‘From reading to painting’: Authors and Audiences of Dutch Recipes for Preparatory Layers for Oil Painting

Historical recipes have been used as sources of information on artists’ materials and methods since the nineteenth century, first in the field of art history, more recently also in conservation studies and the history of science. The reliability of recipes as historical sources remains an important issue. This paper examines the relationship between recipes for preparatory layers for oil painting and artistic practice by investigating the authors, their intentions and the recipes themselves. Preparatory layers or grounds are applied to prepare a support (e.g. canvas, panel, copper) for paintin... Mehr ...