpassed. The sword, battle-
axe, helmet, and shield, are in numberless instances
superb works of art; and when brought into juxta¬
position with those of more modern times, the
superiority of tlie Greek manufacture will at once
be obvious. There are also admirable monuments
extant, in the way of pictorially adorned chambers
al fresco, with splendid ceilings; the treatment of
subject in which (whether historical or mythological)
excites our wonder, as also the disposition of orna¬
ment which forms the magnificent framework to
the pictures introduced. In the arabesque is seen
foliage, bacchanals, centaurs, nymphs, animals, birds,
and fishes. These, which if disposed by less skilful
hands, would have presented abhorrent incongruities,
are here amalgamated so as to create new forms
and contrasts, which, in a beauteous harmony of
colour, strike and gain upon the beholder, so that the
mind and senses are equally enthralled. These ex¬
quisite inventions have continued to charm through
the various changes of ages and dynasties ; and hav¬
ing their foundation in every thing that is perfect
in nature, they must ever retain their celebrity;
while the consecutive inventions of caprice, preju¬
dice, and fashion, sink into deserved oblivion.
 CHAPTER II.

ON THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF ART AMONG THE

ITALIANS, AND OF FRESCO PAINTING IN
PARTICULAR.

In contemplating a master-piece of art, wrought by

an expanded intellect with wonderful manual dex¬
terity, and comprehending science, invention, action,
passion, chiaro-scuro, and the magic spell of expres¬
sion, we gaze with wonder and admiration, and for¬
get that ages were occupied and passed in progres¬
sive advances; each generation adding its expe¬
rience to the past, till, ultimately, some genius,
with the power of applying the various points of
knowledge attained by many, unites their excel¬
lences ; and, like the skilful chemist, purging away
the drossy incumbrances, presents to the world art
in its highest attainable perfection ! Thus, what we
often look upon as the facile production of a day,
cost, in its acquirement, many centuries.
There are many who paint, as there are many
who rhyme; but few are destined to outlive the
 14

narrow limits of tlieir own existence, or who will be

recognized as painters and poets by posterity.
The genius of painting, like that of poetry, though
intuitive, must necessarily be cultivated; it is
therefore highly important to observe the steps by
which art rose, the course of its current, and the
circumstances under which it flourished. I may,
therefore, be excused, while tracing somewhat of
the progress of the Italians, and marking those
whose genius, or powers of invention, assisted to
raise it to the enviable elevation which it attained
in the 16th century, through the powers of fresco
painting.
Though the Greeks were never surpassed in form,
composition, and colour, yet, from the discovery of
the science of perspective in the 15th century, a
greater command was given to the Italian painters
to represent objects as they really appear in nature,
and by such unerring rules as enabled them to
avoid the incongruities so apparent in the early
Florentine school, and even, at times, in the
Greek.
After the fill of the Roman empire, art, litera¬
ture, and science, as is well known, remained at the
lowest ebb for the space of several centuries; the
barbarians destroying not only every vestige of art,
but also every description of knowledge by which
 15

it might be re-established. This period of the

world’s history is justly denominated the dark ages.
Among the degenerated Greeks there were, how¬
ever, a few Gothic painters deserving of notice. At
Florence there is a picture by Andrea Rico, of a
Madonna and Child attended by angels, which exhi¬
bits considerable talent, and is interesting as one of
the best specimens of the 13th century. There is
also a Madonna and infant Christ in the church of
Santa Maria Maggiore, at Rome, pronounced by the
Italian painters and writers to be of the lltli cen¬
tury ; though it is venerated as a work of St. Luke
by Roman Catholics.
Cimabue, a Florentine, born in 1240, was the first
Italian who attempted painting in fresco and tem¬
pera. He derived his instructions from the Greek
artists who had fled to Florence; and from the pro¬
gress he made, and the dignity he imparted to his
figures, he has been styled the Michael Angelo of his
day; though at this early period, when the powers of
painting were comparatively unknown, a little suf¬
ficed to create astonishment. As an instance of
this—-the Florentines seeing a picture of a Madonna
and Child, with ministering angels, the size of
life, by Cimabue, an attempt that had not been
made by any artist of the time, such a sensation
was created, that a feast was proclaimed throughout
 1(3

the city. The painter and picture were carried in

grand procession, and with tumultuous rejoicing, to
the church of Santa Maria Novella, heralds sound¬
ing their approach. The concourse that followed
was immense, and the delight occasioned by the
picture was so great, that the place where Cimabue
resided was named “ Borgo Allegri.”*' Having re¬
suscitated painting, taught many disciples, and lived
in wealth and honour, he died in the year 1300.
Cimabue was, undoubtedly, the founder, not only of
the Tuscan school, but of modern art. He was suc¬
ceeded by his pupil Giotto, whose abilities, as
painter, sculptor, and architect, deserve high recom¬
mendation. Not content with the condition of art
as left by his master, he strove assiduously to im¬
prove it, which he unquestionably did ; especially by
the practice of fresco ; and was fortunate enough to
find patrons, who enabled him to prosecute his de¬
signs. He studied nature, and improved his con¬
ceptions by an intimacy with Dante, whose lofty
imagery tended greatly to enlarge men’s minds, and
to disperse the darkness that had so long enveloped
Europe; it also infused into the works of the
painters of the day, and many of those who suc¬
ceeded, a charm which will ever be acknowledged.
Giotto’s Belfry at Florence, which still exists, is a

* Vasari.
 17

fine piece of architecture. It is a tower of great

height, of inlaid marbles (corresponding to the duo-
mo), and is adorned with sculptured figures that
possess beauty and simplicity. This artist was
much, and deservedly, esteemed by popes, kings,
and princes. It is related of him, that while en¬
gaged on a fresco at Porto Reale (the entrance to
Naples), the king Ruberto often visited him, and
said one day, in conversation, that he intended to
make him the first man in the kingdom. “ It is for
this reason, then,” answered Giotto smiling, “ that
I am stationed here !” On another occasion, the wea¬
ther being very oppressive, the king said, “ I would
leave painting a little while it is so warm, if I were
you, Giotto.” “ And I certainly would,” answered
the painter, “ if I were your Highness.”
From the time of Giotto, the love of art seems to
have spread rapidly, and pictures subsequent to this
period are to be found in all the principal cities of
Italy.
Philip Brunelleschi, the founder of the modern
school of architecture, and the restorer of the
Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian orders, aided
greatly in improving the style both of fresco and
sculpture by the necessity he created for works
corresponsive to the classic grandeur of his edifices.
He was the discoverer of the mode of erecting
D
 18

cupolas, which had been lost since the time of the

Romans.
Vasari relates a similar anecdote of him to that
recorded of Columbus, though this has unquestion¬
ably the merit of being the first, since it occurred
before the birth of Columbus.*
A council of the most learned men of the day
and from various parts of the world, was summoned
to consult and shew plans for the erection of a
cupola like that of the Pantheon at Rome.']' Bru¬
nelleschi refused to shew his model, it being upon
the most simple principles, but proposed that the
man who could make an egg stand upright on a
marble base should be the architect. The foreigners
and artists agreeing to this, but failing in their
attempts, desired Brunelleschi to do it himself:
upon which he took the egg, and with a gentle tap
broke the end, and placed it on the slab. The
learned men unanimously protested that any one else

