Features of creating paintings in the style of Flemish painting. Master classes "Oil painting" from the artist Nadezhda Ilyina Secrets of the old masters

Compiled based on materials collected by V. E. Makukhin.

Consultant: V. E. Makukhin.

On the cover: A copy of Rembrandt's self-portrait by MM Devyatov.

Preface.

Mikhail Mikhailovich Devyatov is an outstanding Soviet and Russian artist, painting technologist, restorer, one of the founders and leader for many years of the restoration department at the Academy of Arts. Repin, founder of the Laboratory of Technique and Technology of Painting, initiator of the creation of the Restoration Section of the Union of Artists, Honored Art Worker, Candidate of Art History, Professor.

Mikhail Mikhailovich made a huge contribution to the development of fine arts with his research in the field of painting technology and the study of the techniques of old masters. He was able to capture the very essence of phenomena, and present it in a simple and understandable language. Devyatov wrote a series of excellent articles on the technique of painting, the basic laws and conditions for the durability of a picture, the meaning and main tasks of copying. Devyatov also wrote a dissertation entitled “The Preservation of Oil Paintings on Canvas and Features of the Composition of Soils”, which is easy to read like an exciting book.

It is no secret that after the October Revolution, classical painting was severely persecuted, and much knowledge was lost. (Although some loss of knowledge in the technology of painting began earlier, this was noted by many researchers (J. Wieber "Painting and its means", A. Rybnikov Introductory article to the "Treatise on Painting" by Cennino Cennini)).

Mikhail Mikhailovich was the first (in the post-revolutionary period) to introduce the practice of copying into the educational process. Ilya Glazunov picked up this initiative of his in his academy.

In the Laboratory of Painting Technique and Technology created by Devyatov, under the guidance of the master, a huge number of primers were tested, according to recipes collected from surviving historical sources, and a modern synthetic primer was developed. Then the selected soils were tested by students and teachers of the Academy of Arts.

One of the parts of these studies were diaries-reports that the students had to write. Since we have not received accurate evidence of the process of work of outstanding masters, these diaries, as it were, lift the veil over the secret of creating works. You can also trace the connection between the materials used, the technique of their use and the safety of the thing (copy) from the diaries. They can also be used to trace whether the student has mastered the lecture materials, how he uses them in practice, as well as the student's personal discoveries.

Diaries were kept approximately from 1969 to 1987, then this practice gradually disappeared. Nevertheless, we are left with very interesting material that can be very useful for artists and art lovers. In their diaries, students describe not only the progress of the work, but also the comments of teachers, which can be very valuable for the next generations of artists. Thus, while reading these diaries, one can, as it were, “copy” the best works of the Hermitage and the Russian Museum.

According to the curriculum compiled by M. M. Devyatov, in the first year students listened to his course of lectures on the technique and technology of painting. In their second year, students copy the best copies made by senior students in the Hermitage. And in the third year, students begin direct copying in the museum. Thus, before practical work, a very large part is given to the assimilation of the necessary and very important theoretical knowledge.

In order to better understand what is described in the diaries, it would be useful to read the Articles and Lectures of M. M. Devyatov, as well as the methodological manual compiled under the guidance of Devyatov for the course Questions and Answers in Painting Techniques. However, here, in the preface, I will try to dwell on the most important points, based on the above books, as well as the memoirs, lectures and consultations of a student and friend of Mikhail Mikhailovich - Vladimir Emelyanovich Makukhin, who is currently teaching this course at the Academy of Arts.

Soils.

In his lectures, Mikhail Mikhailovich said that artists are divided into two categories - those who love matte painting, and those who love glossy painting. Those who love glossy painting, seeing matte pieces on their work, usually say: "It's rotten!", And they get very upset. Thus, the same phenomenon is joy for some, and grief for others. Soils play a very important role in this process. Their composition determines their effect on paints and the artist needs to understand these processes. Now artists have the opportunity to buy materials in stores, and not make them themselves (as the old masters did, thus ensuring the highest quality of their works). As many experts note, this possibility, which seems to make the work of the artist easier, is also the reason for the loss of knowledge about the nature of materials and, ultimately, for the decline of painting. In modern commercial descriptions of soils, there is no information about their properties, and very often even the composition is not indicated. In this regard, it is very strange to hear the assertion of some modern teachers that the artist does not need to be able to make the ground himself, because it can always be bought. Be sure to understand the compositions and properties of materials, even in order to buy what you need, and not be deceived by advertising.

