The numeric colour codes used by the natural history painter Ferdinand Bauer (1760–1826) have rem... more The numeric colour codes used by the natural history painter Ferdinand Bauer (1760–1826) have remained resistant to interpretation. However, a practical approach, and an appreciation of historical painting methods and materials, have led to a solution to the code he devised for the Flora and Fauna Graeca. It is suggested that Bauer related the process of viewing, identifying, and conceptualising qualities of colours to the intrinsic properties of his pigments, and their sequence in his paintbox; also that his codes provided directions as to their moderation and mode of use. This study proposes that rather than being a mechanical reference system, Bauer’s code was a flexible mnemonic, reaching into the heart of artistic process.
This is a report of a studio experiment to explore how images from the camera obscura could have ... more This is a report of a studio experiment to explore how images from the camera obscura could have been used directly by artists of Vermeer’s era. It has a pragmatic and practical approach, bringing a painter’s eye and experience to the problems of transferring images from the lens to a canvas, using the primitive technology and unrefined materials available then. It addresses how an artist could use the condensed, flattened images from camera obscura projections in his painting process, when the subject could appear reversed and inverted on the screen or on the wall. It considers how the limitations of the materials that make transfers possible might affect studio practice, and ultimately the stylistic qualities of the work produced. This paper outlines a simple printing method that would enable the seventeenth-century painter to transfer monochrome images, corrected in orientation, from the lens to a canvas with relative ease, for use as the painting progressed in the stages prescri...
INTRODUCTION ILLUSTRATION OF A CAMERA OBSCURA ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS MAP OF CENTR... more INTRODUCTION ILLUSTRATION OF A CAMERA OBSCURA ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS MAP OF CENTRAL DELFT IN 1675 CHRONOLOGY OF VERMEER'S PAINTINGS APPENDICES NOTES SUPPLIERS OF MATERIALS BIBLIOGRAPHY PICTURE CREDITS INDEX
INTRODUCTION ILLUSTRATION OF A CAMERA OBSCURA ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS MAP OF CENTR... more INTRODUCTION ILLUSTRATION OF A CAMERA OBSCURA ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS MAP OF CENTRAL DELFT IN 1675 CHRONOLOGY OF VERMEER'S PAINTINGS APPENDICES NOTES SUPPLIERS OF MATERIALS BIBLIOGRAPHY PICTURE CREDITS INDEX
This is a report of a studio experiment to explore how images from the camera obscura could have ... more This is a report of a studio experiment to explore how images from the camera obscura could have been used directly by artists of Vermeer's era. It has a pragmatic and practical approach, bringing a painter's eye and experience to the problems of transferring images from the lens to a canvas, using the primitive technology and unrefined materials available then. It addresses how an artist could use the condensed, flattened images from camera obscura projections in his painting process, when the subject could appear reversed and inverted on the screen or on the wall. It considers how the limitations of the materials that make transfers possible might affect studio practice, and ultimately the stylistic qualities of the work produced.
The numeric colour codes used by the natural history painter Ferdinand Bauer (1760–1826) have rem... more The numeric colour codes used by the natural history painter Ferdinand Bauer (1760–1826) have remained resistant to interpretation. However, a practical approach, and an appreciation of historical painting methods and materials, have led to a solution to the code he devised for the Flora and Fauna Graeca. It is suggested that Bauer related the process of viewing, identifying, and conceptualising qualities of colours to the intrinsic properties of his pigments, and their sequence in his paintbox; also that his codes provided directions as to their moderation and mode of use. This study proposes that rather than being a mechanical reference system, Bauer’s code was a flexible mnemonic, reaching into the heart of artistic process.
This is a report of a studio experiment to explore how images from the camera obscura could have ... more This is a report of a studio experiment to explore how images from the camera obscura could have been used directly by artists of Vermeer’s era. It has a pragmatic and practical approach, bringing a painter’s eye and experience to the problems of transferring images from the lens to a canvas, using the primitive technology and unrefined materials available then. It addresses how an artist could use the condensed, flattened images from camera obscura projections in his painting process, when the subject could appear reversed and inverted on the screen or on the wall. It considers how the limitations of the materials that make transfers possible might affect studio practice, and ultimately the stylistic qualities of the work produced. This paper outlines a simple printing method that would enable the seventeenth-century painter to transfer monochrome images, corrected in orientation, from the lens to a canvas with relative ease, for use as the painting progressed in the stages prescri...
INTRODUCTION ILLUSTRATION OF A CAMERA OBSCURA ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS MAP OF CENTR... more INTRODUCTION ILLUSTRATION OF A CAMERA OBSCURA ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS MAP OF CENTRAL DELFT IN 1675 CHRONOLOGY OF VERMEER'S PAINTINGS APPENDICES NOTES SUPPLIERS OF MATERIALS BIBLIOGRAPHY PICTURE CREDITS INDEX
INTRODUCTION ILLUSTRATION OF A CAMERA OBSCURA ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS MAP OF CENTR... more INTRODUCTION ILLUSTRATION OF A CAMERA OBSCURA ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS MAP OF CENTRAL DELFT IN 1675 CHRONOLOGY OF VERMEER'S PAINTINGS APPENDICES NOTES SUPPLIERS OF MATERIALS BIBLIOGRAPHY PICTURE CREDITS INDEX
This is a report of a studio experiment to explore how images from the camera obscura could have ... more This is a report of a studio experiment to explore how images from the camera obscura could have been used directly by artists of Vermeer's era. It has a pragmatic and practical approach, bringing a painter's eye and experience to the problems of transferring images from the lens to a canvas, using the primitive technology and unrefined materials available then. It addresses how an artist could use the condensed, flattened images from camera obscura projections in his painting process, when the subject could appear reversed and inverted on the screen or on the wall. It considers how the limitations of the materials that make transfers possible might affect studio practice, and ultimately the stylistic qualities of the work produced.
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