* Brunelleschi died in 1446 ; Columbus was born in 1442.

t Some of these wise men proposed that a centre column

should support the dome ; others, that a huge mound of earth
(with quatrini scattered among it) should be raised in the form
of a cupola, and the brick or stone work built upon it. When
finished, an order was to be issued, allowing the people to possess
themselves of what money they might find in the rubbish ; the
mound would thus be easily removed, and the cupola be left
clear.
 19

could do the same; to which the architect replied

with a smile, that had they seen his model they
could as easily have known how to build a cupola.
The work then devolved upon him, but a want
of confidence existing among the operatives and
citizens, they pronounced the undertaking to be too
great for one man, and arranged that Lorenzo Ghi¬
berti,* an artist of great repute at that time, should
be co-architect with him. Brunelleschi’s anger and
mortification were so great on hearing this decision,
that he destroyed, in the space of half an hour,
models and designs that had cost him years of
labour, and would have quitted Florence but for the
persuasions of Donatello.
It is almost unnecessary to add, that the cupola was
completed with perfect success by Brunelleschi, since
St. Peter’s, at Rome, and our own St. Paul’s, were
formed upon the model of his dome at Florence.
Paolo Uccelli painted in fresco, but was princi¬
pally absorbed in the study of perspective, and first
introduced into painting its invaluable principles.
He laboured incessantly, and often spent whole
nights in discovering the termination or intersection

* Lorenzo Ghiberti was the sculptor of the exquisite bronze

doors of the Baptistry, at Florence, which Michael Angelo
admired so much as to say they might serve for the gates of
Paradise.
of a line; and like most men who have devoted
their minds to oeenlt sciences, he lived in poverty,
and died neglected, though it must he acknowledged
that he conferred one of the greatest benefits upon
art, and posterity has reason to record his name
with consideration.*
Piero Francesco was another who devoted him¬
self to perspective; he wrote many volumes on the
subject, and has even been styled by some the father
of the science; and from the painters of his time
beginning to estimate his value, he received more
honour and emolument than the unfortunate Uccelli.
Masaccio was a man who likewise advanced his
art; he treated history with extraordinary skill,
and many of the greatest painters have studied his
works in the Brancacio Chapel, Michael Angelo and
Raffaelle among the number.
At this time painting both in oil and fresco was,
however, practised in a gothic gusto,f and the

* Paolo Uccelli painted a curious picture, which is worth

mention, as it correctly classified the artists according to their
merit. In it, he represented Giotto as the luminary of modern
painting, Brunelleschi of architecture, Donatello of sculpture,
himself of perspective, and Giovanni Maneti of mathematics.
Paolo painted buildings in perspective.

j While the gothic architecture of the dark ages attained to

beauty, which is still justly admired, the same cannot be said of
gothic paintings, which, though curious, should never be deemed
examples worthy of imitation.
 21

artists of the clay were engaged in illustrating scrip¬

ture for the instruction of the people. Pinturichio
was employed to paint the Library of Siena, and
called to his assistance Raffaelle, then young in art
and reputation, who painted one panel and made
designs for the rest. But the fame of Michael
Angelo and da Vinci reaching him, he could no
longer remain at Siena, but, leaving the walls un¬
finished, he repaired to Florence. “ The Cartoon
of Pisa,” by Michael Angelo, and “ The Battle of
the Standard,” by Leonardo, speedily made him
leave his gothic style, and improve himself on the
models of the antique. He was shortly after called
upon to paint a stanza in the Vatican, through the
interest of his uncle, Bramante, who was designing
at St. Peter’s, and was in high favour with the Pope.
Many of the rooms were already completed,* but
on seeing what had been done, he determined to
surpass it all, and to the astonishment of the Pon¬
tiff Giulio II., the marvellous composition of “ The
School of Philosophy”! appeared, like a meteor
in the midst of stars of common magnitude. The
Pope, doing justice to the splendid talent that had
developed itself, immediately ordered all the other

* By Perugino Pietro della Francesca, Luca da Cortona, Bar¬

tolomeo della Gatta, and Bramantino da Milano.

f Commonly, but erroneously, called “ The School of Athens.”

 99

chambers to be defaced, and adorned by the superior

genius of Raffaelle.*
Here is an instance of a painter being elevated to
his proper dignity through having free scope for the
faculties of his mind; though no one anticipated
“ The School of Philosophy” from Raffaelle, who till
that period had only been rather better than his
master Perugino.
In his moral frescoes Raffaelle expanded as in a
congenial element; he
“ Reigns here and revels,”

and exhibits all the rare attributes for which he is

distinguished. Form, invention, chiaro-scuro, and
even colour, are all excellent in the frescoes of the
Vatican. He seemed to have apprehended all that
could render art perfect, and what he had witnessed
by Buonaroti and Da Vinci in design, enabled him
to carry painting to an unprecedented altitude.
His execution was only surpassed by his concep¬
tion : his line was always energetic, however deli¬
cate and beautiful, and of expression, like Aristides
the Theban, lie has justly been called the master.
Truth is stamped on his cartoons, and he vividly
recals the events of former days. “ The School of

* Out of respect to the work of his master, Raffaelle preserved

the ceiling painted by him, which is still to be seen in the
Vatican.
 23

Philosophy,” “The Dispute of the Sacrament,” “ The

Liberation of Peter from Prison,” “ The Miracle of
Bolsena,” and the “ Incendio dell Borgo,” are the
perfection of historic art, and display a concentra¬
tion of powers entirely his own. His portraits,
though few in number, are of the highest order;
those of Giulio II. and Leo X. are fine examples.
His Madonnas are the most fascinating personifica¬
tions of maternal affection, mingled with dignity
and grace, the very beau-ideal of female tenderness.
That called the Madonna della Seggiola, the gem of
the palace that contains it at Florence, is, perhaps,
the most perfect and exquisite. Regarding the
sculpture and painting of the Greeks, with a keen
perception of their well-founded principles, and their
high standard of excellence, formed upon the infini¬
tude of Nature, Raffaelle sought with eagerness all
that could be collected of Grecian art, and for that
purpose sent artists to Greece to copy any thing
that was beautiful, and in emulation of the Baths of
Titus, he conceived and executed his loggie of the
Vatican. What he beheld by the pencil of the
Greeks impelled him onward to equal, if not in
some respects to surpass, their splendid achieve¬
ments. The example of Raffaelle was followed by
his school, and taste spread through Italy with ra¬
pid strides. The revival of pictorial excellence was
 24

hailed l>y all the learned and wealthy of the age :

genius created patronage; patronage, in its turn,
fostered talent; and Rome, which before had been
renowned for the arts of war, then became pre¬
eminent as the restorer of the arts of peace.
The next great painter in the history and suc¬
cessful practice of fresco who demands our parti¬
cular attention is Michael Angelo. He was di¬
rected by Giidio II.. at the instigation of Bramante
(who, jealous of his abilities, was anxious that he
might be engaged in some work wherein he might
fail), to undertake the embellishment of the Sixtine
Chapel: although he strongly recommended Raffa-
elle, as better able to accomplish it than himself,
who had never painted in fresco. But his endea¬
vours to evade the commission failed. The Pope,
from a perception, probably of his commanding
powers, and in order to provoke to excellence in
painting the sublimity and grandeur of style so re¬
markable in his sculpture, insisted on the under¬
taking. Michael Angelo accordingly drew his car¬
toons, and obtained some Florentine painters to as¬
sist him with the fresco.* But finding their dry,
cramped gothic manner subversive of his breadth
and flow of outline, he without ceremony destroyed