Gloss (shiny surface) exhibits deep and rich colors, which matt makes uniformly whitish, lighter and colorless. However, gloss can make it difficult to see the big picture, as reflections and glare will make it difficult to perceive it all at once. Therefore, often in monumental painting, a matte surface is preferred.

Generally speaking, glossiness is a natural property of oil paints, since the oil itself is shiny. And the dullness of oil painting came into fashion relatively recently, at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century (Feshin, Borisov-Musatov, and others). Since the matte surface makes dark and saturated colors less expressive, matte painting usually has light tones, advantageously emphasizing their velvety. And glossy painting usually has rich and even dark tones (for example, old masters).

The oil, enveloping the pigment particles, makes them glossy. And the less oil, and the more the pigment is exposed, the more it becomes matte, velvety. A good example is pastel. It is almost pure pigment, without binder. When the oil leaves the paint and the paint becomes dull or “withered”, its tone (light-dark) and even color change somewhat. Dark colors lighten and lose their color sonority, while light colors darken somewhat. This is due to a change in the refraction of light rays.

Depending on the amount of oil in the paint, its physical properties also change.

The oil dries from top to bottom, forming a film. The oil shrinks as it dries. (Therefore, you can not use paint that has a lot of oil for pasty, textured painting). Also, the oil tends to turn yellow in the dark (especially during the drying period), in the light it is restored again. (However, the picture should not dry in the dark, as in this case some yellowing occurs more noticeably). Paints on traction primers (oil-free paints) turn yellow less because they contain less oil. But in principle, the yellowing that comes from a large amount of oil in paints is not significant. The main cause of yellowing and darkening of old paintings is old varnish. It is thinned and replaced by restorers, and under it is usually a bright and fresh painting. Another reason for the darkening of old paintings is dark grounds, since oil paints become more transparent over time and the dark ground seems to “eat” them.

Primers are divided into two categories - pulling and non-pulling (according to their ability to draw oil from the paint, and, therefore, make it matte or glossy).

Burning can also occur not only from the pulling soil, but also from applying a layer of paint to an insufficiently dried (formed only film) previous layer of paints. In this case, the insufficiently dried bottom layer begins to draw oil from the upper, new layer. This phenomenon is prevented by an interlayer treatment with compacted oil, and the addition of thickened oil and resin varnish to the paints, which speed up the drying of the paints and make it more uniform.

Oil-free paint (paint with little oil) becomes thicker (pasty) and easier to make a textured brushstroke. It dries faster (because it has less oil). It is harder to spread over the surface (hard brushes and a palette knife are required). Also, oil-free paint turns yellow less, as there is little oil in it. The pulling primer, pulling the oil out of the paint, seems to “grab” it, the paint seems to grow into it and hardens, “becomes”. Therefore, a sliding, thin smear on such a soil is impossible. On pulling soils, drying is faster also because drying occurs both from above and from below, since these soils give the so-called “through drying”. Fast drying and paint density make it possible to quickly gain texture. A striking example of impasto painting on pulling ground is Igor Grabar.

The complete opposite of painting on "breathing" pulling grounds is painting on impenetrable oily and semi-oily grounds. (Oil primer is a layer of oil paint (often with some additives) applied to the sizing. Semi-oil primer is also a layer of oil paint, but applied to any other primer. Semi-oil primer is also simply dried (or dried) painting, which after some time the artist wants to finish by applying a new layer of paint on it).

