Margret E Short Fine Arts Blog

Dutch History

Many people have asked me about The Golden Age in 17th Century Netherlands. How did it happen? What is the history? In order to truly understand why artists and other craftsmen flourished during this period, it is important to view the previous one hundred years.

The prosperous Northern provinces of 17th Century Netherlands became Protestant while the south remained Catholic after the Reformation of the 16th Century. The three southern provinces were under Spanish control and remained Catholic until the Dutch Reformation later. In 1618 Calvinism became the official religion, but people who were escaping religious persecution came to the Netherlands where they were free to worship privately.

Because Protestants objected to the idolatry of saints and biblical scenes, church walls were covered over and remained devoid of such portrayals. Although Dutch artists continued to paint religious themes for private clients, it opened the oeuvre to endless possibilities.

The Netherlands enjoyed a prosperous society and during the 17th Century became the center of world trade. Book publishing, ship building, fishing, banking, textiles, weaving, diamond cutting were but a few of the growing number of trades which flourished. The Dutch merchants traded their goods for spices, paper, silk, wine, olive oil and countless other items that enriched their growing economy.

Art and artists flourished also, because the merchant class and aristocracy had money to commission and purchase paintings. Amsterdam began to manufacture vermilion and lead white pigments for artists use. Other pigments were traded with countries such as Italy, Spain, and Cyprus.

According to Peter Rose in Matters of Taste, 6,000,000...yes!!! 6 million paintings were created by Dutch artists, of great or not so great fame, during the 17th Century; thus, The Golden Age of Dutch Art. Once religious constraints were released, artists were free to create and paint according to their personal wisdom.

Blue Lazuli

Who would have known this Dutch project would be so much work! You can just imagine, prior to the invention of the paint tube, the amount of preparation that was involved before even putting one stroke of paint on the canvas each day. Before tin tubes were manufactured in the 19th century artists ground the paint every day or two and put the mixture into pig bladders or skins.

A mound of paint was placed on the bladder or skin which was tied into a ball shape, and tied at the top with twine. A small tack-line piece of bone was inserted into the top to keep the paint as fresh as possible for as long as possible. The bladders were understandably fragile and did not keep the paint fresh for more than a couple of days; then the grinding process started all over again. Most artists had apprentices who daily made the paint for use in the studio. Early tube styles were very rigid with a piston at one one enabling refilling. A later modified style is the collapsible tube used today. Fortunately today, we are able to grind our paint way in advance and store in inexpensive and readily available aluminum tubes.

For my first grinding process I have chosen perhaps the most precious of pigments, lapis lazuli.  It is the true ultramarine paint. According to Anita Albus in her book, The Art of Arts, the word oltra-marine is from the Latin and means literlly, "from over the sea". This spectacular blue color, as seen below, has been used since antiquity and is found in very few places in the world; Chili, Zambia, Siberia, and Afghanistan. The most beautiful stones are found in Afghanistan, one of the most inaccessible places on earth; thus the very high cost.

Cennino Cennini describes in his treatise, Il Libro dell' Arte, how to make the pigment by crushing the stones in a water process called levigation. The particle sizes then separate in the water. The finest particles are used for the actual pigment. It is absolutely lightfast and permanent and, unfortunately, because of the cost went out of favor centuries ago. Next time you are wandering through a museum look at a painting done prior to 1700 or 1800 or so. Many times all the other colors have yellowed or altered in some way but the blue is rich and vibrant. Most likely it is lapis.

While on a two and a half month painting trip in Italy in the fall of 2003, Dave and I stayed in Florence our final week. A friend who lives there told me about Zecchi's Art Supply, the oldest art store in Florence located near the Duomo. We spent two afternoons there roaming the store shelves. I bought many rare pigments and other supplies, the most special being a 50 gram jar of lapis pigment.  It was outrageously expensive, costing about 42 Euros for each 10 grams, but as an artist it was irresistible. I have saved it over the past 3 years, not really knowing it would be used for this Dutch project. The step by step process of making lapis lazuli paint is described below in the Daily Grind post with pictures. Does your heart do flip flops like mine does when you look at that astonishing color?