* Grannacio, Juliano Bugiardino, Jacopo di Sandro, L’Indaio

Vecchio, Agnolo di Domino, and Aristotle.
 25

all their labours, and began the tremendous under¬

taking entirely alone, securing the doors, and not
suffering himself to be seen, either at home or at
the Capella, while the disgraced Florentines re¬
turned with shame to their own city. After indefa¬
tigable exertion during several months, he exhibited
to view a portion of the most unrivalled ceiling
that was ever painted. Sublimely conceived, drawn
with a skill that surpassed all previous achieve¬
ments, it excited the immortal Raffaelle to efforts
that rendered him afterwards the successful rival
of Michael Angelo.
The Pope, who had been eagerly waiting for a
sight of what had been done in the Capella, did
not even allow the dust to subside from the re¬
moval of the scaffolding, but was the first to enter.
A concourse followed, and the most unbounded
applause was awarded to the painter. Thus what
Bramante hoped would have proved injurious to
Buonaroti, served but for his further exaltation,
and for Raffaelle’s imitation. Success usually at¬
tends great minds when incited to vast undertakings,
and thus it was with Raffaelle and Michael Angelo.
The power or inherent capacity of these men, though
undoubtedly far beyond the common order, was
unfolded and matured by an enlarged practice, the
offspring of splendid patronage, induced be it re-
E
 26

membered by the exhibition of one single essay by

each of these artists in fresco, the noblest of all
mediums, and the one most adapted to elicit the
latent powers of the pencil.
It was primarily from the nature of the practice
required in fresco painting, that the grand style of
the Italian school arose, and I will venture to affirm,
that no school can be high in character or of the
first order without the same enlarged means of
study. It is to me no matter of surprise that high
art is prostrate, while that which dignified the
great schools of Italy is thrown aside and con¬
temned. Yet who that has been rapt in admiration
at the wonders of the Sixtine Chapel could wish to
see the exalted genius of Michael Angelo confined
within the narrow limits of a few feet of canvass?
But had he lived in these days, men would have
been alarmed at the size and strength of his figures,
and might probably have advised more caution,
more neatness, and more attention to the academic
rules. Left, however, unfettered and uncontrolled,
he rose above all rules, and, disdaining
-——“ To beat
The beaten track,”

lie, in a surprising manner, mastered every thing that

came within the compass of art, and levelled every
barrier that obstructed its advancement.
 27

As sculptor, Buonaroti shewed no less the mas¬

ter mind. The tombs of Lorenzo di Medici and
Giulio II. evince both the skill of the painter and
architect ; the pictorial effect and architectural
arrangement afford a fine example of the union of
the three branches. The Moses as a statue is a
sublime conception of the Lawgiver, and one of
the grandest efforts of the chisel.
As architect, Michael Angelo raised the loftiest
dome in Europe, perfect in its proportions, and
beautiful in all its parts ; he elevated it a hundred
feet beyond the original design, and would have
added to the fabric one of the noblest porticoes
imaginable, had not death prevented the fulfilment
of his intentions. Thus, in his three-fold capacity
of painter, sculptor, and architect, he stands alone
and unrivalled.
The excellence of the grand style in painting-
can only be developed when employed upon an
enlarged scale. Talent may be visible in the lower,
but in the higher are the noble capabilities of the art
alone demonstrated. By encountering difficulties,
men learn to overcome them, and it is by artists
being employed in great undertakings, that works
worthy of the nation will be produced.
Were fresco painting encouraged in England, it
would at once effect the rise of British art, and call
 28

forth powers that now lie dormant, and must con¬

tinue so, while no scope is afforded for their display.
This is unhappily the case with our historical
painters, who, after a few vigorous but discouraged
attempts, decline in energy, and, driven by disap¬
pointment and the prospect of destitution, adopt a
style more congenial to common understandings.
Thus the highest walk of art is neglected or for¬
saken, and instead of exalting the public feeling,
artists are constrained to pander to the corrupt taste
of the times. It is from the broad principles which
fresco painting inculcates, that I consider so much
benefit will result from its introduction. In this
enobling material every faculty is called forth, and
in the exercise of it is created a precision of touch
and breadth of style that preclude every meaner
detail that would lessen the sublimity of the con¬
ception, or contract the genius of the artist, whose
thought must be intent only on producing a grand
and harmonious combination.
In such a practice the powers of a great mind
will necessarily increase, as the demand made
upon them is urgent, and thus will be matured the
bold hand, the correct eye, and the enlightened
judgment.
 29

CHAPTER III.

ON FRESCO FOR MURAL DECORATION.

Fresco (so called from its being painted on a pre¬

pared stucco while fresh plastered and wet) is the
most masterly of all modes for mural adornment.
The Greeks introduced it among the Romans, and
most of the ancient frescoes and encaustics were the
work of the former, as those of Pompeii and Her¬
culaneum. In various parts of Italy, ancient fres¬
coes have been brought to light, and Vasari says,
that such was the beauty and freshness of the Baths
of Titus when first opened, that Raffaelle and Gio-
vani da Udine, who had come to see them, remained
for some time transfixed with amazement.
The sight of these frescoes led at once to the exe¬
cution of the Loggie, and the magnificent arabesques
and ornamental stuccoes, which have been so justly
admired. It was from Giovanni’s observing the
ornaments in stucco and relievo in the Thermae,
that he invented the mode of casting from moulds
in the manner of the antique, with calcined marble
 30

and marble dust. U ntil this, castings were made of

chalk, lime, and bitumen, boiled together, and poured
into the moulds while hot.
Giovanni also adopted the method that Bramante
had discovered, of casting architectural mouldings
in lime and pozzolana. The relievos and ornaments
came out satisfactorily in this manner as to impres¬
sion, but not sufficiently white. He afterwards suc¬
ceeded in imitating the antique, by the substitution
of marble dust for pozzolana.
Among the advantages of fresco for mural deco¬
ration are, the absence of glare, with exceeding
purity, and freshness of colour. Fresco, reflecting
instead of absorbing light, renders it particularly
beautiful by candle-light, though its bland mellow¬
ness of tone is at all times very charming.*
By the practice of this admirable mode of paint¬
ing, the artist will soon lay aside the lesser excel¬
lences required in oil, as they would not be called
for, and indeed cannot be exercised in it; the firm¬
ness of touch and celerity necessary for completing
the part prepared for the day, with a constant refe¬
rence to the effect of the whole, will prove to the
painter that more beauty is caused by simple colour,