The dried layer of oil is an impermeable film. Therefore, oil paints applied to such a primer cannot give it part of their oil (and thus gain a foothold on it), and, therefore, cannot “burn out”, that is, become dull. That is, due to the fact that the oil from the paint cannot go into the ground, the paint itself remains the same shiny. The layer of painting on such an impenetrable ground is thin, and the stroke is sliding and light. The main danger of oily and semi-oily primers is their poor adhesion to paints, since there is no penetrating adhesion. (A very large number of works of even famous artists of the Soviet period are known, from the paintings of which the paint is peeling off. This moment was not sufficiently covered in the system of education of artists). When working on oily and semi-oily primers, an additional agent is needed to bond a new layer of paint to the primer.

Pulling soils.

Glue-chalk primer consists of glue (gelatin or fish glue) and chalk. (Sometimes chalk was replaced by gypsum - a substance similar in properties).

Chalk has the ability to absorb oil. Thus, the paint applied to the ground, in which there is a sufficient amount of chalk, grows into it, as it were, giving up part of its oil. This is a fairly strong type of penetrating adhesion. However, often artists, striving for matte painting, use not only a very pulling primer, but also strongly de-oil the paints (preliminarily squeezing them onto absorbent paper). In this case, the binder (oil) may become so small that the pigment will not hold well in the paint, turning almost into pastel (for example, some of Feshin's paintings). By running your hand over such a picture, you can remove some of the paint like dust.

Old Flemish method of painting.

Pulling glue-chalk soils are the most ancient. They were used on wood and painted with tempera paints. Then, at the beginning of the 15th century, oil paints were invented (their discovery is attributed to Van Eyck, a Flemish painter). Oil paints attracted artists with their glossy nature, which was very different from matte tempera. Since only the pulling glue-chalk primer was known, the artists came up with all sorts of secrets to make it non-pulling, and thus get the sheen and color saturation that oil gives them so much love. The so-called Old Flemish method of painting appeared.

(There are disputes about the history of oil painting. Some believe that it appeared gradually: at first, painting started with tempera was finished with oil, thus the so-called mixed technique was obtained (D. I. Kiplik “Painting Technique”). Other researchers believe that oil painting arose in northern Europe simultaneously with tempera painting and developed in parallel, and in southern Europe (with a center in Italy), various variants of mixed media appeared from the very beginning of easel painting (Yu. I. Grenberg "Technology of easel painting"). Van Eyck's painting "The Annunciation" was restored and it turned out that the blue cloak of Our Lady was painted in watercolor (a documentary film was made about the restoration of this painting. Thus, it turns out that mixed media was also in northern Europe from the very beginning).

The Old Flemish method of painting (according to Kiplik), which was used by Van-Eycky, Dürer, Peter Brueghel and others, was as follows: adhesive primer was applied to a wooden base. Then, a drawing was transferred to this smoothly polished ground, “which was previously made in full size of the picture separately on paper (“cardboard”), since they avoided drawing directly on the ground so as not to disturb its whiteness.” Then the drawing was outlined with water-soluble paints. If the drawing is translated with charcoal, then drawing with water-soluble paints fixes it. (The drawing can be transferred by covering the reverse side of the drawing with charcoal where necessary, overlaying it on the basis of the future picture and tracing it around the contour). The drawing was outlined with a pen or brush. With a brush, the drawing was transparently shaded with brown paint "in such a way that the ground shone through it." An example of this stage of work is Van Eyck's Saint Barbara. Then the picture could continue to be painted in tempera, and only completed with oil paints.

If the artist wanted to continue working with oil paints after shading the drawing with water-soluble paint, then he had to somehow isolate the pulling soil from oil paints, otherwise the paints would lose their sonority, for which artists fell in love with them. Therefore, a layer of transparent glue and one or two layers of oil varnish were applied over the drawing. The oil varnish, when dried, created an impenetrable film, and the oil from the paints could no longer go into the ground.