The Daily Grind

All the supplies necessary for the paint making project have been gathered on the workroom counter. Hotplate, double boiler, linseed oil, and beeswax beads. I have decided to use wax in some paint and not in others. If a "long" almost runny paint is desired, the use of wax is limited. To get a "short" buttery paint then more wax should be used. To prepare the linseed oil with wax, heat 7oz. gently (do not overheat or it will darken), add 1oz. of white beeswax beads until fully melted. Mix in 24 more ounces of linseed oil after the solution has cooled. Let stand for 24 hours before use. This is called a binder.

Here you can see the pure white beeswax beads from Studio Products. After the linseed oil was quite warm, I added the wax which slowly melted. When the mixture cooled the oil had a very cloudy look to it.

Here you can easily see the cloudiness of the oil in the center bottle and compare it to the amber colored oil on the left. The technique of preparing the oil binder is clearly explained in Mark Gottsegen's book, The Painter's Handbook.

This beautiful pigment is a stash of Lapis Lazuli I have been hoarding since our trip to Italy in 2003. I purchased a 50 gram bottle along with many other art supplies at Zecchi's in Florence, Italy.  It was far and away the most expensive pigment I have ever purchased, at something like 42 Euros per 10 grams. But as you can see, the color is astonishing and irresistible.  Of course, when I purchased it I had no idea it would be used for this exciting Dutch project.

The next step is to predisperse the pigment with as little oil as possible into a course paste. It is critical to not add too much oil at this point. After it is wet, take about one heaping teaspoon of the pigment at a time and grind with the glass muller on a prepared slab. Grind each small pile in a figure eight motion until all the wet pigment is fully mulled and has a plastic feel; then mix all into one pile. The object here is not to actually "grind" the pigment but to disperse all of the oil evenly throughout the pigment mixture.

The muller is pulled back and forth over the surface of the slab in a circular and figure eight motion. You can see there is a thin layer of the pigment all across the surface. After some time the paste has a shiny look to it and begins to look more like paint. This so far has taken about 45 minutes, so you can see it can be laborious. I think I will do 2 or 3 pigments per day.

Here is the final lap. Using the appropriate size tube, place the finished paint into the bottom opening. Scrape a small amount onto the palette knife and carefully insert into the tube about 2/3 full. Tap gently to allow the paint to settle and crimp the end closed. Label each color carefully with detailed information about the pigment and where it was purchased.

Petrignano La Sera

By request from many of you, here is the image of the painting done on gold leaf mentioned in the previous posting. It is titled Petrignano La Sera, 15x17. I did not want to post the image before the client could see the painting. He picked it up today and was very pleased with the results. I enjoyed this project so much I will do many more on gold leaf in the future.

Low Country, High Water

The second commission piece is finished! The Low Country Project can begin! First, I must describe another “low country” type of experience. You probably all have read about the recent rains in the Northwest that have brought high waters and flooding; more rain than some people have ever seen. Many homes have been lost to the Sandy River in Oregon and many in Washington also.

Last weekend while enjoying a get-away with a friend, Judy, at the Oregon Coast, I experienced “low country living” up close and personal. Judy’s house is on the Nehalem River and has about 5 feet of grass between the bank and the house. For the first couple of days, we watched the wind and pounding rain from the big window that looks out onto the river, enjoying several movies, and good food and a great bottle of cabernet.

By Monday morning the river overflowed its edges and the current was astonishingly fast. The Nehalem has a reputation for flooding the nearby dairy farms, and this particular day we watched the water lapping onto the grass in front of the house. For 3 hours we watched things float or disappear; the stack of fire wood, a slowly drowning yellow flower, a cow pie, and the patio. By this time, the deluge had been pelting down for 48 hours. Considering the high tide, which was 9.3 at noon, and factoring in the many inches of rain on top of that, we should have predicted the coming events.

Soon we decided to plan our escape. By the time we packed, and began loading the car, the water was rushing to the front side of the house, and I mean rushing. The storm door would have lost its hinges if not for Judy holding a white knuckle grip to keep it connected to the house. The cold water saturated our shoes and socks as we waded to load the car; all the while fearing the tailpipe would fill with water too. Then we would really be sunk. The long driveway to Tideland Road flowed like a newly formed river as Judy’s hat, which the wind had whipped off, bobbed in the current like that lonely cow pie.