* The crudity observed in some modern frescoes may be im¬

puted either to the thinness of the plaster, or to the want of har¬
mony in the colouring of the painter.
 31

more grandeur by preserving the flow of outline,

the vigour and general character of the subject, than
by attending to tints, glazings, and all the intrica¬
cies of oil. Local colour should remain unbroken
by various hues; and the cliiaro-scuro in fresco
seems amply to supply the want of variety of tints.
To manage fresco well, requires a practice in the
large, after which the painter may successfully treat
small subjects; but the material is so adapted for
an ample area, that its beauty and facility of ma¬
nipulation are much lost in very circumscribed
limits.
In oil there are certain allurements, as transpa¬
rency, depth, and richness, which, though totally
without the grand essentials of art, may please, and
form the principal excellence of pictures worthy of
commendation. Not so in fresco ; knowledge or
ignorance here will be obvious: there is no evading
anatomy, drawing, and expression; these are indis¬
pensable, and on this account fresco is eminently
calculated to form great designers.
The principal works of the renowned Italian
masters are in fresco, and they, as Reynolds ob¬
serves, “ are justly considered as the greatest efforts
of art which the world can boast.”
Michael Angelo, Raffaelle, Giulio Romano, Cor-
regio, the three Caracci, Guido, Domenichino, and
 32

Guercino, were all eminent in fresco, and far sur¬

pass, in this material, their pictures in oil, simply
because the former developed the higher principles.
The Germans, in our own times, have advanced
through the same practice, and have acquired,
within a very few years, fame throughout Europe.
They excel in drawing and design, but, which is
quite enigmatical, have selected Francia and Peru-
gino for their models, instead of the unaffected gran¬
deur of the Roman school. Still, the adoption of
fresco is a happy omen, and cannot fail to enlarge
the taste of the Germans. There are, even now,
proofs of extraordinary excellence to be seen among
them by rising artists, whose genius is overlooked
in the present unsound gusto founded upon early

art.
For large mural works, the palm must be awarded
to fresco by unprejudiced and intelligent minds.
The beauty of this medium is so chaste, its tones
so purely historic, and so void of any meretricious
admixture, that, though its pretensions are not as
numerous as oil, its qualities for the grand style are
infinitely superior.
 33

CHAPTER IV.

ON ENCAUSTIC FOR MURAL DECORATION.

This is one of the most ancient methods of painting

recorded by the Greeks, bnt, from the fact of their
disagreement as to its origin (for they impute to dif¬
ferent painters its discovery), it would be vain in our
time even to assign the period of its introduction:
though it might probably have been suggested by
the Mordant painting of the Egyptians. It derived
its name (Ivexaucs) from the materials being pre¬
pared by fire. It was used for tabular and mural
works, and combined the lucid properties of fresco
with much of the richness of oil, and, like the for¬
mer, reflected light.
From the speculations on encaustic painting, a
variety of modes have been discovered, and partially
adopted ; but, among conflicting opinions, the real
process of the ancients has, in my opinion, been
overlooked, and no other of equal value substituted.
Count Caylus was one of the most active movers of
the research. On a premium being offered by the
F
 34

Royal Academy of Inscriptions at Paris for an en¬

caustic that should meet with the approbation of
that body, several modes were proposed by three
candidates, Count Caylus, Cochin, and Bac-hiliere.
Two of the discoveries were approved, but resolved
into one, as it was thought that the conjunction
would render the medium more perfect. Wax,
liquified in water by an infusion of salt of tartar,
formed the composition. I have, however, found
that this does not thoroughly bind the colours
when used in an impasto, and, moreover, requires
varnish.
Several experiments have since been tried, such
as the following: wax pastiles blended by heat;
colours mixed with wax, and used while hot;
gum mastic and wax thrown while hot into cold
water, and then pulverized, and used with water-
colours ; this was also secured by the application of
heat; gum mastic and wax dissolved in turpentine,
and heat applied to unite the whole. Some of
these were burnished by passing an ivory palette-
knife over the surface ; others, by a coat of melted
wax, polished afterwards by a piece of linen or silk.
But these being wholly inapplicable for large works,
I pass on to some observations made by Pliny upon

the ancient method.

“It is certain,” says he, “that there were an-
 35

ciently two ways of painting in the encaustic style

—on tablets of wax, and on ivory, with the cestrum
or engraver’s burin. When vessels began to be
painted, a third method was adopted, that of melt¬
ing wax by fire, and laying it on with a pencil; a
kind of painting that will bear exposure to the sun,
and stand the action of salt-water and the wind
without injury.”'*'
Of encaustic varnish, as applied to walls painted
in fresco, with the colour of minium (or vermilion)
Pliny says, “ When the wall is well dried, let the
best punic wax, liquified with oil and in a heated
state, be laid on with a hog’s-hair brush; then let
it be heated a second time, by applying blackened
or charred gall-nuts till the wax begins to melt;
afterwards let it be reduced to the proper consis¬
tency by means of candles.”f
From these rather vague directions, together
with observations and experiments of my own, I am
induced to think that the medium for 'painting was

* “ Encausto pingendi duo fuisse antiquitus genera constat,

cera,etin ebore, cestro, id est viriculo, donee classes pingi cuepere.
Hoc tertiam accessit resolutis igni ceris penicillo utendi, quae pic-
tura in navibus nec sole, nec sale, ventisque corrumpitur.”—Plin.
lib. 35.

f “ Parieti siccato, cera punica cum oleo liquefacta candens

setis inducatur ; iterumque, admotis Gallae carbonibus, inuratur
usque ad sudorem postea candelis subigatur.”—Plin. lib. 35.
 36

the same as Pliny so minutely describes for the var¬

nish ; and, though he only mentions wax, it may be
in the way we speak of painting in oil, which is not
oil alone, though any one ignorant of the pro¬
cess might easily suppose this to be the case, from
no other ingredient being named. Wax, alone,
suddenly chills, and offers no facility whatever for
the pencil. It is true, Lanzi gives an account of a
Florentine painter who used colours mixed with
wax heated over a fire, the canvass also being-
heated by another fire at the back; but this could
not have been the system of the Greeks, whose en¬
caustics were on walls as Avell as tablets. Wax
tempered with oil, I conceive, therefore, to be the
medium; this works easily in an impasto, and pro¬
duces an exact imitation of the ancient encaustic.
The colours were.ground with the wax, on a heated
stone, as represented in a picture at Pompeii, where
the attendant of an artist in the studio is grinding-
colours on a slab with a fire under it.
Almost every colour was employed in encaustic,
as orpiment, red-lead, and other evanescent colours:
wax having the property of preserving them from
the action of light, and atmospherical changes.
The oil when used with wrax should be colourless,
and a powerful drier. Nut-oil with wax is not
easily dried.
 37