Glue-chalk soils have a very important feature - the oil applied to such a soil forms a yellow-brown spot, since the chalk, when combined with the oil, turns yellow and turns brown, that is, it loses its white color. Therefore, the old Flemish masters first covered the ground with weak glue (probably no more than 2%) and then with oil varnish (the thicker the varnish, the less its penetration into the ground).

If the painting was only finished with oil, and the previous layers were made with tempera, then the pigment of tempera paints and their binder isolated the ground from the oil, and it did not darken. (Before working with oil, tempera painting is usually covered with an interlayer varnish in order to bring out the color of the tempera, and for a better entry of the oil layer).

The composition of the adhesive primer, developed by M. M. Devyatov, includes zinc white pigment. The pigment prevents the soil from turning yellow and turning brown from oil. The pigment of zinc white can be partially or completely replaced by another pigment (then you get a colored primer). The ratio of pigment and chalk should remain unchanged (usually the amount of chalk is equal to the amount of pigment). If only the pigment is left in the primer, and the chalk is removed, then the paint will not adhere to such a primer, because the pigment does not absorb oil as chalk does, and there will be no penetrating adhesion.

Another very important feature of glue-chalk soils is their fragility, which comes from skin-bone fragile glues (gelatin, fish glue). Therefore, it is very dangerous to increase the required amount of glue, this can lead to ground cracks with raised edges. This is especially true for such primers on canvas, as this is a more vulnerable base than a solid board base.

It is believed that the old Flemings could add light flesh-colored paint to this insulating layer of varnish: “Oil varnish with an admixture of transparent flesh-colored paint was applied over the tempera pattern, through which the shaded pattern shone through. This tone was applied to the entire area of ​​the picture, or only to those places where the body was depicted ”(D.I. Kiplik“ Painting Technique ”). However, in "Saint Barbara" we do not see any translucent flesh tone covering the drawing, although it is obvious that the picture has already begun to be worked out from above with paints. It is likely that painting on white ground is still more characteristic of the Old Flemish painting technique.

Later, when the influence of Italian masters with their colored grounds began to penetrate Flanders, light and light translucent imprimaturs (for example, Rubens) still remained characteristic of the Flemish masters.

The antiseptic used was phenol or catamine. But you can do without an antiseptic, especially if you use the soil quickly and do not store for a long time.

Instead of fish glue, you can use gelatin.

Similar information.

Flemish painting is considered one of the first experiences of artists in painting oil paintings. The authorship of this style, as well as the invention of the oil paints themselves, is attributed to the van Eyck brothers. The style of Flemish painting is inherent in almost all the authors of the Renaissance, in particular the notorious Leonardo da Vinci, Peter Brueghel and Petrus Christus left behind a lot of priceless works of art in this particular genre.

In order to paint a picture using this technique, you will need to first create a drawing on paper, and of course do not forget to buy an easel. The size of the paper stencil should exactly match the size of the future picture. Next, the drawing is transferred to a white adhesive primer. To do this, a lot of tiny holes are made around the perimeter of the image with needles. Having fixed the drawing in a horizontal plane, they take coal powder and sprinkle it with areas with holes. After removing the paper, separate points are connected with a sharp tip of a brush, pen or pencil. If ink is used, then it must be strictly transparent so as not to disturb the whiteness of the ground, which actually gives the completed paintings a special style.

Transferred drawings must be shaded with transparent brown paint. Care must be taken during the process to ensure that the primer is constantly visible through the applied layers. Oil or tempera could be used as a shade. In order to prevent the absorption of oil shading into the soil, it was pre-coated with glue. Hieronymus Bosch used brown varnish for this purpose, thanks to which his paintings retained their color for such a long time.

At this stage, the largest amount of work is being done, so you should definitely buy a desktop easel, because every self-respecting artist has a couple of such tools. If the picture was planned to end in color, then cold, light tones acted as a preliminary layer. On them, again, oil paints were applied with a thin layer of glazing. As a result, the picture acquired vital shades and looked much more spectacular.

Leonardo da Vinci shaded the entire ground in the shadows in one tone, which is a combination of three colors: red ocher, kraplak and black. He painted the clothes and the background of the works with transparent overlapping layers of paint. This technique allowed the image to convey a special characteristic of chiaroscuro.