Except for wet and cold feet, we evacuated safely. The drive home proved to be colorful also: downed trees, emergency vehicles, overflowing rivers and creeks, detours, a four-car rear-ender, and a Ford Taurus munched by a semi-truck. Four hours later as I walked into my house, my husband, Dave handed me a martini, very dry.

I look forward to working in my quiet studio over the next few months on my real Low Country project. Let’s hope the weather calms down a little.

"Lessons" Recap

For all of you who are drop in or first time readers of this BLOG, I would like to recap the nature of my “Lessons from the Low Countries” Project. Alyson actually suggested I do this. She is my career coach and has been instrumental in guiding me through the steps of posting cohesive ideas. The project is actually all summarized in the first couple of postings, but I will outline again once more just for clarity.

The fundamental plan is based on the Rembrandt and the Golden Age of Dutch Art exhibit now showing at the Dayton Art Institute in Dayton, Ohio, www.daytonartinstitute.org  This exhibit will travel to Phoenix in January and Portland, Oregon in June, 2007. I began reading about this Dutch show many months ago and to fully take advantage of the master paintings I have developed the following plan:

1. Examine all ninety paintings from Rembrandt and the Golden Age of Dutch Art  

2. Select 10 favorite paintings

3. Paint a body of work based on the palette of the selected pieces using only the pigments available during the 17th century

4. Exhibit the finished paintings at the Lawrence Gallery www.lawrencegallery.net

in conjunction with the opening of the Dutch Exhibit at the Portland Art Museum next June. www.pam.org

 

That in a nutshell is it! I am still in the “do this before I can do such and such” stage of my work. The second commission piece described in the previous post is nearly done now, so hopefully I will be able to dive into the “Lessons” project soon.

24 Carats

Here are a few of the supplies necesssary for the gold leaf project. Shown is a piece of raw linen, sheets of 24 carat gold, sizing, a primed canvas, a burnisher, and other tools. The sizing is like a glue that holds the gold to the surface of the object being leafed.

Painting Mantras

You all know about the dilemma of “can’t do this until I do such and such!” This has been my mantra the last couple of weeks. I am itching to get to my Dutch project but first I must fulfill a couple of previously planned obligations. The first one was a painting/commission for a client. He specifically requested a landscape done on gold leaf on linen. Now, I have painted on canvas, wood, paper, copper, and other unusual substrates but never gold leaf. So this project entailed some research. My Mad Scientist part is happy again. After notifying the Gilders Society www.societyofgilders.com Natural Pigments www.naturalpigments.com I settled on a specific approach that calls for:

1. Hand priming the linen with rabbit skin glue and oil priming

2. Oil gilding

3. Then oil painting directly on top of the gold

This process ultimately went very smoothly without glitches. After allowing the surface to cure for some weeks, the painting was begun. I applied the medium entirely over the surface of the gold. While this was still wet the oil paint was applied directly “into the soup”. The scene is a golden red evening sky from our trip to Petrignano. Stashes of these beautiful Italian photos are waiting to be applied to canvas. This particular evening while at Fabrizio’s Castelfarneto the sun was setting over the distant hills. It was a perfect scene to paint on the gold leaf as the entire surface now has a glow unparalleled by any natural pigment. First project done!

Next, is a painting requested by a client from Texas. He found my paintings on my web site, called , and we made the arrangements for a commission piece. He asked for a floral with bright colors of primary nature. We have been in communication over the past weeks discussing color palette, composition, size, and so forth. After these decisions were made, the painting was started. This one is done on the usual primed linen.

First, a grisaille was set down using the technique shown in a previous entry on this BLOG for the painting titled “The Golden Age.” This process is done using paints in shades of gray directly atop the priming of the canvas. Essentially, the entire surface is painted using solely gray paint. This is a very old technique used for centuries, and you can understand the logic of using it. All the issues of composition, size, and placement are solved before you have to tackle the color. After letting this gray layer dry, I use the “into the soup” approach again and paint directly with the color. A few more days and this painting will be completed also.

Next! The Dutch!