The durability of the Greek encaustic must have

been great, as it resisted the sun’s rays, the wind,
and the salt of the sea.
Having long been desirous of seeing fresco and
encaustic introduced into England, I have made
experiments in the hope of discovering a medium
combining the qualities of the two—the freshness,
and luminous brilliancy and absence of glare in the
former, with the richness and facility of painting in
the latter: in this I have at length succeeded be¬
yond my expectations, and shall be glad of an oppor¬
tunity of displaying its powers to the public.
After having bestowed much time and pains
upon this encaustic, I cannot be expected, injus¬
tice to myself, to make known advantages which
the ancient with all its excellence did not possess,
inasmuch as varnish was an essential part of its
process. It was in my encaustic, but which has
since been greatly improved in richness and dura¬
bility, that I painted the banquetting-room of His
Grace the Duke of Beaufort, and it being without
any varnish, the effect of the whole can be seen at
once. From the subsequent additions, my encaustic
now approximates nearer, in practice and appear¬
ance, to fresco, though admitting of a higher finish :
it is particularly suitable for works that are exposed
to minute observation.
 38

CHAPTER V.

ON TEMPERA.

Tempera is the most ancient of all the modes of

painting, and was common among the Egyptians, as

may be seen in their antiquities preserved at the
British Museum. From them, it was doubtless
brought into use among the Greeks, to whom the
tempera paintings at Pompeii are imputed.
The scenery for the Greek drama may have been
painted in the aquazzo, or common size, which
Vitruvius mentions as in ordinary use for dry
stuccoes.
From occasional remarks by the ancient writers,
I am led to think that pictures were sometimes
painted in a description of tempera, and varnished.
The story of the sponge thrown against a picture
by Protogenes, and producing the effect of foam on
the horse’s mouth, appears to favour the supposition ;
and the brown harmonizing varnish of Apelles
may have been the encaustic varnish used over an
 39

exquisite kind of tempera, in the same manner as

over fresco, for the preservation of minium.
In the first ages of Christianity, tempera was
much practised by Greek painters, whose medium
was very powerful and brilliant, as is obvious from
many of their works still extant in various parts of
Italy.
During the dark ages, tempera, afterwards var¬
nished, seems to have been almost the only mode of
painting. The gallery at Florence contains some
early Greek pictures of this description, which are of
interest from their being in the style that was first
imitated by the Italians on the revival of art by
Cimabue and Giotto. Considerable excellence was
acquired in this medium by the early masters, but
it attained its great elevation in the Cartoons of
Raffaelle.
The Greek medium and manner of applying it,
as afterwards learnt by the Italians, is detailed by
Vasari, and is as follows:—
Rosso di uovo (yolk of egg) is beaten up with
some of the milky juice that issues from the tender
twigs of the fig-tree. The colours having been
ground in water, are used with this mixture. Gum
water is necessary for occasional glazings. In
painting blue draperies, size is better than yolk of
egg, as the latter is apt to tinge the blue.
 40

Juice from the fig-tree could not easily be

obtained in England, neither is it essential in my
opinion.* I have used yolk of egg beaten up
with water, and it answers admirably, provided
parchment size and a little drying oil are mixed
with the white. This tempera possesses the valu¬
able property of retaining its colour the same as
when first laid on; which is the case with no otlier.f
The usual kind of tempera looks very meagre
when dry, and becomes considerably lighter; besides
which, it does not admit of repeated touchings.
The uovo medium will receive high finish, and
may be either employed opaquely, or semi-trans-
parently.
In the Colonna Palace at Rome, there are several
fine landscapes by Gasper Poussin, a uovo; and in
the different collections throughout Europe, tempera
pictures may be found, which have been painted as
designs for fresco.

* Spurge, or wart-wort, contains a like juice, but a little pale

drying oil beaten up with the white and yolk of an egg, forms
an excellent medium.

f Tempera a uovo was formerly used in the English cathedrals

and churches, introduced, no doubt, by Italians who have been
employed in this country. Those paintings called frescoes I have
generally found upon examination to be tempera on dry stucco.
The colouring on mouldings and capitals has often been in size
tempera.
 41

ON PAINTING CARTOONS.

The most important part of the preparation for

fresco with which the artist has to do is the car¬
toon. On this much labour and study must be
bestowed; the composition, the drawing, the chiaro¬
scuro, and colour, should all he perfectly considered
and well defined before the wet stucco is ventured
upon.
For a cartoon, paper is strained or pasted on a
frame, covered with lining canvass; if required to be
very strong, two layers of paper are necessary, each
pasted firmly on. This done, the design is sketched
in from a small previous study, with charcoal in a
large port crayon, attached to a stick of tolerable
length, so as to enable the painter to see the effect
of his lines.
The invention designed, and the composition
arranged, the drawing must be carefully wrought
from models, draperies, &c. It was the custom
(and a most valuable one) of the old masters to
model their figures in wax, or clay, and to arrange
draperies on them composed of linen, or muslin,
saturated in clay water. Such figures being dis¬
posed in groups on a plane, all the incidental effects
of light and shade are perceived and studied, and
G
may tlien he copied in conjunction with living
models.
We know that all the greatest painters adopted a
similar method, and it was by means of such that
Correggio painted his wonderful foreshortened figures
in the Cupola of Parma, in which he was assisted by
Begarelli. Raffaelle also pursued the same plan for
his principal subjects. In modelling, the painter
will give his undivided attention to drawing and
composition, apart from the seductions of colour,
which too frequently lead him from more important
considerations ; but a picture painted upon the sub¬
stantial principles I have described, will not fail to
reward the artist by its excellence.
Cartoons should be tinted generally over up to
the required effect with burnt or raw umber before
proceeding with the colours.
Kremnitz, or permanent white, is the best, and
the painter will do well to confine himself to the
pigments used in fresco, or he will be at a loss when
employed on the stucco.
If the cartoon is painted opaquely, it will be easier
to imitate and to be copied by assistants.
The colours are ground in water, and the rosso
di uovo kept in a dipper on the palette.
White will work pleasantly, and in an impasto,
if mixed with parchment size and a little drying
 43

oil, and used with the yolk of egg. The mixing of

tints must he left to the judgment and custom of
the artist, each having a method of his own.
Draperies of bright colours may be painted with
white and black, and then glazed with gum-water
and colour. The longer the gum-water has been
made the less likely it is to shine.
The best way of transferring the cartoon to the
stucco is by means of a pounce, in the following
manner:—
Trace an outline from the cartoon, lay it on a
thick woollen substance, and, with an etching needle,
closely perforate its forms. The indentings of the
needle at the back may be removed by rubbing them
with pumice-stone. When the portion of the out¬
line designed for the day is cut out and placed on
the wall, dab and rub it over with charcoal powder,*
and on taking away the paper the black dots will
form an outline on the stucco.
This, to those unacquainted with it, may appear
an intricate process, but it is sooner done than de¬
scribed, and is, in my opinion, preferable to tracing
with a point, as the latter leaves visible furrows on
the stucco.