He worked in the technique of chiaroscuro (light-shadow), in which there is a contrasting contrast between the dark areas of the picture and the light ones. It is noteworthy that not a single sketch of Caravaggio has been found. He worked immediately on the final version of the work.

Painting of the 17th century in Italy, Spain and the Netherlands took the new trends as a breath of fresh air. The Italians de Fiori and Gentileschi, the Spaniard Ribera, Terbruggen and Barburen worked in a similar technique.
Caravaggism also had a strong influence on the stages of creativity of such masters as Peter Paul Rubens, Georges de Latour and Rembrandt.

The voluminous canvases of the caravagists amaze with their depth and attention to detail. Let's talk more about the Dutch painters who worked with this technique.

The very first ideas were taken by Hendrik Terbruggen. He visited Rome at the beginning of the 17th century, where he met Manfredi, Saraceni and Gentileschi. It was the Dutchman who initiated the Utrecht school of painting with this technique.

The plots of the canvases are realistic, they are characterized by the soft humor of the depicted scenes. Terbruggen showed not only individual moments of his contemporary life, but also rethought traditional naturalism.

Honthorst went further in the development of the school. He turned to biblical stories, but he built the plot from the everyday point of view of the Dutch of the 17th century. So, in his paintings we see a clear influence of the chiaroscuro technique. It was his works under the influence of the caravagists that brought him fame in Italy. For his genre scenes by candlelight, he received the nickname "night".

Unlike the Utrecht school, Flemish painters like Rubens and van Dyck did not become ardent supporters of caravagism. This style is indicated in their works only as a separate stage in the formation of a personal style.

Adrian Brouwer and David Teniers

For several centuries, the painting of the Flemish masters has undergone significant changes. We will begin our review of artists from the later stages, when there was a move away from monumental paintings to narrowly focused subjects.

First, Brouwer, and then Teniers the Younger, based on scenes from the everyday life of ordinary Dutch people. So, Adrian, continuing the motives of Pieter Brueghel, somewhat changes the technique of writing and the focus of his paintings.

It focuses on the most unattractive side of life. Types for canvases he is looking for in smoky, semi-dark taverns and taverns. Nevertheless, Brouwer's paintings amaze with their expression and depth of characters. The artist hides the main characters in the depths, exposing still lifes to the fore.

A fight over a game of dice or cards, a sleeping smoker or dancing drunkards. It was these subjects that interested the painter.

But the later works of Brouwer become soft, in them humor prevails over the grotesque and unrestraint. Now the canvases contain philosophical moods and reflect the slowness of thoughtful characters.

Researchers say that in the 17th century, Flemish artists begin to shrink in comparison with the previous generation of masters. However, we simply see a transition from the vivid expression of the mythical subjects of Rubens and the burlesque of Jordaens to the calm life of the peasants by Teniers the Younger.

The latter, in particular, concentrated on the carefree moments of village holidays. He tried to depict the weddings and festivities of ordinary farmers. Moreover, special attention was paid to external details and the idealization of lifestyle.

Frans Snyders

Like Anton van Dijk, whom we will talk about later, he began training with Hendrik van Balen. In addition, Pieter Brueghel the Younger was also his mentor.

Considering the works of this master, we get acquainted with another facet of creativity, which is so rich in Flemish painting. Snyders' paintings are completely different from the canvases of his contemporaries. Frans managed to find his niche and develop in it to the heights of an unsurpassed master.

He became the best in the depiction of still lifes and animals. As an animal painter, he was often invited by other painters, in particular Rubens, to create certain parts of their masterpieces.

Snyders' work shows a gradual transition from still lifes in the early years to hunting scenes in later periods. With all the dislike for portraits and depictions of people, they are still present on his canvases. How did he get out of the situation?

It's simple, Frans invited Janssens, Jordaens and other masters familiar from the guild to create images of hunters.

