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How did Bouguereau’s paint dry "right under his brush"?

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April 26, 2006 at 5:07 pm #985714

In Mark Walker’s article, Bouguereau at Work it states that Bouguereau used siccitives that allowed Username
his paint to dry very quicklly.

here’s an excerpt: Password

decktilldawn
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Bouguereau used siccatives in his painting: a first siccative, a kind of Courtrai, employed by house-
painters and known as siccatif soleil; and then a second, mysterious siccative whose recipe he kept Log In Remember Me
secret. However, one of his pupils believes it was composed of a mixture of “siccatif de Haarlem” and
Lost your password?
essence, plus a little oliesse added in the summer months to prevent its drying too quickly.24 As
with most painters, Bouguereau changed methods several times. One of his students wrote me: Register

“Bouguereau, at the time I entered his studio, used as his sole medium a liquid composed of
Courtrai mixed with nut oil and turpentine oil in varying proportions, depending on the colors used.
Thus, for shadows, [he used] spirit and Courtrai, with little or no white; for the other colors, oil, spirit, Search …
and a small amount of Courtrai; finally, to rework a dry outline, pure or nearly pure oil or spirit. He
oiled out the area to be repainted to desemboire [that is, to treat the canvas so as to prevent the
color from sinking in] it, with either the first or the second liquid, depending on the effect he wanted.
He also painted with picture-varnish blended into these two liquids, but that was before I entered
his atelier …. ”

Bouguereau used “siccatif soleil” in order to lay in his sketch without thickening it. Sometimes he left
it to dry before reworking; other times, he repainted over it immediately, using a second, less
powerful siccative [the secret one]. In the case of a dry sketch, he rubbed this same siccative in
before reworking. He has also painted with picture-varnish. In short, he painted with a medium that
dried right under the brush.

Here it gives some recipies:

To prime the canvas before painting:

Haarlem, picture-varnish diluted with a little elemi at 1/5, one or two drops fixed oil and terebine.

1st dipper: for painting, same mixture plus a few more drops fixed oil and terebine.
2nd dipper: picture-varnish and elemi in small quantity and light fixed oil diluted with turpentine.
3rd dipper: for a fresh glazing, add to second dipper a few drops petroleum spirit.

If anyone could shed some light on any this or has any experience with these ingredients, I would
greatly appreciate it. I have all of the ingredients, but I dont know what “fixed oil is”.

Olliese is something that I don’t have as well.

-JeremyDeck,22http://www.gutenberg.org/files/14264/14264-h/14264-h.htm
Practice & Science Of Drawing, by Harold Speed.
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/20165/20165-h/20165-h.htm
Theory and Practice of Perspective, by G.A.Storey

April 27, 2006 at 10:33 am #1070180

''
I have all of the ingredients, but I dont know what “fixed oil
turlogh
is”.
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“Fixed oil” usually refers to any of a number of non-volatile non-drying oils. Castor oil, for example.

By using siccatives and solvents, painting in thin layers, and avoiding slow-drying colors, it isn’t hard
to get oil paint to dry very rapidly. This is only appropriate for initial layers, of course.
 David Rourke

April 27, 2006 at 2:07 pm #1070189

Today, Bouguereau’s paintings are all in pretty bad condition, requiring quite a lot of conservation,
because of his use of these siccatives. I would avoid them and rely on the modern alkyds to safely
accelerate drying in oil paints.

Brian Firth
"Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence."
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-- Carl Sagan

Brian Firth

April 27, 2006 at 2:41 pm #1070181

''
Today, Bouguereau’s paintings are all in pretty bad condition,
turlogh
requiring quite a lot of conservation, because of his use of
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these siccatives. I would avoid them and rely on the modern alkyds to
safely accelerate drying in oil paints.

In 100 years, we’ll know whether alkyds are a great improvement in painting materials, or are as
dangerous as the “innovations” that Bougereau and others relied on in the 19th century (which
were recommended by the conservators and manufacturers of the time).