* The rubber is made of a strip of flannel, or woollen cloth,

rolled hard, and tied tightly round. Care must be taken to keep
the surface of the pounce even.
 44

CHAPTER VI.

ON OIL PAINTING FOR MURAL DECORATION.

Oil is the most beautiful and powerful medium

ever discovered for tabular pictures of moderate
dimensions. The solidity of colour, combined with
transparency, rendering it a charming mode of paint¬
ing ; and for small subjects, animals, landscapes,
domestic scenes, and portraits, it is unequalled.
To the colourist it is justly valuable, as by it he
can indulge in all the magic of tint; hence the pre¬
ference of it to fresco by the Venetians, who in the
latter not only shew feebleness of drawing, but even
want of colour.
With the “decadenza” of art, when national dig¬
nity faded before the splendour of private indi¬
viduals, fresco was little used; oil painting pre¬
vailed, and easel and cabinet pictures were treasured
up, to the exclusion of high art, and almost to its
extinction; there has been little, consequently, in
the palaces and public buildings of Europe during
the last two centuries worthy the appellation of the
 45

grand style. In England, De la Fosse, Verio, and

Sir James Thornhill, are commonly considered
painters of great classic works, but their style can¬
not be too much reprobated, even when carried to
its utmost excellence in the talent and resplendency
of Rubens. The paintings of these men, and the
sculpture of Bernini, exhibit a meretricious display
of material, and a lamentable prostitution of the
grand elements of art. Peruked and Romanized
English gentlemen, shepherdesses in hoops and
toupees, were the climax of this subversion of taste.
Epic painting, especially when mural, suffers and
is degraded by the dazzle of roseate and flowery
hues, the collision of tints, and the distraction of
incompatible objects.
The richness of oil, as seen on a small scale, be¬
comes black, ponderous, and unintelligible on an
extensive area. The ceiling, by Rubens, at White¬
hall is an example of this ; the effect originally was,
no doubt, clear and discernible, but it is so no longer.
Age, which gives richness to moderate-sized works,
causes ultimate obscurity in those that are very
large. In the course of a few years, the decorations
of the Louvre, though painted light, will inevitably
become heavy.
The glare of varnish is another great and insuper¬
able obstruction to the beauty of mural oil painting.
 46

Portions only can be seen at one time, and these at

certain angles of vision, and thus the sublimity of a
subject is destroyed. Oil colour is also subversive
of architectural grandeur, and by artificial light it is
dark and gloomy.
The best works on a large scale not in fresco, or
encaustic, are those of Paul Veronese, but he painted
often in a fine description of tempera, glazed in oil.
“ The Marriage Feast at Cana of Galilee,” at Paris,
and a compartment of a ceiling, at Versailles, are
examples of this kind ; they have all the clearness of
tempera, and the richness of oil, without its black¬
ness. This master’s works, therefore, possess a supe¬
riority over oleaginous pictures generally.*
Oil painting is no more calculated for mural
decoration than fresco is for tabular or easel pic¬
tures. Each mode possesses intrinsic excellence,
and is admirable in its respective and legitimate
si there. The misappropriation of method and style
engenders corrupt taste, and superinduces the most
i ncongruous absurdities.

* I have seen a fine luminous sky, by Paul Veronese, come

partly away on the application of the sponge and water after the
varnish was removed; the picture gave sufficient proof of not
being entirely in oil, but it was probably used in conjunction
with tempera, the old masters having possessed great skill in the
latter medium.
 47

CHAPTER VII.

ON DESIGN FOR FRESCO.

In all large works, great skill and judgment are

required in the adaptation of subject, ornament, and
general design.
Drawings and models of works in miniature fre¬
quently look very agreeable to the eye, which, when
magnified and executed, disappoint expectation, the
grand object of a design having often been entirely
overlooked in the alluring appearance of a drawing-
in colour and perspective. Design, in its highest
consideration, should alone occupy the attention of
those who have to decide on such matters.
A simple arrangement of ornament, so as to unite
the sequence of historic or epic subjects, is essential
to the general effect, and the artist should, as archi¬
tect and sculptor, as well as painter, consider the
disposition of separate parts. The great mural
painters combined the three-fold power, and thus
acquired a superiority in arranging extensive works,
which the simple practice of one of them does not
 48

afford. In modern times, sculptors, and architects

in general, have little regard for what is pictorial,
and painters are not at all interested in what is
architectural; and while the Italian rose in the
united strength of the three, the artist of this day
thinks nothing is to be derived from any branch but
the one he owns.
As sculptor, Michael Angelo knew the importance
of a single figure, and as architect, where to appro¬
priate it to the utmost advantage.
The ceiling of the Capella Sistina may be re¬
garded as the standard of excellence in this as well
as in every other respect. The grand periods of
theology are supported, as it were, by the prophetic
pillars of sacred writ which form the sublime frame¬
work.
Michael Angelo was the only painter who scorned
to avail himself of the beauty of ornament. The
human form was used by him as the highest style of
ornament (which it undoubtedly is) ; and though the
figures are of colossean stature, the ceiling seems to
recede, and simplicity as well as grandeur reigns
throughout.
The Dome of Parma is another striking example.
“The Assumption of the Virgin” is, in its style,
pure and dignified ; the apostles standing on the
cornice, and the patron saints of the city, in the
 49

spacious niches of the angles, are majestic persona¬

tions, and shew consummate skill in arrangement
and composition.
The Farnesina, the Farnese, and Rospiglioso
palaces, present good examples of the dispositions
of groups and single figures in designs for ceilings.
The judicious disposition of subjects on the walls
of a building is highly necessary to the beauty of the
whole. A succession of large compartments should
be relieved by pilasters or ornament. If paintings
are too close to each other, the eye has no relief,
and one is injurious to the next. Where there is
sufficient space, the compositions can hardly be too
large, the grandeur being greatly heightened by the
size, as in “ The Hall of Constantine.” The chaste
personifications of “ Justice ” and “ Benignity ” are
fine contrasts to the tumult of “ The Battle of
Constantine and Maxentius.” Large historical
pictures in fresco or encaustic should occupy the
centres of a spacious apartment, smaller ones may
then be disposed to advantage; but a number of
small ones diminish apparently the size of a room.
Reference must always be made to the manner
of lighting. If light comes from both sides, the
beauty of decoration will be much injured, though
architects do not sufficiently consider this. If
windows are on one side, they should be large,
H
 50