Thus, we see that 17th-century painting in Flanders reflects a heterogeneous stage of transition from previous techniques and attitudes. It did not proceed as smoothly as in Italy, but gave the world completely unusual creations of the Flemish masters.

Jacob Jordaens

Flemish painting of the 17th century is characterized by greater freedom compared to the previous period. Here you can see not only live scenes from life, but also the beginnings of humor. In particular, he often allowed himself to add a piece of burlesque to his canvases.

In his work, he did not reach significant heights as a portrait painter, but nevertheless, he became perhaps the best in conveying character in the picture. So, one of his main series - "Feasts of the Bean King" - is built on the illustration of folklore, folk sayings, jokes and sayings. These canvases depict the crowded, cheerful, bustling life of Dutch society in the 17th century.

Speaking about the Dutch art of painting of this period, we will often mention the name of Peter Paul Rubens. It was his influence that was reflected in the work of most Flemish artists.

Jordanes also did not escape this fate. He worked for some time in the workshops of Rubens, creating sketches for paintings. However, Jacob was better at creating tenebrism and chiaroscuro in the technique.

If you look closely at the masterpieces of Jordaens, compare them with the works of Peter Paul, we will see a clear influence of the latter. But Jacob's canvases are distinguished by warmer colors, freedom and softness.

Peter Rubens

When discussing the masterpieces of Flemish painting, one cannot fail to mention Rubens. Peter Paul was a recognized master during his lifetime. He is considered a virtuoso of religious and mythical themes, but the artist showed no less talent in the technique of landscape and portraiture.

He grew up in a family that fell into disgrace due to the tricks of his father in his youth. Soon after the death of a parent, their reputation is restored, and Rubens and his mother return to Antwerp.

Here the young man quickly acquires the necessary connections, he is made a page of the Countess de Lalen. Additionally, Peter Paul meets Tobias, Verhacht, van Noort. But Otto van Veen had a special influence on him as a mentor. It was this artist who played a decisive role in shaping the style of the future master.

After four years of internship with Otto Rubens, they are accepted into the guild association of artists, engravers and sculptors called the Guild of St. Luke. The end of the training, according to the long tradition of the Dutch masters, was a trip to Italy. There, Peter Paul studied and copied the best masterpieces of this era.

It is not surprising that the paintings of the Flemish artists in their features resemble the technique of some Italian masters of the Renaissance.

In Italy, Rubens lived and worked with the famous philanthropist and collector Vincenzo Gonzaga. Researchers call this period of his work the Mantua period, because the estate of the patron Peter Paul was located in this town.

But the provincial place and Gonzaga's desire to use it did not please Rubens. In a letter, he writes that with the same success, Vicenzo could use the services of artisan portrait painters. Two years later, the young man finds patrons and orders in Rome.

The main achievement of the Roman period was the painting of Santa Maria in Valicella and the altar of the monastery in Fermo.

After the death of his mother, Rubens returns to Antwerp, where he quickly becomes the highest paid master. The salary he received at the Brussels court allowed him to live in grand style, have a large workshop, and many apprentices.

In addition, Peter Paul maintained a relationship with the Jesuit order, which brought him up in childhood. From them he receives orders for the interior decoration of the Antwerp Church of St. Charles Borromeo. Here he is helped by the best student - Anton van Dyck, which we will talk about later.

Rubens spent the second half of his life in diplomatic missions. Shortly before his death, he bought himself an estate, where he settled, took up landscapes and depicting the life of peasants.

In the work of this great master, the influence of Titian and Brueghel is especially traced. The most famous works are the canvases "Samson and Delilah", "The Hunt for the Hippo", "The Abduction of the Daughters of Leucippus".

Rubens had such a strong influence on Western European painting that in 1843 a monument was erected to him on the Green Square in Antwerp.

Anton van Dyck

A court portrait painter, a master of mythical and religious subjects in painting, an artist - all these are the characteristics of Anton van Dyck, the best student of Peter Paul Rubens.