In the meantime, I will personally depend instead on the methods and materials used in the 15th,
16th and 17th centuries, which have, unlike alkyds, demonstrated their longevity. I think that those
who use alkyd mediums are making an admirable sacrifice. The results of their pioneering
experiments will one day be useful to future generations of artists, who will know whether they
were an improvement or a terrible mistake. I am not so selfless.

David Rourke

April 27, 2006 at 2:51 pm #1070197

''
Today, Bouguereau’s paintings are all in pretty bad condition,
Kent
requiring quite a lot of conservation, because of his use of
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these siccatives.

In his book on painting materials, the paint manufacturer Blockx stated that the use of siccatives
was the most common reason for the deterioration of oil paintings. Use them advisedly, if at all.

Cheers,
Kent

DAY, n. A period of twenty-four hours, mostly misspent. --Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary

April 27, 2006 at 3:13 pm #1070201

''
Today, Bouguereau’s paintings are all in pretty bad condition,
donn_granros requiring quite a lot of conservation, because of his use of
Default
these siccatives. I would avoid them and rely on the modern alkyds to
safely accelerate drying in oil paints.

I am relying on the alkyds (NeoMeglip/ Liquin etc) for longevity and the grace of God, accident, and
possibly collective public bad taste to hopefully allow me to create works worthy of someone caring
enough about to bother with conservation.
 (additionally I am pretty well headed towards using Gesso boards vs canvas for stability of the paint
film and a finer working surface (and longevity))

Donn Granros

"If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went." --Will Rogers

April 27, 2006 at 4:17 pm #1070179

I’ve never used these personally, but I have some notes on Courtrai:
http://www.jamescgroves.com/courtrai.htm

and Haarlem:
dbclemons https://www.wetcanvas.com/Articles2/59346/619/
“… Critics say that the original siccatif de Haarlem and siccatif de Courtrai both contains ingredients
that turn dark, brittle and crack…”

David Blaine Clemons

----------------
My Website
My Blog

April 27, 2006 at 4:27 pm #1070190

Alyds have been used with oil paints since 1960. So coming up on 50 years of use and no problems
so far.

"Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence."

Brian Firth
-- Carl Sagan
Default

Brian Firth

April 27, 2006 at 4:35 pm #1070191

Here good info from Winsor and Newton about alkyd mediums:
…
Stability

Brian Firth The ingredients of Liquin are complex chemicals. The quality and stability of the products rely on the
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formulation and manufacturing experience of Winsor & Newton chemists. Our painstaking and
thorough approach over decades ensures artists can enjoy both the performance characteristics of
the mediums and can rest assured that their work is stable. Research by conservators in the USA
has found that alkyd films are more extensible than oil colours and therefore should withstand
climatic changes better than oil films. It is well documented that alkyd
films are more durable than oil in severe exposure conditions such as outdoor weathering.

Comparison to Oil Mediums

We are commonly asked whether Liquin can really stand the test of time in comparison to oil
mediums. The answer is an absolute yes! Liquin is far more stable than the natural resin mediums of
the past and cannot fairly be thought of as a “ new unknown”. Our chemists combine their
cumulative experience of traditional mediums with modern paint technology and there is no doubt
about the working characteristics and stability of Liquin.
The other most common question refers to the oil painting rule – ‘fat over lean’. Liquin is usually
used instead of oil as a medium. Therefore, there is no need to add oil to increase flexibility in
successive layers. When painting in layers simply increase the proportion of medium by adding
more Liquin or reducing the solvent used as you progress.

"Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence."

-- Carl Sagan

Brian Firth

April 27, 2006 at 4:36 pm #1070202

 ''
Alyds have been used with oil paints since 1960. So coming
donn_granros up on 50 years of use and no problems so far.
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I quit painting around 1980 -1981. I have paintings from back then that were done using Liquin. No
discoloration -no cracking -no problems that I can see.