that the light may be well diffused ; in this manner

the advantage of a painted ceiling may he secured;
but the best light is unquestionably from above, as
in the Tribune at Florence, the Sculpture Gal¬
lery in the Vatican, and the new Grand Gallery
at Versailles. In these, uniformity of arrangement
is preserved, and they are admirably suited for
decoration.
The Stanzas of Raffaelle are very badly lighted,
and only frescoes could be seen in them. The
Capella Sixtina is insufficiently lighted, and the win¬
dows are a disfigurement; under them is a series
of pictures, following in too close a succession,
by Perugino, Rosselli, and others, whose pigmy
efforts contrast strangely with the breadth of the
ceiling, and the colossal altar-piece of the “ Last
J udgment.”
Vaulted and coved ceilings are the best for deco¬
ration generally; flat ones are rarely beautiful when
of great expanse.
For corridors, fine examples may be found in the
Baths of Titus ; where arabesques, with medallions
of historic and poetical subjects, arc interspersed.
The long gallery of the Vatican that contains the
tapestries from the Cartoons, has an exceedingly
elegant effect from the skilful disposition of orna¬
ment. There are numerous precedents in Italy of
 51

decorated corridors that exhibit every variety of

ornament, on which artists of all classes seem to
have been employed, as in the Loggie.
Men accustomed to this kind of work, as I have
found by experience, are soon able to proceed with
expedition, and acquire great freedom of touch, on
which the beauty of ornament mainly depends.
The Acanthus scroll, for instance, derives a peculiar
excellence from the colour, being, as it were, mo¬
delled by the pencil: this is exemplified in the fres¬
coes of Giovanni da Udine, which are the best in
this branch of art.
In designing for fresco and encaustic, only the
Greek and great Italian masters should be referred
to, for after these, there remain but corrupt exam¬
ples, some better, some worse, till sublimity is en¬
tirely lost in the tumultuous confusion of Pietro
da Cortona and his disciples, whose decorations of
churches resemble the fantastic scenes of a theatre
rather than illustrations of revealed religion. De¬
mons being hurled downwards, and their shadows
painted on the cornices, and, by various artifices,
made to form part of the buildings, is illegitimate
trickery, and betrays a vulgar aim to deceive the
ignorant that is quite beneath the painter of his¬
tory. Before Michael Angelo and Raftaelle, art was
comparatively meagre and puerile; after them it
went beyond “ the modesty of nature.” The first
early school wanted knowledge; in the later, know¬
ledge was desecrated. Poverty prevented the one
from merging into irregularity; plenty turned to
repletion in the other.
An artist who would be great in mural pictorial
design, must not be allured from genuine art by
the prejudices of the times in which he lives. A
petty style of decoration may minister to the ca¬
price of a passing fashion, but it would ill accord
with the nervous and masterly mode of fresco
painting.
 CHAPTER VIII.

ON CONDUCTING LARGE WORKS IN FRESCO.

In beginning large mural decorations, the first

step is to paint in all the ornament, it being
easier to harmonize subject to ornament than orna¬
ment to subject; and arabesques form an excel¬
lent key for the tone and colour of the historical
painter.
This part completed, it is a good plan to fix the
blank cartoons in their respective situations, and
then sketch in the general design, as a better judg¬
ment can be formed of it when up.
When all the cartoons are painted al rosso di
uovo (which very much resembles the appearance of
fresco), they should again be placed on the panels,
when the full effect of the whole will be seen, which
is especially necessary when different hands are em¬
ployed. Alterations and improvements can then be
suggested, and the various cartoons harmonized to
suit each other. A work of this kind must of ne¬
cessity be conducted by one person, who can direct
 54

and preserve the unity, though all might execute

their own designs, as in the Farnese decorations,

where Annibal Caracci, assisted by Agostino and
Ludovico, as well as Guido and Domenichino, has
nevertheless succeeded in obtaining great harmony
with variety.
When the plan is fully arranged, and the panels
prepared to all but the last layer of stucco by the
plasterer, the painter may commence thus : a por¬
tion of the cartoon, suppose it to be a head, must
be cut out, and the back of the outline, blackened
with charcoal, laid upon the piece of fresh plaster;
a point having been passed over the outline, an im¬
pression will remain on the stucco.* It is neces¬
sary to go speedily over the work with the colour,
letting the brush feel the lime, while the pigments
incorporate themselves with the ground. Painting
for some time on one place, and leaving the stucco
untouched in another, is apt to cause inequalities;
besides which, in a short space of time it becomes
too dry to take the colour well. This being attended
to, the paint (worked in an impasto) proceeds de¬
lightfully.
Semi-opaque tints, scumbled over solid colour,
become very brilliant; the high lights should then

* This is the usual method, hut having practised both, I very

much prefer the pounce, as described in the chapter on Tempera.
 55

be touched on. The whole to be kept low in tone,

as the colour dries considerably lighter. Over the
first layer of colour the touches are almost invisible
for some seconds.
Dark colours, if first used with white, should be
glazed purely afterwards.
Water sprinkled with a long soft brush on the
stucco occasionally, will prevent its getting dry too
soon.
Flesh should be painted at one time, drapery at
another, and always so as to avoid seams in the
lights, and where it would be difficult to unite the
next part.*
Back-grounds, particularly skies of a large size,
must be painted by two or three persons, the super¬
intending artist directing and harmonizing, which
he can better see to do than those employed on
an individual part. If care is taken to follow the
coloured cartoon exactly, no time will be lost in
making alterations; and fresco requires all the dili¬
gence and judgment possible to conduct it safely and
successfully, as there is no touching upon the stucco
when dry. Many of the early painters did so, but
it turns black, and is very detrimental. There are

* In the frescoes of Raffaelle there are no inequalities ; the

impasto helps the forms, and proves the knowledge and certainty
of his touch.
 some modern frescoes in the Vatican where the high
lights have all become black from after-touching.
The palette for fresco should be either of porce¬
lain or tin ; the ordinary wooden ones soon warp and
break, unless long used previously for oil painting.
The brushes must be of hog’s hair, both flat and
round. Sables are useless, as they soon lose their
elasticity.
In the course of drying, fresco exhibits rather an
alarming appearance ; the colour looks patchy and
faint, and a white mould rises to the surface; within
two or three months various changes succeed each
other, till the picture almost entirely disappears ;*
gradually, however, as the plaster dries, it re-as-
sumes, with additional beauty, its solidity and clear¬
ness.
Michael Angelo was so troubled at the oblitera¬
tions and disfigurements in the ceiling of the Sixtine
Chapel, that, in disgust, he proceeded to the Pope,
and begged to resign the work. The latter referred
him to Juliano da San Gallo, who explained the
phenomenon, and Michael Angelo had soon the
satisfaction of seeing his figures restored to more
than their pristine excellence.

* This is not always the case, but depends on the nature of

the stucco. I have painted fresco upon grounds that present
none of these unpleasant appearances, and have dried in the
course of a fortnight.
 57

CHAPTER IX.

ON COLOURS USED IN FRESCO.