The painting techniques of this master were formed while studying with Hendrik van Balen, to whom he was given as an apprentice. It was the years spent in the workshop of this painter that allowed Anton to quickly gain local fame.

At the age of fourteen he wrote his first masterpiece, at fifteen he opened his first workshop. So at a young age, van Dijk becomes an Antwerp celebrity.

At the age of seventeen, Anton was accepted into the guild of St. Luke, where he became an apprentice with Rubens. For two years (from 1918 to 1920), van Dyck paints portraits of Jesus Christ and the twelve apostles on thirteen boards. Today, these works are kept in many world museums.

The painting art of Anton van Dyck was more focused on religious themes. He writes in the workshop of Rubens his famous paintings "Coronation with a crown" and "Kiss of Judas".

From 1621, the period of travel begins. First, the young artist works in London, under King James, then goes to Italy. In 1632, Anton returned to London, where Charles I knighted him and gave him the position of court painter. Here he worked until his death.

His canvases are exhibited in the museums of Munich, Vienna, the Louvre, Washington, New York and many other halls of the world.

Thus, today we, dear readers, have learned about Flemish painting. You got an idea about the history of its formation and the technique of creating canvases. In addition, we briefly met with the greatest Netherlandish masters of this period.

Today I want to tell you more about the Flemish method of painting, which we recently studied in the 1st series of my course, and I also want to show you a small report on the results and the very process of our online learning.

On the course, I talked about the ancient methods of painting, about primers, varnishes and paints, revealed many secrets that we put into practice - we painted a still life based on the work of the Little Dutch. From the very beginning, we have been working, taking into account all the nuances of the Flemish painting technique.

This method replaced the tempera, which was written before. It is believed that, like the basics of oil painting, the method was developed by the Flemish artist Early Renaissance - Jan Van Eyck. This is where oil painting begins its history.

So. This is the method of painting that, according to Van Mander, was used by the painters of Flanders: Van Eycky, Dürer, Luke of Leiden and Pieter Brueghel. The method is as follows: on a white and smoothly polished adhesive ground, a drawing was transferred with gunpowder or in another way, which was previously executed in full-size paintings separately on paper ("cardboard"), since drawing directly on the ground was avoided so as not to disturb its whiteness, which played great importance in Flemish painting.

Then the drawing was shaded with a transparent brown so that the ground shone through it.

The named shading was made either with tempera and then it was done like an engraving, with strokes, or with oil paint, while the work was done with the utmost care and already in this form was a work of art.

According to the drawing shaded with oil paint, after drying, they painted and finished the painting either in cold halftones, then adding warm ones (which van Mander calls “Dead Tones”), or finished the work with colored glazes, in one step, semi-hulled, leaving the brown preparation to shine through in midtones and shadows. We used exactly this method.

The Flemings always applied paints in a thin and even layer in order to use the translucence of the white ground and get a smooth surface on which, if necessary, one could glaze many more times.

With the development of the pictorial skill of artists the methods described above have undergone some changes or simplifications, each artist used his own method slightly different from the others.

But the basis remained the same for a long time: the Flemings always painted on white adhesive ground (which did not draw oil from the paints) , a thin layer of paints, applied in such a way that not only all layers of painting, but also the white ground, which was like a source of light illuminating the picture from the inside, took part in creating the overall pictorial effect.

Your Hope Ilyina.

N. IGNATOVA, Senior Researcher, Department of Research of Artistic Works, All-Russian Scientific and Restoration Center named after I. E. Grabar