Donn Granros

"If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went." --Will Rogers

April 27, 2006 at 6:42 pm #1070185

''
Alyds have been used with oil paints since 1960. So coming
stagfoot
up on 50 years of use and no problems so far.
Default

Alkyds have a lower resistance to alkaline conditions than natural drying oils do.
This means they can’t be used in direct undiluted contact with certain pigments such as zinc white
and manganese violet.
If they do so, the paint film can dissolve and delaminate.
Through extensive testing, Winsor and Newton have found that the reaction will not occur if it’s
liquin medium range is mixed with oil paint at normal levels.
However for this and other reasons, they do not recommend that their alkyd mediums be ever
used for oiling out sunken areas of oil paint.

April 27, 2006 at 6:50 pm #1070195

Thank you al for your opinions, it always seems like a touchy subject when asking about the
ingredients used in the past, and usually I am told to try alkyds. I hope no one is offended by my
choice to try the old ways of doing things. Bouguereau’s paintings that I have seen are cracking all
over, but in Mark Walkers’s article it states that the Flour used in his ground was the reason for the
decktilldawn cracks. It also gives a variation of the recipe for Gerome’s medium, and his paintings seem to be in
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remarkable condition from my experience. I wonder if the support and ground is more responsible
for this
problem?

Last night I worked with Rectified Turp, a few drops of Brown Courtrai, and even less Haarlem.

The tints dried in about 8 hours, but my glazes of cobalt and Vermilion dried in about an hour or
less. Nothing to complain about in my opinion, but I would like to see it go even faster.

David, thank you for the articles on Courtrai and Haarlem. It seems that there were different
concentrations of the siccatives that could have had something to do with the drying “right under
the brush”. I am still going to experiment further, and I would like to try a fixed oil in the mix as well.

Again if anyone has actually toyed around with these particular siccatives, nothing could be more
useful than first hand experience.

-JeremyDeck,22http://www.gutenberg.org/files/14264/14264-h/14264-h.htm
Practice & Science Of Drawing, by Harold Speed.
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/20165/20165-h/20165-h.htm
Theory and Practice of Perspective, by G.A.Storey

April 27, 2006 at 11:03 pm #1070182

''
Alyds have been used with oil paints since 1960. So coming
turlogh
up on 50 years of use and no problems so far.
Default

And lots of paintings from the 19th century were in pretty good shape after 50 years as well. Many
have since failed, using materials recommended by art suppliers and experts of the time. I don’t
necessarily think that the newfangled materials of today, recommended by the same kinds of folks,
are automatically superior.

I’ve heard a few artists complain about delamination with paintings done in multiple layers with
alkyd mediums. Obviously, that isn’t a widespread problem or we’d be hearing a lot more about it.
As I stated previously, we’ll know in 100 years. I expect that alkyds will probably prove to be OK. I’m
 just more comfortable using proven materials.

Jeremy–I think you are probably correct that badly prepared grounds are more of a problem for
Bougereau’s work than the siccatives he might have added to his paint (provided he did so
judiciously). The problem with evaluating 19th century materials is that almost all of the art
manufacturers of the day appear to have found it very profitable to produce cheap, adulterated
junk and depend on the ignorance of artists to get away with it. That happens today, of course, but
to a lesser degree (we are more suspicious these days, and it’s harder for companies to lie about
what they put into their products). I tend to take anyone’s broad pronouncements about the
causes of failed paintings from that period with a big grain of salt.

David Rourke

April 28, 2006 at 2:19 pm #1070192

If you are adding enough driers to the paint for it to dry in an a few hours, then that is way too
much. The damaging effects of overusing metallic driers in oil paints is indisputable.

"Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence."

Brian Firth
-- Carl Sagan
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Brian Firth

April 29, 2006 at 11:13 am #1070176

''
I am relying on the alkyds (NeoMeglip/ Liquin etc) for
longevity and the grace of God, accident, and possibly
collective public bad taste to hopefully allow me to create works
Keith Russell
worthy of someone caring enough about to bother with conservation.
(additionally I am pretty well headed towards using Gesso boards vs
canvas for stability of the paint film and a finer working surface (and
longevity))

I’m preparing two oak panels right now for my next paintings, and may start painting on panel
exclusively.

What the heck is a gesso board?

Keith.

Forcing the waveform to collapse for two decades...

http://www.syntheticskystudios.com
Hilliard Gallery, Kansas City, "Small Works", December 2019

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