Chapter XL
. he gives a description of how to prepare ink. This is quite different from the ink of the classical period, which, as mentioned before, was made from lampblack and gum-water. The ink described by Theophilus is more of the nature of our modern writing-ink, being prepared from the bark of thorn-trees, amounting really to an infusion of tannin, with the addition of iron sulphate, popularly known as green vitriol.
There is no mention in this MS. of the preparation of ultramarine.
Following this there are the MSS. that have been translated by Mrs. Merrifield, _viz._, Eraclius, Alcherius, the book of Peter St. Andemar, all included in the MSS. of La Bègue, the Sloane MS., and the Strassburg MS.
The MS. of Eraclius is regarded as not being later than the thirteenth century, the first two books being very early and quoted by Theophilus.
In these MSS. it is plainly stated that the colours were generally mixed with either gum-water or egg. White of egg was often used, but occasionally the yolk. For example, it seems to have been used as a medium for vermilion and orpiment. These MSS. contain a lot of information very similar to that in the MS. of Theophilus.
Lakes were, in the earliest MSS., prepared in a similar way to that used in the classical period, and are described in this manner in the MS. of Eraclius. In the MS. of Jehan le Bègue, however, there are several recipes that have been compiled by him from the MSS. of Alcherius, of the fourteenth century, which are practically the same as the modern method.
The MS. of Le Bègue is also of interest, as it contains a recipe for the preparation of real ultramarine.
Perhaps the most interesting MS. of all is that known as the Book of the Art of Cennino Cennini. This is a most delightful treatise on the methods then in use. Cennino Cennini was an Italian painter and was living in Padua in 1398. The MS. in the Vatican is dated 1437, but this is in all probability merely the date attached by the copyist. It is evident that the colours and methods that he mentions were in use during the fourteenth century.
As this was a period when some of the finest examples of illumination were produced, it is interesting to note the various colours used, so they are given in detail.
The reds mentioned by him are sinopia, cinabrese, cinnabar, minium, amatisto, dragon’s blood, and lake. Sinopia is a similar colour to light red, either native or prepared by roasting yellow ochre. Cinabrese is a mixture of sinopia with chalk. Cinnabar, as mentioned before, is mercuric sulphide, which, when artificially prepared, is termed vermilion. There is hardly any doubt that the variety Cennino was familiar with was the artificial kind, for he remarks that it “is produced by alchemy, performed in an alembic.” Minium is red lead, while amatisto is probably hæmatite. Dragon’s blood, as already referred to, is a resinous colour, and lakes were prepared from various dyes.
The yellow pigments were ochre, giallorino, orpiment, risalgallo, zafferano, and arzica. Giallorino is supposed to have been a native mineral yellow pigment. It is described by Cennino as a volcanic product. Some, however, think this to be similar to the pigment that used to be known as Naples yellow, which was a compound of the oxides of lead and antimony. Risalgallo realgar, or red orpiment, was prepared by gently heating orpiment. Zafferano was saffron, while arzica was a lake prepared from weld, which is wild mignonette.
The greens that he refers to are verde terra, verde azzurro, and verderame. Verde terra is the natural earth known also as terra verte. In all probability verde azzurro was a native copper carbonate, similar to green bice. Verderame was verdigris.
The blues used were azzurro della magna, azzurro oltre marino, and indaco baccadeo. Azzurro della magna was a copper-blue similar to the azurite of the classical period. Azzurro oltre marino was the genuine ultramarine. Cennino’s description of the preparation of this pigment from the _lapis lazuli_ is very similar to the recipes that are given in other MSS. Indaco baccadeo was indigo from Bagdad.
The white pigments were bianco sangiovanni and biacca. Bianco sangiovanni was whiting or chalk, while biacca was white lead.
The blacks were “a soft black stone,” black “made of the young shoots of the vine, which are to be burnt, and when burnt, thrown into water, and quenched, and then ground like other black pigments.” Another black pigment “is made of the shells of almonds, or of peach-stones.” Lampblack was also used.
The colours were mixed with gum arabic or egg.
Cennino also makes mention of the use of the _pezzuole_ colours, or clothlet tints, which were used a great deal in the Middle Ages. These were pieces of linen stained with transparent pigments. When required for use, a small piece was cut off and soaked in water to make a tint of the colour, a little gum being added.
Cennino also treats of tinting parchment with various colours. This was not done, as was the custom in the earlier period, by staining the vellum with a dye, but by washing a colour over it with a large brush.
It may be noted that practically all the permanent colours mentioned in these MSS. are in use to-day. Some of the colours used in the Middle Ages can hardly be recommended to-day. The copper blues, for instance, are not reliable, as impure air is very liable to change them into copper sulphide. Orpiment is an unsafe colour to use, while kermes will fade in a strong light, besides being no longer an article of commerce. Both dragon’s blood and saffron are notoriously fugitive colours.
It is hoped that these few brief notes with regard to the colours used by the mediæval artist may be of interest to the student. If he wishes to study this subject further he is referred to the various works mentioned.
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