Historically, this is the first method of working with oil paints, and legend attributes its invention, as well as the invention of the paints themselves, to the van Eyck brothers. The Flemish method was popular not only in Northern Europe. It was brought to Italy, where all the greatest artists of the Renaissance up to Titian and Giorgione resorted to it. There is an opinion that Italian artists painted their works in this way long before the van Eyck brothers. We will not delve into history and clarify who was the first to apply it, but we will try to talk about the method itself.
Modern studies of works of art allow us to conclude that the painting of the old Flemish masters was always done on white adhesive ground. The paints were applied in a thin glazing layer, and in such a way that not only all layers of painting, but also the white color of the ground, which, translucent through the paint, illuminates the picture from the inside, took part in creating the overall pictorial effect. Also noteworthy is the lack of
in painting he whitewashed, with the exception of those cases when white clothes or draperies were painted. Sometimes they are still found in the strongest lights, but even then only in the form of the thinnest glazes.
All work on the picture was carried out in strict sequence. It began with a drawing on thick paper in the size of the future picture. It turned out the so-called "cardboard". An example of such cardboard is Leonardo da Vinci's drawing for the portrait of Isabella d'Este,
The next stage of work is transferring the pattern to the ground. To do this, it was pricked with a needle along the entire contour and borders of the shadows. Then the cardboard was placed on a white polished primer applied to the board, and the drawing was transferred with charcoal powder. Getting into the holes made in the cardboard, the charcoal left light outlines of the pattern on the basis of the picture. To fix it, a trace of coal was outlined with a pencil, pen, or the sharp tip of a brush. In this case, either ink or some kind of transparent paint was used. Artists never painted directly on the ground, as they were afraid to disturb its whiteness, which, as already mentioned, played the role of the lightest tone in painting.
After transferring the drawing, they started shading with transparent brown paint, making sure that the ground everywhere shone through its layer. Shading was done with tempera or oil. In the second case, in order for the binder of paints not to be absorbed into the soil, it was covered with an additional layer of glue. At this stage of work, the artist solved almost all the tasks of the future picture, with the exception of color. In the future, no changes were made to the drawing and composition, and already in this form the work was a work of art.
Sometimes, before finishing a picture in color, the whole painting was prepared in the so-called "dead colors", that is, cold, light, low-intensity tones. This preparation took over the final glazing layer of colors, with the help of which they gave life to the whole work.
Of course, we have drawn a general outline of the Flemish method of painting. Naturally, every artist who used it brought something of his own to it. For example, we know from the biography of the artist Hieronymus Bosch that he painted in one go, using the simplified Flemish method. At the same time, his paintings are very beautiful, and the colors have not changed color over time. Like all his contemporaries, he prepared a white, not thick ground, on which he transferred the most detailed drawing. I shaded it with brown tempera paint, after which I covered the picture with a layer of transparent flesh-colored varnish, which isolates the primer from the penetration of oil from subsequent paint layers. After drying the picture, it remained to register the background with glazes of pre-composed tones, and the work was completed. Only sometimes some places were additionally prescribed with a second layer to enhance the color. Peter Brueghel wrote his works in a similar or very close way.
Another variation of the Flemish method can be seen in the work of Leonardo da Vinci. If you look at his unfinished work, The Adoration of the Magi, you can see that it was started on white ground. The drawing translated from cardboard was outlined with transparent paint like green earth. The drawing is shaded in one brown tone, close to sepia, composed of three colors: black, crayon and red ocher. The whole work is shaded, the white ground is nowhere left unwritten, even the sky is prepared in the same brown tone.
In the finished works of Leonardo da Vinci, the lights are obtained thanks to the white ground. He painted the background of works and clothes with the thinnest overlapping transparent layers of paint.
Using the Flemish method, Leonardo da Vinci was able to achieve an extraordinary rendering of chiaroscuro. At the same time, the paint layer is uniform and very thin.
The Flemish method was briefly used by artists. It existed in its pure form for no more than two centuries, but many great works were created in this way. In addition to the already mentioned masters, Holbein, Dürer, Perugino, Rogier van der Weyden, Clouet and other artists used it.
Paintings made by the Flemish method are excellently preserved. Made on seasoned boards, solid soils, they resist damage well. The virtual absence of white in the pictorial layer, which from time to time lose their hiding power and thereby change the overall color of the work, ensured that we see the paintings almost the same as they came out of the workshops of their creators.
The main conditions that should be observed when using this method are a scrupulous drawing, the finest calculation, the correct sequence of work and great patience.