Few pigments are used in fresco painting, and those

principally earths. Mineral, animal, and vegetable

substances are destroyed in a short time by the
action of the lime.
The following may be used with certainty:—

WHITE. BROWNS.
Calcined Marble, or Stone Raw Umber.
Lime. Burnt Umber.
Vandyke Brown.
YELLOWS. Cologne Earth.
Naples Yellow.
Yellow Ochre. REDS.
Roman Ochre. Chinese Vermilion, or Native
Brown Ochre. Cinnabar.
Raw Sienna. Light Red.
Burnt Sienna. Indian Red.
Burnt Copperas.
BLUES.
Ultramarine.* GREEN.
Ultramarine Ashes. Terra Verte.
French Ultramarine.
Cobalt. BLACKS.
Royal Smalt. Ivory Black and Charcoal.

* As a simple test for genuine Ultramarine does not seem

I
 58

Smalts of various colours, as used for glass paint¬

ing, are valuable. The colours should be finely
ground in water, kept in earthenware cups, and
arranged in order in the divisions of a box, with
light pigments first, and so on in their gradations.

T7 n , .• . fLight Red and Lime,

for flesh tints, use ...<’ °
(^Vermilion and White.
For high lights. Burnt Sienna, varied with Naples
Yellow, or Raw Sienna.
For greys. Ultramarine Ash and White.

Black, Indian Red, Burnt Sienna, and white

(mixed) make good shadows for flesh, as does also
Raw Umber, when the subject is very large. Burnt
Umber possesses great depth in fresco, and is an
excellent colour for the darker shadows.
Draperies, if painted with black and white, may
frequently have the lights glazed, which gives a fine
effect.
For example, to paint a piece of blue drapery :—
Lay it in with black and white, and afterwards
glaze with Ultramarine. This will be far more bril¬
liant than if painted solidly with the latter.
Simplicity cannot be too much observed in the
colouring as well as in the design.

generally known, the following may be found useful:—If the

colour, ground up stiffly with nut oil, begins, after a few hours,
to liquify and spread on the palette, it is factitious: if, on the
contrary, it remains firmly in a mass, the same as when first
mixed, it is genuine lapis lazuli.
 59

CHAPTER X.

I shall now proceed to mention the materials of

the stuccoes for fresco, beginning- with the Greek
method according to Vitruvius, and nearly in his
words.
LIME.

Lime for the plastering is made of stone or

marble (as the Trevertino). It should be slaked
long before being used, so that parts not sufficiently
calcined may have time to dissolve and be reduced
to a proper consistency; for should the lime be fresh
or not thoroughly slaked, it will emit pustules, and
destroy the surface of the stucco.* To ascertain
when it is fit for use, cut it with an axe; if it comes
in contact with lumps, the lime is not well tempered
—if the iron comes out dry and clean, it is perishing

* The Greek plasterers were very particular in tempering their

mortar, considering it as highly essential to the solidity of the
work. The arenatum was tempered in a pit, the lime and sand
being compounded by men with wooden rammers till thoroughly
amalgamated. The same method was adopted with the trulli-
satio.
 60

and weak, but when fat and well macerated, it will

adhere to the iron like glue.

SAND.

River-sand only must be used for fresco on

account of its meagreness and not causing fermen¬
tation, like pit-sand when in conjunction with lime.
Sea-sand is also to be avoided, as the salt exuding
from it dissolves the plastering.

POZZOLANA.

Pozzolana is a red earth (found at Puteoli),* and

a strong cement, which sets immediately when
mixed with water. It renders brick-work exceed¬
ingly firm and durable. What we call Roman
cement is an imitation of Pozzolana, and possesses
many of its qualities.

MARBLE DUST.

This is chippings of marble pounded and sifted

into three qualities, the first being a very fine pow¬
der.

* From whence it derives its ancient name, Pulvis puteolanea.

 61

ON STUCCOING WALLS.

First process.—Trullisatio, or rough plaster.

The wall or brick-work is to be coated with trow¬
elled plaster, composed of rough sand, pounded brick
and tile, and lime, in the following proportions :—
1 part lime.
2 parts river-sand.
} part pounded brick and tile.

Second process.—Arenatum, or sand-mortar.

Not less than three successive coats of this mortar
must be laid over the rough plaster, and each while
the preceding one is damp. The more substantial
this mortar is, the more durable and solid will be
the stucco.
Proportions :—
1 part lime.
2 parts river-sand.

Third process.—Marmoratum, or marble-mortar.

This last process is with lime and marble-dust, of
different degrees of fineness, laid on in three suc¬
cessive coats, using the coarsest first. This must
be so tempered, as in working not to adhere to the
trowel, but to leave it clean and free from mortar.
 62

With the marmoratum, time should be allowed

for the first and second coats to dry, before the last
is put on.
Proportions:—
1 part lime.
2 parts marble-dust.

Thus, with one layer of trullisatio, three of are-

natum, and three of marmoratum, neither fissures
nor other defects can appear; and on a solid, well-
worked stucco the colours will appear resplendent,
and unite together in the stucco, so as to become an
incorporated substance, not likely to scale oft' by
age or discharge its colour by cleaning.
If, in lieu of the above, only one layer of are-
natum and one of marmoratum are put on over the
trullisatio, the colours will not have their proper
brilliancy, the plaster will be liable to crack, and
the whole, after a time, will decay.
A well-prepared stucco, if required, may be beau¬
tifully polished, as was often done by the Greeks.*

* This is an excellent mode for corridors and lobbies, as the

surface can be easily washed with a sponge, but it should be
employed only upon plain walls. Subjects and arabesques are
greatly injured by such a process ; it is, in fact, destructive to their
artistic character.
 63

CHAPTER XI.

ON ITALIAN STUCCOES, AS USED IN THE FIFTEENTH

CENTURY.

It appears from Vasari that pozzolana was generally

adopted with Trevertino lime, both being in high
estimation at that period. Good Roman cement
and stone-lime I have found to answer nearly as
well, it being a firm basis to work upon, and the
impasto of colour appearing with greater solidity
and brilliancy than on the arenatum, which was
used by some later Italian painters.
The effect and force of colour in the frescoes of
the Vatican are admirable, yet a preference must
decidedly be given to the stucco of the Greeks and
Romans.
In examining the remains of the Baths of Titus,
I found the stucco, which was about an inch and a
quarter in thickness, of the hardness of marble, and
greatly superior to that in the Vatican, which, in
some instances, is cracking.
Marmoratum was occasionally used where a white
 64

ground was required, as in painting arabesques on

ceilings.
Proportions of the three kinds of stucco employed
by the Italians:—

POZZOLANIUM.

2 parts lime.
1 part pozzolana, or Roman cement.

MARMORATUM.

2 parts lime.
1 part marble-dust.

ARENATUM.

2 parts lime.
1 part river-sand.

The rough plaster was always pozzolana, lime,

and sand.
 The Author has lately painted some frescoes upon an
improved stucco, or cement, prepared by Messrs. Benson

and Logan, the underground of which possesses the pro¬

perties of the pozzolana, from its hardness and impervious¬
ness to damp, and the last layer seems to resemble, in the
course of drying, the marmoratum of the Greeks.
This cement has been adopted, and used successfully
for ornamental works, in the firm of Mr. Simpson, in the
Strand.
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